Chapter 146: Finishing the Floor (1/2)

With one hour of rest, Arthur managed to replenish his mana and ease any fatigue he had from the earlier fight. He had to admit that it was a boring wait, but it was crucial for his growth.

This time, Arthur didn't need to say anything for the tower to send in the next monster. As he expected, it was a different type of monster.

Two sickles like arms made clanking noises as they walked toward Arthur. With its head as wide as a watermelon, the next monster made its way into the ring.

Its name was Ena, a monster that was too hideous for one to look at. It didn't have any fur but, unlike ogres or humans, its skin was shriveled and wrinkled.

It walked on all four with its arms being scythe-like bones used for fighting. The body was skinny like you'd expect from a starving person with bones outlined clearly.

”Scheee!” The monster screeched as its red, beady eyes glared at Arthur. It revealed its fangs that were as long as a person's finger.

Arthur saw the monster's eyes dart all over the place, examining the surrounding. He knew this monster, an Ena, wasn't that strong. However, it was agile and nimble with a speed that made up for its strength. Furthermore, its arms were sharper than most blades used by neo-rankers.

With a low growl, the Ena darted to the side instead of confronting Arthur directly. Arthur hadn't met a mid-tier monster faster than this one except for future Kira.

Its legs, the most muscular part of its body, carried it forward with such speed that Arthur barely had time to use the protection rune before it sliced at him.

The monster's arm was flung away by the impact after striking Arthur's protection and it screeched loudly before making another attempt to flee. However, Arthur used the Weaken rune on it and its speed got slower than earlier.

Arthur tried to catch up to it with his speed, but it was hard to do so without activating his legacy rune or wear his artifacts. Even with his agility stat being maxed out for the neo-rank, he still failed to gain an advantage over the Ena.

This was the reason this monster, despite its weakness, was one of the hardest to fight against in the neo-rank. The value of its scythe as weapons made the monster the target of many, but its speed deterred most.

Arthur tried to think of a way to take it down before he settled on the most efficient one. He can lure it to attack him using his Iron Skin skill, but he decided against it. Not to mention that skills required more mana than runes, there was no reason to let this monster strike him.

Arthur threw his hand as the fire came to life like a raging dragon, surrounding him and the Ena in a circle. The Ena screeched and stopped before he was burned but Arthur had already appeared by his side. He didn't want to waste mana by trying to hit the monster directly and decided to corner it using his rune.

Arthur's hand turned monstrous as he clawed at the monster's back, ripping it in half. The might of a D-rank skill proved itself as the monster's skin and flesh was torn threw before it through itself across the fire, trying to flee.

The fire began eating away at the desperate Ena and its screeches started dying down. Before long, it died from either the flames or bleeding to death.

Arthur watched as the monster disappeared and sighed. He needed to rest more before he can face another one. He knew it was still manageable but he hated the boredom in-between.

[You have leveled up.]

The message's timely appearance made a grin break on Arthur's face. With this, he had three more legacy points to spend. He longed for the day he would grow stronger instantly by using them, but he knew that he needed to save some for rainy days.

After another hour, the next gate opened revealing two Enas. Arthur felt a headache coming even though the monsters were the same as the previous one individually.

Instead of burning everything down with his rune, as he had planned, Arthur decided to face them head-on. The sole reason for this was to sharpen his battle-sense and get more experienced at facing two monsters with high-speed.