Drake didn't waste any time; he immediately went for the attack, using his dragon's breath. The man planted his feet forward and used his sword to dash through the flames.
The flames burned hot, and through his armor, it felt like a million degrees, but his body had been tempered over the years, built to become stronger and more resilient.
He held his ground and cut through the flames without letting up. When the flame breath ended, the man stood there, steaming like a hot pot of soup.
The light in his eyes had dimmed a considerable amount; he could barely move. Yet despite all that, he went into his next stance. Jake could not help but admire this man, but then again, a man this strong would be too big of a threat to be left alive.
"Drake, take him down," Jake said, and Drake immediately spun, swinging his tail as fast as he could. He ripped through the trees that stood, and without any hindrance, the tail went on, headed for the man.
He saw the tail—his instincts screamed at him to dodge, but his body had been cooked; he could barely move. He opted for blocking the tail.
With his feet planted into the ground, he blocked the attack, but no matter how he prepared for it, it was a terrible idea. The tail slammed into him and immediately sent him flying without any resistance.
He shot through the air like a bullet and slammed through multiple trees before coming to a stop, lying on the ground, weak and battered, unable to move.
Jake walked toward him, his footsteps making sounds inside the rubble, broken trees, and branches.
He bent down beside the man, staring at him. "You were really strong. I didn't think there would be anyone capable of even staying alive after being attacked by Drake.
I guess my view of this world is still very limited. I have to gather some knowledge first," Riven said, stupidly allowing himself to fall into thought right there in front of an enemy that wasn't dead yet.
[Danger, RUN!]
The system warned, but Jake could not react fast enough. The man made one final move; his hands moved from the ground at bullet-like speed.
It headed right for Jake's heart. Everything seemed to go in slow motion for Jake as he saw this unavoidable hand pierce through his chest and into his heart.
Coughing up a mouthful of blood, it seemed his own overconfidence had coaxed his death now.
[Guardian Pact has been activated]
[Drake will now take the damage of the attack]
Immediately, the system lit up with this information. Drake's chest started healing up immediately, like it was going in reverse.
"Drake has a skill like this?" Jake asked.
[Of course he had, but instead of reading everything, you were here getting yourself killed.]
The system seemed genuinely pissed by the fact that Jake almost got killed. Jake didn't know why, but that made him feel happy.
Jake got up. He grabbed the man's spear, staring at him with cold eyes. There was no mercy for a man who literally killed him.
The man looked at Jake, his eyes wide in disbelief. He had put his all into the final attack to make sure that he took Jake down at least.
This world was already filled with monsters and terrifying geniuses that made it entirely hard to live in. He didn't want to allow a necromancer with such power to come into this world, yet he had failed.
Jake raised the spear, and without a moment of hesitation, he bit his lip and stabbed down. The spear pierced into the helmet and into the head, killing the man.
He pulled out the spear. His legs felt weak, his hands trembled slightly. He had taken his first life. He wasn't sad or pained—if given the chance, he would do it again—but it was still a new experience for him.
[You have gained 2000 EXP, 2000 Soul Shards]
[You have gained a new skill: Rise]
[You have become a participant in the Hundred Trials]
[Level up, 2 stat points]
[Level up, 2 stat points]
[Level up, 2 stat points]
[Level up, 2 stat points]
[Level up, 2 stat points]
He was immediately flooded with tons of messages. He looked through them one by one.
"2000 EXP? That's a lot. Was this dude really that strong?"
What pulled his attention the most was the skill he had just gotten—Rise.
[Rise: Summon a being that has just been killed recently with similar power to when it was alive. Time: 24 hours after death. Rise summons will take two slots regardless of strength.]
Jake's eyes lit up as he read the skill. He would be able to summon dead beings, and they would have the same power as they had when they were alive.
Although they would take two slots, so he had to be careful when summoning with Rise. He would have to use it for corpses that had a lot of power.
He glanced over at the body of the man. He immediately knew that this man was going to be his first Rise summon. But before that, he read the next notification—and this one, he had no idea about.
[You have become a participant in the Hundred Trials]
He recalled that man saying something like this, but he had no idea what it was.
"System, do you know what the Hundred Trials is?" Jake asked.
[Not a clue. I don't have information on this world enough to know it. But I think it has something to do with the tattoo that has appeared on the back of your hand.]
"Huh? Tattoo?" Jake immediately looked at the back of his hand, and there was a tattoo there—a black circle with a four-pointed star at the center, with its edges sticking out of the tattoo.
He lifted his hand and looked at it closer. He knew it hadn't been there before, so it had to be new. He glanced at the man again—it was for sure his fault, somehow.