Now that Ryan had finished subduing the Principality that had attacked him, he knew that somewhere in this dungeon, his companions were probably facing Solaris or that man Lighter, whose power bordered on that of an Infernal.
But for the moment, that problem would have to wait.
Ryan's fist smashed directly into the demon's chest. The flames emitted by his gloves expanded at the point of contact, leaving the scorched imprint of his fist on the dying demon's chest.
[Bonus acquired: +124,000 XP]
[Luck bonus: +124,000 XP]
[Level up]
[Level bonus: +20 points]
[Attributes increased: +10 to all stats]
'Good, I managed to level up with the monster pools, the boss, and this Principality...'
Ryan whispered "stat" quietly.
[CHARACTER STATUS]
› Name: [Ryan]
› Level: 76 — Rank: B
› Class: Priest
› Titles: Wolf Hunter
› Strength: 1,460 | Magic: 988 | Agility: 930 | Psyche: 1,280 | Defense: 1,420 | Luck: 100 |
› Available points: [190]
› EXP: 8,000 / 350,000
Ryan looked at his stats for a moment.
"That luck bonus is very useful, but even so, I'm killing too little to make the most of it."
He closed the status window and looked at the fallen demon. Ryan fixed his gaze on the black leather boots with metal side buckles the demon was wearing. Even though the demon was dead, the boots emitted a certain aura.
Ryan picked them up.
"Analysis."
[Rare Stalker Boots:]
› Agility +100
'So that was it... I feel bad taking items from the dead, but... now isn't the time to think about that.'
The boots were his size. He took off his own and put them on. Now that he had more agility, he thought it was a good time to distribute the rest of his points, putting everything into defense and strength.
› Defense: 1,320 → 1,420
› Strength: 1,370 → 1,460
Ryan sighed.
"Now, with these boots, the trench coat, and the gloves, almost all my gear is at a rare level. I think it's time to go find Helen and the others," he muttered to himself with a slight smile as he turned around.
"Are you done talking to yourself yet? I'm getting bored waiting, you know?"
The voice came from behind, carrying an immense bloodlust that made every cell in Ryan's body tremble as if screaming a warning...
'What the hell?'
Ryan turned around and looked for the source of the voice.
There stood the figure of a young woman.
Pink hair, a single horn protruding from the center of her forehead, and a deep gaze with piercing yellow eyes.
'She is... the one from the Demon Continent... It's the Scarlet Dragon!'
Ryan couldn't understand how long she had been standing behind him. And he wondered why she hadn't attacked him.
"Inspect," he muttered.
Ding!
[Inspection has been interrupted]
'But why?'
Ryan was about to try inspecting her again, but the young woman's voice interrupted him.
"Don't bother, that won't work on me."
Ryan froze for a moment.
Then he spoke.
"How long have you been here?"
She looked at him with a cynical smile and then answered.
"In this room, you mean? Since you started fighting. The noise woke me up. By the way, I was taking a very nice nap."
But Ryan understood she was only saying that to provoke him. He knew no one had been there; right after the demon attacked him and he used Detection, he had also scanned the entire area to avoid any more surprises.
He deduced that the dragon had arrived at the end of the fight while he was distracted talking to the dying demon. She stared at him and then twitched her nose, as if catching a scent in the air.
"I thought I recognized that scent." She tilted her head slightly. "You're the rat I let escape a few weeks ago on the Demon Continent."
'So she really did notice our presence back then...'
"Who would have thought we'd meet here," she continued. "At the time I just wanted to go back, I was tired. There was someone else with you, right? Hmm..." She tapped her chin with a finger, thoughtful. "What should I do?"
'Karol didn't want to fight back then after seeing them. Now she is here alone, and I can't even analyze her. This is not good.'
Ryan took a step back, briefly wondering if he should run away.
'No, that would be useless.' Ryan observed her closely. A drop of cold sweat rolled down his cheek.
"Why didn't you attack me? You could have easily done it while I was distracted, don't you think?"
She smiled briefly and then replied with a gesture of annoyance.
"There's no point. To me, it doesn't matter whether you are distracted or not."
"You're an arrogant bitch," Ryan replied, clenching his fists.
'But she's not lying. The aura she's emitting right now is incomparably denser than that of any Principality I've faced. Even more than when she briefly appeared with Solaris that day.'
She started walking toward him with the confidence of someone who owned the place.
"Do you think I'm lying? I'll show you."
Cold sweat rolled down Ryan's cheek once again as she advanced, completely invading his personal space.
Ryan attacked her out of pure reflex, but she was no longer there. Only his flame-engulfed fist remained, suspended in the air.
Ryan blinked.
A moment ago she was right in front of him, but now there was no trace of her presence. She had simply disappeared.
But a second later, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
"How much longer do you plan on staring at that spot?"