Aren walked through the cave system, using his shadow sense to avoid most of the snakes. As for the ones that managed to find him, they were low-tier, weak creatures that he didn't need to worry about. He took them down easily, gathering soul fragments along the way. By the time he moved deeper, he had already gained an extra two hundred.

But that didn't last for long.

On the only path leading toward the eggs, he encountered the first high-tier snake.

It was far larger than the previous ones, its horn longer and much sharper. Its eyes glowed with malice, as though it knew Aren had slaughtered its brethren.

"Hissssss!"

It lunged forward, its massive body tearing through the ground at an insane speed, jaws wide open as it snapped toward him.

Aren pulled his arm back. Black lightning crackled violently around his right fist. He waited for the precise moment, then threw a massive haymaker.

The snake was already mid-lunge. There was no room to dodge.

The punch slammed straight into its head.

Lightning exploded outward, scattering in all directions as the snake was blasted aside and crashed into the cave wall.

"Damn… that was good," Aren muttered.

He slowly shifted his stance.

It was time to test the martial art.

Swift Wind had five levels to master, each one more technical and demanding than the last. So far, he had only read through the first level, but that alone was enough for him to try.

"Take a deep breath. Let the air cling to your skin. Observe its flow, and use it to your advantage."

Aren inhaled deeply, then opened his eyes.

The snake was already charging again.

"Watch the flow of the wind," he muttered.

As the snake closed in, Aren felt it, a ripple in the air around him. Normally, it was something he would have ignored completely. But now, he focused on it.

He stepped one leg back and tilted his body at the perfect angle.

The snake rushed past him.

The wind brushed against his skin, and in that instant, he felt a subtle curve in its flow.

Just as he sensed it, the snake twisted its body sharply and attacked again.

Aren unleashed a punch at the exact moment.

His fist slammed into the snake's head, knocking it backward.

"Hissssss!"

It cried out in pain and retreated several meters, its glowing eyes still locked onto Aren.

"That feeling just now…" Aren said, a grin forming on his face. "That was the wind. Just like the book said. I felt it."

He lifted his gaze to the snake.

"So that's how it works."

With that realization, his drive surged. His willpower sharpened, and in response, the martial art itself reacted, pulling him into deeper harmony with it.

The snake charged again.

This time, Aren felt the airflow clearly.

"Straight ahead."

He dodged to the side with ease, slipping past the attack, then countered immediately. Because he had evaded at the perfect moment, the flow turned in his favor.

His speed doubled.

Wind wrapped around his fist as it smashed into the snake's head.

BOOM!

The snake's skull cracked open. It let out a horrific scream before collapsing to the ground, its body writhing as dark blood spilled across the stone.

Aren didn't even look at it.

He stared at his fist.

"That power just now…" he muttered. "That was only the first level."

Swift Wind didn't simply increase strength. It allowed him to read the flow of combat and make perfect decisions, multiplying his power explosively.

His desire to learn more intensified.

If this was what he could do with just basic understanding, he couldn't imagine what would happen once he fully mastered it.

Aren finally glanced back at the snake. It had outlived its usefulness.

From a distance, he unleashed a claw strike, ending it cleanly.

[You have gained 100 soul fragments]

He continued deeper into the cave, and it didn't take long before he reached the main nest.

Large black eggs, each the size of a human head, were clustered together. But they weren't unguarded.

A massive black-horned snake was coiled tightly around them.

Aren's eyes narrowed instantly.

This one was awakened.

Over forty feet long and as wide as two humans, it radiated a terrifying aura.

The moment Aren stepped inside, its head slowly turned toward him.

Then it opened its mouth.

Crackle.

A torrent of lightning erupted forward, ripping through the cave floor as it rushed straight at him.

"Oh shit," Aren cursed.

He sprinted to the side as the lightning struck where he had just been. An explosion followed, dust and debris blasting into the air, but Aren was already moving.

"This one's definitely stronger," he muttered as he skidded to a halt and charged forward. "But I need that egg."

The snake hissed and unleashed another lightning blast.

Aren leapt into the air, dodged it, landed, and rolled, only to be met by the massive tail slamming down toward his head.

He rolled again, sprang to his feet, and rushed forward.

"Tch. You really think you're something, huh?" Aren said.

He launched a claw strike.

The snake reacted instantly, pulling its head back just in time. Aren's attack smashed into the cave wall instead, carving deep gouges into the stone.

The snake retaliated with a massive surge of lightning that ripped through the ground and made the air crackle violently.

This time, Aren didn't stop.

He fired lightning of his own straight into it.

The clash caused a violent explosion.

Aren burst through the smoke, leaping into the air until he was face to face with the snake.

"You can't protect those eggs and fight me at the same time," he said coldly. "That's why you'll die."

He pulled his arm back for a claw strike.

And then.

A cloaked figure appeared inside the cave.

The figure raised a hand.

A silver sphere of spatial energy formed instantly and shot forward.

It slammed directly into Aren's chest.

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