Chapter 32: Second Cavern (1/2)
-Type: One-time use.
-Effect:
—> Infuse 10 Mana and throw the bomb. Upon impact, it explodes and makes everyone within a 10-meter radius dizzy and shows them hallucinations for 2 seconds.
"Not bad. Useful against other Adventurers like the Shimmering Trap," Lily nodded.
[Shimmering Serpent’s Fangs]
-Type: one-time use.
-Attack: 50 [+100% of user’s strength]
-Effect:
—> Poisonous Flying Dagger that rapidly dissolves into lethal acid and fast-acting poison once struck to the flesh.
"This one is also good," Lily raised her eyebrows.
"Yeah, it’s deadly," Natalia nodded.
"And last," Almond shared the details of Shimmering Spine Spear.
[Shimmering Spine Spear]
-Duration: [2 days]
-Durability: [1000/1000]
-Attack: [50 + 60% of the user’s strength.]
-Perk:
—> +2 Strength.
-Effect:
—> Shimmering Stab: Increases piercing power by 50% and user’s action speed by 30% for 3 seconds after infusing 50 Mana. Cooldown: 10 seconds.
-Note:
—> Increase Duration by one day and Durability by 50% at the cost of one Spirit.
"We’ll open our attack with this," Almond grinned as he grabbed all three spears and stood up before turning to the passage’s exit.
The sword was in contact with him at his back in the sheath, so he activated Preying Sense after walking to the edge, overlooking the cavern.
Preying Sense!
Almond’s eyes grew as if he was looking from a higher dimension, everything within a 50-meter radius completely clear.
The air felt cooler, carrying a damp, earthy scent that mingled with the faint aroma of the glowing plants scattered across the landscape. The cavern stretched like a sprawling underground forest. Luminescent fungi clung to the cavern walls, casting an eerie, bluish glow that bathed the scene in soft, flickering light. Trees with twisted, dark trunks and silver-leafed branches reached upward, swaying gently as if moved by an unseen breeze.
In the middle of the cavern, a crystalline river wound its way through the terrain, its waters glowing faintly. Along the riverbank, tall, thick grass swayed, concealing movement underneath. Some of the plants pulsed with life, their bioluminescent hues flickering from green to purple in a rhythmic dance.
Scattered throughout were stone formations—large, jagged rocks that jutted out of the earth, some wrapped in vines, creating natural obstacles.
The fog here was thinner than in the previous area but still present, clinging low to the ground, curling around the tree roots and obscuring their feet. It shifted and swirled, giving the sense that something could emerge at any moment. Occasional flashes of movement could be seen in the distance, shadows darting between the trees, their forms indistinct in the pale light.
Almond detected the pinpoint location of every monster fifty meters away.
He grabbed one of the spears from his left hand and stood in a spear-throwing position, his right arm exerting full power along with his two legs using Physical Enchantment as he gained a solid foothold.
The ground beneath him slightly cracked as his right arm’s veins popped out, his strength fully exerted.
And then…he attacked.
A loud sonic boom echoed as the spear instantly vanished from Lily and Natalia’s sight.
A moment later, another blast rang out, and they saw four Lethal Fang Rabbits impaled in various spots as the spear crashed into the cavern wall 180 meters away.
[You have killed four level 7 Lethal Fang Rabbits…]
[You have completed your first specialized class quest…]
Almond stayed focused, ignoring the notifications. He had already picked up the second spear with only five seconds left.
BOOM!
The second spear shot out like a bolt with another sonic boom, piercing a level 7 White Polen Tiger before skewering through two level 6 White Polen Snakes.
[You have killed….]
[You have reached level 7.]
Once more, he grabbed the final spear, even faster this time, and hurled it with a loud rumble, striking two level 6 Lethal Fang Rabbits and a level 7 White Dust Centipede squarely in the head, splattering it.
After ten seconds of Preying Sense, Almond’s body relaxed, releasing visible steam.
"Wooh! That felt good."
Natalia’s mouth hung open in shock "Motherfucking $#@#, what the hell…"
"Wonderful attacks," Lily grinned as she walked to the edge of the passage and put her hand on Almond’s shoulder. "Cool down a bit and recover, darling~ We’ll take the field now."
Almond laughed and sat down on the floor. "Enjoy. I’ll be there soon. Alfred, summon the wolves and let them aid Natalia while you can fight however you like."
"With pleasure," Alfred slightly bowed before the claws at his waist glowed and summoned two Spectral Wolves.
"Hurry, Nat, or you’ll be left behind," Lily said before she jumped high, her figure glinting with aura as she used Physical Enchant along with her two class skills, turning invisible and boosting her speed as she moved like the wind while her daggers cleanly cut off five monsters’ heads—2 x level 6 Tigers and 3 x level 7 Lethal Fang Rabbits.
Natalia also joined while Alfred took on a different area to be his battlefield with the Spectral Wolves.
Almond gathered all fifteen Spirits and meditated, quickly recovering his Mana and Stamina.
’I have to add some points into Stamina. Using my full physical power exerts more stamina.’
Those three spears drained 80% of his Stamina since he had gone all out in physical exertion on top of using Physical Enchantment.
But the results were just as satisfying, having killed ten monsters in ten seconds with Preying Sense.
He had 34 Strength and 23 Stamina. The more strength he exerted, the more stamina he consumed, and his Stamina wasn’t keeping up with his Strength at the moment.
Just like how a stronger or/and a higher graded skill would consume more Mana, it was the same with exerting one’s physical body’s strength.
And just like how one’s skill execution mastery, technique execution mastery, and efficiency of the skills brought out higher performance with the same amount of Mana consumption, it was the same with using the physical body efficiently to bring out higher performance with the same amount of Stamina consumption.
Almond had 12 Unassigned stat points, and he decided to dump 11 into his Stamina to fight longer.
He fully recovered thirty seconds later and cooled down, as adding points to his Stamina stat increased both his maximum stamina and recovery rate.
Almond jumped into the fray with his sword, joining the battlefield at far right.
Alfred was in the far northeast, 100 meters away, while Natalia was fifty meters below him in the southeast.
Lily was in the center of the battlefield, so Almond jumped towards the western area.
A level 7 White Polen Tiger pounced on him along with a level 7 Lethal Fang Rabbit in a pincer attack.
’Let the dance with blade begin,’ Almond had an expression of utmost enjoyment and thrill.