Reincarnated as an Apocalyptic Catalyst
Chapter 98: The XP Grind Begins

Chapter 98: The XP Grind Begins

I wasn’t going to be the only one to stand around while some unknown threat was roaming the corridors, but I still had to check on my stats. I figured as long as I kept the others in my line of sight, I could sneak a couple peeks at what I was dealing with. As soon as I had a moment, I opened my status screen.

Level 1.

I’d known it was coming, had even been prepared for it, but seeing it there, written out in glowing text, still made something in my gut clench. It wasn’t just the level itself—it was how light I felt. It was hard enough when I had to switch over to this body from the OG Lucian, but even this body had been primed for kicking some degree of ass. Now I might have well been a child again, though even young children would be level 3 or 4 by now if they pushed themselves.

Experience Gain: x35.

That was the only good news. My original level 25 looked like it equated to a 25 times experience gain, plus the experience booster from my amulet meant I’d be leveling stupidly fast. It was a little bit of a shame that my amulet didn’t multiply my multiplier, but I guess the gods of this world weren’t going to let someone get away with 250x experience gain. At that rate, I could squash insects and be level 5 in an hour. Still, 35x was nothing to sneeze at, and I couldn’t help but recall how much I had gained simply by eating flesh at level 1. Technically I could eat away at this host, but I felt like with my gear and abilities, it shouldn’t be hard to take out a few enemies instead.

Vance groaned from beside me, rubbing his temples like he was trying to hold his skull together. "Okay. Yeah. This is awful."

"Tell me about it," I muttered. "What’s your multiplier?"

"x20," he grumbled, squinting at his own status screen. "I was level 20 before the reset."

Nythera and Ronan had their own screens up, studying them with various degrees of irritation. Nythera looked particularly distressed, her lips pressed into a thin line.

"I was level 15," she admitted, glancing up. "So I have x15 experience gain. It’s... actually not that bad. It took years to get to level 15, though I admit my life was a bit sheltered, so out here in the field, it shouldn’t take long to regain."

"I am facing the same issue," Ronan added, his voice as flat as ever. "Level 15. Multiplier x15." Of course he didn’t mention how fast he leveled once the parasite took over his body, and we rolled together, blasting targets left and right for thousands of experience. Now, it would be tens of thousands of experience.

That put us all at relatively even footing. Theoretically, if we survived long enough, we’d catch back up to our previous power levels fairly quickly. That was a big ’if,’ though.

Vance rolled his shoulders and winced. "I feel shitty... Wait–" something had occurred to him as he turned to face me, "What’s your multiplier?"

"I, er, I already told you, remember?" Seriously? That was a weak attempt at gaslighting, but maybe it would–

"No, you didn’t. You stared off into the distance and jumped onto my statement," he said matter-of-factly.

"Fine... I picked up an amulet during my time as a blade for hire, and it gives me 10x experience gain." And then I went back to walking down the corridor, at least until he grabbed my shoulder and turned me around to face him.

"And... That adds on top of what number?" He pressed the question.

"Maybe the real prize is the experience we will gain along the way?"

"Lucian... What is your modifier, in total?" His fingers dug into my shoulder. All 10 points of strength cutting into 10 points of my vitality.

I winced and pulled away, sheepishly responding under my breath, "35 times," I said, barely audible.

He placed a hand over his mouth reflexively, to cut the scream of frustration from alerting every creature lurking these halls as to our location.

"You son of a bitch..." Was all he had said before turning to walk off in the direction we had been going.

"It is quite a substantial sum," Ronan added, nodding my direction before following Vance.

"Wow, congrats! This is going to help quite a bit. We should be fine once you start leveling." Nythera was full of optimism and pep, and I was thankful for that. I think she deserves to use the amulet next–at least once I get a decent portion of my stats back.

"Anyway... we should probably figure out if we can still function before something jumps out and tries to eat us," I added, in an attempt to change the subject.

I flexed my fingers, experimentally forming a mana thread between them. It wavered, weak and unsteady, but it didn’t immediately snap. That was something, at least.

Vance unsheathed his sword, which caused me to respond by placing my hand over my dagger. I didn’t think he would attack me, but tension was high. "Alright. Let’s see what else this dungeon has in store." He stated.

The stone corridors we found ourselves in were long, winding, and damp with an unnatural chill. Faint carvings lined the walls, most too worn to be legible, though some looked vaguely religious—priests in flowing robes, depictions of death and rebirth, figures kneeling before some unseen force.

"An old crypt," Nythera murmured, tracing her fingers along the faded engravings. "Maybe even a temple."

"If that’s the case," Vance said, "I’m not looking forward to meeting its residents."

We didn’t have to wait long as the first undead came shuffling around a corner just as Vance finished speaking—a skeletal figure wrapped in rotted priestly robes, its eyes burning with pale, eerie light.

"Of course," I muttered. "Because why wouldn’t there be undead in a crypt?"

The thing let out a dry, rattling hiss and lunged, but Vance met it head-on, raising his sword and slashing in a wide arc. The blade cut through brittle bone, sending the creature staggering. It didn’t fall, though. It took another stumbling step, and its fingers twitched as if preparing to cast something.

Ronan was already moving before I could shout a warning. He stepped in close, grabbed the skeleton by the jaw, and crushed it with a single, sharp twist. The body collapsed into a pile of dust and brittle bones.

"Why not cast a spell?" I said, raising a brow.

Ronan let the remains drop. "Oh." He remarked, pondering my question. "I had grown accustomed to not having access to magic. I will do that next time. Thank you."

More of them started filtering in from side corridors, drawn by the sound. Nothing we couldn’t handle at our current state, but enough to be an annoyance. With Ronan leading the attack by tossing a few fireballs, we carved our way through them, moving quickly and trying to conserve as much energy as possible. By the time we reached the stairs leading upward, I was already feeling the strain, and had managed to dispatch... Wait, how many did I take out?

[Enemies Defeated: Skeletal Priests x5]

[Experience: 250 times 35. Experience Awarded: 7,000.]

[You have reached level 2.]

[You have reached level 3.]

[You have reached level 4.]

[You have reached level 5.]

[You have reached level 6.]

[You have reached level 7.]

[You have reached level 8.]

[You have reached level 9.]

[You have reached level 10.]

[7,000/12,800.]

"Holy shit!" We all shouted in unison as the notifications flooded in.

"Level 9 already?!" Nythera was absolutely giddy and excited as she hopped in place.

"I am level 9 as well," Ronan stated, already allocating his stat points.

"Same here," Vance remarked, shooting me a glare that said, Don’t even think about telling us what level you are at.

I took the hint and congratulated them all on their gains. I was only a single level higher than them, but I easily had twice the XP of Ronan and Nythera, and even Vance was starting to taste the dust I left behind. The difference would only increase in time.

[While within the dungeon, you will receive stat points at an increased rate as well. You now have 50 stat points to allocate.]

That was... Significant. We likely all started at 10 across the board, having been reset. At least I had assumed so, because where I started with varying degrees of proficiency in my stats when I was brought here, I now sat at 10 across the board, as mentioned. With 50 to allocate, that gave me a total of 110 points overall. If it sounded like a lot, it was. My previous total was something like 180, 181 or so, at level 25. The fact that I could reach that again by level 18 was an absurd concept. When all was said and done, I kind of wanted to go check out another dungeon. But I was getting ahead of myself. It was time to allocate baby!