CHAPTER 91: LEVEL UP!

Since Charlotte’s mana had recovered and Max was also refreshed, they decided to start their hunt once again.

They finished up with their work which took almost an hour, in which Stelle decided to give her body a little rest.

Then, the three of them once again went deeper in the dungeon, looking for monsters.

They wanted to set up their bait again, but a little closer this time since they had already cleared many of the hounds closer to the entrance.

Even if they met any hounds now, they would most likely be revived version of the tree, meaning they wouldn’t provide them any monsters cores.

So, they weren’t their priority target.

Still, Max wanted to hunt atleast one of them to check if he could get EXP from them. He tried asking Kafka again but she was busy watching another TV show.

So, he could only check by hunting down those hounds.

Since he wasn’t sure, he asked Charlotte to wait before she used her Isolation Spell. If he wasn’t getting any exp, then there was no more reason for them to continue hunting there.

Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait long before they encountered their first Duskmaw Hound, who began growling the moment they stepped into it’s detection range.

"Let me handle it!"

Saying that, Max jumped in the fight with two dark daggers forming in his hand. His eyes flashed with a ruthless glint as he met the hound head-on.

Leveling up increased over all stats and then people could relocate them using their Mana. That relocation could decide the future allocation of their stats.

Since Max was mostly focusing on going the mage and warrior path to become the ultimate Guardian, his mana pool also increased by every level.

It wasn’t as big as Charlotte’s but it was still enough for him to sustain the constant usage of Everform.

All of a sudden, the hound appeared before him with it’s maw wide open, showing it’s dark mouth that seemed to devour the whole world.

Max didn’t back off and simply plunged his dagger right into the hound’s mouth, making it confused.

Before it could understand what happened, Max activated his Phasing Skill, turning his hand and dagger incorporeal as they passed through the hound’s body as if it was just a hologram.

Though, in reality, it was the opposite.

Max was faster than ever and his attack passed through all the hound’s body, reaching It’s back where the runes were carved.

Just then, his skill ended and his hand materialized along with his dagger. With the amount of his strength he put it in his arm, the sheer impact shattered the hound’s spine along with the runes.

In one full sweep, the hound lost it’s unusual luster and fell on the sides as Max retracted his arm.

Just then, a notification sounded in his mind, making his lips curl up.

[You have slain a Early-Stage Second Order Monster. Gained 5 EXP.]

’Wait! What?’ Max got confused hearing the notification.

He was already pretty upset because his EXP dropped to 10 from 20 and now it went even further down to 5? What the hell?

[You don’t expect to get same EXP on some random who have been brought back to life by another random.]

’Does that means it’ll decrease even more the next time they get spawn?’

[Yup! They’ll lose the energy that binds them to the dungeon every time they get..the rebirth. It’ll be resetted along with the Labyrinth Reset though.]

’I see! Well, can’t do anything then!’

Max sighed in defeat and checked the hound for any mana shards. While he knew the results already, checking once more didn’t hurt anyone.

As expected, he found nothing so he stood up and went back to his companions.

"I can get the mana from them but it’s half so the progress will be much slower," Max said in all honesty. "And there’s no Mana Shards in them. So, what do you wanna do?"

He could still stay there and hunt more hounds for more EXP. Even if it was small, it was still something that would allow him to level up.

But Charlotte and Stelle would just waste their time since they wouldn’t gain anything and there wasn’t any real danger from the hounds.

Understanding his intentions, Stelle pointed her hammer at him and said, "I freeloaded before so I am now returning the favour. I’ll help you."

"We can cut time short if we fight together as I’m sure you can’t take many hounds simultaneously," Charlotte said. "Beside, once you level up, you’ll become a better bait."

Max nodded, not wanting to reject their suggestions as it was the best case scenario. He was just asking for their opinions before.

From then on, the cohort moved deeper, following Max who had already researched many paths of the dungeon when he was searching for the hounds.

The labyrinth always changed the position of monsters, but the dungeon wasn’t capable of doing that so the monster respawned in the same place he remembered.

Reaching the group of five Duskmaw Hounds, Max smiled and launched his attack followed by Stelle.

They didn’t use bait this time because their enemies were not that strong and they could actually take them on as a group.

In just a few minutes, they easily defeated the five hounds, making Max’s mind buzz with the notifications.

He glanced at his EXP bar and muttered, ’Six done. Six more to go!’

He quickly rummaged his memories to find the best place for another hunt and led his cohort there.

It was a mini hall where a total of seven hound gathered together. It would be hard to deal with them even with their new strength, especially because of their Runepact.

Still, they weren’t going to back down now so they attacked the hounds by choosing to strike at their specific range.

While they couldn’t fight all of them together, it didn’t mean Max couldn’t use his tricks to defeat them one by one.

Just like before, Stelle provided the additional damage while Charlotte provided the support and Max dealt with all the last blows.

After he had killed the sixth Duskmaw Hound, he heard a pleasant voice whispering in his mind.

It made his lips curl up in a silly grin that made Stelle wonder what he was thinking.

[[You have slain a Early-Stage Second Order Monster. Gained 5 EXP.]

[You have slain a Early-Stage Second Order Monster. Gained 5 EXP.]

[You have slain a Early-Stage Second Order Monster. Gained 5 EXP.]

.

.

.

[You have slain a Early-Stage Second Order Monster. Gained 5 EXP.]

[You have leveled up!]

He almost moaned at the sudden warmth spreading throughout his body, affecting ever single cell in his body and even his mind.

His mana pool grew, his strength in his muscles grew and he could feel himself being faster than ever, not just in combat speed but also reaction speed.

His senses were also strengthened, giving him a new view of the world around him.

Max closed his eyes and sat down, relishing in the marvelous feeling. Not every level gave this feeling to him, after all.

He forgot about everything as he knew Charlotte and Stelle were there to guard him. For now, he should just focus on his new strength.

As he felt that mana in his body, he realised it was flowing much faster than before and it was also much denser.

Sadly, he still haven’t gotten any new skill that was suited for him. So, his progression only included pure raw strength and changes in mana.

But that was fine as well.

Max had his combat techniques to accompany his growth.

He spent a few minutes just getting familiar with his new strength, especially Mana flow so that he didn’t mess up in next battles.

After that, he woke up and directly engaged in a fight with the remaining hound while ignoring his companions.

They probably understood his intentions as they backed away, giving him enough space to fight the hound to his content while keeping an eye for other monsters.

They were also paying close attention to his battle, which made their mind numb. They still couldn’t believe how fast he adapted to everything.

As first, he slipped in many places, getting almost bitten to death by the hound. But as the battle progressed, he began to take the upper hand, making little to no mistake.

They realised that he could have killed the hound easily but he was fighting it to get adapted to his new strength.

"No matter how many times I see this, I still can’t believe it," Stelle said. "Just how much of a Monster is this guy."

"Isn’t it good for you?" Charlotte teased her. "The stronger he is, the better future you’ll have."

Instead of getting flustered like usual, Stelle sighed and said, "Big Sis, that also means he’s going to attract monsters like him towards him. Don’t you think I’m way too ordinary compared to other woman? He probably won’t even choose me."

"Haha! I think you’ll do just fine," Charlotte laughed and patted her head. "I know my Stelle can win anyone’s heart."