Chapter 29: Level Boost
Oliver’s heart was still racing, but it wasn’t fear anymore. It was excitement.
(...I can actually read this. Me. An F-rank "Linguist." This... this isn’t useless at all.)
He wiped the sweat off his forehead and forced himself back on his feet, ignoring the dull throb of his broken arm. Adrenaline was pushing him now. He ran his hand along the cavern wall, eyes darting for more of those strange carvings.
Sure enough—another one.
A jagged rune glowed faintly as his fingers brushed across it. The meaning surfaced instantly in his mind:
[Collapse Trap]
"...Holy crap," Oliver muttered. He laughed—half out of relief, half out of disbelief. Samuel had mentioned during the briefing that this dungeon holds the legacy of lost runes, with entire institutions dedicating years to decipher them. And here he was, reading them like they were children’s scribbles.
His grin widened. "This is it. This is my ticket."
Instead of running for safety, Oliver now searched the dungeon walls with hungry eyes. Every glowing line, every faint mark that others would overlook, he could now decipher instantly.
Soon, the echoes of growls reached his ears—another pack of wolves, drawn by the noise and blood. Oliver’s pulse jumped, but this time he didn’t retreat. Instead, he led them.
"Come on... just a little closer..."
The pack followed him straight under the carved ceiling rune. Oliver pressed his palm against the symbol. The glowing intensified—then—
CRAAAAAASH!
Tons of jagged rock rained down, crushing the wolves into broken heaps. Blood pooled around the rubble. Oliver didn’t even flinch; instead, he pumped his fist.
"YES!"
For the next few hours, he wandered the winding corridors with renewed purpose. He no longer hugged the shadows just to survive. Now, he hunted—not monsters, but runes. His eyes scanned every wall, every jagged stone, searching for the faint glow or unusual carvings.
And he found them. So many of them.
A section of ceiling etched with spirals revealed itself as: "Falling Boulder Trap: Activation by sound resonance."
Another wall rune hummed with: "Gale Cutter: Compressed blades of wind sweep the corridor."
Yet another was a floor panel barely visible beneath dirt: "Flame Burst: Area incineration upon mana trigger."
Each time, Oliver’s lips twitched upward. It was like finding hidden treasures only he could see.
And the best part? Monsters made the perfect guinea pigs.
He lured a pack of goblin-like beasts down a corridor, his footsteps deliberately heavy. As they chased, shrieking and swinging jagged blades, he stomped on the resonance sigil.
CRAAASH!!
A thunderous crack split the air as half the ceiling collapsed, boulders slamming down with bone-crushing force. Screams cut off in an instant. Blood splattered across the floor. Oliver ducked just out of range, heart thundering, a wild grin on his face.
"...One strike. Whole pack gone."
His experience bar shot upward.
Next, he baited a pair of armored lizards into the Flame Burst. He pressed mana into the panel as they charged.
WHOOOOM!!
A burst of fire engulfed them, scales sizzling, their shrieks filling the tunnel before they fell twitching. The scent of roasted meat filled the air. His level ticked upward again.
Another group of fanged bats swooped at him from above, only to be torn to pieces by the Gale Cutter that sliced through the air like invisible blades. Their shredded wings rained down around Oliver like confetti.
He was panting, drenched in sweat, wounds across his body from close calls, but his expression glowed with exhilaration.
For the first time since awakening his class, he didn’t feel like dead weight. He didn’t feel like a joke. He was thriving.
"Status Window!" he called, breathless.
The familiar blue screen shimmered into existence before him:
[Status Window]
Name: Oliver Shaw
Class: Linguist (F-Rank)
Level:
11HP: 142 / 142
MP: 65 / 65
Strength: 29
Endurance: 33
Agility: 27
Intelligence: 38
Skills:
Language Comprehension – Understand and speak any language.
~~~
Oliver’s jaw dropped. "Level 11... already?!"
Weeks of training with the academy’s dummies, and he had only managed to scrape from Level 1 to 2. Now, in just a short time, slaughtering beasts through rune traps had shot him all the way to Level 11.
He clenched his fists, trembling—not with fear, but with satisfaction. For the first time since receiving his class, he felt strong.
"...I can do this. I don’t need anyone else’s pity."
The thought alone made him laugh under his breath. His lips curled into a rare, genuine smile as he looked deeper into the dungeon, eager to find more.
~~~~
Oliver had been scraping through the walls for almost an hour now, looking for more runes. His body ached from bruises and cuts, but the excitement in his chest didn’t allow him to stop. Samuel’s words echoed in his head — this dungeon was supposed to hold the legacy of ancient runes, the kind entire institutions were built to decipher. Yet here he was, reading them like children’s scribbles.
While searching another cracked corridor, his eyes caught a faint glow etched into the stone. This wasn’t like the normal trap runes. The line of symbols stretched across the wall, long and complicated. He placed his hand against it. The meaning unraveled in his mind instantly.
It wasn’t an instruction. It was... a chant.
Almost against his will, he spoke it aloud.
"O thread of the void, tear through distance. Rend the fabric, fold the path. Bridge the place where feet cannot tread—Spatial Veil: Gate of Crossing."
His voice echoed through the tunnel. Nothing happened.
Oliver exhaled slowly. "...Hah. So it’s just for show?"
He stared at the runes again. They almost seemed to pulse faintly, waiting. A thought occurred to him. All the other runes needed activation through mana. What if this was the same?
"...Let’s see."
He pressed his hand against the symbols and pushed a little mana inside.
At first, nothing. Then, the entire line of symbols flared bright. The wall trembled, and beneath his feet, a wide circle of glowing patterns expanded outward.
Oliver’s eyes widened. "Shit—"
The magic circle completed itself instantly, lines and runes spinning across the floor. Light burst upward, wrapping around his body. Before he could move, the world turned white.
And then—he was gone.
As if he had never been there.
~~~~
Somewhere deeper in the dungeon.
"AAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
A scream tore through the silent cavern.
Oliver’s body appeared mid-air, suspended for a second before gravity took him.
He was falling.
The wind rushed past him, his arms flailing uselessly. His stomach twisted as the stone floor rushed up toward him.
[Thud!]
The impact rattled his entire body. Pain shot through every bone. His vision went black almost instantly.
Oliver lay on the cold stone, unconscious.