The shadow wolves swiftly approached, and just as fast, he dealt with them.
By no means was it difficult, but at some point down the line, he began feeling a bit exhausted.
Even with the help of Evangeline, who was restoring his stamina, fighting off the wolves still proved challenging.
He could only imagine what it would be like without her.
However, as he made one more horizontal slash and turned back around, he noticed there wasn't anything left—only a pile of shadow wolf corpses.
Soon, a red system screen appeared before his eyes.
[143x (F- Ranked Monster) Shadow Wolf Slain! Reward: Stigmata 56.6% -> 58.03%]
Huh? I'm done already? he questioned, seemingly to no one, looking around once again.
But there really was nothing else left—he had killed over a hundred of them.
Suddenly, Evangeline's irritated voice rang out. [Drink their blood. You have a large cut on your back.]
I do? Neraxis tilted his head, bringing the sword to the side in a way that would act like a mirror.
And indeed, there was a cut spanning from his shoulder down to his waist.
It seemed pretty deep as well, so it was a miracle he had managed to ignore the pain until now.
However, the prospect of drinking blood still repulsed him—especially when it was the blood of the monsters he had just killed.
After all, the color of their blood wasn't red but blue.
Are you sure I can drink that? he asked, hesitation clear in his tone.
[With the alteration of blood type, you can drink basically anyone's blood as well. A nice little bonus that the system doesn't show you,] Evangeline remarked in a proud tone before urging him to drink it already.
Fine... Neraxis looked around at his latest kill. Its body was still warm, which meant the blood was also fresh.
So, he bent down and cupped his hands, gathering a small pool of blood.
It didn't seem this disgusting when I drank Aurelia's blood... he thought with reluctance but nonetheless proceeded to gulp it all down.
Neraxis was expecting it to taste terrible. However, instead, it felt as though he was drinking an iced smoothie—it was actually quite pleasant.
Soon, he felt a slight burn on his back as the cut began healing itself, and in just a few moments, he was back to full health.
[See? It wasn't that bad,] she suddenly said before going into the stigmata on his wrist.
Guess so... he replied and stood back up, looking all around.
There was supposed to be some sort of exit, though he had no idea in which direction he had to go.
But if his suspicion was correct, then it was likely in the direction from which all the shadow wolves had come at him.
Therefore, he immediately began running over there while at the same time keeping a wary guard up at all times.
Even if the monsters were relatively weak, one sneak attack to his heart and he would likely be dead, just like anyone else.
Evangeline, could you check the duration of the ability? I don't want it to run out when I'm about to finish, Neraxis asked as he started seeing scratch marks all over the ground, signaling that he was close to their territory.
After a moment of silence, she said with a chuckle, [It seems like the duration is not going down. It's probably because you're in this trial. It's almost the same as my skill.]
That seems a bit convenient. What if I just decide to stay in here as long as I want? Would I be stuck then? Neraxis questioned out of boredom, tracking the scratch marks further.
[There's probably some countermeasure against it, I'd assume. Not sure what it is though—it might just throw you out after a certain amount of time passes,] she remarked before suddenly saying,
[Their territory is just up ahead.]
Just as he heard those words, he halted and stepped behind a tree, trying to see what she was talking about.
Not too far away, there was indeed a pack, one much smaller than the one he had seen moments prior. However, these shadow wolves were much larger and, in general, stronger.
From his recollection of them, Neraxis could tell that the biggest one in the bunch was likely what could be considered a boss monster.
Even though this trial's objective was to find the exit, it seemed like he still had to clear his way through the monsters regardless.
And it seemed he was indeed correct, as behind the boss monster there was a glowing door, as if beckoning him to go through it.
Obviously, there was the option of simply going around the monsters and heading in, but what was the point?
He would miss out on the mana gain and strength increase. The sooner he could unlock the next seal, the better.
So, he stepped out of cover and readied his sword before glancing at the boss monster.
Without wasting any more time, he used Sword Dash, appearing right before the boss, and with the added momentum the enhanced swing gave, he used Simple Horizontal Slash.
Before the boss was even able to react, it had been cut into two.
Using the panic of the nearby shadow wolves to his advantage, he swung in a single direction, forcing them to scatter and regroup.
And the moment they did, he used Stellar Dominion's Cosmic Cascade. Immediately, they were engulfed in astral flames and reduced to ash.
He heaved a sigh—the fight only took a couple of seconds, and yet, he reaped the rewards.
[23x (F- Ranked Monster) Shadow Wolf Slain! Reward: Stigmata 58.03% -> 58.26%]
[1x (F+ Ranked Boss Monster) Shadow Wolf Alpha Slain! Reward: Stigmata 58.26% -> 59.26%]
A boss monster is a boss monster alright, even if the rest only give 0.01%... Neraxis nodded to himself.
It was a bit disappointing. After all, this was supposed to be a trial.
But it didn't manage to really challenge him in any way except for the very start, where there were hordes of shadow wolves.
Even then, he could have cleared them all out even quicker if he had used Cosmic Cascade earlier.
Alas, it was no time to reminisce. All he had to do was go through the door and get out of this trial.
So, he swiftly approached and placed his hand on the glowing black doorknob. Immediately, he found himself transported back in front of the grandfather clock.
The previously lit-up number 1 was now dimmed out, and the hour hand quickly switched to number 2.
Just as he expected to be transported again, a different system message appeared.
[Astral Tower - 1st Floor: The Initiation Trial Complete]
[Registered Climber: Neraxis Valen]
[Current Progress: 1/12 Floors]
He read through them quickly. It seemed like he had officially begun climbing this Astral Tower now.
However, before he could get too excited, a new set of messages appeared.
[Note: Each trial increases in difficulty exponentially.]
[Astral Tower - 2nd Floor Hint: Mirror]
Mirror? What? Neraxis tilted his head in confusion, but soon, he felt himself begin sinking into the ground below.
He looked around, trying to spot anything else that could be of help. But before he could do so, he noticed the surroundings disappear and his vision darken as he sank further in.
And soon, he was back in his room, his hand stretched out toward the ceiling—an admittedly ridiculous sight.
[Well, that was an interesting experience, wouldn't you say?] Evangeline remarked with a chuckle before continuing, [Get ready for your academy classes now, and please... change your clothes. You look as though you fell into a pool of blue blood.]
Oh, yeah—good idea. Neraxis quickly agreed before heading into the shower, remembering the contents of the rough lesson schedule he had gotten.
Today, he would be learning alchemy.