Thanks to this unexpected boost from slaying a villainous level 2 adventurer, Neme was that much closer to reaching his desired state to perform a level up.
Deciding that there was no time like the present he geared up and set forth into the dungeon, to gain additional points but also to avoid the chaos that was beginning to take place on the surface.
But even if he were to get the desired 1050 remaining points in this one single dive, he would still stick with the plan to continue diving
Unlike a regular adventurer, he could after all perform his rank up on the spot, increasing his level to 2, and immediately starting to farm points once his status was return to 0.
Thankfully perhaps because of the Chaos about a god being slain, or just from the fact he was a regular civilian without a Falna, his entrance into the dungeon was unimpeded and passed by without notice.
If anyone dared to question him on his whereabout during the time of the crime he could just answer with 'Hunting in the dungeon'.
Using his maxed out Level 1 stats he began to run racing through the upper floors, until he finally reached the last of the Upper Floors, the twelth floor, a floor covered in a thicker coating of white mist compared to the earlier eleventh.
The monsters calling this floor home were the Hard Armoureds, and Silverbacks with Infant Dragons being the role of the Floor Boss.
Big relatively slowmovine (for him) monsters, perfect targets for his trusty Warhammer.
Dang
Dang
Dang
Smash after smash resounded throughout the floor, such that if one closed their eyes and imagined being in a workshop watching a smith beat out a new sword they'd believe it.
Meanwhile passing adventurers who witnessed the sight gave him a wide berth, not wanting to get caught up in the killing field presented before them.
Seen as the final test for Level 1 adventurer parties, these monster were nothing but training materials and fodder to provide him with Mana stone and drops.
At first he had to hunt them down one by one, before encountering a pack of Silverbacks, then seeing his predatory actions once more the Dungeon became to respond in kind, sending waves of monsters against him only to be beat back time and again.
Even a Monster Parade was called forth from the 'Pantry' of the twelth floor to remove this pesky interloper, only to give Neme the greatest feast of points yet.
There were hundreds of points rolling into his status screen and yet his endurance persisted only a slight bit of fatigue weighing down his shoulders as he continued to wage all out war with the 12th floor monsters.
At least until the tide finally started to ebb.
The dungeon had conceded defeat, entering a state of recovery to build up the required nutrients to spawn new monsters.
Thankfully this break was perfect for Neme as well.
He could finally step back, not only to collect his small mountain of drop items but also take a look at his status.
And doing so he saw the one line he was waiting to see.
[Unused Stat Points: 1450]
That meant he had not only reached the number of points required to maximize his status at this level, but also had cleared the maximum number of points he could farm from this floor.
Not trusting the level up from his system, Neme moved away from the Pantry, and headed for the stairs leading up to the 11th floor.
The reason being, the stairways were readily trafficked so there would be other adventurers there for protection, on top of the fact that monsters never ascended or descended from their floors without adventurer assistance.
Getting there didn't take him long at all, and after eating a simple dried meat to settle his stomach, he pulled up his status, using 1250 points to maximize his Magic stat, seeing the parameter read out Magic: EX 2000.
Which brought a smile to his face, what came next was mentally selecting the option [Level Up] located in the status screen.
His status screen vanished from his sight but was replaced with a cool sensation, almost like he was being dipped into a cold pool.
The feeling radiating up his body starting at his toes before culminating at his head, where it slowly dissipated leaving behind a feeling of calm.
Figuring whatever was needing to be done was done, he called up his system once more.
[Status]
Name: Nemesis (Neme)
Level: 1->2
Strength: I 0 <- EX 2000
Endurance: I 0 <- EX 2000
Dexterity: I 0 <-EX 2000
Agility: I 0 <-EX 2000
Magic: I 0 <-EX 2000
Development Ability: [+]
Skill:
Magic:
Curses: 728:43:17
Unused Stat Points: 250
Looking at his new screen, it was clear he had indeed leveled up, he was now a level two.
And all his stats had returned to I 0 at least for this developmental stage, but secretly he still had the original 2,000 points in each category just imprinted on his soul.
Then there was the remaining 250 stat points he'd earned but was unable to use before.
Only in comparison to before, these points were worth a whole lot more now.
Cumulative growth was a thing here after all.
When level 1 each stat point was exactly that just one point.
But at level 2 if his base strength was 2000 from his pooled level one status, then adding a single point to his level 2 status would be the same as adding two points.
Once he reached his peak as a Level 2, his power would be 4x that of a regular level 2.
His power easily comparable if not surpassing mid-to-high level 3 adventurers.
Still intending to hunt further crossing into the first of the middle floors, Neme invested his points into Endurance, needing to increase his defence against the greater threats and fire wielding forces of the middle floors.
Then his attention moved to the second thing of note on his status.
The [+] that showed in the new row for his development abilities.