Ex-Human Morphus [A Mutant Evolution Apocalypse LitRPG]
Chapter 242

Chapter 242

Jake continued to explore the dungeon, moving from one island to another and slaying all the monsters in his path. He hadn’t encountered any new types of enemies, so most were either dragonspawn or charred fiends. Occasionally, he ran into ash imps, but those annoying winged creatures were less common than the other two types of monsters, so he didn’t come across them too often.

In the last few hours, he leveled up multiple times, raising his level from 103 to 108. None of his skills had reached the 100% milestone, so he allocated all his skill points to his attributes, increasing Body from 105 to 115, Mind from 100 to 105, and Magick from 128 to 148.

Those of his skills that were at Rank III were progressing slowly, but he noticed that the ones he used the most, like Claws and Smashfists, were nearing 100%. By the time he leveled up again, they might even reach that mark. However, before he could raise them to the next Rank, he would probably need to evolve to the next stage first. He also couldn’t help but wonder about the highest Rank a skill could achieve, as none of his skills or abilities had maxed out yet.

He continued to explore the dungeon. After defeating another group of monsters, he surveyed his surroundings for any treasures. His eyes landed on a chest, and he approached it. Its simple design suggested it was a primitive chest. Such chests usually weren’t trapped, and this one was no exception.

Inside, he discovered a few lesser mana items and a couple of gemstones. After siphoning the magical energy from the consumables, he stored the gemstones in his Inventory. With nothing left in the chest, he stood up and checked his mental map of the dungeon. Setting his sights on an unvisited island, he resumed his journey. 

After crossing the bone bridge to the island, Jake paused to look around. There were no enemies in sight, but something interesting caught his eye in the distance. It appeared to be a man-made structure, towering over the islands, but he couldn’t make out any details from his current location. Intrigued by his discovery, he decided to check it out.

For the next several minutes, he traversed from one island to another, heading toward the building. He dealt with every group of monsters he encountered, earning some XP in the process. As he drew closer to the strange structure, more details sprang into view. Eventually, he realized it was some kind of temple. With his curiosity piqued, he continued to head toward the edifice.

At last, Jake crossed the bone bridge that arched over a shimmering river of mana, reaching the island that housed the temple. Once his feet touched the solid ground, he took a moment to survey his surroundings. The temple was relatively small, and the island itself was not much bigger.

Seeing no enemies to kill, he headed straight for the temple. The building had no door, only an open entrance at the front. Jake stepped through it and found himself in a small anteroom. Flaming torches were mounted on the walls, casting flickering shadows. The space was completely empty, so after a quick glance around, Jake crossed the room to the opposite side, where a passage leading deeper into the temple awaited.

As Jake moved, the flames of the torches swayed gently, their flickering light causing the shadows to dance across the walls. He stepped through the entrance into what seemed to be the temple’s main chamber and took a moment to survey his surroundings. Round columns lined the left and right walls of the expansive room. However, it was the object in the center that truly captured his attention. 

It was a towering arch of the dormant portal. From where he stood, he could see a huge five-pointed star etched into the floor, with the portal positioned right at its center. From the tip of each point of the star rose a cylindrical pedestal, approximately a foot in diameter and five feet in length.

Jake averted his gaze from the portal to examine his surroundings more closely. However, there was nothing else of interest. Torches mounted on the columns provided enough light to illuminate the entire area. After making sure there were no hidden secrets in the expansive chamber, Jake made his way to the center of the area.

He paused at one of the cylinders and inspected it more closely. An oval indentation marked its vertical surface, with an arcane symbol engraved inside. Jake leaned in for a better look. The symbol bore a resemblance to that of the rune stone he had recently discovered, though it was not quite the same. 

Straightening up, he moved to another cylinder and examined it as well. Like the previous one, it featured an oval indentation on its front. One by one, Jake examined each cylinder in turn until he came across the one that had a symbol identical to that of his recently found rune stone.

He retrieved the rune stone from his Inventory, and it instantly materialized in his hand. He inserted it into the indentation, which locked into place with a soft click. Immediately afterward, the cylinder began to soundlessly retract into the floor until it was completely submerged, its top flat surface now flush with the ground.

Jake waited for a moment, but nothing else happened. He figured he needed to find four more rune stones and insert them into their matching cylinders before anything of note would occur. What that might be, he didn’t know yet. Perhaps finding and using the remaining rune stones would trigger the activation of the portal.

However, Jake doubted it would be that simple. The puzzles he had needed to solve on the previous floors of the dungeon had been more complicated than merely finding the keys and using them. Likely, after finding the rune stones and inserting them into the cylinders, he would have to perform additional actions to activate the portal.

There was nothing else to do in the temple, so he decided to leave. The only island connected to this one by a bone bridge was the one he had come from earlier. He traversed the bridge, returning to the previous island, and looked around. Choosing a direction he hadn’t yet explored, he pressed on.

At some point, he stumbled across something interesting. He entered an island with several bridges connecting it to a few others. However, on one side, there was nothing but an ocean of bubbling lava. Standing at the edge, he spotted a column of rock rising from the fiery sea at a distance from the island’s edge. It towered about three meters above the lava, with a flat, broad top suitable for standing.

Behind that pillar, he could see another one, which was somewhat taller than the first. Further back, Jake noticed a third pillar that was even taller than the previous two. A series of additional pillars rose behind them, each one somewhat taller than the last, leading to a very tall island looming in the distance.

The island stood alone, surrounded by nothing but the ocean of lava. It was too tall and too far away for Jake to see what was on its summit. It definitely felt like a hidden area waiting to be discovered. Despite the risks involved in jumping from one pillar to another, he knew he couldn’t leave this secret area unexplored.

He slightly adjusted his stance, flexed his knees, and jumped. Soaring through the air for a moment, he landed perfectly in the center of the first pillar that rose about three meters above the lava.

Just as he aimed himself at the next pillar, he felt the ground beneath his feet shake. Glancing down, he noticed cracks spreading across the surface of the rocky pillar he stood on. It was clear that it was about to fall apart.

Jake didn’t have much time to make precise adjustments to his stance, so he leaped across the gap to the next pillar instantly. Because of his haste, this jump wasn’t as flawless as the previous one. Instead of landing in the center, he touched down on the edge. It was good enough, though.

Jake glanced over his shoulder just in time to see the pillar he had just jumped from crumble into countless fragments that plunged into the lava below. Like the previous one, the pillar he stood on began to tremble and disintegrate as well. Without hesitation, he leaped to the next one, which was even taller.

He kept leaping from pillar to pillar. It was a dangerous endeavor, but thanks to his incredible agility, perfect reflexes, and body coordination, he reached each new pillar with relative ease, sticking every landing. Each time he landed, the pillar would begin to give way, crumbling and disintegrating, so he wasted no time in jumping to the next one.

Jake continued to leap from one pillar to another, climbing higher and higher. With each jump, he inched closer to the distant island, curiosity stirring within him about what awaited him at its summit.

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