*CREAK*

A blast of cold wind stinking like a mix of many corpses hit Leon's face as he pushed open the door with both hands. Passing through the door with a grimace, Leon found himself in a large room that was covered with a sticky black liquid.

Sometimes these sticky black liquids would glow in purple similar to heart beat like they were something alive. But looking forward, you could see something connected all of these sticky liquids to the same place, and that was some kind of a purple orb that brightened this room in the center of the room. With one word, it was just disgusting to Leon.

"Analyze," Leon said, looking at the orb.

[Dungeon Core-#9023029 Infected]

[Energy: 6783↓/10000]

"Core... So this is the thing that gives life to these disgusting things," Leon said while looking further into it. Leon understood with one glance that the dungeon core was his goal. But if it was his goal all along, why was it left vulnerable like that?

Looking around carefully, "Something smells here..." Leon said while grasping his sword's hilt harder. But he can't stay here forever, so he decided to get closer to it.

As he carefully got closer to the core, the uncomfortable feeling he felt increased even more. When the distance between core and Leon was 5 meters, like it felt Leon's presence, core sent a shrill cry that caused Leon to stop and cover his ears.

"F-fuck... My head!" Leon hissed, while blood dripped from his ears to the ground.

After a few seconds, the scream stopped. When Leon opened his eyes, he saw dungeon core covered itself with the sticky liquid.

Before Leon took a step to crush this damn core, a silhouette from the black sticky liquid on the wall. It was something alive, and Leon knew it was something dangerous, too.

After tearing up the sticky black liquid and getting out of it, Leon could see its exact shape. A half-humanoid shape, jet black color, a razor sharp tail and claws that looked they were made of metal. This monster was clearly designed for killing.

(Author is here! You can imagine it like Xenomorph but with a different head shape.)

Positioning himself for the battle he will have against it, "Analyze," Leon commanded while looking towards the monster.

[Abyss Creature #1102 Lv.10 -Incomplete Evolution (26/100)]

[STR: 54]

[AGI: 48]

[VIT: 25]

[INT: 10]

'Fuck! Even my strength is lower than it,' Leon cursed while looking at this monster's stats. Clearly, Leon wasn't the strong one here. While observing the monster, 'But why are its eyes closed? Could it be because its evolution is incomplete?' Leon wondered when the monster looked at him.

*TSSAHHH* Monster hissed, wagging its tail slowly while looking at its prey.

"Hello to you too," Leon responded while menacingly looking at it.

Circling around each other for a few seconds to observe one another, the monster attacks first with its claws to cut Leon into pieces. As its claws met with Leon's sword, the clash left behind a spark before many other attacks that would follow it.

In the silent core room of the dungeon, a human with a sword was fighting against a monster. The attacks of both cut through the air and clashed into each other to win against each other with inhuman strength behind them. However strong the human attacked, the monster managed to block every time with its claws. To repay this kindness, sometimes attacked with his razor sharp tail to pierce the human. While adapting its attack style, Leon took many wounds.

[-15] [HP: 145/230]

[-20] [HP: 125/230]

[-30] [HP: 95/230]

As the more wounds opened on Leon, the creature attacked more ruthlessly.

Knowing he can't keep up like this, "Activate [VENOMOUS STRIKES]!" Leon commanded as the monster's attacks pushed him back. Leon knew from the beginning that he couldn't win against this creature with his sword alone. Because the difference in stamina was obvious. Knowing this monster would definitely win against him in a long fight like that, Leon activated his skill.

[-70 MP] [130/200 MP]

[ACTIVATED, REMAINING TIME SECONDS]

As a green light covered his sword, Leon smirked.

"Now let's see how you are with poisons!" Leon said as struck another sword blow. After a minute of attacking each other, Leon finally manages to land a hit on the creature's body. When the purple blood of the monster dropped to the ground, realizing the sudden pain that spread to its body, the monster hissed in pain as it sped up its attacks.

[CLASH]

[CLASH]

After clashing with each other for a few seconds more. To dodge its claw attack, Leon moves right, but the monster suddenly changes its style and attacks Leon with its tail.

[-40 HP] [HP: 55/230]

Leon instinctively kicks the monster to put some distance, when blood drips from his shoulder to the ground.

[(VENOMOUS STRIKES) DEACTIVATED, REMAINING TIME SECONDS]

Looking at his shoulder, "*COUGH* You will need a lot of these to kill me!" Leon shouted while running towards the monster.

[CLASH]

[CLASH]

As the poison spreads to its body, the creature becomes more and more helpless and tries the same trick again. But this time, to the opposite of what creature expected, Leon grasps its tail in the and cuts it while saying, "Do you think I'm stupid enough to get fooled by the same trick twice?"

*TSSSAAAHHHH*

While Screaming in pain, "Hahaha! So how does it feel, you bastard?" Leon laughs while attacking the monster as its body trembles from the effects of [VENOMOUS STRIKES].

Having no power left in its body, the monster can't respond to Leon's strikes properly. Taking this advantage, Leon blows his sword stronger than ever. Cutting two of its arms, by throwing a powerful kick, Leon sends the monster flying to the wall of the room.

*BOOM*

The monster crashes into the wall by hitting the sticky liquid.

*STEP*

*STEP*

With each step, like a grim reaper, Leon gets closer to the monster while blood drips from his wounds. Stopping in front of the monster, "Any *COUGH* last words?" Leon asks.

After waiting a few seconds as if the monster would speak, "No? As I guessed..." Leon said while raising his sword to take its life. But before Leon's sword descends, the monster's eyes, which had been closed the whole time, open and gaze into the depths of Leon's soul.

After meeting with the monster's gazes, Leon's soul pulls back to the darkness...

Like the first time when he gained his first passive skill, Leon can neither move nor speak here. He is just a spectator here...

When darkness took the shape of a kitchen with a crying kid by the table, Leon saw the familiar scene.

"Dad *SOB* please wake up!" the kid was crying for the man on the kitchen chair.

If you look at the table, you can see many beer bottles, cigarette packs... And looking closely, you could see an empty drug container in the man's hand lying over the table...

"*SOB* Dad, why don't you *SOB* wake up?"

"I won't *SOB* be a bad boy anymore. Please wake up!"

Seeing this scene, Leon's soul started murmuring that grew to screams.

"N-NO!"

As whispers started talking to him, "NO! T-THIS IS NOT REAL! " Leon screamed as his soul trembled.

"You.. killed them..."

"Did you hear news about the new kid? It is said, his father committed suicide..."

"Because of you..."

"THIS IS ALL LIE! NOT REAL!" Leon screamed as he tried to not listen to the whispers.

"GET OUT OF MY MİND!!!" Leon screamed as the darkness broke into the pieces like glass.

Returning to the real world, blood drips from Leon's mouth.

In rage grips his sword's hilt with his full power and crushes the monster's head over and over.

*CRASH*

"NEVER!"

*CRASH*

"TOUCH!"

*CRASH*

"MY!"

*CRASH*

"MIND!"

Leons says while crushing the monster's head until it becomes a mess. Even after he completes his sentence, he continues for a few minutes. The more Leon crushes the monster's skull with his sword, the more purple blood of the monster splashes on him.

After calming down, seeing the bloody mess he just made up now, Leon looks at his hand blankly for a few seconds and walks to finish the dungeon.

*CRACK*

Comes in front of the core, raises his sword and crashes it into the pieces with one strike.

[TRIAL 25 HAS BEEN COMPLETED]

[YOU'VE GAINED 3500 EXP]

[LEVEL 10: (120>3620/10000)]

[REWARDS:

-500 GOLD

- Rank 2 Long Sword

- +2 Skill Points +3 Attribute Points

- Skill -[BACKSTAB]-

-CHAPTER 13 END-