Chapter 36: Back IV

Liam watched as his mother accepted the skill crystals.

He knew she would become much stronger once she learned them.

"Mom, try learning them now," he said.

His mother nodded and began absorbing the skill crystals.

A few moments later, several notifications appeared before her.

[You have learned the Rare-Rank skills: Regeneration, Fire Explosion, Abyssal Venom, Divine Dew, and Water Fang Turtle Summoning.]

His mother looked surprised as she examined her new skills.

"These are all Rare-Rank skills?"

Liam nodded.

"Yeah. They should be useful for you."

His mother looked at him with a complicated expression.

"Liam, where did you get all these skill crystals?"

"I got them during the Dream Trial."

She sighed.

"You really went through a lot in there, didn’t you?"

Liam smiled.

"Don’t worry, Mom. I’m fine."

His mother looked at him for a moment before gently patting his head.

"Alright. Just make sure you stay safe."

Liam nodded.

He then glanced at her status screen again.

’Now that she has these skills, her combat ability should improve quite a bit.’

He was especially interested in her new Regeneration skill.

If he could increase its level later, it might become a powerful source of recovery for her.

However, he decided not to use Reality Reversal on it immediately.

He still needed to understand the limits of his talent better.

"By the way, Mom, I’ll be going out tomorrow."

His mother looked at him.

"Where are you going?"

"I’m meeting Yogesh. We’re planning to enter a real-world dungeon."

Her expression became slightly serious.

"A dungeon? Is it dangerous?"

"It’s a Tier 2 dungeon. We’ll be going together, so it should be fine."

His mother sighed.

"Just be careful. Don’t take unnecessary risks."

Liam smiled.

"Of course."

He knew she was worried about him, but he also needed to become stronger.

After talking with his mother for a while longer, Liam returned to his room.

He closed the door and sat on his bed.

’Since I’m going to the Frozen Crypt tomorrow, I should check my status first.’

He opened his status screen.

[ Status ]

[ Name: Liam Heart ]

[ Dream Race: Lesser Evil Eye (D-Rank) ]

[ Tier: 1 ]

[ Level: 83 ]

[ Talent: Reality Reversal ]

[ Talent Uses Remaining: 20/20 ]

[ Attributes ]

[ Strength: 90 ]

[ Agility: 135 ]

[ Vitality: 177 ]

[ Intelligence: 654 ]

[ Free Attribute Points: 69 ]

Liam looked at his attributes.

’My Intelligence is already high enough for now. I should put these free points into my other attributes.’

He considered his options.

His race had a fragile body, so increasing his Vitality would help him survive attacks. However, he also needed enough Agility to avoid being hit in the first place.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to distribute his points evenly between Strength, Agility, and Vitality.

[ Strength: 113 ]

[ Agility: 158 ]

[ Vitality: 200 ]

[ Intelligence: 654 ]

[ Free Attribute Points: 0 ]

Liam nodded with satisfaction.

’This should be enough for a Tier 2 dungeon.’

He then checked his skills.

Most of them were already at their maximum level. His three newly acquired Epic-Rank skills, however, were still at Level 1.

Liam looked at his three newly acquired Epic-Rank skills.

[Dark Magic Lv.1]

[Familiar Contract Lv.1]

[Dark Storm Lv.1]

’Since I still have plenty of Talent Uses remaining, I might as well level them up.’

He activated Reality Reversal.

A faint glow appeared around his body as the system notifications began appearing.

[Reality Reversal activated.]

[Target: Dark Magic Lv.1]

[Reversing skill level...]

[Dark Magic Lv.1 → Dark Magic Lv.10 MAX]

[Target: Familiar Contract Lv.1]

[Reversing skill level...]

[Familiar Contract Lv.1 → Familiar Contract Lv.10 MAX]

[Target: Dark Storm Lv.1]

[Reversing skill level...]

[Dark Storm Lv.1 → Dark Storm Lv.10 MAX]

Liam smiled as he saw the notifications.

’Perfect.’

He opened the descriptions of his upgraded skills.

[Dark Magic Lv.10 MAX]

[Allows the user to manipulate dark energy and cast various dark spells. The user can freely control dark energy with exceptional precision. The power and variety of available spells increase with mastery.]

Liam nodded.

’This should make it much easier to use dark energy in combat.’

He then checked the next skill.

[Familiar Contract Lv.10 MAX]

[Allows the user to establish magical contracts with creatures, turning them into familiars. Familiars can share a portion of their power with their master and receive energy through the contract. The number and strength of familiars depend on the user’s power.]

[Current limit: 5]

[ Used: 1]

Liam’s eyes brightened.

’This is much better than before and I can have four more’

With the skill at its maximum level, he could establish stronger contracts and potentially gain more powerful familiars.

He then checked his final skill.

[Dark Storm Lv.10 MAX]

[Summons a large-scale storm of dark energy. The storm continuously releases dark lightning and blades of condensed dark energy, attacking everything within its area. Its power and range increase with the user’s strength.]

Liam was satisfied.

’This should be a powerful area-of-effect skill.’

He had now upgraded all three Epic-Rank skills to their maximum level.

Although he had used three of his Talent Uses, he still had plenty remaining.

Liam closed the skill descriptions and leaned back on his bed.

’Tomorrow, I’ll get to test these abilities in the Frozen Crypt.’

He was looking forward to seeing how well his skills performed in a real-world dungeon.

After all, he had become much stronger since completing his Dream Trial.

And he was only getting started.

The next morning, Liam woke up early.

After washing up, he went downstairs and had breakfast with his mother.

Once he finished eating, he returned to his room and activated Dream Sync.

His body began transforming into his childlike Evil Eye form.

"Remember to be careful!" his mother called from downstairs.

"I will, Mom!"

Liam smiled before opening the Dream Dimension Access.

[Dream Dimension Access activated.]

[Connecting to the Dream Dimension...]

His body turned into glowing particles and disappeared.

A moment later, Liam appeared in the Dream Dimension.

He looked around and found himself in the familiar Northern Forest.

’I’m back.’

He opened his status screen and checked his current condition.

Everything was as he expected.

Liam then used Dream Dimension Access again.

[Dream Dimension Access activated.]

[Returning to the real world...]

His body disappeared once more.

When he opened his eyes, he was back in his bedroom.

Liam nodded.

’The connection works smoothly.’

Now that he had confirmed he could enter and leave the Dream Dimension freely, he no longer needed to worry about being trapped inside.

He picked up his phone and sent Yogesh a message.

Liam: I’m ready. Where are we meeting?

A reply came a few seconds later.

Yogesh: The east entrance of the Frozen Crypt. Get there as soon as you can.

Liam smiled.

’Let’s see how much experience a Tier 2 dungeon can give me.’

He grabbed his belongings and left his room.

After saying goodbye to his mother, Liam headed toward the Frozen Crypt.

The dungeon was located on the outskirts of the city. It was a popular destination for low-tier Dream Walkers because its monsters were relatively manageable and its rewards were decent.

Of course, that did not mean it was completely safe.

Even a Tier 2 dungeon could become dangerous if someone underestimated its monsters.

But Liam wasn’t planning to take it lightly.

With his upgraded skills and high Intelligence, he was confident that he could handle the dungeon.

After traveling for a while, he finally arrived at the east entrance.

Yogesh was already waiting there.

He waved when he spotted Liam.

"You’re finally here!"

Liam walked over with a smile.

"Sorry. Did you wait long?"

"Not really."

Yogesh looked at Liam’s small body and grinned.

"Still can’t get used to seeing you like that."

Liam rolled his eyes.

"Don’t start."

Yogesh laughed.

"Alright, alright. Let’s get going."

The two friends turned toward the dungeon entrance.

A large stone archway stood before them. Cold air drifted out from the dark passage beyond it.

Above the entrance, a sign displayed the dungeon’s name.

Frozen Crypt — Tier 2

Yogesh took a deep breath.

"Ready?"

Liam nodded.

"Let’s go."

Together, they stepped into the dungeon.