Chương 8: B1 | Chapter 8

Aidan It takes me a while, but I finally manage to finish clearing out the large room of bats. With quite a bit of struggle along the way. But despite that, I only manage to bring my Class to level twelve after killing the second alpha in the very end. Leaving this one till after taking out the smaller bats, unlike the first alpha that I almost ended up forced to fight with the small ones. It all ends up being pretty worth it though as I look through the messages I've got built up.

[Level 15 Cave Dweller Alpha has been slain. Appropriate source mana has been allocated.] [User's Class, Void Devourer, has reached level 12. User's stats have risen by the following amounts: +2 Physical, +2 Magical, +2 Mind, +2 Soul.] ◊*New Class Skill*◊ [Void Pit(Rare) – Grants the Void Devourer the power to summon forth a pit of void mana that devours mana that enters it. This skill is limited by the amount of void mana used to form the pit.] ◊*New Class Skill*◊ ◊ Congratulations for gaining your first magic skill! Inputting knowledge of the skill known as 'Mana Manipulation' into your mind! ◊ I immediately feel a splitting headache appear, just like when I got identify. Then I find a new skill's description appearing in my vision. [Mana Manipulation – This is a skill used to manipulate mana. It is necessary in order to directly interact with the mana in the air and in a user's body.] A grin spreads across my face after seeing the magic skill. Magic!

Finally! When something unbelievable like a System coming to Earth happens, you expect to be able to use magic. It's just what you expect. Not that I've been disappointed in any of my other skills – except maybe the gaze skill since it's kinda useless right now – but magic is magic. With that in mind, I try to use the new Mana Manipulation skill to control magic. And realize I have no idea how to do that despite the knowledge being there. Damn useless System.

I frown at that thought before beginning to plop down onto the ground for a break now that the two big bats are dead and the cavern is cleared. Only to be rather surprised when I hear something hitting the stone ground, making me turn around to see a large chest having appeared. Huh. Boss loot, perhaps? Were those alpha bats bosses, then? Also, if that's the case, then what's with the three tunnels? Is there more past the bosses? Or were those just some sort of mini bosses?

I frown while tilting my head and looking between the paths for a few seconds. Then I eventually just shrug and walk over to the chest. Which opens automatically when I get close enough, revealing two things inside of it. The first is a pair of gauntlets with claws on the ends. And the second thing is an orb just like the stones I've been using to decrease my hunger. Except that this one is about ten times as big.

Not to mention that I feel hungry just from the sight of it despite just having devoured the alpha's source mana. Descriptions appear above both items. [Iron Tier Mana Core – The core from a meager Iron Tier creature that may be used as a power source for certain items.] [Gauntlets of the Bold(Common) – A pair of gauntlets awarded to the bold who challenge themselves through tackling the hard difficulty of the Tutorial. These gauntlets mimic whatever skills the user may have related to claws and applies the skills to the gauntlets' metal claws. Wearing them also grants the wearer 3 points in Physical.] Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Huh. Those gauntlets look pretty good. Even with their common rarity. Too bad I can't use them. The things will turn into regular gauntlets without any effects if I wear them. After I finish devouring their source mana, that is. A shame.

I reach down to grab the gauntlets, only for my eyes to widen as I stumble in place from the sheer amount of source mana in them. Far more source mana than even the alpha monsters had. Come to think of it, the source mana in that chair I was sitting on in the Guide's office gave me an entire level's worth of source mana. And it was just a freaking chair. Does that mean items have more source mana than monsters? Or do the monsters just lose some of their source mana upon death? I have no idea.

Either way, I feel the source mana in the gauntlets rapidly drain into my body. Completely ridding me of my current hunger without leaving a single trace behind. Even after that, I still feel the source mana coming in like a broken dam. Before long, I find both my Class and my Profession leveling up again. [User's Profession, Void Creator, has reached level 11. User's stats have risen by the following amounts: +1 Mind, +1 Soul.] [User's Class, Void Devourer, has reached level 13. User's stats have risen by the following amounts: +2 Physical, +2 Magical, +2 Mind, +2 Soul.] Eventually the flow of source mana ends, leaving me with a regular pair of gauntlets in my hands instead of incredibly shiny ones from before. And I no longer see the item description on them either. Well these are useless now. I would normally use them anyway, but that would block my claws skill. Considering what the item's description said. With the whole 'skill effects applying to the gauntlets' claws' thing.

Now that they're regular non-System gauntlets, that probably won't happen anymore. I let out a sigh before tossing the gauntlets and reaching for the orb instead. Only to find the orb having even more source mana than the gauntlets had. Hell yeah! So I sit down and digest the source mana from the orb for a while. Giving me another pair of level-ups in the process. [User's Profession, Void Creator, has reached level 12. User's stats have risen by the following amounts: +1 Mind, +1 Soul.] ◊*New Profession Skill*◊ [Void Soul Creation(Epic) – Grants the Void Creator the power to create souls of void creatures. The power of the soul is equivalent to the amount of mana and source mana used to create it.] ◊*New Profession Skill*◊ [User's Class, Void Devourer, has reached level 14. User's stats have risen by the following amounts: +2 Physical, +2 Magical, +2 Mind, +2 Soul.] I let out a yawn at some point before shaking my head and continuing to devour the source mana in the orb.

All the way until I get another level in my Profession. [User's Profession, Void Creator, has reached level 13. User's stats have risen by the following amounts: +1 Mind, +1 Soul.] No level in my Class this time though. All the way until I run out of source mana in the orb. Leaving the orb to crack and turn into dust. Free levels. And another skill I don't know how to use. I continue resting for a few more minutes before climbing to my feet. Then I walk over to the rightmost path and walk through it.

Finding a few bats along the way that I kill without any difficulty at all thanks to my level. Eventually I find the path to be a dead-end without anything in it. So I turn back and head to the cavern again. Then I move into the left most path and travel through it as well. Finding more bats along the way. Except this time I find some sort of roost inside of the cave. At the very back of it to be specific, in the form of a large hole in the wall where I see another alpha bat sleeping.

There aren't any other bats here though, so it's just the alpha. I probably killed off the rest already. With that in mind, I slowly make my way towards the bat before carefully climbing up to its roost. Then I pull my arm back and thrust my claws straight towards the bat's closed eyes. Closed eyes that open mere seconds before my fingers stab into its eyes. Killing the thing after a brief round of screeching. I don't get any levels for it though.

That said, there is an interesting message along with its kill message. [Level 15 Cave Dweller Alpha has been slain. Appropriate source mana has been allocated.] ◊ Congratulations! You have killed all of the monsters in the floor! ◊ Nice. That means I don't have to go looking for any others to get more points. It also means there won't be any monsters in the middle path. I turn around right as the sound of something hitting the floor echoes from the center of the cavern. Which I quickly find to be another chest.

More levels- err, I mean loot? I quickly walk over to the chest before finding a pair of boots in the chest. [Boots of the Bold(Uncommon) – A pair of boots awarded to the bold who challenge themselves through tackling the hard difficulty of the Tutorial. These boots mimic whatever skills the user may have related to feet. Wearing them also grants the wearer 2 points in Physical.] Looks like that's more levels for me. I grab the boots before frowning at them as I realize they could actually be useful.

Even without the System Item effects. So I switch my tennis shoes out for the boots. Because boots will probably be more helpful than my old, slightly worn out and now damaged from battle shoes. Even if they don't have any effects. And since I don't have any room for old, worn out shoes, I toss them before making my way back to the previous cavern. Then I move on into the central cavern to find some sort of portal at the end now. Looks like I'm finally finished with the first floor.

A smile spreads across my face at that thought, following which I step right into the portal, which is labeled as the floor exit by the System.