In the jungle, Adam trudged eastward, his steps uneven. Staying on the forest's outskirts, he'd traveled some time without encountering beasts, not even magical ones.
Buzz!
A faint, almost imperceptible hum of wings rose from a branch.
A thumb-sized, emerald-green creature, caterpillar-like with thin wings, glided from a leaf, drifting toward Adam.
As it neared his head, his iron sword arced through the air, slicing the winged caterpillar in two.
[Gained 1 Experience]
A faint, acrid stench spread.
Poisonous?
Adam glanced at it briefly, continuing forward without pause.
Pity he hadn't learned detection magic; it would've spared him relying on guesswork.
Currently, his HP, physical attack, and agility all stood at 73.
HP aside, he'd tested his 73 physical attack. With full force, three sword swings could fell a tree as thick as a man's embrace.
With his fist, a single punch left a half-fist-deep dent in a tree trunk.
Agility was harder to quantify, but his senses had sharpened noticeably.
At 63 agility, the thief, likely above level 8, had seemed merely average, even slow, to Adam's eyes.
The "Rock" Team was the adventuring group he knew best, with Captain Dosari as their strongest.
Now, Adam felt he surpassed Dosari.
Beyond martial skills, he wielded spells and abilities.
In a straight fight, he wasn't confident, but in an ambush, he believed he could take down the "Rock" Team, though not without injury.
From a weakling to rivaling a Silver-rank adventuring team, Adam marveled at the Player Talent's power.
Two hundred years ago, the Thirteen Heroes' leader, a "player." Had drawn the Platinum Dragon Lord's wariness by rapidly growing in strength.
Pressing on, the forest's real trouble wasn't conspicuous beasts but colorful, often venomous insects.
With his agility, Adam didn't fear their sudden attacks, but they were a hassle, yielding only single-digit experience and slowing him down.
Crack!
A fallen branch snapped under his foot, the sound crisp.
In the forest's chorus of insect hums and rustling leaves, it was unremarkable, yet Adam halted.
"Finally, a decent hunt. This is your territory, isn't it?" He turned to his left.
There, among the thick, interwoven branches of several trees, a black creature with faint green spots lay motionless, camouflaged in the foliage.
Good thing it was daytime.
Though hidden, its elongated silhouette was discernible. At night, Adam might've missed it.
He'd sensed something off earlier. Despite being on the forest's outskirts, he'd encountered unusually few beasts.
The likely reason?
This was the territory of a powerful beast or magical creature.
His guess was spot-on.
Scanning the black figure, Adam estimated its length at over a meter.
What was it, exactly?
He squinted, raising his sword across his chest.
Rustle! Rustle!
The leaves stirred, mimicking the sound of a breeze.
The creature, realizing it was spotted, reacted to the human intruding on its domain. A red, forked tongue flicked from its mouth.
In an instant, the black-green form sprang from the dense foliage like a coiled spring, jaws wide, lunging at Adam.
Its scales gleamed coldly in the dappled sunlight, metallic in texture.
Adam finally identified it.
A snake!
A massive one, over six meters long, as thick as two human thighs.
The black-green serpent shot forward, its reeking maw aiming for Adam's head, snapping shut.
Adam swung his sword forcefully at the serpent's head.
Clang!
The blade struck the open mouth, producing a dull thud. Sparks flew where the black scales met the iron.
So hard!
Adam's eyes narrowed.
Hissss!
"Screeeeeh!"
The serpent let out a pained cry, its six-meter body writhing. Its thick tail whipped from behind.
The tail sliced the air, buzzing sharply.
Seeing this, Adam pressed his sword against the snapping jaws with his right hand. His left grabbed at the air, pulling another iron sword from his Item Box, slashing at the tail.
Thud!
Another dull impact rang out.
The surprising force pushed Adam back a step, his left shoulder shifting, but he blocked the tail strike.
Hiss!
"Screeeeeeh!"
The serpent's midsection anchored to the ground, its front half and tail pressed against Adam, writhing incessantly.
It seemed intent on coiling around him, using a snake's signature constriction to kill its prey.
But Adam's agility shone. Dual-wielding swords, he parried the head and tail attacks, retreating steadily.
"Its scales are tough, and its slippery body makes brute force ineffective." Adam noted, slashing repeatedly with little effect.
The scales' hardness was one thing; the slippery surface deflected much of his force.
He'd thought it a mere oversized snake, but this was a magical beast.
In the New World, distinguishing beasts from magical ones was simple: any special ability marked it as the latter.
Seeing the human struggle against its scales, the serpent's yellow eyes grew less cautious.
It abandoned some defensive moves, its attacks growing fiercer.
Boom!
The whipping tail, blocked again by Adam's sword, carried greater force than before.
"Almost there."
Adam's expression remained steady. He'd grasped the serpent's attack patterns.
With his speed, escaping wouldn't be hard.
But this was a prime experience package.
Thud!
He stomped the ground, leaping backward as if to flee.
***
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