The Warrior's Dream

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"......"

I'd charged ahead boldly, but in the end, I had no choice but to stop.

The footprints stretching beyond the snowfield vanished without a trace after not too far. It had started snowing.

With no other option, I headed deeper into the heart of the Helm Mountains, using the last footprint as my clue.

Luckily, I was on the right path—some deranged orcs crossed my way, and I turned them into precious experience points.

Of course, the orcs weren't the only things I encountered along the route.

—GRRRRAAAHHH!!

A house-sized white bear roared.

Purple slime coiled over its white fur like veins.

The massive bear swung its front paw.

A crude attack, but its power was palpable.

Of course, I had no intention of taking it head-on.

I ducked my upper body to dodge and closed in.

I drove my clenched fist into its exposed torso.

—BOOM!

The bear staggered back slightly, hesitating for a moment before ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠charging straight at me.

I kicked off the ground and leaped, soaring over the charging bear to hover above its head.

In midair, I gathered my five tentacles into one, shaping them into a massive spear.

—CRUNCH!!

I thrust the spear down hard, piercing straight through its skull.

A thrilling sensation raced up my arm as the tough cranium shattered with a resounding crack.

The bear let out a short scream and collapsed.

At that moment, a notification popped up in my vision.

"This one's leveled up too?"

Swarm Tentacles had already reached lv.6.

Its growth rate was especially fast compared to my other traits.

It had been about a month since I acquired this ability, so it had climbed to lv.6 in just that time.

'Advanced Martial Arts took nine months to max out. Does the Demonic Body series come with an experience boost or something?'

For now, it was time to welcome the newly added tentacle.

I released the five tentacles from my right arm and tried to extend the new sixth one.

That's when it happened.

A bizarre sensation, utterly different from before, surged through my entire body.

"...Hm?"

A hot pulse started near my heart and rushed through my veins to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my left arm.

It felt like a dam bursting open.

Instinctively, I thrust my left hand into the air.

—SHHHH!

With a sharp whoosh tearing through the air, five black tentacles shot out from my left forearm in unison.

"Well, look at this."

Five tentacles wriggling from my left arm.

They whipped through the air at my command.

Combined with the ones from my right arm, that made ten in total.

My tentacle count had doubled.

Until now, they'd increased one by one, but crossing the lv.5 wall had added five at once.

Acceleration in growth, apparently.

I swung the ten tentacles from both arms like whips, lashing at the surrounding frozen conifers.

—KABOOM!

Bark exploded and branches snapped; the trees shattered like matchsticks in an instant.

"Not bad."

With this kind of firepower, I could shred most demon beasts into rags before they even got close—no need to mix in punches.

I retracted the tentacles and opened my status window to check the most important stat.

Seeing the numbers, my lips curled up involuntarily.

96.2%.

It was right around the corner.

Just one more orc, beast, or whatever—I'd hit the long-awaited lv.3.

Lv.2 alone had these effects; what would lv.3 bring?

'S-Rank... it might be possible.'

I might one day step into that realm of superhumans among superhumans.

Of course, I wasn't there yet.

I shelved the anticipation for now and looked down.

I examined the bear's corpse sprawled at my feet.

The purple slime stuck between its fur was slowly dissipating like smoke.

The orcs too, and this thing—everything covered in the same purple slime.

According to my status window, slime-infested ones counted as demon beasts, but I sensed no demonic energy from them.

The difference between pure demon beasts and mutated creatures?

But even then, the elf clan head who mutated in the slums had definitely exuded thick demonic energy.

Was the drug Grave Neon smuggled the source of this? Harvested from a dungeon like this, then refined into a mutation drug. That would explain the varying effects.

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'But if so, can they freely travel between the dungeon and reality? That'd be ideal. I could use this place as my hunting ground.'

Demon beasts here gave ten times the experience compared to outside.

Hunting here could mean hitting Demonic Body lv.10 sooner than I thought.

Even after leaving this dungeon, if I could return, I'd have no need to hunt elsewhere.

'Think about that later...'

I glanced up at the sky.

It was snowing, so cloudy, but I could tell it was getting quite dark.

A crevice formed by tangled boulders caught my eye.

I'd spend the night there.

I pulled a Novapolis-made knife from my backpack.

True to its origin, the blade was sharp and the quality top-notch.

I immediately began butchering the bear.

Sliced the carotid artery, hung it upside down to drain the blood, removed the innards.

I had rations left, but they were emergency supplies.

No reason to eat them with fresh meat right here.

Mutated beast meat might be risky for normals, but my body, which grew by slaying demon beasts, wouldn't have issues digesting it.

I portioned out edible cuts and lit a fire in the crevice.

Roasting the paws and legs filled the air with a savory aroma.

Taking a big bite, the tough texture burst with hot juices.

Monster meat was far chewier and denser in energy than regular fare.

I finished eating quickly and took a short nap in the crevice.

The next day.

—WHOOO!

"Damn."

The blizzard was fiercer than yesterday.

Even my eyes could barely see thirty meters ahead.

No goggles, so nothing for it.

Had to push through with the naked eye.

As I packed up and moved, a bizarre cry echoed from the distant sky.

—KEEEAAAK!

A vulture the size of my upper body dove from the air with a shrill scream.

I extended my left arm without hesitation.

The newly unlocked tentacles shot out fiercely.

With no time to react midair, it got smacked by the tentacles and plummeted to the ground.

I rushed forward and crushed its head underfoot.

—CRUNCH!!

One strike.

That was it.

Suspecting it was a demon beast too, I checked the corpse.

The vulture was slimed purple, a total mess.

All creatures in this dungeon seemed mutated.

—Ding.

And finally, the long-awaited notification appeared in the corner of my vision.

"Finally...!"

My heart pounded wildly.

I barely suppressed the urge to hit 'Yes' right away.

I remembered the dizzying pain from leveling to lv.2.

It had lasted about thirty minutes.

In the middle of this wilderness, exposed and defenseless for half an hour while my limbs disassembled and reassembled in agony—what then?

Nothing good, that was certain.

'No safe spot for a level-up?'

I postponed it and scanned warily for a secure place, heading toward the mountain peak.

I climbed the near-vertical slope to the highest summit of the Helm Mountains, legs in constant motion.

The higher I went, the fiercer the wind blew.

Finally, battling through the snow, I reached the top.

Looking down, the majestic panorama of the range unfolded below.

The summit was a wide, open plateau with clear views in all directions.

And there was someone there.

"...?"

A man in a loose indigo robe, an old bamboo hat pulled low over his head.

He sat with his back turned, caressing a crude scabbard on his lap.

An appearance straight out of a wuxia novel—something you'd never see in modern Novapolis or the slums.

'Warrior's Dream...'

Connected to the dungeon's name?

As I took a step forward to figure out his identity—

—Shwick!

In that instant.

An invisible line slashed across where he'd been sitting.

"!!"

My Super Senses screamed.

I reflexively bent at the waist and hurled myself rightward.

—SCRAAAAAPE!

In a flash, the massive boulder behind where I'd stood split cleanly in two and slid apart!

A cold sting beside my face snapped me alert.

'My ear got sliced off.'

My right ear, severed in an instant.

Blood trickled from the cut surface.

The man rose slowly and turned to me.

His expressionless eyes peered from under the hat.

No emotion whatsoever.

—WHOOO!

With the low wind came the pressure radiating from him.

I wiped the blood roughly and ditched my bag.

Ten tentacles erupted from both arms, writhing grotesquely into combat formation.

From the situation, this guy was the dungeon boss.

Level-up comes after I take him down.