Chapter 136: Ch:136 Battle in the stone pit

*ROAR!!*

The beast charged on all fours like a polar bear, its massive strides shaking the ground like a miniature earthquake.

Daniel had already carved a deep gash into one of its feet, slowing its movements slightly. Yet the creature still barreled forward like a maddened beast, driven purely by fury.

The beast slammed its massive hands into the ground where Daniel had been standing.

BOOM!

Dust and debris rose into the air from the impact. But as the cloud slowly settled, Daniel was already standing beside the creature’s massive hand, completely unfazed.

Before the beast could react, his blade flashed as he began slashing at its thick fingers, each strike swift and deliberate.

*ROAR!!*

Daniel immediately jumped back, narrowly dodging the beast’s sweeping attack before stabilizing his footing.

“Fifteen cuts,” he murmured, stepping sideways as he circled the creature.

The beast turned its head left and right, as if searching for something. Meanwhile, Daniel closed the distance — though not too much.

He kept himself right in the middle: not close enough to be caught instantly, yet not far enough to lose his chance.

That way, if the beast’s attack failed, he would have just enough time to react and launch a counterattack before it could recover its posture.

*THUD-THUD*

Suddenly, the beast began slamming its massive hands against the ground, each impact shaking the circular stone pit.

Above them, the open sky was clearly visible. Considering its size, the creature could easily escape this place.

Yet, for some reason, it didn’t.

The beast began running in circles, its pace growing faster with every lap as it built momentum. Its eyes remained fixed on its target.

Standing at the center, Daniel slowly turned his body, making sure the creature never left his sight.

“Why… is it running like that?” Daniel whispered, his eyes locked on the circling beast.

*WHOOSH!*

The Ogreyti leapt toward him with terrifying momentum, its claws fully extended, aiming straight for his head for a clean cut.

Without taking his eyes off the beast, Daniel reacted just in time and dived sideways, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

“Argh…” he muttered as he pushed himself back to his feet.

When he got to his feet, Daniel realized his left arm and back had been sliced open, deep cuts spilling blood nonstop.

Gritting his teeth, he quickly pulled out a healing potion and chugged it down before the beast could attack again.

Meanwhile, the beast began running in circles once more, this time in the opposite direction from before, building momentum again — almost as if it were changing its attack pattern.

“Mwaah!” Daniel exhaled sharply, tossing the empty potion bottle aside.

His eyes locked onto the beast as he began carefully reading its movements.

*WHOOSH!*

The beast lunged again for another strike. Daniel barely reacted in time and dived sideways to dodge.

Even so, its claws grazed his left arm, leaving a deep wound.

Blood spilled out, but the healing potion was still in effect, and the injury began closing almost immediately.

This time, however, Daniel had figured out its pattern.

The walls trembled as the beast’s massive body ran in circles. Its eyes glowed a bright red — a clear sign of its fury, while its body was tense with power, muscles bulging as it built momentum.

*WHOOSH!*

Daniel reacted in an instant and rolled swiftly to the side. Before the beast could recover its posture from the dive, he struck back — his blade flashing as it sliced through the tendon in one swift motion.

The beast let out a deafening roar, so loud that Daniel nearly covered his ears. Thinking it was about to attack again, he quickly created some distance between them.

Blood began pouring violently from its right leg, forming a growing pool at the edge of the area.

*Bzz! Zzz!*

Planting his sword into the ground, Daniel began channeling his Lightning Bolt, his eyes fixed on the trail of blood. Suddenly, a strange sensation surged through his mind, like a rush of dopamine.

The sensation was so strong that he kept channeling a little longer.

Just as the beast began pushing itself up on its hands, Daniel unleashed a violent bolt of lightning that struck its injured leg.

*BOOM!*

The lightning surged violently through its body, carried by the blood. Just as the bolt was about to strike its injured leg, it spread outward into a cone of crackling energy.

*ROAR!!!*

The beast screamed in agony, its body trembling under the surge of lightning.

Just then, a portal suddenly appeared in midair, forming out of nothing. A white gate shrouded in red mist slowly emerged.

“Huh? Is that the exit?” he murmured, pulling his sword free as his eyes fixed on the gate.

Thinking it was the exit, Daniel’s mind raced. Yet, there was no possible way he could reach it.

It was literally floating in midair.

The only idea that came to his mind was to climb the walls like a mountain climber, but even that seemed nearly impossible, and there was always the risk of falling to his death.

As he paused to think, the gate vanished without any explanation.

“What? The exit… disappeared? But why?” he thought, clearly confused.

At the same time, the beast began to recover from the lightning’s effect. But to its surprise, Daniel unleashed another bolt of lightning, which spread into a cone shape at the end.

*ROAAARRR!*

The beast screamed in agony, its massive body lying limp as if its nerves had been completely stunned and paralyzed.

Seizing the opportunity, Daniel rushed forward and unleashed a storm of vicious slashes, his blade tearing into the beast again and again.

…

“Haah… haah… haah…” Daniel panted.

*Glug-Glug-Glug*

The beast’s white fur was drenched in blood, turning it from a white polar bear into a grotesque blood-soaked beast.

Its entire body was slashed and limp, yet its heart still beat stubbornly, as if refusing to die.

From its toes to the top of its body, countless minor cuts covered its flesh. One after another, those shallow wounds turned into deep, brutal gashes as Daniel continued his assault.

Daniel didn’t even realize he had surpassed the stacking limit of his sword. His mind was completely focused on delivering as many strikes as possible before the beast, magically heal itself like Kalhan had.

“Now… for the finishing touch,” Daniel muttered, glancing at the cover as he began to sheath the sword.

*CLANG!*

The beast’s limp body was suddenly ripped open by three deep diagonal slashes, the wounds so brutal they looked as if the creature had burst apart from within.

A moment later, its body split and began to collapse, the pieces separating and falling away from each other.

Then, slowly, the severed remains began to dissolve into white particles, its massive form fading away piece by piece.

The ground beneath him began to shake, and a massive gate rose from beneath the ground at the center of the stone pit. A white mist materialized within the gate.

The real exit had finally appeared

Daniel glanced around one last time, unsheathing the sword to feel its bloodthirsty power pulsing through him, and stepped into the gate.

*BWHOOSH*

A swirl of white mist engulfed his vision, then everything faded into darkness.

…

At the underground base.

Figures in black robes watched as Daniel’s limp body rested atop the stage, positioned before the statue. Red light shone from the statue’s eyes, casting an ominous glow over his form.

“Check his heartbeat,” the commander ordered.

A black-robed figure stepped forward and examined him. “It’s normal now, commander” they reported.

Then, suddenly, Daniel jerked upright, gasping and panting as he woke.

*Gasp-Gasp*

Immediately, Zero stepped forward from the crowd, his eyes fixed on Daniel.

“W-where am… I…” Daniel whispered, his voice trailing off as he slumped back to sleep.

…

Hours passed.

Daniel woke again, his eyes staring at the dirt ceiling as his body rested on the bed. A white cloth covered half of him, and a torch hung on the wall near the wooden door, casting a dim, flickering light across the room.

“Agh… my head is killing me,” he murmured, pushing himself up.

Soon, a black-robed figure entered the room, carrying a basket of fruit. It was Naze. Seeing Daniel staring at him, he rushed forward, set the basket on a small bedside table, and placed his palm gently on Daniel’s forehead.

“Hm… no sign of fever,” Naze whispered under his breath.

“What are you doing?” said Daniel, his tone low and wary.

“Me? What do you think? Obviously, I’m checking your temperature. Plus, everyone’s been talking about you ever since you passed that trial,” Naze said, his tone light and teasing.

“What? But why?” Daniel asked, his tone tense.

“It’s because you’ve faced the hardest trial and brought back a rare artifact from that world,” said Naze his tone steady. “I’ll be back in a moment. Here, eat this orange, you’ll feel better.”

He handed Daniel the orange, then left the room to inform Zero.

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