Bang!
With a second deafening gunshot echoing through the cavern, both monstrous heads of the twin-headed mole were struck dead-center in the forehead. Two thumb-sized bloody holes appeared between their eyes. Accompanied by a guttural, unwilling shriek, the beast's massive body finally collapsed to the ground with a crash.
The instant the summoner died, the searing red lava covering the cavern floor began to dissipate rapidly, visible even to the naked eye. After all, the summoning beast's attacks were fueled by chakra manipulation. Without its chakra to sustain them, such large-scale jutsu naturally crumbled on their own.
"We... we did it?!" Tenten, still dangling midair from the chain, couldn't see clearly in the dark. But with the beast's wailing now silent, it was obvious the creature had been defeated by Kirito.
"Kirito..." Just moments ago, reflected in the dim glow of the lava, Tenten had caught a glimpse of a strange black tube-like weapon appearing in Kirito's hands. She saw him raise it, take aim at the twin-headed mole, and then-
Bang! Bang!
Two sharp explosions.
And then that terrifying beast collapsed instantly.
From the moment Kirito drew that mysterious weapon to the moment it struck down the monster, it had all happened so fast it could only be described as a clean, precise kill. Tenten, who had seen countless weapons and prided herself on her vast arsenal, had never encountered one capable of this level of destruction, especially when conventional kunai and throwing knives had proven ineffective.
Even though the lava had faded, the ground was still scorching hot, like a red-hot iron skillet. Neither Kirito nor Tenten dared to land just yet.
"Tenten," Kirito said calmly, "you have some stored water in your scroll, right? Use it to cool the ground."
"Ah, right." After all they had been through, Kirito had already established himself as utterly reliable in Tenten's eyes. She followed his instructions without hesitation.
Hissss...!
Wave after wave of water burst forth from Tenten's storage scroll, drenching the glowing-hot earth below. Steam billowed upward in thick clouds. The heat was clearly still extreme.
While they waited, Kirito took advantage of the moment to enter the system interface in his mind. The side quest [Collect Rare Metal] was now flashing rapidly. From past experience, this meant the mission was nearly complete, only one final step remained.
He blinked. Then, as if realizing something, turned to look at the corpse of the fallen twin-headed mole.
With a light motion, he flipped down from the ceiling, landing beside the beast's enormous body. His enhanced night vision quickly spotted a faint glow beneath its belly.
Bracing himself, Kirito began rolling the corpse over. Sure enough, the source of the glow came from the creature's bloated stomach.
Shing!
A flash of cold steel appeared in his hand, a jagged, serrated knife.
Slice,
He first shaved away the beast's thick bristles, then drove the knife into its flesh with practiced ease.
Shrrrip!
Clean and efficient. Field-dressing and gutting was one of an assassin's many skills. Soon enough, he pried open the stomach and saw the source of the glow.
From the sticky mess of innards, he extracted a fist-sized lump of something cold to the touch, metallic in texture. It was entirely black with a hint of dark violet shimmer. Even in this complete darkness, the object exuded a strange, eerie glow, so deep and shadowy that even his night vision could barely register it.
"Found it."
As soon as he grasped the metal, the system chimed in his mind, the mission was complete.
[Side Quest Complete: Rare Metal Acquired]
Kirito inspected the material.
"So it was formed like this... Years of feeding on the minerals buried deep underground, filtering them through its digestive system... Eventually condensing into this strange and rare metal."
His gaze drifted to the tunnel from which the beast had emerged.
"Chances are, there's more of this stuff deeper inside." But that no longer concerned him. The system's mission was done. As for the rest, he'd let Tenten handle the collection, this was her specialty after all.
The reward, as expected, was one [Attribute Point].
Without hesitation, Kirito allocated the point into Endurance.
He didn't need brute strength weapons at the moment. His Agility was already more than enough. Stamina wasn't a priority either, his role as an assassin required short, decisive engagements, not prolonged battles. That left Endurance.
In his view, Endurance, the physical durability of his body, was a survival necessity. Assassins relied on ambush and stealth, but when a strike failed and escape wasn't possible, retaliation was inevitable. Even if he hadn't yet been seriously injured in battle, Kirito knew that moment would eventually come. And when it did, his ability to survive it would depend entirely on this stat.
Just like last time, he had added his bonus attribute to Endurance. Two consecutive upgrades, both devoted to defense.
He pinched his own skin thoughtfully.
No visible changes. No bulging muscles. No toughened hide. The effect wasn't outward, it would only reveal itself the moment he took a serious hit.
Whenever that time came.
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200 P.S = 1 Extra Chapters