***
The once light brown floor of the cave that glowed in the ambient lighting of fractile was now a shade of dark black.
Splatters of pitch black blood now painted the floor everywhere, blocking it from the light of fractile.
The stalactites and stalagmites had splashes of black on them, which would make one think that a massacre had been committed here.
And it was.
Mushy and cleanly sliced bodies of ghoul beasts were messily lying dead on the floor of the cave as if someone had brutally killed them all in every way possible.
And the cause stood there in the middle of everything, panting in heavy breaths.
Amon's black cape wavered in the air with each breath it took.
It was covered in splatters of blood but it wasn't noticeable as the blood was black as well.
However, there were crimson splashes on him as well, indicating he had been hurt.
Minor cuts from the pincers coated his face in red while there were two deep injuries on his shoulders as well.
He wasn't hurt much but it was still only the second wave.
But currently, his focus wasn't on anything around him.
It was on the one system screen before him.
[Your [Lightning] element has leveled up!]
Even though he was panting deeply right now and was enduring the pain, he smiled with satisfaction.
He had grown stronger once again.
He felt the ground rumble with intensity again, throwing him to the ground.
Dust and some stones fell from the ceiling but overall nothing damaging happened.
However, this time Amon saw the major change that happened to the cave.
On the far end, he saw a large circular entrance open up as the rocks there were removed as if they never existed.
Standing up, he used his current mastery over [Blood] to close some minor cuts on his face from bleeding.
Taking his gaze off the entrance, Amon started to thoroughly slice open the ghoul beasts' bodies with the strings, unveiling mana cores from each one.
All 15 of the beasts in the second phase had a mana core.
He had saw the news in the novel but it was still shocking once he saw it in front of his face.
Storing them inside his inventory, he then stored the blood of all of them inside the ring.
He could also store the bodies and sell them to House of Olympus, but he doubted they would sell for much considering how brutally he had killed them all.
'Thanks for your help again Zephyra.] He thanked her, not knowing that this was the first time he had spoken her name casually.
If not for her, he would have a lot more on his body than just cuts and two injuries.
She had warned him successfully each time.
[I-It's no problem.] She replied.
He smiled before sitting down back on the floor.
Due to the sheer number of enemies, he had been forced to use all of his skills multiple times along with his elements.
He had used up a lot of mana.
Sitting down back on the floor, he closed his eyes and started to practice mana breathing like he had been taught.
And within one hour, he had almost recovered his mana back to the brink.
With enough practice, he could even do it while walking and talking but he was still from that stage right now.
Standing up, he headed towards the tunnel that had opened up.
To a new phase.
****
Arriving at the new phase, he noticed that he was back to where he had started.
Or more accurately, it was the same place as before but he was now on another larger island.
It was a large distance away from the first one, which could be seen from the sea.
The staircase and cave he had been to was a pathway from one island to the other.
Taking a deep breath to ensure that he was ready, he headed into the new forest.
Phase 3 was said to have 25 monsters and just like how it had happened before, they were stronger than the ones he had faced previously.
It was not long before he found himself in front of a horde of monsters once again.
There were at least 12 ghoul beasts.
And like how one aspect had been added into them on the 2nd phase, the same had happened this time.
Only that, rather than adding a new biological part like wings, this time their size had grown significantly.
Each one of them on their four legs, stood at a chest-high level.
Generating three bolts of electricity around him, Amon shot with full speed at the beasts.
Rather than generating new blobs of blood this time, he tried out a new technique he had thought of.
Since his element was [Blood Manipulation], he could essentially do this…..
Locking his sight with one of the beasts, he raised his arm with his palm open.
Suddenly, the beast twitched in pain, as if something was happening within its body.
"SHREEK!" It shrieked as the pain intensified.
And after a few seconds, Amon closed his palm into a fist.
Instantly, the head of the beast exploded into a pitch-black bloody mess, splattering it all around.
It had worked.
It was just an idea but it worked.
He was able to control the blood inside enemies' bodies as well, albeit with a little difficulty.
He had initially thought that he needed to be able to see the blood to be able to manipulate it.
But it seems that was not the case.
With a newfound way of battling, Amon launched the three bolts of electricity at the three incoming beasts.
The bolts hit them right in the chest, sending a jolt through their body and paralyzing them.
And as soon as that happened, Amon controlled the blood inside their bodies using his hands.
Their furry skin burst apart as sharp black strings made of their blood emerged.
They tried to scream in pain but failed as the same strings then pierced their brain, ending their lives.
An insane satisfactory smile came upon his face as he found this new way of battling to be so worth it.
The remaining 8 beasts started to move back a little, terrified by Amon's show of power.
But he didn't let that happen and quickly shot toward the beasts, wanting to end them quickly and proceed to the next wave.
Initially, it was Amon staying rooted and the beasts pouncing upon him, but it seemed to be that it had turned completely opposite now.
He was the beast now. And he wanted to kill them all.
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