Nathan's newest advantage had just been taken away from him and then some, but he wasn't going to back away. He circled the queen Naga, who stayed still at her chanting spot, her two black orbs with yellow slits fixated on him.

He could charge immediately, but the problem with that plan was that he had no idea how far the Naga could spit her venom. He needed to play it safe and smart, while his skin could take the hits, his sword wouldn't last against acid like that.

He continued circling the Naga, who didn't even bother to turn as Nathan faced her exposed back, the action making his nerves stand on edge. That was the problem with snakes: never predictable, always swift and ruthless when it came to fights.

So why is she staying still?

A valid question, some might even say a crucial one. Nathan wasn't "some," and so he charged at the Naga Queen's exposed back. His sword was at the ready, his hand poised to deliver an overhead strike.

Smack!

Faster than he could see, the Queen's tail whipped out, sweeping a charging Nathan off his feet with a thud. Nathan couldn't even take in a breath to replace the one he'd just had knocked out of his lungs before he felt a stinging sensation on his legs. Looking down, he saw the Naga's fangs on his legs, the snake injecting him with venom before slithering away.

Snakebite(I)

You have been Poisoned by a Naga's Queen bite.

You'll lose one percent of your health every two seconds that passes.

To Neutralize venom: kill the Naga Queen.

That's three reasons why I have to kill that bloody snake now.

If you thought Nathan didn't like snakes before, you were right because he outright hated the slithering creatures right about… now. The notification had messed up the three-minute timer that Nathan had been hoping to outlast. At this rate, the venom would kill him faster than the time would run out.

Getting to his feet was easy, almost as if he wasn't even losing health, which made Nathan glance at the fang marks on his right leg. A deceptively small wound was right now wreaking havoc across his entire body, and the worst part was that he wasn't even feeling it.

Meaning he could probably be on his last legs and he wouldn't even know it. Imagine trying to charge at the Queen Naga and falling mid-charge and dying because the venom had run its course unimpeded.

Unimpeded.

Nathan didn't know how the system stats worked, but the usual advice one got after being bit by a venomous snake was to keep calm to slow the spread of the venom. He could take that route as he was going to need an adrenaline pump to handle the snake queen.

Enough thinking.

With the knowledge that time was not on his side, Nathan charged at the Naga, its entire form unconcerned by the creature charging at it. The queen probably labeled him as dead the moment its fangs delivered the venom into his bloodstream.

Notwithstanding, he continued his charge, watching for the tail so he wasn't caught off guard when it swept at him. He jumped over it, turning mid-air and striking at the tail with his sword.

Shriekkkk!

A smile crested Nathan's face. He'd been a little scared that the Naga would have impenetrable scales like the imps when unmoving, but lady luck seemed to be with him as his sword got through a good quarter of the Naga's tail. Without wasting time, Nathan ripped his sword free of the Naga's tail, skipping back and narrowly missing fangs that were inches away from his neck before he'd jumped back.

That was close.

He had no idea if snakebite was a stackable attack. One bite was already terrifying; what would two bites do to him? Probably hasten the spread of the venom in his system by halving the time.

[Warning Health less than 75%]

Venom!

Nathan felt bile rise to the back of his throat. Apart from the sweeping tail he'd fallen victim to earlier, he hadn't received any other physical blow from the Naga, which meant that it was the venom that was actively draining his health.

Time wasn't on his side; it was on the queen's, and he couldn't stay back to hide this time. Nathan dashed forward, sword at his side, as he prepared to deliver a slash aimed at the Queen's belly. His sword met empty air as the Naga had anticipated his move and was already beginning its own counterattack, rearing its head for a strike.

No, you don't.

Nathan dodged the head, and a counter of his own followed shortly. The Queen let out a terrible shriek as his sword cleaved a quarter way through her midsection, with Nathan using the momentum of his slash to roll away from danger. A quick glance behind him confirmed that the Naga Queen was livid at him.

Good, come to me.

A calm opponent was ninety percent of the time the bigger threat than a hotheaded one. Nathan needed the Naga to become irrational, and wild even with her movements. He needed the Naga to attack him wildly with the fury he could see burning in her eyes; he needed her to give him openings.

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[Warning health below 50%]

Okay!

He needed to be the calm one right now, even though he was the one with everything to lose at this moment. With a goading smile, Nathan stood still, provoking the Queen Naga to charge at him. He didn't move an inch as the Naga began angrily slithering towards him. Instead, he let his eyes do all the work, picking out potential weak points. Eventually, he settled on the one that he was sure would handle the Naga once and for all.

A piercing shriek hit Nathan's ear as the Naga got into range. As he'd predicted, the Naga switched tactics. Instead of attacking with her tail like she'd done before, she attacked with her fangs, much to his delight.

Thud!

The head had managed to get a little close to Nathan with snakelike speed before it was separated from its neck by Nathan, who'd already anticipated the move before she'd even begun to slither. He sidestepped and let the body hit the ground with a thud.

Ugh! Snakes.

He was very grateful to have finished off the last of them. The sight of the things would probably give him nightmares for a night or two.

Snakebite (I) Neutralized.

Clearance requirement met: Dungeon unlocked.

Dead weight(I) dispelled.

Nathan stared at the notification in triumph, not because he'd managed to kill the Nagas and their queen, more because he'd found a way to do so without having to utilize blood rebellion. An act that signified growth, he could now handle F-ranked dungeons.

A thud to the side made Nathan turn, and his smile widened at the sight before him. A wooden box had landed. Walking towards the box with a calm and relaxed demeanor, he flipped it open with ease, with no fear of booby traps as he was no longer a noob.

Definitely, some growth happening.

He stared at the box, and his smile extended still. In the box were three items, but only one pulled his gaze: a glowing rock. It was pulsating with white light.

It'd do nicely as a night light.

Even with a purpose in mind for the rock, Nathan analyzed it anyway.

Tora Ore.

This ore has been transformed into a vessel to hold Tora, the very power that makes up the Universe.

Nice, a magic rock.

At least it looked like a magic rock. Who knows, maybe Nathan might just put it in a museum if he ever got one and claim it was the rock upon which Blood Rock was truly made.

Nah, I'll stick to using it as a night light.

Nathan gazed at the other items remaining in the box, analyzing them as he did so.

Leather sword sheath (common)

This sheath cannot safely hold swords above the common grade. Any attempt to do so is at the owner's risk.

Rope

The leather sheath solved one of Nathan's most obvious problems: where to store his sword when not in use. While his bag of holding was indeed useful, he couldn't really say that sticking his hand into the bag anytime he needed to pull out his sword was ideal.

He'd definitely prefer to keep his sword where he could easily reach it. For the last couple of days, he'd kept the sword in hand when walking, afraid that he'd be too slow pulling the sword out of the bag and lose his life to something that silly.

Hell no.

The rope, on the other hand, made him question the reward system of the... system. It had just given him a universal night light, a sword sheath, and now a rope. Out of three items, that was currently even useful to him at this point. The highlight was nice, but come on, for goodness' sake, he was in a fucking apocalypse.

Something like a flaming sword would've been nice.

With a sigh, Nathan picked up the glowing rock—Tora ore—and the rope and tossed them into his bag of holding. Then, securing the leather sheath around his waist, he did so with a lot more enthusiasm.

Loot claimed, dungeon destabilizing in 2 minutes, all entities should exit the dungeon before the dungeon collapses into Ra'hal.

Nathan stared at the new notification. Without any need to dilly-dally, he dashed towards the exit, his improved dexterity showing itself as he ran faster than the last time.

Soon enough, he was outside and far away from the dungeon and barely out of breath this time. The cave entrance shuddered with each passing breath, but Nathan just watched on until the notification he was anticipating hit his screen.

Dungeon destabilizing in

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

Dungeon destabilized

Nathan watched as the cave shuddered for one last time before collapsing in on itself. The collapse sprayed dirt and debris into the air, which forced him to close his eyes to avoid particles getting in. And sure enough, when he opened them, the cave was gone. In its place, an empty clearing remained.

"Interesting."

He shook his head as he stared at the empty clearing. This was the second time he had seen a dungeon disappear after being cleared, but he still wasn't used to it by any stretch of the imagination.

The rocks and debris would've been able to build a stone replica of his cabin at Blood Rock ten times over. Where exactly had the system dumped those rocks, and why hadn't it just left the debris lying around?

Questions.

Nathan couldn't dwell on those right about now. He had to clear a couple more dungeons before the day was over. Turning around, he started heading toward the closest dungeon he'd identified. As usual, he replayed the events of his next fight even as he continued to walk.

The Naga Queen hadn't been spitting venom at him like the others because it had a different attack. The snakebite ability had pretty much shortened the timeline of the fight, throwing Nathan's game plan of time-wasting into the bin. He'd overcome and adapted to the situation, though, which was kind of nice from his own angle. He was getting better and faster at making crucial decisions. Good ones too, it was something that he'd struggled with earlier on, but experience was teaching him how to handle that.

Experience.

A person could read all the books in the world, but someone with live experience was always going to be better than someone who'd just read a couple of books. The chain of thought led him to wonder what the others were learning in the system tutorial. Shrugging his shoulders as he couldn't figure out what they were doing, he looked up to see he was at the next dungeon.

Status

Name: Nathan Orion

Moniker: N/A

Level: 14

Archetype: Blood Berserker

Class: Blood Pawn

Imprints: Balls of Steel, Skull Crusher, Demon Slayer, Bronze-Dungeoneer.

Strength: 18

Dexterity: 11

Vitality: 11

Constitution: 13

Perception: 10

Dao: N/A

Faction: N/A

Ra'hal coins: 11,840

Free points: 2

Nathan closed the screen with a thought as he focused on the dungeon, having decided against utilizing his free points right away. He might need them in whatever messed up challenge this dungeon had for him.

Alright, time to get shit done.