Ding!
[You have received "Demon Nest Key" (Floor 21-25)]
Alex surveyed the notification with satisfaction.
Reaching the 20th floor of the Dark Dungeon brought him one step closer to its completion—and nearer to being capable of challenging Tier 5 monsters (level 250).
At this point, the other players could only possibly hope to take out level 70 monsters, yet Alex was already taking out triple that amount.
"Quick," Lilith, the fox princess, urged beside him, her tail flicking anxiously, "I need to return to my clan. They must know what happened here..."
Alex raised a hand, halting her. "Hold on. What about the artifact?"
Lilith paused, the light fading from her eyes.
She didn't answer at first, but he could see the answer within her gaze.
They couldn't hope to challenge the demon tribe at their current power level, not even close.
The demon tribe's weakest clans had legions of at least 10,000 soldiers prepared for battle.
By contrast, her tribe—what remained of it—was fewer than a thousand, a small band of females foxes who stood little chance in open combat. .net
They needed that artifact, no matter what.
"I'll bring more of our people to conquer this place, savior, don't worry about us," Lilith said, though her tone was sad, almost as if she knew it was pointless.
But Alex didn't agree.
"No," he shook his head, and Lilith eyes widened, "Don't worry about, I'll get that artifact."
"Huh?"
"I was planning to get it anyway, so it's fine."
That is a lie, he never knew about such an artifact in his past life, but if it truly existed, then it would immensely help in the future.
Not only would he be able to help the fox tribe, allowing them to fight as they would probably be powerful allies, but he would be able to increase his reputation with them.
"Where is it, exactly?" he asked, "I'll do whatever I can to bring it within a week."
Lilith's eyes filled with tears as she heard that, and she went to embrace Alex.
"Wow, calm down," the man sighed, she was naked, but it didn't bother him, placing one of his hands at the back of her head.
"All we know is that it is at the end of Dark Dungeon, meaning at the 25th floor, maybe it is one of the drop rates of the [Dark Demon], which is the final boss," she finally spoke, unsure of her own words.
"Convenient," he muttered. The final boss would be a powerful gatekeeper for such an item, and the thought of facing it made his blood stir.
"Well, you can always use your [Eyes of the Cursed King], can't you?" Alphox spoke from within the space, this turn of events actually interesting him.
"Never tried them on such a thing, so who knows," Alex shrugged.
"Hm."
"But first, savior, I need to introduce you to my tribe," Lilith suddenly became excited, bouncing up and down.
Alex had a hard time deciding where his eyes should look at, but at the end, after feeling Alice's gaze on his back, he settled on Lilith's face.
"Why didn't you teleport out if you could?" he asked, curious.
If the fox tribe was level 250, then they should be around this area of the map, since the further you went in [Universal Descent], then the higher level everything became.
"Don't worry," Alex smirked, "You'll soon get much stronger, Alphox."
Alphox growled with a grudging before going back to his shadow space, "Good."
Then, another voice—powerful, echoing in his mind—spoke.
"You're overlooking another means of strength," boomed the voice of the Undead King. This time, he materialized above Alex, startling Lilith.
"AAAAH-!" Lilith reacted instantly, stumbling down, "U-Undead King!"
It seemed that even she knew of him.
"You know of this old bastard?" Alex pointed at the king above him.
"W-Who doesn't? How did you manage to get him on your side?!"
"Long story short, he beat him, and using a soul contract, the king became his servant," Alice laughed, helping Lilith up as she was used to such sights when she was with Alex.
"W-Wow!" Lilith's eyes sparkled, impressed by Alex's strength even more than she already was, "You truly are the savior!"
"Glad to meet expectations," Alex said dryly. "Anyway, King, what was that you were saying?"
"There's another way for you to become stronger besides equipment, skills and that stupid dragon."
"Hey."
"And what is it?" Alex ignored Alphox's intervention.
"The Undead," the King's mouth opened, and his aura expanded, filling the room with its overpowering presence, even making Alice and Lilith take a step back.
The King was overjoyed by the idea of having HIS undead become stronger.
Alex's undead were his, so there was no reason to hold back any information regarding that.
"Care to explain how?" Alex asked, crossing his arms. "Aside from just leveling up my talent, of course."
His Undead minions had been loyal, but if there was a way to empower them further, it would bolster his fighting force substantially.
The Undead King considered it briefly.
"You'll discover the means in time," he replied dismissively, clearly more intent on making the statement than elaborating on it.
He just wanted to inform Alex of that possibility.
"Well, thank you anyway, I guess," Alex groaned as he looked back at the fox girl, "I'm finished."
Lilith looked genuinely shaken by the immense allies Alex commanded: undead minions, a [Primordial Dragon], and now the [Undead King]?
Lilith nodded, and her hand went to the pendant around her throat, her expression turning solemn.
She muttered an incantation, one that was unintelligible to Alex and Alice, yet thrumming with a powerful, primal magic.
The pendant glowed, casting a brilliant light throughout the room.
Ding!
[You are being teleported to "Fox Tribe Village".]
The dungeon walls around them faded away, and suddenly, they found themselves in a vast clearing under a star-filled sky.
The air was cool and fresh, and Alex noticed they were now standing at the heart of an ancient forest.
All around them, fox-kin began to appear, their curious, suspicious gazes fixated on the newcomers.