Devouring Dragon Heir-Chapter 21: Ch sweeping the dungeon clean

Klaus looked at his affinity percentage, his chest heaving with exhaustion. It had been a full twenty-four hours since he had slain his first ice golem, and the grind was proving tougher than he’d anticipated. He checked the system panel, his eyes landing on the shimmering number.

[Ice Affinity: 0.07%]

"Huff! It’s much more difficult than I thought," Klaus panted, wiping sweat from his brow despite the biting cold. He had already slain about forty D-rank ice golems, maybe more.

Each one had been absorbed, but after that initial spark of awakening his ice affinity, the progress had slowed to a crawl. With every subsequent absorption, the net percentage increase in affinity had come to a standstill, barely nudging the needle. It was like trying to fill a sea with a faucet.

Klaus now looked at the corpse of a much larger ice golem laid out in front of him. This wasn’t just any golem; this was the boss monster, the undisputed leader of the golems in this gate.

It was a formidable C-rank monster, its icy armor much thicker than normal, its form more imposing than its subordinates.

Yet, defeating it had been surprisingly easy for Klaus.

The combination of his Natural Hunter trait, which helped him track and anticipate, his Swift Step skill for dodging, the fear-inducing Haunt skill, and the sheer power of Stellar Sword Descent had made it a walk in the park.

The boss, for all its might, had been slow, predictable, and ultimately, no match for Klaus’s calculated assault.

Klaus looked at the boss monster one last time before calling out, "Absorb."

In an instant, the massive golem’s body began to shimmer, then dissolve, as if disintegrating into some strange, blue-white energy that flowed directly towards Klaus.

A few notifications chimed in, confirming the absorption. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

[Ding! Ice Affinity: 0.07% --> 0.08%!]

"Damn, he gave a whole 0.01% increase," Klaus murmured, a flicker of satisfaction in his eyes. It wasn’t much, but it was a clear jump, a testament to the boss monster’s higher rank.

[Host is now advised to hunt higher-ranked ice monsters to gain affinity]

the system’s voice chimed in, confirming Klaus’s conclusion. Normal D-rank golems were no longer efficient for elemental comprehension.

As the system spoke, Klaus walked towards a temporary camp he had set up earlier in the forest.

It was a simple, sheltered spot behind a cluster of large, snow-covered boulders, where he could recover his stamina and mana in relative safety. He had already spent a full day inside the gate, and the constant fighting, even against weaker foes, took its toll.

"I guess now I should harvest some drops to sell at the Association," Klaus mused aloud. He had been so focused on increasing his elemental affinity that he hadn’t thought much about the practical side of monster hunting.

But money was always useful. There was never something like too much money, and frankly, he had to buy a house. A good house in the capital city cost a billion Union Credits, and he had many more needs beyond just a place to live.

Moreover, he had a storage ring, a neat little trinket he’d gotten from the cultist he’d executed. Since he couldn’t openly show his system inventory, he could just act like the monster corpses appeared out of his ring, meanwhile storing any excess corpses in the ring’s seemingly infinite space. It was a convenient cover.

Looking at the time, he still had five days left before his permit validity expired. Although he could leave any time he wanted, that would just be a waste of money, which he was still short on.

The compensation he had received from the association for his past troubles may have been enough in any other city, but this was the capital of the country.

It was as good as a few pennies here, barely enough to cover a few days’ expenses.

"The boss will revive in about twenty-four hours from now," Klaus calculated. "Till then, I should hunt normal golems." He could use this time to gather more drops, try different skill combinations, and recover stamina and mana completely before facing the boss again.

With that plan in mind, Klaus started hunting golems again. This time, Klaus didn’t move with the same initial excitement. The thrill of the hunt had been replaced by a methodical, almost routine slaughter.

He merely used his Haunt skill to slow and disorient the large, slow-moving golems, then followed up with his newly acquired Ice Spikes, which were now noticeably enhanced by his growing affinity for ice.

The combination was incredibly efficient. The golems, paralyzed by fear and then impaled by sharp ice spikes, fell quickly.

Although since they were also ice-type monsters the effectiveness was low due to that but 2 or three spikes did the job anyway and the mana cost was quite low.

He also noticed that his mana pool seemed incredibly vast, almost limitless. He asked the system about it.

[Host’s large mana pool is due to the two Body Reconstruction and Blood Purification Pills consumed earlier, plus the latent dragon bloodline. Also, the Host’s awakened ice affinity significantly reduces the mana cost of ice skills.]

The system explained, then added [Your mana pool is already at least more than an A-rank hunter.]

Klaus felt a surge of pleasant surprise. An A-rank hunter’s mana pool! That was incredible. It explained why he could spam his ice skills without feeling drained.

This meant he could keep fighting for much longer than he thought, pushing deeper into the gate without needing frequent breaks.

He continued his slaughter, pushing further and further into the gate.

Soon, his infinite inventory, which conveniently provided separate cells for each type of item, had one column filled with ice golem corpses, the number showing X50 above it, indicating fifty corpses already stored.

Klaus didn’t stop there. The fighting was too easy, too efficient to halt. He went deeper and deeper into the gate, losing track of time. He stopped occasionally, but only briefly, to recover mana and stamina, which replenished surprisingly quickly.

Since he now had ice resistance, he didn’t even feel the significant drop in temperature as he ventured into the gate’s colder, more remote sections. He had now reached a place where the temperature had gotten so low that normal D-rank hunters would freeze solid within minutes. Yet, Klaus felt perfectly comfortable, the cold merely a refreshing tingle on his skin.

As he moved through the desolate, frozen expanse, a sudden, urgent chime rang in his mind.

[Ding! Anomaly detected!!!]

"Huh? What happened, System?" Klaus asked, immediately stopping and scanning his surroundings. The air felt different, charged.

[Ding! Host, the system has detected a huge influx of mana from a certain direction. Proceed with caution.]

Klaus’s brows furrowed. "Is it a mutation again?" He remembered the terrifying mutation his previous gate had gone through, and then he had met creatures beyond his natural understanding.

[It is not a mutation but something different, but the distance is too much to discern the specifics.]

Klaus hesitated for a moment. Unknown dangers were always risky. But then, a familiar thrill, a thumping excitement about the unknown, surged through him.

It was as if a new, exciting challenge had presented itself. "Well, let’s go and see, I guess?" he decided, a grin spreading across his face.

Klaus sprinted towards the direction the system pointed at, activating Swift Step to speed up.

He moved like a blur across the frozen plains, his new boots barely disturbing the pristine snow. The mana influx grew stronger, a powerful, almost magnetic pull drawing him forward.

Soon, he arrived at a plain area. It was a vast expanse of pure white snow, stretching endlessly in every direction, with no signs of anything like mountains or rocks. Just a flat, white desert of ice. He looked around, confused. There was nothing here.

[Ding!!! A dungeon core has been detected!]

"What is that?" he asked, still scanning the featureless landscape. He saw nothing.

[Host, you need to get it as soon as possible!!] The system’s voice was unusually urgent, almost frantic.

"What, where? I can’t see??" Klaus pressed, spinning around, trying to locate the source of the system’s alarm.

[Below you, host!!] The system practically shouted, its urgency reaching a peak.

Klaus didn’t hesitate, lost echo quickly appeared in his hand. He quickly activated Stellar Sword Descent, First Form: Star Touch, aiming the power directly at the ground beneath his feet.

He brought Lost Echo down with all his might, channelling the starlight and ice mana into a powerful downward strike.

Boom! Dust and ice exploded upwards as a small, muffled boom sound was released.

Beneath the shattered snow and ice, a hard, dark rock platform was revealed. It looked ancient, out of place in this pristine white landscape.

He quickly climbed down into the small depression he had created, landing on the stone platform. He saw a lid-like stone tablet embedded in the center. He gripped it and, with a powerful heave, opened it. Inside, nestled within a hollow, was a shiny blue orb, pulsating with a soft, ethereal light. It radiated an immense, pure mana.

[Quickly absorb that thing!!] The system’s voice was practically vibrating with impatience.

"Okay, okay, Geez, calm down," Klaus muttered, a little amused by the system’s uncharacteristic panic. "I’ve never seen you so much in a hurry." He reached for the orb.

"Absorb," he commanded, activating Origin Absorption.

[Ding!! dungeon core absorbed!!]

Klaus was exhilarated. A dungeon core! He wasn’t entirely sure what it was, but the system’s urgency implied it was incredibly important.

However, his exhilaration quickly faded as the color drained from his face. The space around him started fluctuating uncontrollably, shimmering and distorting as if a massive glitch had occurred.

The very space seemed to ripple and tear, the pristine white snow glitching like crazy.

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