Fwish! Fwosh!

A day or so had passed since Kaelen awakened, and he now found himself within one of the training grounds of the Basement Floor.

[Looks like my mind has already adjusted to my body’s sudden growth in strength.]

Kaelen mused. He would sometimes, on accident, break a glass when attempting to quench his thirst, or apply too much strength when twisting a doorknob and end up ripping the entire door from its hinges.

[A leap from level 10 to 20 is unprecedented... I feel so strong right now that I could probably rip steel armour like a sheet of paper.]

A proud smirk illuminated his doll-like expression, and he glanced at the spear he held.

[... Fingerprints?]

This was no exaggeration. He had marked the metal shaft of his spear with his own fingerprints as though it were an extremely malleable material like clay.

His smirk grew wider as he continued swinging his spear and practicing his footwork, to the untrained eye, he would seem as though he were rehearsing or choreographing a dance.

Fwosh! Fwish!

Everytime he would swing or thrust the spear, a gust of wind would accompany the movement.

His movements intensified, fueled by the memories of the deaths of the Soaring Boar party. He became so engrossed in those memories in fact, that he swung his spear mindlessly until —

Thonk!

The spear could not withstand the whiplash and his strength. It bent and twisted as though it were made from aluminum foil.

"Ah..."

He exclaimed.

"That was your last spear, Kaelen."

The onlooker, Veylith, commented as she stood a distance away.

"Was it?"

He retorted with a sarcastic tone.

"By the way. You don’t have to follow me around everywhere you know? I’m not going anywhere."

[She hasn’t let me out of her sight ever since I woke up. I can’t even poop in peace, damn it Veylith!]

He recalled how she had been adamant about guarding him, even going as far as accompanying him to the latrine. Mind you, this was the only time that she too would relieve herself.

"It won’t happen again. I won’t allow you to sacrifice yourself for anyone this time."

Her voice was filled with a stubborn conviction.

"Listen, I hear you, okay? But who will I sacrifice myself for here? We’re safe."

He discarded his spear and approached her.

"..."

"...We’re not."

She shook her head, the crimson strands of her hair flowing to that motion.

"..."

Kaelen paused.

[That’s right. They were attacked by a Vampire from the Eighth apparently.]

Kaelen recalled what little Veylith had told him about that day. He had even asked the Roach about it since Veylith wasn’t much of a talker.

[She barely says more than one sentence...]

[...]

[...Skadi was also there. I wish I could have seen him, I really went crazy with his design.]

[To think he would come all the way down here, what exactly is Charymos plotting? I know that his main goal is to ascend from the Basement Floor, but how exactly is he going to do that?]

[What could he possibly have that could attract an Upper Floor Guardian?]

[...]

He glanced at Veylith.

[... Is it us?]

[That’s the most probable conclusion I can come to right now.]

[We’re definitely not normal by any standards, so he’s definitely going to sell us in exchange for the First Floor.]

[...And the fact that Veylith killed Veladreth’s subordinate without any repercussions means that the Eighth is in on it too.]

Kaelen’s gaze was planted on the floor as his chin rested on his thumb and index finger.

[...]

[But why hasn’t he sold us yet?]

[...The Charymos I know would have jumped at the opportunity, so why are we still here?]

[Something isn’t right...]

[...]

[Well, whatever it is... I should embrace the delay. It’ll be troublesome if I get moved to the Eighth Floor, my escape from this Tower would be delayed by at least a decade.]

Kaelen raised his gaze, pinched his snow-white brows and took a deep breath before addressing Veylith:

"Could you please bring me some more spears from the armoury?"

[I brought like ten of them and put them in my pocket dimension, but I keep burning through them like toothpicks.]

He lamented, but then he thought that this was a golden opportunity, with Veylith gone he would at long last have a few minutes of privacy to himself.

[I can finally fart in peace!]

"Alright."

She agreed, and he almost cheered.

"Specimen 2902!"

Those words made the joy in his heart disappear like cotton candy upon contact with water.

The strangely timid Homunculus which whom that labeled belonged, came running along at Veylith’s call.

[Seriously, you kept her outside?! It’s late Veylith, she should be sleeping!]

Kaelen felt sorry for her as he watched Veylith order her to complete his request.

"..."

"...Tell her to go sleep when she comes back, okay?"

Veylith nodded reluctantly. She couldn’t understand why Kaelen was so hesitant at using the others, surely anyone weaker merely exists to be a tool, right?

That’s what she truly believed, but she thought best not to share her thoughts with Kaelen.

[...Now, let’s see.]

Kaelen turned his back and walked toward the center of the training ground.

Ding!

He then activated his status window and scrolled.

[I should be ready to try learning your skill now, right?]

A wave of excitement washed over him, not only because it was one of Julius’s parting gifts to him, but because this skill, [Claws of the Fire Dragon,] was not a skill that he had set when creating Bloodbound Ascension.

[I mean sure, I created the foundation for it, but this is a skill developed by the inhabitants of this world.]

He mused. By foundation, Kaelen is referring to "Qi Arts" and "Tempering Arts" which are one of the two techniques he had set for warriors to separate them from Mages and the like.

Ding!

-Would you like to learn the skill [Claws of the Fire Dragon]?

-[Y/N]

[Yes...]

Ding!

-Synchronizing... [10%... 60%... 90%... 99%...]

Ding!

- Congratulations, you have successfully learned the A- Rank skill [Claws of the Fire Dragon.]

The contents of the skill flooded Kaelen’s mind as though he had spent a lifetime memorizing the contents from the skillbook.

[You said you were only able to achieve mastery until the third claw, right?]

He remembered that from reading Julius’s journal. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

[There’s ten in total... Watch over me, Julius, I’ll Master this skill of yours and show you all ten Claws of the Fire Dragon.]

He declared in his heart and spent all night immersing himself in Julius’s skill.