The line slowly moves forward as my teammates jump through the boss room portal one by one.
"Next!"
The friendly-looking monitor gives me a firm nod as I walk up to the oval-shaped swirling mass of energy and take a step through.
I keep my sword ready by my side as my future battlefield comes into view.
Surprisingly, I see a semi-open grass field in front of me. There are enormous trees lining the back walls of the boss room dungeon all around me creating an open circle about 100m in diameter.
The lush green leaves curl out over the flat land to create shade on the edges, but near the center, there's a large portion of open blue sky above.
Large boulders and small trees are scattered around the open area, but there's no sign of a boss monster in sight.
I scan my surroundings using enemy detection and inspect, but still, there's nothing….
I walk forward with my sword out in front of me looking around cautiously as I go.
*CRUNCHHHH*
I hear the sound of something hard breaking under immense pressure and turn to face the noise.
Nothing…
I squint, hold my breath, and keep walking slowly and steadily toward the center of the jungle's natural arena.
*CRACKKK*
There it is again…
I turn my head to watch a small tree collapse and splinter under an invisible heavy pressure. The ground around it creaks as some unknown force approaches.
I grit my teeth and ready my blade while glowing with the dark red aura of my berserker and bloodlust skills. My perception is naturally boosted, I can tell where the enemy is, but not what they look like.
Unless….
"All-Seeing Eye."
I temporarily activate my new skill while holding my sword flickering with flames in two hands. My eyes shift over the open plain as the skill activates.
The light pink and pure white orbs and string-like patterns of mana flowing through the dungeon floor look incredible. The air is filled with millions of particles containing a similar substance. My eyes shift back and forth to take in the immaculate view until the creature making all that noise comes into my line of sight.
Less than 30m away from me, the clear outline of an enormous creature becomes clear to me. I can't see its actual body, but the perfect outline of its flowing mana makes it visible enough to fight…
A 20m long serpent is slowly slithering my way. The inside of its body glows brightly with mana, but its outer shell seems to be partly invisible still even to my All-seeing eye. This must be a special "magic resistance" trait.
I attempt to use inspect and appraisal again, then grin ear to ear as it works perfectly this time around.
[Lv. 325]
Active Items:
[Serpent King's Scale] +45% Agility +45% Magic Resistance
[Serpent King's Fang] +50% Mental Strength
Active Skills:
Intimidation
Stealth
Without hesitation, I run at the monster while channeling mana into my sword. It begins to glow bright red as I let out a wave of intimidation to declare war on the boss before me.
The moment I do, the serpent arches its back upwards and stares me down while countering my declaration of battle with a wave of its own intimidation.
I smirk and activate stealth to disappear as I approach within striking range.
The beast hisses and strikes with its fangs outreached.
I dart away from its incoming blow with ease watching the massive serpent's head crash into the hard ground. Immediately, mounds of dirt and rock are thrown in the air as the creature cracks the dense earth while hissing in frustration deactivating its stealth skill.
Another intense wave of intimidation hits me as I deactivate my own stealth skill. I face my now very visible opponent and turn off my all-seeing eye ability as well.
The massive snake's eyes are easily the size of my head and a deep dark blue that almost looks black. Its fangs are just over a meter long each, and look razor sharp. That same blood-red mark appears to be on this snake's forehead as well. The scales on this beast are on another level than those regular dungeon snakes, they're the purest white I've ever seen. The sunlight from above reflects off each scale creating a glimmering shine like flawless diamonds.
I couldn't help opening my mouth in awe to take in the view for a moment.
As I do, the serpent lets out a ferocious hiss while waving its pronged jet-black tongue back and forth. It dives forward at me without a hint of holding back.
I nod, close my eyes, take a deep breath in through my nose, exhale from my mouth, then ignite into an extravagant ball of flames.
As I open my eyes I use a dense pocket of wind magic to push me forward while creating a dark crescent of fire magic to release from my red-hot blade.
*CLANGGGG*
My sword makes contact with the serpent's upper jaw in mid-air as I push against its hard scales narrowly avoiding the deadly fangs on either side of my body.
I let out a yell while pushing downwards with all my might releasing fire into the monster's open mouth.
*CRACKKK*
A series of scales on its nose begin to shatter as I sink my sword into its flesh. Blood gushes out, and I see the monster's pupils sharpen.
All of a sudden, the beast lurches backward and closes its mouth with a loud snap. I make the split-second decision to jump away and land on the ground about 5m back as the snake twists and turns its body digging its nose deep into the solid ground to smother my flames.
As it turns to me, I can see the anger burning in its eyes. Again, an intense wave of intimidation hits me as it lunges forward.
I smirk and murmur to myself while gearing up for another intense exchange.
"They never learn…."
I launch myself upwards with a gust of wind making contact with its already cracked and bloodied upper jaw. With an incredible release of fire magic and a whole lot of pure brute strength, the remaining layer of scales breaks as I slice its head in two.
The beast attempts to close its open mouth and roll to the side like before, but I air-step to follow its movements continuing my deadly slash. Once its magic-resistant scales were punctured, the snake cuts like butter and I let out waves of fire into its exposed flesh.
*THUDDD*
The two halves of the well-done Serpent King fall to the dungeon floor.
[Level Up]
I deactivate my skills with a grin and wait patiently for the boss to disappear.
"Two hits… It should have been one."
I let out a chuckle.
Moments later, after thoroughly admiring my work, the loot drops. There's a heavy mana crystal that I put in my item storage, but also a shimmering white scale with a jet-black string attached to it making the item into a wearable necklace. I use appraisal.
[Serpent King's Scale] +45% Agility +45% Magic Resistance
"Not bad…"
I put it around my neck, but don't feel the added buffs at all….
I open my status and activate my All-Seeing Eye.
The new item doesn't show up…. The only data under where it should be says: "NO MORE EMPTY SLOTS".
It's self explanatory I guess…
Now that I think about it, there have been a few people that have mentioned the equipped item limit. It really is 10…. I hit the limit…
With a sigh, I decide to take off my weaker "Ring of Protection" with a 25% defense boost.
Immediately, I feel the new buffs activate, and "Serpent King's Scale" appears on my list of equipped items.
I toss my ring up and down in my hand a few times, then throw it in my item box. The white light of transfer magic fills my field of view as I deactivate all of my skills.
Moments later, I open my eyes to a brand new world.
Floor 16.
I look around to see an eerily dark black sky, with no sign of even an artificial sun in sight. The floor is blood red, and it feels as hard as stone.
My eyes wander around to see oddly shaped towers of jagged dark crimson rocks and valleys that fall deep into the darkness of what I could only guess is an endless abyss.
The air feels dry, but the temperature is so hot my forehead immediately begins to drip with a thin layer of sweat.
I gulp, then hear a familiar voice as I turn to see Rodrigo walking towards me. The tall man in a bright red suit with a short black cleanly shaven beard speaks up.
"Congratulations, number 34. You've made it to the third and final test of your exam."
He shows me a thin grin as I put my hand out assuming he has something to give me.
"There will be no tags or special gifts this time around. I applaud you for making it this far though! It seems you have passed the first test of luck and perseverance with flying colors. The second test of self-induced growth producing a high enough skill level in such a short time seems to have been a breeze for you as well. The third and final test will be all about teamwork, so make sure to find yourself a good group of trusted allies. More information will become available soon."
I nod slowly, then look up at the man's emotionless white eyes…
"Hey- Why are you even here?"
He raises an eyebrow.
"Excuse me?"
I gulp again, then wipe my forehead to clear the accumulated sweat before it rolls into my eyes.
"Why are you running this exam? Why didn't they just put some random B or even C class on the job? I'm not trying to-"
He cuts me off.
"It is rude to pry."
"I-"
"Congratulations on making it this far, please join the others. There's only one rule, for now, no fighting."
The powerful A Class examiner turns his body and points an open palm behind him as the familiar ripple of light distorts the air. Behind this veil, there are a few dozen hunters all sitting around wooden tables trading and showing off their gear from the floors below. This time around there's no large white tent for cover, I guess they're traveling light…
"Understood, thank you."
I walk forward and the first thing I see is Arie giving me a head nod of respect, with a grin across his face.
"Good to see you made it. Did you finish it off in one hit as well?"
I look him in the eyes as I walk over and reply begrudgingly in a low tone.
"Two…"
He lets out a chuckle.
I cross my arms then turn and wait for the others without saying another word. Eventually, I produce a small grin.
It seems like I finally have some friendly competition.