Chương 17: Second Floor: The King Is Dead

BAM!

The horrendous slamming of something into the wall of the dungeon shook the domain, forcing Ace to reel back a little, trying so hard to maintain a balance as the collision pushed him further.

Armin had attempted to stand in the way and protect Dawn from the raging mob monster by summoning one of his skills.

A shielding aura.

He had rushed into the way, taking a resolute stance in front of the mob monster charging towards them gruesomely, a shimmering light began to emanate from their hands, swirling around them like a protective cocoon.

Despite his failing strength, he pushed himself to his limit, draining all the mana force in his body into summoning a barrier that would contain both himself and Dawn, but was soon kissed on the lips by what seemed like a prelude of death.

However, the titan snake had collided harder with its dash, shooting faster than a single breath and forcing itself against the unevenly summoned barrier, its innate power failing and sending Armin hurtling against the wall gruesomely.

"ARMIN!" Dawn cried.

The titan snake got slammed into the ground, gliding continuously backwards— a result of the forceful impact of colliding with the shield.

"Not looking good!" Ace grunted, cocking himself up towards Armin before the titan snake recovered.

Landing next to Armin in a jiffy, Ace crouched on a knee, swiftly pressing two of his fingers against Armin's neck to feel his pulse.

For a moment, his heart skipped a beat as the boy laid lifeless in front of him. In all truth, he had no responsible relationship with Armin yet, but the few hours he had known him for, he wouldn't wish death upon him.

After all, he still had use of him. Armin had to be his right hand man, no matter what. He still has to take a peak at all his cards and the truth that might actually be behind the façade of friendship he had brought to him.

Suddenly, a slight movement pushed against Ace's fingers, crossing out the chances of Armin dying yet.

He let out a sharp sigh of relief, giving Armin soft slaps on his face as if he was welcoming him back to the crude walls of the dungeon they were in.

"Stick around for a while." Ace said to him, summoning a health elixir potion and feeding it to Armin at the same time.

Wasting no more time as the titan snake was charging again, Ace shot towards the center of the dungeon within mere seconds.

He was actually headed for Armin's swords that were laying aimlessly at the center and with a swift swirl, he picked up the swords, activating his dash skill and closing up on the monster before it could reach him.

The titan snake hissed loudly as it felt Ace curl up around its scales, the swords in his hand slashing through the unbreakable scale as he glided around its solid build.

"Give me a big fat break!" Ace shouted desperately, gliding harder against the mob monster, forcing it to recoil in an attempt to trap the little fly swerving continuously around its scales.

"HISS!"

Its tongue shot out aggressively, forcing a wrap around Ace's wrist, but he was really too fast that he slashed its slimy tongue with one single strike.

"HISSSSSS!" The titan roared, slamming itself against the wall, forcing a brute quake in the dungeon again.

[Ding!]

[Passive reward activated]

[10x ability on current stats]

STATS

-Strength: 75(×10)

-Agility: 27(×10)

-Intelligence: 70(×10)

-Endurance: 32(×10)

-Mana: 100/nth(×10)

Ace could feel his strength double to an overwhelming amount. To him, it felt like he had just stepped out of a fountain of refreshment which had nourished and imbibed more strength into him.

His mana core glistened within him, surging out like it was given an ultimatum. His entire aura was filled with a blinding aura, his fingers tightening against the swords as he glided continuously around the titan, forcing a slight creak in its beast core.

"Come on, you bastard!" Ace screamed, giving the mob monster no chance to recover as he noticed a silvery scale with a different layout behind the neck of the titan.

He activated his cloud jump skill, leaping away from the titan and colliding with the wall with a planned balance. Landing against the wall, he shot towards the hurling beast which was still reeling from his continuous attack on it, without noticing what was coming for its head.

Gritting his teeth hard as he charged towards the titan, Ace pulled both swords together, forcing them to merge into one as the mama surging through both weapons collided with a threatening force.

Dawn, who had been watching, was extremely fazed, her mouth slowly curling open with ethereal surprise as she watched Ace pull the swords through the titan's scale from behind.

"AGHHHH!" The beast screamed, its cry giving a fearful shake to the foundation of the dungeon as the sharp stag of Ace's sword plunged through its scale.

The sword ran through, dragging into other scales as Ace scurried downwards, pulling out the mob monster's scales as he journeyed towards its tail.

Ace stuck a perfect landing, the titan's shrill cry ending the moment he did. The mob monster met its ending in a wrap, its monstrous body falling behind Ace in an instant, hurling up dust and pebbles as its huge weight fell with great force.

[Ding!]

[Quest completed: Defeat dungeon mob monster(s)]

[You have killed a Serpentis Rex- Naga Vortex (King of dungeon serpents) (B-rank)]

[You have gained 2500 EXP+ 50 free stat points]

[You have leveled up!]x4

A warm smile glistened on his lips as he watched the system's update. After all, he was making good progress, but the question came to his mind again.

'How in the world did I manage to pull all this without having any common knowledge about wielding both a sword and controlling mana?'

"Is it the system?"

His attention got arrested the next minute as a new system notification swayed in.

[Acquiring dungeon loot]

He turned around to a 'not-so-surprising' phenomenon. The titan's body was starting to dissipate, leaving behind its beast core and loots in glimmering orbs.

[Acquiring loot: Scaly shied]

[B-tier scaly shield; upgradeable]

[Do you wish to initiate?]