A three-meter-long snake, covered in colorful scales, suddenly appeared in front of Darian. Its tail ended in a rattle that shook over and over again, letting out a terrifying sound that echoed through the cave.
A chill ran down Darian's spine as the snake let out a threatening hiss. Its eyes glowed with a fierce light, locked onto him. The massive creature was in attack position, ready to strike.
'Wasn't this place supposed to be safe from death?! Why the hell is that feeling so questionable right now?!' Darian thought, stunned.
With a sudden lunge, the creature went for him.
*CRACK!*
On instinct, Darian activated the ring's power and jumped to the side. The attack missed him by inches, smashing into the cave wall.
He rolled across the floor and got to his feet, realizing the cave was still intact — this really was a combat arena.
The only way to get the reward was to defeat the opponent. But how the hell was a rookie supposed to win?
The snake hissed again, and suddenly a light glowed across its body — it came from the scales covering it. A fiercer aura surged out of it.
'Shit…'
Darian swallowed hard. According to the instructions, all rookies should at least be able to fight and get the Seven Elemental Stars Physique. He couldn't keep running. He clenched his fists and pushed the ring's power to the limit.
His body was wrapped in red energy, like he was burning with furious flames.
He took a deep breath…
"!"
Darian felt his muscles suddenly filled with explosive power.
'This must be the High Human power stabilizing… good.'
*Swoosh!*
The snake lunged forward, slicing through the air. Darian didn't back down — he faced it head-on. Because of its size, he dodged its mouth with ease and threw a punch at its scales.
*BOOM!*
He was sent flying back and slammed into the cave wall. But the snake took a hit too — it didn't gain any ground on him.
A wave of excitement rushed through Darian. This kind of strength was impossible for a regular human — he had taken on a monster like that head-on. That alone was something to be proud of.
Forced to back off, the snake got even more furious and charged again.
Darian met it with his fists, choosing to go all in. His body responded to every thought with perfect precision. When he jumped to dodge, it felt like gravity didn't exist. When he attacked, it felt like he could break anything.
With each move, the ring's power fused more and more with his body. He was changing. It felt like he was being reborn as some kind of superhuman. Fighting at full power was… addicting.
With every dodge and collision, the cave trembled nonstop.
Darian was no longer a total rookie, even if he was far from being a real warrior. But he realized something — he was learning fast… maybe he had some talent. Or maybe this was just another perk of being a High Human.
He was in a wild brawl. None of his attacks were fancy — it was just raw power.
It was the first time he'd fought like this with his own body. The first time he'd felt the rush of throwing punches with everything he had. Suddenly, his fists felt like the best weapons he could possibly have.
'Niara must feel like this all the time…' He stopped in the middle of the thought, surprised to be thinking about that woman mid-fight.
Honestly, Darian was a little weaker than the snake in raw strength. But after a few minutes, he'd picked up on a clear pattern in its attacks.
It wasn't really dumb… it just didn't feel alive. It was like fighting a basic video game boss or a robot. The enemy only had a few preset moves.
After almost an hour of fighting, Darian felt incredibly satisfied and fulfilled. He had never felt like this before. The battle was, somehow, fun.
By now, the snake's lunges weren't even a threat anymore. After dodging another attack, Darian jumped.
With barely any effort, he soared nearly two meters. As the snake slammed into the wall, he came down on its head, landing a full-power kick.
*Crack!*
The sound of scales cracking echoed through the cave. The creature was stunned. Darian grabbed its massive tail with both hands — it looked like a small man trying to drag a colossal beast.
But for Darian, it was just a matter of channeling the ring's power into his muscles. Once he gathered enough energy, it didn't even take effort.
He pulled with everything he had. The snake was slammed into the ceiling, then violently smashed into the ground.
*BANG! BANG! BANG!*
After being smashed into the floor three times, Darian was surprised — there wasn't a single drop of blood. Could it still fight?
But right then, the creature's body began to glow and turned into runes that flew straight into him.
Darian suddenly felt his body heat up, like he'd been dropped into boiling water. The heat kept rising, becoming more and more unbearable.
He clenched his teeth. The agony lasted almost five minutes… until, finally, it started to ease.
He quickly focused inward… and felt something new.
In both arms and legs, the top of his head, the center of his chest, and just below his navel… in those seven spots, small internal marks had appeared. The Seven Elemental Stars — he'd reached the first level.
He took a deep breath… Any rookie who came back from that universe with a ring, as long as they had half a brain and knew how to use it, would be able to fight a little. But winning… Darian seriously doubted that was ever guaranteed.
"!"
A white light suddenly appeared in front of him. Within seconds, a screen materialized with a message:
[Time Taken: 70 minutes]
[Beginner healing used: 0]
[Grade: SS+]
[Max reward obtained: Ring of Spiritual Inventory]
Right after reading that, the sound of a stone door slowly opening echoed through the cave. The message changed:
[Next floor unlocked]
[Note: On the second floor, beginner support is disabled. If you're seriously injured, you'll be kicked out of the Array.]
[If you want to proceed, you must cross within 1 minute, or you'll be considered to have given up.]
Darian took a deep breath. That explained everything. The ones who entered got this "beginner healing" and were healed. So, even if they didn't know how to fight, they'd just keep trying until they won. Eventually, everyone would get the technique.
Luckily, time and use — or non-use — of that support determined the rewards. He felt pumped; he'd gotten lucky… or maybe he'd been close to the edge so many times before, he'd learned to keep his mind calm enough not to get taken down.
Thanks to everything he'd lived through, he'd earned something valuable now. But the reward would only come at the end, so it wouldn't mess with the rest of the trial.
Darian moved forward and stepped through the stone door, which slammed shut behind him. Another circular stage appeared ahead. From a distance, it looked like a wrestling ring.
'Shit… maybe being slower and using that beginner healing wasn't such a bad idea. Now… I've got less than a third of the ring's power left,' he muttered, tense.
He had barely stepped in and didn't even have time to check his surroundings when a roar blasted through his ears. Sculptures lit up on the mural across from him, and then fierce-looking figures started marching his way.