Chapter 5: Finding a Skill Core  

Inside the dungeon,

Kyle who just fell inside a crack, hurriedly rubbed his back with a painful expression.

He complained with irritation,

"Agh.. Just how unlucky can I get?"

After complaining a few more times, Kyle calmed himself down and looked around. He found out he was inside some kind of cave made of rocks and there were five small tunnels present in front of him.

"Where the hell is this place."

He looked up and saw the opening he fell from with a dumbfounded expression.

"Going back up is impossible, this cave is way too deep inside the ground."

Thinking about how he didn't run into any monsters on his way to this strange place, a big frown appeared on Kyle's face.

'Maybe all the monsters have already been killed by the participants.'

Kyle stood up and patted his clothes while looking at the five tunnels made out of a bunch of uneven rocks stacked next to and on top of one another.

"Are these even stable?"

Nevertheless, he still decided to enter one of the tunnels.

"I just wish I could leave this gloomy place alive."

He walked closer to the tunnels and stopped to ponder for a bit.

"Which one should I choose? Don't tell me there is some hidden danger behind them. But they all look the same, maybe they will lead me to the same place?"

Kyle randomly decided and entered the last tunnel. The tunnel was dark that's why he was unable to see anything. After around five minutes of walking, he finally saw some sunlight in the distance.

"Did I find the exit?"

He exclaimed with a relieved expression.

As he finally left the tunnel, Kyle narrowed his eyes seeing the scenery in front of him, which was strangely beautiful.

Water droplets were dripping down from the ceiling making a large pond in the center of the cave. Around the pond were various flowers of different kinds. It looked like a perfect spot for relaxing.

When Kyle looked to his left, he could see another four exits that looked just like the one he had come out from.

"So it was true that all the tunnels lead to the same place."

He sighed at himself. It seems he was being too wary.

Little did he know that the other four tunnels were filled with all kinds of monsters and hidden traps. There was only one safe tunnel and that was the one he entered!

How lucky!

Kyle slowly walked toward the pond and saw a beautiful ball floating on top of the pond.

"What's that? ... a skill core!"

He exclaimed with shock. If he wasn't wrong, the core floating in front of him was a monster core. And to top it off, it was a skill core.

Kyle remembered his elder brother telling him about cores. The normal monster core usually disappears after coming in contact with the atmosphere, while the monster core containing skills doesn't. Not until the skill inside the core is learned by someone else.

Obtaining a core after killing a Ranked monster was rather easy, but even after killing hundreds of monsters you still would only have a ten percent chance of finding a core containing skill.

Kyle didn't immediately rush toward the core, he looked around to see if there was any danger. But even after looking around for a few minutes, he found nothing suspicious.

Without waiting anymore, he immediately entered the pond and grabbed the floating core.

Kyle looked at the core with a smirk,

"Hehehe You are mine now."

After grabbing the core he inspected it and indeed it was a core with a skill. "What Rank skill would I obtain after absorbing it? It's big enough to fit in my fist."

He took a deep breath and absorbed the core without knowing that the guardian of the core was just taking a nap inside the pond.

After absorbing the core Kyle felt intense knowledge about the skill entering his head.

"Ice domain, What an amazing name for a skill, but why there was no Rank?"

Kyle was not really bothered about the Rank as long as the skill was useful.

'But to use the skill my mana should be at least (C)-Rank and considering I am only at (-F)-Rank, I don't think I will be able to use this skill any time soon.'

While thinking inwardly he slowly made his way out of the pond.

He looked around the cave to find an exit and finally saw a small hidden opening behind the pond.

"Let's hope this takes me out of here."

With a good mood, Kyle entered the small opening.

After struggling the whole day he finally was able to gain something good. He also felt he should thank his Second Brother for forcing him to enter the test.

After Kyle left, Vice Principal George appeared inside the cave.

He looked around with a frown and said to himself,

"I never imagined a random boy would take the skill the Principal left behind before leaving."

SWISH! SWISH!

Suddenly there was a movement inside the pond, and a big serpent came out from the pond. He was the one Guarding the skill core.

The serpent looked at the area where the core should have been present, then looked at the only person present inside the room.

HiSSSsss!

The serpent hissed and immediately attacked Vice Principal George, thinking he was the one who took the core.

"Tsk! What intense luck that lad have, even without defeating the Guardian he took the reward?"

Vice Principal George moved his right hand to send the serpent flying.

"Now that he has learned the Ice Dragon's skill, I can't let him fail the test, or else the Principal will find faults with me."

After gazing at the pond once more Vice Principal George disappeared again.