Isaac frowned, his eyes fixed on the chest. There is no way that’s where the key is, right? It said I have to defeat a boss to get it.

  To be honest, he would be a little disappointed if this was the end of the road. Even if he wanted to get the hell out of this trial in one piece, he had expected more—especially after the additional warning. A simple chest wasn’t exactly what he had in mind.

  Maybe the boss will appear once I get closer or open it? A trap?

  That definitely sounded more like something the Interface would do. Isaac nodded to himself and backed off to retrieve his crossbow and check on the other corpse. As expected, it also didn’t leave anything behind, so he just loaded another bolt and returned to the other corridor.

  His steps were slow and measured as he approached the chest again. If anything moved, it would get a bolt right to its face, and afterward… Well, that remained to be seen. At this point, he felt confident in his ability to quickly draw his sword and maybe even activate his Origin skill if needed.

  Though… I’m starting to think that might not be necessary, Isaac noted as the distance between him and the chest grew smaller and smaller.

  Ten feet.

  Five feet.

  One and… nothing happened.

  Isaac hummed and gently nudged the chest with the crossbow. Once more, nothing sudden occurred. For some reason, his stupid imagination had half-convinced him the small wooden box would explode or try to eat him.

  I need help…

  Shaking his head, he crouched down and unlatched the claps on the chest. They clicked open, and the lid groaned as he lifted it. What waited inside definitely wasn’t a bomb or something that would kill him—or so he hoped.

  There were only two items there, one resting atop the other. The first object Isaac recognized instantly. After all, he had used one of those gems just a few minutes ago. The stuff hidden beneath it, however, was a small surprise.

  “Gloves?” he muttered, fishing out the dark brown article of clothing. They were fingerless and quite sturdy to the touch. “Let’s see… Analyze.”

  [Trainee Gloves | Grade: Standard]

  A pair of fingerless gloves made out of high-quality leather. They may or may not protect you from some cuts.

  Okay. I will take that. Better than nothing.

  Isaac shrugged and slid on the gloves. They were a bit rough against his skin, but it was nothing he couldn’t get used to with time. Next, he grabbed the new Inferior Virality Gem and again tried to nudge his Viron in its direction. It took about a minute, but in the end, he received the same Interface message as before.

  No changes to his status, though.

  Got to go with the other path, then.

  And so, after picking up his discarded weapons, Isaac returned to the crossroads and, this time, chose the left hallway. Similar to the other one, at first, it was empty, but that quickly changed when he arrived at another turn.

  All right, now that’s overkill, Interface, he commented after taking a peek around the corner. Two slugs or a slug and a spider? Manageable. But five of the former and three of the latter? Now, that just might be an issue.

  He couldn’t take them all out at once, that was for sure. Either he found a way to separate the two species, or he could kiss the rest of the trial goodbye. Avoiding five flying acid blobs alone would be a nightmare, but add to that three fast-moving spiders?

  Yeah, no. He stood no chance against that. Not even the silent song in his blood tried to convince him otherwise.

  Glad we agree against outright suicide. Isaac snorted, taking a look around him. There wasn’t much to work with, but there was always the classic trick—throw a rock and hope for the best. It always worked in games and movies, so why not try it in real life.

  Worst case, I will just have to handle the three spiders at the same time. That sounds doable… maybe.

  The arachnids still showed up as a low threat, and with his recent level-up, the fight should be easier. Unless, of course, the three beasts were also at a higher level than the ones from before.

  Either way, he had to do something.

  As such, Isaac grabbed a small rock from the ground and hurled it at the wall on the other side of the corridor. The pebble clattered loudly, and within moments, clicking sounds answered him.

  Crossbow in hand, he backed off from the corner leading to the other hallway. The skittering grew louder.

  Fire! Isaac shouted internally just as the first arachnid entered his sight. It stopped there for a second, its multiple yellow eyes locking onto him. It clicked its fangs, hissed—then crumbled to the ground as a bolt punched clean through its head.

  [Deepearth Spider (LVL. 1) slain.]

  He tossed the crossbow aside and unsheathed his sword when the other two spiders rounded the bend. Those, however, didn’t stop and instantly rushed at him—one from the floor, the other from the wall. The latter was faster.

  In a blink, the wall-crawler closed the distance between them and launched itself at him. This time around, Isaac didn’t dodge. He simply pivoted and swung his blade to meet the incoming monster.

  Steel met mutated chitin, and unfortunately for the spider, the latter lost the battle. The blade cut deep, spilling pale blood.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  [Deepearth Spider (LVL. 1) slain.]

  Yet, it didn’t cleave the beast in two like Isaac had hoped. Which posed quite a problem with the final arachnid almost at his feet—especially when his sword was still stuck in the other monster.

  “Shit,” he cursed and promptly hurled the impaled spider—sword and all—at the charging one. The beast squeaked as the weight of the metal and its kin almost crushed it. He used this distraction to take out his knife.

  Faster!

  Fueled by the loud Symphony ringing in his veins, Isaac lunged forward and drove the short blade into the spider’s head before it could recover. That did the job.

  [Deepearth Spider (LVL. 1) slain.]

  Not done yet.

  The song didn’t stop. Quite the opposite—it rang louder when his ears caught the unmistakable sound of something soft sliding across the floor.

  They are coming.

  Isaac ripped the knife free, put it back in the sheath, and sprinted for the polearm. Even when the weapon landed in his hand, he continued onward as he called upon his Origin. The connection answered instantly, and Viron moved across his body, surging toward the weapon in his hand.

  The moment he rounded the bend, three of the slugs were almost in his face. He didn’t even give them a chance to react to his sudden appearance and swung the polearm in a wide arc.

  Blood erupted from the weapon and, just like back in the chamber, followed the path of his swing in a crimson wave. It cleaved through everything in its way. The three beasts stood no chance and died on the spot, their bodies separated in two.

  As the energy faded, the Symphony in his veins quieted a bit. However, at the same time, another familiar surge of power entered his body. It was more than enough to give him the push to move even faster.

  Isaac grinned and twirled out of the way of a flying acid. He then jumped over the corpse in his way and brought down the blade of the polearm upon the fourth slug’s head.

  The blade sunk deep into its flesh but didn’t kill it.

  That should do, Isaac decided, letting go of the spear and ducking under another spit from the final unharmed slug. His hand found the knife again—his last weapon. It would have to be enough.

  Before the last slug could charge up another shot, he pounced and stabbed it right below its upper left tentacle. He yanked the blade free and stabbed again. His next attempt, though, was met with the slug smashing into his chest.

  Isaac gasped as he stumbled back, leaving the knife stuck in the monster’s flesh. That thing had to be much heavier than he expected if it managed to punch the air out of his lungs.

  Not important now. Focus!

  The slug was midway through charging another attack when Isaac recovered and shot forward. He grimaced as his left fist smashed against the side of its head. Still, he continued despite the momentary pain and delivered another strike with the freshly liberated knife.

  This time, the monster couldn’t fight back and fell to the ground, dead.

  Yet the Symphony still played.

  Isaac exhaled, taking slow steps toward the last living slug—the one with his polearm still embedded in its skull. A few more stabs finished the job.

  Silence returned to his veins.

  “That was… interesting.” Isaac chuckled breathlessly as he finally glanced at the Interface notifications. There were quite a few of them waiting.

  [Deepearth Slug x3 slain.]

  You have leveled up! You are now level 3. Distribution of Ascension Power in progress. Power and Toughness have advanced a tier.

  [Deepearth Slug x2 slain.]

  Symphony of Blood and Blood Draw have advanced a tier.

  Now, that’s a lovely sight. He smiled and went around the battlefield to collect his weapons. The spiders had also already disappeared and left behind a single gem for him. He instantly consumed it and waited for the other bodies to vanish.

  Which they did after a couple of seconds, gifting him yet another Inferior Virality Gem.

  Congratulations! Your Virus has entered the second Phase of development.

  True to the Interface’s words, after Isaac consumed the second gem, the Attachment stage of his Virus changed to Phase 2. Neither he nor his Viron felt any different, but maybe the changes were just too subtle to be noticeable—or there just weren’t any.

  No point in overthinking it. Time to move.

  He had already spotted a lever waiting at the end of this overly long corridor. As there were no other crossroads, that was his only option.

  And so, fully armed once more, Isaac made his way down the hallway—or at least he tried to.

  The moment he passed the area where the monsters were initially resting, his boot landed on a rock—a rock that sank under his weight. A sharp crack echoed from somewhere ahead. Instinct screamed at him, and he flung himself to the side.

  Yet, he was still too late.

  An arrow sliced through the air, nicking him in the left shoulder. It tore through his clothes and cut the flesh beneath.

  Traps… great, he groaned as the rain of arrows above him continued for another few seconds. Pressing a hand to the stinging wound, he silently begged whatever entity who might be listening that the arrows weren’t poisoned. That would fit the image of this place far too well.

  Thankfully, after the arrows stopped flying and he climbed back to his feet, he felt nothing but mild pain from the wound. Even stranger, despite the cut’s length and width, it barely bled. Hell, it almost looked like it was already healing.

  There is no way that’s normal, even with my Regeneration at Tier five. Just how much does my Origin enhance it?

  Isaac once more had to stop his mind from suggesting cutting himself open to test that. Just another small cut. For science! He quickly shut that thought down. Now was not the time for that.

  “Right… traps,” he grimaced, scanning the rest of the corridor leading toward the lever. To him, it looked no different from the section behind him. If there were more traps, he had to find a different way to identify them.

  First, another good old rock test, he thought, throwing a couple of stones at the floor before him. Some bounced farther than others, but none triggered anything. Of course it didn’t work… Well, good thing I brought the spear then.

  And so, Isaac slowly proceeded forward, using the long polearm to test every part of the floor ahead of him. He was halfway to the lever when something finally happened.

  A stone sank.

  The ground shook.

  Instincts kicked in, and Isaac jumped back just in time to avoid falling to his death. The entire part of the floor ahead crumbled and fell into an endless darkness.

  “Yeah, fuck that,” Isaac muttered, averting his gaze from the void beneath. At least the hole wasn’t too wide. He should be able to jump over it without much effort.

  First though. He grabbed the polearm again and extended it to the other side. Let’s see if I don’t die after the jump.

  The stones didn’t move, so with one quick leap, Isaac landed on the other side of the hole and walked the rest of the way to the lever. By some miracle, nothing tried to kill him during the final part of this trip.

  “There we go.”

  He pulled the lever, and just like back in the large chamber, the wall before him groaned before sliding open. Stronger, but still quite dim lighting hit him in the face. Nonetheless, he didn’t avert his gaze. Instead, his eyes only widened at the sight before him.

  “Oh wow…”

  25 chapters ahead of RR here: