Undying Warlord

While Kathrine and Yvonne left for the temporary Gate as quickly as possible, Dilan was inside the Gate of the Mountain Ring of the Elements.

It was a Gate that required him to be Level 10 and Tier-1. Fortunately, he had spent considerable time hunting quite some monsters in the past few days.

Thus, his level had finally advanced to 10. He was allowed to enter the Mountain Ring of the Elements and began to research it.

"The report written by Oliver and the others says that there are not too many monsters. Looks like that is true." Dilan was searching for new raw materials that could be used to create stronger weapons, with the focus particularly being on the required ingredients to create a wand.

He wanted to help Old Jeff by providing him with everything he needed. Being a Blacksmith was already a laborious task. Old Jeff shouldn't have to search for his own ingredients.

That was why Dilan spent his time observing the Mountain Ring of the Elements.

There were several types of trees in the forest around the Mountain Ring, and the mountain ring itself was a treasure trove as well.

A handful of caves entered Dilan's sight after he walked through the forest for less than 20 minutes. The forest could be considered the outskirts of the mountain ring, and Dilan felt like continuing to comb through it.

He wanted to find a huge cave where he could find deposits of various types of ores, crystals, and other special materials and conduct thorough research.

However, before he could even think about spending his freetime with research, a huge Bear entered his sight.

The Bear was more than five meters tall, it had crimson-red claws that were more than thirty centimeters long, and its eyes gleamed brightly.

'A strong one.' Dilan assessed in an instant.

Sadly, before he could make a move against the monster, it had detected him as well. It growled out and slashed its claws in his direction.

All of a sudden, it almost looked like the Crimson claw Bear's claws detached from its paws. Like saber beams, they shot through the air.

They were headed straight toward Dilan, who could only narrow his eyes at the sight of the crimson beams that had been blasted toward him.

Within a single second, several trees were cleanly sliced through as they fell over with a thunderous noise, creating a loud commotion. However, the commotion was the last thing Dilan could care about for now because his heart was beating wildly at the sight of the ten crimson beams.

Their trajectory was constantly changing and their speed was terrifying, to put it simply.

Three blueish shields manifested around Dilan in an instant, and he moved them with ease.

Having used 30 Mana to utilize [Aegis' Shield] three times in a row was a waste, even for Dilan. However, he felt that activating [Gale] wouldn't rescue him this time.

He might be able to travel 10 meters in an instant, but nothing could come in his way. That made things quite difficult, even more so if the forest around him was densely-packed, and the scene in front of him was filled with the deadly crimson beams.

They blasted toward him, but Dilan had activated [Aegis' Shield] with the highest possible mana consumption.

Even ordinary Tier-1 monsters would require 10 seconds to destroy the fully empowered [Aegis' Shield]. This was more than enough time for the crimson blades to be destroyed.

To his dismay, the first Aegis' shield showed signs of cracking the moment the third crimson blade impacted on it.

Dilan frowned and soon the first Aegis' shield crumbled when the fourth crimson blade hit it.

Following that, the second Aegis' shield blade replaced the first one, just to be destroyed after the fourth crimson blade hit it as well.

The last Aegis' shield had only a few cracks but that was everything.

"What the hell…" Dilan blurted out after the last crimson beam was finally blocked. However, even before Dilan could react, he noticed that the Crimson claw Bear had disappeared from his sight.

Only after a second had passed did he detect the monster's presence. It had camouflaged itself into the forest, before attacking him from the side.

Instead of daring to attack directly, it noticed quite early that Dilan was not to be taken lightly.

The Crimson Claw Bear didn't want to face Dilan directly. Instead of doing something suicidal, the monster distracted him before using the environment to its advantage.

Emerging next to Dilan, the Crimson Claw Bear initiated an attack without a trace of hesitation.

Its crimson claws shone faintly in the scarce sunlight that peeked through the thicket of the trees as the claws swiped down at Dilan.

The third Aegis' shield was still in front of him.

However, it was already damaged. Thus, the Crimson Claws cut through the Aegis' Shield before Dilan could move it to deflect its attack.

'Well, whatever.' Dilan thought as his heart started to beat wildly, while adrenaline coursed through his entire body.

Excitement spread through him once again and he felt much lighter than before. The trouble that had tormented his mind before simply disappeared and the Blazing Serpentine Blade in his hand was suddenly engulfed in fiery flames.

Dilan began to smile as he activated [Thunder Step] to increase his Agility by 30%.

At this point, his Agility almost reached 95 Units after he received his first Agility boost.

And this was already more than he needed to fight the Crimson Claw Bear.

He didn't want to obliterate his opponent so easily, which was why he avoided activating [Second Acceleration] right away.

Or, at least, Dilan told himself that it would be fine even if he didn't activate [Second Acceleration]. He wanted to see whether he was strong enough to defeat the Crimson Claw Bear or not.

Its strength was definitely on par with the Gold Tier-1 Minotaur leader's prowess, but Dilan felt that the bear was better at using its brain.

Thus, Dilan wanted to face the Crimson Claw Bear head-on so as to gauge its strength, and not use numerous other means to overpower his opponent.

Using all the memories and experiences he had received and digested from the occupational passive ability [True Weapon Specialist], Dilan was ready to fight at once.

He blasted toward the Crimson Claw Bear without a trace of hesitation visible in his eyes as he lashed out with the Blazing Serpentine Blade.

Controlling the Blazing Serpentine Blade precisely, he enlarged its upper part that pierced into the Crimson Claw Bear's arms.

Meanwhile, the firm lower part of the longsword was used to block the Bear's razor-sharp arms.

He had to prevent being scratched by the Crimson Claw Bear, which was exactly what Dilan was currently doing.

'The Bear's attacks are far stronger than the Minotaur leader's despite its lower body's strength. These claws…the claws are special!!'

Dilan had already realized this the moment the Crimson Claw Bear had attacked him with the crimson beams.

They were much sharper and lethal than any other attack he had ever faced.

And Dilan had faced quite some attacks by now.

'Show me your Claws a little more, you little treasure!!'