Chapter 107: Rewards (1)

Chapter 104

Two figures stood facing each other on the devastated battlefield, their differences in height making the scene all the more striking. One towered at a staggering six feet seven inches, while the other stood at around five feet eight inches, barely reaching the larger figure’s chest. Yet despite the enormous difference in their physiques, it was the towering figure whose life was drawing to an end.

The larger figure was the Webfiend Lord, and the massive scythe it had been wielding was now embedded in its own shoulder. The weapon had failed to strike the person standing before it, leaving the dungeon boss staring at the white-haired human who had somehow overcome everything it had thrown at him. Its purple-red eyes gradually began to lose their light, the glow that had once burned within them fading with every passing second.

"You... who... what are you?"

The Webfiend Lord struggled to form the question, its voice weakening as death crept closer. It could hardly believe what had happened. It had evolved into an S-Grade monster, gaining a tremendous increase in power that should have allowed it to crush its previous opponent with ease. Yet, even after undergoing that evolution, it had failed to overcome the human standing before it.

How was that possible?

What kind of human could possess such power while remaining so calm in the face of an opponent like itself?

The questions flooded its mind, but there was no longer enough time to find the answers. Its strength was slipping away, and the darkness waiting at the end of its life was becoming increasingly difficult to resist. Even so, its gaze remained fixed on the white-haired figure standing before it, as though it desperately wanted to engrave every detail of that human into its fading consciousness.

If there was an afterlife, there was no way it would ever forget those rainbow-colored eyes, that snowy-white hair, or the calm, domineering aura that surrounded the human who had defeated it. Those features had been burned into its memory through an encounter it would never have wished to experience.

And if it ever got the chance to be reborn or reincarnated, the Webfiend Lord had one wish.

It never wanted to become this human’s enemy again.

In fact, if possible, it didn’t even want to cross paths with him in the first place. It would rather live an entirely different life, in a different place, far away from this particular human. Whatever world it might awaken in after death, it wanted to stay as far away from Orion Stormblade as possible.

This human was simply too terrifying.

Orion, who had kept his head slightly lowered, finally turned to face the dying monster. A small, calm smile rested on his face as he prepared to answer the question that had occupied the Webfiend Lord’s thoughts during its final moments.

"I am Orion Stormblade."

His answer was simple, delivered without any unnecessary explanation. He didn’t boast about his strength or attempt to intimidate the monster further. He merely gave his name, as though that were all the dying creature needed to know.

The moment the words left Orion’s mouth, the Webfiend Lord’s pupils faded until its eyes became nothing more than lifeless white. The last traces of awareness disappeared from its gaze, and the grip it had maintained on its scythe loosened completely.

The weapon began to lose its shape, its solid form breaking apart and transforming into ordinary web strings that slipped from the monster’s hand. The change didn’t stop there. Across the surrounding battlefield, the miniature forest that had been constructed entirely from webs began to collapse as well. The countless strands loosened, lost their structure, and fell away until the dangerous weapons and barriers that had filled the area became nothing more than harmless web strings.

The battlefield that had once been dominated by the Webfiend Lord’s ability was finally returning to normal.

The dungeon boss had died.

And Orion Stormblade had won.

The next moment, a series of system notifications appeared before his eyes, confirming the kill and announcing the rewards he had obtained.

Ding! You have slain a Level 20 monster, Webfiend Lord!

You have received 30 EXP!

Ding! You have received a First Kill Reward!

First Kill Reward for slaying an S-Grade monster!

You have received 100 EXP!

You have received a Mana Crystal!

Ding! You have received a Special Reward for slaying an opponent 15 levels above you!

You have received 100 EXP!

You have received an S-Rank Skill Book: Genesis Silk!

Orion raised an eyebrow as he read through the notifications. For a brief moment, he was genuinely surprised by what he was seeing. He had expected to receive a reward for killing the dungeon boss, but the number of rewards appearing before him was considerably more impressive than he had anticipated.

Thirty EXP from the kill, another hundred from the First Kill Reward, and a further hundred from the Special Reward.

That was a total of 250 EXP!

Wasn’t that enough to level him up?

The thought had barely crossed his mind when another system notification appeared directly before him, almost as though the system had been waiting for him to realize the significance of his accumulated experience.

Ding! Congratulations, Host, on successfully reaching Level 6!

EXP required to reach the next level: 150/160.

Orion’s rainbow-colored eyes immediately blazed with excitement.

He had done it.

He had actually reached Level 6!

The achievement might have seemed ordinary to someone who didn’t understand his circumstances, but Orion knew better. He had only awakened a few hours ago, and within that short period, he had already climbed from Level 1 to Level 6. He was now only ten EXP away from reaching Level 7, a progression that would have sounded absurd if someone had described it to him before his reawakening.

And now, a single battle against the dungeon boss had brought him another substantial step forward.

To think that slaying the Webfiend Lord would bring him such massive rewards was truly something else. The benefits of defeating a powerful opponent were already considerable, but when the system’s bonuses were added to the equation, the results became even more rewarding.

Of course, Orion understood that the boss itself had only granted him 50 EXP, which was already a staggering amount. However, that figure was still considerably lower than the total experience he had obtained from the First Kill Reward and the Special Reward.

Those bonuses had contributed the remaining 200 EXP, making the difference between an ordinary kill and the tremendous reward he had just received.

The distinction was worth remembering.

As Orion continued examining the notifications, another thought occurred to him. When it came to the First Kill Reward, he could swear that today was the first time he had killed a B-Grade monster. If that was the case, shouldn’t he have received a First Kill Reward for that achievement as well?

Yet he hadn’t received anything.

There had been no additional EXP, no special item, and no notification announcing a reward for his first B-Grade kill. The system had simply remained silent about it.

Orion considered the matter for a moment before shaking his head. He had a very good guess as to why that had happened, and the explanation only made him more certain of something he had already begun to suspect.

His system was an egotistical one.

In fact, based on the pattern he had noticed since its awakening, Orion was beginning to understand just how outrageously high its standards were. The system seemed to regard anything below S-Rank as the bare minimum, and even S-Rank abilities appeared to be little more than the lowest acceptable standard in its eyes.

It was as though the system couldn’t be bothered to concern itself with anything weaker.

That was precisely why the skills he could learn started at S-Rank. Anything below that threshold was rejected outright, with the system dismissing such abilities as unworthy. Even skills that ordinary warriors would consider valuable and spend years trying to obtain were apparently beneath its standards.

Orion shook his head, a small chuckle escaping his lips.

S-Rank things in this world could already be considered mighty, perhaps even beyond mighty. They were legendary possessions and abilities that countless warriors could only dream of obtaining. Their rarity alone was enough to make them valuable, while the tremendous power they offered could transform a person’s standing and determine how far they could climb.

Yet, to his system, they seemed closer to basic necessities than anything truly exceptional.

It was difficult not to find that amusing.

The system treated S-Rank as though it were the lowest acceptable standard, while the rest of the world regarded the same rank as something extraordinary. The difference between those two perspectives was enormous, and Orion couldn’t help wondering what kind of existence would consider legendary abilities so ordinary.

Still, after giving it some thought, he had to admit that his system might have a reason to be arrogant.

Had he ever seen or heard of a Level 1 warrior breaking through to Level 6, coming within an inch of Level 7, in barely four hours?

The answer was no.