"Is that all you can do?"

Marlon taunted his opponents as he evaded their venomous spits.

Creating a small distance between the crowd of serpigon, he grinned widely and flashed them the middle finger.

The serpigon let out infuriated growls and poured toward him in an instant.

This time, Marlon clenched his fist, rocketing toward the one running ahead of the others. With a single leap, he launched his body and activated Punch of Judgement, sending it flying into the line of its colleagues behind him, knocking them to the ground while the others continued onward.

[ You've killed a Serpigon… +5600 XP ]

[ Drain activated | You've obtained a TALENT ]

A notification appeared. At first, he thought it was just one of the many he had received thus far, until his eyes landed on the TALENT, which glowed brightly among the other texts.

ROAR!

Before he could react, the group of serpigon closed the distance with him and launched all sorts of attacks at once.

A few of them landed, including several venom shots.

Marlon felt a sizzling pain from the areas struck by the venom.

He gritted his teeth, blaming himself for losing focus in the middle of battle.

"Logan… cover me!"

He barked at Logan, his voice sharp and stern, cutting through the chaos and reaching his target.

Logan nodded quickly and issued a telepathic command for Blitz to let go of his current opponent and face the torrents of serpigon charging at Marlon, who had begun to flee from the battle.

HOWL!

Blitz blocked the group of serpigon with his massive body, giving Marlon the opportunity to retreat and find a place to settle down and deal with his current situation.

His hoodie and pant now had holes on them due to the venoms.

The pain shot through his body instantly, a burning sensation as if his inner organs were on fire while his outer skin throbbed like it was set ablaze.

Marlon opened his inventory and quickly consumed one of the mid-grade healing potions.

The effect kicked in right away. His health points, which had fallen below 50%, gradually recovered, but the burning sensation of the venom remained, only reduced enough to make him a bit comfortable.

But this was all he needed for now as he focused on the notification in front of him.

[ Talent: Venom Vanguard (B) ]

[ Revealing detailed description ]

[ Venom Vanguard (B) ]

Core Affinity: Poison

Description: Those who awaken as Venom Vanguards fuse physical mastery with toxic manipulation. Their attacks can coat weapons or fists with venom, corrode defenses, and weaken enemies over time. Their bodies are naturally resilient, and exposure to toxins only enhances their strength and reflexes.

[ Would you like to awaken this talent or store it as an awakening crystal? ]

The description piqued Marlon's interest. A new talent with poison affinity and body enhancement?

How could he reject a talent like that?

Not wasting time, he picked the option to awaken the talent.

DING!

[ Awakening process begins… ]

[ Awakening 1%… 3%… ]

Just like when he first awakened his [Ex-rank Absolute Attack] talent, pain surged throughout his body, growing stronger and unbearable with every percent increase.

[ Awakening 97%… 99%… Complete. ]

[ B-rank Talent: Venom Vanguard — Awakened. ]

As it was with his first awakening, a list of skills appeared.

[ Strength Enhancement (C-rank, Passive) Permanently multiplies all base strength stats by 50% ]

[ Toxic Resistance (C-rank, Passive) Increases defense against poison-type attacks by 50% and boosts overall magical defense by 5% ]

[ Venom Adaptation (C-rank, Passive) Converts incoming toxins, poison, or minor magical attacks into a temporary strength boost. Each attack absorbed increases attack power by 5% for 30 seconds; boosts are stackable ]

[ Venomous Rage (C-rank, Active) When activated, the potency of all available skills under Venom Vanguard increases by 200% for ten minutes. Cost: 400 Aether Points | Cooldown: 12 hours ]

[ More skills will be unlocked as you grow stronger ]

Immediately, the awakening process was completed, and a new sensation washed over Marlon as he felt the venom effect of the serpigon attacks earlier dull gradually until he no longer felt the burning sensation.

He went over all the skills listed, and his eyes widened after reading every single one of them, except for Strength Enhancement, which he already knew and possessed. Since it was a skill under the Venom Vanguard talent, it was added nonetheless.

"Incredible…"

Each of the skills was nothing short of amazing. The passive skills were versatile, increasing his magical defense and even boosting his attack. Not only that, the single attack skill he awakened was simply too powerful.

The only setback was the cooldown time and the amount of Aether Points required to activate it, but regardless, it was something he would kill for in his current situation.

"With this, the venom of the serpigon would no longer be effective against me. In fact, it would even increase my attack power against them. It's a win-win situation for me."

His eyes shone.

At that moment, he could hear the howls of Blitz as it fought the serpigon on his behalf. The serpigon cries echoed fiercely, sending terror into the hearts of everyone who heard them.

The sound of attacks clashing reverberated every once in a while, a sonic confirmation of the battle taking place.

"I need to get back…"

But just as that thought formed, the entire atmosphere shifted in an instant.

It became so chilly that even with his Stone Body skill activated, he still shivered.

This…

It was not just the atmosphere that shifted.

It was the presence of a new and powerful entity appearing. As if confirming his thoughts, Marlon heard a terrifying shriek that made the entire area quake.

The small building he was sitting inside vibrated so much that it felt like it was about to collapse on top of him.

He even heard the terrified cries of some people hiding inside.

Marlon immediately stomped out of the place to see what was happening.

And behold: standing in front of the fast-swelling portal that had doubled in size was a monster of immense size and terrifying appearance, far more fearsome than any serpigon.

It was the boss monster.

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