Chapter 15: Malice

The Shadow Demon is worth 3 silver.

If a Collector is present, its value can be gathered at 5 silver.

Two Shadow Spiders, each worth a little over 2 silver, plus some extra drops and Dark Crystals.

So far, by rough estimation, his total harvest should be around 50 silver.

Iz would collect a fixed protection fee of 1 silver, and Lu Cang had absolutely no objection to this.

This also meant that all remaining harvests from this dungeon would belong solely to him.

However, the price for providing protection should be more than just 1 silver, right?

The price of a single Shadow Leopard was far too cheap.

Iz: "Further ahead is the Lord's chamber."

Lu Cang: "Iz, to break through the mana limit, do I have to defeat the Lord?"

Lu Cang had not forgotten the purpose of this trip.

Iz: "Yes, but not entirely."

"Breaking through the mana limit is not something everyone can achieve."

"In my current theory, a Level 1 Mage can only break through the Level 1 mana limit once they have mastered Mana Tide."

"And the key to the breakthrough lies in..."

Iz did not finish the sentence, instead offering Lu Cang a mysterious, cold smirk.

Within that smile, there was even a hint of chilling malice and wickedness.

The way he looked at Lu Cang was like a predator looking at a lamb to be slaughtered; a thick, suffocating wave of malice surged forth.

It was a malice so intense it felt almost physical, something that could be seen clearly and concretely!

The hair on Lu Cang's neck stood on end!

Oh no!

He is a bad guy!

Has he shown his true colors? This bastard!

Damn it, I knew I shouldn't trust people so easily when traveling to another world!

Dammit, just because he was good to me, I trusted him blindly!

Lu Cang immediately turned to bolt!

But he was instantly restrained by an invisible force.

Lu Cang spun around immediately, ice spikes instantly condensing in various directions around Iz.

[Ice Spike — Remote Casting]

This technique was something Iz had taught him.

If an ice spike is released in front of oneself and flies toward the enemy, it still leaves the enemy with plenty of reaction time.

But if the ice spikes form around the enemy...

Directly surrounding them...

The reaction time will be much shorter, and the space available to dodge will be much smaller.

He applied this technique directly to Iz Palut.

However, in the next second...

*Bang!*

The countless newly formed ice spikes shattered instantly.

Lu Cang saw the condensed elemental ice scatter into fragments.

He had no idea what kind of countermeasure Iz Palut had actually used.

Was the gap between a Level 1 Mage and a Level 5 Mage truly that vast?

Fireball!

*Bang!*

*Bang bang bang bang!*

Fireballs generated one after another around Iz.

But the moment the fireballs formed, they exploded instantly. Iz remained unscathed, not even a single strand of his hair was out of place.

With his hands tucked into the pockets of his robes, he watched Lu Cang with a cold and vicious smile.

It was as if his scheme had already succeeded.

*Swish!*

The massive stone door ahead swung open!

Lu Cang felt as if he were being grabbed by an invisible giant hand!

*Bang!*

He was slammed directly against the wall.

His internal organs churned, and he actually spat out a mouthful of blood.

In the direction where Iz stood...

The stone door closed.

Enduring excruciating pain, Lu Cang's vision blurred.

The last thing he saw was Iz's chilling smile.

It hurt so much.

This force... it was intended to kill him.

Lu Cang felt that his right hand was already immobile, and a piercing pain traveled up his arm.

Was it broken?

No, now was not the time to worry about that.

Lu Cang had already noticed.

A giant serpent, ten meters long with scales that reflected the darkness, was slithering before him.

It raised its body, looking down upon the tiny Lu Cang.

Lu Cang had seen this behemoth the very moment he was thrown in.

This time, there was no commentary from Iz.

Lu Cang had no idea what abilities this snake possessed or what kind of attacks it would make.

But he knew at least one thing.

It was a Lord-level existence in this dungeon.

Lu Cang took a deep breath.

If he wanted to survive, he had to at least defeat it first; only by surviving the attacks of this monster would he be qualified to discuss anything else.

In an instant, a fireball formed!

But the moment the fireball appeared, Lu Cang sensitively discovered that his mana was not recovering along with the surge of the Mana Tide.

Upon closer inspection...

He realized that the elements in this room were abnormally thin!

*Boom!*

Facing the strike of the snake's head charging toward him, Lu Cang raised his hand and unleashed seven fireballs directly at it!

*Boom!*

A series of explosions erupted before his eyes!

But this time, the once-unstoppable fireballs failed to kill it directly.

The snake's head continued its charge toward him!

Lu Cang rolled with all his might, narrowly dodging the strike of the snake's head from the side!

The attack method... is a collision.

Did the fireballs not deal much damage?

His spell damage was over a hundred times that of a Level 1 Mage.

Lu Cang refused to believe that seven fireballs failed to deal even a shred of damage...

Fire immunity?

Guessing this in his mind, Lu Cang immediately switched to the next type of magic.

[Ice Spike (LV: 91)]

The generation of the ice spike drained about 3% of Lu Cang's mana, which was roughly three times the total mana of a newly transitioned Mage...

This time, he generated a massive ice spike!

*Boom!*

This ice spike strike slammed directly into the giant snake's soft belly! The impact forced the snake's body to arch backward!

The ice spike dented its abdomen.

However, the skin remained intact; the ice spike did not penetrate!

Such tough hide.

*Bang!*

Almost in the next instant, another massive ice spike, moving in the complete opposite direction of the first, pressed down simultaneously!

*Boom!*

Two sharp ice spikes pierced the giant python's body from both sides at once.

The giant python let out a pained wail!

But amidst its wailing...

Dust rolled in from the distance, and its tail swept toward Lu Cang!

Lu Cang gasped.

What should he do?

The height of this massive tail was taller than Lu Cang himself.

With his child-like physique...

If he were hit, he would likely die instantly.

But with his current speed, he couldn't possibly dodge such a wide-area sweep.

This sweep completely cut off any path of retreat on the ground.

The ground?

Lu Cang suddenly looked up at the sky; the cavern was very high!

If he went up...

But even if he jumped, it would be impossible to dodge.

As these thoughts raced through his mind...

Lu Cang's left hand began to condense ice.

*Boom!*

This strike showed no mercy; the tail did not slow down at all, but instead accelerated its force at the very end!

It swept across the entire area even faster.

The sweeping giant tail had effectively plowed through the entire floor of the cavern.

When the tail stopped, Lu Cang's figure was no longer on the ground, yet there was no mess of flesh and blood on the floor.

The giant python's eyes looked upward.

At the top of the cavern, an ice spike was embedded deep into the rock wall, and Lu Cang's left hand was gripping a protrusion on the spike.

No...

Looking closely, Lu Cang had actually frozen his entire left hand together with the ice spike.

By using this method to propel himself along with the spike into the cavern ceiling, he had managed to dodge the strike.