Trapped as an NPC in a Dating Sim-Chapter 50: Rank Evolution!

In the world of Gaia, there were dungeons, monsters, and hunters ranging from F to SSS rank.

There were even exotic races like elves, dwarves, and dragons, who came from unknown worlds through these dungeons into this one.

Then, did that mean there were also gods?

This was a question that plagued hunters for centuries.

In such a gamified world, where power scaled so far that no one could see the peak, the existence of gods didn’t seem far-fetched.

With the variety of classes, skills, and dungeon discoveries, many were almost certain that gods once existed.

Yet, they remained undiscovered. In fact, this world also harbored heretic cults and believers who still worshiped them.

But Soren, having played this game before, knew the truth: gods were indeed real, but they no longer existed.

The setting of Lover’s Labyrinth took place in a time long after the age of the gods’ disappearance, when their presence faded into legend, and the world was left to the mortals, hunters, and monsters that now shaped its fate.

At least that’s how the lore was introduced up until Soren played this game.

"Artemis Grace"

"Arcane Volley!"

"Aether Shot!"

But he never thought that he would be able to witness the trace of the divine like this in his own skill.

He never thought that bright light, which looked so graceful no matter from which angle, carried the power to eliminate darkness, which only divine power could do.

*Whooose!*

Only when he tried to conquer this dungeon did he realize why the skill, which was evolved by the GAP stat one rank higher, was so strong.

Why, the names of such skills were ones he had never heard of before.

"Bang!"

"Fuck!"

And why it consumed so much mana that even after increasing his Mana stat so much, he had to chug down mana potions every once in a while.

"God damn it, idiot. Are you stupid? Or are you scared? What the heck are you just standing there for all the time?"

Soren cursed loudly while barely dodging the black flame tendril whiplashes, his body floating above with the ember wings on his back.

However, from his expression, he didn’t seem to be in a good mood.

Rather, he was so annoyed that he didn’t even care and began to curse the Warden.

"For someone so strong to just stand there and take my attacks, have you no shame? You’ve disgraced the entire undead race."

He said whatever came to his mind while firing one arrow after another, all targeting the gem in front.

But no matter which angle he chose or how much force he used, the Warden simply crushed them with that weird sword of its.

He couldn’t even touch that gem, let alone destroy it. His S-rank skill was indeed strong, but in front of absolute power, it could do nothing at all.

How was he going to complete a dungeon like this?

"Aether Shot!"

But Soren didn’t falter and never stopped. He continuously fired arrow after arrow.

"Artemis Grace!"

It looked like he had gone completely crazy. In fact, he was so reckless that multiple times he came dangerously close to the Warden, almost dying.

If the Warden had left its position even for a brief moment and attacked him, then he would have had a hard time surviving.

But Soren didn’t seem to realize it.

"Tch... you are alive only because of that sword of yours. How about you drop it and fight me head-on? As a swordsman, you are even afraid of a mere archer?"

Rather, he even came near it and audaciously mocked it, without a care. His eyes were thick with ridicule. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Krrrrr!"

To be honest, his constant provocation had worn the Warden’s patience thin. As an intelligent being, it could fully understand everything Soren said.

A weak peepsqueak constantly babbling in its face provoked it. Although it understood that he was trying to distract it from the throne, it still had its limit.

*Swoosh!*

Furious, it swung its sword toward Soren again, letting the dark flame rapidly chase him. But this time too, Soren barely managed to dodge with incredible agility, even without using his wings.

He even showed impressive parkour, swinging from one pillar to another.

Sure enough, before the fight, Soren had directly invested all his free stat points into his Agility.

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> Agility/Dexterity: 100+16=116

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Now, his agility was over a hundred. Of course, he was fast.

But this only managed to irk the Warden even more. Soren was like a fly that couldn’t be killed easily.

"Haha... so close. See? You are only good because of that sword. Hey, how about you just give it to me? Even as an Archer, I suit it more than you."

Not to mention that annoying taunt spurting out of his mouth.

"Krrrrr!"

Finally, unable to hold its anger, the Warden opened its jaw, and a distorted roar tore through the chamber, like metal grinding against metal.

In an instant, the aura surrounding it increased multiple-fold as Soren felt something primitive lock him in place.

’Finally!’

The pressure was countless times more suffocating than before. Not to mention the faint crack he heard from the ring on his finger, which was clearly reaching its limit.

However, Soren showed no horror. Instead, his face turned somber as his hand gripped his C-rank bow tightly, turning his knuckles white.

His Eagle Eye locked onto the Warden’s figure while he floated slightly above, keeping a cautious distance.

"Boom!"

"Now!"

The moment the Warden could no longer endure the insult, it unleashed its aura and dashed toward him at extreme speed. Soren instantly activated his wings and swerved aside, narrowly avoiding the initial charge.

But this time, the Warden was fully on the offensive.

Even on foot, it closed the distance in a blink, leaving Soren little room to maneuver within the confined chamber.

Then, without hesitation, the Warden swung its massive blade, releasing a crescent-shaped black slash that tore through the air and seemed capable of even splitting the space where Soren hovered.

It was angry, clearly giving its all to kill Soren in one move. And looking at the floating figure of Soren, it seemed he was too late to dodge.

*Swish!*

But at that exact moment, Soren abruptly deactivated his wings.

As a result, his body dropped straight down as the black slash passed just above his head, grazing a few strands of hair before crashing into the far wall.

*Thud!*

His figure then landed heavily on the ground with a sharp thud, boots skidding across the stone floor, barely avoiding what would have been a fatal strike.

’System, use the GAP stat and increase the rank of my class.’

But he didn’t care about his state. Rather, his rapt attention was on the throne that was now left unguarded.

All this ploy and all this patience were just for this chance. Of course, Soren wouldn’t let it go.

You see, besides knowing what kind of dungeon this was, Soren had another reason to come here despite the danger.

And that was because....

....he had the absolute confidence in his new ability.

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Ding!

[You have chosen to apply your new stat: GAP to your B-Rank Class: Archer.]

[You have 1 GAP point.]

[Congratulations! Your class, Archer (B-Rank), has evolved to Tempest Strider (A-Rank)!]

[Warning: Your mana core is too weak. You can maintain this state for only 10 seconds.]

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