The Blackfern Hollows

At the north-eastern ends of the Greater Plains was a valley covered in blackness, its plants were of a dark hue, giving it a strangely gloomy air as at its center was a cavern whose depths were unknown.

Hence its name the Blackfern Hollows, others say that these grounds were the nest of a peculiar breed, a savage kind even amongst common monsters found in these parts of the Novice Zone. A breed that one poor soul is about to get slowly acquainted with on his quest within their domain.

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Ding!

[Welcome to the Blackfern Hollows, proceed to the cavern to commence the quest!]

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Nero, who had only arrived within the Blackfern Hollows, looked at the scene before him as he hung from a ledge using a dark gray vine, much like a rope.

His eyes flickered as he saw the system notification and the sights of the cavern, resting at the center of the valley below him. Oddly enough, there were no monsters around it, as only a fresh river flowed nearby.

'It took me a while, but I still managed to get here within four hours... that was quite the bloody journey,' Nero thought as he recalled how many Swirling Horn Boars he had to cut down to get here, by now, he was nearing the middle of Level 5, even his skills were only a small distance away from ranking up.

'I only hope this quest will prove to be the same,' Nero concluded as he once more fixed his attention on the cavern, as he slowly slid down the vine.

Adult Nero, who floated within Nero's consciousness, smirked while leaning backward with his arms behind his head as he spoke, "This is your first real challenge, do this, and you'll almost be ready to face a Novice Zone Dungeon..."

Nero's eyes flashed at those words, as he thought, 'A dungeon, it should have special rewards, maybe..."'

He was about to thinking something, but as if Adult Nero knew what he was thinking, he spoke to cut off his thoughts, "And no, it won't have anything that can cure mother. Enough wasting time, hurry and go down there, you'll likely not even finish the quest today even at your current stage."

Nero was upset at his former words, but as he heard the latter, he soon forgot about those thoughts and focused on his task.

"Fine!" Nero replied as he gnashed his teeth and jumped from the vine, he swiftly grabbed another and used it to swing towards the position of the cavern, not long after he had landed at its entrance.

Nero's feet had landed on the rocky floor with a light thud, surrounded by a few patches of dark grasses.

In this instant, he felt a dark presence within the cavern as if his Spiritual Awareness was warning him of great danger.

"Sssssss...." As he narrowed his eyes, a snake-like sound was heard from its depths, its distance unknown from this position.

"A snake? Is this a den of snake monsters?" Nero spoke out loud as his face showed a mix of curiosity and caution.

As Adult Nero didn't answer, he didn't continue to waste any time and entered the cavern. Nero walked through its narrow and rocky pathway, but as he moved along, he felt that the sinister presence was growing stronger as he could even hear some rapid footsteps a few dozen meters ahead of him.

He inspected the walls around, noticing how narrow they were and frowned as he called out his common iron sword instead of his scythe.

Adult Nero shook his head and spoke, "What are you doing?"

Nero spoke inwardly in a matter of fact tone, 'I am using a weapon more suited for these kinds of narrow spaces,'

Adult Nero chuckled and shook his head as he spoke, "A reaper uses one weapon, and that is his scythe... if the environment doesn't conform to its usage, then you simply have to make it do so."

Nero frowned as he spoke to himself, 'What? How the hell am I to even accomplish that?'

Adult Nero shook his head as his eyes stared before them, there a few silhouettes were rapidly making their way towards Nero's direction. Nero also noticed them and was prepared to act, but suddenly, there was a notification.

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Ding!

[You've entered the Quest Zone for the Special Quest!]

[Requirements met, revealing quest details!]

[Special Quest: Retrieve the blood of Snalard King!]

[Failure to compete for this quest will result in a loss on 1 Level and 100 prestige!]

[Commencing quests: 3, 2, 1... begin!]

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'Darn, such a mean penalty! I really am beginning to hate this system!' Nero cursed inwardly, but now wasn't the time for such things, he had to focus on the rapidly nearing opponents.

Unknowingly, the exit behind Nero had vanished as now only a large wall had blocked off his path backward, a series of wall torches now began to lit the path ahead at alarming speeds, as it revealed the features of the nearing creatures.

The bodies of these creatures were familiar, yet strange, each having the head of a large snake with the torso of a lizard that stands upright and walks with its two legs.

They wore coarse armor around their bodies and held onto a sword and shield in each arm, their snake-like tongue dancing as they charge from the long path towards Nero's direction.

Due to their swift charge, Nero didn't even have the time to inspect their stats and prepared to use the sword to battle. However, Adult Nero spoke in reliance on his previous complaints, "Put away the sword, as I've said before a reaper uses only his scythe. The reason you think you can't fight them in such a narrow space is merely due to your lack of experience."

With his eyes sharply locked on the swift Snalards, Nero gritted his teeth as he held the sword firmly, he didn't want to follow, but he also knew that the path he was walking was different from the conventional routes.

In the end, he was going to have to face all the weaknesses of his class and its advantages, and the only person who knew how better to guide himself was, ironically, himself.

'Alright, I'll do it,' Nero replied with a strained expression, the iron sword vanished from his hand as Grezelor's Curses Scythe once more appeared.

Nero was about to hold it in the same posture as he used before, the one where he stretched his arm far out behind his back.

However, at this time, Adult Nero spoke to guide him, "Good, do not use that posture, follow your instincts and it will guide you to the correct stance for the current circumstances. You are battling swift and nimble creatures within a narrow setting; their awareness and combat capabilities are even a notch above yours. The best way to defeat them is to use their strengths against them, unearthing their flaws. Remember, a scythe is more than an offensive weapon; it is also a tool to perform defensive counters..."

'Understood...' Nero replied without an ounce of anger or stubbornness, he knew this wasn't the time for pride and any other emotions.

Instantly, Nero dug into his feelings as he held the handle of the scythe firmly, but as if his Digitize Bit sensed his focus, the marking of the scythe appeared on the back of his palm as the mood around him changed.

Soon, Nero's stance changed as he leaned his body to one side and crouched with his arms holding the handle of the scythe, he then pointed the forward with its coldly shimmering edge facing the ground.

Swoosh-Swoosh-Swoosh!

By this time, the Snalards had already arrived within range, though it seemed to have taken up a lot of time, truth be told only a short moment had passed between them.

"Sssss!" The leading Snalard said as it pushed itself towards Nero with its shield raised, it seemed as if it was trying to do a shield bash.

However, Nero's eyes flickered as he lifted the scythe and struck its head towards the shield. With a bang, the force of the shield bash had pushed Nero back, causing even the scythe to be lowered as he chopped its edge into the ground to reduce the recoil.

As he saw Nero's weapon punched into the ground, the Snalard sneered as it moved even quicker, rapidly making its way past the scythe and followed up with chop of its sword, aiming to cut off Nero's head.

Nero, however, didn't show fear, his lips curved into a smile as the sword only grow larger and larger in his pupils, but as if he didn't see it, he focused on the muscles on his arms causing them to swell slightly as his grip on the scythe grew firmer.

With a sharp pull of the scythe, Nero twisted his body in a lower stance, causing the scythe's blade to rip out of the ground. It cut towards the unguarded back of the Snalard at even faster speeds than the sword chopping at Nero.

Swing! With a sinister hum, the sword narrowly cut right above where Nero's head once stood, cutting a tiny portion of his hair strands. However, as for the Snalard that now had a shocked look, its luck had run out due to the speed of Nero's scythe that made a perfect arc.

Pu-chi! The sound of flesh being cut sounded, as the scythe's edge easily bisected the Snalards head from its body as Nero, who had pulled and revolved his body, had arrived behind its back with the scythe once more pointing before him, its only difference was that its blood-stained blade now faced the side.

He held it with one hand as his posture remained that of crouching, but if there was any difference it was the smirk on his face as he stared at the other Snalards that were one step late as he spoke in a cold tone, "So it's true that it was once a tool for farming... heh, that was no different from cutting grass. Come, there's much more I can learn... your lives shall not be wasted."

"Sssssss..." Each of the Snalards made a low hiss as their eyes turn stern, they glanced at each other before glaring at Nero with a vicious look. A dark mood filled the air, as the entire carven seemed as if it was about to enter a new phase of the battle.