[ Wave 99/100 starts in 00:00:59 ]
The moment this notification popped up, everyone resting on the ground dragged themselves to their feet to fight once again.
It was only Dustin's second day in this Dungeon, but he had become extremely tired. The lack of rest and sleep was eating away at him. Now he could truly understand how the others felt, especially the ones who had been trapped in this endless slaughter for days.
As the wave numbers went up, the number of monsters and their levels went up too. Not by much, just one, two, or three levels at a time. In the last wave, many monsters were above level 50, and a few even broke past 60. But since there were still more than fifty people fighting together, it wasn't a very big problem, even though no one had any real coordination.
The main reason for this lack of teamwork was simple. Everyone was trying to fight as little as possible while gaining as much experience as possible. That meant stealing other people's kills. Just like Dustin had planned and was currently doing, everyone else was doing the exact same thing.
During this time, Dustin had leveled up quite a bit. He had already reached level 38 and was right on the edge of 39. His Physical Strength, Agility, and Stamina had all crossed over 100. His Vitality and Endurance were also nearing 100. It just left his Wisdom and Intelligence sitting very low.
He had thought about it a lot but still couldn't figure out a proper way to increase those stats fast, other than dumping bonus points into them. From what he had noticed, he would get a random Intelligence point or two when he used a smart strategy or pushed his brain to its limits. But what about Wisdom? How do you increase that naturally? He still had no idea.
[ Wave 99/100 starts in 00:00:03 ]
[ Wave 99/100 starts in 00:00:02 ]
[ Wave 99/100 starts in 00:00:01 ]
"I'm going to try and hit level 40 this wave," Dustin stretched his body and got ready to fight beside the others. "And if I get lucky, I might even push 41 or 42 by the end."
WHOOSH!
Hundreds of monsters started appearing in flashes of light, all different types, shapes, and species.
Dustin quickly scanned the horde. The monsters this time ranged from level 30 to 65, with a handful hitting 70. The higher-level monsters were very rare. You could easily count them on one hand.
Dustin's main targets were the monsters between level 40 and 50. Anything below his own level was just a waste of energy, and the stronger ones were too hard to kill. Not to mention, many people were targeting the strong ones, making it nearly impossible to secure a kill-steal.
Dustin was completely exhausted. All he wanted was to get out of here, lie down, and take a very long, deep nap. But at the same time, he was thrilled. Not just because he was leveling up fast, but because he was now rich in points. He had earned over 8,000 points in just two days in this Dungeon! And that was after spending points on poison, healing potions, and upgrading his daggers. He had thought about buying a new skill but held himself back. He decided to wait until the dungeon was over, just in case something unexpected happened.
"You again," Dustin chuckled, looking at a specific monster.
It was very cute looking. It wasn't big, roughly only two feet tall, with four legs, two long ears, and fluffy white and pink fur.
But it was insanely fast and dangerous. Its bite was deadly. Just a few waves back, it had caught Dustin by surprise. Its mouth had split open all the way to the back of its neck, almost completely biting off Dustin's abdomen.
BAM! CLASH! BOOM!
The war between the monsters and humans erupted once again.
SLASH!
"Still as fast as ever, huh?" Dustin grunted as the cute monster dodged his dagger by a hair.
Their fight continued, neither backing down. But then, Dustin suddenly turned away from the monster and dashed sideways.
"Get back here, you coward!" two men shouted. They were chasing a level 46 bull that was trying to run away. It was heavily injured. One of its legs was missing its calf, and it had over fifty visible cuts leaking blood all over the ground.
"Stop running, damn it!" The men were panicking. They were so tired they couldn't catch up, and they were terrified someone would steal their hard work.
The bull kept running.
SLAM!
The bull collided with someone covered in a faint light armor. The beast stumbled backward, while the man only slid a few steps back.
Seeing this, the two men gritted their teeth. "Thanks for stopping it," one of them called out. "Now step aside so I can finish it off."
"Your kill?" the second man fired up immediately. "I worked just as hard as you did! That kill is mine!"
SHING!
While the two men cursed at each other over who deserved the points, Dustin turned off his light armor, stepped forward, and slit the beast's throat right in front of them.
"You bastard! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Both men started screaming at Dustin simultaneously, stomping toward him.
"It ran right into me, so it's my kill," Dustin raised his voice, gripping his daggers. "Look at yourselves. Are you really in any shape to start a fight over this?"
Internally, though, Dustin was laughing. He had just secured enough experience.
Since both men were exhausted and severely wounded, they glared at Dustin but walked away without another word. Fighting him here wouldn't bring them any profit. They were better off finding another monster.
"You get a pass this time. But if you try stealing from us again, you're dead," one of the men threatened, waving his hand as he walked off.
"Sure thing," Dustin mocked.
DING!
[ Level 39 reached ]
[ Physical Strength: 119 ]
[ Vitality: 98 ]
[ Agility: 111 ]
[ Stamina: 109 ]
[ Endurance: 92 ]
[ Wisdom: 17 ]
[ Intelligence: 37 ]
"Finally, level 39. One more level and my Vitality will cross 100 too," Dustin cheered internally. "Now, back to the fight."
Dustin didn't go back to fighting the fluffy monster. It had already wandered off, or maybe someone else had killed it.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Dozens of explosive sounds echoed across the battlefield as a giant, crocodile-like monster was finally slain by a large group.
"Yes! A level 68! Two level-ups! I'm finally 47!" The man who secured the final blow couldn't contain his joy.
The rest of his group, however, didn't look happy. Most of them cursed the man loudly, and some angrily walked off to join other fights.
On the other side of the battlefield, Dustin was growing very familiar with his new skill, 'Light Armour'. He was using it perfectly now.
Since he could only use it three times before it needed a cooldown, he only activated it when he was absolutely sure he could land a fatal blow. He would take a monster's attack head-on with the armor, catch them completely by surprise, and stab them in their vitals. Not to mention, he only used this tactic on monsters that were already heavily injured. It was extremely efficient.
Time kept passing.
THUD.
Another monster fell dead at Dustin's feet.
"Still didn't hit 40," Dustin muttered, feeling disappointed as the fighting died down.
[ Wave 99 has ended ]
"Only one wave left. I need to steal as many kills as I can. Who cares if I piss everyone off? Once this dungeon is cleared, we all get teleported to random locations anyway," Dustin reasoned to himself as he sat down on the bloody dirt to rest.
Around him, people were chatting. They talked about what they did before this whole thing started, their lives on Earth, and what they had endured since arriving. Dustin didn't join in, mainly for two reasons. First, he had nothing to talk about since he used to just sleep and play games all day. Second, he was way too tired to speak.
[ Wave 100 starts in 00:00:59 ]
"Finally. The last wave," Dustin sighed, dragging himself up.
"Ha... Ha... Hahaha! Finally... finally!"
Dustin looked over. The madman, the man who had been stuck in this dungeon for days and had seemingly gone insane, started laughing madly and dancing at the announcement.
"He survived all of that?" Dustin blinked in surprise. "If he's been here since the start, he must have a crazy amount of points to spend in the shop."
"Did you hit 40 yet?" asked the swordsman who had been fighting near Dustin for a while.
"Not yet," Dustin replied. "Leveling up is taking way too long now. I should hit 40 this wave, though. Maybe 41 if I'm lucky. What about you?"
"Yeah, it slows down a ton," the swordsman sighed. "I heard some classes have it easier than others. I'm stuck at 43. I haven't leveled up at all in the last two waves. I really hope I get one this time."
[ Wave 100 starts in 00:00:03 ]
[ Wave 100 starts in 00:00:02 ]
[ Wave 100 starts in 00:00:01 ]
"What is that?"
"What the hell..."
"How are we supposed to kill that?!"
Panic instantly swept through the crowd. Dustin stood frozen, his mouth hanging open as he stared at the center of the room.
What appeared for the final wave wasn't a huge group of monsters. It was a single, level 100 boss.
It was over ten meters high, a terrifying nightmare stitched together from different beasts. Thick, iron-like scales armored its massive bulk. It possessed sixteen limbs. The back eight were thick and trunk-like to support its immense weight, while the front eight resembled long, muscular monkey arms tipped with razor-sharp claws. A heavy, serpentine tail whipped behind it, and its head was a massive crocodile snout lined with rows of jagged, bloodstained teeth.
"Damn it... my daggers won't even scratch this thing," Dustin cursed inwardly. He quickly opened his system and scanned the boss.
DING!
[ Beast Amalgam ]
[ Level 100 ]
[ The Beast Amalgam is a creature forcefully evolved from many different species, taking on unpredictable shapes and sizes. Its strengths and weaknesses rely entirely on the parts it is made of. These types of species are not highly aggressive by nature and usually will not attack unless provoked or forced. ]
"Great. All my attacks are completely useless here," Dustin sighed in deep disappointment. He couldn't think of a single way to kill this thing. Even if everyone else injured it, there was no way his daggers could pierce those scales to deal a final blow.
The rest of the survivors were terrified. They had killed level 60 and 70 monsters before, but it took more than ten people working perfectly together just to kill one level 70, and four or five strong fighters to take down a 60. The power gap between levels 60 and 70 was massive. A level 100? It was unthinkable.
Even though no one wanted to admit it out loud, people were dying rapidly. More than half the people who had entered this dungeon were already dead. Now, only roughly fifty people remained. Fighting this monster felt like a guaranteed death sentence.
And leaving wasn't an option. The exit fee was so incredibly high that even the people who had arrived late couldn't afford to escape.
"Let's kill it!" a man shouted at the top of his lungs.
It was the madman. The one who had been here from the start. As the waves finally reached their end, his burning desire to escape this hellhole exploded. This was the final hurdle blocking his freedom. How could he let a single beast stand in his way?
Even though the man had lost his sanity, he was, without a doubt, one of the strongest fighter in the room if not the strongest. Surviving from the very beginning meant he possessed untold points and hidden tricks.
The man's pale face was masked in a thick layer of grime and dried blood. Matted, filthy hair hung in greasy strands across his face. Deep, bruising dark circles hollowed his eyes from days without sleep. Yet, beneath those heavy, half-closed eyelids, a ferocious, unyielding light burned. He looked like a walking corpse, but his spirit was a blazing inferno.
"Let's tear it apart!" the madman roared, charging ahead all by himself.
"Yeah! Let's go!"
The veteran's fearless charge ignited the fallen morale of the crowd. So what if he was mad? So what if he was insane? They had to fight!
"Kill it!"
Most of the fighters charged in. Some hesitated, trying to formulate a plan. Dustin stood with the remaining group, staring at his system screen with an unsightly expression.
"Damn it, I don't have a single skill that can scratch this thing," Dustin cursed. What he really needed was an explosive skill to bypass the hard scales, but as a Rogue class, he didn't have access to anything like that.
"Okay, calm down. Think. There has to be a way." Dustin took a deep breath. "I can only target its front joints or its eyes if I even get an opening. But I can't kill it with just that."
Seeing that almost everyone was rushing into the fray, Dustin gripped his daggers and ran forward too.
BAM! BAM! BOOM!
The battle began with earth-shattering force. Everyone was giving it everything they had.
By the time Dustin reached the frontline, one of the monster's front legs had already been hacked off, and several deep wounds marked its scaly back.
At first, the boss had just stood there, not attacking anyone. But now that it was injured and bleeding, it flew into a terrifying rage and struck back fiercely.
Dustin didn't fight head-on. Instead, he stayed with the rear group, only darting in to attack when the vanguard distracted it. Since he had no way to secure the kill, he changed his goal. He would deal as much damage as possible to try and squeeze out enough experience for level 40.
"Man. I can barely scratch this thing. And here I thought I was actually getting strong," Dustin laughed bitterly at himself as his daggers sparked against the monster's hide.
CLASH! ROAR! BOOM!
The fight dragged on for hours. The monster refused to fall, while the humans were rapidly running out of stamina.
BOOM!
With a massive explosion of magic, one of the monster's hind legs was blasted into meat paste.
ROOOOOAR!
The Beast Amalgam shrieked in agony. Its speed suddenly doubled. It lunged forward, snapping its massive crocodile jaws, and swallowed three people whole before they could even scream.
"Ah! Get back! Move!"
"Damn it, run!"
Panic shattered the fighters' morale. In the next second, the monster whipped its long, serpentine tail, smashing five men and two women into bloody paste dyeing the ground in crimson.
Witnessing the sheer brutality, Dustin froze, completely paralyzed by fear.
"You think that is enough to stop me?!"
While everyone else scattered in terror, the madman didn't falter for a single second. He dodged the heavy attacks by a hair's breadth and kept attacking relentlessly, a bloodthirsty grin on his face.
"Is that guy even human anymore?" Dustin muttered, completely shocked by the guy's sheer, monstrous willpower.
Seeing the madman fight with such ferocity sparked courage in the retreating fighters. Gritting their teeth, they turned around and charged back into the meat grinder.
Several hours passed but the monster was still standing.
"Now I have you!" Dustin saw an opening.
He jumped high off a piece of rubble, aiming directly for the monster's eye, which had been forced low to the ground by the relentless barrage of attacks.
But just as Dustin reached the peak of his jump and started falling toward the eye, the monster suddenly reared up. It stood tall on its back eight legs, rising into the air until it towered over forty feet high.
Dustin's eyes widened in horror. His breathing stopped completely as the colossal monster looked down directly at him.
BAM!
The beast swung one of its massive, muscular monkey arms, slapping Dustin out of the air like a bug.
Dustin instinctively activated 'Light Armour', but the sheer force shattered the barrier instantly, sending him flying backward like a bullet. As he plummeted toward the ground, he forced the armor on a second time, but his momentum was simply too fast.
CRACK!
The armor broke again.
THUD! THUD! CRASH!
Dustin bounced across the stone floor for several meters before finally sliding to a halt.
"Aa... hh..." Dustin tried to speak. He tried to scream. But no sound would come out of his throat.
He weakly reached for his side. His abdomen felt terribly wrong. When he managed to lift his trembling hands to his face, they were completely drenched in his own blood.
He desperately tried to reach his inventory to drink a healing potion, but his body had already completely given out. He didn't even have the strength to keep his eyelids open.
Darkness.
Complete, suffocating darkness.