The Supreme Level Up System

When the group entered the port city, they didn't find much aside from a bigger version of the first one. However, some adventurers were leaving the place even at night. That was odd, considering what happened on the other island… perhaps something happened there, and the group had to investigate to find out the reason.

"They look tense…" Seris said

"If adventurers are involved, then a dungeon or monsters are probably the problems," Sauros said.

It felt like something was always happening wherever they went… Regardless, it wasn't their problem, and Aion's group was going to deal with another dungeon, so that should be enough help that they were going to offer to the region.

Unlike the first port city, that one wasn't as lively, probably because of the problems regarding the attack they had heard about and because of the problems they were facing. Aion's group didn't find many monsters along the way, though. However, they noticed that half of the shops were already closed and the ones open didn't have much of stock.

"Although they can obtain powerful gems to make magic weapons, in the end, they can't use the same element agaisnt those creatures," Seris said.

"Do you guys know much about dungeons?" Aion asked.

"You mean more than what people already know?" Seris asked.

"Naturally," Aion replied.

"... Let's not discuss this in the open," Sauros said when Seris looked at him, waiting for his opinion on the matter.

The group had to visit several shops in order to buy enough gems. Aion asked if they could put several on a single one to increase its power, but it didn't seem like that worked.

"What about you make a crossbow that is connected, but several parts can be separated, and each one of them has a gem?" Aion asked.

"... You mean to create several parts that have gems, and each one of those works together to increase the power of the projectiles?" Seris asked.

"Yes," Aion replied.

"I never tried anything like that, but it might work… I will have to change the design of the weapon a bit, and this will take a while," Seris said.

"Take your time," Aion said.

"I didn't know you enjoyed this kind of thing, building new things," Sauros said while he watched Aion and his sister on the new project.

"I never tried since I have never been good with my hands, but it is interesting and might come in handy one day," Aion said.

Seris began to draw some designs of the weapons and then split them into several parts. It took shape quite fast since she didn't mind Aion watching her up close. The group left the port city after three days. Since they learned the reason why the adventurers were leaving. It seemed that some mutated creatures had appeared on it… some that weren't supposed to show up in that kind of dungeon.

"Is that normal?" Aion asked.

"No, while there are dungeons that spawn multiple types of enemies, they do that since their origin. It isn't a change that happens all of a sudden," Sauros replied. "I heard that such things happened in the past, but they were solved after the mana levels of the cores were stabilized."

"The dungeon is cleared often due to the materials of the monsters… wouldn't that make them stable enough?" Aion asked.

"That is true…" Sauros replied.

It seemed that Sauros didn't have a clear answer… but in the end, that was a problem of the island, they had their own problems, and they would only find themselves in a tight spot if they headed there to help when they were only strangers.

While Seris was working on the weapon, Aion decided to practice his wind magic since he was going to use that underwater.. Using magic weapons was fine, and all, but their power was limited. Aion started with the most basic Wind Bullets and found that they could fly for quite a distance… However, his aim was lacking without the Sniper class. He had to practice a lot for his control increase… eventually, he also added some rotating power and that made them fly for even longer distances.

"Can you fire hundreds of those underwater?" Sauros asked.

"Depending on the circumstances, yes," Aion replied.

"Then, I guess you won't need the magic weapons that Seris will make," Sauros said. "We were talking about dungeons the other day, and you wanted to learn more about them, right? What the general population doesn't know are a few things. Still, the rulers of the nations know are the facts that they only appear in areas where their inhabitants caused too much harm to the lands. The spawning of the monsters is just a defensive mechanism of the mana of the world to stop the human population from continuing with that by giving them another problem."

"That sounds weird… it wouldn't be the same as affirming that mana or the planet is a living creature with a conscience?" Aion asked.

"Not exactly. While no one can confirm that, some people said that the spirits of the dead are what control the mana around to create the dungeons, some people claimed that they could talk with spirits, but that is another thing that no one was able to confirm," Sauros explained. "My ancestors considered that hypothesis and then improved it further with their own theories. When people die, they become spirits, and their memories become energy for the world, the energy known as mana. Until they leave all of their memories behind, they can't move on."

"I wanted to hear something more definitive instead of just theories," Aion said.

"You probably never heard of them, but ghost dungeons exist. The monsters there can talk… those who managed to clear those dungeons never return since they hear the whispers of the dead," Sauros said. "They are since they only appear in places where a lot of deaths have happened."

"What about my mother's Homeland?" Aion asked.