"Are rune stones so fragile that they break just after a light touch?"
A cold sweat rolled down Alexander's forehead. He glanced at everyone's backs, imagining what they'd do to him if they found out what had happened.
"What a mess!"
He was kicking himself as hard as he could, but no matter what he did the rune stone was gone.
There was already some tension between them.
Although Alexander wasn't sure where that tension came from, he knew it would only increase if Chris found out his precious skill was missing.
"Damn it… I'm finally done for,"
he muttered under his breath, sighing as he patted his own shoulders.
"Well, Alex… this is as far as we go. Though I consider myself brave, and can stand in the face of danger, I've been a weakling all my life. I guess I'm going to go out as one too.
I can't beat these guys, and I can't pay them off for that rune stone either. What am i going to do?"
Chris glanced back suspiciously, concerned as to why Alexander seemed to be lagging behind. He shouted,
"Try to keep up, Alexaaander. Is this the result of all those pushups you did?" He scoffed. "Pathetic. You're lucky we need you for something."
Alexander barely registered the insult. His heart had already dropped so far into his stomach he felt sick.
If there had been a hole nearby, one without monsters, he would've gladly crawled in and stayed there.
Just when he thought things couldn't possibly get worse, a few essence stones slipped from the overstuffed bag and clattered onto the cavern floor.
His hands were too full to keep a good grip. Struggling with all the weight, and the fear of getting left behind, he quickly bent down to pick them up,
and,
they shattered.
Just like the rune stone, the essence stones broke apart in his palms, releasing a warm glow of energy that rushed through his body.
"Oh my goodness, what have I done?"
He waved his hand over the spot, as if the stones were somehow hiding in the folds of space, but, they were gone. It didn't matter how much he stared at the spot.
Wiping sweat from his face, he reached back into the bag to count the remaining stone and..another essence stone cracked between his fingers.
For some unexplainable reason, all the team's valuable loot they had entrusted him with, were suddenly allergic to his touch. Smashing upon contact.
Ding!
The familiar chime of the system rang in his ears as a blue panel appeared before him.
[Level Up!]
• HP restored to max
• MP restored to max
• Physical fatigue reset to zero
• Small increase in each base stat
• +3 assignable stat points
Alexander froze. Energy surged through him, washing away the exhaustion from carrying all that weight.
He felt refreshed.
"What… Level up, what does that even mean?"
he muttered, opening his status page.
Alexander did a doubletake when he noticed, all of his stats had risen slightly.
[ Status Window
Level: Unknown
Job/Class: Mana Conductor
Title: None
STR: 12
AGI: 12
Vitality: 10
Intelligence: 9
Luck: -15
Perception: 28
"Negative fifteen Luck? Yeah… sounds about right," he mumbled bitterly.
But what really caught his eye wasn't the rank—it was the class name glowing faintly under his level.
[Mana Conductor]
"What kind of class is that? I've never even heard of it."
He rubbed his chin as a thought began to form.
"Essence stones are valuable because they conduct mana energy that can practically power a whole city. But if my class is literally 'Mana Conductor...' that must be why I can absorb them directly."
He gasped.
"Essence stones are made of mana and I can use them to level up!"
The idea hit him like a school bus.
Everything about hunters revolved around mana. Their power, weapons, even dungeon cores.
If his class let him absorb mana itself, then his growth potential wasn't just high—it was limitless.
"Everyone stop."
Vermin's usually cold tone sounded. Alexander was startled. He looked up, only to see, he was way way behind, still engrossed in the system stats. He just smiled sheepishly when he noticed the gazes.
"Our friend here is tired, why don't we take a break as we'll soon be approaching the boss room. Everyone get some rations and recover your strength."
Chris, Baxter, Merlin, Lana, Rufus and Victor, every one of them adopted relieved expressions.
Chris walked over to Alexander who was still spacing out.
He stretched his hands to reach in the bag for a ration when Alexander suddenly jumped back in fear. Chris flinched for a second and then narrowed his eyes.
"Hey! What's your problem?"
He sneered.
"You better watch yourself before you go sooner than you should."
Alexander rubbed the back of his neck.
"Ughh, um..I'm sorry I was just thinking..you shouldn't be reaching for rations when I'm already here —I can do that. Let me help you guys out too."
Chris didn't respond, he only looked on as Alexander retrieved the items and shared them among the party members.
Baxter lifted his hands up creating a piece sign.
"Thirty thousand dollars... how about hun.. that should be enough."
He was glancing at Chris but the he only got a sneer in response.
"Yeah right, you must think I'm an amateur.
That's probably a great offensive spell i won't sell it so low. I'll take it to the auction house and make some real big bucks."
Alexander had just sat down, his mind racing by the fact that Vermin and his crew could take off time to rest, but not to explain this strange gate to him.
Then, Chris and Baxter's conversation drifted over.
His eyes dilated when he realized they were talking about the rune stone.
He shot up with a huff.
"Ughh...guys i take we should start going. This dungeon could collapse at any time now."
The group's protest was stopped by Vermin's compliance, although Alexander figured Vermin had agreed so he wouldn't suspect anything. They actually thought he was so dumb.
He was but not as much as they assumed.
Chris on the other hand suspected something was wrong. Alexander was acting weird and nervous, but he couldn't figure it out. So they soon resumed walking.
Alexander watched their backs while opening up the system panel again. He still hadn't decided where to put his Attribute points.
So, instead of overthinking it, he made a decision.
Think about it, if you had stat points and attributes like strength, agility, mana and other attributes where would you apply those points first.
Without hesitation, Alexander dumped all his available stat points into Strength, watching the number rise from 12 to 18.
A spark of excitement flared in his chest. Then he spotted the remaining essence stones in the bag, glowing faintly.
A dangerous thought crossed his mind.it was indeed very tempting.
"I might as well absorb the rest. They probably have something sinister planned for me anyway. And if I'm wrong, well… I'll just deal with prison—or debt—later."
He quickened his pace to keep up with the group, carefully breaking the remaining essence stones one by one.
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
Power rushed through him again, filling his muscles with heat and strength. His hands trembled, not from fear, but from the intoxicating rush of energy.
He could've sold those stones for a small fortune. He didn't have a job, but right now, strength was worth far more.
Just as the last notification faded, the group heard a cry of death, guttural and bone chilling. Expressions changed and no one took another step.
The sound, though familiar, was heavier and way deeper than before—like the growl of hunger, far more menacing than any of the Lycans they'd faced.
A creature with twisted features and unnatural proportions stepped out of the shadows.
Above its head, crimson letters burned:
[Steel-Fanged Lycan — Boss Monster]