Chapter 66: The Last One to Leave

Boom! Crash!

Max hit the invisible barrier and fell toward the ground. Just as he was about to hit the water, white light enveloped his entire body. He landed in the pool and began to sink. Once his whole body was submerged, the white light suddenly dispersed. Max immediately pushed himself back toward the surface and activated [Guardian Aura].

Boom!

A strike landed on him from above, turning the green water red. The attack struck his head and cracked open his skull, causing blood to pour out. Through repeated use, [Guardian Aura]'s Skill Proficiency had increased considerably, and it was the only thing keeping Max alive. Otherwise, he would already have died.

As his body sank into the neck-deep water, white light shone beneath the surface once more. However, before he could fully heal, something grabbed him by the waist. The snake lifted him out of the water and coiled around his body.

While [Salvation] finished healing him, the snake had already hurled him away.

Boom!

Max's body struck the invisible barrier again before falling toward the ground. Some time had passed since the battle began, but the snake was not taking the death match as seriously as Max. It was simply playing with him, throwing him around. Max's greatest struggle was switching between his Mana Technique and Mana Skill. He spent most of his time doing so, leaving him with no opportunity to attack the snake.

Max quickly moved to the edge of the pond and sat down. Meanwhile, the snake slowly moved toward him, as if taking a stroll. Max deactivated his Mana Sense, and his ability to perceive the snake immediately disappeared. He then activated [Guardian Aura] and waited in the pitch-black night.

Swish!

A whistling sound approached from the left side of his body. In the next second, the snake's tail coiled around him. Just as it was about to wrap around his waist, Max lifted his leg and caught hold of the tail. When the snake tried to pull away, Max went with it, gripping the tail between his legs and wrapping his hands firmly around it.

The snake thrashed its tail and coiled around itself to crush Max, but it could not do so effectively. Since Max was clinging directly to its body, [Guardian Aura] protected him from being crushed. Although the snake tried to shake him loose, it did not use its mouth to attack. Max noticed this hesitation, realizing that the snake was cautious about bringing its head near him.

This suggested that the snake was now afraid of him and that the damage Max had inflicted was worse than he had initially thought. He realized that he had survived because the snake had not dared to lower its guard again. So far, it had relied on two kinds of attacks: biting and devouring him with its mouth, or using its tail to whip him around.

Strangely, the snake had shown no other means of attack, such as Skills, relying entirely on its raw physical strength. This was fortunate for Max. If the snake possessed Skills alongside such tremendous physical strength, he would truly be in a desperate situation.

Since he had already damaged the snake's head, Max decided to target its tail as well. If he could damage it, the snake's combat ability would be greatly reduced, giving him a better chance of survival. Suddenly, a green orb of energy manifested in the pitch-black darkness. While holding the snake with one arm, Max used his other hand to create [Basic Healing Magic Reversal]. The orb was small because he could only use one hand, but he had no other choice.

As the snake thrashed him through the water, Max swallowed a mouthful of water and smashed the attack directly into its tail. The strike landed successfully. The snake began whipping its tail faster, but Max quickly formed another attack and slammed it into the same spot.

When the second attack landed, the snake finally felt real pain. It rushed toward the edge of the pond and whipped its tail against the invisible barrier, taking Max along with it. Realizing he was about to be crushed against the barrier, Max released the tail and fell into the water. He immediately activated his Mana Technique, ran across the water to the opposite side, extended his Mana sense, and waited.

He hoped the attacks had rendered the snake's tail useless. With injuries to both its head and tail, the snake would have fewer chances to land a deadly blow. Max was glad it had not used a lethal attack earlier. From its behavior, he had realized how overconfident it had been in its ability to defeat him.

However, Max did not want to become overconfident himself. He prepared for another attack and waited for the snake to enter his range of perception.

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Time passed.

Even after waiting for thirty minutes, the snake did not approach him. As Max had expected, its options for attacking him were now limited. Its most effective method seemed to be grabbing him with its body and crushing him. However, if Max attacked again, he might inflict another serious wound and put the snake in an even worse situation.

These were the conclusions Max drew from the snake's inaction. He continued maintaining his Mana Sense. Another thirty minutes passed, and he began to feel a strain in his head. Maintaining the extended Mana Sense caused pain. Even though he could replenish his Mana easily, the mental strain was pushing him toward his limit.

With no other option, he canceled the Mana Technique and activated [Eagle Vision]. At least he could see a few meters ahead in case of a surprise attack. However, no attack came throughout the rest of the night. Finally, daybreak arrived, and the darkness began to lift.

Max had stayed awake throughout the night, expecting the enemy to attack, but it never came. He was glad his plan had worked. More importantly, [Basic Healing Magic Reversal] seemed far more powerful than he had expected. A single strike had forced the snake to become cautious, preventing it from attacking him with its mouth again.

Max, however, knew he still had much to learn about the Skill. Although he had used it against an enemy previously, that attack had been small and caused limited damage. He had never expected it to inflict such a severe injury on a creature this powerful.

Perhaps the attack had caused a life-threatening injury to the snake. Max could not tell exactly how much damage it had inflicted. As the sun rose over the mountain and illuminated the pond, he looked around but could not find the snake. It must have shrunk its body again and hidden somewhere to recover.

At least eight hours remained before the twenty-four-hour period ended. Therefore, Max had to stay alert until then. This was easier now because he no longer needed to switch constantly between his Mana Technique and Mana Skill. He waited, and two more hours passed without any movement in the pond.

with another two hours went by, and the sun reached the center of the sky. Max began walking around the edge of the pond, keeping his eyes fixed on the water. He reached the spot where he had fought the snake, but it was empty, so he continued around the pond. Even after completing a full circle, he could not find it.

Could it have escaped from the pond? Did it have a secret passage? He quickly dismissed the thought. With the invisible barrier still in place, there was no way it could have left.

Max continued circling the pond without resting. Several more hours passed as he kept his attention fixed on the water. Soon, the twenty-four-hour mark approached. By his estimate, only few minutes remained. Max stopped at the spot where the snake had entered the pond the previous day, believing it was hiding underwater and would eventually emerge.

If the frogs arrived while the snake was still hiding underwater, there was a chance they would discover it. Max suspected that once the time was up and the invisible barrier lifted, the snake would calmly leave the pond and escape. That was likely the trick it had used all these years against those who came to perform the ritual: it would eat them, then quietly leave the pond.

Max, however, was not going to let the cursed snake survive. He would fight and try to kill it, or at least delay it until the frogs arrived. He could not let an enemy that had been eating people walk away, as that simply seemed wrong.

"Come out now! The frogs are going to arrive soon. If you have any chance of escaping, now is the time!" Max shouted.

After saying that, he waited. Soon, a booming noise came from the middle of the pond as the black-and-white snake emerged.

"There you are. Don't be shy. Come on," Max taunted as he stared at it.

Looking closely at its head, he noticed a change in its neck. The spot where his earlier attack had landed looked shrunken and weathered, indicating that the beast had suffered severe internal damage.

Hearing Max's mocking tone, the snake glared at him. Max could feel its intense fury. Seeing this, a smile appeared on his face. The tables had finally turned.

"Let's end this," Max said as he created a large energy orb. It was much bigger than the attack he had used before. As he formed it, his face shrank and his eyes hollowed out. He spent nearly all his Life Force to create this ultimate attack, pushed Mana throughout his entire body, and ran toward the snake. Seeing this, the snake also moved toward him.

When the snake reached striking distance, it slid its body forward to grab Max. Surprisingly, it did not attack with its tail, confirming that his earlier strikes had rendered it ineffective.

As the snake tried to coil around him and crush him, Max released a massive amount of Mana across the surface of the water and jumped. The water caved in beneath him, launching his body high into the air and sending him directly toward the snake's head. Facing this surprise attack, the snake could not change direction at the last moment as its body continued gliding across the water.

"Goodbye," Max said, slamming the large green energy orb onto the snake's moving head.

The attack landed near its brain. The green orb clung to the snake's skin like an adhesive object and immediately began absorbing its moisture. It seemed to consume everything it touched, including flesh, blood, and every cell, rapidly turning the beast into dried jerky. As the orb drained its Life Force, the affected area shriveled, and the snake thrashed violently without making a sound.

A massive commotion followed as the snake's head began to shrink and cave in. When the last of the energy orb dissipated, half of the snake's head was completely missing. Its thrashing gradually slowed until it finally stopped moving. Max stood in waist-high water, watching the dead snake float on the surface.

"Young Adventurer? What is that?" Max suddenly heard a voice from behind him.

Max moved away from the lifeless snake and walked toward Marlak, who stood at the edge of the pond holding his belongings in its mouth.

"That was the snake you were feeding," Max said.

"What do you mean by that?" the frog asked in confusion.