[Do you wish to consume 100 Evolution Points to evolve "Storm of Lightning"?]

"Yes."

Ding!

[You have evolved "Storm of Lightning" (Mythical) to "Requiem of Lightning" (Ancient).]

[Current Evolution Points: 51.]

Karl didn't hesitate for even a second before opening the skill panel.

He had already felt the change the moment the evolution completed. The mana flow around his body felt heavier, denser, as if the air itself responded differently to his presence.

[Requiem of Lightning (Ancient): Releases a requiem of lightning that will hit any enemy within radius, dealing 1,200% → 1,700% of Spirit damage and has a high chance to apply "Stun". Cooldown reduced from 16 → 14 (7) seconds.]

"…Amazing."

Karl couldn't help but say it out loud.

The numbers alone were ridiculous. The damage increase was massive, pushing the skill dangerously close to [Blazing Meteor] in raw output. And unlike the meteor, this spell didn't rely on a single point of impact. It filled an entire area, striking everything within range simultaneously.

Larger radius. Better coverage. High stun chance.

In a confined space like this cave, it was borderline unfair.

Karl closed the panel, fully satisfied.

Then he stopped.

"…I still have 51 EP left."

His eyes drifted back to his skill list almost automatically. He scanned through it once, then again, until one skill stood out.

[Bloom Curse (Legendary)].

Karl stared at it for a moment.

It cost 50 Evolution Points to evolve a legendary-rank skill into mythical-rank.

He smiled faintly.

"…Why not?"

Fwish!

[Do you wish to consume 50 Evolution Points to evolve "Bloom Curse"?]

"Yes."

Ding!

[You have evolved "Bloom Curse" (Legendary) to "Bloom Curse" (Mythical).]

[Current Evolution Points: 1.]

Karl immediately opened the panel, curious to see how much it had changed.

---

[Bloom Curse (Mythical): Use on a player or NPC's corpse within five → ten seconds of death to curse them with the "Flower".]

[The "Flower" will bloom on their body and absorb their lives for 30 seconds at a rate of 1 → 5 lives per second.]

[The flower has 500 → 2,500 HP. If destroyed before blooming, the user gains nothing.]

---

"Hm…"

Karl studied the panel carefully.

Right now, this skill wasn't something he actively relied on. Most of his fights ended too quickly for it to matter, and against monsters, the returns were usually minimal.

But he wasn't short-sighted enough to ignore its potential.

The absorption rate alone had skyrocketed.

From one life per second… to five.

That meant the skill went from absorbing thirty lives total to a full one hundred and fifty from a single corpse.

That wasn't a small upgrade. That was a fundamental shift.

Karl leaned back slightly, thinking.

In the future, when players became his enemies. When NPC factions turned hostile. When wars started breaking out instead of isolated skirmishes…

This skill would matter.

A lot.

Being able to harvest hundreds, thousands—maybe even tens of thousands—of lives from battles would completely change the flow of things.

Especially if he needed to erase dangerous individuals. People who would threaten humanity. Or worse, threaten everything.

"…I guess I'll find out," Karl muttered, nodding to himself.

He looked ahead at the dark tunnels branching in multiple directions.

"This place really is a maze."

But unlike the other maze-like zones he had encountered, Karl had no intention of leaving this one anytime soon.

Not until he reached level 50.

Or until every single spider in this cave was dead.

Whichever came first.

If wiping out their entire species meant more experience points, then so be it.

Fwoosh!

Karl rushed forward into another tunnel, his footsteps echoing through the stone. The passage twisted and narrowed before opening into a wide chamber.

It was a dead end.

At least, it seemed that way at first glance.

Several large holes lined the walls and ceiling—too smooth to be natural.

Karl stopped in the center of the room and waited.

He knew exactly what those holes were for.

And right on cue…

Krkrkksk!

The sound echoed through the chamber.

Karl's lips curled into a grin as movement erupted from the holes. Dozens of [Spiderling] poured out at once, skittering across the walls and floor.

And mixed among them were larger shapes.

Three… no, four of them.

---

[Miner Spider (Level 50)]

[Rank: Rare]

[HP: 400,000]

---

The miner spiders were bulkier than the spiderlings, their bodies reinforced with thick chitin. Four of their front legs ended in heavy pickaxes—tools used both for mining and for tearing enemies apart.

Mining what, exactly?

Karl had no idea.

And he didn't care.

"Blazing Meteor. Requiem of Lightning."

He didn't even pause between the casts.

The meteor crashed down first, aimed directly at the cluster of miner spiders.

BOOM!

Almost instantly, lightning followed.

ZAP!

The entire chamber lit up as electricity tore through everything in range.

-474,800!-403,580!

Karl's eyes narrowed slightly as he observed the numbers.

Requiem of Lightning was already dealing damage dangerously close to [Blazing Meteor]. And unlike the meteor, it didn't require careful aiming or positioning.

In fact…

'I don't even need the meteor anymore,' he realized.

This single spell could handle entire groups on its own.

The spiders didn't last more than a second.

Ding!

---

[You have killed x53 "Spiderlings (Level 50)"]

[You have killed x4 "Miner Spiders (Level 50)"]

[You have gained 385,000 experience points.]

[Congratulations, you have leveled up to Level 48!]

[All your attributes have increased by 5.]

[You have gained 5 free points to distribute.]

[You have gained 325 Lives.]

---

"Nice."

Karl exhaled slowly.

Only two levels left.

But he also knew that each level required more experience than the last.

He checked his status.

[Level: 48 (32,000/660,000)]

"Hm."

Even so, he didn't feel discouraged in the slightest.

This cave was still packed with monsters. And as long as they kept coming, he would keep killing them.

Simple as that.

Karl continued moving through the [Spider Cave], deliberately choosing paths that led into dead ends. Every time, the spiders emerged in waves, trying to overwhelm him with numbers.

And every time, they failed.

Lightning filled corridors. Spells erased entire chambers. The clicking sounds grew fewer and fewer as time passed.

His experience bar climbed steadily. Slowly. Relentlessly.

And eventually…

[Congratulations, you have leveled up to Level 49!]

[All your attributes have increased by 5.]

[You have gained 5 free points to distribute.]

"…Only one more."

Karl looked around the empty chamber he stood in.

At this point, he had killed most of the spiders in the entire cave.

As he moved through other tunnels, nothing came out anymore. No clicking. No movement. No ambushes.

Either they were all dead…

Or the remaining ones were too terrified to come out.

Either way, Karl had achieved his goal here.

He rolled his shoulders once and adjusted his grip on his staff.

"…Time for the boss."

He had leveled up efficiently, but the final stretch to level 50 would require a larger push.

And if the rumors were true, the boss of the [Spider Cave] would give him exactly that.

This zone was famous for being one of the best leveling spots in the [Blooming Lands].

It was also one of the most dangerous.

Karl knew that if he were giving advice to other players, he'd tell them to never step foot in this place unless they fully intended to die.

Multiple times.

But for him? It was perfect.

After a few minutes of walking, Karl found the correct path forward with ease. The tunnel widened, the ceiling rising higher and higher until it opened into an enormous chamber.

The largest one yet.

Krkrkrkr…

The sound echoed from above. Karl looked up just as a panel appeared before him.

[Something descends from the ceiling…]

Karl grinned.

"Another introduction phase," he said calmly. "Oh well."

He looked up at the ceiling as the panel said, and indeed, though the ceiling was overshadowed by darkness, it still felt like there was something there.

Hundreds of crimson dots occupied it, possibly from many spiders.

This was the core of the cave after all, so it was normal that the most amount of spiders were there.

[The spiders click hungrily as they notice their prey...]

The panels of the introduction phase continued, and after a few seconds... Karl saw it.

"Holy shit."

Karl was lucky he didn't have arachnophobia, or he might have just passed out.

The thing that appeared from the ceiling was a giant spider, around three meters tall.

It had eight eyes, and its pitch black body that merged with the darkness had aura flowing out of it.

Krkrkrkr...

It let a distinct sound, and the rest of the spiders clicked in returned.

[The spider queen has appeared before you.]

"Oh."

The giant spider queen was descending from the ceiling using a spiderweb that she was making herself.

And once she was completely down, she landed on the ground softly, before looking right at Karl.

KRKRKKRKRRK!

She let out a powerful roar, angered that this human killed so many of her children, and the clicking sound erupted all around.

Rumble!

The ground rumbled, and Karl turned back to see dozens of spiders lock up the path he came from with their webs.

He truly couldn't leave anymore, stuck with all these spiders.

But regardless, Karl simply grinned, "Come to me, my experience points."

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