[Bonus chapter] Chapter 22: Burning Cove [3]

After what seemed like hours, the sound of rushing feet and the pounding of the water subsided, leaving the cave silent as the party stopped fighting to catch their breath.

"I think we're done here..." Colin said, wiping sweat from his brow.

"Yeah, let's get out of here... We should make camp outside; this place gives me the creeps." Brin suggested.

"Not a bad idea." Raven agreed.

As agreed, the party collected the scraps of the 42 corpses; Raven only took 4 pairs of ears, teeth and only 10% of the income of credits.

[Killed 42 Grey Goblins (25 Credits Each)]

[Raven gained 10% Yield: 105 Credits added to your Account!]

[Total: 175 Credits]

A sudden flash of light filled all three of the people; Raven watched as they all seemed to have levelled up; he could sense the danger of Colin, and Brin had increased quite a lot, while Marie was an anomaly from the very start to end of combat, she merely used her staff as a club not casting a single spell.

'Is it to save her spells? Or is she a low mana type that only nukes the boss...?' He couldn't know from standing here and just shook his head as the group began to examine the cave, looking for an exit for almost 30 minutes.

"Hmmm? Ah! I found a door, hehe~!" Marie shouted as the other two men rushed towards her, praising her with delighted faces.

"You found one?" Colin asked, sounding excited.

"Yes, right over here." Marie pointed, leading them to a side cave that led to a strange spiral-shaped tunnel. "This will take us to the boss room, hopefully."

"Alright, let's go!" Raven laughed.

They cautiously entered the spiral tunnel, noticing it changed as they went deeper underground until they arrived at a large circular room with a giant statue of a dragon made of stone before them. A purple crystal hung off the ceiling, pulsating with a strange energy, and a soft blue light illuminated the room.

"Okay, so what do we do?" Colin asked, looking around the room curiously.

"I suppose we wait for the boss to appear..."

Raven nodded, watching as a gout of fire shot from the statue's mouth, crashing into the crystal at the ceiling, causing it to shatter and fall to the ground, creating a loud clatter. Within seconds, the room was bathed in an eerie purple light before the statue was revealed as a silver serpent with an enormous crown atop its head and a golden tail with a sharp tip. It was glowing with a bright blue aura.

"Take care of it, big guy!" Colin yelled with a smile, raising his bow.

"Well, looks like we got ourselves a fight..." Raven grunted and readied his axe, facing the snake with caution.

"You must die!" The serpent roared before opening its maw and exhaling a torrent of flame that sent the party diving to the ground.

"Oh, fuck..." Colin cursed, rolling out the way as the flames scorched the floor directly before him.

Raven stood his ground and blocked the incoming onslaught with his axe, his blood flowing like water as the fire burned against his flesh, yet he didn't scream nor flinch; instead, he pushed harder to meet the beast in the middle, aiming a blow with his axe.

His eyes were covered by fire as he dodged the first few attacks, but it proved useless; the monster's scales were too hard for his axe to penetrate easily; he tried to dodge the next attack, but the dragon was faster than expected, striking him with its tail. His body slammed against the ground, barely avoiding another strike.

"We need to find its weak spot!" Raven called out, as the party members were rather distant from him, their eyes looking at him, then at the snake for a moment.

"If anyone has a weak spot, it would be you, right?" Colin said, with a flat voice, his bow fully drawn and aimed towards Raven as the other two began to escape down another passage; this was the main room as even the dungeons exit portal and chest was here. Raven couldn't understand why they would abandon him now; they had yet to defeat the dragon.

[Raven was ejected from the party!]

He recovered quickly and swung his axe, sending a shower of sparks as it hit the first arrow, only for an arrow with a green hue to pierce Raven's thigh as Colin dashed away, "Haha, dumb demihuman trash! The boss will reset after killing all in the cavern; then it will reset!"

Colin laughed as Raven struggled to stand back up, blood dripping from his leg; he noticed the serpent was still moving, preparing itself to fire another attack.

"Well, that's just fucking great!" He growled, dodging the next attack as he charged the creature, using his axe to deflect the projectiles away, only for a new barrage to rain down upon him, sending him to the ground.

Colin's figure was now gone, Raven's eyes were bloodshot, and his muscles bulged, the black axe smashing through the arrows around him as the hissing serpent irritated him right at this second; Raven had been a calm man, endured overtime without pay, treated like garbage because of his race and the prejudice...

He expected to have some issues, but not this far... If he died, that was it... everything was over...!

The black shadows began to swarm his body and axe, the purple mist mixing and weaving together with the shadow from his [Shadow Strike] as his eyes glowed brightly, looking at the tall silver serpent staring at him with narrow eyes, almost mocking him.

"You think a snake can be as haughty as a dragon?"

Raven narrowed his eyes and replied with a taunt, "I've always enjoyed eating snake meat, let's take some home for Lilith as a nice snack."

The beast's skin glowed with a purple aura before it suddenly changed to a deep red, its scales becoming wet with blood as it reared up high into the air and opened its maw, roaring a deafening roar that echoed throughout the chamber.

"Oh? Can you understand me? Good, you filthy rat!"

The snake hissed and spat a stream of acid towards Raven; he rolled away, evading the attack as the acidic liquid splashed against the floor and left a burning slime across the ground.

Raven glared at the reptile, "So, will you keep trying to kill me?"

"Orc vs Serpent, my second real fight, huh? Let's go! I'll make sure to grind you up well!" The snake roared, spitting another torrent of acid at Raven, who rolled away as he heard the sound of his axe cutting through the air, "I am going to enjoy this!"

Raven smiled, his body glimmering with a black aura as he channelled power into his axe, swinging it as fast as possible, splitting the serpent's tail clean in half, causing it to wail and howl.

"Don't be a fool! Only losers spam the same attacks! Hahaha!"

His foot smashing into the hard scales of the snake's belly, he could feel a slight pain in his toes, but the serpent's body rolled along the ground as flames billowed from the split tail, cauterising the wounds.

"Let's dance, eastern dragon!" Raven roared and grabbed the shaft of his axe, slamming it into the serpent's neck, sending it flying backwards as he stood in the centre of the room; suddenly, his leg became numb, the strange black and green fluid spewing from the wound as his dash faltered, the sharp snakes tail thrusting through his abdomen, tearing his guts open.

Raven screamed as the serpent whipped its tail, sending him rolling along the floor, flames and rocks tearing and burning his flesh; climbing to his knees as the serpent raised its belly, ignoring the broken scales and charred flesh, looking at the bleeding orc with a sneer in its victorious eyes.

He used the axe's handle to stabilise himself before gritting his teeth.

'Fuck poison users! Fuck snakes!'

His eyes were cloudy, his senses dulling as his vision began to blur, he could hear the sounds of battle around him, but nothing made sense anymore...

"Why did you come here, little rat? Why?" The serpent said with a hiss, its voice echoing throughout the chamber.

Raven coughed, blood trickling from his mouth as he gazed at the serpent with a weak smile before saying, "I came here to eat snake meat! Hah!"

His lips drew back in a snarl as he let the axe fly, impaling it through the serpent's heart, causing it to recoil and fall to the ground, twitching as it began to bleed heavily, while Raven made his way towards the snake, wanting to end the bastard's life.

With a grunt, Raven slammed his fist onto the serpent's face, crushing its skull and shattering its nose, causing it to screech and roll away.

Raven fell to the ground, his vision growing darker and dimmer as his head pounded with pain, yet he forced himself to stand up, grabbing the serpent's tail and pulling it towards him, "How about you give me some of that snake meat?"

Bang!

His fist once again slammed against the monster's face, crushing its bones and flesh as a fleshy purple mean began to bubble and ooze from the fist wound, the serpent's head slamming against the wall and cracking apart as Raven threw the remains of the serpent aside, taking stock of the situation.

He looked around and saw no traces of the slut, Colin and Brin, which meant they were probably hiding somewhere, or waiting for his death in safety, causing Raven to become angry, the anger seemed to be something that originated from his new race, not his former self, but he didn't mind. He should be angry...

[Killed Silver Serpent Boss! Gained 0 EXP (Earned 200 Credits!)]

[Raven gained 100% Yield: 200 Credits added to your Account!]

[Total: 375 Credits]

"Shit... It seems I hit it big... Shall I meet a Lamia next time and expel my frustration on her?" He muttered, shaking his head as he sheathed his axe and took a knee.

His breath grew laboured, his mind growing clouded as he stumbled, falling against the wall, his vision blurry.

Raven's eyes closed, his hand reaching for a dagger buried in his side; he pulled it out and stared at the blade, seeing it was covered with blood...

"I've never felt this much pain..." He whispered, his hands trembling as he grabbed his axe, lifting it and placing it over his shoulder.

"I'm sorry... I should have listened more seriously... Delia."

"But it's okay... I will deal with those Demi-Hunters... Deal with them permanently." Raven mused, his eyes dull as he walked slowly towards their chosen doorway after taking the chest into his item ring.

A dark shadow swirling around his body, as the manticores sharp tail began to grow from his back, swaying like a deadly and flexible spear.