Chapter 28: Agemos
Three new monster corpses were added to the pile of dead creatures.
The Agemos are only a threat when they are invisible, but when revealed they were only just as strong as orc monsters.
The corruption giant took care of them all alone with relative ease.
<You have defeated the 5th wave of monsters>
<Your strength stat has been increased by 5>
<You have already met the conditions to clear the trial. Do you want to end the trial now or move on to the next round?>
"Move on."
<Challenger has chosen to continue the trial>
<The next wave will start in one minute>
As Shiva waited, soon the third wave of monsters appeared.
<The Sixth wave of monsters has appeared>
<You have 15 minutes to defeat them all>
This time there were only two monsters, but the ones who appeared were quite powerful creatures.
"Mammalian Mantis, huh!"
Shiva recognized the monster at first sight.
They were Mammalian Mantis or rather the Luminous Mammalian Mantis.
A truly bizarre bug-like creature that glows a faint blue during its mating season, its most notable feature is its flesh-like bluish-white skin.
In addition to having skin over its hard, steel-like carapace, it also gives live birth, instead of eggs, giving it its name, the mammalian mantis. The only parts of its body not covered in thick green skin are its two pincers that make up the insect's forelegs and attach to its upright upper body, and the 30 spike-like feet that protrude from its elongated lower body.
One notable feature of this creature is that the entire species are female and reproduce asexually.
"A true nature's mutation."
That was what people called this creature. These creatures even had high intelligence comparable to that of human babies.
"They will make good servants."
The mantis monsters, who seemed to have observed enough, moved!
The mantis possessed incredible agility, more so that Shiva had to strain his eyes to keep up with their movements. The mantis attacked the two-headed ogre skeleton, both moving with coordination. The skeletal monster wasn't idle either. In response to the attack, it swung its massive club, threatening to tear apart the two insects.
The mantis creatures, however, didn't stop and continued forward.
And when the club was just meters away from them, their bodies bent at an impossible angle, dodging the club by a hair's breadth, and they passed below the club.
Shiva's eyes followed the mantis monsters as they strode forward, their bodies reclaiming their original state, and their scythe-like arms extending forward and slicing off the twin heads of the skeleton with swift motion.
<Your skeletal summon, Two-headed Ogre, has been destroyed>
Just like that, one of the guardian skeletons he possessed collapsed.
"Hoy, hoy!"
But instead of becoming wary of the monsters, Shiva's eyes lit up with excitement, a wide smile spreading across his face!
Without warning, Shiva jumped into action. Mana radiating from his flail as he swung it. The spiky head of the flail extended, and a second later, it was already in front of one of the mantis monsters.
But the flail didn't hit anything, as the mantis creature dodged the blow and advanced toward Shiva at incredible speed.
Even when his attack was missed, there was not a hint of worry in Shiva's face as he looked at the mantis monsters with greedy eyes.
"<Bone Embrace>"
He cast a spell while he let go of the flail and ran ahead.
Skeletal hands rose from the depths of the ground and pulled the leg of one of the mantis creatures. The speed of the monster was so great that the imbalance caused by such a small action resulted in it getting thrashed to the ground, and it fell amidst the skeletal monsters waiting there to crush it to death.
While leaving that monster to the skeletons, Shiva advanced, casting another spell, "<Blazing Skull>"
A skull with infernal flames dancing upon it hovered above Shiva's eyes. He aimed the skull at the approaching mantis monster and lobbed it.
As expected of the mantis creature, it predicted the path of the skull and dodged it, only to end up right in front of Shiva's fist.
"It's been so long since I punched someone."
Shiva mused as his fist landed on the face of the mantis creature. The power of his strength stat, which was about 46 when he entered the trial and had increased after each wave, had reached 61. The combined might of the fist landing on the mantis's face tore its muscle, crushed the skull, and broke its jaw.
The mantis monster was sent flying about ten meters back by the impact.
"That felt nice."
Shiva exclaimed as he flicked his hand to remove the blood smearing on his fist. The mantis, which had fallen back, struggled to stand up, twitching and twirling in its position, finding it difficult to even stand.
By the time it managed to stand, the centaur's skeleton was already standing in front of it, while the rest stood all around it. Its pain was prolonged for ten more minutes until the monster was finally killed.
<You have defeated the 6th wave of monsters>
<Your strength stat has been increased by 6>
<You have already met the conditions to clear the trial. Do you want to end the trial now or move on to the next round?>
"Move on to the next wave."
<Challenger has chosen to continue the trial>
<The next wave will start in one minute>
While Shiva waited for the next wave, he summoned the dead mantis creatures as skeletons, while he himself destroyed one of the two night-hounds, creatures that looked like a mix of tiger and dog.
The mantis carcasses decomposed as both of them stood up now with bones and their scythe-like arms.
While Shiva examined both the monsters, the next wave of monsters appeared.
<The Seventh wave of monsters has appeared>
<You have 15 minutes to defeat them all>
Or rather, only a single monster appeared on the seventh wave!
---***---
New Novel Alert
Forsaken by the Gods, I made a contract with the Demon King
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone