Whack!
The tail of a medium-sized sauropod, one of the Vulcanodon kind, smacked Wolfton with its whip-like strike, hurling him into the air. Wolfton backflipped midair and landed gracefully on his feet.
"Megafaunas are always menacingly strong, herbivore or carnivore," Wolfton grinned, watching the Vulcanodon charge toward him despite its massive size.
"Guess I'll have to use my abilities."
[Skill Activated: Stormfire Slash
Celestial Energy
Wolfton's sword ignited with bright yellow flames sparking with static electricity. Infusing his legs with mana, he lunged at the racing beast.
With a slash, a vortex of fire and electricity shot from his sword, striking the Vulcanodon's neck.
"Fool. There's a reason it's called Vulcanodon, its habitat is literally a volcano," Raven muttered from the stands.
"What damage can fire do to it? Even if it's not the real thing and weaker than the actual monster, that's still the worst opponent for him."
The Vulcanodon grunted and whipped its tail at lightning speed toward Wolfton. At the last moment, Wolfton ducked, slid beneath the beast, and fired a barrage of fire-lightning bolts upward.
"Megafaunas like Vulcanodon are generally slow, except for their tails. Their skin is so thick it's nearly impervious to most attacks," Wolfton muttered.
"This one has high immunity to fire… but not to lightning. If I can hit its small head, I can knock the stupid thing out."
The monster reared, ready to crush Wolfton under its bulk. But the purple stickman was quicker. Dodging the thunderous impact, he leapt and unleashed fire-lightning bolts straight at its head.
The flames did nothing, but the electricity made the Vulcanodon shudder violently. It grunted, staggered sideways, and collapsed with a thunderous crash before dissipating into blue dust.
"Challenging… but a piece of cake." Wolfton huffed.
He glanced at Raven, who stared back with a stoic expression.
For some reason, I can hear him saying: "Is that the best you can do? Even a chicken could do better." Wolfton's brow creased.
"I have to get Grade A, or everything I said earlier will sound like a cheap bluff."
He readied his sword as the next monster began to form.
"So… he's one of those with special abilities. That explains his confidence". One of the test applicants said. "Still, he'll get nothing higher than C double-star."
In the Adventurer's hierarchy, the rankings are as follows:
Grade F, E, D
Grade C, C★, C★★
Grade B, B★★
Grade A, A★, A★★
Grade S, S★, S★★
Adventurers of Grade B and above are rare, and when someone achieves such ranks, they're treated like nobility. Raven knew why the bar was set at C double-star, Wolfton's abilities gave him an edge, but the test monsters were brutal. The Vulcanodon was only the beginning.
Wolfton fought through wave after wave of holographic Megafaunas until he finally faced one of the Ascendant class. By then, his mana and spark essence were nearly drained, his attacks weaker than before.
A heavily armored Ankylosaur, an Ankylosaurus, swung its massive clubbed tail. Wolfton narrowly evaded, though his exhaustion showed.
He huffed and puffed, his body sluggish but his will unbroken. Not when someone's watching me this closely.
"Should we stop? He seems tired," a female examiner asked.
"Let's wait a little longer. People with special abilities are rare, we don't see one every day," said a green stickman with a ponytail.
"Damn it, its armor is impervious to my strikes. Even its underside is too thick." Wolfton's voice trembled with fatigue.
"My energy is drained… my stamina's gone… Can I—? No. I must. I have to complete the system's quest." His teeth clenched.
Sliding beneath the Ankylosaur, Wolfton used the last of his essence and mana, driving his sword into its belly.
The beast bellowed in pain, lashing out instinctively with a forelimb. The blow sent Wolfton tumbling across the arena, his body bruised and battered.
Steam hissed from the Ankylosaur's nostrils as it charged, short sturdy legs pounding the ground.
Wolfton staggered to his feet. His eyes locked on his sword still buried in the beast's underside.
"If I can just drive it deeper…"
The Ankylosaur thundered closer. Wolfton stood his ground. At the last second, he slid beneath it again, ramming the sword deeper into its flesh.
The monster roared. Magenta energy spheres flared from its body, exploding outward. The blast hurled Wolfton across the arena, his body rolling violently across the ground.
Shaking, he tried to stand, but the Ankylosaur loomed above him, its massive club tail poised for the final blow, only to vanish mid-swing, dissipating into blue dust.
"That's enough, Mister Wolfton. You did your best. We've determined your rank," the green stickman announced.
Half-breathing, Wolfton stood weakly. His fists clenched, his teeth grit. Raven could see what he was thinking: that he still wasn't strong enough to face a true Mega Fauna.
"That beast was of the same class as the Triospinosaurus, though weaker since it was a hologram," Raven muttered. "Still, he's stronger than I was in my past life."
He smirked grimly.
"It doesn't matter. Since we're both champions, I can't let you surpass me. After all… you challenged me."