Chapter 6: Instant Kill! Another Instant Kill! +100 to All Stats per Level Up?!

Chapter 6: Chapter 6: Instant Kill! Another Instant Kill! +100 to All Stats per Level Up?!

Nathaniel’s heart didn’t ripple at all.

After all, looking at the attributes of his God of Shadows Class, he really couldn’t muster any awe for Caleb’s sixty points of Strength.

Caleb’s face instantly turned red.

This feeling of throwing a punch and hitting cotton was driving him crazy.

"Just you wait!"

Caleb spat out a harsh threat through gritted teeth.

"We’ll see the truth in the dungeon!"

At that moment, the principal stood on the high platform, pressing his palm against a massive gray crystal ball.

His voice rang through the gymnasium.

"All students, prepare for teleportation."

The crystal ball erupted with light.

Beams of gray light shot out from the sphere, accurately enveloping every student.

Nathaniel felt his vision blur, and his body became weightless.

A second later, the light faded.

The gymnasium floor, which had been packed with people, was now empty. More than a thousand students had vanished in an instant.

Above the crystal ball in front of the principal, a massive translucent screen appeared.

Names were densely listed across it.

The screen displayed the real-time status of every student who had entered the dungeon.

At that moment, everyone’s progress showed the same thing.

Stage One.

"It’s started."

Mr. Ellis adjusted his glasses, his eyes fixed on the screen as he searched for his students’ names.

The surrounding teachers were also discussing the results.

"I wonder if anyone in this batch can break the record."

"It’s unlikely."

The vice principal shook his head, watching the screen with his hands behind his back.

"The student from the previous batch who awakened the Hidden Class Bloodthirsty Warrior still holds the school record. It took him two hours and thirty-eight minutes to clear Stage Twelve."

"That record is difficult to break. This year’s students have two unusual awakenings, but even so..."

The vice principal left the sentence unfinished.

Everyone understood what he meant.

The record had stood for a reason.

After a brief bout of dizziness, Nathaniel opened his eyes.

He was no longer in the noisy gymnasium.

Instead, he stood inside a hazy, gray space.

There was no visible sky and no clear horizon. Beneath his feet lay solid ground that looked like condensed mist.

Silence reigned all around him.

The air was cold.

"Welcome to the Initial Dungeon."

"Stage One challenge begins."

"Monster count: 10."

A cold, mechanical voice echoed through the space.

Dozens of meters ahead, red light began to gather in the empty air.

Monsters were forming.

Nathaniel didn’t panic.

He glanced at his skill panel.

His Shadow Soldiers were already waiting inside his shadow.

"Summon."

He issued the command.

Black ripples spread beneath his feet.

One after another, ten armored figures emerged from the darkness.

They stood in a loose formation around him, their bodies covered in dark armor that absorbed the dim light. Faint crimson glows shone beneath their helmets.

They made no sound.

They simply waited for his orders.

Nathaniel opened their status panel.

[Name: Shadow Soldier]

[Master: Nathaniel Beaumont]

[Tier: 1]

[Level: 1]

[Strength: 50]

[Agility: 50]

[Spirit: 30]

[Constitution: 60]

[Ability: Shadow Body]

[Shadow Body: Reduces physical damage while the Shadow Soldier remains within darkness.]

Nathaniel examined the figures.

Their attributes weren’t as high as his own.

But ten soldiers working together could still overwhelm an ordinary opponent.

And these were only Tier 1 Shadow Soldiers.

He had no intention of underestimating them.

Just then, the red light ahead finally solidified.

ROAR!

Ten wild boars appeared.

They were larger than ordinary pigs, covered in black bristles, with two sharp tusks protruding from their mouths. Their eyes were red, and saliva dripped from their jaws.

[Tusk Boar | Level 1]

[HP: 200]

[Defense: 15]

The boars had barely landed.

They hadn’t even finished roaring when the Shadow Soldiers moved.

The soldier at the front stepped forward.

It raised one armored arm and punched.

The movement was so fast that the air cracked.

BOOM!

The first boar was struck before it could react.

Its health vanished.

The impact sent it flying backward in a flash of red light.

The other soldiers attacked at almost the same moment.

One punch.

One strike.

One dead monster after another.

Damage numbers appeared above the boars.

-1,985!

-2,010!

-1,990!

-4,020! (Critical Hit)

The ten monsters had only 200 HP each.

The damage was excessive.

It wasn’t a battle.

It was a slaughter.

Within a second, all ten Tusk Boars vanished into red particles.

Nathaniel hadn’t moved a single step.

"Stage One cleared."

"Time taken: 1 second."

The mechanical voice announced the result.

For a brief moment, the voice seemed to falter, as if the dungeon’s system itself had trouble processing the result.

Then ten golden lights appeared above Nathaniel.

[Tusk Boar defeated. EXP +10]

[Tusk Boar defeated. EXP +10]

[Tusk Boar defeated. EXP +10]

...

[Current EXP: 100/100]

A golden glow enveloped his body.

The sensation was warm, spreading through his limbs as his strength increased.

Level Up!

Nathaniel immediately opened his status panel.

[Level: 2]

[Strength: 150]

[Agility: 150]

[Spirit: 155]

[Constitution: 150]

He blinked.

Then checked the numbers again.

His attributes had increased by a hundred and forty points in total.

No, that wasn’t right.

His Spirit had risen from 15 to 155.

His other attributes had jumped from 10 to 150.

Nathaniel stared at the panel.

"Wait..."

He checked the figures carefully.

The increase wasn’t a normal level-up bonus.

Something else had happened.

A new line appeared at the bottom of his status panel.

[God of Shadows: Growth Effect]

[For every level gained, all four primary attributes increase by an additional 100 points.]

Nathaniel fell silent.

One hundred points to every primary attribute.

Every time he leveled up.

He slowly drew a breath.

For an ordinary Warrior, gaining a level might increase Strength by around twenty points, with smaller gains in other attributes.

Even a rare Hidden Class might only gain a fraction of this bonus.

But his Class granted an additional hundred points to each primary attribute with every level.

That meant four hundred extra attribute points per level.

And the bonus would keep growing with every level he gained.

Nathaniel looked at his status panel again.

He had only just awakened.

He was still Level 2.

What would happen at Level 10?

Level 50?

Level 100?

He didn’t know.

But for the first time, he understood why his Class had been called the God of Shadows.

Its strength wasn’t limited to the soldiers it could summon.

It also gave him the potential to grow far beyond ordinary Awakened.

Nathaniel’s surprise slowly turned into a smile.

"This is ridiculous."

He glanced at the ten Shadow Soldiers.

A faint black glow spread across their armor.

Their bodies grew denser, and the shadows beneath their feet deepened.

A notification appeared.

[Shadow Soldiers synchronized with their master’s growth.]

[Their physical attributes have increased.]

The soldiers straightened.

They looked more imposing than before, though they remained Tier 1.

Nathaniel studied them.

His level had increased, and their attributes had followed.

That meant he wouldn’t have to abandon his early soldiers as he grew stronger.

They could continue fighting beside him.

And if he eventually unlocked higher Shadow Tiers, his army could grow in both quantity and quality.

Nathaniel looked toward the empty space ahead.

"All right."

He raised one hand.

The Shadow Soldiers turned toward him.

"Let’s see how far we can go."

The gray mist shifted.

A new message appeared in front of him.

[Stage Two is ready.]

Nathaniel smiled.

"Next."