Chapter 81: Venom's Trial

[14th Everdusk 2103], CGA Branch Grounds, Dyna Crest Country.

{You've killed 5~ Lv. 6, 9~ Lv.5 Forest wolves, you've gained 330 Exp points.}

[550/250

EXP]

{You've levelled up, Lv.4 --> 6}

[0/350 EXP]

{You've gained 20 Unassigned points}

[You've gained 61 Evo-enchant points. Total points stored in talent: 110 (49+61)]

“Wow, so many points from just one hunt... Looks like I’ll need to go on a killing spree every time if I want this kind of haul. And there’s still one more thing left to do.”

“<Plunder>,” I said, watching my skeleton finish gathering the corpses into a single pile. Thirteen bodies in total. Looks like the one who tried to escape didn’t make it far.

[Talent has detected a few bodies of Lv.5~6 Forest wolves, what do you wish to do: Plunder, Dismantle, Store.]

I selected

Plunder

again, and soon, a shimmering mist of energy began hovering over the bodies, scanning their contents for anything of value

[No talent, skills, abilities,

or

bloodline detected. Stats identified.]

[You've gained +4 Agility, +2 Strength, +3 Vitality, +2 Intelligence, +3 Stamina]

[Host has reached the maximum capacity to plunder the stats from Lv.6 and below living beings, hunt high-level monsters for plunder now.]

“Huh... I wasn’t expecting anything fancy from them, but these stats are pretty solid. Plundering from fourteen enemies turned out to be more fruitful than I imagined,” I muttered as I pulled up my updated status screen.

__

{Stats}

Health Points (

HP

)

: 200 --> 230 (HP= 1:10 Vitality) (

Regen

: 1.15/minute = 23*.05)

Mana Points (

MP

)

: 240 --> 300 (MP = 1:10 Intelligence) (

Regen

: 1.50/minute = 30*.05)

Strength (

STR

):

18 --> 22

Agility (

AGL

):

27

Vitality (

VIT

):

20 --> 23

Intelligence (

INT

):

24 --> 30

Endurance (

END

):

17 --> 20

Stamina (

STA

):

21 --> 25

Unassigned Stats: 20 --> 00

Attack Power:

59+7

{Physical}

[

ATK

: STR+AGL*1.2], 45

{Elemental}

[

MAG

: INT*1.5]

Defense:

45+12 [

DEF:

END+STA*1]

__

“Sugoi... these aren’t the stats of a mere Level 6. I'm at least as strong as someone nearing Level 9. At this rate, maybe one day I’ll be a boss-tier unit,” I chuckled, already envisioning myself one-shotting enemies left and right as I headed off again.

“Where the hell is this mini boss? Would be nice if he was just roaming around like the others…” I muttered. I wanted to clear the second stage fast and move to the third. The other students were likely ahead by now, and Lucas and Lyre might've already taken down the boss.

“Come on, hurry up—”

Suddenly, I stopped in my tracks. A bush rustled to my left.

“Huh?”

I walked toward it, blade half-raised, ready to strike—but before I could—

A shadow darted from the leaves.

I stumbled back, barely regaining my balance as something slithered into the open—a

Venomfang Serpent

.

Not just any random mob. A deadly second-stage monster often compared to a mini-boss. Its venom was notorious for killing its prey slowly, painfully.

The snake hissed, tongue flicking as it crept closer.

“Please go away, please!” I shouted, stepping back—but it suddenly lunged at me.

I barely dodged in time, kicking it back.

“Hah! I nearly got poisoned thanks to you, you creepy little—”

The serpent hissed louder, now enraged. It coiled and launched itself again—this time faster.

Before I could react—

Its fangs pierced deep into my forearm.

I screamed. The bite dug in, venom pulsing into my bloodstream. I yanked the snake off and hurled it away as it slithered off, leaving me gasping.

←

-20 HP

→

I collapsed to the ground, clutching my bitten arm. The pain wasn't the worst part—my veins turned a sickening black-red hue, bulging grotesquely.

The fang marks itched and burned as dark blood began to trickle from them.

“No... this is bad. This is really bad…”

I tried to restrict blood flow to my heart—anything to slow the spread—but it was already too late.

{Host has been poisoned, HP is being rapidly consumed, please do something or you may die like this.}

“No shit! What the hell

can

I do?” I shouted, eyes wide with panic.

My arm was turning cold. My shoulder too. The numbness spread quickly as I pulled back my sleeve. The infection was climbing.

[172/230]

<-2,-2,-2,-3,-2,-2,-2,-3,-2,-2,-2,-3,-2,-2,-2,-3,-2,-2,-2,-3,-2,-2,-2,-3,-2,-2,-2,-3,-2,-2,-2,-3 HP.....>

I could feel it now—my life force draining by the second. My body convulsed with each pulse of pain. My vision blurred.

“Looks like... I won’t even make it to Tier 1. Should’ve chosen that Absolute Immunity <SS> back then…”

The veins across my body turned black. Pain radiated from every muscle, every nerve.

My thoughts slowed.

Vision dimmed.

Memories flashed.

[68/230]

-->

[61/230]

-->

[56/230]

-->

[49/230]

-->

[35/230]

-->

[28/230]

-->

[18/230]

-->

[9/230]

-->

[7/230]

-->

[5/230]

-->

[3/230]

-->

[1/230 HP]

-->

[????????????]

...

—To Be Continued—

Will he die? Has the venom claimed him for good? Or is there something—or someone—that will turn the tide? If you think you know the answer, leave a comment below.