Alex and Alice finished with their business, then went to bed.
Morning sunlight seeped through the cracks in the curtains as Alex moved quietly around the kitchen, preparing breakfast.
His mind was still hazy from last night, but he was focused on cooking up something Alice could enjoy.
While eating, Alice stared at Alex’s handsome face.
‘I really need to find someone else is to take care of his urges alongside me,’ she thought, her gaze softening.
It didn’t bother her that Alex might be with other women as long as she held a special place by his side.
Strangely, she was almost enthusiastic about it, realizing that having a bit of support might actually be… ideal.
They shared a few moments in silence, then cleared away the dishes before each went to log back into Universal Descent.
[Do you want to log in inside of “Universal Descent”?]
“Yes!”
…
Moments later, Alex reappeared in front of Bell City’s towering gate, but he was already prepared to move onward.
He opened his [World Map] with a flick, pinpointing his next destination.
Then selected the end of the seventh floor to bring Alice with him, since she must still be inside.
He warped instantly to a dimly lit room at the edge of the level.
And before him loomed the silhouette of an NB+ boss, the monstrous guardian of this place.
Alice was indeed here, pulling out her bow and getting ready to take care of the boss.
“Stay close,” he said with a calm grin.
With a few practiced motions, Alex unleashed a barrage of spells, and in less than ten seconds, the boss let out a brief roar before collapsing in a cloud of dust.
Ding!
[Extraction Talent Activated: +30 Strength]
Then he teleported them both back to the 20th floor, skipping the 16th to 19th completely, as he had no use for them.
He would grind there if he felt like winning was impossible, but until then, he would move forward from here.
Because he hadn’t beaten the [Spider Queen], he only teleported to the entrance of the 20th floor, meaning he still needed to go through it all and find the exit.
Which is what he does.
Alex took a steadying breath before summoning his forces.
He raised his arm, dark energy swirling around him as he channeled his mana into the ground.
Shadows twisted and warped, materializing into a growing army.
“Come forth, my undead,” he commanded, his voice echoing ominously.
[+24 Skeletons, +4 Grand Skeletons, +1 Bony Knight, +1 Spectral Wraith]
[-30750 Mana]
Thanks to his [Unparalled Mage]’s perk, it now cost 50% less mana to summon his undead, and use his skills!
Alice’s eyes widened as the undead began to form around them. “Does summoning these… things not take any mana?” she asked, awe written plainly on her face.
Every time she saw Alex summon them, she couldn’t help but be amazed by his powers.
“It does,” Alex replied with a shrug. “A lot, actually. But…” He glanced at the item in his system inventory too, the [Relic of the Forsaken], glowing faintly.
It pulsed, regenerating his mana at an unprecedented rate.
Normally, summoning this much would force him to take another [High Quality Mana Potion], but this time, he didn’t need it.
[Relic of the Forsaken: Active]
[+1000 Mana… +1000 Mana… +1000 Mana…]
With his mana replenishing at a rate of 1000 per second, Alex could afford to keep summoning in addition to the reduced cost.
“Wait a bit,” he told Alice, who watched as he repeated the process, raising more skeletons and grander forces every second.
She was currently level 58, meaning that the bow Alex gave her indeed helped her out.
But first, he needed to summon all of his army.
He had never done it before, after all, summoning 100 undead seemed impossible with his mana pool, but now, it was actually possible!
[+24 Skeletons, +4 Grand Skeletons, +1 Bony Knight, +1 Spectral Wraith]
[-30750 Mana]
He repeated that process one more time, then summoned his last skeletons.
[+8 Skeletons, +2 Grand Skeletons]
And so with that, his entire army was complete.
He tried to summon one more to see if it worked, but as expected.
[You cannot summon more undead.]
[100/100 Limit Reached]
Alex nodded in satisfaction, surveying his undead legion.
Around him and Alice stood a small army, eager to follow his commands.
“If this army can’t handle the queen, then I don’t know what can,” he muttered. “Let’s go.”
With that, he motioned for his army to advance, and the skeletons began to march, their hollow footsteps clattering against the cold stone.
The dungeon’s floor grew darker and more web-covered the deeper they went, echoing with the ominous rustling of giant spiders lying in wait.
As they moved forward, they encountered the first of many monstrous spiders—Level 200 creatures with eyes glistening like black glass and jaws dripping venom.
The spiders lunged at them, but Alex’s undead soldiers formed a barrier, meeting the arachnids head-on.
Skeletons and spiders clashed, bone scraping against claws as the creatures tore into each other.
Alice, standing close to Alex, nocked an arrow in her [Glacial Requiem] bow and aimed carefully before releasing it.
The arrow shot forward, striking a spider’s face and freezing it mid-attack.
Alex grinned at her accuracy. “Nice shot.”
She shrugged, loading another arrow. “You made sure I had a good weapon.”
He nodded, then turned his focus back to the battle.
Raising his hand, he channeled a spell, launching a [Meteoric Blaze] into a dense cluster of spiders.
The explosion sent spider limbs and chunks of web flying.
The spiders screeched and scurried in a frenzy, but Alex’s Spectral Wraiths moved in, their ghostly forms slicing through the remaining creatures with ease.
Thanks to the [Relic of the Forsaken], using [Meteoric Blaze] was extremely easy as he didn’t have to worry about the mana cost.
“Stay alert,” Alex reminded Alice, though she was already scanning the room with keen focus thanks to the [Spider Guard’s Eye Necklace] Alex gave her.
The onslaught continued as more spiders poured in from side chambers, rushing at them with menacing speed.
Alex’s Bony Knights met them with unyielding strength, their armored forms resisting the spiders’ attacks.
Experience tales at m v|l e-NovelFire
A few skeletons were destroyed, but Alex quickly summoned replacements to keep their numbers strong.
As they cleared each room, Alex felt the steady rhythm of growth.
[Extraction Talent Activated: +217 Strength, +194 Spirit, +133 Agility, +126 Vitality, +12 Skill Points, x4 Spider Swords (Epic)]
Alex collected the dropped items and handed the [Spider Swords] to his Grand Skeletons.
“These should be useful.”
The swords glimmered darkly, their edges dripping with a strange venom.
[Spider Sword (Epic): Deals 50% more damage to Spider enemies]
With the new weapons distributed, his undead army pressed forward, cutting down spiders with greater efficiency.
Their relentless advance through the dungeon continued, and both he and Alice felt themselves growing stronger.
Ding!
[You have reached Level 62!]
[You have reached Level 63!]
.
.
[You have reached Level 66!]
The notifications confirmed his progress.
He glanced at Alice, who was also reveling in her own growth.
[Alice: Level 60 (173,928/60,000)]
She had leveled up six times, reaching the cap for her tier.
Though she couldn’t level further until she completed her Tier 3 advancement quest, she was still more powerful than when they’d first entered.
Finally, they arrived at the end of the floor, and there, an ominous door loomed.
A faded emblem of a spider marked the entrance, signaling that they had reached the [Queen’s Chamber].
Alex took a moment to assess their surroundings, adjusting his mana reserves and summoning back any undead they’d lost.
Alice checked her equipment, and the two of them exchanged a nod.
“Alright,” Alex murmured, exhaling deeply as he steadied his resolve.
The looming door was all that stood between them and the queen.
With a swift motion, Alex pushed the doors open, revealing a cavernous chamber enshrouded in shadows and thick webs.
The vast room was littered with the corpses of fallen NPCs and monsters alike, their bodies wrapped in silken strands.
And there, at the center of the webbed throne, lay the imprisoned fox beast tribe princess, her eyes wide and fearful.
“She’s here,” Alex muttered, eyeing the queen’s chamber warily.
This was their final challenge.
“Let’s do this,” he said, gripping his dagger and staff tightly and giving Alice a determined nod.
As they stepped forward, his undead soldiers filed in behind him.