As the creature approached, a ghostly blue phosphorescence in the cave illuminated its face—
It was a humanoid creature standing about two and a half meters tall.
Its upper body barely retained a human outline, but its skin was an unnatural pale color, covered in fine scales.
Most striking was its six arms, each growing from different positions on its upper body.
Each arm was muscular and scaled, holding different weapons.
Its face was thoroughly alien, resembling a serpent more than a human.
A pair of slit pupils shone with a cold light in the dark, and a forked tongue occasionally flicked out, sniffing the air.
"Half-blooded Serpent Demon..." Ron murmured the name, his longsword pointing forward.
The serpent demon slowly approached, all six arms moving at once, displaying a dazzling array of weapons:
The top pair of arms wielded a scimitar and a shield;
The middle pair held a spear and a chain claw;
The bottom pair wielded a giant axe and a longsword.
"Human... flesh... delicious..." the serpent demon hissed, its voice dripping with bloodthirsty desire.
The pure malice emanating from it reminded Ron of the descriptions in the Abyssal Creatures Atlas:
Abyssal creatures, even these non-native mutant varieties, often have an instinctual malevolent tendency, with a near-sick pursuit of the suffering of other living beings.
"Come on, reptile."
Ron’s eyes flared with fighting spirit.
The serpent demon let out a piercing screech as its six arms moved in perfect coordination to launch an attack on Ron.
The scimitar slashed down from above, the chain claw swung from the side, the spear thrust straight at his chest, the giant axe swept at his legs, the longsword targeted his abdominal vulnerability, while the shield maintained a defensive stance.
This six-armed coordinated attack created an almost impenetrable offensive and defensive system, leaving no escape.
But Ron’s reaction speed was far beyond normal.
In his Blood Boiling State, he keenly detected the only gap in the wave of attacks—the tiny angle between the scimitar and the spear.
His body darted sideways, and his sword tip struck precisely through the gap, narrowly evading multiple attacks and counterstriking the serpent demon’s upper arm.
"Hiss—!" The serpent demon let out a painful screech, but the wound healed rapidly, restored to its original state in an instant.
"Abyssal creatures’ self-healing ability..." Ron squinted, his alertness heightened even further.
Not only was the six-armed coordinated attack terrifying, but this near-instantaneous recovery ability was another horrifying aspect of abyssal creatures.
The serpent demon was clearly surprised by Ron’s reaction speed but quickly adapted its attack rhythm.
It no longer used all weapons simultaneously, but adopted a more rhythmic attack pattern.
Three or two weapons worked in tandem, attacking alternately, forming a more unpredictable assault.
Ron was forced into a highly concentrated state, with every movement precise to the extreme, without a shred of energy wasted.
Even so, some attacks from the serpent demon left slight grazes on him, leaving shallow scars on his arms and legs.
"I must change tactics..." Ron thought quickly as he dodged the serpent demon’s attacks.
Relying on melee alone, even with his mastery of swordsmanship, he was still at a disadvantage against such a unique six-armed coordinated combat style.
It was time to test more powerful means.
After dodging one attack, Ron swiftly distanced himself.
"Sound Wave Vibration - Erosion State!"
An invisible energy ripple spread from his palm, infused with eerie ravings from the depths of the starry sky, directly targeting the serpent demon.
The serpent demon seemed to sense danger, its six arms swinging to block the energy with weapons.
However, the invisible sound wave easily penetrated the physical barriers, hitting the serpent demon’s body directly.
"Hiss—!"
The serpent demon emitted an unprecedented sharp screech, with rare fear flashing in its six eyes.
Its body began undergoing subtle changes, with patches of black spots surfacing on the originally smooth scales, as if corroded by something invisible.
The usually swiftly healing wounds remained open this time, black liquid slowly seeping from them.
"This..." The serpent demon looked in terror at its wounds, seemingly unable to comprehend what had occurred:
"Impossible! Humans should not possess such power!"
Ron calmly observed this scene, gaining a deeper understanding of the effect of the "Erosion Chapter."
This eerie power from the starry sky was effective against abyssal creatures, potentially yielding additional effects due to some mysterious "natural enemy" relationship.
The serpent demon did not retreat from this attack and instead became even more ferocious.
It roared, its six arms dancing, and lunged forward, attempting to use its overwhelming melee advantage to make up for the previous loss.
"Flowing Shield Wall!"
Ron clapped his hands together, and a flowing barrier made of fine metal powder instantly formed around him.
The Snake Demon’s six weapons almost simultaneously smashed against the shield, producing an ear-piercing clash of metal.
Ripples spread across the surface of the shield, but under the reinforcement of the "Memory" trait, these attacks were unable to penetrate the defense.
The Flowing Shield Wall not only blocked the attacks but also automatically strengthened the corresponding area by memorizing the previous attack patterns, rendering the Snake Demon’s subsequent strikes ineffective as well.
The Snake Demon retreated repeatedly, its six eyes filled with disbelief:
"What kind of monster are you?"
Ron let a cold smile tug at his lips: "A nightmare that’s about to come for you."
With these words, he voluntarily parted the Flowing Shield Wall, leaning forward, his whole body shooting forward like an arrow leaving the bow.
In the Blood Boiling State, his speed had already surpassed the limits the naked eye could capture.
Coupled with the insight and speed boost brought by the "Sharpness Unveiled" trait, every step took him to the most defenseless spots of the Snake Demon.
The Snake Demon tried to form a defensive circle with its six arms, but Ron’s attacks always came from the most unexpected angles.
A sword thrust towards the weak scales under the armpit, one sword sliced through the neck joint, one sword straight for the eyes—each strike was incredibly precise, with no waste.
——Ring of Brilliance
A gold-red magical construct gathered in Ron’s hand, erupting from him in a blaze of glaring light and scorching flames, simultaneously bringing severe burn and blinding effects.
The Snake Demon let out a miserable scream, its six arms flailing wildly, trying to fend off this sudden agony.
It was in this brief flaw that Ron launched another attack.
The longsword traced an arc in the air, striking straight at the weak point in the center of the Snake Demon’s chest.
The Snake Demon barely regained its senses, all six arms crossed, trying to form a defense.
But as Ron’s sword tip neared, it suddenly changed direction, bypassing the crossed weapons, stabbing into the Snake Demon’s chest from an almost impossible angle.
"Hiss—" the Snake Demon emitted a final short hiss, the light in its six eyes gradually dimmed.
Its six arms weakly drooped, various weapons clattering to the ground, emitting crisp metallic collision sounds.
Ron slowly drew out his longsword, looking at the fallen body of the Snake Demon.
In the Snake Demon’s eyes, he saw not only bloodlust and cruelty but also an evil rooted deep in its soul from the depths of the Abyss.
That wasn’t a simple distinction between good and evil, but a fundamental difference in the manner of existence.
The very existence of Abyssal creatures is a distortion and erosion of conventional order.
"Simulation battle concluded, successfully passed ’Abyss’ difficulty!"
A mechanized prompt sounded from the air: "Evaluation: Excellent."
As the voice faded, the surrounding environment gradually faded, reverting to the simple round room.
Ron stood in place, adjusting his breathing and mental state.
The duel with the Snake Demon gave him a clearer understanding of his strength.
By combining various magic and augmentation skills, he already had the ability to battle opponents near the Official Wizard level without revealing his trump card.
But at the same time, he deeply understood the terror of Abyssal creatures:
Their almost instinctual evil and powerful self-healing ability could make anyone who underestimated them pay a heavy price.
As the iron door opened again, Grissom stood at the entrance, a look of surprise on his face: "Ron Apprentice, are you okay?"
"I’m fine, Master Grissom." Ron calmly replied, showing no signs of exhaustion.
"This is unbelievable!" Grissom excitedly guided Ron out of the room as he spoke:
"Typically, apprentices who choose a half-blooded Serpent Demon as their opponent need countless attempts to win, yet you succeeded on your first try!"
Ron smiled lightly without saying much.
"Also, I noticed your combat style is very unique."
Grissom continued, eyes filled with admiration: "That perfect combination of magic and combat techniques is rare in the school."
"Oh, by the way!" He suddenly remembered something:
"According to our previous agreement, from now on you only need to pay 5 Magic Stone Fragments each time. Also, if you’re willing, you can help us with some basic maintenance work, which could further reduce your usage cost."
Ron graciously accepted:
"It would be my honor, Master Grissom. Learning and understanding the workings of the Simulation Battle Device greatly benefits my Alchemy research."
Moreover, he came here not just to test his strength using the Simulation Battle Device.
"Additionally, here’s the special prize promised by the school for the first successful completion of the ’Abyss’ difficulty with an ’Excellent’ evaluation—Multi-armed Snake Demon’s tissue cells."
Grissom spoke while taking out a sealed box and handing it to him.
"Thank you, that’s exactly why I came here." Ron smiled and thanked, then carefully stored the sealed box.
Before the Bloodline Altar begins, perhaps his "Stand-In Puppet" can gain some combat strength enhancements.