Chapter 150

Chapter 150

Gradually, my muscles loosen. All my skills deactivate, and I shift my focus to the peculiar surroundings. Meanwhile, the red-haired man maintains his pleasant smile, seemingly unaffected by my flashy arrival.

"My name is Rylan by the way. If you're making an entrance like that, this must be your first time on the 10th floor."

"I'm Jay. It is my first time..."

After I reply, the ginger-haired man begins to walk down the light grey stone pathway toward the small cluster of shops and merchant stands.

Curiously, I follow. He continues talking as we pass by the first vendor, an older gentleman offering to buy mana crystals from the floors below.

"Usually it takes Hunters at least 24 hours to make it up to floor 10. It doesn't matter your level or abilities, the distance is just way too far!"

I nod while eyeing the inventory of the next merchant stand we walk by. There's food, water, potions, clothing, and even basic non-magical medicines.

Rylan continues.

"Floor 10 is the checkpoint where most logical hunters stop before traveling up or down any further. It's the perfect place to rest."

We pass a few more stands buying and selling various goods, then my temporary dungeon guide grins while pointing to our left. There's 2 men and a woman training with swords, daggers, and shields in a field about 50m off the path.

"Those are my teammates over there. We're headed to floor 16 to farm High Ogres tomorrow morning. The 4 of us have been training pretty hard these last few months, we might even face the boss soon and take a crack at floor 17."

I use inspect on the man in front of me.

[Lv. 329]Witness the debut of this chapter, unveiled through Ñôv€l--B1n.

Then turn to his teammates.

[Lv. 331]

[Lv. 327]

[Lv. 326]

I reply.

"Hey- uh- why exactly are you giving me a tour...?

Rylan laughs.

"I was a newbie once too! I'm just paying it forward, it's nice to have someone show you around the place, isn't it? Old habit, I used to be a teacher."

I smirk and roll my eyes, letting out a sarcastic response.

"You've got nothing better to do, huh?"

He throws his arm around my shoulder, ignoring my remark.

"Come on, this way!"

As we approach the Inn at the end of the long stone pathway I quickly turn my head to Appraise Rylan and his teammate to realize a few simple facts...

First, they have pretty decent weapons and armor. Some 30-50% stat-boosting items along with 300+ stat-boosting gear aren't anything to laugh at. The unfortunate discovery lies in their set of skills.

Among them, two possess the ability of Body Hardening, enhancing their physical defenses. The red-haired leader of the group has Swordsmanship. Then finally, the short-haired woman in their party possesses Dagger Mastery.

They're useful skills, but pretty basic. It makes a lot more sense now how training for months only allows them to jump one floor in the Labyrinth. There is nothing special about their squad....

I turn my head all the way around to get a full Appraisal of nearly a dozen hunters in the shopping area.

____________

[Lv. 461]

Active Items:

[Ring of Protection] +50% Defense

[Enchanted Ring of Quickness] +65% Speed

[Enchanted Ring of Agility] +65% Agility

[Enchanted Platinum Ring] +70% Strength

[Enchanted Platinum Necklace] +70% Mental Strength

[Enchanted Dark Elf Boots] +70% Speed

[Amulet of The Hydra] +75% Mental Strength +75% Water Summoning Strength

Active Skills:

Combat Magic [Advanced Water Summoning]

Swordsmanship [Legendary Grade]

____________

A grin of my own finally creeps across my face. This is the first unique hunter I've seen all day.

He strides towards us, his gaze briefly meeting Rylan's before he rolls his eyes directing his attention to the innkeeper.

"Hey Conway, get me a drink, then I'm going back to sleep. Wake me up if a kid named Jay comes in anytime soon, I'm supposed to meet one of the new Association recruits and help him on his suicide mission to the 20th floor."

The Innkeeper lets out a sigh, then pours the rude hunter a glass of hard alcohol with a smile.

I clench my jaw and stay quiet, trying to figure out what exactly is going on here...

Why does this guy know my name, and why has he been here waiting for me...?

Mr. Conway hands over the freshly made drink and replies.

"Good morning to you too Fisher, there's actually a-"

The arrogant hunter snatches the drink from the Inn Keeper's hand, cutting him off mid-sentence to gulp down the full shot of golden brown liquid, then letting out a refreshing gasp.

"Thanks, old man."

He flips a silver coin in his direction while placing the empty glass back on the counter and starts walking away. Before stepping back up the wooden stairs, he turns to look at me.

"What are you staring at? You new here or something?"

"Yeah, I just got-"

He cuts me off while turning around and walking over with a sly grin.

"The name's Fisher. It must have been your loud mouth that woke me up! What's your name anyways?"

The blue-haired man raises an eyebrow with an angered expression as I respond.

"I'm Jay... Nice to meet you."