84: Tower Dungeon (5)

Chapter 84: Tower Dungeon (5)

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Neji didn’t consider these monsters as actual living people. He instead decided to believe they were computer-generated mobs. Of course, that was highly unlikely after seeing them speak, eat, sleep, and even receive a boobjob from one of those monsters. Though, that at least gave him a false sense of humane mind.

Then again, how much of it mattered? He should begin with killing monsters with consciousness as a start, knowing what he will have to go through a few months later after leaving UA High.

Kurai’s purring on his ears caused him to return from his mind palace, and instead focus on the road. 

He was running towards the lake from before. It would be a bummer to kill beautiful Sirens, but he wasn’t horny anymore. It was time to do his job properly as a Gamer.

“Oi, Mursha. As planned, you'll help me handle the leader.”

Neji ordered Mursha, the woman running beside him, who simply nodded.

The Sirens living in that lake were a bunch of runaways from the Underwater Kingdom in the Endless Sea outside of the Great Forest. Neji luckily got his hands on a rough sketch of a map. Upon touching it, the map was absorbed and a mini world map was added to the corner of his vision. 

'If only this  worked in the outside world too…' Neji lamented.

The map is pretty simple. Even a child could make a more detailed map, but it did the job.

Four Kingdoms, each named after a cardinal direction, were bordering around a hexagon-shaped empire, named the Great Empire. These 5 countries formed a circle-shaped continent, almost the size of Asia. Then the circle was again surrounded by the Great Forest in the form of a dense circle, too. Outside the circle was the Endless Sea, where apparently an equal amount of sentient organisms existed.

[Image Here]

Though this begs for a question. Where is the supposedly middle of the forest that the system said? 

Neji was talking about the 5th floor. 'System?'

[It’s underground, below the Kingdoms. Please be patient.]

Nodding, he sped up. Back to the leader of the Sirens, it’s apparently a Humanoid Shark with a blade-like nose. He is very strong too, though Mursha didn’t know his level since she didn’t have <Observe>. 

"Mursha, just curious, but how many of them are there again?”

Jumping off a tree branch and landing on another, Neji asked the former Ogre Chief who was running by the ground.

“There are at least 60 of them, my liege. But they are only powerful underwater.”

Neji’s team only had 53 people. 

Neji blasted on the air and leaped forward, Mursha followed suit. She wasn’t the speed type, true, her movements were heavy after all, but she could run fast. She was almost like the She-Hulk. 

Finally, the lake entered Neji’s vision, as he tried to use his Echolocation again. It didn’t work. Some kind of barrier was blocking his power from going inside the water. But he could sense 7 “people” above ground. 

With a swift motion, he told the army behind him and Mursha to run forward, and with a battle cry, which caught the Fishes off guard, they ran to the lake, standing opposite to the waterfall. 

“It’s the Ogres!” A beautiful light blue skinned Siren hissed from the platform on the other side of the lake, baring her sharp teeth.

Neji has already killed 10 of the stronger members of his Monster Army, but he luckily had more. A [Level 197] Ogre woman grinned at the Siren and kicked the ground, jumping up and thumping on the other platform, she swung her longsword at the Siren.

The Siren tried to block the sudden attack with a barrier of water, but the longsword passed through and mashed her skull in the wall. She died immediately. 

“Oy, make sure to not kill them!” Neji yelled from the sky. “Break or cut their limbs, but don’t kill!”

These enemies were his exp, not his minions. He can’t let them kill everybody and steal all the exp. So he changed the words he said before, “The top 3 person who killed the most will receive the reward.”, and said, “The top 3 to capture the most enemies alive will receive the reward, and the top 3 with most kills will receive punishments instead.”

Knowing this, the Ogre woman looked horrified and shot a dreadful and apologising look at Neji.

Neji ignored her and observed the other fighters. The other 6 enemies were easily subdued, their arms broken and some even dismembered. They were still alive. Neji just needed to swipe a blade past their throat to get their exp.

He liked that about here.

Immediately, a blue light shone from the water, and as if a mirror breaking, space crackled on the water, the barrier that was halting Neji’s senses coming off. 

As the next second passed, dozens of Sirens and Tritons jumped out of the water, leaping at Neji’s army. Neji was in the air the whole time, along with Kurai on his shoulder, so nobody had the leisure to attack him after passing the other monsters. 

74 Sirens and Tritons started to fight his army of 37 Orcs and 16 Ogres. Even with the water dweller’s larger army, they were losing. Their average level was higher, true, but that was their level under water. They were much weakened on land since they couldn't harvest water mana as efficiently, causing  their Water Magic to weaken drastically.

Just right then, as the Ogres and Orcs were cutting the limbs of the Fishmen, some crying in fright as they accidentally killed their enemies, the water bubbled up and a man larger than Musha, stood up from under the water.

A large, muscular, light blue skinned shark-man with a saw-shaped nose, stomped out of the lake. The man had long, black hair with a widow's peak reaching down to his shoulder. He had a fin on his nape, surrounded by his hair, and gills located on both the sides of his neck.

[Arlong - Shark Human - Level 280]

It was a face and name he was familiar with, but he doubted it was the guy he was thinking it was. Whichever God made this world was clearly inspired by some good stuff.

With a battle cry, the man who stood at least 15 feet, swung his long saw-blade at an Ogre, that [Level 198] woman from before. She blocked the attack with her forearms, which started to bleed red, but Arlong attacked again. 

Neji motioned Musha immediately, who dashed and swung her shining metallic thorny club  at Arlong. That weapon was what he gifted her a while ago,

It was a weapon which doubled the attack power if poured enough Mana. The technique that she used to coat her weapon and fist with crackling white lightning was the most suitable for this.

The club shone bright, Arlong turned, and Mursha’s weapon hit him in the neck.

The fishman didn’t even bulge.

Standing a few feet taller than Mursha, he swung his saw at her neck. Mursha blocked it with her club, then superheated the club with her Lightning Magic. With a battle cry, she hit Arlong’s chest and this time, he took a step back. 

Neji leapt down right then.

Kurai transformed into her Divine Beast form and swung her claws at the other enemies, taking their lives. She should level up too, though she was restricted to only 10 kills by Neji.

Neji blasted his legs in the air and burst forward in a fast motion, his hand coated his shockwaves this time. Golden rings of shockwaves left his hand and hit Fishman, who grumbled and turned to shoot a look at Neji.

Neji would have preferred to wear his armour here, but it was being repaired by Gara after the intense battle in USJ. But he still had some spare armour, even though they are far from the level of his [Moon Knight Armour]. 

The emerald [Armour of the Failed Knight] materialised on his body, and he struck his spear forward at the Fishman’s back. Unexpectedly, the weapon didn’t penetrate him like tofu, and instead only entered halfway through before Arlong turned and kicked at Neji’s face.

Neji stumbled from the air, almost falling to the lake where a few Fishmen was waiting to devour any unfortunate soul, before blasting off in the air again. 

Mursha attacked Arlong’s lowered guard, her thorny club hitting him between his legs, as he groaned and yelled in pain. Neji almost felt second hand pain, but he continued attacking.

The Fish-human was strong, very much so. He doubted if he’d be able to beat him alone, or even with Kurai. The chance was higher with Mursha, but there were concerning things.

Mana can be used in many ways in this world, not just magic. A person who has enough Level can use the mana to enforce their bodies, such as make their punches stronger, and make their bodies harder. Arlong was most likely doing both. That’s why Mursha’s each attacks that were enough to take out [700 HP] of Neji barely damaged the fish.

Mursha stumbled back, Arlong’s punch hitting her in the stomach, but Neji took this chance to hit the man in his spine, his <Tremor> coated blow weakening the density of the bone by extreme vibration, as he took the chance to put a knee on his back.

Arlong fell on his knees with a yell, and Mursha’s club gleaned red and orange. She swung it at the fish’s skull, and Neji kneed him at his neck. 

With Arlong not enforcing his skull and neck because of the sudden pain, that Neji could see with his EL as multiple choices of attack on his neck and skull had popped up a second ago, Arlong’s skull dented and his neck snapped, and his body stiffened.

He wasn’t dead yet.

Neji motioned Mursha to not attack and told her to watch his back instead. 

Neji immediately struck at Arlong’s neck again, this time pouring all his Stamina into it. The circle of Tremor vibrated so hard that even he felt pain, but he could only see a notification saying his Shockwave Resistance had levelled up before his first hit Arlong and flung him far in the air with an explosive force.

Immediately, multiple notifications popped up in his vision.

[You have killed an opponent multiple levels higher than you!]

[You have gained 9 billion exp!]

[You have levelled up!]

[You have levelled up!]

[You have levelled up!]

[You have reached level 104!]

Neji already got 1 level when he killed the 10 rebelling Orcs and Ogres a few hours ago, and now 3 more.

Though he was a bit sad. He had thought a level 280 would give more than 10 levels, but even Muscular gave him 5 billion exp. This guy was indeed stronger than Muscular, but so was Neji. With his levels higher than before, he needed more exp to level up.

He also got un-nerfed. The "You will level up twice as fast." It was surely applying. Meaning, if not for this, he would have only gained 2 levels.

Still. Arlong wasn’t the only enemy.

He snapped his head back as the other Fishmen, even the two Sirens he had met before, stared at Arlong’s body with shocked and rage filled eyes. They roared, and the few enemies waiting underwater also jumped out.

Neji took in a breath and kicked at them. They were all his. This was only one of the 5 Savepoints. After hunting down the other 3, and even the whole southern jungle, he will get many levels. Moreover… he had 9 more levels. This year, he might actually reach Level 300.

Neji’s spear sliced his enemies down, their lifeforce being sucked in by him, making him stronger than ever. He killed the enemies with a cold expression, green and red blood splattering on his cheeks as he did so.

It took him 7 minutes, with his army’s help to kill them all. And after that…

[You have reached level 110!]

He was already level 110. More than 60 enemies, half of them beyond level 100, was enough to push him into level 110. He could feel his muscles tighter than before, as he sighed while leaning against the wall.

This Tower… would help him grow.  Grow enough to make sure his plans go smoothly. This would be his grind for the near future.

For now…? He had to focus on the Sports Festival. He needed to focus on getting strong companions, too.

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Author’s Note: 5 chapters for the Tower Dungeon. Next will be UA again. Though I want to know if you guys are interested in more detailed Dungeon chapters like these or not. 

[Image in this chapter]