In the academy Ethan attended, there were many people whose grades were higher than his, however, he was smarter than most.
Knowledge could never be equated with true intelligence.
That was why he expected some kind of trap, it was too obvious and when the barriers appeared it only reassured him as he began to think he knew what would happen next. The unknown was more frightening than anything else.
However, it was impossible to predict something you didn't even know existed.
"ROOOOAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!"
A furious roar spread across the room as a long tongue like a whip came down on Ethan's shoulder, ripping out some of the flesh with it.
Ethan's eyes went wide, not so much from the pain as from the realization of his failure, which was the hardest blow to him.
Dark drops of blood flew before Ethan's eyes, reflecting himself, every detail of this momentous scene.
Then, the blood drops were torn apart by sharp teeth, as the huge jaw was about to devour Ethan, violently and quickly.
Ethan's instincts took complete control of his body for a moment. At the last second, he stopped the jaw of the chest with his foot and hand, his palm being pierced through by one of the teeth.
"Bastard... What the hell are you...?" Ethan growled, with genuine anger emanating from him with every word he said.
However, his opponent wasn't in the mood for conversation.
Bam.
A long tongue plunged sharply into Ethan's belly, throwing him aside.
"Fuck!" Ethan shouted, driving the axe into the wooden floor with all his might, gradually slowing down.
He cleaned up the trickles of blood flowing from the corners of his mouth and looked at his opponent.
Chest licked its teeth that had Ethan's blood on them, then it closed. After a while, the chest began to shake, as if something wanted to burst out of it.
"Holy shit... Looks like I've gone to hell..." Ethan muttered as he watched two creepy black legs emerge from the bottom of the chest.
[Treasure Hunt - Level Four Personal Trial]
[Defeat Creepy Mimic to get your treasure!]
Ethan glanced at his shoulder, then at his axe, and prepared for battle. In a normal situation, he wouldn't stand a chance, a simple young man couldn't defeat a three-meter tall monster. He wasn't a superhero or anything like that.
However, the four coins changed the situation, now his chances of winning were greater than 0%. The effect of them was still lingering because of the barriers that turned this place into a special zone.
'There's no way I can destroy this chest, it's covered in gold, so... My target should be them!' Ethan stared at Mimic's long legs.
"Rrrrrks!" Mimic made an eerie sound before bursting forward.
Ethan carefully bided his time, he walked up close to the wall, trying to get the most out of this situation.
When the Mimic was right in front of him, it opened its mouth again, then a long tongue with tremendous speed lashed out at Ethan like a harpoon.
Ethan was ready for it, so he bounced off the wall, gaining extra momentum, and quickly tore forward, passing right underneath Mimic, between his tall legs.
"Gotcha." Ethan swung his axe, slicing the back of its knee, and thus the entire leg in two.
"ROOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRR!!!!!"
Mimic roared in horrible pain, but, Ethan wasn't going to stop, he immediately attacked the other leg, but Mimic managed to turn around causing Ethan to miss the knee area.
"What...? Trying to run away?" Ethan muttered, looking at the trembling Mimic, "Oh, can't you see these barriers? There's no way out of here."
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
Ethan kept swinging the axe, chopping Mimic's leg apart, piece by piece, turning the powerful limb into just a bloody mess. Each swing was fast and strong, and his increased stamina allowed him to do it long enough.
Dark blood sprinkled part of his face, matching his cold eyes.
"Open it." Ethan said menacingly, placing his foot on the chest.
Mimic decided this was its chance, so it did as Ethan said, revealing its creepy, toothy jaw.
Ethan smirked, he had stopped its jaw before, so he was confident in his powers.
"Well, there doesn't seem to be room for a brain in such a large chest, does there?" Ethan stepped forward sharply, not allowing Mimic's jaw to close.
At the same moment, Mimic's tongue came into motion, about to throw Ethan off like last time, but as soon as the tongue got close to Ethan, he swung his axe, chopping off the long tongue.
"That's rather ironic, since it looks like it wasn't me that got locked up with you, it was you!" Ethan plunged the axe straight into Mimic's flesh.
Ethan kept swinging the axe until Mimic stopped moving, without its tongue it could do nothing to Ethan who blocked its jaw.
After a while, Ethan finally stopped.
"Agh... Agh... Agh..." Ethan was breathing heavily, on this series of reckless attacks, he had used up all the energy he had. He just chopped without thinking about anything.
[You've defeated the Creepy Mimic - Corrupted Stage Creature!]
"Corrupted Stage...? What the fuck does that mean?" Ethan frowned, "Whatever, how do I get the reward?"
At the same moment, the barriers disappeared as the golden feather, headed straight towards Ethan, hovering in the air in front of him.
[You have passed the second Trial - Treasure Hunt!]
[You passed the 5th one!]
[You became the first person to pass the Trial by using all four coins!]
[You'll have an advantage in the next trial!]
Ethan nodded, then he glanced at the feather. He still hadn't gotten his treasure, and that was what bothered him the most. He needed something that could make him stronger since now he had lost the effect of the coins.
The feather shuddered, emitting golden particles. They fell like snowflakes onto the monster's body, making it disappear from this world, forever.
In Mimic's place, there was a small wooden chest, now definitely real, and a tiny white sphere the size of a fingernail.
Then, the feather disappeared without a trace, leaving Ethan alone in the wide sports hall.
"Well, hopefully, I'll get something useful out of this. It's going to be hard to move on with wounds like mine." Ethan glanced at his arm, which had a through hole in it, and at the bloody streak on his shoulder.
Coins had helped him defeat Mimic, but he actually had a fifth enhancement as well. This one was possessed by every human, but no one could activate it at will. It was a hidden power that was the body's reserve.
"Adrenaline... Damn, my body released such a large dose that I can literally feel it. Otherwise, I'd probably be screaming in pain... Fuck, there's a hole in my arm the size of a tennis ball!" Ethan clenched his teeth with anger before raising the white, crystal orb.
[Corrupted Core
A small crystal that was once part of the body of a monster that had only recently gained energy. It is tiny, practically useless, yet can be extremely important to those whose bodies have not yet been infused with energy].
Ethan frowned as he stared intently at the sphere, bringing it closer and examining it from all sides.
He wasn't sure, but he could see dark particles inside, almost unnoticeable, yet real.
Suddenly, Ethan's eyes went wide. The axe fell out of his hand and his mouth opened wide, though he didn't want it to. Ethan had no control over his own body.
All he could do was stare shakily at his hand, which brought the sphere closer to him until the core was on his tongue. Then, he swallowed it.
The sphere didn't go into his stomach, instead, it met the creepy egg that had been in Ethan's body since the end of the first Trial.
Corrupted Core, fell into a small gap in the egg, then amidst the darkness, a yellow eye opened again.
At the same moment, Ethan's left eye turned amber, and his heart began to beat much faster, at a rate that the human body could not sustain for long.