Conevil was in a state of uproar. Ever since Ethan had arrived, the town had been nothing but chaos as the Broken Dawns tried to uncover the chain of murders that had been happening over the past five days. It had all started with an innocent girl who was heading home from the dungeon. The killer had taken her by surprise. They had been quick and effective, not giving her any time to formulate a desperate attempt to flee or fight back. And since then, things had only gotten worse. Each day another person had been found dead. To anyone looking, it was the work of an expert. They never attacked the same place twice but also had a strong taste for blood. If it were anyone smarter, they would have waited for the heat to cool down. But whoever was behind the attacks obviously wasn’t sane. Or smart. But perhaps a little skilled. So they had gone undetected, their attacks and number of victims growing as they left bodies in their wake.
It had gotten to a point where Conevil was now waiting for a higher-up from the guild to arrive and take over the situation. The good thing about the arrival of the system and the trials in general was the specialization of people’s learned skills. If a detective had been sent to take care of the situation, there was a good chance they had gotten a class related to their original skillset. Or at least gotten the option. With that came advancing through the system and growing their understanding through imparted skills and forced knowledge, which in turn would enhance that person’s ability to use said knowledge and become far more efficient in their field.
So Ethan was more than happy to leave them to handle things. After all, he had no prior skills in investigations or tracking besides the basics and what [Keen Sense] allowed him to glean. Which was why he was currently back in the challenge dungeon. However, unlike last time where he had his scimitar and wasn’t wearing any armor, now he was in his full plate with his greatsword drawn and ready for action. He had gotten as far as he could with the scimitar and no armor. It had been a fruitful endeavor and he was more than happy to keep using the weapon. But now it was time to put his full skillset to the test. He had held off on aura, focusing only on mana and his sword. The idea behind it was that while in his armor, he would only show his proficient use of aura and leave his developing mana skills and more agile build for when he was without the armor.
Now however, with no one around and a dungeon to clear, it was time to see his full skillset on display and operate at his strongest. Which was why he had just cleared the sixteenth challenge, only this time he had easily dismantled the Myr, his aura field proving far too much to overcome. It was his first time using it against another sentient being since the guild war, and perhaps he hadn’t realized just how powerful his corrosive field was. It seemed to eat at anything living, poisoning the very air and world around him. Added with his domineering aggressive attacks, all boosted by mana, the dungeon that had proved to be a little annoying was no longer as difficult a challenge. Still, he had no illusions that the final challenges would be easy. The seventeenth challenge was the last one anyone had passed and the record holder just so happened to be Tomas. Which was impressive in itself considering the man was a rogue, whereas this dungeon forced the person into head-on collisions with nowhere to hide.
He pulled his sword up, resting it on his shoulder as the motes of the Myr disappeared and the notification popped up to continue. Ethan selected yes, more than happy to get this over with and hit level thirty. His goals were coming into fruition. He was both nervous and excited to see what skills he would be able to purchase. He had been checking his PO, making sure not to spend any and trying to save as much as possible before his eventual skill purchase. At the moment he was sitting at three thousand two hundred, which was a significant amount. Far more than he had previously had when he had been at this stage. But then his previous self hadn’t cleared the first level with such a high grade or achieved any major feats. He had still been getting off the ground, focused only on survival. He imagined a lot of people were currently feeling the same way he had once felt. But not him. He was no longer that man and he never would be again.
The announcer called out again, breaking Ethan from his thoughts and introducing the next challenger.
“With that victory, we head into the final rounds! Only one person has waded this far into the pit so far. Will this human be the next, or will this be the end of his run? Let’s find out! Bring out the challenger!”
Ethan felt the thump of his heart as his mana flowed through his channels, ready to be released at any moment. Unlike last time, he had a lot still ready to be used. It felt eager to be let loose. His aura wrapped around it, blocking channels and holding the molten energy at bay. The gates opened with a scrape as the crowd quieted down until all he could hear was the rise and fall of footsteps.
His sword fell from his shoulder as the challenger revealed itself. Immediately Ethan understood why Tomas had ended his run after this challenge. The creature that walked out of the cell was a reptilian thing with heavy plated armor. It carried itself low to the ground, looking almost like a crocodile with its large jaws and sharp protruding teeth. There was a rather large difference however. Even with its belly low to the ground, the monster still came up to Ethan’s shoulders. Its length extended at least eight feet, ending in a tail with what could only be described as a wrecking ball attached to the end. It dragged through the coliseum as it came into full view of the crowd, making them once again roar in excitement.
Ethan narrowed his eyes. The creature was no doubt powerful. In fact, he knew it was. The Iron Back Devourer was an extremely territorial creature that made itself known on the third level. With it being here, it must have been a weaker variant, but Ethan wouldn’t be taking any chances. True to its crocodile-like nature, it was eager to sink its teeth into you and not let you go. Luckily for Ethan, it was out of its natural habitat and instead had nowhere it could sneak up on him from and had to come straight for him. However, Ethan also had nowhere to escape to. So he felt it evened the playing field at least a little.
Ethan didn’t wait any longer. His aura exploded out of him as his toxic energy surrounded him through [Aura Field]. He also let his mana surge through his channels. He felt his body become volatile as though he were about to erupt. Just as his aura reached the monster, he unleashed his mana, shooting forward in a blur as his sword came down in a sharp arc angled for the monster’s neck.
He couldn’t see any weak points. The Devourer was covered in thick scales, with only its underbelly somewhere he could confidently cut into. So with his body operating at extreme speeds, his strike came down with brutal strength, the full power of his body behind it. Heightened further by the added strength bonus's from his armor and greatsword.
If it were any lesser monster, his blade would have carved through it like butter. But as it was, this creature was anything but lesser. And as his sword hit its thick scales, it bit into the material with a deafening bang that reminded him more of an armorer hammering steel than a sword slicing into a monster.
His blade ricocheted as his perception caught up to his body. It sent vibrations up his arm, momentarily making him lose control of his sword. [Keen Sense] flared as he realized the Devourer had tanked the attack and was snapping toward him with its jaws opened wide.
Ethan forced his body to listen and brought his sword up, blocking the attack as its snout slammed into his blade. [Steadfast] kept him rooted in place and he pushed [Mana Infusion] through his limbs further, weakening unnecessary channels and allowing more mana to push into his legs and arms as he shoved the massive beast’s snout to the side.
Surprisingly, the monster moved rather easily, more than happy to allow its attack to be redirected. Ethan almost cursed when he understood why. Its tail whipped around. The spiked boulder attached to its end sailed through the air. Ethan jumped backward as he narrowly avoided being caught by it.
As his foot touched the ground, he dumped more mana through his body and darted forward. His blade came in at an angle as the Devourer finished its twist, momentarily leaving its back exposed to him. He sliced his sword along its hind leg, aiming for the back joint that seemed to have far weaker protection than anywhere else.
Thankfully he was right. His blade sunk into its flesh, [Aura Field] following shortly after, entering its body and making its blood visibly boil.
The Devourer spun around violently, its jaws opening wide as it snapped toward Ethan again. Its maw alone was large enough to take his entire upper body in a single bite.
Ethan stepped sideways, narrowly avoiding the bite as the creature’s jaws slammed shut beside him with enough force to shake the ground. He immediately retaliated, his greatsword carving downward toward the monster’s neck again, but the Devourer twisted faster than something that large should have been capable of moving.
It snapped at him once more. Ethan barely managed to react in time. He brought his sword across his body as it collided with him in a deafening crash. Pain exploded through his arms as the impact launched him backward across the arena floor. His armored boots tore grooves through the stone before he finally regained balance. He looked down, noting the teeth marks in his armor. Thankfully he had gotten his blade up in time to stop the worst of it.
The crowd erupted as they watched him regather himself. But it seemed the Devourer didn’t want to give him a moment to breathe. The reptilian monster charged forward low to the ground, its massive claws digging trenches into the arena as it accelerated. Ethan immediately realized the thing wasn’t simply tanky. It was fast too, even with its leg visibly wounded and festering from his aura.
Mana coursed violently through his body as he sidestepped the charge at the last possible moment. The Devourer thundered past him before immediately twisting around again, jaws snapping repeatedly while its tail swept across the arena in massive destructive arcs.
Ethan ducked underneath one strike before bringing his blade upward into the underside of the tail. Sparks burst outward as steel scraped against armored scales. The attack barely bit in at all.
“Tough bastard,” Ethan muttered beneath his helmet, though he noted the shattered scale from his opening attack.
Aura kept flooding from his body as he stepped directly into the creature’s range. Its jaws opened wide, but instead of avoiding the bite entirely, Ethan slammed his armored shoulder into the side of its head while shoving mana explosively through his legs. The two opposing forces sent a jarring wave through his body as he staggered the monster.
His greatsword carved downward repeatedly while it was dazed, each strike targeting the injured hind leg. Flesh split further apart with every hit while corrosive aura seeped deeper into the wound. Blackened blood splattered across the arena floor before hissing on the ground as the Devourer thrashed violently beneath the attacks.
Then its tail caught Ethan. The spiked ball smashed into his side hard enough to send him tumbling across the arena. Pain rattled through his ribs despite the armor protecting him.
Ethan forced himself upright immediately. The Devourer limped toward him, its leg a mess of blood and broken scales.
Ethan exhaled slowly as mana churned violently inside his channels. His reserves were dropping fast from the repeated bursts of movement. Meanwhile his aura steadily poisoned everything around him, causing parts of the Devourer’s injured leg to visibly blacken.
The ground trembled beneath the Devourer’s approach while its jaws opened wide for another killing bite. Ethan decided it was time to try something risky. He ran toward its attack. Its open maw waited for him, but as it snapped out, Ethan dropped to his knees, sliding under its already low-to-the-ground belly. He brought his sword up in an arc, puncturing its exposed underside and flooded his body with mana, twisting so his shoulders slammed into its stomach, before exploding upward with a burst of strength that left him straining and wondering if he had perhaps bitten off more than he could chew.
Fortunately, with his sword embedded into its body and the combination of [Steadfast] and [Mana Infusion], he lifted the Devourer clean off its feet before, with a shout of fury, throwing it onto its side.
Despite feeling like he had just lifted a tank, he wasted no time engaging again, especially while it was exposed. His greatsword plunged downward into the Devourer’s exposed underbelly, piercing deep into the softer flesh beneath the armor plating. The monster let out a deafening roar while its claws thrashed wildly through the air.
Ethan ripped the blade sideways. The Devourer’s stomach split open in a spray of boiling blood and exposed organs.
Then he let go of the blade, leaving it inside the Devourer before unleashing his molten strike.
Mana surged violently against blocked channels before erupting directly into the open wound. Molten energy flooded the creature’s insides while Ethan’s corrosive aura followed immediately afterward.
The Devourer convulsed violently as the two energies wrecked havoc inside its body.
But it still fought.
Even disemboweled, the monster twisted with horrifying strength, nearly throwing Ethan completely off its body. One massive claw slammed into his chest and sent him crashing backward across the arena floor.
Ethan hit the ground hard.
The Devourer somehow forced itself upright again. Its entrails spilled across the stone while blackened blood poured endlessly from the massive wound in its stomach. Yet still the monster roared and staggered toward him through sheer instinct and rage alone.
Ethan slowly stood. Then watched. The Devourer took another step. Then another.
Its movements gradually slowed while the molten energy continued cooking it from the inside out and Ethan’s aura steadily poisoned what remained.
Eventually the massive creature collapsed.
Silence briefly fell across the arena.
Then the crowd erupted into deafening cheers as the Devourer began dissolving into motes of light.