The atmosphere on the second mine level was utterly different from the first. If the first level was barely tolerable for visibility, the second was pitch dark. Torches still lined the walls, but their flames were dimmer—flickering weakly like they might snuff out any second.
A cold draft swept through the tunnels now and then. Honestly, it was straight out of a haunted house.
Mysterious first checked the white bracer he’d just looted—only +3 defense, no other stats, and level 6 required to equip.
As for that green hat… nah, forget it.
Uncertain if the Holy Light Essence worked from his bag or needed to be held, Mysterious gripped it directly. His Novice Sword was one-handed anyway, so holding the essence didn’t slow him down.
Prepared, he stepped into the second level.
*Clack… clack…* He hadn’t gone far when strange sounds echoed ahead.
Peering toward the noise, he spotted a skeleton wandering slowly. The *clack-clack* came from bones knocking together. In this eerie gloom, it felt deeply unsettling.
This moving skeleton wasn’t human—Mysterious wasn’t a bone expert, but judging by first-level monsters and its size, it had to be a rat skeleton.
“So this is the legendary skeleton soldier?” Mysterious muttered. Then he charged boldly, sword raised.
Deprived of flesh, the skeleton seemed blind to its surroundings. It didn’t notice him approaching.
*Clang—* His Novice Sword slammed into the white bones, cracking them.
[-3] Mysterious’s first damage that broke defense since entering EndlessHorizon.
The monster’s stats flashed on impact… though “flashed” was generous.
[Mine Skeleton Rat Level: 6]
[????]
Even at level 3, he couldn’t see a level 6 monster’s details.
One thing surprised him—he’d expected higher-level monsters here, yet this was still level 6.
No flesh didn’t make it a dummy. The rat twisted instantly, swiping with bony claws.
Muscleless, its movements were slower than Mine Rats above. If skeleton rats had blocked the entrance earlier, he could’ve lured them out easily.
Mysterious dodged the claw with a step, then swung twice. [-2] [-0] Only one hit broke defense.
“…” He paused, then swung hard at its spine.
[-8!] A critical hit! The health bar dipped sharply. Second-level skeleton rats had less HP than first-level rats.
“Right—when you break defense, damage scales with attack power. Not sure about crits yet.” He frowned. “This thing’s got barely over 100 HP… why so low?”
In most games, second-level monsters were stronger. HP usually reflected that.
Puzzled but relentless, Mysterious kept attacking. Breaking defense boosted his DPS. The slow skeleton gave him openings. He nearly killed it in under a fifth of the time a Mine Rat took.
Dodging another swipe, he thrust his Novice Sword into its eye socket. The blade pierced through the skull.
[-36] A huge yellow number floated up.
The Mine Skeleton Rat lost its second “life,” crumbling into bones.
*Was that… a fatal blow? A weak point hit?* Mysterious stared, stunned. No way could he deal 36 damage normally. Skeleton lore must explain it.
“EXP’s pitiful too… only a third of the living ones.” He scooped up a copper coin, grumbling.
Still, killing bone piles was more efficient than rats. With the head weak point, he could kill six skeleton rats in the time for one Mine Rat—and handle two at once.
But his quest came first. He only killed unavoidable monsters.
Compared to level one, skeleton rats here were denser. Groups of two or three appeared often.
With Holy Light Essence negating level suppression, these already-weak skeleton rats crumbled before him.
Time flew when focused. Level 4 now, Mysterious realized it was almost 6 PM.
He’d leveled despite holding back. So he stopped attacking. Even unavoidable skeleton rats got lured and circled—he needed to suppress his level for the quest.
Two skeleton rats blocked his path. He walked up to pull them, planning to slip past. They were slow; easy to shake.
Just as he backed away with their aggro, a white shadow dropped from the dark ceiling like a bullet.
Mysterious spun, swinging at the blur. The delay nearly got him bitten by the chasing rats.
[-4] The shadow flew off, crashing to the ground. He glimpsed it—a bat. A skeletal one.
[Mine Bone Bat Level: 7]
[????]
As an undead skeleton-type, it ignored pain. It flipped up instantly, flapped tiny wings, and dove again.
Fast. Too fast. Speed meant high threat. At his low HP, one hit from a level 7 monster could kill him. He wouldn’t test if it could one-shot him.
Trapped by one Bone Bat and two Skeleton Rats, Mysterious looked seconds from defeat. Yet he dodged or parried every strike, never missing a counter. A spectator might mistake him for an NPC.
He couldn’t run with three monsters on him. But after the panic faded, he steadied. The Bone Bat’s speed was manageable. Focusing fire, its thin HP vanished fast.
After dozens of minutes, the Bone Bat fell. The remaining rats were trivial.
He wouldn’t spare the monsters that chased him for so long. Three minutes later, they crumbled into bones.
The trio dropped five copper coins and white shoes—undead here dropped no materials.
Level requirements locked the shoes. He tossed them in his bag. With earlier loot, he now had four unequippable items.
Bone Bats grew frequent ahead—sometimes solo, sometimes with rats. Never in pairs.
Their speed and wide aggro range meant Mysterious killed them on sight. Accidentally pulling extras would be messy.
Luckily, Bone Bats gave little EXP. At level 4 with overlevel penalties, he only reached 76%—not level 5.
If others knew his level, they’d suspect cheating. The top player was a US streamer at level 3, halfway. Mysterious’s lead was massive… and he hadn’t even grinded freely.
Skeleton rats and bats gave less EXP than Mine Rats, but as level 6 monsters, overlevel kills rewarded richly. With Holy Light Essence negating suppression and weak point knowledge, his undead-slaying efficiency rivaled level 6 players. He just didn’t know it.
Even with low starting stats, nothing could stop this Superbeing from shining.
