Undying Warlord

[Whetstone] <Bronze Tier-1> treasure

One-time use!

When used on a weapon, its sharpness and endurance will be amplified. Amplification is between 5%~15% depending on the weapon's quality and potential.

Duration: 10 hours

Remark: Only one Whetstone can be used on a weapon in 24 hours.

The stone Dilan was holding was a Whetstone, but not an ordinary one.

It had dropped from a monster that had turned into countless particles a few minutes after he had killed it.

Several monsters had turned into Whetstones, ability crystals, pieces of equipment, and other objects several minutes after their deaths.

But this was only something Dilan realized after reaching the 14th floor.

After he spent almost an hour returning to the 1st floor to collect the Essence crystals of all monster corpses, Dilan knew for sure that he had missed out on numerous monster drops.

Nearly 15% of the monsters he had killed had turned into monster drops similar to the ones he found on the 14th floor.

"Did I not notice the drops because I rushed through the Pagoda's floors as quickly as possible?"

Dilan believed that this was the reason for him missing it. He didn't waste his time and focused on collecting the corpses, the Essence crystals, and the drops that had been left behind by the monsters, who had turned into countless particles.

Most of the drops were Whetstones of varying Tier and quality. There were more than 150 of them, which was quite satisfying to see.

Each of these Whetstones could increase one Ascender's combat prowess drastically. It was a great treasure, even if it could only be used once before it would disintegrate.

Even a single use on the Blazing Serpentine Blade would turn the weapon into a far stronger and lethal weapon than any other that Dilan had ever wielded.

With the enhanced weapon, a Gold Tier-1 monster stood no chance against him, even if its hide would be as thick as the Inferior Two-Headed Hydrani's hide!

Upon realizing this, Dilan smiled brightly as he received the notifications of the Essence crystals he had absorbed.

[705 Ordinary, 560 <Bronze>, and 380 <Silver> Essences have been absorbed→ +1.2 Strength, +2 Health, +0.7 Stamina, +1.7 Agility]

[Essence pool has been filled. Host reached Level 9(Tier-1)! +1.0 Status points can be allocated!]

Thanks to the Essences Dilan had absorbed, his weakened state had disappeared completely. This was much faster than he could have hoped for and it was mostly owed to his unique constitution.

In a matter of two days, he had absorbed close to 3000 Essence crystals, used his Origin ability more than 100 times, and his passive healing capabilities had received an exceptional boost as well.

It was just that Dilan didn't expect to have killed so many monsters but the notification never lied to him so it was a shocking truth.

The only disappointing fact was his stats but that was something he had long since accepted.

His level had been higher than the monsters, whose Essences he had absorbed, thus the status points he received had been reduced further than the meager one-tenth he could barely get thanks to the [Will of the Primordial].

Stretching his body once again, he began to smile.

"A few Gold Essence Crystals wouldn't be bad. Getting my hands on a Gold Tier-1 treasure would be nice."

Dilan felt excitement coursing through his body as he anticipated laying his hands on powerful treasures which he could obtain as long as he kept conquering the Pagoda of Time.

He nearly forgot that the existence of the Pagoda of Time was likely to have been created because of some ill intention of a powerful existence, whether it was to procure information, surveillance of a weak race that was trying to survive its first months since the Primordial Ascension or whatever reason there was for the Pagoda of Time to exist, in the first place.

The drops in the Pagoda of Time were worth any price which was why Dilan chose not to bother about it for the time being.

He reached the 15th floor, determined to whoop the butts of some Gold Tier-1 monsters and their Silver Tier-1 followers!

His eyes gleamed brightly as he entered the large open floor, but he instantaneously noticed that there were no stairways to go upward.

"So I'm on the last floor? What a shame." Dilan mumbled but his smile was still vibrant nonetheless.

If he wanted to, he could re-enter the Pagoda of Time later again. At least he was pretty sure that it should be possible to re-enter the Pagoda of Time sometime in the future. After all, it was labeled Instance Dungeon, a term that was usually used in games.

But instead of dreaming about re-entering the dungeon, Dilan knew that he had to clear it first. Clearing it was his highest priority and the four-meter-tall minotaur that was surrounded by more than 20 smaller Minotaurs was more than enough to show Dilan that this was going to be a fierce battle.

"Finally I can fight Minotaurs once again. I have been missing you guys ever since I cleared the first floor!" Even the ordinary Tier-1 Minotaurs had been quite annoying to kill.

Their physical strength was extraordinary and both their wild instincts and high combat awareness were perfectly compatible with one another.

They increased the Minotaurs' whole strength to a new level, allowing them to fight monsters that were of a higher level than themselves.

Upon seeing the Gold Tier-1 Minotaur, whose hide was reddish, and the grayish-silver Silver Tier-1 Minotaurs next to him, Dilan smiled brightly as he brandished the Blazing Serpentine Blade to his right side.

A blazing fire engulfed the Serpentine Blade but at the same time, a flame engulfed [Mana Slash] shot toward the Minotaurs.

The Red Minotaur brandished its black sword at the Mana slash while releasing an ear-splitting roar.

Dilan's ear drums nearly ruptured upon hearing the roar but he was not able to pay much attention to the pain and bleeding in his ear that resulted due to the deafening roar.

Instead, his entire attention was focused on the Minotaur whose eyes were suddenly shrouded in a bloodthirsty red hue.

'Did they enter a Berserk-like state?!' Dilan asked, concluding that the roar had caused this. His prediction was correct, and even worse, the ability used by the Gold Tier-1 Minotaur had increased the strength of his brethren and that of his own by more than 30%!

Following that, the Minotaurs used another ability, increasing their physical strength by more than 30 Units. Through this, the Gold Tier-1 Minotaur's physical strength exceeded Dilan's by far.

The Strength stat of the Silver Tier-1 Minotaurs crossed 60 Units, while the Gold Tier-1 Minotaur's strength was close to 100 Units.

Dilan's Strength was also at 60 Units when he didn't enhance it. Meaning that the Silver Tier-1 Minotaurs were not necessarily stronger.

However, from the moment he perceived how they moved, Dilan knew that the fight would be bothersome.

The situation grew even worse when he noticed that the Silver Tier-1 Minotaurs had an Agility that exceeded 30 Units, while the Gold Tie-1 Minotaur's Agility exceeded 70 Units!

It was merely a Tier-1 monster at Level 8, however, its average stats were close to the peak of Tier-1!!

'If that's the strength of a Gold Tier-1 monster, who has yet to reach Level 25, or base stats reaching the peak of Tier-1…how powerful will a stronger monster be??'