James saw mana swirled on the staff, then it spread and gathered around the priestess, creating multiple icicles that aimed James's life, threatening to make mincemeat out of him. James swiped his sword, using it as a shield. The icicles shattered upon impact. Thanks to his fur, James didn't receive any injuries.

A yellow glow flashed at the corner of his vision, a sign of a spear skill. James quickly held up his sword, trying to use it as a shield. The world was turned upside down as James was blown away by the skill. Like an experienced soccer player making a pass, another sahuagin waited with its skill at the ready.

Thanks to his dexterity, James managed to reorient himself before being struck again with their trademarked spear skill. James oriented himself faster this time. He swam to his bag and pulled out his axe. The heavy axe might disrupt his mobility, but he couldn't just stay still when he was being played like this.

Another barrage of icicles came at him. James swung his axe and sword to bash those icicles like a pro baseball player. That priestess was nothing like that goblin shaman. Her spells were quick and precise. If it were not for James's new mana eye, which could see the mana swirled around the priestess and predict the spell's trajectory ahead of time, he wouldn't be able to parry those spells.

"Yeah, longer doesn't always mean better," James smirked. The axe has a wider blade, and since it is shorter than the sword, James can use it to shield himself faster.

A golden light flashed in the corner of his vision again. This time, James was ready. He lowered his stance and prepared his sword skill. The blade arced upward, meeting the trident head-on. Thanks to the enhanced strength of his orc arms, James won the battle of strength when their weapon skills collided.

The sahuagin was knocked back. If this was on land, they would be knocked to the ground and stunned. Ready for James to finish them with a stab from his sword. However, this was inside water. When they were blown away by weapon skill, they could propel themselves with their webbed feet and regain their posture.

James gritted his teeth when one of the Sahuagin he had blown a while back had already swum back and queued up for an attack. Another spell is coming! James' thought screamed at him when he saw mana swirled around the priestess. James was expecting another icicle. Instead, he saw mana swirling all around the arena.

Unlike goblins, who could only use basic fireball spells, the Sahuagin Priestess had more spells to choose from. This time, it used her wide-area spells, such as a whirlpool. Like flushing poop in a toilet, the water in the arena swirled, bringing James and the four Sahuagin with him.

"Did she really use her spells on her teammates?" James cursed. His blood ran cold when a white trident came at his flank. The elite fishmen didn't stumble and wash away in the whirlpool. They swam with the flow, turning it into an advantage.

James blocked another spear with his axe. This time, that spear grew a golden light. Like a ping pong ball, James was blown to another fishmen who was ready to stab him in his chest.

"Enough with your games!" James forced a skill out of his axe. As long as he keeps a certain posture, the skill will activate.

The sahuagin parried his blade and was blown away. With a paddle of their webbed feet, they return back to the fray. James thought his orc body would last him longer than this. His breathing was already ragged, while these monsters didn't even look like they broke a sweat. It's impossible to break a sweat in water, but James couldn't care much about semantics.

The whirlpool calmed down. Two white tridents lunged at him. James' muscles contracted. His axe blocked one aimed at his head while the other blocked the one aimed at his torso. The white trident seemed to go on; either they struck with greater force, or his hand grew exhausted.

A sharp pain shot out from his flank as blood seeped out from his fur. James threw those sahuagin back. His gaze snapped at the crimson cloud emanating from his stomach. After he checked his stomach, he sighed in relief. It was just a graze, just a scratch.

James realized that he was slowly being cornered. He needed something decisive. However, he had nothing. No trump cards or tricks he could use. Several more icicles came towards him, and James blocked it with his axe. He quickly spun his sword; he had grown used to their tactics. He knew that a spear skill would be shot at his blind spot.

James was blown away yet again. His eyes soon caught up with his leather bag. Then, an epiphany came up to him. A crazy idea popped up in his mind. The idea was crazy, but he had no option left. He couldn't play on their playing field forever. He was slowly getting cornered. He needed to change, to adapt, to overcome.

He dashed to his bag and shouldered it. The heavy steel of his equipment kept him aground.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Come here, you bastard! I'll show you how land dwellers fight!" James roared. Of course, his roar was heard by no one except himself. But his will was transmitted to the sahuagin either way.

The sahuagin descended from above. Its spear glowed faintly with an orange hue, aiming for James' life. James raised his sword in time, and he used both of his hands to hold it tight. He had made preparations. Using his spider's web, he attached his axe and sword to his body.

The trident came, a shockwave rippled the air, and James was knocked back a few steps. But this was much better than before when he was blown back like a volleyball. His hands trembled. But a firm blazed brighter from his eye.

"Got you now, bastard," James smirked. James let go of his sword and gripped his axe with both of his hands. A golden hue emanated from it. He leaped. For the first time, the elite Sahuagin showed fear in its eyes. It raised its spear up high, trying to block the spear.

Sahuagin didn't have the strength of an orc like James. Its stats were also much lower than James'. When James crashed down on him, his axe pushed down its measly defense and embedded its gleaming blade into its head.

"One down." James put another spider web on the carcass.

The rest of the elite Sahuagin roared in fury as James finally killed one of their teammates. That's what James had wanted. Their spear glowed golden. They charge like a bull. Fury and rage permeated their very being. James didn't try to block them with his sword. He might have been able to block one with his sword or axe just like before, but three is impossible. However, James already had a plan. He pulled the strings attached to the corpse of the dead Fishman.

It felt like he was hit by a truck with mattresses in front. James was blown back by the momentum. Thanks to the spider web securely attached to the corpse, James maintained his close distance from the fish monsters. A golden glow gathered on his sword as he crouched on the corpse. These elite fishmen soon realized they had fucked up.

James leaped, and his sword drew an arc. A deep gash drew on their body. Their armor, though masterfully crafted, did nothing to protect them.

James raised his axe and deflected several icicles that were thrown at him. Shards of ice scattered upon impact harmlessly bounced on his fur and melted in the water. The priestess shrieked as its attacks were nullified. Her composure was cracking as she realized her end was near. Now that she had no more guards, it was like a game of tags. She frantically swam, trying to gain distance, and pelted James with her spells, but it proved to be futile.

James easily caught up with her. Mages were weak in melee combat. That general stereotype seemed to hold true for this priestess. She could barely swim ten meters before James caught up to her. James plunged his sword, and she didn't even try — or couldn't— to defend herself. The blade slipped smoothly inside her torso.

[Floor Cleared. Teleportation portal will be spawned momentarily. Please wait.]

[you have leveled up to level 22. You have earned 100 coins]

[Name: James

Age: 35

Sex: male

Levels: 22

Coins: 420

Stats:

STR: 88 (up 3)

Dex: 83 (up7)

Magic: 0

Mana: 0

Skills:

* Beginner Axe mastery level 8 (Powerstrike)

* Beginner Sword mastery level 6 (hurricane)

* Beginner Bow Mastery level 5 (Quickshot) (up 1)

Unique Skill:

* Chimera:

* Goblin stomach (Iron guts) (stomach slot)

* Lesser Mana core (Fire spell, Magic+10, Mana +50)(Extra slot 1)

* Orc’s left arm (STR+10%) (Arm slot)

* Eyes of Mana (mana sense) (Right eye slot)

* Sahuagin’s webbed hands(+10% dexterity in water) (right arm slot)

* Sahuagin’s webbed feet(+10% dexterity in water) (leg slot)

* Sahuagin's lungs (Underwater breathing) (lung slot)

* Orc's torso (torso slot)

* Orc's head (Head slot)

* Jumping Spider’s fang (Weak Paralysis)(mouth slot)(new)

* Jumping Spiders spinneret (Thread creation)(Extra slot 2)

* Lightning Wolf’s fur (physical resistance +5%)(skin slot)

Equipment:

* Leather armor

* Leather helmet

* Vambrace

* Gauntlets

* War axe

* Longsword

* Crossbow

* Leather pouch

* Waterspout dagger

* Hematonic potion

* Leather bag]

[Do you wish to modify your body? y/n]

[Available body part:

* Mana core (Water Spell: ice spear, water manipulation, Magic +60, Mana +1000)(Extra slot)

]

James reeled in disgust when he compared his goblin mana core with Sahuagin's. He felt like a child who happily accepted defective goods only to know the real thing later in shops when he was an adult. He expected this sahuagin's core to be somewhat better, but he certainly didn't expect it to be almost ten times better.

"Is this a real core? Do I get this if I purchase it from the magic shop?"

[No. Mana cores grew alongside its user, so the sooner Survivors buy their mana core, the better.]

"You sure do a hell of a good job persuading people," James muttered. He was in a bind, This mana core was magnitudes better than his previous ones. However, this one was from Water attributes. If he had changed it, James would have lost his campfire.

"Can I change my spinneret to this mana core?"

[Yes. Do you want to change your spinneret to Mana core?]

"No." Although James couldn't shoot out his spider web like an action movie hero, His spinneret still proved invaluable. Without it, James wouldn't be able to make ropes anymore. After weighing his option of making a campfire and deadly water attack, James made his decision.

"I want this mana core, swap out my lesser mana core." James finally made his decision. James was a monster. Unlike humans who needed fire to cook their food, His goblin stomach could handle raw meat just fine. He didn't need this defective core that could only cast a campfire for less than an hour.

James' eyes snapped at the golden glow at the corner of his vision. He snapped his sword and axe to her chest, anticipating an attack. His subconsciousness already registered golden light as a weapon skill's special effects. Of course, there were no other monsters here. The golden light came from the portal that had just spawned by the system.

"Change the portal's light color next time. Or rather, don't make it glow at all, it's distracting." James complained. Now that he was about to march into a new zone, he didn't need to stuff his armor away. He went into his leather bag and equipped all of his armor.

James was about to touch the portal and transferred to the new floor. Then, he remembered the golden chest behind the Sahuagin princess, inside the big clam that was her throne.

"Shit. Are you trying to make me forget about that chest?" James cursed. That claim was baseless. The system didn't do such things. James merely went with the flow. When he saw a portal, he instinctively wanted to walk through it, showing his progress.

James examined the chest. The chest was fixed and couldn't be moved. Even when he pulled with all of his strength, it wouldn't budge. However, he couldn't open the chest with his string either; it was at the very back of the clam throne. James grew more and more wary as this chest seemed to be made so the traps inside would surely hit its opener.

Then, a light bulb lit up on James' mind. He used his new mana core and made an ice shield. Then, he also made a chisel. The chisel was then inserted into the gaps on the treasure chest. Using the string, he opened it from further away. A huge block of ice was ready to absorb whatever might come his way.

James' paranoia was in vain once again. No traps were inside that box. When he peered inside, bunches of coins lay around

[You have obtained 1000 coins]