ZhangYe
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Chapter 9 - Haven't I seen you before?
🕑 Added 2025-04-06 14:40:38 +0000 UTCI left my clones hunting on the second floor and decided to leave the dungeon for a bit to rest. The experience gain notifications kept coming nonstop. At this rate, I’ll level up quickly.
Since I lack combat experience and my clones grow stronger over time and learn how to fight, they can kill way more monsters than I can.
"I need to at least acquire a skill to help me wield a sword or some other weapon. It only costs five points—I think I should buy at least one skill..." I’ll think about that once I level up again.
After leaving the dungeon, I went to a nearby restaurant to eat something real. Today, I’d only had bread and other simple food I bought before entering the dungeon.
I had spent so much time inside the dungeon that it was already getting dark.
‘Luckily, I can leave my clones farming for me while I sleep. Anyone would love that.’ Just imagine offering an adventurer in this world the ability to gain excelia while sleeping.
Everyone would accept it.
As soon as I entered the restaurant, all eyes turned to me. They were all adventurers, since the restaurant was near the tower.
I ignored them all and took a seat.
I ordered my food and a bottle of beer.
When my food arrived, I looked at the large steak and the big bowl of soup with various seasonings brought by the waitress. I started drooling just from the smell. The delicious taste filled my mouth when I took a sip of the soup.
It was salty and flavorful.
Then I tried the meat. It was a little greasy but very tender. The flavor was amazing.
Just as I finished eating and took a big gulp of beer, someone walked into the restaurant. Since I was sitting near the entrance, the people who came in saw me right away.
It was a group led by a beautiful blonde girl. She was so beautiful I forgot how to breathe.
‘Ais...’
The moment her name came to mind, our eyes met. We stared at each other for a few seconds, and her eyebrows furrowed slightly, as if something was bothering her.
I stayed quiet, and then Ais looked away and ignored me, sitting at the table next to mine with her friends.
I didn’t leave the restaurant and ordered another bottle of beer.
Meanwhile, system messages kept popping up one after another.
[ EXP +10 ]
[ EXP +10 ]
[ EXP +10 ]
The constant notifications were driving me crazy. I asked the system to stop showing them, and it muted the alerts. Right after, another bottle of beer was placed on my table.
While I drank, I listened in on the conversation at the table next to mine.
‘Ais, Tiona, Tione, and Bete. I remembered their names. But why did Ais look at me like that?’ I looked at her again, and she turned her head—our eyes met once more. I didn’t look away and kept staring.
Ais turned her head back, and her usual blank expression twitched slightly.
"Pfft… Haha." I let out a small laugh, which caught the attention of everyone at the next table.
"What the hell are you laughing at, idiot?" Bete asked.
"It’s nothing, sorry."
"Why’ve you been staring at us for so long? Looking for trouble?"
"It’s not that. It’s just that your friend was staring at me when she came in, so I got curious." I pointed at Ais, and they all looked at her. "Sorry for the trouble. I think I’ll be going now."
I got up from the table, and just before I walked off, Tiona spoke.
"Haven’t we seen you before? Not too long ago." Hearing her question, I turned to her and smiled.
"You must be confusing me with someone else. Ah, and my name’s Zane. Nice to meet you." I said and left the restaurant. Just before I exited, I heard Tiona say something to her friends.
"I’m sure I’ve seen him before. Don’t you remember the guy we saw while leaving the dungeon a little while ago? Doesn’t he look just like him?"
I laughed and walked away from the restaurant with my hands in my pockets.
‘System, show me the notifications I missed.’
A huge number of messages started popping up.
At this rate, I might gain two more levels by tomorrow.
####
I woke up the next day and still had the system notifications turned off, so I had no idea how many levels I’d gained. Before checking, I washed my face and brushed my teeth.
When I came out of the bathroom, I turned the notifications back on.
I was immediately bombarded with messages.
Thankfully, when I asked the system to clear them all, it did. Then I opened my status to take a look.
Name: Zane
Level: 9 (EXP: 40/900)
Rank: F
Clones: 2/2
Strength: 14
Endurance: 13
Agility: 13
Dexterity: 13
Magic: 13
Points: 19
"This is insane. I leveled up three times! And the experience just keeps rising—they’re killing monsters even faster. My clones are like killing machines… kinda scary!" I smiled and left the room.
I didn’t dispel my clones—they kept farming while I had breakfast at the inn.
After breakfast, I rested a little more before heading back to the dungeon. I think it’s time to go down to the third floor. ‘Maybe I’ll even reach the fourth floor today. We’ll see.’
When I got to the tower, I noticed a few adventurers looking at me strangely.
I ignored their stares and kept walking, but before I could enter the tower, a man approached me. He didn’t look dangerous.
"Excuse me, can I ask you something?"
"Huh? Who are you?"
"Oh, sorry. My name’s Luiz. It’s just… Weren’t you in the dungeon a few minutes ago? I’m sure I saw you earlier." The man looked very confused.
Hearing his question, I thought about how I should respond.
"Oh yeah, I was. I left to grab a bite and now I’m heading back in." I said and kept walking.
"But I didn’t see you leave," the man said, but I ignored him.
I need to upgrade my skill soon so I can change my clones' appearances.
If things keep going like this, I’m gonna have a real headache.
