Chapter 37: Slaying The Viper King

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Slaying The Viper KingIn the dense forest of the First Trial Realm, an intense battle was raging.

It was a clash between a true magic swordsman and the deadly snake monsters known as Scaled Forest Vipers.

One by one, the vipers fell to the burning sword in his hands, a weapon radiating flames powerful enough to slice through their hardened scales, incinerate their flesh, and leave them lifeless.

In the heart of the forest, just in front of a massive cave from which the Scaled Forest Viper King had emerged, a blue streak of light flashed from place to place in a zigzag pattern.

Each time it stopped, the body of another viper collapsed to the ground, sliced into pieces, with its insides consumed by an intense, unrelenting flame.

Damian had already slain more than ten vipers, but he could feel the battle growing harder.

The vipers were moving faster, striking at him from all directions.

They lunged with their gaping mouths, intent on devouring him whole.

[As a last resort, the vipers are entering their berserk state. In this state, their strength will be significantly enhanced.]

Damian braced himself as he felt the change.

The vipers attacked with unrelenting fury, their movements rough and uncoordinated but filled with pure rage.

They swarmed him from every side, burying him under their massive, writhing bodies.

For a moment, it seemed like the vipers' onslaught would be the end of Damian.

He was suffocating beneath their combined weight.

The air grew still, and even the vipers' guttural hisses faded into silence.

Then it happened.

A searing light burst forth from under the mountain of vipers suffocating Damian, growing brighter with each passing moment.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

A series of explosions erupted from beneath the vipers.

The Scaled Forest Vipers, which had buried Damian under their enormous forms, were suddenly engulfed in flames that tore through their bodies, sending them flying in all directions.

When the smoke cleared, Damian stood in the epicenter of the carnage, his body a grotesque sight.

Third-degree burns covered him from head to toe, and half of his face had been scorched away, leaving him grotesquely disfigured like a certain DC villain, known as Two-Face.

All his clothes had been burned away except for the fabric at his waist, and his exposed body bore horrific injuries.

Blood oozed from countless wounds, and one of his eyes had melted away entirely, leaving him with a single, glowing blue eye radiating an intense neon light.

Blood flowed freely, and patches of his scalp were bald, revealing burned skin beneath.

"Arghhh..." A distorted, agonized growl escaped his lips.

[Warrior's Will: Inherited Ability Activated]

[All your Abilities will increase by 15%.]


The already overwhelming aura Damian exuded grew even more intense.

Ignoring the unbearable pain and the blood dripping from his wounds, he moved.

His figure blurred as he lashed out from his position, leaping onto the massive body of one viper and using it as a stepping stone to propel himself into the air.

As he soared above the battlefield, he pointed his burned and bloodied hand forward.

Smoke rose from his charred flesh as several flame magic circles, approximately twenty, materialized in midair.

[Your multicasting skill has improved.]

The fireballs forming from the magic circles were massive, much larger and hotter than any spells Damian had conjured before.

Under the influence of his True Magic Swordsman [Class], the fireballs radiated destructive power far greater than anything he had ever wielded.

Suddenly, Damian felt his heart throbbing painfully, as though it might explode.

Yet, a dozen more magic circles appeared alongside the first set.

[Your multicasting skill has forcibly improved at the cost of Mana-nerve damage, and as a result, you won't be able to use magic until you heal completely.]

The high-power fireballs, rivaling the might of third-circle spells, unleashed their wrath.

They rained down upon the vipers, detonating in fiery explosions that incinerated everything in their path.

The intense heat burned through scales, flesh, and bone, leaving nothing but destruction in its wake.

Amidst the fiery carnage, Damian's glowing eye locked onto the Scaled Forest Viper King.

The beast stood in the center of the devastation, its massive body barely harmed by the flames.

Fury surged through Damian as he focused every ounce of his strength and resolve.

With the effects of his [Class], title, and inherited ability amplifying his power, Damian could feel his abilities strengthening, even if only by a fraction, as he maintained the ability.

Like a streak of blue light, his figure accelerated to its utmost limit.

Damian ignored the pain coursing through his battered body, the loose charred flesh hanging from his limbs, and the blood pouring from his wounds.

Using every bit of strength and speed he possessed, he closed the distance between himself and the Viper King.

"Haaaahhh!" he roared, his fist, stripped to the bone and burning, driving forward with unrelenting force.

The punch landed squarely on the Viper King's massive head.

The impact shattered its thick scales into countless fragments, the sheer force driving through its skull.

BOOM!

A sonic boom echoed through the forest as the Viper King's head exploded like a bursting watermelon.

Blood, flesh, and bone sprayed in every direction.

The creature's headless body writhed briefly before collapsing to the ground, lifeless.

[You have slayed the Scaled Forest Viper King.]

[You have cleared the 1st trial of the Tower of Evolution.]

[You are one of the few people in the lowest sectors of the entire universe to successfully clear the 1st trial on [Hell Mode].]

[Calculating rewards...]

[1st Reward: +15 free Stat Points]

[2nd Reward: +1 pass to obtain one piece of equipment from the system.]

[3rd Reward: +1 pass to obtain a technique.]

[4th Reward: +10,000 Gold.]

[Your rewards have been sent to your inventory.]

[You can either move on to the 2nd trial or return to your home planet.]

Damian's vision blurred as the effects of his title, class, and inherited abilities deactivated.

His bulging, enhanced body returned to its normal state, and with it came the full force of the pain from his charred, disfigured form.

Without any strength to support himself, his endurance gave out, and he collapsed onto the lifeless body of the Forest Viper King, helpless.

Though still conscious, the overwhelming pain made it impossible for him to think clearly.

Even his talent, [Rumination Clarity], which should have amplified his mental acuity to an unknown degree, failed to function properly.

All he could feel was pain, and he couldn't even process the system notifications.

Only a deafening siren-like noise filled his ears.

Some parts of his body were so broken and burnt that the bones were exposed.

"Come on... stand up," Damian groaned in his mind, which was filled with nothing but pain.

Half of his face had already been burnt away, leaving only his teeth and some flesh barely covering his skull.

There was no way to tell what kind of expression he was making when there was nothing left on his face.

If it weren't for his body having grown much stronger through cultivation and leveling up, there would be no way he could still be alive in the state he was in.

Even in this condition, where more than half of his body was burnt away and covered in third-degree burns, his mind still didn't give up.

Something inside him wouldn't let him quit, something that couldn't accept anything but victory and success.

Summoning every last ounce of energy, he struggled to rise, dragging his broken body toward the cave from which the Forest Viper King had emerged.

After what felt like an eternity of dragging himself, about fifteen minutes later, he reached the pond where he had sensed a large quantity of energy.

But before he could allow himself to collapse into the water, his legs gave out, unable to withstand the strain, and he fell to the ground.

With great effort, Damian raised his hand, which was covered in third-degree burns.

As he observed the injuries, he saw in real time that they were beginning to heal.

The places where chunks of his flesh were missing were already regrowing.

[You have awakened the talent 'Boundless Refinement.']

[Your resistance to fire is slowly improving.]

[Your resistance to pain is slowly improving.]

[Your vitality is slowly improving.]

Damian heard a series of notifications as his hearing gradually returned after three hours of self-healing.

His remaining eye cleared, though his other eye, still in the process of reforming, had yet to fully recover.

Then he let go of his consciousness, and everything became enveloped in dark.

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[A/N: If you enjoyed this Chapter, please consider supporting it with a few Power Stones, maybe some GOLDEN TICKETS, or even a gift! The author may be a little naive, but your support means the world to me. Arigato!]