Still full of stamina and determination to continue the fight, Marlon faced the great serpigon.

The boss monster, having already noticed the strange power within him that made him somewhat similar to itself, narrowed its gaze and sent the remaining eighty-plus serpigon charging toward him.

This time, it used one of its enhancement skills on its minions to boost their attack power and speed.

A thin but visible veil of thick green mist enshrouded each of them, and their movements became noticeably faster as they reached Marlon in a much shorter span than usual.

The single, large eyes on each serpigon glowed crimson with bloodlust. Without hesitation, they rushed in and began unleashing all kinds of attacks on the human standing in their midst.

From where Logan stood, watching from afar, Marlon was completely surrounded with no space left to escape. He could only watch as over eighty monsters, each far stronger than Marlon, poured their attacks onto a single point.

"He's not going to survive this…"

He exhaled deeply, voicing the grim thought he could no longer ignore. With so many attacking at once and no room to retreat, Marlon's fate seemed as good as death.

Logan's expression gradually crumbled, and the hope he once held vanished as fear gripped his entire being.

The sight of the towering great serpigon made his body tremble uncontrollably. He could sense death lingering in the air as his gaze locked on the boss monster.

His eyes stayed fixed on it for almost a minute as countless grim thoughts filled his mind—each ending with the painful death of himself and his friends, and the destruction of the streets they had fought to protect.

"How is Marlon even doing…" he muttered, his voice trembling.

Even though he knew there was almost no chance for Marlon to survive, he couldn't help but worry.

"W-what…"

His eyes widened in disbelief at the sight before him.

On the spot where the serpigon had ganged up on Marlon, more than half of their previous number now lay motionless on the ground.

Before he could even process it, bodies and heads were sent flying in every direction as the serpigon numbers began to plummet rapidly.

40…

30…

20…

10…

And now, only two serpigons remained.

In their midst stood an unscathed Marlon, his fists glowing brightly and shimmering under the morning light as he dashed toward the last two serpigons standing close together.

It only lasted two seconds.

The two gigantic monsters collapsed to the ground with gaping holes in their chests.

"Thi…"

Logan's eyes remained agape.

[You've killed a Serpigon, +5600]

[Drain activated | You've obtained a skill]

[You've obtained skill: Strength Enhancement… Since you already possess this skill, it will be stored as a skill book and sent to your inventory.]

Marlon stared at the notification and grinned.

He opened his character status and stole a quick glance at his inventory.

[X25 skill books]

These were the number of skill books he had drained from his slain opponents so far.

They were all C-rank skills; given their description and effect, they would sell for an extravagant amount.

His eyes glowed at the thought of millions entering his account. He shut the inventory and turned to the boss, who was now observing him with a look he could not describe.

The great serpigon's monstrous red eyes glinted with an animalistic curiosity as it observed the little human that had defeated its entire army with ease.

It had witnessed the entire battle.

It saw how all its minions had used their special venom on him.

But not only had he managed to remain unaffected by the potent venom, he seemed to get stronger each time he came in contact with them.

It understood exactly what that meant, as it too possessed such a skill.

But the mystery remained—how could a human utilize such a skill?

It was unbelievable. Impossible.

Marlon's image quickly transformed from that of a measly, troublesome human to someone the serpigon had to kill to protect its pride and avenge its minions.

Its massive mouth opened wide, and a shriek that tore the silence thundered.

Its eyes shone even fiercer, and at that moment, a green, venomous aura began to radiate from its body.

In less than a second, its body grew larger—about six feet taller—its muscles bulging and its scales becoming even sturdier.

After its transformation, its lethal aura spread across the area in a fast-moving shockwave.

The effect was immediate.

"COUGH!"

Logan's body weakened as he collapsed to one knee.

His entire body, even his face, turned pale as incredible pain shot through him, causing him to cough up a mouthful of blood.

A red notification appeared as the pain continued to grow.

[You've been affected… You'll lose 1% every ten seconds]

He was not the only one affected.

Everyone in the area, including those hiding in their houses and those who had taken shelter in the hotel basement, felt the full impact of the attack.

Their bodies turned pale as unimaginable pain surged through them, growing unbearable as time passed.

Those who had awakened systems received the same notification as Logan, while the rest could only imagine their fate.

Only one person remained unaffected.

[Venom Adaptation: +5% Strength… Time Remaining: 29 seconds]

Marlon only sneaked a glance at this notification, as there was no time to study it in detail.

He used [Inspect] and, to his surprise, saw the power of the great serpigon had grown from C to C+.

"This must be the effect of Venom Rage," Marlon muttered to himself.

It was the same skill he had awakened—the one that increased the potency of his new talents skill by 200%.

Seeing the current state of the great serpigon, he knew the fight was going to be much more difficult.

But instead of fright, the thrill of testing his new skills against an even stronger opponent surged even further as he began to warm up.

The serpigon glared at him and, with a final shriek of annoyance, began stomping toward him, spewing green matter with each step.

Marlon charged at it simultaneously and the two beings clashed.

About a minute after, Crimson Sterling arrived on the scene.

As she flew toward them, she left a tiny trail of red energy in the air that immediately drew attention from onlookers like Logan and some nearby civilians peeping out their windows.

She ignored them, her attention fixated on the class with a stern expression that soon transformed to surprise.

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