Eren arrived at the location of the Abyssal Beginner Dungeon.
From the outside, the dungeon looked like a wound carved into space itself, a gateway to another world.
This was the first time Eren had seen a dungeon entrance up close.
A faint purple aura leaked from within, and cold air continuously flowed out, carrying a metallic scent mixed with something rotten.
[Beginner Dungeon – Abyssal Faction]
Recommended Level: 1–5
Danger Rating: Low
The text appeared as Eren took a look at it.
From the information he had already gathered, the maximum monster level inside was only Level 8.
The dungeon was divided into four separate regions.
Even though all the creatures belonged to the same race, known as Shadow Mites, their strength varied by area.
Level 1–2 monsters roamed the Outer Area.
Level 3–4 monsters occupied the Mid Area.
Level 5–6 monsters lived in the Inner Region.
Level 7–8 monsters ruled the Core Region.
A few people were already standing outside the dungeon.
"Oh, Eren… you also came for this dungeon, huh?"
A blond-haired, arrogant-looking boy immediately called out to Eren, who had been observing his surroundings.
Beside him, a red-haired girl was intimately hugging his left arm.
Seraphina and Cassian.
Seeing them, Eren's mouth twitched slightly, but he immediately hid it.
He had completely forgotten that Cassian, who had awakened as a Holy Knight, and Seraphina, who had awakened as a Divine Hymnist, were in the same faction as him.
They had also chosen the Abyssal faction for faster leveling.
Cassian was wearing a full set of golden-colored equipment.
It was obvious to everyone that this was not provided by the teachers.
"Yes, Y-Young Master Cassian… I also chose the Abyssal Beginner Dungeon…"
Eren had a very hard time saying the words "Young Master."
It felt extremely cringe-worthy.
But he had no choice, everyone called him Young Master, even at school.
If someone addressed him by name, this retarded guy would take it as an offense.
Smiling proudly, he asked, "Do you want to come with us? We're heading straight to the Mid Region of the dungeon. We can level up faster there."
Eren glanced at him and his lackeys before shaking his head politely.
"Sorry, Young Master Cassian. I'm easily scared, even of Level 1 monsters. If you take me with you, I'll only slow you down… I will just focus on Outer Area..."
Hearing that, Cassian's face immediately twisted in disgust.
"Afraid? You've awakened a Rare-grade profession! What is there to be afraid of? … Tsk… how spineless…"
He immediately lost interest.
Even the lackeys surrounding him looked at Eren with mocking eyes.
Eren simply gritted his teeth and endured it.
He wasn't refusing because he was afraid or anything, he felt it was extremely inefficient.
Cassian had more than six people in his group.
Unlike the games from his previous world, the life essence monsters gave upon defeat was very little for those below Level 10.
If it were shared among too many people, everyone's growth would slow down significantly.
"Still, he's better than that Adrian who didn't even show up… haha…"
One of the lackeys said that, causing everyone to burst into laughter.
'Adrian didn't come?'
That was an interesting piece of information for Eren.
He looked around at the other dungeon entrances but couldn't find Adrian anywhere.
'Is he still down after yesterday's incident?'
Eren let out a sigh as he watched everyone enter the dungeon one by one.
He then followed them inside.
The moment he stepped through the portal, he felt slightly dizzy as his entire view suddenly changed.
He was standing alone in a grassland.
Lush grass, over half a meter tall, spread across the vast field.
No one could be seen in his surroundings.
This was due to one of the dungeon portal's functions, every student would automatically be transported to different locations within the Outer Area of the dungeon for various reasons.
Only by forming a team before entering could they be teleported to the same place.
One of the main reasons for this system was the limited number of monsters inside the Beginner Dungeon, implemented due to student safety concerns.
If too many students were teleported to the same area, they would have a very hard time leveling up.
The time required for each level-up would increase, defeating the real purpose of the Beginner Dungeon, to help newcomers get accustomed to real combat.
Eren activated his partial transformation.
His dark brown hair began turning pale silver.
His eyes became blue, and a faint pale-blue crescent moon mark appeared on his forehead.
All of his physical stats slowly started to increase, stopping at a 50% boost.
His Strength and Agility rose to 2.3 points, while his Constitution reached 3 points.
This half-transformation only consumed 0.3 Spirit Stones.
He could maintain this form for at least ten minutes before completely exhausting his spiritual energy.
Not only that, all of his senses heightened to an incredible level, making it much easier for him to detect monsters hiding in the bushes.
The very moment his half-transformation was complete, Eren sensed danger from his right side and immediately leaped away from where he stood.
At the same time, a small lizard-like creature with charcoal-black scales and sharp teeth lunged at the spot he had just vacated.
"…!"
Eren was stunned to see the monster appear directly in front of him on its own.
Without hesitation, he activated one of his beast skills, Moonrend Claw.
His hands instantly transformed into those of a beast.
His fingernails were replaced by sharp claws, faint blue shimmers coating their surface.
The claw struck the side of the Shadow Mite, tearing its body apart.
"KRRR-CHH—sssk!"
It died immediately, letting out one last pathetic cry.
Its body vanished into thin air as if it had never existed in the first place.
A message appeared in his mind:
[You have slain a Level 2 Shadow Mite…]
[You gained 3 Life Essence and 1 Lesser Spirit Stone.]
Eren frowned as he read the notification, wondering if there was some special condition required for his talent to activate.
Suddenly, a new message appeared in his mind:
[Random Reward Multiplier triggered… Random number: 25,869…]
[25,869× reward applied.]
[You gained 77,607 Life Essence and 25,869 Lesser Spirit Stones.]
"…What the…?!"
[It was detected that you have enough Life Essence to level up! Would you like to proceed with leveling up using 100 Life Essence? Yes/No]
[It was detected that you have enough Life Essence to level up the active skill [Beast Transformation (Moonborn Silver Wolf)]! Would you like to proceed with leveling up using 1,000 Life Essence? Yes/No]
[It was detected that you have enough Lesser Spirit Stones to level up the skill [Basic Inventory]! Would you like to proceed with leveling up using 100 Lesser Spirit Stones? Yes/No]
Without giving him a moment to cope with reality, a bunch of new messages appeared in front of him, asking him to make a choice.
Eren stood there, dumbfounded for a while before choosing,
"Level up Beast Transformation…"
1,000 Life Essence was immediately deducted.
A massive amount of energy instantly poured into his body.
Eren heard a loud heartbeat that did not belong to him.
It felt as if a hammer had shattered glass into pieces, his spiritual and physical limits were broken and reformed in an instant.
Warm energy began flowing throughout his body.
[You have leveled up your active skill [Beast Transformation]!...]