The moment he saw the new notification, his heartbeat quickened.
"Skill Store unlocked, huh? Let's see what this thing has to offer."
He opened the Skill Store window, his eyes scanning through the menu.
The available options were basic, nothing too flashy. However, one major problem immediately stood out.
[System – Low Guard: A basic skill that allows the user to reduce frontal damage by 5%.]
[Price – 10,000 Sigils.]
His eyebrows twitched. "Expensive!"
His current balance? A big, fat zero.
"So… how the hell do I earn Sigils?"
That's when he remembered—the guidebook.
He quickly navigated to it, hoping it had updated with new information. His guess was correct.
[System – New Information Added to Guidebook.]
> System Currency – Sigils
Sigils can be earned by completing Jobs/Quests or selling items to the store.
"So that's how I get money."
Without hesitation, he opened the store window, found the sell option, and sold the ore he had plundered from the Lesser Nethrite Serpent.
[System – 4365 Sigils obtained.]
"That's it? That won't even get me half a skill!"
Still, now that he had some money, he decided to check all available skills.
Low Guard – Reduces frontal damage by 5%. (Boring.)
Quick Strike – Slightly increases attack speed with melee weapons. (Useful, but not now.)
Lesser Vision – Slightly enhances night vision. (Pass.)
Survival Instinct – Briefly increases agility when facing lethal threats. (Could be handy… but not priority.)
Air Kick – Allows the user to jump off mid-air. (Wait... what?)
His eyes locked onto the last one.
[System – Air Kick: Allows the user a small mid-air jump ]
[Price – 10,000 Sigils.]
His mind clicked.
"This is it! This is my way out!"
If he could jump off from air, he could scale the cavern's walls and reach one of the large exits.
"I have to get this skill, no matter what."
To buy Air Kick, he needed at least three more Lesser Nethrite Serpents to get enough ore to sell.
That wasn't a problem.
He was stronger, faster, and far better equipped than when he had fought the first one. His dagger proficiency had increased, Dash had reached Level 10, and his Stealth had leveled up.
"This will be easy."
He confidently walked toward the entrance of the cavern, picking up a rock.
With precise aim, he hurled it at the serpents.
The stone struck one of the non-scaled ones.
As expected, several serpents raised their heads…
But they didn't move.
They simply stared at him.
His smirk vanished.
"What…?"
Something felt wrong.
He grabbed another rock and threw it harder.
This time, the serpents didn't even react.
They ignored him completely.
A strange unease crawled up his spine.
"Why aren't they attacking me?"
And then—he heard it.
A deep, low rumbling, like the sound of shifting stone.
The sea of serpents suddenly parted.
From their midst, something enormous rose.
A massive serpent—its body covered in gleaming scales of solid ore.
It was only second to the Titan King Serpent, the one that had remained coiled around the egg.
His mind blanked.
His breath caught.
His body refused to move.
The colossal serpent's gaze locked onto him.
It wasn't like the Lesser Nethrite Serpents.
This one was on an entirely different level.
"I have to run."
The thought barely registered before—
[System Notification – Emergency Quest!
> Survive.
Time Limit – 3 minutes.
Reward – ???]
His pulse spiked.
The serpent began to move.
[System - Emergency!
Skill Breakthrough Recommended! -
Spend 3000 sigils to upgrade Dash To Double Dash?]
Yes? No ?