I, The Anomalous God

Chapter 12 Night Raid

John stayed on the 12th floor for another two weeks. While there, he visited the goblin’s mining settlement from time to time. The goblins reclaimed their mining settlement and successfully drove out the Lavadiles and Fire Imps which attacked.

He fought some of the Lavadiles and took their meat back to his cave. “The appraisal said its flesh is edible and quite a delicacy!” He mumbled. He heated the meat on a fire and when he was satisfied with it, he took a bite.

Juices oozed out from the meat at every bite he made. “Oh my God! This is delicious!” The saltiness of the meat was just right and the grilled smell from the meat also stimulated his appetite. “Man, this meat is addicting!”

John took out the Sprite Magic scroll and read while eating. He was hoping he can unlock his Sprite Bloodline. He was very happy when he tried the spells he learnt.

“I wonder what this Bloodline magic will be. Air Shot is just a compressed ball of wind. Flame Shot is just a simple fire ball. Water Shot, well it’s a water ball, and Rock Throw is just a piece of a head-size rock, although, I am quite amazed how it formed in thin air!” He muttered.

During the afternoon, John decided to go down another level. Although, the monsters on that floor still give him experience, it was already slowing down. And he thought that if he battled high-leveled monsters with his skills, it was better for his skills to barely work against them, that way the difficulty of using them might raise their levels.

He found the passage towards the 13th floor that night. John traveled down without hesitation. As usual, the passage was dark and damp. If not careful, one might slip and fall. Fortunately, he finally learnt a fire spell.

“Flame Shot!” He conjured a ball of flame, but instead of firing it off, John maintained it over his palm. It served as his torch in that dark passageway.

Finally, after 20 minutes of walking, give or take, he arrived at the 13th floor. “Oh! What the hell?!” He exclaimed in surprise.

The entire floor was glowing bright green. There were trees, grasses, and flowers in there. It was an unbelievable sight that John almost thought himself hallucinating.

“How the hell did a forest appear inside a cave?!” He looked up and he can’t even see the dungeon ceiling. It was so bright. There was a very bright source of light like the sun at the center of the supposed ceiling.

There are even cloud formations above. John floated up and he was so astonished to find that the 13th floor’s dungeon ceiling is very high up. It was like he is inside another world, floating in the sky.

He floated down when he took 30 minutes of floating but still did not reach the ceiling. “Am I outside the dungeon?” He wondered.

John explored the forest and found some small beasts and some large beasts, but they were very weak that he did not pay attention to them. “Why are the beasts have a very low level here?” He asked himself. The beasts he encountered differed in level from 6 to 10.

“Area Sense!” He activated his skill and a crude map of the area, 1000 meters around him appeared inside his head. There was nothing in the area except for those low-leveled beasts. “What the hell is going on? Is this like a safe zone?”

He continued walking for about an hour when his Area Sense finally caught something. John slowly crept down low on the ground. He found some bushes and hide behind them.

He quietly peeked out and saw a village. “What the-.” John hid back behind the bush when he saw someone came out from the village entrance.

“That’s an elf!” He thought. The person that came out had a pointy ear, long, silky, silver hair, and a gray skin. “No, it’s a dark elf!” John corrected.

John regretted not reading enough scrolls in Knowsborough when he was still in the Sprite village. But he thought, he was there for only a month or so, he can’t probably read all the scrolls in there.

“Maybe, they are friendly.” He thought. “Let’s recall some Earth knowledge about dark elves.” He thought hard. “Damn, dark elves are not friendly types. Should I just leave? No. I’ll try to sound things first.” He decided.

John peeked from behind the bush and saw the dark elf standing outside the entrance. He seemed to be waiting for something or someone. John took the chance and used his Appraise skill on the elf.

“Ting!

Name: Svaltar Fleur

Level: 67

Race: Dark Elf

Class: Dark Mage

Age: --

Health: 6400

Mana: 6225

AP: --

DP: --

Strength: --

Dexterity: --

Intelligence: --

Vitality: --

Wisdom: --

Agility: --

Active Skills: --

Passive Skills: --

Title: --

Status Points: --.”

“Huh? This appraisal looked different when I appraised the goblins!” John thought as he was surprised of the information. Although, the appraisal only showed the name, Health and Mana of the target.

“Ting! Appraisal skill leveled up.”

“Ting! Appraisal skill leveled up.” The consecutive announcements rang.

“Oh, good!” He immediately used the appraisal again and it showed the same stats.

John was happy to find the Appraisal skill to level up. He continued watching the village in front of him. The Dark Elf at the entrance to the village seemed to be waiting for someone, and not soon after, another Dark Elf did come.

John could not hear what they were talking about since he was a bit far away. He saw the two elves hurriedly went inside the village.

John used his Area Sense to try and see if he can make some things inside the village. He saw quite a handful of Dark Elves inside. He wanted to sneak in, but he was afraid of being noticed. He still doesn’t know how the elves will react to him, especially, since he is a human.

He remembered Grand Scholar Val mentioning of other races in Avalund coming to Borina Cave dungeon and he thought the Dark Elves are sure to be one of the races in Avalund that hates humans the most.

He waited for another hour until he noticed that his surrounding is getting darker. “Is it becoming darker or is this just my imagination?” John looked around and saw the village starting to light some torches. “s**t! There’s actually day and night inside a dungeon!” he blurted whisperingly.

Soon, the winds became colder as the night went deeper. Fortunately, though, John is not affected by the least. He did not even notice the sudden drop in temperature.

His Area Sense skill was activated from time to time to monitor any changes happening. So far, things were quiet. However, his Danger Sense skill suddenly flared. It has been weeks since this skill of his activated.

John quietly turned around and activated his Area Sense skill to the maximum, and he was shocked at what he saw.

There were a huge number of monsters coming from every direction. “What the hell is going on?” Slowly, John floated up until he was high enough that he felt secured.

His Area Sense saw groups of monsters running or sneaking towards the village. He also saw the Dark Elves preparing themselves for a fight. It was as if they knew the impending crisis.

There were more than 50 monsters heading towards the village. John was able to appraise some of the monsters that went inside a certain area around him, and he was very surprised.

All the monsters’ level ranged from level 35 to 50, which the highest level is 50. From what John experienced from the 10th floor to the 12th, he thought he figured out the level distribution on each floor, but somehow, the levels of the monsters he is seeing now is contrary to that.

“What is happening here?” He blurted.

John saw the elves started to fight off the monsters and by the looks of things, the elves are in a bad place. The monsters were all land type monsters and John was safe up on the air. Although, if he fought the monsters, he should be able to fight them. Without using his skills, he can fight them head on with only his physique.

“Should I help them?” He asked himself. He knew the races in Avalund despises the humans and the Dark Elves most probably hates them too.

At the back of his mind, John thought the elves as prideful beings and if a human like him helped, it might just spark more hostility. He hesitated but chose to help anyway.

John attacked one of the monsters who looked like a kangaroo. It was level 37. He killed the kangaroo monster with a punch and proceeded to kill another.

“Ting! Level 37 Borina Frumfa killed. +25% experience gained.”

“Ting! You gained 1 level.”

“Ting! Level 35 Borina Boulder Smasher killed. +25% experience gained.”

He moved through the battlefield and killed another three level 36 monsters. Then, he saw a Dark Elf being cornered by three monsters.

The monster was about to pounce on the Dark Elf when John casted a four-layer Force Shield around the elf. The elf was surprised by the sudden shield encasing him. Three of the shields broke while leaving one shield cracked, but it saved the elf’s life.

John moved behind one of the three monsters and punched it to death. He pushed away the other one with telekinesis while kicking the other one to death.

“Are you okay?” He asked the elf who was stunned by John’s sudden appearance.

“You are a human!”

“I guess you are okay. Anyway, you should stand up and fight again.” John left the elf and found another Dark Elf. He killed the monsters that cornered the elf and left.

“Who was that child?” the elf wondered.

In another corner, John helped another elf. “W-why is a human child here?”

“You should get up and fight if you still can, but if you can’t, then you should retreat.” John said and left the area. The elf was left stunned.

“Wait! Who are you?”

“I’m John. Now, get up!” He took off and fought another group of monsters.

==============

After two hours, most of the monsters retreated. The Dark Elves was overjoyed to have survive the night. John leveled up thrice in that time.

“Human!” A Dark Elf called out which took everyone’s attention. The Elf was Svaltar, the one John saw at the entrance.

“Ah, hello!” He greeted.

All the elves raised their weapons again, except it were all pointed at John.

“Oh, come on! I helped you guys!” John complained.

“We did not require your help, human! Take him and tie him up!” Svaltar ordered.

Two elves escorted John into a holding cell inside a hut. “Man, if I knew this would happen, I would not have helped!” John mumbled a complain.

=========

Meanwhile, inside a hut at the center of the Village, Svaltar was seated in front of an older Dark Elf.

“How was the human child?” the old elf asked.

“He is currently imprisoned. What do you want us to do with him?” Svaltar asked.

“I want to speak to that child. Bring him here tomorrow.” The elder said.

“Yes Chief!” Svaltar then left the hut.

=============

In the next morning, John was brought into the Village Chief’s hut. The Village Chief offered John a seat.

“So, you are the human that helped us last night.” The elder opened.

“Yes. But, apparently, I regret doing it. I hoped Dark Elves are not what I have heard about, unfortunately, you guys are even worst. Not even a thank you, and you imprisoned me!” John voiced out his sentiments.

“I apologize on behalf of my brethren.” The Village Chief said smiling. “But I am sure you know, humans and us, natives of Avalund, hate each other the most, you should understand why it is how they reacted against you.” The elder justified.

“I understand, but at least, a small thank you should be enough!”

“Well then, thank you for the help, child.” The chief smiled. “I believe we have not introduced properly. I am Kaflear Atu’uri. Village Chief of this place.”

“Ahem… you are welcome, and my name is John Arcala.”

“Hello, John. Welcome to our small village. May I ask, why are you here? What brought a human child in this dangerous dungeon?” the elder asked.

John thought hard of what he would tell before opening his mouth. “Believe it or not, I was left unconscious on the 10th floor. I ventured the floor looking for a way to get out, but unfortunately, I think I went to the wrong floor.” It was a bit of a lie but thought, what can he say? These elves cannot be trusted after what they did to him despite his help.

“Hm… I see. You know, Borina Cave dungeon is too deep inside Avalund. And in my entire life, I have never heard of any human who reached this deep inside Avalund, more so, a human child.” The elder said.

“Heh, I guess there is a first for everything!” John exclaimed. “Can I ask a question?”

“Yes, go on.” The chief replied.

“What is going on here? I mean, why is there a freaking sun, a forest, a day and night on this floor?” John asked.

“Oh, yes. This is one of the unique floors in Borina. From this floor down to 16th, its all forest.” The chief explained.

“What about the sun?”

“The sun you see up there is not a real sun. It’s a very large Sun Stone. That stone gathers Light energy from the plants’ roots during the day. Those energy gathered in the stone is then used by the forest on this floor. After the energy is depleted, the stone will stop emitting light and that turns night in here.” The chief explained.

“Wow! But why can’t I reach the sky?” John asked again.

“Ah, that is another uniqueness to this floor. It is because of an illusion; a very strong one.”

“An illusion! Okay.” John thought about his illusion resistance skill but thought that it was low level that it probably did not work against the floor’s illusion. “Last night, those monsters’ levels are abnormally high for this floor, that is if I am not wrong about the level distribution of this dungeon.”

“Yes. Last night is what we call “Night Raid”. Monsters from the 16th floor to the 24th floor raids the floors from 16th to this floor.”

“Is that normal?” John was curious.

“It happens every three weeks. Yesterday was the third day.” The elder answered.

“So, tonight, there will be another raid?”

“Yes. That is what I wanted to talk to you about. I saw what you did last night, and I want to ask your help.” The chief said.

“You want my help? You do remember, your men imprisoned me after I helped!” John blurted.

“I apologize for that, but as you saw last night, we would have been annihilated if you did not step in. Look, to make up for that, I will reward you.” The Chief offered.

John was about to decline but when he heard about a reward, he though otherwise. “What reward are we talking about?”

“I can give you some Skill Scrolls, however, you must help us survive the raids.” The Chief said.

“Wait, why do you need my help now? I mean, from the looks of things, you have been staying on this floor for, I don’t know, years? You survive the night raids from those years, what change that you require my help?” John asked as he suddenly thought about it.

“The night raids from the last few months are not the same as before. The monsters are becoming stronger and tougher to kill.”

“Did they level up? But I saw the levels of the monsters last night. If those monsters came from the 24th floor and the other floors before it, the levels match. How can you say the monsters are getting stronger?” He asked.

“Do you have the appraisal skill?” John nodded to that question. “Then, you should understand it the most. The monsters’ stats changed!”

“I did not see their stats, maybe it was because its level is still very low.”

“Hm. I see.” The chief nodded then stared at John, “So, are you going to help us?”

“What makes you think I can help you survive the raid?”

“I saw what you can do. You are a child, but your abilities are way beyond the strongest soldier we have here.” The chief said.

“Okay.” John agreed.

================

“Chief, are you sure about this? We don’t know that human!” Svaltar said.

“I believe you saw what that kid can do. The monsters do not affect him in anyway. He is also stronger than any of you.” The Village Chief said.

“Sir, we can hold on. If that is what you are worried about, we still have you. Besides, we already asked assistance from the village. It is only a matter of time for the reinforcements to come.” Svaltar pointed out.

“Svaltar, what we do here is an important breakthrough for our village. When this end, our village will reclaim our lost reputation and power!” Kahflear said.

“Chief, what is happening now is the result of that test. If other races find out about it. This might be the end of the Dark Elves!” Svaltar said.

“Shut up!” Kahflear blurted angrily. “I know what I am doing! This is the best for our race! The Dark Elf King does not understand this! Are you having a second thought as well, Svaltar?”

Suddenly, the entire hut grew cold. A sinister aura erupted and assaulted Svaltar. “N-no, sir! B-b-but things are getting out of hand! We cannot last long! We even need help from a human child!” Svaltar said.

“Sir, I advise to stop further testing and go back to the village.”

“No! We are so close! If this is successful, our race will become the strongest! We will reclaim the throne of Avalund!” said Kahflear.

Svaltar left after that. The Village Chief was stubborn and there is nothing he can do to change his mind.

================

In John’s hut, he was meditating when someone came in. It was Svaltar. “I wish to speak with you.” The elf said.

“Hello to you too. What is it?” John answered. Svaltar took out two scrolls from his pocket and gave it to him. “What are these?”

“These are Skill scrolls. I will give this to you in one condition.” Svaltar said.

“What condition?” John was stumped. What is this Dark Elf thinking?

“First, you will leave the dungeon and go to the Dark Elf village.” He said to John.

“What? Why the hell would I want to go the Dark Elf village?” Svaltar fish out a small crystal from his pocket and gave it to John.

John appraised the item when he received it.

“Name: Memory Crystal

Type: Mana Crystal

Description: Enables to record a memory with an hour-long duration.” It said.

“That is a memory crystal. I recorded everything in it. You will know everything once you see its content. Now, for the second condition, give that memory crystal to the Dark Elf King only!”

“Stop, wait a second!” John stood up. “First, you ordered to imprison me, even though I helped you. Second, you threatened me. And now you are suddenly giving some scrolls and conditions! What the hell?”

“Lower your voice, human!” Svaltar said whisperingly. “Look, everything that is happening in here is caused by a test done by the Village Chief!” Svaltar revealed.

“What?! What do you mean by that!”

“The monsters getting stronger, it is caused by the Chief’s test!” Svaltar said.

“The Chief? Wh-.”

“Stop asking questions! Time is running out! Do you accept my conditions?” Svaltar asked.

John stared at him for a moment, then finally, “Fine!” He took the scrolls and the crystal. “When are you going to send me out?”

“Tonight. When the raid comes, I will send you out of the dungeon!” the elf said.

“How?” John asked.

Svaltar did not answer and left the hut. After the elf left, John unrolled the scrolls and started to read.

“Ting! You are about to learn Shadow Hunt. Confirm?”

“Yes.” John thought.

“Ting! 35 Agility and 30 Dexterity needed to learn Shadow Hunt. Conditions met.”

“Ting! You have learned Shadow Hunt.”

“Ting!

Skill Name: Shadow Hunt

Type: Movement

Rank: Epic

Description: Able to merge with shadows.”

“Whoah! The appraisal of the skill has changed!” John exclaimed in surprise. “There is even a skill rank now! I wonder how high Epic rank is?”

He then proceeded to unroll the other scroll.

“Ting! You are about to learn Dark Control skill. Confirm?”

“Yes.” John responded instantly.

“Ting! 60 Intelligence and 40 Wisdom needed to learn Dark Control. Conditions met.”

“Ting! You have learned Dark Control.”

“Ting!

Skill Name: Dark Control

Type: Support

Rank: Epic

Description: Able to control dark element.”

“Shadow Hunt and Dark Control, these skills are both Epic and can be used together! Damn, that Svaltar really went out a stretch!” John mumbled.

That made John thought about everything the Dark Elf said. Should he honor the condition?

================

Name: John Arcala [ - Armor Plate (Inactive) (77% Damaged)]

Nickname: Reborn

Level: 23 (Exp. 8.78%)

Race: Human

Class: Pupa

Age:  1 month, 2 weeks

Health: 12120

Mana: 17785

AP: 5808

DP: 8815 (+15)

Strength: 32 (+300)

Dexterity: 12 (+300)

Intelligence: 100 (+523)

Vitality: 101 (+505)

Wisdom: 50 (+305)

Agility: 30 (+312)

Active Skills: Telekinesis (Lv.7), Float (Lv.4), Divine Light (Broken), Sprint (Lv.3), Force Shield (Lv.5), Meditation (Semi-passive/Level 5), Parkour (Lv.6), Hard Punch (Lv.4), Skull Bash (Lv.3), Appraisal (Lv.7), Sink (Lv.1), Hold Breath (Lv.1), Swim (Lv.1), Energy Control (Lv.3), Area Sense (Lv.4), Shadow Hunt (Lv.1), Dark Control (Lv.1)

Passive Skills: Universal Language (Max), Fear Resistance (Lv.1), Pain Resistance (Lv.2), Memory Bank I (Semi-active/Lv.3), Illusion Resistance (Lv.1), Craftsman (Lv.2), Book of Spells I (Lv.1)

Title: Anomaly (Awakened), Tatiana’s Son, Contracted [!], Reborn, Coward, Worm, First Kill, Craftsman, Skill Creator, Spell Holder

Title Skill: Danger Sense (Passive/Lv.4)

Branch Skill:

Force Shield [Open]: Thorn Shield (Lv.2), Thorn Coffin (Lv.4), Drill Shield: Tornado (Lv.2)

Craftsman [Open]: Cooking (Lv.2), Mining (Lv.2)

Spellbook [Open] [5/5]: Bloodline [Sprite (Locked)], Air Shot (Lv.1), Flame Shot (Lv.1), Water Shot (Lv.1), Rock Throw (Lv.1)

Status points: 40

====================

At night, the Dark Elves started to prepare for the coming raid. Svaltar took the lead and managed the soldiers. He sent scouts to watch for the coming monsters.

After some time, one scout returned injured. “Sir, the monsters are stronger than last night!” the elf reported. “They will arrive in less than half an hour!”

“Alright, take a rest and tend to your injuries!” Svaltar called someone to bring the injured scout for treatment.

“Prepare for batlle!” Svaltar announced. He then looked for John after.

“Human!” He called.

“Yeah, what’s up?” John answered. Svaltar looked up and found nothing.

“Why are you asking what is up there?” the elf asked, confused of what John is asking about.

“Never mind! What do you want?” John asked.

“Less than half-an-hour, the monsters will arrive, and they are stronger than last night. When the fighting starts, that is your chance to leave. Take this.” Svaltar handed another crystal. “It will show you the way.”

“Fine!” Then John remembered something, “Wait, how will I prove my identity to your brethren? If I can’t prove that you sent me, they will attack me without question!”

Svaltar threw something at John and he caught it. “That will do.” He said and left.

============

Half an hour later, the monsters arrived. “The Night Raid is here!” the watchers announced.

“ROOAAR!”

Different roars echoed into the night as the monsters entered the village.

“What the hell?!”

“Ting!

Monster Name: Borina Golden Cankrust

Level: 50

Class: Legendary

HP: 10000

MP: 5005

Strength: 250

Intelligence: 140

Vitality: 500

Wisdom: 147

Dexterity: 212

Skill: --”

John was startled when he appraised the biggest monster in the group. It looked like a huge tiger with a dragon’s body. The stats of the monster almost catch to his own.

“Svaltar!” John called out.

“Human, what are you doing?” the elf was surprised when John came to him.

“That monster has crazy large stats! You and your men will not survive the encounter! That monster alone can annihilate the entire village!” John warned.

“What? How would you… you have an appraisal skill!” Svaltar exclaimed. “Tell me what you saw!”

John told Svaltar what he saw in his appraisal and after that, the Dark Elf raced towards the Village Chief’s hut.

After some time, Svaltar came back with Village Chief. “Svaltar, Chief! The men are losing! The monsters are stronger than before!” an injured elf came to report.

“Where is John?” The chief asked.

“He is fighting the Cankrust!” another injured elf arrived and reported.

“What?!” Svaltar exclaimed. “Chief, you must hurry!”

The Village Chief suddenly disappeared into a puff of black smoke.

=================

“Graah!” The huge claw of the monster swoop over John’s head. He rolled to the side to dodge.

“Air Shot!” John fired the wind magic he knew at the monster, but unfortunately, it was ineffective. “Damn it!”

Another claw tried to scratch him to chunks. John countered it with Heavy Punch!

“Clack!”

The monster claw was deflected but it did not break. “s**t! My stat advantage is no longer working!” John mumbled.

“Roooarr!” The monster opened its mouth and a bright light started to gather at the center.

“What the – it’s a breath skill!” John hurriedly summoned 10 layers of Force Shield.

“Pffff….boooom!” The breath skill roared as it fired at John.

“c***k!”

Seven layers of Force Shield instantly broke apart. The other three layers were full of cracks while John was thrown 300 meters away.

Another breath was coming when a dark spear was shot from above.

“Gwaarkk!”

The monster was hit on the neck, but it did not inflict serious damage. “Hey, are you okay?” the Chief asked as he landed near John.

“Argh! f**k! That hurt!” John complained. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Good! Go and help the others. I will take care of this one!” the Village Chief said.

John nodded and took off. Soon, he found Svaltar. “Where is the Chief?” he asked.

“He is fighting with the Cankrust.” John replied while panting.

“Good. This is our opportunity!” Svaltar said. “Come with me!”

The Dark Elf took John behind the village. There were also monsters and elves fighting there. “Take this.” Svaltar handed him a parchment. “I have drawn the route towards the exit. Once, you arrive on that location. Find the crest of the Barren Tree. Activate by pouring in your energy. The portal will be activated then. Once, you are out, follow the map on the crest I gave you!”

“Alright. Please, human, you must hand the memory crystal to our king no matter what! Our Dark Elf race’s survival depends on it!” Svaltar reminded.

“Yeah, I will try. I won’t promise!” John said. Svaltar nodded and pushed John out of the village. Svaltar took his weapon and ran towards a monster.