Starting Unlimited Evolution from Grinding

Chapter 302: Cave, Deep Pool, Giant Serpent

"Promotion conditions met. Profession: Mage (lv14) promoted — Current Profession: Mage (lv15)"

"Gained Profession Attribute Enhancement: Constitution +2, Agility +2, Spirit +5, Mana +9!"

Lin Mo's Mage level had reached 15, and he had once again gained some attribute enhancements.

Lin Mo carefully examined his current status panel.

【Name】: Lin Mo

【Profession】: Warrior lv13, Knight lv10, Assassin lv10, Mage lv15, Priest lv10, Ranger lv10

【Attributes】: Base + (Enhancement = Total)

Strength: 170 (+164=334)

Agility: 104 (+167=271)

Constitution: 106 (+139=245)Spirit: 37 (+81=118)

Mana: 202 (+152=354)

Fire Elemental Affinity: 26%+26%=45.24% (after decay)

Ice Elemental Affinity: 27%+12.5%=36.125% (after decay)

Lightning Elemental Affinity: 26%

Earth Elemental Affinity: 12.5%

Wind Elemental Affinity: 12.5%

Water Elemental Affinity: 12.5%

Light Elemental Affinity: 12.5%

Equipment: Frost Dragon Scale Sword, Mithril Gloves, Bow of Hurricane, Frost Chill Robe...

This status panel was undoubtedly extremely impressive.

While overall quite well-rounded, it was particularly outstanding in the Strength and Mana attributes. Lin Mo's total Mana attribute had now reached 354 points. Although his level was 15, this value already surpassed that of a level 17 Mage and was approaching the level of an 18th-level Mage.

And this was just his theoretical strength. In actual combat, as a well-rounded fighter excelling in all attributes, Lin Mo could completely handle even an 18th-level opponent.

If he encountered that group of skeleton generals again now, Lin Mo wouldn't need to run at all. He wouldn't even need to get serious, just put in a bit of effort to easily deal with them.

Secret Realms truly were great places.

Not only was there a chance to obtain various legacies and rewards, but for Lin Mo, they were undoubtedly also the fastest places to level up.

It's just that the unpredictability of Secret Realms was still too high. For example, right now, if they couldn't find an exit within the upcoming 30th stage... the situation would become very bad for them.

Of course, on the continent, there weren't no Secret Realms with relatively clear information. Especially those large and super-large Secret Realms had often been explored countless times by predecessors. Their terrain, layers, including the possible monsters encountered and rewards, while not entirely certain, at least had some reference points.

Moreover, those ultra-small Secret Realms often also had relatively stable entrances and exits.

These Secret Realms were excellent adventure locations for adventurers. The particularly outstanding ones would even be officially certified as adventure holy lands by the Adventurers' Guild.

For example, the Nasadok Dungeon within the Violet Empire was one of these "holy lands".

When his strength increased further in the future, Lin Mo very much had the idea of exploring these super-large Secret Realms.

Continuing to rest for a while with his head on Eve's lap, waiting until his condition was fully restored and thoroughly enjoying the lap pillow, Lin Mo finally stood up and stretched his body.

"Let's go, time to move forward!"

Eve nodded and followed closely behind him.

Pushing open the door ahead, the next phase of their adventure began...

Once again, that feeling akin to a brief blackout of consciousness occurred. When his vision returned, what appeared before him was a pitch-black cave.

'This place...'

Lin Mo frowned. A smell of damp earth assaulted his senses, mixed with a somewhat sour, plant-juice-like scent and a faint, elusive stench.

Even the desert from earlier had a better environment than here!

Frowning tightly, he activated the [Eagle Eye] skill. The originally pitch-dark cave finally gained some visibility, but the effect was still quite limited.

This place was simply too dark, with almost no light at all. Relying on vision to move here was basically impossible.

Fortunately, Lin Mo's Spirit attribute was also relatively strong. Although it couldn't compare to his other attributes, it was sufficient.

His powerful spiritual energy granted him perception abilities far surpassing ordinary people. To put it mysteriously, it was like having a "mind's eye" that could survey the surroundings.

But Eve did not possess such an ability.

In the utter darkness, her breathing inevitably became a bit more rapid.

Even for powerful professionals, darkness and the unknown were fears that humanity could never completely overcome.

"Stay close to me."

Lin Mo spoke up. "Be careful not to get separated."

Eve immediately moved closer to him, even pressing directly against him. This usually taciturn genius girl now had a somewhat clingy, dependent feel about her.

Her figure was originally the relatively petite type.

She definitely wasn't as exaggerated as Sherfilia, but she wasn't much taller either, probably about the same as Lena, or even a bit shorter than Lena, estimated to be under 155 cm.

A standard petite girl's physique.

Now, pressed close to Lin Mo's side, her head didn't even reach his shoulder.

Lin Mo started walking, with Eve closely following behind, her hand tightly gripping her sword hilt as she warily surveyed their surroundings.

"Don't worry too much."

Sensing her tension, Lin Mo comforted her. "With me here, nothing will happen."

This statement seemed particularly effective, as Eve had absolutely no doubts about his strength, being completely and utterly convinced.

This cavern wasn't narrow, at least not for them. Lin Mo looked up—though he couldn't actually see, relying on perception instead, he still instinctively did so.

The cave's height varied, rising and falling, but was generally over 5 meters. Continuing forward, the overall height seemed to be constantly increasing.

The surroundings weren't stone walls but rather firm, hard-packed earth. The ground underfoot was uneven, with some areas being quite muddy.

Sometimes taking a step, you'd almost think you'd stepped into a void. This feeling of deep, uncertain footing made Eve quite uncomfortable.

The cave was very quiet, with almost no extraneous sounds, making their footsteps and even their breathing exceptionally clear.

Unconsciously, they had been traveling through the darkness for half an hour.

During that half hour, Lin Mo had been continuously observing the surrounding environment using his perception and limited vision.

What was certain was that this cave was large and complex. Along the way, they had already passed an unknown number of branching paths. In such a situation, Lin Mo could only choose to continue trusting his intuition.

"There seems to be the sound of water ahead..."

Lin Mo's hearing was extremely sharp. "It's still quite far, but we can go check it out."

Although he didn't know the source of the water sound, compared to blindly wandering in this cave, any different location was worth investigating. Perhaps they could find some crucial information.

Lin Mo headed in the direction of the water sound, unconsciously quickening his pace.

Half a minute later, he suddenly heard Eve's somewhat soft voice from behind. "Slow down... wait for me..."

That almost coquettish tone made Lin Mo pause for a moment.

He immediately turned around and stepped forward to take her hand.

Eve was momentarily stunned, then actively tightened her grip on Lin Mo's hand.

Her hand was very petite, looking as if it was completely enveloped in Lin Mo's palm. Her skin was unexpectedly smooth, soft to the touch, and her body temperature was slightly cool.

She seemed to follow Lin Mo's footsteps, quickly walking towards the front.

Somehow, her mood seemed to calm down a lot all at once, her thoughts no longer so chaotic, as if her entire being had quieted down.

"Drip—drip—drip-drip—"

An increasingly clear sound rang in their ears. Soon, Lin Mo noticed that the cave ahead seemed different. It was no longer earth but a forest of hanging stalactites.

Those stalactites emitted a faint glow, making the world before them a bit clearer.

Lin Mo clearly saw water droplets falling from the stalactites into the pool below.

The pool before them wasn't large, appearing only about twenty or thirty meters long and wide. The water inside showed an eerie dark blue color, emitting waves of chill.

Lin Mo suddenly had a bad feeling.

He pulled Eve's hand and quickly retreated. The next moment, a colossal creature suddenly burst forth from the pool before them.

It was a giant serpent's head, a full two to three meters wide, opening its maw to bite towards the two of them.

Lin Mo frowned. Several buff skills had long been applied to him. Then, several Earth Spikes erupted from the ground, blocking the front.

The serpent's head crashed into the Earth Spikes, almost instantly shattering them to pieces.

Lin Mo's pupils contracted. He immediately used Flash, taking Eve and retreating several tens of meters.

"Boom—!"

The serpent's head crashed into the spot where they had just been, leaving a large crater in the ground.

Such formidable strength!

According to the pattern of this Secret Realm so far, the monsters in this 30th stage should be around level 15, most likely not exceeding level 15.

But the giant serpent before them was clearly far more than that. Just from that brief exchange, Lin Mo judged its strength to be at least level 18 or above!

Otherwise, it couldn't have so easily shattered his [Rock Spike Combo].

After all, although this was only an excellent-grade skill, with Lin Mo's Mana behind it, its power and intensity were absolutely not to be underestimated.

Was it an exception? Or had the Secret Realm's rules changed in this 30th stage?

Lin Mo hoped it was the former. Otherwise, the journey ahead probably wouldn't be so simple.

The giant serpent continued its pursuit. Just as Lin Mo was preparing to counterattack, the serpent's figure suddenly stopped.

Its face was ferocious, clearly straining forward with effort, but its body remained stuck there. No matter how hard it tried, it couldn't move an inch.

"Oh?"

Lin Mo narrowed his eyes. With the help of the glowing stalactites, he could see the serpent's body was still within the deep pool, seemingly trapped by something, unable to leave.

The giant serpent let out hissing cries, still struggling violently with its body. After struggling for a good while, it seemed to finally accept reality, silently and slowly retreating back into the deep pool.

But Lin Mo wouldn't just let it go back like that.

This creature was very strong. If it hid in the deep pool, Lin Mo really wouldn't have much of a way to deal with it.

But outside was a different story.

So he quickly told Eve to wait for him there, then used Flash, instantly appearing right in front of the giant serpent.

The next moment, Lin Mo threw a powerful punch directly at its head.

Dazzling lightning erupted with his punch. A "thunder dragon" coiled around his arm. Blue electric arcs illuminated the surrounding cavern, accompanied by a teeth-grating sizzle of electricity.

[Void-Shaking Fist] combined with [Thunder Dragon Devour]—another powerful combination of two Epic-Level skills.

The giant serpent never expected Lin Mo to dare come back, let alone appear so suddenly right in front of it. Taking the blow solidly, it immediately let out a pained cry.

The next moment, the thunder dragon pierced through its maw, leaving behind a hole crackling with electricity.

That punch had directly drilled a hole through it.

However, given the generally tenacious vitality of monsters and its massive size, while such an injury was serious, it was far from fatal.

The giant serpent roared. The next moment, it opened its maw wide. Powerful ice element gathered in its mouth, and a blue mist of frost surged towards them.

Flash had just been used for the attack, so it couldn't be used again immediately.

Lin Mo quickly gathered Mana and shouted, "Frost Guard!"

A blue barrier instantly materialized before Lin Mo. The frost mist crashed into the barrier, and the ice shield visibly began to rapidly erode.

However, Lin Mo had already taken remedial action at the first moment.

Almost simultaneously with the formation of [Frost Guard], golden Holy Light also shone from his other hand.

[Shield Against Demons]!

This Priest skill was specifically designed to block magic damage, providing an extra 50% resistance against it. The remaining frost mist sprayed onto the golden magic shield, immediately sinking like a stone into the sea, only causing ripples.

Lin Mo then drew his sword. The imposing aura of the Frost Dragon Scale Sword was released, causing the giant serpent's pupils to contract, a flash of remarkably human-like fear appearing in its eyes.

On the ice-blue blade, fierce flames ignited. A blood-red Sword Energy entwined with flames swiftly shot out, slashing towards the serpent's head.

The giant serpent, however, wasn't panicked. Powerful ice element gathered around its body, covering its entire form with a dark blue glow that then transformed into thick ice armor.

Protected by the ice armor, the serpent clearly became much more confident, charging head-on towards the fiery red Sword Energy.

The Sword Energy struck its head. The ice armor cracked and melted accordingly, but it truly managed to neutralize the attack's power, only leaving a shallow wound on its body surface.

Something's off!

The giant serpent took advantage of the momentum to continue its assault. Lin Mo used Flash to dodge the attack, his brow deeply furrowed.

That layer of ice armor covering its body had a subtle sense of incongruity.

It seemed that wasn't the power of this giant serpent before them, but rather something it had "borrowed" from elsewhere.

A pure level 18 monster shouldn't be this troublesome for him to deal with...

Regardless, with this "borrowed" power added, the giant serpent's aura had clearly risen another notch.

This was getting tricky.

Lin Mo glanced at the sword in his hand. Although he originally intended to save this move as a last resort, he had no choice but to use it now.

The next moment, he exhaled a breath. The Frost Dragon Scale Sword's equipment skill, "Breath of the Frost Dragon," activated instantly. A chilling, shudder-inducing cold emanated from Lin Mo.

The next moment, his figure flickered, his speed suddenly exploding. In an instant, he appeared behind the giant serpent.

[Iaido Flash]

The moment the blade returned to its sheath, a blue sword light flashed, piercing through the ice armor and leaving a massive gash on the serpent's body.

The "Breath of the Frost Dragon" skill allowed Lin Mo's attacks to deal an additional 20% penetration damage that ignored armor and protective gear.

Although this effect theoretically couldn't penetrate shields, the ice armor on this giant serpent wasn't a "shield" either, but something obtained through external force. In essence, it was no different from the armor worn by humans.

Therefore, the effect of "Breath of the Frost Dragon" was fully realized.

Lin Mo was surrounded by a biting cold, emitting wisps of "white vapor." He turned his gaze towards his opponent, a confident smile on his face.

You beast, the real fight is only just beginning...