The thick, dark greenish-black poison began corroding Clayton’s water do from the inside, making it brittle and unstable.
Panicking, Clayton scrambled to find a way to stop the poison from further weakening his barrier.
In desperation, he tried anything that ca to mind to preserve the integrity of the do.
He channeled denser mana into his water magic. But the mont the concentrated mana touched the do, instead of reinforcing it, the structure lted even faster and more violently.
Clayton’s eyes widened in horror at the result.
Because of that mistake, a do that should’ve held much longer was already a third destroyed.
Just a little more pressure from the serpent, and he would be completely crushed.
"Damn it! The poison targets mana?! If that’s the case, how am I supposed to defend myself?! Everything I’ve thought of relies on mana!" Clayton shouted in frustration.
At a loss, he was forced to observe the poison more carefully.
That’s when his Observation Entry activated. Clayton discovered that the poison specifically targeted mana and carried water, poison, and dark attributes. It didn’t just harm the body—it could wound the soul.
Instead of a solution, the information only deepened his fear and despair.
"What’s the point of knowing this if it doesn’t help ?" he thought, overwheld.
Suddenly, a sharp cracking sound echoed.
Crack!
The inner supports of the do began to collapse from the corrosion, forcing Clayton’s body to curl inward under the crushing pressure of the encroaching water.
He could barely move. His chest felt tight and compressed beneath the mounting force.
In that near-death mont, his mind drifted back to a mory—when he had once been crushed by a silver golem, only surviving thanks to a sudden stroke of inspiration.
But this ti was different. That old solution wouldn’t work. The situation was entirely new.
What Clayton needed now—more than anything—was a new spark of inspiration.
And yet, even after wracking his brain in desperation... nothing ca.
Crack!
Another sharp snap rang out—this ti from the serpent’s tightening jaws.
Now Clayton didn’t just feel crushed—he was suffocating. It felt as though he was being forcibly drowned.
He couldn’t move, not even an inch.
In resignation, his mind wandered again. For reasons unknown, he began muttering strange phrases he’d once heard at a mysterious tribunal:
"The body is one, and the soul is also one. One plus one is not two, but zero. Zero is not emptiness, but certainty."
"The body is one. The soul is one. But they oppose one another. They negate each other, yet also strengthen each other."
"Zero is not emptiness. Zero is harmony. Zero is imaginary—but without zero, there is no wholeness."
Clayton repeated the words over and over—and suddenly... clarity struck.
With the last of his strength, he activated his Purification Entry.
He focused on the phrase: "...they negate each other..."
Slowly, the corroded water do began to regain its strength. Though his purification water wasn’t light-elental in the literal sense, it carried a similar effect through different ans.
His water magic, now infused with purification energy, didn’t directly counter the poison—but it neutralized it.
And that... was enough.
Clayton could finally breathe again.
The serpent, sensing a change in the do, grew visibly agitated. It clenched its jaws tighter, trying to crush Clayton.
But Clayton had already prepared for this. He had subtly positioned himself away from the center of the pressure.
As the beast lunged with full force to crush the do, Clayton imdiately dismantled the magical structure.
The water do shattered effortlessly.
Thrown by the reactive force, Clayton was flung from the serpent’s mouth.
He gasped in relief, finally free. He had traveled far enough to gain so breathing room—enough to plan his next move.
anwhile, the serpent realized sothing was wrong—its prey had escaped.
Though its eyesight was poor in the pitch-black cave, that posed little problem. Its hyper-sensitive tongue scanned the air.
In monts, it locked onto Clayton’s location.
Clayton saw the serpent turn toward him but didn’t overreact. He still believed he was far enough away that it couldn’t strike him just yet.
But then—sothing entirely unexpected happened.
The serpent opened its mouth wider than he’d ever seen.
At first, Clayton thought it would let out a monstrous roar, like sothing out of a fantasy movie.
Instead...
It sprayed two thick streams of dark, greenish fluid directly at him.
Clayton panicked and quickly activated another water do.
Crot!
The poison hit—and was completely blocked by the do.
Clayton allowed himself a breath of relief—until nausea and dizziness suddenly struck him.
Alard, he checked himself for wounds or signs of poisoning.
Nothing.
No damage. Not even a single stain.
Was it all in his head? A hallucination?
Before he could think more, the serpent lunged again—brutally.
Still disoriented, Clayton had no choice but to conjure another do.
Bang!
The serpent’s mouth slamd into the barrier, sending Clayton flying. The do shattered.
But the beast gave him no ti to recover.
It attacked again. Relentlessly.
Clayton was forced to cast do after do, struggling just to stay alive.
Bang!
This ti, he didn’t get flung away—just violently shaken.
Not because the serpent was weaker, but because Clayton had anchored himself to the floor and adjusted the do’s properties, making it more elastic and dense using his Water Density and Viscosity Entry.
He had done so with a plan in mind.
Suddenly, a burst of molten magma surged in front of him, splashing onto the serpent’s snout.
The creature shrieked in pain and thrashed wildly.
Clayton believed he had found his opening.
But before he could celebrate, the serpent’s tail whipped toward him with terrifying force.
Caught off guard, Clayton was sent flying again—this ti slamming into a transparent do he’d passed earlier.
Boom!
He blacked out briefly. Through blurred vision, he saw the rocky serpent charging toward him again.
Panicked, he grasped at mories of past crises—then rembered the Vibration Harmony Chant, a spell said to disrupt the frequency of body and soul.
The chant was supposed to desynchronize living beings, throwing them out of balance—unless they had no body, or no soul.
And even then, it should still cause a disturbance.
With renewed determination, Clayton cast the spell.
Swoosh!
The invisible chant struck the serpent’s body. Clayton waited, hopeful.
But after several seconds...
Nothing happened.
The serpent continued charging—completely unaffected.
Clayton’s face went pale.
He finally realized—his attempt had failed.
Clayton hastily summoned a surge of molten magma, flooding the area in front of him. Imdiately afterward, he cast a less-destructive water spell to surround himself.
As a result, a kind of artificial barrier ford around him. The side closest to his body solidified like stone, while the side facing the serpent monster remained searing hot and fluid.
The serpent, already speeding toward him, couldn’t change its trajectory in ti. With no other option, it crashed headfirst into the magma shield Clayton had created.
Boom!
Debris and molten rock exploded in all directions. Clayton quickly dodged, fearing sothing might go wrong.
While retreating, he took a mont to chew so pine sap, hoping to restore both his physical and ntal energy.
anwhile, the serpent monster had embedded itself deep within the semi-solid, semi-liquid barrier. Whether from pain or panic, it thrashed violently, trapped in place—for now.
A wave of relief washed over Clayton. He even considered using the sa tactic again. But after a mont of thought, he realized he couldn’t afford the cost. Creating that magma wall required a trendous amount of molten rock and intense dinsional manipulation, which had drained his ntal energy to a shocking degree.
Had he not chewed the pine sap in ti, he might have collapsed from sheer exhaustion.
Realizing this, Clayton knew he needed a different approach to fight the serpent. Unfortunately, no new ideas ca to him just yet.
With few options left, Clayton re-summoned his skeletal minions to help share the burden of battle. With their assistance, he could focus more clearly on finding a solution.
Silver lights flickered into existence, and from them erged seven mini skeletons.
Almost simultaneously, the serpent monster finally tore itself free from the magma trap. Its face—once rough like stone—was now cracked and scorched from the intense heat.
Even so, Clayton could still faintly sll the distinct stench of burning flesh.
Furious, the serpent let out a deafening roar in his direction.
A wave of hot air slamd into Clayton, making him gag. The creature’s breath was truly revolting.
While he was montarily distracted by the foul stench, the serpent seized the opportunity and lunged at him with blinding speed.
Clayton, catching on just in ti, summoned a wave of water beneath his feet, allowing him to surf away from danger.
By now, he had learned a few things about the monster’s behavior—and that gave him the confidence to act.
As its form suggested, the serpent was rigid. Quick turns and sharp directional changes were clearly difficult for it, especially when charging straight ahead.
Swoosh!
Sure enough, Clayton dodged the brutal strike with a smooth, fluid motion.
Now that the battle had moved onto land, the serpent’s speed was significantly reduced compared to when it moved through water.
That alone gave Clayton a brief glimr of hope. For a while, the two were locked in a deadly ga of cat and mouse, darting and weaving around each other.
But his relief was short-lived. The serpent adapted quickly. Every ti its primary strike missed, it imdiately followed up by whipping its tail toward Clayton—landing several painful blows.
Frustration welled up inside him. How could such a brilliant plan be dismantled so easily?
Once again, he was forced to co up with a new strategy. But after several failed attempts, no solution ca to mind. Instead, he continued taking hits, wearing down fast.
The mini skeletons weren’t much help either. They were far too fragile to act as decoys—one hit and they’d shatter instantly.
They were better suited for ranged support, while Clayton played the bait. But even that plan was falling apart. He couldn’t take much more of this.
Just as despair began creeping into his mind...
A strange sound echoed from the distance. Curious, he turned toward it—and froze in disbelief.
A group of people had appeared. The sa group that had been hunting him earlier!
Clayton could only curse under his breath.
Now, even more people wanted him dead.
Reviews
All reviews (0)