The Basilisk curled up and jumped away, trying to clear some distance between us. As I fell from the air I held out my hand and recalled Belos.

The dark blade flew into my palm and I rested it on the straps behind me. As for the white blade I had thrown out before—

The Basilisk's health was being chipped away slowly over time as Agos flew around it, cutting at it in circled slashes across the air.

The elegant snowy scales of the Basilisk were dripping with fresh red blood, its elegant presence tainted.

The monster curled into a ring and flicked the Chakram away with its tail, it was sent flying into the wall behind me. The green glow coming off of my ability, Zephyr Wind had disappeared. This was its only weakness, once the weapon was hit out of the air with a strong enough force—it would lose its wind.

Before I could run for my weapon, the Basilisk attacked.

It sprung toward me with a blinding speed, moving about the room like a red and white-blur. It approached in a split second but I wasn’t fast enough to avoid it.

The monstrous jaws opened and were inches away from snapping down on me.

That moment lasted forever. I felt as though I had enough time to count its teeth. Four rows of sharp curled silver blades…

It didn’t attack though, something else was coming.

The next thing I knew, a purple gas built up from the back of its throat and burst out from its mouth. I covered my face but without enough time to move out of the way, I had to endure the brunt of it before I could escape.

“Don’t breathe it in—it’s poison!” Arga shouted from the sidelines.

I grabbed my cloak and covered it over my nose and mouth. I stumbled back and took small breaths.

I managed to pull out from the cloud of smoke but…

{User has been poisoned by a toxic substance. Potency is moderate}

{User will suffer 1 point of damage each second}

“Blugh—argh!”

I coughed out and a puff of purple gas flowed out of my spit.

Not good—not good!

I’m poisoned, will I be okay? It said I’m taking damage but how long does that last?!

My mind was wrapped around the notifications in front of me when suddenly I felt the hard blow of the basilisk's tail slam into my stomach.

My body flew through the air like a ragdoll and crashed into a pile of large stones behind me. As I dropped from the wall and onto my butt, I saw the creature ahead of me slither across the ground.

It emerged from the purple smokescreen and slid across the floor with fluid side-to-side movements. It moved with calm strides, slowly approaching its meal. There was a hint of confidence in its gaze, it must have felt like it won.

“Zephyr Blast!”

My skill struck the snake's body and its body was lifted into the air.

I shot out from the wall with a trail of white mist falling from my feet. In a single moment I closed the distance and was at the serpent’s body with my arm extended to the side.

A circular white glimmer resided at the end of my hand. A blade.

One slash and the monster's tail had been cut clean off. Blood rained down over the room as the monster threw its body and thrashed around, curling and wriggling through the air.

When its body hit the ground it had shifted into kill mode. With no regard for its safety, the Basilisk kept itself low and struck, four large fangs curved out from its mouth.

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I held out my free hand and muttered beneath my breath once more,

“Zephyr Blast!”

The sudden boom of wind crashed into its open mouth and the serpent's attack was stopped, leaving it defenceless in the air.

I took my next step and slashed through it, cutting straight to the other end of its body. It was a clean cut, with almost no resistance against my blade when I poured all my strength behind it.

The two halves of its body fell beside one another and a single thump signalled the end of our fight.

{Level Up}

With the monster dead I could finally relax my body. “—Guah!!” I let out all the air in my mouth and felt my stiff knees relax.

I thought I was a goner for a second there, I didn’t think I’d have to fight so hard! I’m just glad Agos was able to cut through its scales.

My body felt stiff and my throat was still sore from the poison. I reached over to the pouch on my left side and pulled out a small root. I placed it into my mouth and bit down on it, it was a medicinal root that helped alleviate poisoning and other minor effects. One of the few things that Kana insisted I pick up before heading into the Sixth floor.

After the poison icon beside my health bar vanished I was ready to continue and stood up over the corpse. I was a little worried that I needed to use the root so soon but it was all I could do. I had one more if anything else were to happen.

“Devour it.”

As the last of its bloodied body was taken in by the mist I turned away to approach Arga and the girl.

{Basilisk Skill Tree added}

Just standard notices, I barely notice it anymore.

{Skill, Serpent Strike has been unlocked}

{Skill, Poison breath has been unlocked}

I brushed past them, usually when I walk out of sight of them, they just go away. Like Uriel can tell that I am not interested in them. Even some notifications I would consider important were able to be put away if I chose not to engage.

{New passive skill has been unlocked} – {Serpents Coil}

{Would you like to replace skill Rabbits Foot for Serpents Coil?}

I stopped walking and my eyes focused on the screen.

The screen didn’t disappear? It looks like I got a new passive skill from the basilisk, like Rabbits Foot. Is this some kind of information that Uriel needs me to set before it can go away? I don’t even know what it does…

I was deep in thought, gawking at the screen to make sure what was so important.

“What’s the hold-up?” Arga called out.

“Sorry, I just had to deal with something.”

I’ll switch them for now and read the details later.

{New Passive Skill has been set}

I walked over to her and Arga seemed to be staring down at the girl, she didn’t look too pleased.

“I didn’t believe it when I heard her scream but…it really is a child.”

A young girl with bright pink hair sat back against the large boulder. A smaller boulder rested right beside it, causing a tight corner for the girl to cower away in. The danger of the Basilisk had already been put to rest but she still looked frightened.

Her golden eyes were all that cut through the darkness, I could barely make out the features of her face.

She’s afraid—of us?

“Hey kid, you’re safe—”

I held out my hand to stop Arga from moving any closer. She had extended out a hand hoping to help the kid out of the corner. With a stern glance, Arga knew what I was thinking, we couldn't force her out of there.

If she was scared then forcing her to do something would only make things worse, she needed to come out on her own.

“Uhm—little miss?” I spoke up.

She pulled away and her tiny body sunk deeper into the shadow between the two rocks.

“We won’t hurt you, I swear. We beat that monster, the big snake from before. It’s safe to come out.”

Still nothing.

My words didn’t seem to have any effect, could force be an option if she chose not to leave? No—no!

I don’t even want to consider that, we don’t have many options but that’s still the last thing I’d want to resort to.

But what then?

I decided to try one more thing. If convincing her wasn’t going to work, maybe speaking my mind would.

“It was a little surprising to see a kid in the Tower, I honestly never thought I’d see the day where that happened. I had always wanted to come here when I was a kid, I could never do it though…I was too scared. I’d say you’re pretty brave to have come all this way.”

Her eyes softened, the golden orbs glaring daggers at me softened and pulled closer out from the dark.

A thin hand escaped the shadows and rested on the grey stone floor. Her skin was milky white, it had a rich healthy colour, it almost didn’t look real.

Next was a small nose, it had a minor curve and twitched as the light from the room touched it. Next came the rest of her face, she was stunning. Her radiant pink hair which was only slightly visible before had come into full effect.

She had a soft face with very lean features, she would easily become a total knockout when she gets older.

Her silky strands hung below her shoulders and nearly reached the floor as she crawled out of the dark. Once she stood up the thin wavy strands of her hair curled closer to the bottom, swaying against her knees. They formed luxurious locks that hung elegantly behind her.

A small child almost two heads shorter than me stood opposite me and was still very much afraid. I wanted to speak, to say something to put her mind at ease but something caught my eye immediately. It was something you would have to be blind not to notice.

“What…but those are—?”

Arga placed her hand onto the hilt of her sword and the girl flinched back. “Rei, she’s not human!” She warned me.

A deep look of fear plagued Arga’s face as her eyes fell on the two black horns erected out the side of the little girl's head.

As she stepped back her long puffy dress quivered and a thick pink tail emerged from behind her dress. A tail rushed out, it shook nervously from side to side. Almost as if it were portraying her very thoughts.

Arga ripped the sword out from her sheath and held it out, ready to swing.

“That’s no kid…it’s a dragon!”