He expected to receive XP and perhaps some additional rewards for defeating the dragon liche, which was obviously a secret mini-boss, but to his surprise, something different happened.
A group of ghosts materialized before him, consisting of several mages and warriors. They stood in a semicircle before the dead body of the dragon liche, their eyes fixed on him.
Jake immediately recognized them—they were the same ghosts he had defeated after the dragon liche summoned them. This time, however, they didn’t attack him. Instead, they stood motionlessly, all looking at him without any signs of aggression.
A wizard ghost clad in a long robe took a step forward from the center of the group and bowed at Jake.
“Brave warrior,” he heard the ghost wizard say, “you fought valiantly and defeated the fearsome dragon that enslaved our souls millennia ago. Even after it perished and rose as an undead, we remained linked to that creature, unable to leave this place or resist any mental commands it gave us. The bond that once tied us to that creature has been broken. We have regained our free will and are finally free to embark on the journey into the afterlife that lies ahead of us. For this, we owe you our deepest gratitude. Thank you, brave warrior!”
The wizard ghost looked at him for a moment, showing no reaction to Jake’s terrifying, non-human appearance. Then, with a brief flash of light, the ghost vanished. One by one, the remaining ghosts bowed their heads to Jake in gratitude before disappearing from sight.
He wasn’t sure if he had actually liberated these souls from the dragon liche’s captivity or if it was just an element of the dungeon’s fictional narrative. But he figured that in the end, it didn’t really matter.
It was only after the last of the ghosts had vanished that several system messages popped up in his mind. At the same time, just behind the spot where the ghosts had stood just a moment before, a shimmering portal appeared. Jake figured it would take him back to the cluster of islands from which he had come, since the pillars he had traversed had shattered to pieces, making it impossible to use them again. However, before stepping into the portal, he wanted to review the system messages that had just appeared in his mind.
Enemy killed. +75,000 XP
For defeating the secret mini-boss—Dragon Lich – The Tormentor of the Dead—and freeing the souls of wizards and warriors it held captive, you receive the following rewards:
3 points to increase any of your Resistances by 25%;
3 points to increase any of your Resistances by 10%;
3 points to increase any of your Resistances by 5%.
You have gained enough XP to level up. Your level went up from 108 to 110. You have gained 10 SP.
He had received even more rewards than he expected, which was incredible. A second later, a shimmering cloud of mana materialized before him. It dawned on him that it was the leftover portion of the 150,000 MP he had earned.
His body could currently hold only 248,000 MP at the same time. When he checked his current mana level, he found it matched that exact amount. His body was brimming with mana, unable to absorb any more. Of the 150,000 MP, his body had taken some, reaching its limit, while the excess mana that couldn’t be stored took shape as the cloud hovering before him.
It was really a shame. He could absorb as much XP and EP as he wanted, but that wasn’t the same with MP. There was always a limit to how much mana his body could hold at any given moment. He kept staring at the mana cloud hovering before him, expecting it to dissipate, but something else happened instead.
Right before his eyes, the cloud appeared to split into multiple smaller clouds that began to coagulate. In just a few seconds, each of them solidified, taking the shape of a large, long crystal before gently falling to the ground, producing a soft, clinking sound.
There were now over two dozen mana crystals scattered on the ground, each containing 5,000 MP. It was really amazing that the leftover mana hadn’t simply vanished but had transformed into mana consumables that he could use later on. One by one, Jake collected the mana crystals and placed them in his Inventory, glad that they occupied just a single slot.
After defeating the dragon liche, he had also leveled up two times, earning ten skill points. However, instead of allocating them immediately, he decided to allocate the points he had received to increase his Resistances. He took a moment to think. He had three points that could increase some of his Resistances by 25%, three points that provided 10% boosts, and three that offered a 5% increase.
Which of his Resistances should he increase? Since there were plenty of enemies dealing Fire elemental damage on this floor of the dungeon, he wanted to maximize his Resistance to that type of damage. Additionally, once he completed the dungeon and returned to the surface, he planned to immediately start waging war against Los Demonios. Many of those bandits used explosive ammunition in their weapons, so it would be wise to enhance his Resistance to this type of damage as well. He had recently raised it to 35%, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t boost it even further.
However, some of his Resistances like Stun and Mind Control were currently at 0%. He didn’t think he had ever encountered an enemy that tried to use a Mind Control spell against him, but if that situation arose, having 0% Resistance to such an attack could land him in serious trouble.
He also remembered an encounter with a bandit who had attacked him with a revolver that dealt Frost damage. So it was safe to assume that the members of Los Demonios possessed a wide array of weapons capable of delivering various types of elemental damage.
After giving the matter a little more thought, he decided to use his rewarded points more wisely than simply allocating them to the same Resistances. It was impossible to predict when he would get more opportunities to boost his Resistances, so he concluded that it would be smarter to distribute his points evenly rather than solely prioritizing a select few while neglecting the others.
After examining the Resistances menu, he allocated all nine of his points. Once that was done, he took a moment to review the information one last time.
Elemental Resistances:
Pierce: -30% (Affected by the Fragile Body curse)
It looked pretty good now. He was well protected against all types of damage and was really pleased with the results. As for the Fragile Body curse, he decided he would remove it after completing the dungeon. After all, it wouldn’t be wise to launch an attack on the bandit bases while being vulnerable to piercing damage.
After that, Jake paused to gather his thoughts. He had explored roughly seventy percent of the fourth floor of the dungeon by that time. Once he finished exploring this floor, all that would remain to do was defeat the final boss. He had no idea what to expect, but it was safe to assume it would be a difficult fight—the toughest challenge of this dungeon, for sure.
He really needed to get stronger. He already had a couple of close calls in this dungeon. For instance, the battle against four Orbed Crawlers on the third floor had almost ended in his death—he lost an arm and barely managed to escape with his life. The encounter with the dragon liche had also proven to be quite challenging. As for the final boss he had yet to confront, it was bound to be much more dangerous than any of the previous mini-bosses he had encountered in this dungeon.
So Jake decided to evolve into his next form. He knew this would grant him a significant boost to each of his attributes, making him notably more powerful. Additionally, a new section would become available in the Genetic Development Interface. He was sure that the skills and abilities found there would have high attribute requirements, but since he had leveled many times while in the dungeon, allocating all the earned skill points to his attributes, he might actually be able to purchase some of them right away.
Initially, he had planned to evolve after completing the dungeon, but he figured it didn’t really make much difference whether he evolved right now or a little later. After all, he had already made up his mind about which subclass to choose. He closed his eyes and summoned the class selection menu, which had three different classes to choose from: Ravager, Corruptor, and Devastator. He focused on one of the three classes that appealed to him most and made his selection.