The next battle was against a crocodile, and there wasn’t much to describe here. It was big, green, and black all over. It was strong, and its scales or hide or whatever it was made of were really hard.

  My spear could not cut through it, and Piercing Tide could barely dent it. But even though crocodiles and alligators alike can both cause plenty of damage on land, that isn’t their most dangerous place to be. Since there was no water here for this crocodile, I clearly had an advantage.

  I too was stronger in water, but that didn’t necessarily mean that I received a demerit for being on land. I was perfectly fine with being on land, and that’s where the crocodile lost. While I couldn’t directly cut into its tough scales or hide, its eyes were another matter altogether. All it took was one patient and careful strike with Piercing Tide after running around for a bit to kill the crocodile.

  Like some of the previous battles I’ve had, I’m sure if this had taken place in a swamp, river, or large body of water, it would’ve been a lot harder. Perhaps there would’ve been a far greater chance that the croc would win.

  Unfortunately for it, we weren’t, and that just about wrapped up my third battle, which meant it was time to choose a reward and take a small break.

  When it came to my reward, though, that pushed a different question altogether. It was either going to be another skill or weapon/armor. Both options posed a level of risk that I had no choice but to take.

  I was already at what I felt was my limit of Unbound skills, but I felt like I had no choice but to take another. Even if using just one pushed my body beyond what it could handle in terms of mana expenditure, I would just have to figure out a way and brute force my way into being able to use it. Either again or a completely different one.

  I had some ideas regarding that, and they involved my current struggles with pulling mana from the air. Even though my body was lacking mana, there’s plenty of it around us. If I could just harness it better, I think that would help fix my problem of having skills more powerful than I could use.

  In a perfect world, this would be something I’d only attempt after getting to a point where I could freely control the mana in the air. But this isn’t a perfect world, and in this one, I was forced to make imperfect decisions.

  That was only for skills. When it came to armor or weapons, there was a chance that I’d get something entirely unusable. What if I was given a shield? Well, actually, that wouldn’t be too bad. But a sword or a mace? Not to say I couldn’t use them, but I was a spear user. That’s how I’ve been fighting, that’s how I’ve been practicing, and at this point, forcing myself to use something else would just be a limiter in the types of battles I’ve been fighting and will soon fight.

  But what if it gave me another chest plate? The one I have now is pretty good, and while yes, I could get something better, I don’t think I necessarily need one. The one I have hasn’t even come close to breaking.

  So with no clear answer in mind, I decided to stop thinking about it and just pick something.

  Weapon/Armor.

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  Reward granted: Weapon.

  Duranium Spear.

  Instead of overthinking it, I went with a weapon, and thankfully my choice was rewarded, not only with a weapon I’m familiar with but one that’s superior to my current one. Based on how some of my last couple of battles have gone, where I haven’t been able to properly pierce or damage the beasts I’ve been fighting without using skills, this seemed like a wise choice.

  I’m grateful for the reward.

  The spear showed up in front of me, and it truly looked like something special. The shaft was brown but not quite like wood.

  It looked more like metal and it kind of reminded me of bronze or even copper, but I could tell without even touching it that it was far stronger than both of those. When I picked it up, it wasn’t as heavy as it looked. Even though I could feel the sturdiness as I gripped the shaft, it still felt far lighter than its appearance and durability indicated.

  Then I looked at the blade, also brown in color, except the edges looked like they could slice the air around them. I wanted to check how sharp it was, so I lightly pressed my thumb against the blade, and it cut me. I barely touched it, yet I was bleeding.

  Yeah, this is a good spear.

  Now it was time for my break. After returning to the lobby of the dungeon, I sat cross-legged and began silent meditation as I once again tried to get a better handle on my mana capabilities. I didn’t have long, but doing this was better than sitting around doing nothing, and I would do it after every third battle.

  Eventually, time passed, and I was once again back on the journey of fighting until I was stronger than my enemies.

  Battle 37 was against something called Alpha Quill Ursa. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of something called an Ursa, but it didn’t take me long to see what it was, a damn bear.

  Though more than a bear, it was bigger but more compact in a way. Not quite as long as a bear, and something about it seemed primal, almost ancient. Kind of like how you’d feel if you saw a normal tiger and then, next to it, a saber-tooth tiger showed up. The saber-tooth would just feel a bit more ancient, old, prehistoric and all of that. That’s how I felt when I looked at the Ursa.

  Unfortunately for it, and all the quills it was covered in that it shot at me periodically, I had a new spear in hand, and its coat of fur wasn’t nearly thick enough to stop me from cutting or piercing it.

  I barely had to do any work when the blade of the spear cut through like a knife through butter, better yet maybe a hot knife through butter. There was almost no resistance. I did get hit with a quill on my thigh, but it was all right. I didn’t feel nauseated or dizzy, so it wasn’t poisonous. I just had to deal with the wound, and that’s something I could handle.

  After that came something that really put the spear to the test, an Obsidian Rhino. It was indeed a rhino, and matching its name, it was pitch black all over. I could barely see its eyes even in the room that was as bright as a sunny day. The area around the rhino seemed to suck in all the light, making it feel a tad darker.

  Thankfully for me, it was a very simple creature. It had all the features of a rhino, with its primary form of attack being to ram me with its horn.

  It wasn’t fast enough to do that, and even though I now had a spear that could cut into its hide, it wasn’t like the Ursa where it cut like a knife through butter. It took me a while and many different cuts to get the rhino down. It was simple in its attack but revolutionary in its defense.

  Unfortunately for me, the next opponent, the Iron Behemoth, was damn near the same thing. It looked like a weird blend between a rhino and a bear, and even with my new spear, I didn’t feel confident in being able to pierce its thick, iron-like hide. In fact, I think it took me over an hour, maybe more, to kill the thing. It was another simple-minded beast, but goddamn, was it strong. Filled with an unimaginable pool of stamina and a drive that refused to be snuffed out, it fought and fought and fought. It pushed and pushed and pushed, and even when the life left its body, the whole thing still looked ready to get up and charge after me again.

  I don’t think that’s something I’d want to meet outside this arena.

  Battle 40 was something called a Titan Saber. I guess that’s what I get for bringing up a saber-tooth tiger. The dungeon rewarded me for my imagination.

  Great.