Phase Two

"Ice Cone Technique Proficiency EXP +100,000"

Could this kind of thing increase proficiency too?

So it really was... practice made perfect.

There was no time to dwell on it.

As soon as the giant serpent spotted Lu Cang, it reared its head!

It opened its enormous jaws, spraying dark liquid from between its teeth!

At the sight of the liquid, Lu Cang struggled to move his entire right arm. A spell took shape!

He flung seven fireballs!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The fireballs collided with the dark liquid in midair and exploded!

Boiling black mist rose into the air.

Was it poison?

Was this thing even a snake?

Whoosh!

Thud!

Another ice spike came crashing down!

It slammed the giant serpent's head back toward the ground just as it tried to raise it!

Lu Cang was hanging in midair.

He melted part of the enormous ice spike, making himself a small space to stand on the cave ceiling.

That eased the strain on his arms, which were supporting his entire body.

Otherwise, his left arm would snap.

He had already lost one arm.

He couldn't afford to lose a second.

The ice element was useful. Lu Cang temporarily coated his right arm in ice. He couldn't heal it, but at least he could numb the pain for a little while.

Boom!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Four enormous ice spikes crashed down in quick succession!

They pinned the giant serpent to the ground for the moment.

But they still hadn't pierced through it.

The Lord-level creature was so much stronger than the other creatures in the cave.

It had taken that many ice spikes and still hadn't died.

The creature was probably a dark-element monster too. Light magic would be more effective against dark-element monsters.

But he had only learned Light Cross recently.

It was only at LV:39.

Compared with Ice Spike, already at LV:91, its power was nowhere close.

The difference was too great. Even the elemental advantage probably couldn't make up for it.

Ice Spike was currently his highest-level spell.

Aside from Magic Tide, which was already at LV:100, Ice Spike was his highest, at LV:91.

Thud!

Still, after a total of ten enormous ice spikes had struck the giant serpent, its body was completely coated in frost.

And with the ice spikes pinning it down,

it had struggled several times to lift its head, but couldn't get up.

It seemed that as long as he kept it suppressed, it would lose the ability to attack.

All he had to do was kill it before he ran out of mana.

But...

Now he had to think about a second problem.

How was he going to deal with Izpalut outside the door?

Iz had suddenly shown his true face and revealed his hostility toward Lu Cang.

Lu Cang found it hard to understand.

Why did Iz want to kill him? Was he trying to let the snake eat him?

That wasn't impossible...

After all, Lu Cang understood so little about this world. This was another world, and he couldn't judge things by the common sense of his old one. Iz could have any motive.

Thud—

Two more enormous ice spikes fell, and the giant serpent could no longer rise.

Its body was pressed against the ground, and a thick layer of frost had joined it to the floor.

So Lord-level creatures weren't that strong after all. They had just seemed more imposing at first.

Lu Cang had settled completely into the hollow he had carved out of the ice spike.

Attacking from the cave ceiling really was an excellent spot where he was nearly invulnerable.

But no matter how he thought about it, Lu Cang couldn't figure out how to deal with Iz outside the door.

Poison...

If Iz opened the door and came in again, could poison take care of him?

Iz had taught him all his spells.

And he only knew a few Level 1 spells.

During the struggle just now, Lu Cang had already realized that his spells probably wouldn't affect Iz at all.

Ice Spike and Fireball were already his two strongest attacks.

As for Wind Blade, even if it worked, its effect would probably be negligible.

He might as well look for an answer in the boss...

Just as Lu Cang was thinking about how to deal with Iz, the nearly immobilized giant serpent's eyes suddenly lit up.

Its eyes changed from pitch-black to bloodred!

The snake's head, pinned down by the ice spikes, suddenly strained upward!

"Hiss!"

Lu Cang had never imagined a snake's hiss could be so loud!

The entire cave vibrated at a high frequency.

His eardrums felt like they were about to burst!

Lu Cang swiftly raised his left hand, and another enormous ice spike formed!

He slammed it down at the snake's head again!

Boom!

But this time, the snake's head smashed the ice spike to pieces!

"Has it gone berserk?"

"Phase two?"

He had no idea what had happened!

He only saw the giant serpent's tail suddenly whip around!

Bang!

In the next instant, the ice spike Lu Cang was on shattered!

It left a huge crater in the cave ceiling as well.

And Lu Cang...

Was on the opposite rock wall, drenched in cold sweat.

At the last possible moment, he had formed a second enormous ice spike.

It had launched him to the other side of the cave.

"Ice Cone Technique Proficiency EXP +100,000"

Heh...

That counted as proficiency too? Did the more dangerous things got, the more proficiency he gained?

The giant serpent "stood" up again, shaking off the layers of frost covering its body.

It seemed he couldn't afford to be distracted.

Whoosh!

Its tail whipped around fast!

For such a huge body, it was unbelievably quick!

Boom!

Lu Cang was pinned against the wall again.

The spot where he had just been was now a deep crater.

Remnants of frost still clung to its bottom.

They were the traces left behind when the ice spike had been smashed apart.

If he'd needed to chant to cast his spells, he'd already be dead.

If his reflexes had been any slower, he'd be dead too.

If he'd chosen to attack instead of stopping to think and observe, he'd already be dead.

This was...

A genuine threat of death.

Lu Cang swallowed.

His mana was still draining rapidly. He had thought that even after killing it, he would have plenty of mana left.

But now...

Lu Cang checked his reserves. He had only about 52% of his mana left.

It might not be enough.

Whoosh!

Thud!

Another tail whip came, and Lu Cang once again used an ice spike to pin himself to the opposite wall.

Practice made perfect.

He was gradually getting used to moving this way.

And this time, as he pinned himself to the wall,

another ice spike fell from above!

Thud!

It struck the giant serpent directly in the head, dealing another brutal blow to the skull that had already been pierced by an ice spike once!

Double Pierce!

The back half of the enormous ice spike burst apart!

But the force of its shattering drove the front half much deeper into the serpent's skull!

Then a chill spread from the tip of the ice spike!

Extreme cold pierced straight into its skull!

[Ice Cone Double Pierce], [Extreme Cold Diffusion]

The cold pierced its brain—if its brain was in that part of its head...

But at least after that strike,

its tail didn't lash out right away, and its movements slowed again.

Boom!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!—

Lu Cang wasn't the kind of person to pass up an opportunity. While the creature was slowed, he had no intention of taking a breather!

Strike while it's down!

Five more enormous ice spikes came crashing down!

Every one of them struck its jaw and skull! This time, Lu Cang would smash it to pieces first.

Otherwise, who knew if it might enter a third phase, a fourth phase...