Chapter 17: Immortal Body

Charles, wielding the Supreme Spear, moved cautiously through the forest, his ears keenly tuned to any sounds around him. His body brimmed with energy, and he was eager to test his strength against a ferocious beast.

However, to his disappointment, he found nothing despite wandering until after midnight.

Charles puzzled over this, "Aren't the Ferocious Beast Mountains supposed to be perilously full of beasts? How come I haven't seen a single one?"

Observing the scattered remains of ferocious beasts and abandoned materials around him, he suddenly realized what was happening.

Today was the first day of the trial, with over a thousand Beast Masters concentrated in this area—it was as if a swarm of locusts had passed through, leaving nothing behind.

Perhaps the presence of level two Beast Masters, even a level three one among the team leaders, had driven any surviving ferocious beasts to hide far away.

"Staying with the group, which is camped on the outskirts of the Ferocious Beast Mountains and under the watchful eyes of our leaders, relies too much on luck to encounter any beasts. At this rate, not only will I not be able to beat Grace after two months, but I might also fail to qualify for the three major academies."

Understanding the gravity of his situation, Charles turned southward, guided by the starlight, venturing deeper into the Ferocious Beast Mountains.

Late into the night, the valleys around him began to echo with the roars of beasts.

In the darkness, Charles walked more cautiously, the ground littered with bones and even a human skull, sending shivers down his spine.

Turning on his flashlight to scan the trees above, he found a massive snake as thick as a barrel coiled and ready to strike.

"Max, battle mode!" Charles commanded.

When he looked at the python, several prompts appeared on his interface.

——[Resurrecting Serpent]——

[Attribute]: Wood

[Level]: 7

[Quality]: Silver

[Skills]: Tree Regeneration, Death Coil

[Mood]: Irritable

[Health]: Healthy

[Weakness]: "Seven inches" / Ice attribute

[Description]: This is a 20-meter-long adult Resurrecting Serpent, and you have intruded into its lair, provoking its anger. Its wood attribute grants it potent regenerative abilities, making it a formidable opponent.

"A level 7, higher than Max's level!"

This was the highest level ferocious beast Charles had encountered so far. Even though Max was of gold quality, Charles was concerned for its safety against this higher-level ferocious beast.

He gripped the Supreme Spear tightly and with a sharp click, extended its shaft to two meters.

"We fight this one together!"

The serpent was massive yet agile as it maneuvered through the twisting woods. It was too late to run now.

Moreover, this ferocious beast was Level 7; defeating it would increase his trial points by seven, significantly boosting his ranking.

"Let's give it a try. If it gets too tough, I can still use [bestial soul merge] and have Max merge with me."

Rumbling!

Max launched its attack first, using its skill [Ice Pick Throwing]. The ample moisture in the forest quickly condensed into a barrage of ice crystals that hurtled towards the head of the Resurrecting Serpent.

Piercing sound—

The ice picks hit the Resurrecting Serpent effortlessly, and simultaneously, Charles's spear pierced the serpent's head, causing blood to spurt wildly, staining the entire forest red.

"Is it over? That was unexpectedly easy..." Charles was taken aback.

A wave of pale green energy suddenly enveloped the Resurrecting Serpent. The bleeding stopped rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, the large wound on its head miraculously healed.

The Resurrecting Serpent had activated its skill—[Regeneration], restoring its wound within seconds.

Although the wound had healed, the pain enraged the serpent. It hissed as it analyzed its surroundings with its flickering tongue, quickly spotting the clumsy Charles.

Hiss!

The serpent's tail, as thick as one meter in diameter, whipped towards Charles like a thick wall.

Max wailed continuously, trying to warn Charles to dodge. However, encumbered by the Divine Scale Armor, Charles moved as slowly as an elderly person, unable to evade in time and was soon entangled by the Resurrecting Serpent.

Sigh...sigh!

Max was nearly in tears, howling pitifully while continually forming ice picks to attack the Resurrecting Serpent. However, such attacks were merely a nuisance under the serpent's formidable regenerative ability.

"If this continues, we're going to lose..."

The Resurrecting Serpent activated its skill [Death Coil]. The Divine Scale Armor emitted a pale blue glow, resisting the attack, but as the serpent increased the constricting force, it soon became overwhelming.

"Right, the weakness!" Charles suddenly remembered, pulling up the weakness prompt on his interface.

[Weakness]: [Heart] The location of the heart. Snakes can live for a long time even after decapitation, allowing the Resurrecting Serpent to regenerate during this time. However, once its heart is shattered, it cannot use its regenerative ability.

[Ice attribute] Snakes are cold-blooded, and lower temperatures slow their movements, increasing the hit rate of attacks.

Grasping this, Max seemed to intuitively understand, activating its second skill [Bone-Achingly Cold] without needing Charles's command.

Pale flames blazed as Max passed, frosting over the grass and trees.

Charles could feel the body temperature of the Resurrecting Serpent plummeting, and the strength of its Death Coil weakening.

Seizing the opportunity, Charles sliced open a gap with his spear, freeing himself from the serpent's grip. He then gathered all his strength and hurled the spear towards the heart of the Resurrecting Serpent.

Hiss...

The Resurrecting Serpent, relying on its [Regeneration] skill, underestimated Charles's attack. It had regenerated from a pierced head before—what was a chest wound in comparison?

Thrust!

The Supreme Spear pierced through the Resurrecting Serpent, the force creating a massive hole in its chest cavity. Its beating heart was instantly reduced to blood froth!

Hiss...

The Resurrecting Serpent tried to activate [Regeneration], but this time, the wound showed no signs of healing.

For decades, it had dominated this part of the forest with its powerful regenerative ability, consuming countless humans. Yet, it never expected to meet its end at the hands of a human youth.

It looked at Charles, its eyes filled with confusion, gradually dimming...

"Ding! You have defeated the ferocious beast [Resurrecting Serpent] (Lv7·Silver Quality), and your synergy with your pet has increased!"

"Pet Loyalty +2!"

"Pet Experience +200!"

"Ding! Your pet Max has leveled up, current level: Lv7!"

"Ding! Your pet has shown exceptional quality in battle and has developed a new skill!"

System notifications kept ringing in Charles's mind, but he barely had time to listen as he suddenly felt weak and collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath...

Max also appeared very weak, lying next to Charles, gently licking the wounds on his body. The long use of [Bone-Achingly Cold] seemed to have taken a significant toll on its stamina.

"That was close!"

Today's battle was thrilling and nearly disastrous against the giant serpent.

However, it had given Charles a true sense of the dangers of the Ferocious Beast Mountains. This was no mere hyperbole, and they were only on the outer edges. The dangers deeper in the forest were beyond Charles's wildest imaginations.

Charles reached out to pet Max, noting the significant energy drain from the prolonged use of [Bone-Achingly Cold].

"Wait, didn't the system just notify me that Max has learned a new skill?"

Excitedly, Charles opened the [Pet] tab to check Max's panel.

——[The frost wolf]——

[Name]: Max

[Attributes]: Ice, Fire

[Quality]: Gold

[Level]: Lv7

[Skills]: [Ice Pick Throwing], [Bone-Achingly Cold], [Energy Bomb]

[Weakness]: Neck, Abdomen/Poison attribute

[Hobbies]: Honey Soy Glazed Meat

[Mood]: Happy

[Health]: Weakened [Recovering...]

[Loyalty]: 79

[Evolution Paths]: 4

[Description]: Another victorious battle, and having discerned a new skill during combat, Max is very happy. It now needs to rest and recover its energy.

Max had leveled up again, reaching Lv7, and his loyalty had reached 79 points after this battle!

Charles checked the new skill Max had discerned during the battle.

[Energy Bomb]: Gathers ice and fire elements to form a chaotic elemental shockwave, causing a powerful explosion. May cause self-damage.

"This skill seems very powerful, but why does it warn that it might hurt the user?" Charles was puzzled.

However, Max was very tired now, so he decided to wait until it had fully recovered before testing the effects of this new skill.

As Charles was preparing to stand up, his arm brushed against something round. Grabbing it, he realized it was a skull and hastily threw it, startled.

The skull rolled down the slope like a ball and disappeared into the valley below.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to do that!" Realizing his act might be seen as disrespectful to the deceased, Charles pressed his hands together in a gesture of apology to the bones on the ground.

It was at this moment that Charles noticed something shimmering in the skeletal hand.