Novel Full Chapter 36: Hell Zone, Mutated Earth Snake
Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Hell Zone, Mutated Earth Snake
Ding!
[You have killed “Earth Snake” and gained 250 experience points.]
[100% Drop Rate has triggered. Items have been automatically placed in your storage space.]
Leon was just about to open his inventory and check the loot when—
BOOM!
The plains around him suddenly erupted.
The ground cracked open in multiple places at once, dirt and stone exploding upward as massive shadows burst from below.
One after another, thick serpentine bodies surfaced, scales coated in earth and dust.
In the span of a few seconds, more than a dozen [Earth Snakes] had emerged, surrounding Leon from all sides.
And among them, one monster stood out. It was larger than the rest, its body thicker, its presence heavier.
Two heads rose from its neck, both sets of yellow eyes locking onto Leon at the same time.
—
[Earth Snake (Mutated)]
[Level: 10]
[Talent: Agility Enhancement (E-Level)]
[Combat Power: 8,000]
[Details: Two earth snakes that mutated together.]
—
Leon stared at the monsters for a brief moment. Then he sighed.
“Well… this is the [Hell] spawn point,” he muttered. “In the [Intermediate] zone, at least I had some breathing room.”
This place was different.
In the [Intermediate] area, there were plenty of other players. Even if monsters appeared in groups, there was usually someone nearby to share the pressure.
Here? Leon was alone. That alone spoke volumes.
Very few players across all races were deemed strong enough by the system to be placed in the [Hell] zone right from the start.
’Emilia should be in the [Hard] zone,’ Leon thought.
Either way, that didn’t matter right now.
The earth snakes hissed, their massive bodies coiling as they prepared to strike.
Leon didn’t wait. He raised his staff, his eyes sharpening.
Vision Enhancement!
The world around him snapped into clarity. Movements slowed. Trajectories became obvious.
Powerful Fireball!
A blazing sphere of flame shot forward and slammed into one of the earth snakes just as it lunged.
BOOM!
The explosion engulfed its head instantly.
The snake’s body spasmed once before collapsing lifelessly to the ground.
The blast wave also caught two nearby snakes, scorching their scales and sending them crashing into each other.
Hisssss!
The mutated earth snake didn’t hesitate.
Instead of hanging back, it surged forward, both of its heads striking at once from different angles.
Leon had already seen it coming.
He stepped sideways, narrowly avoiding the first bite, and drew his sword in one smooth motion.
Slash!
Darkness-coated steel flashed.
One of the mutated snake’s heads was severed cleanly, spinning through the air before hitting the ground.
The monster thrashed violently, its body twisting as it let out a shrill hiss of pain. But it didn’t stop.
Its remaining head snapped toward Leon, fangs glinting. Leon raised his staff again.
Lightning Strike!
A bolt of lightning crashed down instantly, striking the remaining head dead-on.
The snake stiffened, its movements freezing as electricity surged through its body.
Leon didn’t waste the opening.
Slash!
The second head was cut off. The mutated earth snake’s massive body convulsed once… then went still. Dead.
The entire exchange had taken only a few seconds. The remaining earth snakes froze.
Their leader, stronger than all of them, had been killed effortlessly.
Some of them turned and tried to flee, diving back into the ground.
Others, driven by instinct, still charged forward.
Leon showed no mercy. His sword flashed again and again.
One by one, the earth snakes fell, their bodies piling up across the plains.
Ding!
[You have killed x11 “Earth Snake” and gained 2,750 experience points.]
[You have killed “Earth Snake (Mutated)” and gained 700 experience points.]
[100% Drop Rate has triggered…]
Leon exhaled slowly.
His [Celestial’s Might] passive hadn’t activated during the fight, but that didn’t bother him. He would see it in action eventually.
For now, he turned his attention to the loot. Leon opened his [Storage Space].
The items neatly organized themselves in front of him.
[Earth Snake Essence x8: Consuming will increase Agility by 7.]
[Mutated Earth Snake Essence: Consuming will increase Agility by 9 and Constitution by 5.]
[Earth Snake Armor x5 (Uncommon): +300 Defense, +250 Constitution. Requirement: Level 10.]
[Sub-Talent Scroll: Agility Enhancement (E-Level). Requirement: 500 Agility.]
Leon raised an eyebrow.
“This is… pretty good.”
Without hesitation, he consumed the essences one after another.
A faint warmth spread through his body as his stats increased.
Agility rose by 65. Constitution rose by 5.
Next, he looked at the armor pieces. He attempted to fuse them. Only one fusion succeeded.
[Earth Snake Armor +2 (Uncommon): +400 Defense, +300 Constitution.]
Leon compared it with his current armor.
After a brief consideration, he unequipped the [Ruins Golem Armor +3] and put on the new one.
It gave him slightly more combat power. Then came the sub-talent scroll.
Leon poured mana into it and tore it apart.
Ding!
[Congratulations, you have learned the E-Level Sub-Talent: “Agility Enhancement”]
[Agility Enhancement (E-Level): Permanently increases Agility by 20%.]
“Perfect.”
Leon clenched his fist lightly.
Now he had [Constitution Enhancement], [Strength Enhancement] and [Agility Enhancement].
He was only missing one.
’Spirit Enhancement,’ Leon thought. ’Once I get that, I’ll have the full set.’
Before he could continue moving, another system notification appeared.
Ding!
[The Trading House is now open in the Lower Domain.]
“Oh, right.”
Leon nodded to himself.
Unlike the [Novice Villages], the [Lower Domain] had a massive player population. That meant the Trading House was far more active.
Items sold quickly, but competition was fierce.
Leon opened the Trading House interface and watched dozens of items appear and disappear every second.
“Well,” he said calmly, “might as well sell what I don’t need.”
He checked his [Storage Space]. There was a lot of junk.
Items like the [Novice Machete] or [Shadow Necklace +2] wouldn’t sell. Their stats were too low for this stage.
But Leon still had plenty of valuable equipment.
With a flick of his hand, he listed several items for sale.
[Wild Forest Sword +2]
[Sword of Darkness]
[Ruins Golem Armor +3]
[Earth Snake Armor]
He priced them between 150 and 200 Eternal Coins each.
Unlike in the [Novice Village], his items didn’t instantly jump to the front of the listings. There were simply too many high-quality items being sold.
Still, Leon wasn’t in a rush.
He decided to keep the [Gold Shield (Legendary)] and the [Vine Bow (Legendary)].
Those would sell instantly, but he might need them later.
Once done, Leon closed the panels.
“The first city shouldn’t be far from any spawn point,” he muttered. “I’ll meet Emilia there.”
With that thought, he started moving forward across the plains.
But Leon didn’t realize one thing: he wasn’t alone.
Far away, partially hidden behind uneven terrain, a group of players had witnessed the entire fight.
“That guy just wiped out an entire group of [Earth Snakes] in under a minute…”
“I saw it too. That was insane.”
“He didn’t even look pressured.”
“I mean, he’s in the [Hell] zone. He’s gotta have at least 8,000 combat power.”
“I heard only people from high-level or eternal-level worlds reach that number this early.”
“We couldn’t even see his panel…”
“So he might be from one of those worlds.”
The group fell silent as a figure stepped forward.
Their leader. He had silver skin, two small antlers on his head, and calm, sharp eyes.
“Everyone relax,” he said quietly. “We observe first. Then we decide.”
“Yes, leader,” the others replied immediately.
One of them hesitated before speaking.
“We’re level 15,” he said. “Shouldn’t we be able to handle anything at this point?”
The leader didn’t answer right away. Instead, he stared in the direction Leon had gone. Watching.
“…That guy has lots of good items.”
And the moment they heard that, all of the members understood that it was time to “take” those items.