Death of the snakes
Previous Chapter Recap:
Rantaro had just defeated the almost-A rank wolf, pushing himself to the limit. After the intense battle, he was rewarded with a Level 34 increase, with his stats reflecting the hard-earned growth:
Strength: 73
Speed: 69
Intelligence: 36
Though the ruins remained unexplored, the system unlocked a new training space for him as a reward for reaching Level 30. There, Rantaro began practicing his swordsmanship, honing his skill in the Dark Sword Style. After a day of rigorous training, he managed to achieve 3% mastery of the style, causing a dark aura to radiate from his sword. The power of his slashes increased, cutting through trees with ease.
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Current Chapter:
After a long day of training, Rantaro's Dark Sword Style continued to grow stronger, now at 3% mastery, with his sword crackling with dark energy. The training space had proven effective, but his journey wasn't over yet.
System popped up: "Host, you have unlocked new options in your store. What would you like to purchase?"
Excited, Rantaro decided to check his inventory and system store. He saw the following items in his storage:
B-Rank Wolf Skin
B-Rank Wolf Bone
Wolf Claws
Wolf Teeth
Rantaro smirked, knowing that these items could be useful for selling. He promptly sold the wolf body, keeping the claws and teeth for market sales. The system confirmed the sale, depositing 9000 coins into his account.
Rantaro now turned his attention to the System Store.
System opened the store options for him:
Sword, Armor, Skill, Fighting Styles
Rantaro noticed something new—skills and fighting styles were available for purchase. He scrolled through, his eyes catching skills like Dark Steps, Lightning Steps, Fire Body, Shadow Body, and more.
"Wait... I can buy skills?" Rantaro thought. A grin spread across his face as he saw skills like Dark Step available for just 8000 coins. With a quick decision, he clicked to purchase Dark Step, and the system confirmed the transaction.
"Congratulations, host. You have successfully bought Dark Step. Mastery: 0.1%."
Rantaro's heart raced with excitement. His next step was to test it. The system displayed a few more items he could purchase, but Rantaro decided to leave them for later.
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Enter the Dungeon:
It was time to check out the B-Rank dungeon mentioned in the contract. The excitement built as Rantaro stepped into the dark, ominous dungeon, his senses heightened. Suddenly, from the shadows, a massive snake lashed out, its tail whistling through the air.
Rantaro, without thinking, activated Dark Step. The world around him blurred as he teleported into the shadow of the snake. Appearing in front of it, Rantaro used his sword to slash through its body, cutting it clean in half with an ease that surprised even him.
The massive snake collapsed to the ground in two halves, but Rantaro wasn't done. From the darkness around him, he could hear the hissing of hundreds of other snakes. They slithered towards him from every corner.
With Dark Step, Rantaro moved through the shadows again, teleporting in and out, each strike of his sword taking down multiple snakes in a blur. His Dark Sword Style came into play, the aura of the sword slashing through the snakes with deadly precision.
The snakes around him grew more desperate as Rantaro teleported rapidly, slicing through their bodies with every strike. His footwork was flawless, and his movements smooth, aided by the Dark Step skill. The snake bodies littered the floor as Rantaro continued his assault.
But just when it seemed like the last of the snakes were falling, another giant snake appeared behind him. This one was twice the size of the previous one and much faster. It struck with the force of a hammer, but Rantaro anticipated the attack using Dark Step, teleporting to the shadow of the snake's tail. As he appeared behind it, he unleashed a blazing slash, cutting the snake in half at its core.
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Level-Ups and Stat Gains:
As the final snake fell to the ground, Rantaro stood over the piles of serpent bodies, panting heavily. His clothes were torn, his breath ragged, but he had triumphed. The system flooded him with level-up notifications, each one boosting his power even further:
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
...
By the end, Rantaro had gained 20 levels in one go, reaching Level 54. His stats had increased drastically:
Strength: 88
Speed: 84
Intelligence: 56
Skill: Dark Step: 30% Mastered
Class: None
Rank: D
Level: 54
Dark Sword Style: 10% Mastered
Stat Points: 75
Rantaro's heart raced as the system displayed his new status. "Yes!" he thought, "One more level, and I'll unlock my broken skill!" He couldn't wait to see what lay ahead. Every battle, every level, every new skill pushed him closer to the goal he had set for himself: to be the strongest.