Classless Ascension

In front of a small fissure in a large rocky wall stood two individuals. There was a confident human and a worried humanoid dog with drooping ears.

They had rushed to this place as fast as they could. As they were leaving, so many dog villagers had pointed their fingers at them with reproach, insulting Josh on the way. They really took this bone business seriously.

The father sighed before uttering:

"Son, be extremely careful. As soon as you pass this crevasse, you will be in the savage lands. These are extremely deadly, so make sure you run back as soon as you see any enemy. Here, this is for you."

The dog handed Josh a small clear container filled with some dubious-looking yellow liquid.

"What is this supposed to be?" Josh asked suspiciously.

"One of our ancestral treasures. This is a scaly devil's urine. Make sure you spray it everywhere on your body. Come back as soon as it stops smelling. This should give you some security." The dog explained lovingly.

"T-thanks." Josh's smile was stiff as he took the gift and rushed inside before his companion could utter something even more embarrassing.

The crack was pretty long but also narrow, only as wide as one human. On the rock sides, Josh could see light-blue glowing glyphs. If he wasn't mistaken, these were sealing the monsters inside the savage land.

Josh soon reached the other side and could see a forest scene. Somehow, this place gave him prehistoric vibes. The trees were massive, and so were every damn plants. There was vegetation everywhere his eyes landed.

He remained near the entrance for now as he let his scent permeate the air. How long until an enemy would come? Five minutes later, Josh could already feel a creature approaching at phenomenal speed.

It moved so quickly, in fact, that his eyes weren't able to follow it. He could only discern a blurry shadow overflowing with killing intent. Josh instantly retreated to safety under the soft glow of the runes.

That's when he saw a creature appear next to the entrance, so suddenly that it looked like teleportation. Still, it didn't get too close, for it seemed to know about the protective magic. Otherwise, Josh could have hunted it from safety.

The creature looked like a small raptor with a tiny mouth filled with countless deadly teeth: kind of like the smaller ones in that one dinosaur park that kept forgetting to pay its electricity bills.

< Speedy Scaly Lizard Lv 60 >

It was a level 60 elite! This little creep was almost as strong as the Big Earth Snakes from the previous Floor! What was with these high levels?! No, this was good. Great difficulty and lots of danger meant incredible rewards.

As Josh was examining it, the creature did the same. It was looking at him as if a tasty piece of meat. But, it then glanced one last time at him before leaving, disappointed— or so it seemed.

Josh could still perceive its aura in a nearby bush, lurking. This little shit was so scheming! Even after he waited for about an hour, the thing didn't show any sign of moving. It was so damn patient! Anyone else would have believed the creature gone already.

He now understood why the dog had given him the urine. As long as there was a single of these sniffing one's position, escaping would be impossible. That speed was even more incredible than that one blue hedgehog hero!

But, it wasn't the only one that could scheme! Josh threw the mighty rat out. Instantly the creature sprang on it, jaws first before gobbling it entirely. How?! The rat was bigger than its own body!

Just as Josh was thinking about recalling the rat, the creature's eyes began rolling about in fear as it twisted on the ground. Then it….exploded! BAM! Flesh and blood splattered nearby. Damn!

What a tragic yet poetic death! It had tried eating another only to die from this very action. Josh slowly approached the disturbingly scattered corpse, finding the bloodied rat just standing there as lifeless as usual.

Josh grabbed it again and began exploring the surroundings carefully. Were there stronger creatures? Did they hunt alone, or did they sometimes group up in packs? He needed more information.

He was soon attacked by another speedy lizard, dispatching it in the same manner. This time, since he had nowhere to hide, he had to bait the creature with his body. Just when it was about to devour him, he chucked the rat inside its mouth.

This was only possible because he could easily predict where and how it would attack. This thing was so fast, but it didn't seem to be used to others being able to follow its movements.

The only downside was that he couldn't completely avoid being drenched in the creature's blood. As he kept going, this repeated itself many times until finally, he looked like a red mess. He could only sigh.

He kept walking until he could see an enormous creature on the horizon. It was a massive behemoth that had the general shape of a mammoth with scales all over and even bigger. It still had a sharp maw, but its main method of attack seemed to be its limbs.

In fact, its feet were protected by some incredibly sturdy protective carapace that reminded him of back of a tortoise. It would sometimes slam them on the ground, generating shockwaves. But, the thing was so slow that it was no danger whatsoever!

However, that didn't necessarily make it easy prey. Josh kept watching it until it began fighting another creature that looked like a fat lizard. It was about the size of a horse and had deadly spikes all over its body like a hedgehog.

Sadly for this newcomer, its spikes didn't do much as it was crushed to death, the behemoth devouring it. That's when Josh realized how sturdy the big guy's scales were! Then, later on, he saw it fight a speedy scaly lizard.

Surprisingly, the small lizard was jumping around everywhere, dodging any attack with its speed. It would even run on its opponent directly, leave a few claw marks and scrap a bit of flesh. But even then, Josh watched in stupefaction as any wound would close itself instantly. Its regenerative ability was also off the charts!

Josh wasn't sure how to tackle the situation. He wanted to be careful, but he also wouldn't cower in the face of this challenge. Bring it on dinosaurs!...

Creator's Thought

The exploding scaly has to rank in my top 10 000 best killing methods. I came up with that list when I was stuck THERE. After all, I had way too much free time. It's surprisingly very difficult to limit it to a puny 10 000. There were so many over the years. Then again, the ducks are mostly to blame for that.