Chapter 87 Advanced Monster
**
Strength= [20] (+1.5)(+0.2)
Health= [28]
Stamina=[20]
Agility=[20]
Mana=[20]
Status Points to allocate→0.5
**
While absorbing one of the last Essence crystals, Dilan couldn’t help but feel truly satisfied with the stats visible in his Log of the Ancient.
All of his stats had reached their limits. They had been maxed out, with his Health reaching the exact limit he thought it would attain.
“28 units…20 units…the difference is exactly the boost my Origin ability increases my Health stat!”
Dilan was curious if Origin abilities were the only special criteria to further increase someone’s strength, and the more he thought about it the less like this was.
After all, the restriction of stats would make various passive abilities that boost certain stats, entirely useless!-.
‘Maybe some passive skills have unique characteristics that lift the restrictions to a certain extent?… I should ask Ella about further information when I return. Maybe she knows something!’
Picking up the last Essence crystal of a Mutated Three-armed Krendel Warrior, Dilan could clearly sense the vast and terrifically high amount of Essence that flooded his Essence pool.
The ordinary Essence crystal that would usually provide him with stat points turned into nourishment that was equal to Bronze Essence!
This was great, to put it simply, giving Dilan the reassurance he needed to keep pursuing Kirak’s Vassal as his occupation’s choice.
There were still quite a few things Dilan wanted to figure out, and his to-do list simply seemed to be never-ending.
However, amongst the most important tasks was to conquer the Krendel’s Underground Valley.
He wanted to find out how to determine when Gate waves would happen, how to prevent them, and what exactly one could find within Gates.
This was why he was here, to begin with.
The new information about the Tierless stat limit was something he received as a bonus.
To add on, after his Health crossed 20 units, Dilan could upgrade his Origin ability once again.
He was only missing three lethal injuries to upgrade [Regeneration], which was something Dilan could easily do, even more so with his current stats!
Only injuring himself would be slightly more difficult because his physique was much stronger and tougher than ever before.
‘I can think about this issue once I’m done here.’
Thus, he turned in a particular direction with the aim to approach the center of the underground valley as quickly as possible.
Taking one step after another, he slowly made his way in the designated direction.
There he had to pass through a tunnel that was lit up by numerous torches lined across the walls on either side.
The ordinary horned rats and Krendels that Dilan passed by avoided him by all means.
He noticed this after his fight against the monsters of the Gate’s second wave.
Sensing his presence and strength, it was possible for the horned rats, Krendels, and their mutations to understand that they were no match for him.
As such, it was only logical for them to give him a wide berth.
But this was not what all the beasts did because the most important task of the higher leveled monsters was to protect the inner sanctum of the underground valley.
To their misfortune, it was to no avail as they died with a single slash of Dilan’s sword.
It was not even necessary for him to evade any kind of monster as even the strongest one he encountered had its highest stat around seven, maybe eight Units!
He had no idea if all kinds of beings had different limits on how high their stats could reach as Tierless existences, but the most important difference in the combat strength of monsters was whether they were ordinary existences or Bronze monsters!
Paving his way through the large tunnel that spanned merely a hundred meters or so, Dilan entered a second huge hall.
However, when Dilan took a look at the scenery around him, he felt a little bit weird.
Once again the ceiling, walls, and everything further away were shrouded in darkness.
This made it difficult for him to see anything beyond a radius of 50 meters, but that was more than enough because he could sense the presence of a particular monster!
In the huge hall, there were more than 1000 monsters in total, but only one attracted his attention.
It was a four-meter-tall rat with long legs, muscular arms, and a curved furry back that covered its lean, yet also somewhat toned physique.
With razor-sharp, 30-centimeter-long claws, and two huge sabertooth, it already looked fierce.
However, that was not the most prominent feature of the creature. What made it stand out apart from its already fierce look was a purplish horn that protruded out of the center of its furry forehead and had lightning currents swirling around it.
The moment Dilan entered the huge hall, the huge rat saw him. It first looked at him with a trace of interest.
But when it smelled the blood of its brethren on Dilan’s clothes and the Captain’s sword’s blade, it let out a high-pitched squeal, revealing its fury.
Through this, the lightning currents turned into a riot, shrouding the rat’s face like a mask.
This looked not only eerie but also fascinating. However, even before Dilan was able to assess the Lightning rat properly, it went on its four feet before catapulting towards him.
‘Fast!’
In an instant, Dilan knew that the Lightning rat’s Agility was close to his, and the fact that it might even be faster than him the moment at its highest speed.
It was not shocking for such an existence to appear right in front of him, but this indicated one thing- The lightning rat was certainly not a Bronze monster, and most likely was a being that had undergone its first advancement!
His gaze swept through the hall and Dilan understood that no other monster dared to attack him.
Whether this was owing to their fear of Dilan or simply the instinctive behavior to back off from the lightning rat’s rage was unclear.
Instinctively, Dilan activated the [Thunder Step] ability by utilizing one unit of Mana. A thunderous sound echoed through the entire hall.
He pushed his feet off the ground with all his might. This allowed him to reach a terrifying speed in an instant as he pushed past his former limits.
With an Agility that was equivalent to 26 times the average human before the Primordial Ascension, Dilan’s speed could be described as nothing less than terrifying.
By leaning forward, he faced an even lesser wind resistance, allowing him to reach an even higher speed as he appeared in front of the Lightning rat at once.
Both didn’t even think about slowing down, which was why both knew that their first clash was likely to be the only necessary clash to determine the winner.
Victory would be decided in an instant, and Dilan was confident that his Agility was more than enough to turn him into a winner.
However, the moment the distance between Dilan and the Lightning rat reduced to less than ten meters, the Lightning rat began to make multiple moves at once.
First, it spread out both arms, its claws glinting in the light that was ready to slash at Dilan, who was only wielding his longsword.
This would already be one disadvantage he ought to face head-on, but it was not the only one because the Lightning rat was just beginning to reveal its traits.
A bolt of lightning was being manifested around the purplish horn of the Lightning rat.
Dilan could clearly sense this owing to his experience with lightning.
He had to thank Kathrine inwardly because of the minuscule traces of mana one could sense before a bolt of lightning was fully formed, and the sudden change in the atmosphere that would make the skin tingle lightly during the process of the lightning bolt’s creation was something Dilan was quite familiar with.
However, even if he could conclude what was bound to happen, the Lightning rat prevented him from evading each of its attacks, despite being faster.
‘I cannot change my direction because that would slow me down. Jumping to the right or left would definitely lead to a lethal injury caused by the huge claws…alright…then I’m just going straight ahead!!’
In a matter of milliseconds, Dilan came to a conclusion about what he was going to do next.
And with this conclusion in mind, he had to abandon the Captain’s Sword.
Maybe abandoning was the wrong word, but Dilan’s mind was buzzing in excitement as he noticed that the bolt of lightning was about to be formed.
Now the distance between the two of them was less than five meters, and they were about to clash in a fraction of a second!
However, just when the bolt of lightning was about to be fired when they were merely three meters apart, the rapid movement of Dilan changed everything!