[Igneous Terrapin Lv. 287] [HP: 5069 / 83069] [MP: 800/3000]
?[Status: Enraged]
“Look at you. Still alive?” Corvin laughed. “Well, we can fix that, buddy. Time to end this little enmity of ours.” He muttered and lunged towards the defenseless turtle, which, seeing Corvin, enveloped itself in flames and lunged towards him as well in one last madness-filled attack.
Corvin summoned his halberd mid lunge and dashed to the right, avoiding the head-on collision while spinning and cleaving a wide, gushing wound on the turtle's trunk. Then, as the turtle violently stopped and screeched, he used Spear Throw, tossing the halberd like a harpoon.
It pierced straight into the creature’s chest. Poison surged from the weapon, flooding deep into the turtle's bloodstream.
Not leaving anything to chance, Corvin switched his title to First User, drew his greatsword, and lunged forward a final time. With one clean, merciless arc, the turtle’s head separated from its body, crashing onto the stone as the flames around it flickered out.
The following silence was interrupted by the system.
[Due to an imbalance in the user’s Constitution, experience gain will be affected.]
?[User is advised to find balance within.]
?[Experience Gained: 62,192]
?[Level Up! ×6]
?[Your Beast Leveled Up! ×6]
?[Experience toward next level: 96%]
[The First User title bonus effect activated!]
[Terrapin Shield]
Rarity: Rare
Type: Shield
A shield crafted from an Igneous Terrapin’s shell.
Each successful block reflects 30% of the incoming damage back to the attacker.
If your HP drops below 50% while wielding this shield, the skill Volcanic Roar activates, releasing burning winds that push attackers away.
Vitality +25
“At this rate, I’ll have to learn all kinds of fighting styles,” Corvin chuckled.
He stored the shield along with the Terrapin’s corpse and the shattered remnants of its shell, then hurried out of the tunnel, unwilling to risk drawing the attention of even stronger turtles.
Even with the bombs, that wasn’t as smooth as I planned, he thought grimly. You never really know what skills an enemy might have.
He shook his head and sat down, finally allowing himself to breathe. It was time to assign his stat points and prepare for the return to the canyon.
I need to raise my Magicka to 150 and Intelligence to 80. Hmmm. Let’s put 16 into Intelligence and the other 12 into Magicka. It won’t be enough, but I think I am as prepared as I’m going to be at this point.
As the stats were assigned, his Magicka Root, now connected to his heart, expanded further and absorbed even more mana.
Then suddenly, as his Intelligence stat increased, something within his mind cracked, and his thoughts slowed down; even the air around him slowed down to a still.
His mind stabilized, clearing in a way he hadn’t felt in years. Memories long forgotten surfaced with startling clarity, like the warmth of his mother’s smile, her crisp, gentle voice, Julian’s calming tea, and even his father’s lessons, all came to life as if he was just there, back to the only time in his life when everything was good and simple. Back when he was happy.
This serenity was shattered by the system's message.
*** Skill Unlocked: Concentration Lv. 1 ***
Allow the user to focus deeply for 5 seconds. The user’s mind will operate at maximum efficiency, making the area around the user seem as if slowed down, greatly increasing the chances of survival in difficult situations.
[Warning: It is not recommended to overuse this skill.]
How does this work? Corvin wondered, raising his hand and focusing on it.
Then the world slowed down around him.
He could think of multiple things at once, issuing commands with perfect clarity. As he tried to move his hand, it drifted through the air in slow motion, responding precisely to each instruction, but with a noticeable delay.
Then, as the focus faded, his hand snapped into motion, completing everything he had ordered.
“Oh, my gods…” Corvin breathed. “This… This is incredible.”
He laughed softly, awe shining through his exhaustion.
“Just imagine how many situations I could’ve avoided. How many attacks I could’ve parried if I’d had this before?” He shook his head, smiling. “Thank you, system. Sometimes, just sometimes, you actually make my life a little easier.”
He re-equipped his Night Lord title as night fell fully over the land and sprinted toward the canyon, carefully skirting the orc territory.
Hang in there, Kang, he pleaded silently. Please still be alive. I’ll be back as fast as I can.
***
[Estimated time left: 70 Hours]
Corvin returned to the cliff overlooking the canyon, which was already crawling with spiders. “That giant Broodmother really can make babies,” he muttered with a sigh as he drew his halberd.
Corvin tightened his grip on the weapon, smiling like a child with a new toy. “You and me, baby,” he chuckled. “Time to show them the power of a Unique weapon. Time to cook some spiders!”
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
He pushed off the edge and descended in a controlled rush, sliding down the jagged stone while using the halberd’s hilt to stabilize his fall.
He landed with a heavy whoosh. The impact sent vibrations through the stone, and nearby spiderlings reacted instantly, skittering toward him in a chittering swarm.
Corvin smirked, inhaled deeply, and lunged to meet them head - on.
He spun the halberd around himself like a whirlwind. The massive axe blade cleaved through the fragile spiderlings as if they were made of paper. The sickening crunch of snapping legs and shattered carapace echoed through the canyon.
Each swing of his halberd set spiders on fire, making them squirm and cry in pain.
As he continued wielding the weapon, he started to understand how to use its three different edges effectively.
Incoming attackers were cleaved with the axe. Those who tried to flee were snagged with the crescent hook and dragged back, and enemies further away were skewered with the spear-like spike.
This thing’s ridiculously versatile, He realized. It's like I have three weapons at once. Shame I prefer greatswords, but for now, this should be my main weapon. His face grew colder as he pushed forward, butchering the spiderlings in a storm of fire and gore.
*** Skill Unlocked: Halberd Arts Lv. 1 ***
[Similar skill detected.]
[Merging!]
[Skill Halberd Arts Lv. 1 & Skill Basic Spearmanship Lv. 3 will merge into a new skill.]
*** Skill Unlocked: Basic Polearm Arts Lv. 3 ***
Allows efficient use of polearm weapons, including spears, halberds, glaives, poleaxes, pikes, and similar.
“I had no idea you could do that,” he said with delight. “Damn system, you surprise me every day. I can already tell the difference. Thank you!” Corvin spoke giddily as he exploded forward.
As he slaughtered spiderlings, his experience barely moved by a few percent; that’s why the sight of mid-sized arachnids made him smile. He was hoping to reach a few more levels before fighting the Broodmother and her guards again.
“Infernal Hide!” He roared as dark flames covered his pale, armored body, making him look like a demon straight out of the Nether Realm.
His crimson eyes contrasted with his pale skin, black flames flickering like living armor.
Then the arachnids descended, spitting poison and releasing thick venomous webbing.
Corvin chuckled as everything around him burned while he dashed towards the leader of the group, a 122-Level Arachnid. Holding the halberd like a spear, he thrust forward, driving the spike straight into one of the creature’s many eyes. Fire and poison flooded into its body at once.
With a chilling cry, the spider released a green fog that enveloped both of them.
Corvin dodged backwards, inhaling some of the poison, but the damage was minimal thanks to his gear and resistance.
As he lunged backward, three more arachnids descended towards him, their fangs dripping acid.
“Haha. You think you won? Wrong!” He roared as he activated the weapons gem. The vitality stored within the gem ignited as the weapon started glowing fiery red and urged Corvin to spin.
Corvin smiled and spun, as he did, a massive burning cyclone was released, a pure whirlwind of fire.
Poison fog exploded as it was ignited by the flames. The Arachnids and spiderlings screamed as their bodies were torn apart and incinerated. Even those who tried to flee were dragged back by the centrifugal force, either cleaved apart or burned to ash.
After several long seconds, the crimson light faded, and the fire was extinguished.
Corvin staggered to a stop, gasping for air as thick black smoke and the stench of charred spiders filled the canyon.
[Warning: Due to an imbalance in the user’s Constitution, experience gain will be affected.]
?[User is advised to find balance within.]
?[Experience Gained: 19,625]
?[Level Up! ×2]
[Your Beast Leveled Up! ×2]
?[Experience toward next level: 0%]
“Barely anything again, ”Corvin grumbled, “Eh, whatever.” He shrugged, “I’ll just put all six points into Magicka and move on.” He didn’t bother collecting the common and uncommon corpses and ran deeper into the canyon.
I’ll return to grab them later. He thought as he marched forward.
***
Finally, after running for a while and slaughtering a few more spiders along the way, Corvin arrived before an enormous crimson shell, the entrance completely sealed by thick, blood-red webbing.
“These bastards really covered the whole damn entrance with webs,” Corvin frowned. “What the hell?”
He snorted a moment later. “Fine. Let’s see how you do against the power of money.”
Corvin laughed madly as he purchased five Blazing Fire Bombs, the system ripping 75,000 points from his total without mercy. “Worth it!”
He drew his halberd and began stabbing into one concentrated spot. With each thrust, the weapon’s burning effect ate through the webbing, charring it away until a head-sized hole opened up, just wide enough for him to peer inside.
The sight beyond made his blood run cold.
The interior of the nest stretched wide, completely smothered in crimson webbing. Even the massive cobra statue deeper within was cocooned, its stony surface barely visible beneath layers of sticky silk. The ground itself was carpeted in thick web strands, and thousands of spiderlings crawled ceaselessly, covering every inch of the chamber like a living trap.
At the center stood a four-meter-wide cocoon, spherical and dense.
Two massive arachnid guards lurked beside it, motionless like two silent sentinels.
The Broodmother is probably inside, Corvin thought grimly. If I rush her without preparation, I’m dead.
“I’ll need to take out the guards first,” he murmured, “and clear as much of this web as I can before she comes out.”
Corvin took a slow breath, steadying himself, before he moved.
He tossed four Blazing Fire Bombs into the nest. The crimson orbs melted into the webbing around the cocoon, sticking seamlessly, nearly invisible amid the red silk. The guards twitched, clicking and shifting as they searched for whatever had disturbed their domain.
Corvin’s heartbeat thundered in his ears as he activated the bomb, drew back his arm, and hurled it inside, slamming it directly into the nearest cluster of webbing beside the guards.
Instantly, the inferno erupted.
The first explosion detonated the other four in a chain reaction.
Corvin turned and sprinted, activating Aqua Barrier in the same breath as a tidal wave of flame and shock blasted outward, about to turn the nest into a burning hell.
Skills Unlocked: Concentration Lv. 1, Basic Polearm Arts Lv. 3
?
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