Chapter 20：Evolution Part 1

Adrian and Sirius went inside the dungeon unaware they have been spotted by some onlookers.The party of 3 debated if they should attack but opted nit to due to being wary it might be a strong field boss since you cannot be sure if the field boss was weak or strong in Pandemonium. The ranger in the group manage to take a screenshot of the being that went inside the dungeon and took to the forums. Since a newbie basically created the thread only a few a people went and clicked on it. The players who read the thread went on about how this monster might be related to the ongoing event or how it might be a field boss. Some even said it was a player since it apparently had a creature next to it but was quickly shut down by the others since there were monsters with familiars that fought for them and there was no race that was like that currently available in-game.

Meanwhile Adrian, who was unaware that was happening, manage to encounter their first bug type monster in the dungeon. It was a group of five giant ladybugs.

Monster: Giant Ladybug

Lvl: 5

HP: 50/50

Description: A normal sized ladybug mutated by the power of a dungeon. It grew to the size of 1 foot.

"Sirius use Howl then attack" Adrian commanded.

Sirius easily dispatched the bug monster they encountered but it was not enough for them to level up. It did make them close to breakthrough though. In the game of Pandemonium, it was easy to grow until level 10. A bit of effort to progress to 20 and that is when leveling up starts to slow down which prompts you to constantly hunt to reach higher levels. Of course, someone could power level you but even that has limitations since the player needs to deal sufficient damage to be eligible to acquire experience points.

The duo wandered a bit further into the dungeon that currently has two areas. The first area has ladybugs that explodes which is a mini-boss. After searching for about for a few minutes, the duo encountered it.

Monster: Giant Explodibug

Lvl:6

HP:100

Description: A ladybug altered by the dungeon and was given the properties of fire magic 'Explosion'.

Adrian read about this monster on the forums. It has high health but average speed. It's health is high because it gets damaged a bit every time it uses its magic. It also has an erratic aggro counter because it switches aggro suddenly to deal damage to anyone in the party.

Adrian smiled as he knows how he could manage this with his newly acquired magic spells though there were only two.

Skill: Quantum Spacemine

Effect: Explode a part of space within a radius of 10 meters. The area of effect of the explosion is dependent on the mana expended. Explosion radius is varied from 0.5 meters ~ 1.5 meters. The explosion could be triggered instantly or when the user dictates for it to explode.

Mana: 10 ~ 50 MP

Cooldown: 5 seconds

Skill: Chrono Lag

Effect: Slows down an enemies movement by 30% by manipulating time around the target. Can only affect enemies of the users line of sight.

Duration: 2 seconds

Cooldown: 1 minute

The Chrono Spacemine was the Origin Magic basic skill that was given when he changed race. It had low cooldown unlike Chrono Lag which was a debuff skill that has a long cooldown so it was not spammable.

The explodebug charged towards Adrian ignoring Sirius' taunts. Adrian smiled then used Chrono lag on on the bug slowing it down for a few seconds. Sirius then used its Shadow Sneak ability as commanded by Adrian and managed to hit it. Adrian then managed to follow up by using Quantum Spacemine which hurled the bug a few feet away from him.

-70hp

-30hp

The loot was then collected by Adrian. It consisted of coins and Explodibug flame sack which was an item for alchemy. The portal to the next level appeared and also a magic circle that can teleport you to the dungeon entrance.

The second level of the dungeon was a large area with three different bug monsters. The monsters were Giant Beetle, Giant Centipede and Killer Hornets. Adrian first went into the area where there were giant beetles are spawned and there were a lot. The party that saw Adrian from the distance did not go to the second level due to reasons that they were unprepared thus a reason for not attacking Adrian when they say him.

The duo took their time clearing up the beetles that numbered up to 20. They aggroed one at a a time in order to not be overwhelmed. The beetles have great defense due to their exoskeleton but low attack damage and mediocre speed.

Monster: Giant Beetle

Lvl: 6

HP:200/200

Description: A beetle altered by the power of the dungeon. Great defense low damage.

The duo continued to the area where the giant centipedes spawned. The area has barren land and a humid atmosphere that gave the feeling of drought. Adrian remembered that the weak spot of the centipedes are the area in the middle of their head which controls their sensory functions.

Monster: Giant Centipede

Lvl: 7

HP: 65/65

Description: A normal centipede altered by the dungeon gaining massive size and power. Uses its body to wrap around their victims and bites their head. Can grow up to 50 meters long.

The giant centipedes numbered only to 10 but were about 10 feet long. Some were coiled up together while some are just lying on the ground. Adrian instructed Sirius to attack the weak spot of the giant centipede after Adrian made his move.

Adrian then placed Quantum Spacemines above the weak spot of the heads of the three giant centipedes that were sprawled on the ground. As soon as the last spacemine was placed. Adrian detonated the three mines. The explosion altered the giant centipedes that were coiled together which entangled them even more. The three that were attacked squealed in pain and were enraged. Sirius then sneaked attacked the three giant centipedes, killing them. The entangled centipedes tried to get away but was unable thus they became target practice to Adrian.

Adrian was elated to see his offensive skill going up in mastery. He checked what was different and was a bit disappointed since the change was not that drastic.

Skill: Quantum Spacemine

Effect: Explode a part of space within a radius of 10 meters. The area of effect of the explosion is dependent on the mana expended. Explosion radius is varied from 0.5 meters ~ 1.5 meters. The explosion could be triggered instantly or when the user dictates for it to explode.

Mana: 9 ~ 49 MP

Cooldown: 5 seconds

Adrian still thought that the decrease in mana was somewhat nice. Adrian scoured the area again and found another group of centipedes doing the same thing. They repeated this cycle until both him and Sirius managed to level up.

Suddenly a system notification popped up in front of Adrian.

[Soulbound Sirius has cleared the conditions for evolution. Please choose the specific path to evolve your soulbound]