Chapter 36 Damage Over Time

I thought about what he said, about the core at the heart of the dungeon. The core Fiona had promised to give me. The core that could send me home.

It's real! God damn it! It's all real! Fiona told me the truth! The dungeon core, the mana, the power! It's all real. And if I can reach it, I can go home.

"Sir Knight, does that happen everywhere? Does every dungeon have a core?"

"Oh, yes. Every dungeon has a core. Some are larger than others, some are more powerful, but they all serve the same purpose. The core of this dungeon is particularly old and particularly strong. There's no denying that this dungeon holds more power than most."

"You mentioned the Commander and Fiona have been at each other's throats for years. What happened between them? Why does he hate her so much?"

"It's a long story, young man. And I'm afraid it's not entirely mine to tell. But I can say this, Commander Dorian's hatred for Lady Fiona runs far deeper than her habit of stealing otherworlders from under his nose. That is merely a pretext. A convenient excuse he can cling to. The true root of his hatred lies much further back.

Let's just say, once upon a time, there was an attempt to conquer this very dungeon. A powerful group of dungeon crawlers assembled. Some of the finest this kingdom has ever seen. Warriors, mages, healers, all of them at the peak of their abilities. They were going to reach the core. End the dungeon. Claim the glory."

 "What happened?"

 "Among that group was someone Commander Dorian held dear to his heart. I will not say who, for that is not my story to tell. But they were close. Dorian believed in them. Believed they would return victorious. And Lady Fiona was part of that group. She was young then, barely more than a girl, but already powerful beyond her years. She was the youngest among them, and the most promising."

 "She was part of that expedition?"

"She was. And when the group reached the last floor, things went terribly wrong. A catastrophe of such magnitude that only one person emerged from the depths. Lady Fiona was the only one who returned."

 "The only one?"

 "She came back alone, broken, and barely alive. Commander Dorian lost someone he loved that day. And when Fiona returned alone, when she explained what happened, his grief slowly turned to blame."

 "He blames her for their deaths."

"He does. He has never said it aloud, not directly. But I have seen it in his eyes every time he looks at her. He believes she could have saved them. He believes she chose not to. And the longer this dungeon exists, the deeper his hatred grows."

 "But she was just a kid. She was the youngest. How could she have—"

"Dungeon does not care about age, young man. It does not care about grief, or love, or what is fair. It cares only about survival. And Lady Fiona survived. The dungeon is still standing. The core was never removed. The attempt to conquer it failed at a great cost. And Commander blames her for it."

I stood there for a moment, thinking about what Sir Knight said.

The core is still there, on last floor. Is that why she wants to go back? Is that why she needs to reach the core? To finish what they started? To make things right?

I shook my head, forcing myself to focus. Right now, there was something more urgent.

"Sir Knight, we need to hurry. If Fiona and Dorian are still fighting, we need to stop them before one of them does something they can't take back. I can't just stand here and let them tear each other apart. Fiona's already been through enough."

Sir Compensatealot nodded.

"Very well, young man. Let us make haste."

---

The journey back was brutal.

Dungeon had begun its slow process of regeneration, but damage from the explosion was still fresh. Rubble blocked some passages, forcing us to take detours through winding side tunnels. Monsters, emboldened by the chaos, emerged from hiding to test their luck.

Sir Compensatealot fought with grace as we carved a path through the dungeon. Monsters grew thicker, more aggressive, as if dungeon itself was trying to slow us down. But we pushed through, cutting and slashing.

Finally, we reached floor 39.

The cave was a wreck. Walls were scarred with deep gashes, the floor littered with rubble and debris. The air was thick with dust and the lingering scent of magic. And in the center of it all, two figures stood locked in a desperate confrontation.

Fiona stood tall, her staff raised, a sphere of energy forming at its tip. Her eyes were blazing with mana. She looked terrifying.

Dorian was on his knees before her.

His armor cracked, pieces of it scattered across the floor. His claymore lay beside him, its blade shattered, its hilt still clutched in his trembling hand. He was breathing hard, his face pale and drawn, but his eyes full of defiance. He was defeated.

"I'm going to give you one chance, Dorian. One chance to walk away. Take your knights and leave. Never come after me again. Never come after my Takumi again."

Dorian spat blood onto the ground.

 "You think this is over? You think you've won?"

"I know I've won. The question is whether you're smart enough to accept it."

"I will never accept defeat from you. Not from you. Not from a coward! You... you killed them. You killed everyone. It was all your fault! And you'll never—"

Sir Compensatealot appearing at Dorian's side before anyone could react. His hand came down on the back of the Commander's head with a chop that made Dorian's head snap forward.

"Enough, Commander. Do not say another word. You endangered your entire squad on a personal matter. You allowed your grief and your pride to cloud your judgment, and you led your men into a confrontation that could have gotten them killed. I suggest we retreat and get you fixed before any more damage is done. There is no point in keeping on fighting."

Dorian opened his mouth as if to argue, then his shoulders sagged, and he nodded once, a short, defeated gesture.

 I reached out and placed my hand on Fiona's staff, gently pressing it down.

"Fiona. You've done enough. It's okay to stop now."

"Kuzu-kun. You're... you're fine."

Before I could respond, she dropped her staff and threw her arms around me, pulling me into a tight embrace. Her body pressed against mine, and I could feel her trembling, could feel the rapid beat of her heart against my chest.

"I was so worried about you. When the explosion happened, when I saw you fall, I thought the worse." 

"I'm fine. Sir Knight shielded me. He took the brunt of the blast."

She turned to look at Sir Compensatealot, who was still standing beside Dorian.

"Thank you, Sir Knight. Thank you for shielding him."

 "It was my honor, Lady Fiona. A knight's duty is to protect the innocent."

Fiona nodded, her grip on me tightening slightly.

"Let's go home. I've had enough of this dungeon for one day."

---

We made it back home. Fiona set her staff by the door and walked to the stairs with a heavy sigh. 

"I'm going to take a bath. I'll be up for a while. You should rest. But... you can join if you want."

"No! I will not, thank you very much."

"Suit yourself." 

I didn't go to sleep right away. Instead, I sat by the fire, staring at my skill points. I had accumulated a decent number of points, more than enough to invest in something useful.

Sword Saint (SSR) - Already maxed. No further upgrades available.
Appraisal (Lv1) - Can be upgraded. 
Poison Attack - Can be upgraded.
Bleeding Attack - Can be upgraded.
Energy Wave - Can be upgraded.

I considered my options carefully.

Energy Wave could be a gamechanger. A ranged attack with my sword skills. That would give me options I didn't have before. But Appraisal... if I could get that higher, I could see more. I could see through Fiona's tricks. I could finally understand what I'm dealing with. On the other hand, I could upgrade my passive skills. Make my attacks more effective. Poison and Bleeding together could be brutal.

I made a decision.

I invested 20 points into Energy Wave, watching as the skill's description updated.

Energy Wave - Lv20

Shoots a wave of energy from my sword. Damage increased by 300%. Can be charged for additional power. This is awesome, I can't wait to test it.

Then I invested 5 points into Appraisal.

Appraisal (Lv5)

Now I can see basic information about higher-level targets. Still cannot see skills or detailed stats. Level 5 and I still won't be able to see Fiona's stats. What a waste of points. At least Energy Wave is stronger.

The rest of my skill points I put into Bleeding attack and Poison attack.

"Okay, this should do it. Bleeding attack and Poison attack at level 2. Skills all done, now, I just need to get some rest for tomorrow."

---

The next few days were quiet. And then, one morning.

"Kuzu-kun. We need to train. And by 'we' I mean you. You need to get stronger. You're level 30, and your stats are too low. Monsters on floor 40 are already reaching level 200. By floor 60, they'll be approaching 400. If we want to reach the core, you need to be ready."

"Yeah, I know. So, what do you suggest?"

 "We're going to spend the next few weeks in the dungeon. We're going to push to floor 60, and I'm going to help you level up. Not by fighting for you. I'll handle the groups. You'll focus on one-on-one combat. That way, you'll get the experience you need without being overwhelmed."

"Okay, that's an improvement. If you're joining and actually help, let's do it. When do we go?"

"Hmmm... I was thinking today."

---

We entered the dungeon. The first few days were easy with constant improvement. Fiona held true to her word, she handled the groups, her magic carving through clusters leaving single opponents for me to face one-on-one.

By the end of the fourth week, I stood on floor 60 by a dissolving corpse of a level 450 monster I just killed, and saw the notification pop up in front of me.

Level up! 59 > 60

HP: 49,100 > 49,900
ATTACK: 26,100 > 26,500
DEFENSE: 2,600 > 2,700
SPEED: 10,000 > 10,200
ENDURANCE: 2,600 > 2,700
MAGIC: 6,800 > 7,000

Finally, a level up. I'm level 60. Comparing when I was Rank F to Rank SR, these numbers look insane now. If someone had told me back then, back when I was scraping the bottom of the barrel, back when I could barely survive a single dungeon run that I'd be standing here at Level 60 with stats like these, I would've called them insane. These are the kind of stats that get you noticed. The kind of stats that get you called SR. 

I got some skill points. been saving them for a while now but no more waiting. No more second-guessing. I know exactly what I want. Poison. Bleed. That's the build. Now I can go all in.

Raw damage is fine. Raw damage is what everyone chases. Big numbers, big swings, big explosions. But raw damage has a ceiling. You hit a wall eventually, some monster with armor too thick, some with regeneration too fast, some enemy who just won't go down no matter how hard you hit them. I've been there. I've felt that wall. I've punched it until my knuckles bled and it didn't matter. But poison? Bleed? Those don't care about armor. Those don't care about regeneration. Those just keep ticking. Every second. Every tick. Every breath they take, they lose more. And the best part? I don't have to be there for it. I can strike once, back off, let them rot from the inside while I stay out of reach. That's how you kill things stronger than you. That's how you survive when you're outmatched. That's how you win.

I've thought about this for months. Every fight, every near-death moment, I've been watching. Learning. Bleed stacks. Poison stacks. They compound. They multiply. A single cut that would've been nothing becomes a death sentence if you let it stay long enough. And I've seen what happens when you combine them. The enemy panics. They try to heal, but the bleed keeps tearing them open. They try to cleanse, but the poison keeps eating away. They slow down. They weaken. They die. And I'm just standing there, watching, barely lifting a finger. 

So, here's the plan. Every point goes into DoT. Poison piercing and Bleed amplification. Damage-over-time, oh yeah baby, that's what I'm talking about. Because the longer the fight goes on, the more I win. I just need to be the last one standing. And with this build? With poison and bleed stacked to the ceiling? I will be.