CHAPTER 106: CHAPTER 106 ( SOLO LEVELLING)

The Stalker shrieked again but didn’t fall. Instead, it lunged forward, ignoring its injury completely, trying to bite Satou’s arm with those rows of jagged teeth.

Satou jerked back, his sword coming up in a diagonal slash that opened the creature’s throat. It collapsed, gurgling, black blood pooling beneath it.

[Blind Stalker Defeated]

[+75 EXP]

But there was no time to celebrate. The other four were already on him, and now they were more aggressive, as if the death of their packmate had enraged them.

Two attacked simultaneously from different angles. Satou couldn’t dodge both, so he activated Earth Manipulation, channeling it through his feet into the floor.

The stone rippled, then spiked upward in a jagged wall between him and one of the attackers. The Stalker crashed into it face-first with a sickening crunch. It fell back, its face caved in, but even with that injury it tried to get up, its limbs flailing.

They don’t stop unless they’re dead, Satou noted grimly. I need killing blows, not just injuries.

The other Stalker’s attack came from above,the creature had somehow climbed the wall and dropped down on him. Satou barely got his sword up in time, the blade impaling the creature through the chest as it fell.

The weight drove him to one knee. The impaled Stalker was still alive, still thrashing, its claws raking across his shoulders, drawing blood. Satou gritted his teeth against the pain and twisted the blade, then yanked it sideways, opening a massive wound.

The creature finally went still.

[Blind Stalker Defeated]

[+75 EXP]

Three down. Two to go, plus the one with the caved-in face that was somehow still moving.

Satou’s shoulders burned from the claw marks. Not deep, but painful. He’d need to use a healing potion after this fight.

The remaining two Stalkers had learned. They weren’t charging blindly anymore. Instead, they were circling him, moving in opposite directions, trying to flank him. Their heads tilted back and forth, tracking his position by sound.

Satou realized something: they were smart. These weren’t mindless monsters. They were predators with pack tactics and learning capability.

He needed to change his approach.

Satou activated Predator’s Gaze, his eyes flashing crimson. The supernatural fear washed over the two circling Stalkers. They flinched, their movements becoming jerky and uncertain.

But they didn’t flee. Despite the fear, despite their injuries and dead packmates, they kept fighting.

They’re afraid but they won’t run, Satou thought.

One Stalker lunged forward, emboldened or perhaps driven by desperation. Satou was ready. He pivoted, letting the creature’s momentum carry it past him, his sword slicing across its back as it went by.

The cut was deep, severing the spine. The Stalker collapsed mid-stride, its legs no longer responding to commands. But even paralyzed, it kept trying to crawl toward him, dragging itself forward with its arms.

The last mobile Stalker and the one with the caved-in face attacked together, coordinating despite their injuries. Satou was forced to backpedal, his sword working in a defensive pattern, blocking and deflecting their wild swings.

Then his foot caught on the corpse of one of the earlier kills. He stumbled.

The cave-faced Stalker’s bone club came down toward his head. Satou threw himself sideways, the club missing by inches and striking the stone floor hard enough to crack it.

From his position on the ground, Satou lashed out with Stone Spit. The projectile caught the creature in what remained of its face, caving in the other side and finally, finally killing it.

[Blind Stalker Defeated]

[+75 EXP]

The last Stalker leaped at him while he was down, its jagged rock raised like a dagger. Satou brought his sword up in a desperate thrust. The blade punched through the creature’s chest, the tip emerging from its back.

But momentum carried the Stalker forward. It crashed down on top of Satou, its weight driving the air from his lungs. Those jagged teeth snapped inches from his face, seeking his throat.

Satou abandoned his sword, still lodged in the creature’s chest and grabbed its throat with both hands, holding it back. The Stalker thrashed, its claws raking across his arms, drawing more blood. Its teeth snapped again and again, getting closer each time as Satou’s strength began to fail.

In desperation, Satou activated Poison Fang. His teeth elongated, becoming venomous fangs. He lunged forward and bit into the Stalker’s neck, injecting venom directly into its bloodstream.

The effect was immediate. The Stalker’s thrashing became a violent seizure, foam bubbling from its mouth. Its muscles locked up, rigid as stone. Then it went limp.

[Blind Stalker Defeated]

[+75 EXP]

Satou shoved the corpse off him and lay there for a moment, breathing hard. His shoulders were clawed. His arms were bleeding. His whole body ached from the brief but intense fight.

And that was just Floor One.

[Floor One Complete]

[+500 Bonus EXP]

[Level Up! Level 17 → Level 18]

[HP and Stamina Restored]

Warmth flooded through Satou’s body. The cuts on his shoulders and arms closed, the pain fading. His stamina returned, the exhaustion disappearing. The level up had completely healed him.

That’s convenient, he thought. The dungeon heals you after each floor. Otherwise, accumulated damage would make the later floors impossible.

On the far side of the chamber, a doorway had appeared where there had been only solid wall before. Blue light emanated from it, and Satou could see stairs leading downward.

But before he moved toward it, he looked at the corpses of the five Blind Stalkers.

Satou approached the nearest corpse and activated Devouring.

His shadow extended, darkening and expanding until it enveloped the Blind Stalker’s body. The corpse began to dissolve, flesh and bone breaking down into dark particles that flowed into Satou like water being absorbed by dry earth.

He felt the familiar rush of power, the sensation of the creature’s essence being integrated into his own. Memories that weren’t his flickered through his mind—hunting in darkness, tracking prey by sound, the pack working as one.

[Blind Stalker Devoured]

[Enhanced Hearing (Minor) Acquired]

[Echolocation (Weak) Acquired]

Satou’s ears tingled as they restructured slightly. Suddenly, he could hear so much more—the crackling of the blue flames in their sconces, the faint movement of air through unseen vents, the distant sound of something moving far below in the dungeon.

He devoured the other four corpses in quick succession.

[Blind Stalker Devoured] x4

[Enhanced Hearing (Minor) → Enhanced Hearing (Intermediate)]

[Echolocation (Weak) → Echolocation (Moderate)]

[Pack Tactics (Basic) Acquired]

The world became richer with sound. Satou could now produce small clicking sounds with his tongue and actually "see" his surroundings through the echoes, like a bat. The ability was weak—it only worked up to about thirty feet and the images were fuzzy—but it was something.

And Pack Tactics would help him coordinate if he ever fought alongside others again, improving his ability to work in a group.

Not the most powerful abilities, Satou thought, but useful. And this is only Floor One. If I devour creatures on every floor...

Satou walked toward the doorway and the descending stairs. Before he went down, he took a moment to eat one of the food concentrate pills and drink some water from his canteen.

The pill was bitter but immediately made him feel satiated. No hunger, no thirst. Convenient for a dungeon where food sources might be scarce or dangerous.

He looked back at the chamber one final time. Five corpses, now partially dissolved by his devouring. His first victory in the dungeon.

Ninety-nine floors to go.

Satou descended the stairs toward Floor Two.

The stairs descended for what felt like several minutes before opening into... chaos.

It wasn’t a single chamber like Floor One. Instead, Satou found himself in a maze of corridors, each one looking identical to the others. The same blue flames. The same dark stone walls. No distinguishing features whatsoever.

And immediately, he could hear movement. Lots of it. Scraping, shuffling, the sound of many things moving through the maze.

A notification appeared:

[Floor Two Challenge: Navigate the maze and eliminate all threats. Exit will appear upon completion.]

[Enemies: Unknown]

[Time Limit: None]

Navigate a maze while fighting unknown enemies, Satou thought. Great.

He activated his new Echolocation, clicking his tongue softly. The echoes painted a fuzzy picture of his immediate surroundings—three corridors branching off from his position, each one extending about thirty feet before turning.

The sounds of movement were coming from all directions. Whatever was in here with him, there were a lot of them.

Satou picked the middle corridor at random and started walking, his sword drawn, all his senses on high alert.

The first creature emerged from a side passage without warning.

It was roughly humanoid but covered entirely in gray, cracked skin that looked like dried mud. Its hands ended in long, thin fingers that scraped against the stone as it moved. It had no face—just a blank expanse where features should be, though it clearly knew exactly where Satou was.

[Maze Stalker - Level 11]

The creature lunged forward with surprising speed, those long fingers reaching for Satou’s throat.

Satou sidestepped and brought his sword down in a diagonal slash. The blade cut deep, but the creature didn’t bleed. Instead, dried flakes of its mud-like skin fell away, and it kept coming.

He had to strike three more times before finally destroying enough of it that it collapsed into a pile of dried mud.

[Maze Stalker Defeated]

[+80 EXP]

Then he heard more scraping behind him. Satou spun to see two more Maze Stalkers emerging from different corridors.

This is going to be a long floor, Satou thought grimly.