177 Entering the Second Level
It was a shame that both of them were A Rank Hunters, so Asher couldn’t absorb their stats.
But it was fine because he had absorbed stats from the B-Rank hunter.
‘Status,’ Asher said as he saw the status screen.
———| Fate Devourer System |———
[Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville
[Level] -22 (EXP 16500/22,000)
[Bloodline] : Devil’s Absorption Rank SSS
[Cursed] : Curse of Fate (Active)
[Body Constitution] – Mana Core Rank D
———————————————-
[-Attributes-]
Strength: 115
Agility: 80+30
Endurance: 85
Intelligence: 180
Mana: 119
Stamina: 73
Charm: 65
Fate: 10230
[AP]: 20+5 [SP]: 16+2
———————————————-
[-Skills-]: Time Dilation (Rank S) Lvl 1, Absorption (Rank S) Lvl 1, Mana Flow (Rank A), Mana Circulation (Rank A), Rune of Eirdin (Rank D), Node-Art Rank SSS, Aura Force Passive Skill, Mir Steps
[-Node Art-]: Mir Steps, Swift Strike, Phantom Strike
[-Beast-] : Locked
[-Mastery-] : Node Art [Novice]-27%, Magic [Novice]-84%, Rune Art [Fundamental]-80%
———————————————-
Asher could see the increase in the stats from the time he had used his bloodline ability on the Boss Monster.
“What are the positions of the guys behind the barrier?” Asher asked.
<They are still standing there>
Listening to Tom’s reply, Asher looked at Kai, who nodded back at him.
They needed to get to the Second Level fast, as the more they delayed it, the higher the chances of something unexpected happening.
<I will remove the barrier in 20 seconds>
Asher and Kai moved toward the direction of the rest of the two A Rank hunters.
“Shouldn’t we go to our positions?” One of the guys asked.
“Let’s wait for a bit,” The other replied as he looked at the metal door before him.
<Removing Barrier: Pathway Restored >
They heard a robotic voice as they looked at the metal door opening and revealing the other side.
“Did they mess up something?” One of them was confused by the sudden activation of the barriers.
It was one of the security systems installed all over the facility, and it was very rare that they were activated.
“Let’s go. They will join us later anyway,” One of them said as both of them turned to leave.
But they could never have known that the moment they turned their backs was their last.
“Fire Claw,” Kai said as he ruptured the heart of one of the A-Rank hunters.
“Earth Bind,” In another instant, he bound the other A-Rank hunter as Asher arrived behind him and moved his sword through the skull of the A-Rank hunter.
[ Host has gained 20,000 EXP ]
[ Host has leveled up ]
This time Kai had helped, but his experience was the same.
‘So this much level of assistance is allowed,’ Asher concluded, looking at the system notifications before him.
He wanted to see if Kai supported him even more, would his experience be affected as the next target was also an A-Rank hunter.
“Did you find that room,” Asher asked Tom.
<Yes, you will find it after you follow the path on your maps>
The room they were looking for was the same place these two hunters were heading towards. It was the room where the air management devices were stored.
“I will go to that room, find the entrance to the Second Level, and open it,” Asher said as Kai nodded and disappeared.
Apart from the hunters, the entire underground facility was empty and would remain so until they used the fifth level to store the Artifacts for the Kalvas Gala.
ƥαṇdα- ηθνε|·ƈθm
Their mission had been going relatively smoothly until now because of Kai’s ability. However, Kai was about to reach his limit soon, and Asher wanted to arrive at the Fifth Level before that happened.
Asher examined his body, which had become visible again, as Kai removed the effects of his ability to ensure he could use it for longer on the rest of the lower levels.
Asher turned as he traveled through multiple hallways, ignoring most rooms where items related to the Whiteheart family were stored. Most were used to store monster parts such as horns and other items sold for a high price in the market.
Despite running at his top speed, reaching the room took him a few minutes.
< Access Granted: Opening Air Management Room >
Tom opened the room for Asher, and he had no difficulty entering the room, which only a few could access.
Asher examined various containers and gas tanks filled with oxygen to ensure the airflow inside the facility remained stable at all times.
His eyes scanned the vast room as he reached to touch one of the installed gas cylinders supplying air inside the whole underground facility.
<The sizes are similar, Boss, so you can change them>
After Tom’s confirmation, Asher picked up a similarly sized cylinder. However, this container was filled with a drug similar to the one in the flask that Dane and Kai had used in the security room.
Asher replaced the next tank set to be used with the one he had. It took him 20 seconds to do so.
“Change the airflow settings to maximum,” Asher ordered Tom.
<Yes, Boss>
Hearing Tom’s reply, Asher immediately left the room and went towards Kai, who was currently in the room where the entrance to the Second Level was located.
It was a large metallic door, similar to the one they used to enter the First Level. The problem was the runes that surrounded it.
Although Tom could take over the Security Systems, runes were not something he could handle unless he could see them.
“So, I just need to destroy these runes, right?” Kai asked once again.
<Yes, and make sure you do not make too much noise>
Destroying them was not an issue for Kai, but doing so without making much noise was difficult. He needed to cast a spell powerful enough to destroy the rune in one go, but at the same time, he needed to ensure that the noise was low.
“This should work,” Kai used a Tier 3 spell.
“Floor of Flames Rule thy…” He began to chant a spell.
At the end of the chant, he could see the floor around him heat up slightly.
Kai looked at the runes that were fading in front of him. Just then, he made a circle of flames with his hands and pushed them against the runes.
“Burn,” Kai muttered as he focused his mana to remove the runes.
<Nice!! I will open it>
At that moment, Asher arrived behind Kai, who turned back to look at him.
“Wait for 30 seconds,” Asher said, wanting to wait for the effects of his special drug to permeate the entire underground facility.
“Use your ability and take as many as you can,” Asher said.
This time, Asher didn’t tell Kai to move with him and go all out to kill all the hunters present on the second level.
Kai nodded at him as he flared his mana and used his ability to conceal both his and Asher’s presence.
“Finally,” Kai muttered. He had to hold back a lot as Asher was close to him.
Although he always told Dane about his recklessness, Kai was not much better than Dane when it came to fights. There was a reason Dane and Kai were both people that nobody inside Spyder liked to work with.
<Access Granted: Second Level>
They heard a robotic voice, but Asher’s eyes were focused on Kai’s hands, which were engulfed in flames. There was a reason that Kai mostly used close combat spells. He could conceal the spells with his special bloodline ability.
This was why he earned the title of ‘Illusionist’ in Asher’s previous life.
“I will go ahead,” Kai said as he disappeared before Asher.
Asher looked at another path different from the one Kai took, with 2 A-Rank Hunters on it.
Asher moved towards that path, but Kai didn’t know there were 2 A- Rank hunters on the other path that Asher was taking. This was something that Asher had ordered Tom not to disclose to them.