The giant one eyed monster came charging towards me with speed comparable to my own.

I was not prepared to trade blows with this cyclops just yet. I need to scope out its full abilities before doing anything too rash.

I activated my inspect skill and prepared to dodge the incoming behemoth. The light blue text appeared over its head in the distance.

[Lv. 129]

Pretty similar to my own level. That's good.

The rushing stream was to my left and a slight incline leading up the side of the valley was on my right.

I put my sword out in front of me and rushed towards the monster with no intention of actually making contact with it this time around.

We both sprinted towards each other getting closer and closer. Once we were less than 10m apart I could smell a foul scent, this beast smelled worse than any monster I'd ever encountered.

I instantly lunged to the right and ran up the side of the valley to avoid the monster's attack.

"RRRRUUUUAAAA!"

The cyclops kept running forward in a perfect straight line. It swung its club at me, but I was already well outside of its range. I'm mumbled to myself.

"Interesting."

I grinned and ran back towards the water and flatter ground. The cyclops turned to me and locked its eye on me again. We both charged towards each other.

At the last second I dodged it again running up the mountain as the giant club narrowly missed me. The monster kept running forward in a perfect straight line.

It looks like this monster has equal, if not greater speed than me... but it can't change directions very quickly.

That's one up side. I'll possibly be able to use my agility to outsmart this beast.

The big problem is the monster's club. Even when I dodged, the cyclops' timing was basically perfect. One second earlier and I would have been hit. It definitely has good intuition, and is VERY strong. That club is over 2m long and looks like it's make out of a very heavy metal. It can swing it with ease like a baseball bat.

Let's see how this beast likes flames.

I ran back down to flat ground and ignited into a fire ball as we both began our charge. The cyclops didn't seem to hesitate at all. It was the same result. I had to dodge at the last minute to avoid the trajectory of its club. That weapon is a great offensive tool, but it doubles as a defensive shield.

This is going to be tougher than I thought.

I decided to change up my strategy. I charged towards the monster from up above it on the valley's incline. I fully engulfed my body in flames I jumped in the air with my sword in full swing launching an attack. The cyclops countered with a swing of its club.

"CLANGGGGGGG"

Sparks fly and flames shoot from our clash of metal. At first it felt like an even exchange, but I was so wrong.

The monster followed through with its charged and pushed me forward carrying me uphill with ease.

"RUUUUUAAAAAAA!"

It roared as I was thrown forward. I hit the rocky ground and looked up to see the monsters massive legs charging towards me.

With every fast twitch muscle fiber in my body I managed to jump and spin out of the way as the beast cracked the ground as it rumbled past my head less than a meter away.

I spit out a mouthful of dirt and got to my feet. In this moment of adrenaline induced clarity I saw an opening. I was right behind the cyclops as it was trying to turn around.

I pictured every encounter we had so far. The battle highlights flashed before my eyes.

There's a fraction of a second that the monster has to stop moving and adjust its positioning before charging again. This is my only chance.

I erupted into flames.

As the cyclops turned I focused all the fire magic into my blade and went for an all or nothing attack.

"Shinnnnngggg"

"RAAAAAAAUUUUUUAAAA!"

I made a huge firey slash across the monsters back. It cried out in pain.

The monster was hurt, but our battle was far from over. The cyclops snarled and charged back at me with its club raised.

I waited and stared at the enormous creature bellowing towards me. It swung its massive club with a loud roar.

In that same moment I shifted my stance and aligned myself perfectly for a counterattack. I swung my blade at the club hoping to use it as a bounce pad.

I used the incoming club's momentum to throw myself to the ground. I let the monster hit me while strategically angling my sword to position my fall away from the monster's heavy feet.

"CLANGGGG"

Sparks flew and I was thrown to the ground as the cyclops stomped on by. I immediately erupted into flames and lunged towards the wide open backside of the monster.

"Shingggggg"

"RUUUUUUAAAAA!"

I landed another hit. There was a fiery "X" on the monster's back. It was bleeding heavily, and the magic fire residue was burning bright. Jack had told me these Cyclops have a minor weakness to fire, maybe the leftover magic was doing some significant extra damage.

After a series of pain filled cries the cyclops faced me with a murderous glare. It charged forward grunting and dripping blood. Its speed had changed, this charge was definitely slower than the last.

I went for the same movement. I let the monster smack me to the ground while blocking most of the attack with my blade. The beast fell for it a 3rd time.

Without hesitation I concentrated all my flames into the top of my blade and sprinted towards the monsters back. I yelled as I jumped through the air.

"THIS IS THE END FOR YOU!"

I stabbed the cyclops deep in the back of the head. It let out a cry of agony.

"RUUUUUAAAAAAA!"

I held on on tight releasing as much fire magic as I could into the creature. It struggled and cried but quickly came to its end. This was a very effective attack.

With a final burst of flames the cyclops fell to its knees.

"THUDDD."

It dropped its club and fell to the rocky ground moments later.

I gripped my sword and pointed it to the sky smiling and admiring my work.

It felt great to defeat a new monster by myself without any higher level instructors or guides around.

This is how I'll really get stronger.

[Level Up]
[Level Up]

____________________
Name: Jay Soju

Level: 128

Hp: 390/645

Mp: 185/645

Strength: 309 [+50]

Speed: 366

Agility: 382

Defense: 278

Mental Strength: 309 [+62]

Skills:

Absorption
Swordsmanship
Combat Magic [Fire Summoning]
Inspect [Special Grade]
Enemy Detection

Items Equipped:

Stainless Steel Long Sword [+50 Strength]
Golden Wolf Ring [+20% Mental Strength]

_____________________

I stood next to the monster's corpse for a few minutes catching my breath and listened to the water move in the valley below.

The air was still very thick. Maybe even thicker than when I entered this dungeon.

Moments later the cyclops completely disappeared and dropped a large mana crystal. I tossed it up and down in my left hand before placing it in the item box.

I walked back down to the flowing water and washed my face and arms in the stream. I was covered in small scratches and dirt after that fight, it got pretty brutal.

I drank a potion that restored my MP back to full. I stretched my arms and pulled my sword out as I ventured off following the steady water source deeper into the dungeon.

After about 10 minutes I could definitely sense a change in the air. It wasn't my imagination at all, something was definitely off here.

As I kept following the river more carefully through the winding canyon another cyclops appeared. It used all the same tricks. I was much more accustomed to fighting it's kind now and defeated it in a very similar manor. I landed 3 attacks to its back while letting it land non-fatal blows on me for better positioning.

I leveled up 1 more time. After the battle I drank an HP potion to restore it back to full.

[Status Open]

____________________
Name: Jay Soju

Level: 129

Hp: 650/650

Mp: 380/650

Strength: 311 [+50]

Speed: 369

Agility: 385

Defense: 280

Mental Strength: 311 [+62]

Skills:

Absorption
Swordsmanship
Combat Magic [Fire Summoning]
Inspect [Special Grade]
Enemy Detection

Items Equipped:

Stainless Steel Long Sword [+50 Strength]
Golden Wolf Ring [+20% Mental Strength]

_____________________

I was feeling pretty good. I have 4 MP and 3 HP potions left for today, I'll be able to farm exp for a long time.

I let the monster disappear and collected its mana. I kept walking further into the dungeon.

The air was even thicker now. It felt like something was watching me through it. Again, it didn't affect my breathing but didn't feel right at all.

My training for today just started, I didn't feel like overthinking it. This might just be normal for D Class Dungeons. I pushed it to the back of my mind and trekked forward.

Another 10 minutes or so went by. I was walking along the river's edge when I heard massive footsteps.

"THUDDDDD"

"THUDDDDD"

"THUDDDDD"

"RUUUUUUUUAAAAAARRRRR!"

I turned a corner to see an enormous creature about 100m from me charging with its club raised.

It was definitely a cyclops... but was very different than the two I'd just faced. It stood almost 8m tall and had a pinkish red tint to its skin. It's club was much larger as well.

I stared the monster down and readied my sword.

I used inspect to see what I was dealing with and my eyes went wide.

[Lv. 144]

This is definitely a mutant. It's not the boss, it's a random mutant appearing out in the open. I've never see anything like this. This must be what Jack was warning me about this morning.

"RUUUUAAAAAA!!!"

The beast continued its charge with full killing intent. It looked much faster and stronger than me.

I gulped and gripped my sword even tighter.

This will be my strongest opponent yet.