[3rd person POV]
"Here we go."
Before propelling himself through the water and into the portal's whirling depths, he thought to himself as he glanced at the huge portal in front of him.
Darkness covered him like a thick, inky curtain the moment he passed the portal, obliterating all traces of the world he had left behind. It was as if the ocean's depths had swallowed him whole, leaving him in a state of great confusion and uncertainty.
"That feeling again," Eden mumbled, placing his hand over his heart, his voice barely above a whisper in the perplexing nothingness that surrounded him.
As he passed through the portal, he couldn't help but notice the stirring of star energy within him, its essence vibrating ever so faintly.
It was a phenomenon that had always captivated and perplexed him because it only occurred in combination with the process of passing portals.
"Disturbance in space gives stars energy," Eden whispered confidently. He had cobbled together a remarkable correlation over time.
There was no disputing that when he went through portals and traveled through the disturbed space, the star energy within him surged, as if he had brushed up against the very fabric of the space.
However, one important issue persisted in eluding him, defying his attempts to find an answer: how did these disruptions in space offer him access to the star energy within?
Throwing his thoughts aside, he peered around but saw nothing. He didn't use mana sense because he was low on mana.
He took a radiant orb from the inventory of the system. The sphere surged to life as he activated it, enveloping his surroundings in a warm, comfortable light. The darkness that had encompassed him had now receded, pushed back by the orb's warm warmth.
Eden nudges the radiant ball to hover just above his head, producing a luminous aura that engulfs the dark chasm in its soothing radiance.
"Damn".
As he gazed around A long bridge stretched out before him, its stone surface sparkling in the orb's golden brightness.
The bridge's borders faded into the abyss below, where inky, dark waters extended indefinitely, concealing all manner of secrets, and the only thing that illuminated the water were the small lights that crackedled at various intervals.
He began to proceed forward onto the bridge, deeper into the center of the water-based dungeon, for he had nowhere else to go.
The deeper he moved, the more dangerous and weird the underwater world became. The only illumination in the dark abyss was the eerie blue glow of the lighting.
The water seemed to come alive with electric energy as Eden moved above the murky depths. It hissed and cracked, sending shivers down his spine.
He was now in the domain of the infamous electric eels, creatures capable of unleashing devastating electrical strikes with the flick of their serpentine bodies.
The dungeon's creatures follow a sophisticated cycle of life and evolution, a cycle that ensures the dungeon's tough and ever-adapting monsters' survival.
The secret to their transformation resided in a strange source of nourishment: the flesh and mana core of an awakened person or fellow monster.
The process was both severe and demanding. The energy and essence stored within the flesh and mana core powered a deep change when a monster chased and devoured the remains of an awakened individual.
The monster's talents would grow and become more powerful, allowing it to better adapt to its surroundings and prey with even greater efficiency.
However, the cycle did not end there. The monster grew stronger and more formidable as it progressed, posing a bigger challenge to future awakened humans who ventured to walk deeper into the dungeon.
The evolved monster would then reproduce and pass on its genes, ensuring the survival of its newly acquired features. If they become too powerful, they are compelled to descend deeper into the dungeon to evolve further.
Eden moved slowly forward. A spark of electricity shot across the water, narrowly missing him. The electric eels had detected his presence and were prepared to protect their turf.
The first electric eel attacked in the murky waters, its long, sinuous body flashing forward like a living lightning bolt. Eden, on the other hand, was quick to respond.
He summoned his weapon and chopped down an eel with one rapid motion of his spear. Eden was unharmed as the creature thrashed in pain, sending sparks flying; the electric eel convulsed and went motionless.
"How much XP will I get for this Edda?"
He inquired after confirming his first kill in this dungeon.
[20]
She responded quickly and concisely.
"Ah, fuck this shit".
He whispered as he peered around. The water's surface erupted in a chorus of electric flashes, and Eden found himself encircled by 30 or so electric eels.
Their serpentine forms were bathed in a strange azure glow.
There was one unspoken rule among adventurers: always enter the dungeon as a group and never brave its perilous waters alone.
The reason was simple but crucial: the monsters that occupied the dungeon's first few floors, while individually weak, popped up in massive numbers, a relentless horde capable of crushing even the most experienced adventurer.
Isolation was a dangerous error that frequently resulted in calamity. Without partners to keep an eye on you, the large number of monsters might swiftly sap your power, and a once-confident adventurer could find himself in desperate straits.
As a result, solo adventurers were an unusual, if not nonexistent, sight on the first few floors of any dungeon. It was acknowledged that unity was their most valuable asset, and anyone who tried to break this silent tradition would face the perils of isolation in a sea of innumerable foes.
Eden reflexively tightened his grasp on his new trusty spear, Sylvia's thoughtful present. It was tipped with an enchanted crystal shard that, if used with enough strength, can cut through anything.
Eden couldn't afford to pause with the electric eels rushing in from all sides. He charged forward, his spear poised for battle. Two electric eels charged at him, electricity crackling down their bodies.
Eden took the challenge full on, thrusting his spear with pinpoint accuracy. The crystal point pierced the eel's flesh and cut the second eel with another rapid movement. Both eels were convulsed and motionless.
The struggle has now officially begun. Eden moved nimbly across the bridge, his spear moving as if it were an extension of himself. With each hit, he dispatched another electric eel; some fought him from beneath the water, hurling electricity at him, while others, bold or foolish, faced him head-on. As the eels fought with his skillful spear strikes, sparks erupted, their electrical attacks fizzing against his aura.
"Hah..hah.."
However, the odds were overwhelming, and exhaustion set in. The electric eels were unrelenting, and their numbers seemed to go on forever. Eden's motions became more deliberate, and the water beneath his feet began to churn with electrical charge.
The one who was a pain in the a$$ was the one who was half-submerged under water, and were going after him from there and not coming out of the water.
"If you are not coming out, then I am going to come for you little bitches" .
As he withstood the electrical current in his body, he said.
He first felt that dealing with 30 or more eels wouldn't be a problem with his existing powers, but he had greatly overstated his capabilities while grossly underestimating the eel's abilities.
The fact that they were meant to be fragile did not imply that they were.
Sure, they were simple in a 1-on-1, but not when more than 30 of them were coming at him at the same moment.
"Wings of the Phoenix,"
as he mumbled,
Flames burst from his back, surrounding him in a protective blaze. The scorching heat caused the electric eels to recoil.
Eden took advantage of the situation, flapping his wings and going upwards on the bridge, gaining a clear view of the entire area and the slippery eels.
"Fireball".
He mumbled, and as he did so, a ball of searing fire erupted in his hands, and he began to toss it at the eels, burning them as they tried to flee.
In a flaming explosion, he incinerated the surviving eels.
"Hah...hah..."
The bridge fell silent once more as the final electric eel succumbed to the fire. Eden prevailed, panting and drenched in sweat, his spear blazing with blood.
He'd won a battle against impractical odds, and the bridge was once again clear.
"I fucking hate this" .
He said out loud while slowly landing on the bridge,Even after months of training with Sylvia, he was struggling on the very first floor of the dungeon, which left him with a foul taste in his mouth.
"I need to think differently,"
He thought to himself as he sat on the bridge, because in his former life, all he had was a sword and a spear.
He was utterly unfamiliar with the notion of mana and aura, and as a result, he was completely ignoring it in his fight, making everything more difficult than it needed to be.
"I need to adapt to this world, huh?"
He mumbled as he gazed
His surroundings that is now strewn with bodies.
His previously clean trouser and naked upper body were now saturated with eel blood.
"If I don't adapt to fight with mana and aura, I can kiss my life good-bye" .
Eden stood up, resolved to tackle whatever obstacles were ahead.