"Still, for every bit of effort, you get ten times the reward. If you can't even overcome this small challenge, then there's no point in living."
Aiden took a deep breath, encouraging himself in his heart.
He was already a genius in school.
Of course, just when it came to combat skills, not the academic subjects or theory.
Since he awakened as a Magic Apprentice, Aiden had become the laughing stock of the whole school.
But things were different now. If he killed this elite monster, Aiden believed his power would increase once again. He wouldn't be far from rising up.
He raised his staff and didn't hesitate-he shot out a Fireball right away!
Pshhh!
Hot flames burned, and a big fireball flew straight toward the Flame Viper!
Bang!
"Hit!" Aiden's black eyes lit up.
This sudden attack had actually landed.
Swish!
The Flame Viper let out a sharp, painful scream, and its face showed a human-like expression of pain!
A big hole appeared on the Flame Viper's body, and its skin was burned to a black, charred mess.
Its health bar shook violently, dropping fast, until it finally fell below 50%.
Aiden's eyes trembled, in disbelief: "Wait, that's it? It only has half a health bar left?!"
Unbelievable. So unbelievable.
The power of the Gold Rank staff completely exceeded Aiden's expectations. Or maybe it was because of the fire skill's extra boost.
"If it wasn't for an Iron Rank skill, the skill level just a little higher, that attack would have killed the Flame Viper right then and there." Aiden said, smiling to himself as he analyzed.
Zzzzz!
Swish!
Fire crackled and jumped around Aiden, exploding wildly, like fireworks.
And in the sky, a bunch of dark green poison liquid sprayed toward Aiden.
The big Flame Viper quickly flew through the grass, rushing toward Aiden.
Aiden's pupils shrank, and his heart nearly jumped.
Too fast!
The 13th-level poison viper was faster than Aiden could imagine.
And with two strange abilities, the viper's attack made Aiden really afraid. Whether it was the poison from the sky or the fire exploding around, if Aiden even touched it, he'd die instantly.
No joke, instantly.
His Iron Rank armor was almost useless.
Against an enemy of this level, if it hit him, there was only one outcome-death.
Aiden gasped, and his mind flashed back to all the knowledge he had learned in school. His steps became ghost-like, moving to the side.
Not just running straight, but moving in a strange S-shape, moving around wildly.
Any experienced gamer would know that this kind of movement could dodge attacks.
Soon, the Flame Viper was stunned!
It just stared at Aiden with its golden eyes, completely still.
Because, it had already used all of its skills, and now all of them were on cooldown. It had no mana left to use them again.
Only basic attacks were left.
But the key was, even though Aiden wasn't as fast as the poison viper, his Agility and mobility were maxed out!
This had nothing to do with attribute points. With his tiny size, Aiden was darting between the grass and the trees like a quick monkey. The viper couldn't touch him at all, and instead, it ran straight into a tree.
Now the viper was bleeding, with a look of pain and confusion on its face!
"Time for me!" Aiden finally stopped, catching his breath. He raised his staff, and in one quick move, shot out another Fireball!
The cooldown was just right!
The time was up!
Bang!
The fire exploded, and it hit the viper.
At the same time, the message screen in his mind started scrolling wildly. Aiden's heart was pounding!
"Did I just kill it?" Aiden was completely shocked.
This was way too easy.
It was a 12-level monster!
A 12-level Silver Rank monster!
Even someone like Selena, the only daughter of the Warrior God Guild, who had awakened a week early, and was already level 12 now, wouldn't have been able to take it down!
Aiden felt a little proud of himself. He took his eyes off the viper and looked back at the message screen. The real prize was coming!
Was this reward going to be 100 times?
[Killed Flame Viper, EXP +2,700]
...
[Killed Flame Viper, EXP +270,000]
[Obtained: Flame Viper Heart ×100, Fire Snake Skin ×100, Poison Eyeball ×100, Flame Snake Horn ×100...]
[Obtained: Skill Book – Blazing Tornado (Platinum Rank)]
What?
After looking at the message screen, Aiden felt like fire was burning all over his body. He was so hot, like he was about to boil!
This drop was way too good.
Not equipment, but a skill book!!
And a Platinum Rank one at that!
"Gold Rank weapon just now, and now a Platinum Rank skill book? Wow, what's going on?!" Aiden took a deep breath, and even he felt like he was running out of air.
This was crazy.
"Still, the bonus was only 100 times, not 1,000 or even 10,000 like I thought." Aiden calmed down and started thinking about the system's mechanics.
"Because it's not a boss, right?"
Aiden muttered to himself.
That made sense.
What he was killing was just a regular monster.
Even if it was Silver Rank, it was just an elite monster.
Not a real terrifying boss.
And it wasn't even a boss.
A 100x bonus was enough for Aiden to nod in satisfaction.
He narrowed his eyes and focused on a floating magic book in the air. It opened up, glowing with a dazzling rainbow light.
A Platinum Rank skill book!
This was a high-level skill that even the school's principal hadn't learned!
To put it simply, the principal's strongest skill was only Gold Rank!
[Blazing Tornado: Platinum Rank – Summons Flame Element and Air Element, forming a terrifying tornado, similar to a domain. Everything in its path is turned to ash. This skill greatly increases damage, and once it hits the target, it inflicts additional continuous critical damage. The damage is of Flame Element type, and cannot be blocked by basic Magic Resistance. The mana cost is low.]
What?
Aiden only read a little of the skill description, and his heart twitched twice.
This skill was too strong.
Dual-element.
Not just fire damage, but it also added Air Element damage!
Continuous fire critical hits!
And low mana cost!
These effects were like they were made for Aiden himself. Not to mention, Aiden was currently holding the Crimson Flame Staff, which could amplify fire-based skill damage!
"Under these two effects, how much damage can this skill do?" Aiden was stunned, his eyes glowing with a fierce, eager look. He was already itching to try out the Blazing Tornado and see just how strong it could be-whether it could take down any monster or even a boss!
"Whoa? What the hell is this? Why so many materials?"
"Dude, we're rich! Shit, so many materials, and they're all top-tier!"
"Look! This is a Flame Viper Heart! A little alchemist work and it can become a top-tier fire damage enhancement item. And there are a hundred of these? Are they crazy?!"
"Huh? Why did a 12-level poison viper die?"
"Kid, was it you? No way, a 10-level couldn't have killed a 12-level viper! This thing is almost a boss!"
"..."
Just as Aiden was lost in his joy, an unusual voice rang out, making him frown.
A group of middle-aged men appeared in front of Aiden, wearing Bronze and Silver Rank armor, and holding various types of weapons.
Aiden slightly frowned and his eyes turned sharp:
"What do you want?"
"What do you think?"
A small, sly-looking middle-aged man stepped forward, smirking and raising his chin:
"You know what. Hand over everything you have and leave. Otherwise, heh heh, we won't let you go easy."