Apex Star

Chapter 7: Dungeon

After a few hours of hunting in the forest, Nova found about twenty Rank 1 and two Rank 2 beasts. He finally felt a slight rise in his energy to Rank 4 after absorbing all their beast core, but he also still felt unsatisfied because of his Limitless Ability.

The closer he seemed to the next rank, the harder his ability made it for him. He felt his mind and body more refined, stronger, and faster than before entering the forest.

One hour later, Nova felt a surging of energy about three hundred meters ahead of him. He quickly looked in that direction before pondering for a while and deciding to give it a try.

'Is that..?' After Nova got closer, he realized it really was what he thought, a Dungeon. A dungeon usually starts forming in all Realms randomly after the [Awakening].

Because the energy in the forest was so dense, it gave birth to it.

From the 'Tutorial', that's how Nova named the information from the light screens, a dungeon could be graded from E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS to Grade 0.

Every single one corresponds to its own stage, for example, one could find Stage 1 Rank 2-3 in a D grade dungeon. Rank 3 in a dungeon is usually the Boss.

One couldn't retreat from a Dungeon once he entered, it was only after clearing all floors that he could. The E grade dungeon has 10 floors and D grade 20 floors, so on and on. The rewards for clearing a dungeon solo are more than a team completing it by far.

Nova sensed that the Dungeon was D grade because it pretty much corresponded with the beast in this part of the forest, hundreds of Rank 1 and tens of Rank 2 in a few kilometers square.

After hesitating for a moment, he decided to wait a few hours for the dungeon to form. It was almost morning, and by the energy swirling in the region, he could enter the dungeon by noon.

Looking for a cave, Nova decided to sleep a for a while to recover his mind. Because of his body refinement, he was alright, but mentally exhausted.

Walking for a few hundred meters, he spotted a small cave where he found and killed 4 Rank 1 bats.

Three hours later, he woke up from his sleep.

Going back to the dungeon, he saw that it was completely different from before. Previously, it was a D grade dungeon, but now it was of C grade.

Nova hesitated for a little when he thought that the boss he would be facing on the 30th floor would be of Rank 4, him being only a Rank 3. Still after pondering for a while, he decided to give it a go.

He was completely different from when he awakened, because of the boost of his ability it could be said that he didn't have an equal in Rank 3, that's after not even facing a Rank 3 before.

With his Space-Time and Apex Bloodline, he could fight above his rank. He knew it without even trying.

It was a peculiar feeling, an instinct of some sorts. And Nova obviously decided to listen to it, he didn't know why, he just trusted it that much.

Also, he found a few tricks to using his Space-Time affinity, but most importantly, his Apex Bloodline will definitely be a big boost in future battles.

From what he learned after entering his Soul World, it seemed that his Apex Bloodline was not focused in a particular direction but made him an all-rounder.

'Apex,' as in the name, referred to the fact that not only his strength will increase but also his speed, defense, senses, combat awareness, but also his mind, and the way he learns how to use his bloodlines and abilities.

One could say it was one of the most perfect bloodlines, and he would be correct, but that's a story for another time.

Finally, Nova made his first step in the dungeon direction, and after a whoosh, he disappeared in motes of light. It was a process of teleportation as well as one of transferring things or lifeforms to enter an alternate space located in the same dimension but with different Laws of the Universe.

After stabilizing himself, Nova tried to clear his foggy mind. He looked around and was amazed by what he saw.

Mountains stretching for a few kilometers in the sky filled his vision. All were of different colors. He couldn't see the end of them. They were so big that even Himalaya would seem like their children.

After concentrating for a little bit, he felt that the energy in the dungeon was even denser than on Earth. It was at least five times higher and this brought joy to Nova's face.

He felt that if he absorbed enough energy in a few hours, he could satisfy his ability requirements for a perfect advancing and could break through to Rank 4.

Of course, he could advance faster if he simply killed a few tens of Rank 2 or Rank 3s. The first time that Nova made the decision to carve his name in the sky, it was the moment his mindset changed, not completely, but undoubtedly changed for a better one.

The suppression he has gone through, the scar on his heart, his forgotten memories. At this moment, everything pushed against his chest. Nova felt close to bursting into tears remembering his childhood, that piece of himself he put a lock on it and forgot where the key was.

It took him a few minutes to calm down, and he found himself with a new conviction. With a sharp gaze, a sleeping rage, and a newfound wish to become stronger, Nova made his first step into the dungeon.

As if on cue, he could hear a few bestial sounds coming closer to him. He felt that maybe he could quell his rage a little, after exterminating these ants that pissed him, simply from being present at the wrong time and wrong moment.

GROWLL!

RAWRR!