A big red portal was now steady in the middle of the forest. Something was coming out of it that would scare any hunter to death: an Abyssal Knight. This Abyssal Knight was a warrior with a ranking of A, which is very high and it was covered in black armor. You could see bits of purple fire coming out, from where its armor pieces met.
My Tactical Eye instantly gave me all the information I needed to see:
[ Enemy: Abyssal Knight (A-Rank) ]
[ Level: 52 ]
"Another A-Rank?" I said to myself holding my blade really tight. I thought about this for a moment. I am not the weak Level 10 porter I was the last time I faced an A-Rank.
I did not wait all and I used Shadow Step. I started moving fast and it was so fast that it made a small boom sound. The Knight swung its greataxe around in a big circle but I was moving too fast to see and I was suddenly standing right behind the Knights shadow.
"Spectral Pierce!"
My sword cut through the air getting past the armor and going deep into the creatures shoulder. The Knight made a roar smashing its axe into the ground and making the earth shake so much that it knocked down the trees all around us.. I was already away from there. Now that I am, at Level 28 my body and Mana are working together right.
For the four minutes I was like a ghost. I came at the knight from all sides and it could not defend itself. The knights armor was really strong it could take hits from tanks but my Spectral Blade was cutting through it like it was paper. The knight could not even get close to me it was like I was invisible. At the five-minute mark I put all my remaining Mana into the tip of my sword and I stabbed it right through the knights Mana Core. My Spectral Blade and my Mana worked together to make this happen. The knights Mana Core was the key, to its power. I was able to destroy it with my sword and my Mana.
I finally beat that tough A-Rank Hidden Boss. The A-Rank Hidden Boss is really strong. I was able to defeat the A-Rank Hidden Boss.
[ Time Elapsed: 4 Minutes 52 Seconds ]
The Knight just disappeared into air turning into this dark mist. I stood there waiting for my level to go up high again but then this screen popped up and it was like someone threw cold water all over me.
[ EXP Calculation Complete... ]
[ Result: Minimal progress due to the closing gap between Host Level (28) and Enemy Level. ]
[ Current Level: 28 —> 29 ]
"Is that really all there is one level?" I just stood there completely stunned. I had managed to defeat an A-Rank Boss by myself and that was the whole reward, an A-Rank Boss and that is it?
The System responded with its coldness: "Host, as you get stronger it takes a lot more to keep getting stronger. You have to go after tougher targets to stay on the same path. This is what the System calls the law of Exponential Scaling. The System says you must do this to keep growing at the rate. The law of Exponential Scaling is what the System uses to measure your growth.
I was really happy because my level went up by one point. This made me feel very confident. I put the Mana Healing Stone and the prize tokens away in my inventory. Then I ran back to the trial path really fast. My confidence was higher than it had ever been before. I had the Mana Healing Stone and the prize tokens, with me which was great.
I got to the trail and it was really crazy. Ryan and his team were stuck against a cliff with a bunch of Dark Wolves around them. They looked like they had been through a lot their armor was all. They were really pale from being so tired. The Dark Wolves were still surrounding Ryan and his team. They looked like they were, in big trouble.
The moment Ryan saw me come out of the bushes he yelled, "Hey, Level 12 where have you been? We are getting killed out here. You are just playing around. Level 12 what were you thinking?"
I did not waste my breath on words. I just moved my wrist. Let out a low level Spectral Wave. In one flash of blue light every single monster around them turned into ash. The people who survived just stood there in silence their weapons still in the air, from swings that no longer had anything to hit. The survivors were looking at the ash that was once the monsters. They were clearly shocked by what the Spectral Wave had done to them.
The dungeons exit portal suddenly lit up. The Head Instructor walked out. "It is time to go now! All students need to leave the dungeon. The Head Instructor said that all students have to get out of the dungeon away. The Head Instructor wants everyone to leave now."
Outside the dungeon the lead instructor was looking at the scoreboard. The final results were coming in. His tablet fell from his fingers and hit the ground. The lead instructor was really surprised when he saw the scoreboard. The final results were very surprising, to the lead instructor.
"This is just not possible" he said, his voice shaking. He could not believe what was happening. "This is impossible" he repeated, trying to make sense of it all.
The big screen, at the Academy gates was showing the last results for everyone to see:
[ 1st Place: Jin-woo — 55,000 Points ]
[ 2nd Place: Soo-yun — 12,000 Points ]
A quiet silence fell over the Academy. Ryans face turned white and Soo-yun looked at the board she just could not believe what she was seeing. A student who was, at Level 12 had just broken every record that the Academy had ever seen in its history. The Academys history of records was broken by this Level 12 student.
I tucked my hands into my pockets and walked calmly past the crowd. The game has only just begun, I thought.