Chapter 76. Final Test
Succubi Chapter 76. Final Test
The silence stretched—tight, thick, and clawing at my skin. Every breath I took felt heavier, every beat of my pulse louder than it should’ve been. There was nothing left but that one final target. The last monster. The one that had refused to charge like the others. The one that had waited.
Smart bastard.
It wasn’t just hiding anymore. It was learning. Each time I twitched, each shift in stance—it adjusted. It wasn’t attacking at random. It was stalking me now, syncing to my patterns, maybe even mimicking my own movement style.
Great.
I really hated fighting things with good memory.
“Okay,” I murmured, pivoting slowly. “No more warm-up. No more tests. You want the real me?”
I exhaled sharply and closed my eyes.
My blade remained in hand. My stance shifted lower. Breath steady.
I waited for the feel of it.
A breeze. A step. A shift in the pressure. One signal.
Then—there.
Behind me.
I whipped around and struck.
Nothing but air.
A low snarl came from my left—and again, I spun too late.
Something slashed my ribs, shallow but fast. The burn lit up instantly.
I staggered back, clutching my side.
“Tch—okay, you’re fast.”
And precise. It was like fighting a mirror, but worse. My own aggression was being used against me. Every reckless strike gave it information. Every feint, a pattern.
So I stopped trying to lead.
I invited it.
Dropped my guard just enough.
Let it think I was slipping.
Five seconds.
A whisper of air.
It lunged from above this time.
But I was ready.
[Devil Armor- Activated.]
The armor snapped over my body in a ripple of cursed steel and ethereal flame. Red veins of infernal energy surged across my limbs, and a horned helm sealed over my head just as the creature struck.
Its claws met my chest—and screamed as my armor bit back. Cursed retaliation energy flared, scorching its hide and forcing it to reel away, shrieking in fury.
“Got you,” I hissed, lunging forward.
[Shadow Blade – Charged]
I poured what shadow I had left into it.
The blade roared in my grip. I leapt, spun once mid-air, and brought the blade down across the beast’s side.
It twisted, trying to dodge.
But the arc of my blade bent with my will—phased straight through its defensive shift.
I landed hard on one knee.
The creature shuddered behind me.
One breath.
Two.
Then it let out a final gurgled screech—and crumbled into mana shards that burst like ashes into the void.
[Target Eliminated.]
[Dark Simulation Complete.]
[All Combatants Neutralized.]
[Score Evaluation: Pending...]
My legs almost gave out.
I staggered upright with a breath that felt like sandpaper scraping through my lungs, and then—
-WHOOMPH!
Suddenly the world flared.
Not with gentle light.
But fire.
Flames erupted from around the edges of the void—no longer void—now reshaped, reformed, remade into stone. A massive circular arena sprawled beneath my boots. The kind you’d expect a minotaur to call home. Pillars crumbled. Chains dangled from cracked arches. The air was warm, dry, and crackling with magic.
Above me, the darkness peeled back like melting cloth, revealing a burning ceiling dome of glowing red glyphs.
And the firelight wasn’t just warm. It moved.
The flames curled into torches, suspended in midair, floating in a perfect circle around the arena like some cursed audience.
I spun slowly, breathing shallow.
Then the next system voice arrived.
[Final Trial Activated.]
[Objective: Eliminate the Arena Guardian. Failure to do so will result in a Rank C qualification.]
[Victory = Rank B Eligibility.]
“Oh, fantastic,” I muttered. “I win, I get B. I lose, I get bronze medal. Real motivating, thanks.”
The arena rumbled.
Something heavy stepped forward from a shadow gate at the far end.
Then I saw it.
The boss.
At least twelve feet tall. Horned. Humanoid, in the way nightmares can be. Covered in cracked obsidian armor that steamed from vents across its back. Its left arm was a cannon, fused into its body. The other arm—just a massive clawed hand dripping with red ether. No face. Just a helm split by a line of burning white light.
“Ohhh no,” I whispered, already backing up. “Nope. Nuh-uh. You are not balanced for student testing.”
The monster roared.
The entire arena shook.
I barely leapt away in time before the cannon fired—a blazing burst of pure destructive light that melted half the wall behind me.
I skidded behind a pillar.
“That was a laser. That was a literal anti-student laser.”
I peeked out just in time to see the creature’s massive body charge forward. One footstep. Two. It was faster than it had any right to be. The claw hand dragged through the ground, sending stone chunks flying.
I flipped over the pillar just as it slammed into it—shattering the entire structure.
“Dark Orbs!”
They burst into life around me. Mini gravitational mines spinning in a defensive triangle.
“Okay, big guy,” I muttered. “Let’s play.”
I sprinted along the left edge of the arena, orbs trailing behind.
The boss turned—its cannon recharging—and lunged again.
I jumped, ducked under a chain hanging from the ceiling, landed on a broken slab, and launched two orbs directly into its chest.
They exploded—gravity pulses pulling it slightly off balance.
Not much. But enough.
I slid beneath its legs, turned, and—
‘Death Wave!’
I slammed both palms down.
A ripple of necrotic energy exploded outward in a circular pulse, black and red weaving together. The boss staggered—its legs smoked slightly. It let out a sharp roar, more mechanical than beastly.
“Yeah, that tickled, didn’t it?” I taunted. “Want another?”
It responded by grabbing a flaming pillar from the wall and throwing it at me like a javelin.
I dove. Rolled.
Barely missed decapitation.
“Okay! Okay! Temper problems!”
I sprinted again, dodging as more cannon shots rained behind me, each blast sending fire and stone flying.
My breath was ragged now. Mana low.
I had to time this.
One mistake and that thing would swat me like a fly.
I needed a finisher. Something that would let me hit hard, fast, and precise.
So I baited it.
I ran straight at the boss.
It raised its claw arm—ready to crush me.
But I leapt high—higher than I should’ve.
[Shadow Blade – Spear]
The blade extended into a long spear, wicked and curved at the edge like a scythe forged from nightmares. I charged it mid-air, drawing in all remaining shadow.
The moment I came down?
I aimed right for the slit in its helmet.
But it moved.
Too fast.
The cannon arm slammed me mid-air and sent me flying.
I hit the wall hard. Stars danced. Blood tasted like iron in my mouth.
My ribs screamed.
I hit the ground, coughing.
The monster roared again—charging.
One chance.
I grabbed my side, stumbled upright.
[Shadow Blade – Bow Form]
One last shot.
I pulled back.
The string glowed with flickering energy.
The arrow crackled.
The boss sprinted.
I breathed once—
“Let’s see you dodge this—”
And let it fly.
The arrow split mid-air into five rotating lances of shadow, spiraling like shurikens from hell. They struck—hard. One into its cannon. One into its eye slit. Two in the chest.
The last?
Straight into its leg.
The monster stumbled.
But didn’t fall.
Not yet.
Not until I got back up—
—and ran toward it again.
“Let’s finish this dance, you glitchy dungeon-sweeping bastard—”
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