Within just a few breaths of time, three Purple Lightning Venomous Serpents darted out of the fire dragon's attack range, initiating close-range assaults on Howard.
Although protected by the Mana Shield, Howard wasn't particularly afraid of the serpents' attacks; yet, the frequent encounters could inevitably lead to unforeseen accidents.
Quickly settling his mind, he meticulously maneuvered the fire dragon to counterattack the serpents emerging from the cave.
When the numbers were low, it was manageable — if one fireball didn't do the trick, he would launch two, and if two were inadequate, he would resort to three.
However, as more and more serpents poured out from the cave, the fire dragon began to struggle, finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with the onslaught.
Seeing this, Howard hastily activated the Boar Pendant, summoning a large black boar to shield him, ready to confront the possibly emerging Purple Lightning Venomous Serpents at any time.
After a moment of reflection, he slapped his forehead, uttering in annoyance, "Right, why didn't I think of this... The skins of these Purple Lightning Venomous Serpents are so fragile; they practically die upon contact. Why don't I deploy a field-covering Sea of Flames?"
Sea of Flames, another ability under the Dragonfire spell, allowed him to pour flames onto the ground, creating a large area engulfed in fire.
But because of its wide coverage, the attack was dispersed, resulting in lower damage, making it less effective in killing monsters.
Moreover, generally, given the not-so-significant number of monsters, utilizing Sea of Flames would be a waste of time and simply not worth it.
However, the Purple Lightning Venomous Serpents — small in size, numerous, fast, and with low defense — presented Howard with a golden opportunity.
As his thought transmitted, the airborne fire dragon descended slightly, its head hanging low as it sprayed trails of flame downward, quickly covering a substantial area.
Every venomous serpent leaving the cave would have to pass through this sea of fire.
Even the silver-ringed venomous serpent would lose over half its life traversing it, let alone the frail Purple Lightning Venomous Serpents!
Flames roared, scorching the earth.
One could see serpent after serpent emerging from the cave, falling into the sea of fire, and quickly turning into charred corpses.
Meanwhile, the system prompt kept ringing continuously in Howard's ears.
[Ding! You have killed a lv15 Purple Lightning Venomous Serpent, earning 135 experience points!]
[Ding! You have killed a lv15 Purple Lightning Venomous Serpent, earning 135 experience points!]
[Ding! You have killed a lv15 Purple Lightning Venomous Serpent, earning 135 experience points!]
…
Howard was astonished to find that his experience gain had significantly accelerated with the appearance of the troublesome Purple Lightning Venomous Serpent.
A monster with low health and defense but offers a generous amount of experience, what awakened wouldn't adore this?
[Ding! Congratulations awakened Howard, you have leveled up to level 8 and will receive the following attribute growths:]
[1. You gain 100 HP and an increase of 250 in mana attribute!]
[2. Your attribute growth includes 2 points in strength, 2 points in constitution, 1 point in agility, and 5 points in spirit!]
[3. You gain 2 personal attribute points and 1 skill point!]
A warm surge of energy swept over him, indicating Howard's ascent to a higher level coupled with a substantial growth in attributes.
As he leveled up, his experience bar updated to 'lv8 (79/12800)'.
The towering number of experience points needed for the next level almost drove him to despair.
It equated to defeating 144 silver-ringed pythons or 95 Purple Lightning Venomous Serpents.
Even if he were to take down bosses like the Enchanted Boar King, an Iron tier boss, he would need to defeat seven of them to gather enough experience.
"Phew! No wonder those teachers at the academy, despite their not-so-bad talents, are stuck at such low levels in their thirties and forties; the experience required to level up is just astronomical," Howard mused aloud.
"I wonder to what heights I can climb. A 50-level Mater Magus, a 60-level Great Sage, a 70-level Sorcerer… As for reaching the stature of a 100-level Magus God, I dare not even imagine it now."
"It seems even if I were to wipe out all the monsters on this continent, the accumulated experience points wouldn't be sufficient to foster a supreme powerhouse!"
The battle raged on as the fire dragon soared higher, scattering a meteor shower of flames that enlarged the area engulfed by the sea of flames.
Centered around the heart of the Dark Serpent Cave, a radius of thirty meters was entirely blanketed by fiery waves.
Neither the silver-ringed pythons nor the Purple Lightning Venomous Serpents could cross such an immense field of fire; their only fate upon emerging from the cave was to be engulfed by the flames, transformed into charred remains and a source of experience points for Howard.
Although the increase in Howard's experience points seemed somewhat insignificant compared to the requirement of 12,800 points, he was not discouraged.
As the saying goes, "great oaks from little acorns grow."
Despite the relatively small amount of experience granted by each serpent, their collective contribution was substantial.
[...You gain 135 experience points!]
[...You gain 135 experience points!]
[...You gain 135 experience points!]
The system alerts chimed incessantly, marking each victory.
However, at that moment, a sudden change occurred.
The Dark Serpent Cave began to shake violently, with stones jittering and trees swaying erratically as if a primordial beast was about to break through the earth's crust.
"Boom!"
With a deafening roar, the ground trembled as a gigantic snake shadow squeezed out from the cave.
It was indeed a squeeze, for the serpent was so massive that it was broader than the cave's entrance!
Covered in crimson scales, with a length stretching over thirty meters and as thick as a water barrel, the snake's immense triangular head resembled a small hill, its crimson eyes fluttering like lanterns in the sky.
The entrance of the Dark Serpent Cave collapsed under its enormous size, creating a vast pit.
[Red Phosphorus Serpent King]
[Level: 27]
[Category: Silver boss]
[HP: 12,500]
[Attack Power: 1195~2377]
[Defense Value: 1721]
[Skills: Poison Breath, Red Scale Shield, Deadly Constriction, Crimson Poison Smoke, Serpent Horde Command]
[Description: Born in the Sulfur Mines and undergoing numerous bloodline metamorphoses over hundreds of years, the Red Phosphorus Serpent King has become the undisputed ruler of the Dark Serpent Cave. When the Serpent King emerges, all other snakes bow down...]
Staring at the attribute panel of the Red Phosphorus Serpent King, Howard was stricken with fear, his legs involuntarily retreating backward.
This creature was on a different level compared to the previous Enchanted Boar King.
Though the latter was also a boss, it had merely been classified as Iron, whereas the Red Phosphorus Serpent King was categorized as Silver.
The difference between the two was like heaven and earth.
Most importantly, the Enchanted Boar King had been severely injured by Alec by the time Howard faced it, facilitating an effortless victory for him.
However, the Serpent King was in its prime condition, capable of unleashing its full power in battle.
With Howard's current strength, facing it head-on was tantamount to suicide. Fleeing seemed to be the wisest choice.
But at that very moment, while confronting the fire dragon, the Serpent King pivoted, its massive head turning towards Howard, its lantern-like crimson eyes fixating on him.
Howard knew that any attempt to flee would trigger an unhesitant assault from the Serpent King.
After all, while the fire dragon was potent, it was uncontrolled, driven by instinct alone and was no match for the Serpent King.
"I have to stay, to control the fire dragon and fight," Howard declared with a resolved face, gritting his teeth. "It's do or die; this is the moment of truth!" With this determination, Howard accessed the skill panel for the Dragonfire spell.
[Dragonfire Spell]
Level: S
Attributes: Conjure a fire dragon capable of releasing burning ground flames, scorching firelines, erupting fireballs, and raining down fiery meteor showers on enemies. It can also engage in close-quarters combat; the spell has a maximum duration of 30 minutes.
Cooldown Time: 45 minutes
Consumption: 100 mana points per second
Proficiency: 2/100
"Upgrade!" he exclaimed.
[Ding! Awakened Howard, do you wish to consume 1 skill point to enhance the S-level skill — Dragonfire spell?]
"Yes, I'm certain!"
Now at level 8, Howard had amassed 7 skill points.
Initially, he had intended to save these points for future use, potentially to enhance more powerful skills he might acquire later.
However, the present circumstances dictated a change in this strategy.
No matter how vital future development was, it could not possibly outweigh the urgency of the present moment.
After all, what future could there be if he did not survive the current predicament?
[Ding! 1 skill point has been consumed. Dragonfire spell has successfully upgraded to level 2. Please check the details yourself!]
[Dragonfire Spell]
[Quality: S]
[Attributes: Conjure a fire dragon that will be 5 levels higher than the caster, endowed with abilities to unleash attacks such as Burning Ground Flames, Scorching Firelines, Exploding Fireballs, Fire Rain Meteor, and Fiery Ring upon enemies, and even engage in hand-to-hand combat; the fire dragon can sustain for a maximum duration of 45 minutes.]
[Cooldown Time: 45 minutes]
[Consumption: 300 mana points per second]
[Proficiency: 0/100]