Chapter Thirty-Five: Successively Reaching Rank C
As was his routine over the past few days, he patiently separated the kernels from their cobs.
Once they were ready, he transferred them one by one into the magic tool before exposing them to extremely high temperatures until they were completely dried out.
While doing so, he would occasionally check and squeeze the ten thousand pieces of corn he had laid out under the sun to dry.
...
That happened while Peter was busy tending to his corn.
"Master!" called out the dungeon guide, Peach, trying to get his attention.
"What's wrong, Peach?" Peter asked seriously as he quickly approached the visibly tense dungeon guide.
"It's Iyashi... Iyashi, Master—"
Peter did not let her finish.
He immediately dashed toward the area where Ichiro and Iyashi usually stayed.
Upon arriving, a shocking scene greeted him.
A fierce battle was taking place between Moriko and a gigantic bear.
What was even more surprising was that Ichiro was desperately trying to stop Moriko.
The Terrestrial Wolf even seemed to be siding with the giant bear.
It was as though he was protecting the mortal enemy of his ally, Moriko.
"Brr!" the female monkey snarled angrily.
"Gra!" the male wolf answered provocatively.
Peter concentrated, trying to piece together the incomplete context behind their conflict.
"Get away from there, wolf!" Moriko shouted.
"You'll get hurt if you keep this up!" Ichiro warned.
"I already warned you!" Moriko snapped furiously.
Suddenly, the Man-Ki began leaping wildly.
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
Ichiro quickly guided the giant bear away.
Without hesitation, the monster followed, seemingly placing complete trust in the wolf.
Peter felt intense confusion at what he was witnessing.
He even fell to one knee as powerful tremors began shaking the surroundings.
That was when he realized Moriko had become serious.
She had activated Stamp—an in-born ability exclusive to the Man-Ki race.
Moriko slammed both of her hands onto the ground before charging toward Ichiro and her true target—the giant bear.
"Gra!"
Ichiro glanced at the wounded giant bear with a sympathetic look before turning his attention back to Moriko.
The Terrestrial Wolf raised both of his front legs.
In the air, directly before the charging Man-Ki, countless sharp stone fragments suddenly materialized.
And the moment Ichiro's paws struck the ground once more, the stone fragments rained down toward Moriko.
Moriko saw the Terrestrial Wolf's Meteoric Drops.
She could clearly see the wall-like formation of stones lined across the sky.
She immediately understood Ichiro's intention—to force her back with Meteoric Drops and buy enough time for the giant bear to escape.
But that was where the wolf made a mistake.
Instead of being intimidated, the female Man-Ki became even more excited.
She boldly charged straight into the incoming Meteoric Drops.
Each of Moriko's steps grew larger, faster, and more fearless.
The first row of stone fragments was just about to crash down behind her.
The Man-Ki poured all her strength into her movements.
Perhaps because of that, she unintentionally surpassed the limits of her own body.
Each step became almost like a powerful leap.
Bababababababam!
Bababababababam!
Bababababababam!
Moriko successfully avoided the first row.
After that, the fragments from Meteoric Drops began crashing down one after another.
After avoiding the first three rows, she was forced to dodge to the left.
The falling pattern of the stones had changed.
While the first three rows resembled solid walls, the fourth row had narrower gaps between each descending fragment.
There also appeared to be a missing section on the left side.
From then on, Moriko's sprinting and evasive movements became zigzagged.
"Grr!"
Panicking, Ichiro grabbed the giant bear by the arm.
The beast no longer carried the ferocity expected of a spirit beast.
Meanwhile, the giant bear stared intently at the approaching Man-Ki.
Even so, Ichiro could not help but admire Moriko's tenacity despite the troublesome giant bear complicating everything.
Ichiro's eyes reddened as he watched the Man-Ki break through his Meteoric Drops.
He understood where the mother Man-Ki's anger was coming from.
He too had once experienced the overwhelming desire to take revenge against those who killed his loved ones.
But this entire situation was a massive misunderstanding.
Even so, the wolf could not stop himself from becoming excited.
He could feel his blood boiling deep within him.
Several times, Ichiro scraped his front paw against the ground before slamming it down heavily.
For days now, he had been thinking about his previous encounter with the giant bear.
That was the first time he had truly experienced helplessness—and the overwhelming gap between Rank D and Rank C.
He wanted to fight a Rank C opponent once again so that the fear slowly growing within his heart would not completely consume him.
Ichiro's body suddenly bulked up in preparation for the impending clash.
The Terrestrial Wolf lowered his center of gravity.
And the moment Moriko reached the proper distance, the two charged toward each other simultaneously.
BANG!
The Livelihood Dungeon trembled slightly as the two spirit beasts collided.
Head against head.
And only moments after the impact, the unsurprising result became clear.
Moriko was pushed back five steps.
The Man-Ki was about to charge again when the damage she had sustained finally manifested.
Her arms and legs weakened while buried against the ground, though she quickly regained her balance.
Meanwhile, Ichiro was sent flying through the air from the physical collision.
The massive difference in strength between Rank C and Rank D became immediately apparent.
The giant bear's eyes widened in shock upon seeing Ichiro thrown behind it.
It could not even react to how quickly everything had happened.
"Perhaps this is fine after all. At least I got to see her display her true strength," Ichiro thought weakly after catching sight of the almost berserk Moriko.
And after that, he lost consciousness.
"GROOOOWL!"
With bloodshot eyes, the giant bear charged toward Moriko.
With every step it took, the trembling of the earth intensified.
"Brr!"
"Grr!"
The savage auras of the two spirit beasts collided as they rushed toward one another.
And in the middle of their clash...
Peter bravely stepped between them.
He spread his arms wide between the two charging monsters.
Moriko immediately slammed on the brakes after seeing the incredibly reckless thing her master had done.
When she first met him, she thought Peter was simply insane—a man who constantly did all sorts of strange things.
But as time passed, she gradually corrected her first impression of him.
Through her close observation, she noticed just how hardworking the dungeon master was.
He worked from morning until night.
And above all...
As a mother, she deeply appreciated the respect he showed toward her deceased child.
As much as possible, she did not want him to get hurt.
On the other hand, the giant bear also panicked upon seeing the human standing in its path.
It too desperately restrained itself out of fear that Peter might get caught in the crossfire.
Meanwhile, the very person who had alarmed the two terrifying spirit beasts remained calm.
Peter was confident that they would stop once he stood in their way.
Even so, he still could not help but feel slightly nervous as he watched the overwhelming momentum of the two charging beasts.
At that moment, he had only one wish—that they would stop in time.
Peter remained confident as he stared at the giant bear...
and at the status window floating before him.
...
Name: Iyashi
Race: Moon Bear (Mimic Form)
Gender: Male (Mimic Form)
Age: Null
Lifespan: Null
Status:
Stats:
Strength: C+
Resilience: C
Agility: C+
Spirit: D+
Abilities :
Ultra-Instincts(Passive)
An ability that allowed the Moon Bear race to survive the hardships and dangers of the wilderness.
Claw of Darkness
A long-range claw attack used by the Moon Bears. Its power deepens as the night grows darker.
Moon Chaser(Conditional Passive)
The Moon Bears are among the greatest hunters of the night. Any target marked by the Claw of Darkness can be relentlessly tracked, even through the depths of hell.
...
"Transform!" Peter ordered with wide eyes toward the giant bear, which apparently belonged to a species known as the Moon Bear.
Poof!
Peter let out a sigh of relief as he caught his pet, Iyashi.
The bear had charged straight toward him, forcing him to order it to transform.
Fortunately, his command worked.
Behind him, slightly off to the side of his position, stood Moriko, who had only just managed to come to a complete stop.
...
Name: Iyashi
Race: Regeneration Slime
Gender: genderless
Age: 1 month, 2 weeks and 3 days
Lifespan: 1-50 years
Status:
Stats:
Strength: C
Resilience: C
Agility: C
Spirit: C
Abilities :
Self-regeneration (passive)
Swallow
Mimic (new!)
...
Iyashi ranked up.
From Rank D, his slime had advanced to Rank C.
And Peter absolutely loved it.
Despite its cute appearance, his favorite slime had apparently become a higher-ranked spirit beast.
Peter really liked that element of surprise.
He also noticed that, as usual, the Regeneration Slime's four types of stats remained perfectly balanced.
But of course, the biggest surprise was the new ability it had learned upon ranking up.
Peter did not know whether to laugh or cry.
As far as he knew, Iyashi was a Regeneration Slime—a support-type magic beast.
But after this rank up, he was no longer sure if it could still be considered a support-type spirit beast.
The new ability it obtained was simply too random compared to its racial name.
Even so, it was still an incredibly welcome addition for him.
Who was he to refuse?
The ability looked very, very useful.
...
Mimic
- It is made possible to transform into the swallowed beings.
...
Peter gently stroked the Regeneration Slime in his arms.
"Kyu!" it said cutely.
Meanwhile, the recently awakened Terrestrial Wolf let out a weak whine as it lay on Peter's lap.
...
After calming the three of them down, Peter checked his own status, unable to hide the excitement brewing within him.
...
Name: Peter Bulalakaw
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 23
Lifespan: (40–90)
Title/s:
Master of the Livelihood Dungeon!
Passionate Tamer
Status:
Stats:
Strength: E
Resilience: D
Agility: E
Spirit: D
Available Stat Points : C
...
After what he experienced in the Eternal Forest, Peter had no choice but to allocate the majority of his stat points there.
The moment he made his decision, he immediately felt the primary side effect of stat point allocation.
Waves of electrical voltage surged throughout his entire body one after another before gradually subsiding after a few moments.
Even so, he did not feel even the slightest bit of pain.
Instead, it felt as though overflowing energy was coursing through his entire body.
Peter hurriedly rose from where he was seated.
He walked toward the unexplored section of his territory—the area that had only recently been added after his Livelihood Dungeon expanded by one kilometer.
It did not take long before he arrived.
That place was vastly different from the empty lands they were used to.
Thick and tall wild grass grew everywhere.
Withered trees were also scattered around the area.
And more importantly, massive boulders lay obstructing the surroundings.
Those enormous rocks were precisely his target.
Peter approached the largest boulder he could find.
He looked up at it.
As someone nearly six feet tall, even he could tell just how gigantic it truly was.
He carefully positioned himself in front of it.
He took a deep breath.
Drew back his fist.
And then—
BAM!
CRAAACK!
...he punched it.
Peter grinned as the boulder slowly broke apart into four massive chunks.
...
Name: Peter Bulalakaw
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 23
Lifespan: (40–90)
Title/s:
Master of the Livelihood Dungeon!
Passionate Tamer
Status:
Stats:
Strength: C
Resilience: D
Agility: E
Spirit: D
Available Stat Points : --
...
"Gra!" Ichiro called out upon noticing the newly arrived Peter.
"Kyu!"
"Gibber!"
"Master!"
Iyashi, Moriko, and Peach quickly greeted him one after another.
Peter smiled at the four of them.
"I've reached Rank C too," he revealed with a laugh.
"Congratulations!" Peach greeted happily.
"Awoo... ahoo?" Moriko greeted energetically.
"Kyu!" Iyashi also chimed in excitedly.
Peter could only smile at their warm reception.
After that, his gaze shifted toward Ichiro, who stepped slightly forward.
The wolf stared at him expressionlessly.
"Are you okay, Ichiro?" Peter asked his companion with concern.
"Gra!" the Terrestrial Wolf replied.
Peter nodded seriously after understanding what his companion meant.
This was what he was trying to say:
"I want to become even stronger too, boss!"
Ichiro's tone was incredibly eager as he expressed his desire to Peter.
...
They were still some distance away from the current entrance of the Livelihood Dungeon when Peter's small group encountered a monster.
And it was something very familiar to them.
It was a gigantic boar spirit beast.
Peter stepped to the side and gave way to the main focus of the hunt.
Their primary objective right now was to stimulate the Terrestrial Wolf and help it rank up.
As usual, the recently ranked-up Regeneration Slime clung comfortably to Ichiro's back.
"Gra!" Ichiro snarled fiercely.
"Kyu?!" the slime protested anxiously.
"Come on, Iyashi. Listen to Big Brother Ichiro for now. We already talked about this earlier," Peter instructed the worried slime, which trembled slightly.
Even so, the slime obeyed and jumped toward Peter.
"Gra!" Ichiro challenged the gigantic boar with vibrant fighting spirit.
And the monster accepted the challenge.
The provoked beast charged mindlessly toward him.
But Ichiro's opening move was different from his previous encounter with another boar.
This time, he directly faced the monster's charging attack.
However, unlike before, he was now far more experienced in combat.
He was no longer intimidated.
After all, Ichiro had already encountered spirit beasts far fiercer than this Rank C creature several times.
And even now, he remained alive and strong.
Calmly, he evaded the boar's charge just before the two could collide.
Once he positioned himself at its side, he immediately lunged at it.
He viciously sank his sharp fangs into the giant creature's greasy neck while using all his strength to bring it down.
THUD!
The moment he succeeded, he quickly distanced himself from the thrashing monster.
The gigantic boar struggled desperately to lift its body.
Suddenly, Ichiro's eyes lit up as though he had remembered something.
He quickly reenacted the finishing move his boss had once used against another boar—of course, in his own way.
Ichiro raised both of his front legs.
Above the struggling boar, dozens of sharp stone fragments suddenly materialized.
The giant wolf slammed his front legs heavily onto the ground.
At the same time, the Meteoric Drops began crashing down violently upon the still-living boar.
BABABABABAM!
BABABABABAM!
BABABABABAM!
Amid the chaotic rain of falling stones, one fragment of Meteoric Drops stood out from the rest.
"SSHHLUCK!"
And it was immediately followed by another.
"THWUMP!"
The first sharp stone fragment pierced directly into the unprotected eye of the giant beast.
The second fragment followed, driving even deeper until it penetrated the boar's brain.
The very instant the first stone struck, the giant beast's screaming abruptly ceased.
Peter winced and looked away when Ichiro suddenly began glowing brightly.
Several seconds passed before his vision fully recovered.
He immediately turned toward the Terrestrial Wolf and let out a sigh of relief after confirming that it was unharmed.
Peter then quickly opened Ichiro's status window.
...
Name: Ichiro
Race: Terrestrial Wolf
Gender: male
Age: 1 year and 3 months
Lifespan: 30-300 years
Status:
Stats:
Strength: C
Resilience: C+
Agility: D+
Spirit: B-
...