Chapter 16: 16

Creak, creak—

Slither, slither—

Six snakelets .

More accurately, half of them, now grown to be adult Predatory Snakes, darted their tongues .

They had a considerable physical build that spanned two meters in diameter . The triangular headed Predatory Snakes had venom in their teeth and saliva dripping from their mouths .

It had been a month and a half . Although it was hard to discern whether they had developed into adults, they would be no match for the fair number of monsters lurking around the village .

“How was the hunt today?” Su-hyeun asked the six young men who were managing the predatory snakes . They seemed to have gotten familiar with training the snakes .

“There aren’t many monsters left around the village . I think we may have to broaden the hunting ground slowly . ”

“What about the food rations?” Su-hyeun asked .

“We found potatoes and some rotten wheat in a distant village . We should have no problems with food for the next three months . ”

“Please search for other food that can be self-cultivated, since there will be a limited amount of food sourced from outside . ”

“We got it . ”

The village became livelier . Regardless of the situation outside the village, at least the village was now safe from monsters .

There were no more humans sacrificed for the predatory snakes . Before that, the villagers feared that they would be sacrificed for the snakes, rather than the monsters outside .

Su-hyeun suddenly felt entirely unfamiliar with this world . Though it was similar to the destroyed world he knew, the system organized it well .

In the past month and a half, Su-hyeun did not spot any other monsters that could invade the Predatory Snakes’ territory, but it was unclear as to how much longer the village would be safe .

Even if they domesticated the six Predatory Snakes, if there were a monster stronger than them, the peace would vanish in a flash .

Step, step—

Su-hyeun left the basement where they were training the Predatory Snakes and walked through the village . A lot had changed during this period .

“Ah, it’s the hero uncle!”

“Uncle, where are you heading?”

“Mr . Su-hyeun, are you heading out of the village again today?”

It was the villagers’ attention and hospitality towards Su-hyeun . Their initial impression of Su-hyeun had long been erased . Now, in their eyes, Su-hyeun was the hero who saved their village .

Su-hyeun felt burdened with those looks . It was especially true when the children called him a hero openly .

Su-hyeun spoke to Mellie’s mother . “I have to verify again if any more monsters are lurking around the village . ”

“That’s hard work . Because of us, every day…”

“It’s nothing . It’s my duty . ”

He had meant it . His actions now were only part of the process to pass the trial . The mission was now at its final stage .

As the Predatory Snakes were growing into adults, the trial’s accomplishment increased quickly, depending on the village’s safety . The rewards would be great as it was a trial that required an extended period of time; the lingering attachment was higher than anticipation .

Would it return to its original state, as if Su-hyeun had never set foot there? Or would it maintain the status quo with the newly domesticated Predatory Snakes?

If so… would the village stay safe forever?

“Damn it . ”

Su-hyeun was organizing his train of thoughts when a stream of vulgarity unknowingly came out . The frightened children backed away in the tense atmosphere . The same went for Mellie’s mother .

“Why… Did something bad happen?”

“Ah, no . ”

Su-hyeun shook his head at the foul words he had just said . He looked at the children and smiled at them once again .

“Really, it’s nothing . ”

Su-hyeun left the village after those words . Strangely, the weird feeling did not go away . As Su-hyeun felt that he was unnecessarily concerned, he checked the trial’s status .

[Accomplishment: 99 percent . ]

Why?

There had been no change in the accomplishment level for a few days . Obviously, the village would be safe if nothing else were to happen .

It was because of the remaining 1% that he was unsatisfied and did not choose to clear this trial .

The Tower of Trials’ system never lied . Failure to achieve 100% in accomplishment meant that the village was not completely safe .

Since Su-hyeun could have already cleared this trial when he had killed the village chief and the first Predatory Snake, there would not be much of a problem if the trial ended here .

But…

Even if his goal was just to clear the trial with perfection, he had to do something .

With the sudden strange thought creeping into his mind, Su-hyeun shook his head vigorously .

Su-hyeun then left the village . No other monsters remained outside the village . They were mostly dealt with in the past month and a half .

He had to find out the reason .

Su-hyeun did not return to the village, even when the sky had turned completely dark at night .

Step, step—

Su-hyeun was now quite a distance from the village . He felt the eyes of various monsters on him, but he could sense something larger amongst them .

He looked down beneath his feet . It was directly beneath him .

“…So, it was you . ”

Its eyes only opened at dawn . As it was quite a distance from the village and barely active during the day, he could not have sensed it .

The Flame skill was used on Su-hyeun’s sword .

The flame’s size was a lot larger than the first time . This was thanks to the hunted monsters that increased his skill’s proficiency .

Su-hyeun used his magic to bring out the flame as much as he could, and using the sword as a counterweight, stabbed it into the ground .

Stab—!

The flames permeated into the ground . Su-hyeun consistently sent the fire into the ground . Soon, he got a reaction .

Rumble, rumble—

Crack—!

The ground beneath him shook and its surface burst open . Soon, something huge appeared above ground .

Su-hyeun avoided it by leaping into the air . He could verify the monster’s form by leaping a few times more into the air .

Kyaaaaa—!

A gigantic earthworm .

It was an earth-colored monster without any eyes, nose, or limbs . The only body part it had on its lengthy build was a hideous mouth that unleashed a loud groan .

Its form was similar to the Predatory Snake’s . But Su-hyeun knew .

It was the only remaining threat to the village in this trial: the Earthworm .

Its body had even more venomous poison than the Predatory Snake . If both the Earthworm and Predatory Snake met, the Predatory Snake would be paralyzed and die from the Earthworm’s venom in an instant .

The trial could be cleared without even catching the monster . In other words, one could catch it if possible; otherwise, he would have to return to the Tower .

Su-hyeun observed the Earthworm’s movement, and its related information appeared .

The Earthworm belonged to the boss level monsters . Its lifeline was lengthy and not to be taken lightly . Moreover, the most important point was its venom . Even for Su-hyeun, it was tough to be safe from the Earthworm’s poison without toxic-resistant skills .

Su-hyeun set the flame ablaze once more and charged towards the earthworm .

Drip, drip—

Pant, pant—

Su-hyeun let out a heavy breath and stumbled, exhausted .

The Earthworm’s green blood flowed into the dirt . Su-hyeun’s feet seemed to burn wherever he stepped on the blood-stained ground .

Creak, creak—

The Earthworm was not dead yet . A few fragments of its body were prolonging its life .

“Let’s end this . ”

Su-hyeun finally gathered the last of his magic and severed its head .

Slash—!

Kya—

[You have gained 1,000 achievement points . ]

[You have attained the highest accomplishment . ]

[You have passed the 10th-floor’s trial with perfection . ]

[You can choose an additional reward . The additional rewards depend on your accomplishment level . The command is “Select . ”]

[Your achievement will be ranked . ]

[You have ranked first . ]

[Your Strength has increased by 1 point . ]

[Your Agility…]

…

[You have gained 50,000 achievement points . ]

[Your magic level has increased by 1 level . ]

[Your magic factor has increased by 2 points . ]

[Will you ascend to the next floor?]

The allocated achievement points were not as generous as he had expected .

But the other rewards were that his magic level had increased and that he was allowed to choose his additional reward .

“Haa—”

Whatever the additional reward, Su-hyeun trudged heavily and sat on a dry patch of ground where there was no Earthworm’s blood .

He could not even open the door to reality in his current state .

A considerable amount of concentration was needed to open it . Thus, it was impossible to open the door when Su-hyeun was poisoned .

Click—

Su-hyeun held the necklace that was hanging around his neck in his hand . It was the treasure that was obtained on the second floor: the Sharyes’ treasure . Though he did not have many chances to use it, it was useful every time .

Although it would cost quite a considerable amount of achievement points, it was an item that valuable .

Whirl, whirl, whirl—

As Su-hyeun activated the necklace, a light came out and enveloped Su-hyeun’s body . A bright light green light fully wrapped around Su-hyeun’s body and soon dissipated .

Su-hyeun’s poisoned body felt lighter and more relaxed .

It was an item that recovers the users’ health three times .

These types of items were rare . Unfortunately, as its recovery speed was slow, it was difficult to be used in combat, but it couldn’t be matched with natural recovery .

Initially, the poison would have gradually spread in the body, and overcoming it naturally would have had taken a long time .

Perhaps parts of the body that could not be recovered would be permanently paralyzed or led to an early death, but the Sharyes’ treasure was slowly neutralizing the poison .

He could only use it two more times . He had expected to use up one chance when he started the fight with the Earthworm and did not regret it .

The Tower of Trials’ system never lied . Su-hyeun believed so .

The lingering feeling had lessened . Thanks to that, Su-hyeun could ascend to the next floor without worries .

There was the additional reward that he could choose after his accomplishment level had passed the 30 percent mark .