Chapter 310: One Punch Man
With three quick steps, Zhou Ning rushed towards the Ice Mage on the left. He unleashed his Conqueror's Haki with all his might to interrupt the mage's counterattack. The mage's attempt to dodge became sluggish, and the tentacles retracting stopped moving entirely. But Zhou Ning's own actions slowed down as well, his body suddenly covered in thick ice. Even his eyebrows and face were coated with frost.
This was also the work of the meteorologist's ability, using the cold temperatures and the Ice Mage's powers to create a small area of extreme cold. However, Zhou Ning quickly used the power of the Cortés Sword to alter the weather, rapidly melting the ice. In just a breath's time, he reached the Ice Mage, stamped his foot heavily, and swung his sword, sending a crescent-shaped sword qi flying.
"Divine Departure!"
The crescent-shaped sword qi sliced into the Ice Mage's body, with white light scattering in all directions. The diagonal cut shimmered with intense ripples of light, and the mage collapsed to the ground, burning like a torch.
After dealing with the Ice Mage, the situation became overwhelmingly favorable for Zhou Ning. Without hesitation, he turned and sheathed his sword. As he moved, he bent his knees, seamlessly switching to firearms. He pointed the black ebony and white ivory pistols at Argus and pulled the trigger.
In a rolling motion, two bullets, swirling with ripples and Armament Haki, shot out and struck Argus, creating exaggerated, grotesque wounds. Intense fiery ripples expanded outward.
"Boom!"
At the same time, Argus's extraordinary power erupted. In a brief moment, he transformed into a massive spider nearly two meters tall. His body was pitch black and sinister, covered in dense compound eyes, with countless mysterious patterns adorning his form.
The name above his health bar changed to: Spider Transformation Argus, Level 63. Zhou Ning hadn't expected that a boss from a task would have a second phase.
Instantly, countless white spider threads shot out from him, turning into web strands and black tentacles extending in all directions. The web strands began retracting as soon as they touched objects, pulling the remnants of the carriage and the surrounding trees toward Argus, uprooting clumps of soil. One of his companions didn't waste time either, moving to the side and throwing a blue fireball.
Zhou Ning leapt into the air, nimbly landing before charging at the two-meter-tall monster. He pulled the trigger again.
Bang!
The bullet accurately hit Argus's forehead, bursting one of his compound eyes.
A deep blood hole appeared on his forehead, flames burning with a golden hue.
However, this wasn't fatal. For such a massive creature, only emptying its health bar or landing a fatal strike would end its life.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Zhou Ning didn't stop, repeatedly shooting into the same blood hole, deepening it further.
Argus let out an enraged roar, his tentacles wildly thrashing as he attempted to retaliate. But Zhou Ning remained unaffected, his hands steady, firing one shot after another at the monster's forehead.
Bang!
Finally, the last bullet burrowed deep into Argus's brain, setting off a golden flame within it.
The 63-level Spider Transformation Argus crashed to the ground, his life force rapidly fading.
[You have killed the Level 63 BOSS: Spider Transformation Argus. You have gained 62,000 experience.]
After Argus's death, a faint yellow extraordinary material remained, and a mild fishy smell wafted through the air. This was a common material from spider-type monsters, still worth something.
Zhou Ning hadn't expected Argus to be so difficult. No wonder this mission was ranked as B-level difficulty.
After killing Argus, Zhou Ning exhaled deeply, turned, and searched for his last companion but couldn't find him. It was clear he had already fled.
Looking at the countdown, there were still 7 minutes and 29 seconds left. Noticing a group of extraordinary beings approaching, Zhou Ning didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble. He quickly helped the still unconscious Spark Lambert to his feet and rushed away.
Soon, a team of extraordinary beings arrived. A tall, young-looking one scanned the surroundings and noticed the massive spider corpse, still tangled with black tentacles on the ground. His expression changed.
"Is this a fallen believer of an ancient god?" someone speculated.
"It looks similar," said a more mature extraordinary being beside him, his hair combed in a middle part. "There are many gunshot and burn marks on it. The one who killed it hasn't gone far. Emlyn, what do you think?"
Recently, whether in Bryston or Ruins, the number of these fallen beings was rising rapidly. In just the last ten days, there had been five or six similar incidents, causing numerous casualties, and putting extraordinary beings on edge.
"Don't guess. It was definitely Wayne Sturwell. Don't mind him. Let's just take the spider's body back first," the silent Emlyn said.
...
After dropping Spark Lambert in a nearby secluded alley, the countdown hit zero. Zhou Ning realized that his mission was unknowingly completed.
[You have completed the B-level timed mission [Track Spark Lambert's Whereabouts]. You have gained 132,000 experience.]
[The reward for this mission is random. It will draw from Expertise/Item/Temporary Template Cards. Do you wish to draw? Yes/No.]
Zhou Ning glanced at Spark Lambert, who was still unconscious, suppressing the urge to slap him awake. He chose to draw the reward.
He hoped it would be an expertise. Zhou Ning hadn't forgotten that gaining one more legendary expertise would promote him to a BOSS template.
[Congratulations, you have received a Temporary Template Card X1.]
It's really unlucky… Zhou Ning sighed and opened his inventory to examine the temporary template card.
Suddenly, the card emitted a burst of orange light, growing brighter and stronger!
Orange light? That was a sign of a mediocre character! Zhou Ning perked up.
Moments later, the image on the card became 3D, revealing a figure with a tired expression, looking like a salted fish, with a glowing head resembling a boiled egg, wearing yellow clothes, red gloves, and a white cape—himself.
[Character: One Punch Man·Zhou Ning]
[Personality: Calm, Low-key]
[Talent: None]
[Skills: Secret Training Method (God-level)]
Zhou Ning: ...
He couldn't believe his eyes. He had finally gotten lucky and drawn a very mediocre One Punch Man!
Though it was just a temporary template, if used well, this card could easily clear any dungeon.
The Supervillain Alliance? Just a bunch of freaks. Next, he could easily breeze through The Endless War (2).
Carefully tucking the card away, Zhou Ning patiently waited. After a while, Spark Lambert finally woke up, blinking his eyes.
"Pride makes one..."
Before Spark could finish his family saying, Zhou Ning slapped him back to his senses. What pride? What nonsense?
"Wait… you're... Wayne?" Spark blinked in disbelief, then smiled joyfully.