The air in the cave grew heavy with tension as Su Bai faced the giant serpent. Each movement of the beast echoed off the walls, making the ground beneath his feet tremble. Though the serpent had matched his level, its intimidating size and deadly movements made the battle a real challenge.
That's when the air shifted. A chill ran down Su Bai's spine, and he sensed that something was wrong.
"Ssshhh!..."
A deep hiss echoed through the cave, and suddenly, the serpent began to move again. Its once still body started to writhe, and a dark glow enveloped its scales. Su Bai instinctively stepped back, gripping his Celestial CloudSword tightly.
The game system displayed an alert on his screen:
Warning: The serpent has entered its second phase!
The serpent, now cloaked in a dense darkness, began to transform. Its size increased slightly, and its previously hard, scaly skin now seemed covered in a layer of almost impenetrable dark energy. Its eyes, already fierce, now glowed with an intense red light, like burning embers.
"Second phase..." Su Bai muttered, tightening his grip on the Celestial CloudSword.
The serpent wasted no time attacking. With far greater speed than before, it lunged its massive body toward Su Bai, its fangs gleaming with a dark, lethal venom. Su Bai barely managed to dodge the attack, though not entirely. The serpent left a deep gouge in the ground, the impact echoing throughout the cave.
Su Bai HP: 1200/1500
"It's faster... and stronger!" Su Bai thought, noting the difference. Despite the clear advantage the serpent had gained in this second phase, Su Bai knew giving up wasn't an option.
The serpent attacked relentlessly, slamming its massive body at Su Bai with quick and violent strikes. Each blow Su Bai blocked with his sword made his arms shake from the impact. The dark energy surrounding the monster made its attacks even more lethal.
But Su Bai wasn't a novice. He knew that brute force alone wouldn't be enough—he needed to use his wits. As he dodged and blocked, he began analyzing the serpent's movements. He noticed that the darkness surrounding it seemed to flow toward its head each time it prepared an attack, concentrating power in that area before striking.
"There must be a weakness where that energy is concentrated..." Su Bai thought. "If I can strike at just the right moment..."
Waiting for his chance, Su Bai activated his exploration abilities to gather more information. His screen displayed the serpent's current state:
[The Guardian - Phase Two]
• Level: Adjusted to match Su Bai's level
• HP: 7500 (80% remaining = 6000 HP)
• Physical/Magic Defense: Increased by 25%
• Special Ability: Corrosive Darkness (reduces enemy's defense by 10% with each attack for 5 seconds)
• Passive Ability: Dark Regeneration (recovers 2% HP every 10 seconds while in darkness)
"That regeneration will make it almost impossible to defeat if I don't end this quickly…" Su Bai reflected, his mind racing as he dodged another attack.
The Guardian launched another strike, and although Su Bai managed to partially block with the Celestial CloudSword, the force of the impact staggered him. The Corrosive Darkness reduced his defense by 10% with each hit, making every attack even more dangerous.
Su Bai HP: 980/1500
Su Bai Defense: 70%
He gritted his teeth as his HP bar dropped. His defense was weakening with every blow, now at 70% of its total capacity.
Su Bai felt the accumulated weight of the impacts. His HP had dropped dangerously low.
Su Bai HP: 780/1500
"I can't keep taking these hits for much longer," he thought, knowing one mistake could cost him his life in this dark cave.
With each of the Guardian's attacks, Su Bai felt his movements slow. His ability to block and dodge diminished as his defense continued to drop. His HP was also steadily decreasing, but he knew he couldn't give up. If he didn't finish the Guardian quickly, the Dark Regeneration would heal more than Su Bai could damage.
Taking advantage of a small opening in the Guardian's strikes, Su Bai gathered all his strength and landed a direct blow to the serpent's head, just as the dark energy concentrated there.
Critical Frozen Strike! -1500 HP
Guardian HP: 4500/7500
The attack was devastating. The serpent recoiled as frost spread from the point of impact, weakening the dark energy that protected it. The Guardian's health bar dropped dramatically.
However, to Su Bai's horror, he noticed the Guardian's health bar slowly rising again.
+120 HP, +120 HP...
Guardian HP: 5100/7500
The Dark Regeneration had kicked in, repairing the damage inflicted. "This is ridiculous!" Su Bai thought, watching as the Guardian had already regained almost 600 HP since the battle began. If he didn't speed things up, he'd lose this battle not by force but by time.
"I have no choice… I have to end this now or never," Su Bai muttered, aware that his next strike would have to be decisive.
The Guardian, in a desperate attack, began throwing violent bites and lunges. Su Bai dodged as best as he could, but some strikes landed, reducing his defense by 10% due to the Corrosive Darkness. His HP also fell, but Su Bai couldn't give up.
Su Bai HP: 550/1500
Su Bai Defense: 60%
Taking advantage of another opening in the Guardian's attacks, Su Bai launched a second critical strike, this time aiming for a vulnerable area below the serpent's head.
Critical Weakness! -2000 HP
Guardian HP: 3100/7500
The blow forced the Guardian back, now seriously wounded. The serpent continued to regenerate slowly, but Su Bai wasn't going to give it the chance to fully recover.
The Guardian, furious, swung its tail at Su Bai, shaking the cave walls with its power. The attack was so strong that Su Bai barely had time to activate his Endless Icy Cloud to slow the serpent down. The freezing vapor enveloped the Guardian, reducing its speed and allowing Su Bai to dodge the deadly strike.
When Su Bai checked his HP, he saw the bar was dangerously low:
Su Bai HP: 300/1500
He knew he had one last chance to finish it. He activated all his remaining abilities, surrounding the Celestial CloudSword with a mix of icy energy and his own power. With a cry of determination, he delivered a direct strike to the serpent's heart, aiming for its vital core.
Fatal Critical! -3100 HP
Guardian HP: 0/7500
The final blow was devastating. The serpent let out a deafening roar as its body convulsed and finally fell to the ground with a crash. The dark energy that had surrounded it throughout the battle slowly dissipated, and the cave, once oppressive and terrifying, now seemed clearer and calmer.
Su Bai breathed heavily, exhausted from the intensity of the battle. The Celestial CloudSword still glowed faintly in his hand as he looked at the serpent's lifeless body.
"So, that was it?" Su Bai thought, still processing the situation. "A single critical strike to the heart and... it's over."
He looked at the serpent's health bar on the screen. It had dropped from 2500 HP to 0 in an instant. But what really made him reflect wasn't just the massive damage he had inflicted but the precision with which the game replicated reality.
"No matter how much health they have..." Su Bai muttered, still panting. "If you strike the right vital point, even the strongest monster will fall... It's so realistic that it almost feels like I'm really fighting."
He paused, observing the serpent's motionless corpse. His mind couldn't stop thinking about the differences between this virtual world and other games.
"In most virtual reality games," Su Bai thought, "even if you pierced the heart or aimed for a weak point, monsters wouldn't fall so easily. They'd just lose the assigned damage value, regardless of where you struck them."
He sat down for a moment, letting the game's immersion overwhelm him.
"It's incredible how this virtual world simulates real life…" he murmured to himself, "like I'm actually here, fighting for my life."
With shaky steps, he approached the serpent's still body. But then, something strange happened.
The shiny treasures that had surrounded him throughout the battle began to fade. Their golden glow slowly disappeared, revealing what they really were: worn, time-corroded objects. The weapons that had appeared legendary were now nothing more than rusted remains, and the piles of gold coins were nothing but crumbling debris covered in dust.
Su Bai froze for a moment, staring in disbelief at the corroded items that had once sparkled with promises of riches. The fatigue from the battle and the adrenaline still coursing through his veins left him feeling a mix of frustration and emptiness. "All of this… for nothing?" he wondered, feeling the reality of the deception hit him. He had risked his life, fought with all his strength, and in the end, the treasures were mere illusions, shadows of what they once were.
His hand trembled for a moment before he let out a long sigh. "This damn game… it's designed to drive you crazy." Despite his disappointment, he couldn't help but admire how well-constructed the illusion had been. Even now, his mind still struggled to process the deceit.
At that moment, the game system displayed a message.
You have defeated the Guardian of Illusions!
• Experience gained: +1800 XP
• Total accumulated: 1800/5000 XP (36% toward next level)
• Reward obtained: Guardian Token (Unique Item)
Just as the illusory treasures were fading, a subtle but persistent glow caught Su Bai's attention among the remains. It was a small, metallic, and shiny object, seemingly protected from the illusion that had covered everything else. The token had been hidden by the illusion, only revealing itself when the Guardian was defeated, and its magic dissipated.
It was a circular piece, forged from a metal he didn't recognize. On its surface were ancient engravings that seemed to shift in form as he looked at them. The token glowed with a faint bluish light, and when he touched it, Su Bai felt a powerful energy coursing through his body. The center of the token held a dark gem, surrounded by symbols that seemed to move as if they were alive.
"This... this is the real treasure," Su Bai murmured, unable to take his eyes off the token. He knew this object had a far deeper purpose than he could understand at that moment, and that it would be key to future quests.
Despite his exhaustion and disappointment with the illusory treasures, Su Bai felt a strange sense of satisfaction. He had passed the cave's test and obtained a reward that, though mysterious, was invaluable.
Using an uncommon healing and energy potion, leaving one uncommon healing potion and one uncommon energy potion in his inventory.
"I'm not sure what this will lead to… but something tells me it will be important," he thought as he stored the token in his inventory and began making his way out of the cave, leaving behind the illusions and the remnants of his epic battle.