Just as Mark had lost all track of time, he discovered a fresh set of clothes waiting for him in his quarters, just like before. It couldn't have come at a better time; his current attire was more than ready for retirement. During this period, he mastered several new techniques. One was Earth Bind, which involved softening and then instantly hardening the ground beneath an enemy's feet. Although it typically required physical contact with the earth, Mark successfully adapted it to work through his Blind Staff.
He also developed Stone Gatling (firing multiple stone bullets simultaneously) and Big Stone Bullet (fist-sized projectiles). This led to the creation of Big Stone Bullet 2.0, but his true masterpiece was Earth Armor. While Mana Reinforcement served as his final line of defense, its mana consumption was unsustainable. Instead, he learned to coat his entire body in a razor-thin but incredibly durable layer of earth. Though the mana cost was low, the mental concentration required to maintain such a precise technical feat was maddening.
During his excursions, Mark faced a multitude of monsters. Fortunately, many were solitary ambush predators. With his Multi-Sense reaching out 40 meters and the System's Appraisal function, Mark stripped them of their greatest advantage: stealth. Shadow Panthers, Shadow Wolves, and Shadow Snakes all fell to his staff
However, two encounters brought him to death's door—both were cursed lizards with a C+ Mana Rank. The first was a Drake, a wingless dragon capable of breathing fire. Despite its size, it moved with terrifying speed and possessed a hide as thick as iron. Mark eventually killed it with a point-blank Air Burst, but he suffered severe burns even with Mana Reinforcement. This trauma was the catalyst for him to perfect Earth Armor before ever stepping foot back on the second floor.
The second was a Wyvern. This flying menace could create wind blades with its wings and easily escape the radius of his Multi-Sense by taking to the skies. Mark nearly perished before he managed to cripple its wing with a Big Stone Bullet 2.0—a palm-sized, conical stone that he spun rapidly and launched using Air Repulsion. Once grounded, the beast finally succumbed to the crushing strikes of his Blind Staff.
Though the two "cursed lizards" had pushed him to his limits, the rewards were well worth the struggle. Their meat turned out to be the finest he had ever tasted in the dungeon. More importantly, meditating with two C+ rank Monster Cores yielded immense benefits, finally pushing Mark's own Mana Rank to C.
Today, a fresh set of clothes appeared in his quarters once again—the fourth set so far. Calculating that these appeared roughly every three months, Mark realized with a jolt that he had been living in the dungeon for an entire year. The realization felt surreal; time was slipping away far faster than he had imagined.
Over the last three months, his growth had been substantial. His Multi-Sense radius expanded to 50 meters. He mastered Earth Spear, gaining the ability to manipulate the number of spears erupting from beneath an enemy's feet. Furthermore, he achieved High Earth Element Manipulation. This wasn't a standard spell, but a continuous flow of mana into the ground, allowing him to reshape the terrain at will.
However, other sectors of the floor were far more sinister. Mark stumbled upon a massive underground tomb system—the Catacombs—where he remained trapped for two grueling days. After finally escaping back to the Safety Zone, he made a silent vow: he would not rest until he had completely purged that defiled place.
The Catacombs were crawling with the restless dead. Skeletons of every variety—deadly archers and tireless swordsmen—marched alongside swarms of Zombies and Ghouls. Even more harrowing were the rare, soul-grinding Banshees and Wraiths. While most of these entities were E-rank, D-ranks were frequent enough to keep Mark on the brink of exhaustion. Mark began to suspect that this suffocating labyrinth was the true lair of the Second Floor Boss.
The undead proved to be a grueling ordeal for Mark; his conventional tactics were utterly ineffective. He soon realized that the only way to grant them eternal rest was by obliterating their heads completely. This necessity forced an evolution in his martial arts, Air Impact, and staff techniques. However, Banshees and Wraiths—creatures that delighted in "frying" the human mind—were a different challenge altogether. Against them, ordinary physical strikes were useless.
Initially, only the explosive force of Air Burst yielded results, but as their numbers grew, even that became insufficient. His breakthrough came when he learned to channel Mana Reinforcement through his Blind Staff; this mana-infused weapon became his most effective tool against spectral foes. Progress remained sluggish until he mastered High Earth Element Manipulation (HEEM). Once he could control the earth from four, five, or even six directions simultaneously within the subterranean tunnels, his movements became fluid and precise.
Eventually, he tracked down the source of the plague. To his disappointment, it wasn't the floor boss, but a mere D+ rank Lich. The entire excursion was a bitter pill to swallow: no edible meat (as the thought of eating Ghouls or Zombies never even crossed his mind), and not even a C-rank core as a consolation prize. In a fit of cold fury, Mark used HEEM to bury the Lich in its own tomb, not even glancing at the D+ core—though he would later feel a pang of regret for his wastefulness. It was amidst this frustration that he realized a full year had passed since his reincarnation.
Mark decided to step back from the relentless battles of the second floor to celebrate his one-year anniversary in the dungeon. He needed to break the cycle of violence and return to a simpler rhythm of life, if only for a few days. During his excursions, he had made a minor yet delightful discovery: various wild plants that could be used as spices. They weren't rare or magical, but they added the one thing Mark's life lacked—flavor. Eventually, their scents became so familiar that he could track them down by smell alone.
For his anniversary, Mark prepared a grand feast. Using his newfound spices, he cooked the last remaining portions of the most delicious monster meat he possessed: the Drake and the Wyvern. For the next few days, he completely abandoned combat, training, and even meditation. He surrendered himself to the simple luxuries of eating and sleeping.
Once his mind finally cleared, he began to analyze the situation. The battles in the Catacombs had truly drained him, clouding his senses with frustration. Even though the Skeletons were physically weak, their numbers felt infinite, a relentless tide of bone. The stench of Ghouls and Zombies was so foul that it made him nostalgic for the relatively "pleasant" smell of goblins. The Banshees and Wraiths had been a constant torment to his ears and psyche. The Catacombs were a place of rot, stagnant air, and zero rewards—no meat, no quality cores. Mark had endured that suffocating hell only for the chance to face the Floor Boss, but the measly D+ Lich had left him utterly disappointed.
Reflecting on his progress, Mark realized that the Catacombs had granted him a monumental breakthrough: HEEM (High Earth Element Manipulation). The ability to reshape an entire element at will, guided only by his imagination and mana flow, was a massive achievement. Furthermore, thousands of repetitive strikes with his staff, combined with Air Impact and martial arts, had refined his movements to an unprecedented fluidity.
His mastery over air spells had also reached a new threshold. Previously, Mark sought to eliminate the devastating backlash of Air Burst by attempting 100% directional control. While he hadn't reached absolute perfection, his body had undergone a brutal adaptation. The intense battles against Wraiths and Banshees—where he initially relied heavily on Air Burst—had forged his constitution, making him incredibly resilient to the spell's internal recoil.
However, the most hard-won achievement was Air Dash. This skill had demanded the most effort, inflicted the most injuries, and failed him most often in the heat of battle. Yet, within the cramped, trap-laden, and enemy-infested corridors of the Catacombs, he had finally made it his own. He could now trigger an Air Dash the instant he sensed danger, creating a safe distance or executing consecutive maneuvers with seamless precision. Despite the lack of loot, the journey through the Catacombs was, in retrospect, a masterclass in survival.