Chereads / The Lonely Hunter / Chapter 20 - 20. The 2nd test

Chapter 20 - 20. The 2nd test

"I don't have any protective gear and I don't even know how to wield twin axes! Crap, this is impossible!" Kal exclaimed. He held the axes in his hand tightly as an ogre rushed towards him with its giant wooden bat.

Chiik!

It growled as it flung it's bat to Kal but Kal was quick to respond and avoided the attack. The bat crashed down to the ground which left a small crater upon impact.

'It's slow and its combat style is very dull but it's power is high!' Kal said. The ogre move to pull back the bat on the ground ready to attack Kal again. Kal was nowhere to be found and only reappeared behind the ogre slashing both his axes vertically to its ankles causing it to kneel down the ground.

Chiik!

It groaned in pain as it tried to revert it's gaze to the enemy but yet again, it's eyes couldn't find him.

"In front of you." With the sudden voice, the ogre averted it's gaze in front only to meet two axes that lopped off its head.

Ting~

[YOU HAVE BEHEADED AN OGRE (1/100)]

[YOU HAVE OBTAINED 10 POINTS]

[TWIN AXE MASTERY HAS INCREASED BY 0.6%]

"Why doesn't it give any experience points? Isn't that too unfair?" Kal said to the system but he was given no response. Soon two more ogres move to attack Kal. Kal quickly slid to the wide gap between the ogres and wave his axes to the abdomen leaving a gush of blood pouring down their body as they groaned in pain,

Chieeeheek!

They profusely puked a handful of blood and performed another attack in unison but with their slow movements, Kal easily evade their attack and went to slice the arm that held their bats.

Chieeek!

Unable to fight back with only having a single arm, they decided to retreat but was unable to due to Kal quickly brandishing his axes to their necks, cutting it off.

Ting~

[YOU HAVE BEHEADED AN OGRE 3/100]

[YOU HAVE OBTAINED 20 POINTS]

[TWIN AXE MASTERY HAS INCREASED BY 1.8%]

"The axes are a bit heavy and waving it is quite a strain. If this goes on, I won't even last 2 more hours. Hurry up [Analysis]!" Kal exclaimed as he focus his gaze unto his twin axes.

Ting~

[ANALYSIS COMPLETE]

+504 EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN GAINED FOR ANALYSIS (17.2%)

Ting~

[TWIN AXE MASTERY HAS INCREASED BY 71.2%]

WEAPON MASTERY: AXE HAS REACHED EXPERT!

"It would've reached advance if it was a weapon art but this is enough." [Analysis] had the power to be able to scan the structure of the weapon which mainly goes to how to use it. By completely analyzing the weapon, Kal was now able to to use the twin axe to its full extent. Although he couldn't learn any techniques and skills, just the practicality of being able to use the weapon in his comfort made huge advantage to the fight. He was now able to grip the axe properly, the axe now felt lighter, and his way of combat had also changed that suited his body.

"All I need is to be more proficient with this axe and I'll be able to reach intermediate level." Kal went on to attack the incoming ogres. He flung his axe to an ogres face that struck over to its forehead crashing it to ground. It wriggled as it tried to grasp for life but Kal pulled back the axe from its face and lopped it's head off with the other axe then moved to the next ogre nearby.

Window panels continued to popped up but Kal didn't mind the resonating sound and focus himself to the ogres whom he killed by restraining them and cutting their heads off. The corpses of the ogre faded into dust leaving fang-like tooth on the ground which Kal would pick up as he continued his slaughter.

Ting~

YOU HAVE OBTAINED AN OGRE'S TUSK (1/30)

As soon as it was in his hand, the tusk would disappear in thin air. Kal killed his tenth ogre and was then greeted by a window panel he was very glad to see.

[ANALYSIS COMPLETE]

"Finally! I can finish this quickly." Kal exclaimed in joy. Another wave of ogres appeared from the entrances which was just the same ogres previously but Kal was glad to see them. He had fully analyze the ogre and since every ogre was the same, [Analaysis]' effect applied to every ogre. In his eyes, he could see numbers, dots and details of the ogres. He dashed to greet them with his axe. The ogres tried to attack Kal only to end up weaving the empty air. Only would they find their enemy's silhouette with their heads on the ground as their body dissipated in thin air.

The one-sided massacre continued on for an hour and a half. Kal's weapon mastery with the twin axe increased by 82% reaching his weapon mastery to Intermediate level. He had finished his requirements and the ogres stopped appearing from the gates.

"Pant, pant." Kal laid down on the ground panting as his fatigue was nearing max. He wanted to rest as much as he could. The window panel appeared and tallied his test results.

Ting~

[1ST TEST COMPLETED]

OGRE KILLED 500/500= A grade

OGRE BEHEADED 256/100= S grade

OGRE'S TUSK 81/30= S grade

TIME 01:32:18= S+ grade

TOTAL= S grade

Ting~

FOR COMPLETING THE TEST WITH AN S GRADE, YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN ADDITIONAL REWARDS

+2500 points

+2 levels

+1 Skill Scroll "Adittional rewards"

+1 Trinket of Fire "Adittional rewards"

Ting~

YOUR STATUS HAS BEEN REFRESH

-Fatigue has disappeared

-Debuffs has disappeared

-Health is now full

-Mana is now full

"Now that I'm refreshed, let's see the rewards." Kal immediately checked his rewards. He was rewarded with 2500 points and addition to the points he acquired from slaying the ogres, his points tallied by 3480. He also gained 2 levels as a reward which satisfied him a lot and when he checked his inventory for the last two rewards, he was overjoyed.

"A skill scroll! Let's see what it is." Kal brought out the skill scroll from his inventory and checked it's description.

Ting~

[Skillscroll: Strike]

Rank: D

Type: DMG/AoE

-Deal (400% Strength) damage in a wide area. The damage will increase the fewer the targets in the area.

Mana cost: 80

Cooldown: 15 seconds

WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEARN THE SKILL? (Y/N)

"Definitely!" Kal didn't hesitate and pressed YES. [Strike] was a wide area skill that dealt damage dependent on the strength of the user and the numbers of targets within the area. It wasn't only that, the mana cost was not that much and the cooldown of the skill was short meaning Kal could frequently use the skill in combat without having to wary much of his mana.

Ting~

YOU HAVE LEARNED [STRIKE]!

Ting~

[Strike]

Rank: D

Type: DMG/AoE

-Deal (400% Strength) damage in a wide area. The damage will increase the fewer the targets in the area.

Mana cost: 80

Cooldown: 15 seconds

"With this, dealing with dozens of enemies won't be a hassle. Now let's check the last one." Kal pulled out a small orange marble in his inventory and placed it in his palm. The orange marble floated up from his palm and generated rings of flames that circulate around it like a flaming ball. Kal could feel the hotness of the flames permeating through his hands but it didn't caused any harm, it just gave a sense of hotness.

Ting~

[Trinket of Fire

Type: Consumable

Rank: D

Element: Fire

A fiery trinket that can be used to enhance the attack power of the user. If consumed by the user, it permanently increases the fire affinity by 10 and temporarily adds fire aspect to the user's skills increasing it's power output and enhancing the effects. If applied to a weapon, it temporarily enhances it's attack power and grants fire aspect that burns the target, also adds new effects to the weapon. Same applies to all the equipments.]

"Hmm.... it would be nice to consume it since it increases my fire affinity but I still don't know what affinity can do, it also enhances my skills but it's only temporary. It can also be applied to a weapon but since the system would change my weapon in every test, the effect would render useless if I can't even use it again. I don't have a choice, eating it might be the best option." Kal swallowed the flaming marble and the heat coursed down his throat as it entered his body.

"I feel so hot~." Kal sweat profoundly as the heat spread through his body. The heat seems to boil his blood from its vessels and his heart pumped wildly as he breathe for air. Kal removed his sweaty shirt and gasped as his whole body was enveloped in burning heat. His sweat was quickly evaporated in the air but since he had a bit of wind attribute, the heat in his body slowly dissipated and cooled him down back to his normal temperature.

Ting~

[TRINKET OF FIRE HAS BEEN CONSUMED!]

+10 Fire Affinity

[FIRE AFFINITY HAS INCREASED BY 10!]

+2% Chance of triggering BURN effect that deals 0.1% of target's maximum health every second.

+2% fire resistant

"Woah, the effects are greater than expected! So by reaching 10 points in elemental affinity, I get additional effects!" A smile etched on his face after reading the panel and he wore his shirt back. As the panels disappeared so did his twin axe and another window panel appeared in his view.

Ting~

[2ND TEST HAS COMMENCED!]

Survive the onslaught of the undead and heavy artilleries for 5 hours. You must survive with at least 10% health remaining and finish the given objectives.

-Destroy 10 heavy artillery (0/10)

-Break 200 tombstones (0/200)

-One shot 1000 undead (0/1000)

-Kill 5 Lich (0/5)

-Survive for 5 hours

"Isn't this too much!?" Kal exclaimed as he read the ridiculous test objective.

'The first test was easier since I only had one objective and I thought the next test they'd only increase the difficulty by a level but this test sounds near impossible! The difficulty was increased by almost 10 folds and I don't even wanna think how hard the next test may be!' Kal was frustrated in thought. He gritted his teeth and placed his stress mindset optimistically.

As the window panel disappeared, the entire test area change. The colloseum vanished, the bright sun dissipated replacing a bright full moon that lighted the dark night. As Kal observed his surroundings, chills course through his spine as a cold shiver exude his body.

"Damn it! Why did it had to be a cemetery?" Kal cursed out and instantly felt gloomy. The ground was made out of gravel giving that rocky yet mushy texture on the feet. The entire area was almost filled with tombstones varied in different shapes and sizes. The trees where all dead leaving only the dark barks and twigs. Nothing felt lively, everything was dead, the air made it even worse. The smell was pungent and gave off a chilling sensation to the body which made Kal uncomfortable.

Soon enough as the test was done with its construction, a long steel spear appeared in his hands. Just like last time, a window panel didn't show up from his vision making it hard for Kal to utilize how strong the spear may be. But he didn't focus on it, his head was filled with frustration and fear not only because of the test but due to the environment being a cemetery. Kal didn't like going in cemetery not that he was scared of ghost or any supernatural events but the fact that all his relatives including his parents had passed away, anything related to death left him with stress and trauma causing nightmares as he sleep. He'd have sleepless nights trying to subdue the feeling of distress and depression of having no loved ones to lean on.

"The past is the past." Kal held his heavy chest as he controlled his fear and emotions from getting out of hand. He subside the trembling of his beating heart. He inhaled the pungent air into his lungs trying to get used to the smell and exhaled it back. He didn't want his emotions to overpower him as there was something more important to be focused on and that was finishing this test with high remarks.

"Hooooh...let's do this." Kal gripped his spear tightly and performed a battle stance. The ground trembled and shook. Sounds of a creaking rusty iron from a far reverberate the silent night. Kal looked around to find the source of the sound and with the clear light the moon beamed and his owl like vision made him able to see the source of the creaking noise.

"Crossbows? Are those the heavy artillery?" The crossbows were as big as a van and the arrows was two times longer than his spear which was over 2 meters in length and the width of it was similar to a pipe used in faucets. There were about 10 of them and each one was as far as a kilometer away from Kal which circled around him.

Shhiing! Shhiing!...

The crossbows soon fired an arrow that went straight to Kal's direction. The speed on which the giant arrows traveled was as fast as a bullet fired from a pistol. It pierced the air and made whistle noises as it traveled.

'Fast!' Kal exclaimed in thought. He immediately reacted by dashing away from the incoming arrows. He evaded the arrows successfully by an inch but as soon as the arrows crashed down to the ground, it exploded into dozen smaller arrows that flew in the air like sharp spikes.

'Shit!' Kal immediately deflect the arrows that came his way by weaving his spear at them but the dozen numbers made it hard for Kal to block every single arrow that went his way causing some arrows to scratch and wound his body. Since the damage was not that high, the arrows wasn't able to pierce or penetrate his body but it still left some cuts and marks in his skin.

-9

-10

-9

-9

.

.

'Though the damage are miniscule, it's still going to be annoying if it keeps on like this. Are they gonna fire another batch of arrows!?' Kal quickly averted his gaze to the giant crossbows but luckily the reloading of ammo was relatively slow.

'Phew, so it's reloading time is at least 40 seconds tops, that's enough time for me to focus on the undead.' Kal sighed in relief but as soon as he felt assured, he was alerted by another tremor but this it was close.

'Are the zombies gonna come out?' The ground in the tombstones unearth itself that revealed a decomposed hand. Soon the ground was completely disheveled and zombies and skeletons came out all wearing torned and rusty gears.

Klang Klang...

Grrrrrrr....