Sky Rank Beast

"My dagger, it couldn't leave a scratch on it! Dammit! It's a higher level beast! And... this darkness... I can't see a thing!"

****

The creature was on the move. He could feel it from its slithering steps. Leaping backwards, he felt a strong breeze blow past his face and then a loud bang.

The ground shattered with small stones shooting over the area. Looking around, he strained his senses as he struggled to find out the beast's position.

"If I could just have a contact with it! It's coming!" Once again, he felt the slithering sound, and then the beast swung its tail right at him.

Leaping high, he held onto the tail, gritting his teeth tightly. Getting slammed on the ground, he felt his hands slipping but held tightly. The beast raised its tail into the air once again and slammed hard on the ground.

"Ughhh," spitting out blood, Blake didn't let go. Rather, he began climbing forward and finally stood on his feet.

Letting out a roar, the beast slithered around, crashing into the surrounding walls and swinging his tail fiercely.

"Letting go will be the end of me! I need to... I need to get to its head!" Finally getting his bearings and his eyes getting accustomed to the darkness, he dashed forward, running on the beast's body.

Grabbing onto the rough glittering scales, he was able to prevent himself from falling off while advancing higher. Feeling the movements were getting chaotic, he placed both hands on its abdomen.

"Collapse!" He exclaimed.

A loud shriek echoed over the area as the beast felt a sickening force attacking its inside. Its rampage came to a stop for a moment, giving Blake the chance to advance further.

And then rampage. "That didn't do much damage," he thought. "I need to do more!" Placing both hands on the beast's neck, he shouted. "Explode!"

He had come up with the best way to use the damage Inducement skill. Uttering words out he felt was the only way he could think of in directing the energy towards the required area.

"Ughhh," blood dripped from the corner of his mouth and nose with a sharp pain in his head. A portion of the beast's neck had been ripped out, leaving a hole with blood spilling out.

The beast, feeling a sense of danger, twisted its neck with its mouth wide open. Chomping down, it caught Blake's shoulders, just a few inches from his neck, and was about to rip out.

Bearing through the pain, he stabbed the beast's eye with his dagger, causing it to swing him away, his body slamming hard on the ground with a bounce before coming to a stop.

"Shit! My legs, I can't feel my legs!" he thought, struggling to stand. The beast, with its one good eye fixed on Blake, slithered quickly towards him.

"Move!" He yelled, hitting his thigh.

BOOOOM! UGHHH!

Blake felt the wind sucked out of him as he crashed into a distant wall. His eyelids were becoming heavy as he dropped to his knees.

"You see... your death is inevitable. Time to join us.... and atone for your sins..."

"No, no... NO! I'm not dying here. I'm gonna go through everything that comes my way and make it out alive... even if... even if I have to crawl my way through! I can't... die now."

Raising his head and his good hand, he awaited the charging beast. "If exploding isn't enough, I'll just try harder!"

With his mana surging wildly, he kicked the ground, skyrocketing towards the charging beast. He evaded the beast maw and then sliding underneath placed his palm on its neck.

"Implode! Implode! Implode!"

A fierce shriek erupted from the beast's mouth along with blood and bits of organs. The beast collapsed on the ground, its body weakly vibrating from the effect of the damage.

Blake's attack had occurred within, leading to great damage. The beast's neck had been torn badly with just a few strands of muscle and flesh holding it together. It was surprising how the beast was still alive.

Placing his hand inside the torn-up neck and towards its head, he muttered weakly. "I-Implode!" The beast finally collapsed on the ground, its lifeless eye closing in.

[Congratulations! Blake Allsworth has defeated a Sky Rank Serpentine beast]

[Rewards are being processed...]

Blake felt his vision fade into darkness as he collapsed on the body of the beast. The last thing he saw was the orange orb of light heading towards him.

Meanwhile, in other areas of the labyrinth, the other candidates were passing through great struggle. The labyrinth was one filled with traps and deadly beasts. Some had already fallen to the ferocious beasts while others had been caught by the dangerous traps.

Among the chaos, a few had fallen to the toxic illusions with the effects increasing and leading to their death. The number of survivors reduced greatly, leaving the rest struggling for their survival.

Blake slowly opened his eyes, feeling a refreshing sensation. His torn shoulder had healed to a certain degree along with the other injuries he got during the battle.

[Congratulations, you've levelled up!]

[Name: Blake Allsworth]

[Race: Human]

[Ability: Degeneration]

[Class: N/A]

[Rank: Mortal]

[Level: 8]

[Mana: 80]

[Battle Power: 27]

[Intelligence: 18]

[SKILLS]

--> Damage Augmentation, Damage Empowerment, invisible Dash, Damage Inducement.

---> Damage Augmentation: Increases the damage dealt to a target by physical contact.

---> Damage Empowerment: The user becomes more powerful after being damaged by his opponents. The boost the user gets depends on the damage received. [Automatically activates]

Maximum boost: +40% boost to all stats when heavily damaged.

---> Damage Inducement: Can induce physical damage on targets through physical contact.

--> Blade Art lvl 1: Allows the user to adapt and learn various bladed weapons quickly.

--> Resilient Body lvl 2: Increases stamina and endurance, allowing for more damage.

---> Invisible Dash lvl 1: Enables the user to dash within a short distance while becoming temporarily invisible.

[You've received a rare-grade pair of daggers, one skill scroll, and an uncommon mana potion]

Rising from the ground, he winced slightly. His eyes scanned the area, trying to find a way out. "My body still feels sore, but I feel a bit energised. So the damage Inducement skill has a backlash when pushed too far. These powers... I've barely scratched the surface."

"A new set of daggers and a high-level one, that's good. I'll check out the skill scroll later. The [Resilient Body] skill went through an upgrade. It's all because of the constant damage I keep taking."

[Time left: 00: 54: 19]

"Shit! How long was I out! I need to find a way out. That beast didn't just appear out of nowhere." Staring high, he discovered the ground had formed back, shutting him in the dark pit.

Without wasting time, he began searching for a way out. Running around, he discovered the area was extremely vast, and after fifteen minutes of search, he discovered a wide hole.

"That's my way out." Leaping high, he entered the hole and advanced deeper. Taking a turn, he was stunned by the sight before him. The walls were covered in crystals, releasing soft and soothing glow around the area.

"What's this place?" He thought advancing carefully, his senses fully alert. At the centre were four massive eggs emitting a soft glow. "What's this?" Placing his hands on it, he finally received information from the system.

[You've stumbled upon the eggs of the Serpentine beast]

[You've received a unique quest...]