Just as Howard approached for a closer look, a silver-ringed venomous serpent as thick as an arm and spanning six to seven meters sprang forward, launching itself towards him with its mouth wide open ready to bite.
The serpent’s sharp, venomous fangs glimmered with a cold light in the sunshine, and the pungent odor of its venom was discernible even from several meters away.
Howard’s face changed color; if bitten, he would likely perish on the spot, devoid of any chance to flee.
Fortunately, he wouldn’t have dared to wander alone in the wilderness without possessing some formidable skills to rely on.
“Mana Shield, activate!”
With a low shout from Howard, a dark green shield unfolded around him.
It was one of the special effects of his Mana Drainer equipment — the Mana Shield.
…
[Mana Shield]: The holder of the Mana Drainer can obtain a shield equivalent to their maximum mana, capable of blocking both physical and magic damage from enemies. 𝘪𝑎.𝒸𝘰
…
At this moment, Howard had over 2500 points of maximum mana, thus creating an immensely robust shield that the venomous serpent could hardly break.
He even had the leisure to open the creature’s attribute panel to scrutinize its details.
[Silver Ringed Python]
[Level: 11]
[HP: 1599]
[Attack power: 73~91]
[Defense value: 82]
[Skills: Venom, Poison Fang, Constriction]
[Description: A highly venomous python found in the wilderness, capable of poisoning its enemies to death within a few breaths. It can also utilize its muscular strength to coil and strangle its targets, earning it the nickname “rookie killer.” Please maintain a safe distance…]
Observing the silver-ringed python’s attribute panel, Howard displayed a disdainful sneer. “A pathetic creature unable to even break through defenses; what gives it the right to be called a rookie killer?” he mused.
Wielding the staff in his hand, he began to chant solemnly, “O Dragon God in the flames, transform your fury into my boundless power! Dragonfire spell, descend!”
The air quickly became arid and hot, with a red halo incessantly flickering.
A sphere of fire began to condense, with a fire dragon taking form within it, awaiting to be unleashed.
As the fireball expanded to the size of a water tank, the fire dragon finally opened its eyes.
Its pupils glowed a fierce red as it fixed its gaze on the silver-ringed python which was sent flying by the Mana Shield, emanating an intense murderous intent.
“Roar! Roar!”
The fire dragon roared as it flew towards the python, its red claws swinging vigorously.
In an instant, it tore the python into two, with the searing heat from its claws instantly charring the wound into a crisp.
[Ding! You have slain a level 11 silver-ringed python, gaining 89 experience points!]
The system notification rang out, confirming the python’s death beyond doubt.
With the death of the first silver-ringed python, the entire Dark Serpent Cave erupted into chaos.
Venomous serpents swarmed like a tidal wave rushing toward Howard.
The deafening sound of their hissing filled the air, paired with a stench so repugnant it could induce vomiting.
Yet, Howard remained unfazed, commanding the fire dragon to unleash attacks on the snake horde.
Bursting fireballs, as large as basketballs, rained down, exploding upon impact and incinerating the venomous serpents on the spot.
As a mass of serpents tried to surge out of the cave, a line of fire spewed out, forcing the approaching snakes to recoil, unable to cross this barrier of flames.
Fire-based skills descended like rain, blocking and slaughtering the serpents at the cave’s entrance, leaving no room for even a single serpent to escape, to the point where a vigilant Howard found the situation somewhat monotonous.
[Ding! You have slain a level 11 silver-ringed python, gaining 89 experience points!]
[Ding! You have slain a level 11 silver-ringed python, gaining 89 experience points!]
[Ding! You have slain a level 11 silver-ringed python, gaining 89 experience points!]
With the recurring system notifications, a warm current surged through Howard, signaling his level up.
[Ding! Congratulations awakened Howard, you have leveled up to LV7, and will receive substantial attribute growth…]
The experience bar on the attribute panel also changed to read ‘LV7 (89/6400)’.
“Over six thousand experience points needed, just how many venomous serpents do I have to kill to reach LV8?”
Howard exclaimed in astonishment as he observed the changes on the attribute panel.
“With one serpent granting 89 experience points, I’ll need to defeat at least 72 of them to level up.”
“Sigh! Leveling up is so tough; I hope there are enough venomous serpents in the Dark Serpent Cave. It would be even better if there was a boss…”
With the demise of each venomous serpent, the entrance of the Dark Serpent Cave was now laden with a mountain of snake corpses.
The amalgamation of dry, charred remains and serpent fragments virtually clogged the entrance, the smell of burnt flesh mingled with toxic odors, creating a revolting stench that would make anyone recoil at the sight.
But the battle did not cease; rather, it only further provoked the aggressive nature of the venomous serpents residing deeper in the cave.
They surged out one after another, a seemingly inexhaustible, continuous stream, not pausing for a moment, as if an endless river flowed with venomous serpents instead of water.
Howard was more than willing to revel in this massacre.
He wasn’t a sadist, but the euphoria of absorbing the luminescent energy during a kill and the exhilarating rush of leveling up was intoxicating, a sensation he had grown deeply infatuated with.
[Ding! You have slain a level 11 silver-ringed python, gaining 89 experience points!]
[Ding! You have slain a level 11 silver-ringed python, gaining 89 experience points!]
[Ding! You have slain a level 11 silver-ringed python, gaining 89 experience points!]
…
…
The venomous serpents kept coming, with the experience notifications ringing incessantly in Howard’s ears.
Even the frustratingly low drop rate of the monsters seemed less aggravating as the mass of venomous serpents accumulated, granting Howard a considerable number of spoils.
[You have obtained: 21 silver coins, 59 bronze coins!]
[You have obtained: 58 silver-ringed venomous fangs!]
[You have obtained: 29 silver-ringed venom sacs!]
[You have obtained: 29 silver-ringed snake skins!]
[You have obtained: Lethal Poison Dagger (Bronze)]
A total gain of 2159 coins, coupled with a large amount of venomous serpent-related materials.
Among these, the venomous fangs could be fashioned into special arrows, the venom sacs used to extract snake poison, and the snake skins could be stitched into leather armor, each holding a substantial value.
Yet, the most valuable of all was the equipment, even if it was just a bronze-grade item.
[Lethal Poison Dagger]
[Level: 5]
[Quality: Bronze]
[Equipment Requirement: Usable by assassins only]
[Attribute bonuses:]
[Strength: +13]
[Agility: +13]
[Critical Hit Rate: +13%]
[Special Effect: Venomous Attack (Grants the wielder the ability to inflict a poisonous state upon enemies, reducing their HP by 15 every second for a duration of 20 seconds)]
Though it was somewhat trashy, it could still fetch a good three to five thousand dollars.
If he could find an awakened individual with a sinister disposition and an assassin class, perhaps he could sell it for even more.
Just then, a new type of venomous serpent entered Howard’s field of vision.
They had a deep purple hue spanning their entire bodies, no thicker than a thumb and slightly over a foot in length.
Yet, their movements were far swifter, their levels surpassed that of the silver-ringed pythons, and they even possessed ranged attacks.
[Purple Lightning Venomous Serpent]
[Level: 15]
[HP: 2635]
[Attack Power: 97~135]
[Defense Value: 112]
[Skills: Poison Fog Eruption, Deep Purple Snake Venom]
[Description: An elite among serpents, though small in size and limited in skills, they boast flying speeds and more potent venom. Capable of poisoning an elephant to death in just a few breaths and releasing a poison fog that covers an entire area, inducing a slow death to any who enter…]
The appearance of the Purple Lightning Venomous Serpent almost put Howard at a substantial disadvantage.
The creature had barely shown itself before it spat out a stream of dark green poison fog towards him.
Despite its small stature, it seemed to harbor an endless supply of poison fog within its body, managing to reach Howard who was standing more than ten meters away.
[Ding! You have been attacked by a Purple Lightning Venomous Serpent. The damage from this attack will be absorbed by your Mana Shield. Please distance yourself as soon as possible…]
Howard’s face turned ashen as he quickly retreated.
While backing away, he was hastily replenishing the shield with mana, not forgetting to command the fire dragon to counterattack the Purple Lightning Venomous Serpent’s dishonorable ambush.
The fire dragon unleashed a fireball towards the Purple Lightning Venomous Serpent which tried to evade urgently.
It moved with astonishing speed, leaving only a purple afterimage at its original location, its body materializing three meters away — truly living up to its name of Purple Lightning.
However, what was both laughable and pitiful was that although the Purple Lightning Venomous Serpent managed to flee from the range of the fire dragon’s attack, it had utterly miscalculated the ferocity of the fire dragon’s onslaught.
Upon impact, the fireball created a massive explosion that birthed a shockwave covering a radius of five meters.
The Purple Lightning Venomous Serpent was caught in this shockwave, sent flying and subsequently scorched into a strip by the raging flames.
Ding! You have killed a level 15 Purple Lightning Venomous Serpent, gaining 135 experience points!
The abrupt death of the Purple Lightning Venomous Serpent awarded Howard with 135 experience points.
This event left Howard in a state of awe.
The serpent had previously displayed remarkable bravado, yet its death came so suddenly and abruptly, leaving him with a feeling of being caught off guard.
However, Howard soon found himself with no time for surprise, as a multitude of Purple Lightning Venomous Serpents surged out of the Dark Serpent Cave one after the other, incessantly spraying poison fog towards him.
Although he had retreated far enough to be unaffected by the poison fog, the speed of the Purple Lightning Venomous Serpents was just too fast.
They could easily escape the attack range of the fire dragon, and those that managed to dodge the assaults would frenzically return to attack Howard anew.
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