He slowly arched his back.
"I really need to roll some sword mastery skill." He muttered under his breath,
Wizard Apprentices were usually more focused on spells than their physical bodies, sure their physical bodies grew leaner and better with each rank-up but most of them couldn't even throw a damn punch.
Klaus held his sword properly with one hand and swung it sideways, committing to the strike fully and carving the slime completely.
He let the sword go as the slime was killed and all that remained was its residue and a singular small core that looked like a stone.
He dragged himself upward while holding the core.
'She said I needed to kill 20 monsters… doesn't that mean I can just kill 20 slimes?' Klaus thought. That would be a great way to bypass the whole thing. 'Now how much is this worth?'
「The worth of a Tier 0 Slime's core is at 0.5 bronze coin. Note: This price can fluctuate in places that lack monsters」
'Hm?' He thought as he pocketed it and picked up his sword.
Killing slimes simply wouldn't do… while he had a lot of extra money now, he wanted to buy the herbs for increasing magic power and reserves and besides adventuring needed to fetch it's fair share of money.
'And I also need to move to a new apartment, preferably an inn for some privacy.'
He really had a lot of things to do.
He slowly walked forward… the floor was so wide that one could barely run into other Adventurers, there were things like pillars in between and not to mention the monsters roaming around, besides not many people loved the second floor of the Galen Dungeon due to the relatively weak monsters that could be found here.
"Well… anytime now, a rich noble lady that's being chased by monsters should come running into my hands for help." He muttered while placing a hand on his hips.
If he were the Protagonist then that would happen… however all he got was about three direwolves dragging the body of an elven adventurer by the head, his face was pale and devoid of blood… It was clear that he had already died and the Direwolves were focused on him.
"Okay." He took a deep breath, he was not a fool.
He barely had good physique, why would he battle them with his hands when he wasn't a warrior?
His storage ring glowed instead and alongside the single sword which was already in his hand, the three more floated out and clattered to the ground around him.
They had already been pushed to Maximum sharpness with the help of Polish and then just as the wolves let go of the corpse, he gritted his teeth and drew upon the spell.
However he realized something… he didn't know how to use spells, wasn't there supposed to be a chant or something?
The first dire wolf ran in his direction while baring it's fangs at him and he flinched.
'Magnetic Field.' He thought and there was this feeling… of something being rapidly drained out of his body, however the area around him vibrated a bit and then one of the swords on the ground shot upward like a flag and pierced into the Dire wolf that had just jumped up from underneath it's jaw, a spray of blood erupting as it came out above the head.
The Dire wolf fell and the sword came out. After the initial mana spent, the spell didn't draw any more mana and he stroked his chin.
'So if I don't deactivate the spell… I won't waste any mana?' He thought then he was just going to keep the spell active if that was the case.
He stroked his chin only to remember he didn't have that stub of a beard anymore and now looked at the two Direwolves up ahead, their faces were a bit wary however they still glared at him and he extended his hands at them with another hand in his pocket.
"Go."
Two of the swords floating in the air around him shot forward, he was wrong… it did take a bit more mana to move around the swords as he felt the drain but ultimately, it wasn't as much as activating the spell.
One of the swords hit the Dire wolf right in the head while the other direwolf tried dodging the blade with a side-step however he just made it move vertically and it cleaved the Direwolf in half.
Attacks that had mana in them were much more powerful than regular attacks and he didn't even need much accuracy, the swords moved exactly as he willed them.
As the monsters died, he made all four swords float once more and he even made them vibrate, the blood falling to the ground and they were as clean as ever then he kept them there.
As long as he kept it activated, he wouldn't have to waste 35 points of Mana for activation again and now he walked to the Elf.
The elf had a bit of a heavy chest plate which had deep gouge marks on it and even bite marks, and his arms had been ripped off grotesquely and it felt weird looking at a corpse however.
"Meh, I've seen worse." He said while taking off the armor, despite being wounded, it would go for a lot.
He was a struggling commoner so he had to make do with what he was due…"Oh a pouch too."
He took out the pouch that was on the shirt pocket and opened it… there were a few silvers but no gold.
"Broke." He commented while storing it in the storage ring and then storing the slime core as well.
He needed to take the bodies of the Direwolves as well… that would be like 4 monsters out of 20. He was off to a good start.
Now his eyes looked at the clothing, he was wearing a bit of luxurious clothes that were better than the commoner crap he had on… however it was ripped and not of much use, not to mention that he was a bit shorter than Klaus so it wouldn't be a good fit.
However, his shoes…
Klaus reached out, taking a pair and then looked at his Commoner slippers.
The shoes were a bit dusty but they had design… so he took them into his storage ring too and then left the corpse there before walking back to his loot.
"Okay." He pulled one of the swords to him and then looked. "Where the hell is the core?"
Cores were usually located in the section of the head… or in the heart but he had pierced the head already, he leaned over and saw one of the cores amongst the mess of brain matter.
He brought it out and looked at it. It was far bigger than the current one but the brain matter felt disgusting to touch.
'What about this one?'
「The worth of a Tier 1 Dire Wolf's core is at 3 bronze coin.」
"Score." He muttered as he took the rest of the cores and then arranged the bodies before storing them up as well. "Now let's get to mo- Ugh!"
He fell onto his knees and the swords clattered to the ground uselessly… his head hurt a lot.
'What the hell happened?'
「Lack of mental energy」
'Damn I forgot.' He thought as he leaned against one of the platforms while hoping a monster couldn't come by, he was so excited that he forgot about the basics… To perform spells, Mages needed magic and mental energy.
Mental energy was practically the strain on their brains and while Wizards had impressive mental energy… he was a First class apprentice, his mental energy was low meaning he couldn't control a Tier 2 spell for that long.
'Well fuck…' He thought while taking a deep breath. 'Always being nerfed for no reason.'
He slowly got back to his feet and looked around… he was near the entrance, if he went deeper… he would encounter common monsters on this floor like more dire wolves, more slimes, and other monsters… there was another species but he didn't remember it properly.
The game lore had been that it had been driven from the upper floors to the lower floors suddenly one day and it caused disarray in the dungeon on one random afternoon… What were the chances of that afternoon being today?
'Yeah right, I'm not the protagonist. Besides, I won't want to fight a Tier 2 monster like this.' He thought.
Even though he wanted to steal from more dead adventurers… he knew his limit.
A small group of Adventurers passed by him, one was even laughing at him but they passed and began sprinting only for one to get caught in something that kept him bound.
"Webs… Webs? Why the fuck are webs in here?" He cried out only for his scream to get stopped and followed by crunches, the others screamed and there was the sound of flesh being ripped apart too while others were attacking.
"The hell." He decided to look from the pillar where he was positioned and he saw… a massacre, to be put in simple words.
A giant armored spider hung upside down and was chewing on the body of the guy laughing at it with it's scary mouth and then he let the man go after chomping off it's upper body with the armor included. 'What the fuck?'
One swordsman tried rushing it with a blade and Klaus had to blink… What did he hope to accomplish when the Spider was on the ceiling?
He should be running away, not engaging a monster like this.
A web shot out from the bottom of the spider and snaked through the air, catching the guy and spinning him out… sending his sword clattering to the ground before chewing on him next.
An archer amongst them brought out his own bow and began shooting arrows however they hit the shell of the monster and bounced off.
'Honestly if it was me… These spiders are weak at their underbellies and their heads as well. Those were where I would aim at.' Klaus thought while summoning his gear back to his storage ring.
He was going to make a run for it however he thought it out. 'Wait… I'm not a close distance mage, I don't need to show myself. Even if it is a Tier 2 monster, I know it's weakness so I can kill it.'
He was grateful for having survival instincts but sometimes… one had to risk their life to make some more money.
The female mage there tried escaping from the monster only for another web to shoot at her and she clawed at the ground while looking to him for help.
"Help me please! I'll do anything you want!" She cried out with tears coming out from her eyes… However Klaus turned around and moved to another pillar.
Did he look like the Protagonist who would risk his life for a woman?
There were better priorities on ground.
The woman had her top half eaten by the monster and then it shot a web at the pillar where the mage had been screaming to and lifted the whole platform.
It was scary to see a monster practically rip the whole thing from the ground but he was grateful that he had moved.
'I think my head's alright now.' He thought as he peeked from the pillar, he was not going to use his weapons but their weapons instead. 'Now… Magnetic Field!'
Mana drained from his body in that familiar rush… The air vibrated with power, and he felt the spell activate across the battlefield.
Every piece of metal scattered across the bloodstained cavern floor responded to his call immediately.
The fallen swordsman's blade, still slick with its owner's blood. The archer's quiver full of arrows that had been torn from his back during the spider's attack.
Throwing knives from what looked like a rogue's belt. Metal buckles from torn armor scattered everywhere. Even fragments of broken chainmail… all of it trembled violently and then shot into the air simultaneously, hovering in a deadly cloud around Klaus's position behind the pillar.
He'd never tried controlling this much metal at once.
The mental strain hit him like an absolute sledgehammer to the skull, an immediate spike of pressure behind his eyes that made his vision blur slightly but Klaus gritted his teeth hard and pushed through the pain, maintaining his focus with sheer determination.
Fifteen, maybe twenty different objects floated in the air around him, all waiting for his mental command. It felt like trying to juggle while solving complex math… it was overwhelming and chaotic, with each item demanding a piece of his attention.
The spider's eyes swiveled toward the movement. It hissed like steam escaping and skittered across the ceiling toward Klaus with horrifying speed.
Its legs clicked against stone with each movement, precise and terrifying in their coordination.
Klaus didn't waste time.
"Go!" he commanded, thrusting his hand forward dramatically.
The swordsman's blade launched first, spinning through the air. It struck the spider's armored head with a sharp CLANG.
The blade bounced off harmlessly… The shell was too strong for some reason.
'Shit!' Klaus thought, his eyes widening in sudden realization and fear. 'That wasn't in the game!'
The spider shot a web at Klaus. He threw himself behind the pillar just as the sticky strand splattered against the stone where his head had been.
Klaus's heart hammered.
'Too close.'
He peeked out and adjusted his strategy, recalling the game knowledge.
'The shell's too thick on top and on the sides. I need to hit the underside… the soft exposed belly where there's no armor plating!'
Three arrows and two knives shot upward at sharp angles, targeting the pale belly visible as it hung from the ceiling.
Two arrows missed but one arrow and both knives sank deep into the belly with wet thunks and the spider screamed.
It was a horrible shriek that vibrated Klaus's bones and made his ears ring. Green ichor dripped from the wounds, splattering below in steaming puddles but the monster wasn't dead.
The wounds were painful but not fatal to it since it was still moving with full strength and just angrier instea.
The spider dropped from the ceiling, falling fifteen feet and landing with a thunderous crash that shook the floor.
All eight legs slammed into stone hard enough to crack it.
Now it was on Klaus's level, and it was pissed. Its remaining eyes fixed on Klaus with laser focus.
Klaus's eyes widened. 'Oh fuck oh fuck oh FUCK—'
The spider charged like a battering ram, moving faster than something that massive should with it's legs churning in a blur.
Klaus reacted on pure instinct and he sent everything at the spider's head in a desperate barrage.
The blade… four arrows... three knives… a helmet… Chainmail links and they were all converging on the spider's eyes.
CRACK! CRACK! SPLAT!
The blade punched through one eye with a spray of fluid… the arrows shattered three more and knives embedded in the mandible joints, causing the jaws to seize.
The spider reared back, shrieking louder as it's movements became jerky with half its eyes destroyed. Green ichor mixed with eye fluid dripped from its ruined face.
Klaus's head felt like it was splitting apart and his vision tunneled as his mental energy was almost gone.
He could feel himself losing control as the weapons wobbled in the air dipping downward a bit. He had maybe ten seconds before he collapsed.
'One more!' Klaus thought desperately. 'Just ONE more!'
He grabbed the longsword and poured every ounce of mental energy left into one final attack. The longsword spun through the air and drove into the spider's open mouth. The blade punched through the back of its throat, severing something vital.
The spider convulsed once and twice, green ichor spraying from its mouth around the embedded blade then it collapsed like a puppet with cut strings.
It was dead…
Klaus fell to his knees with a gasp as his vision swam and his head pounded with the worst migraine ever. All the weapons clattered to the ground as his control vanished.
The spider wasn't moving and the corpse lay in a pool of green ichor.
"Holy... fucking... shit..." Klaus panted. "I just... killed... a Tier 2 monster..."
He was now surrounded by loot…