He had to admit, he'd just used his strongest skill—but it hadn't made much of an impact.

Yet, with just a bit of this new energy, he was able to destroy the bond between the Assassin Bees right in front of him.

Krit! Krit! Krit!

The swarm suddenly went berserk, transforming into a torrent charging straight at Noan at high speed.

Now, Noan no longer feared the bees. He swung his sword, feeling the new energy surging inside him, then—

Whoong!

A beam of sword light shot out—not dazzling, but carrying a destructive force.

BAM!

The red sword light crashed into the swarm like a colossal reaper, slicing through the wild grass.

Whoosh!

Wind howled as the sword light split the bees in two, and the flames ignited on their bodies quickly spread like a plague.

The terrified swarm scattered, but the fire devoured them all, turning them to ashes swirling through the air.

"How strange..." Noan frowned and muttered, "There's still so much energy inside me. So... where is this power coming from?"

He looked at the sword and took a deep breath, as if the answer hovered in his mind, but he didn't dare think further.

He watched as the swarm split apart, leaving the burned corpses of the dead bees in an empty space, their flames unable to spread to the rest.

"Tsk!" Noan clicked his tongue. "These bees are clever, too."

He swung his sword again, another arc of sword light accompanied by the ringing of a bell.

Whoong!

The crescent-shaped sword light flew toward the swarm at terrifying speed.

The space it passed through twisted and burned, like a sheet of fabric being forcefully pulled apart.

The swarm, scattering in panic as flames spread among them, had no time to dodge; they could only watch as the sword light swept toward them, reaping their lives.

Whoosh!

At that moment, a dark figure suddenly appeared, hovering in front of the Assassin Bees.

"That is..." Noan's eyes widened in shock at the sight of the shadow.

Whoosh!

A piercing gust of wind howled as a beam of green light shot out from that dark figure.

BAM!

The two beams of light collided, unleashing a terrifying explosion that shook the entire space violently.

A wave of heat swept across the corridor, burning everything in its path.

Krit! Krit! Krit!

The Assassin Bees were like brittle stalks of grass before a raging fire, quickly incinerated into ash that rained down everywhere.

Noan frowned and raised his sword. In an instant, the sword transformed into a shield in front of him.

Whoosh!

The shockwave swept over his position like a tornado.

Fortunately, the shield now emitted a blinding red light, forming a protective dome that blocked the shockwave.

Noan gritted his teeth, holding the shield steady for a long moment, deeply shaken inside.

However, he still had one trump card left that he hadn't used yet.

"System, activate the effect of the 'Extreme Challenge Medal'."

🔔 [Activating the effect of 'Extreme Challenge Medal'.]

…

Extreme Challenge Medal

Rank: ???

Level: 03

Description 1: Reduces the strength and defense of monsters by 90%. This rate gradually decreases against monsters of higher level than yours.

For each level and rank above yours, the effect decreases by 5%.

Description 2: When facing monsters of higher level and rank, this medal activates a special effect, giving you a 5% chance to instantly eliminate that monster. (This effect can only trigger once for each monster.)

Note: Only effective during challenge events. Even if stored in the 'Storage Space', its effects remain active.

Status: Activated.

…

Noan hadn't wanted to use the medal too early, as he didn't want to reveal its true power.

However, that dark figure seemed extremely dangerous, and he had no intention of failing here.

BAM!

Noan pushed hard, and from the shield, a burst of force exploded outward, blowing back the shockwave.

A deafening blast echoed, but the shockwave gradually weakened and faded, leaving only gusts of scorching wind swirling through the space.

At that moment, he frowned as he saw the true form of the dark figure.

It was a giant ant, about two meters tall, but with four wings like those of a dragonfly, and two antennae on its head like a butterfly's.

"What kind of creature is that?" Noan muttered, frowning.

Even though he had activated the effect of the 'Extreme Challenge Medal', he could still feel a terrifying pressure radiating from this bizarre monster.

"System, is its strength affected by the effect of the Extreme Challenge Medal?"

🔔 [The strength and defense of Lepi have been reduced by 50%.]

Noan nodded slightly. So, the monster's name was Lepi. But more importantly—even though its strength and defense had been halved, he could still sense the overwhelming pressure emanating from it.

"Let's hope the second effect will trigger," Noan thought to himself.

Yes, the second effect could help him instantly kill the monster.

But the activation rate was only 5%.

Noan swung his hand, and the shield once again transformed into a sword, which he gripped tightly.

Lepi suddenly seemed to realize something was wrong, lowering its head to examine its branch-like arms.

Perhaps... it had sensed that its power had diminished greatly.

It tilted its head, looking curiously at Noan.

Noan stared back, but instead of feeling odd, a sense of anxiety crept into his heart.

BAM!

"What?!" Noan shouted in shock.

Lepi suddenly charged at him, moving so fast that the air pressure exploded with a piercing blast as it launched forward.

Whoosh!

The wind screamed as Lepi shot toward him at a terrifying speed, like a cannonball.

Noan instantly snapped back to full alertness. Even though he couldn't use any space-related abilities now, he still had plenty of other skills.

He swung his sword, which erupted with a blinding red light as he slashed forward.

Lepi showed no fear, still charging at Noan at terrifying speed, its six arms crossed in front, sharp claws extended.

BAM!

The two clashed, a thunderous explosion resounding, the space shuddering violently like a calm lake suddenly struck by a stone.

Concentric shockwaves, with both as their center, rippled outward. As one wave faded, another immediately formed.

Wave after wave spread, each carrying searing heat and immense energy.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The ground beneath Noan's feet split open, spiderweb cracks spreading everywhere.

Noan gritted his teeth, struggling to withstand Lepi's power. Even with its strength reduced by 50%, it was still overwhelmingly strong.

He clenched the sword tightly, silently praying: '5%, let it trigger now.'

"AGH!" Noan suddenly shouted, the sword erupting in blinding light, startling Lepi.

Lepi tried to pull back, but at that moment—

Clang! Clang!

A red chain suddenly appeared, binding its body, and above its head, a blue-green fireball materialized—no one, not even Lepi, knew when it had appeared.

The fireball transformed into a gigantic skull, opening its jaws wide and then—

Crack!

The flaming skull swallowed Lepi whole.

Noan frowned, glancing at the system's notification panel.

But no notification appeared.

"Tsk! Unlucky!" Noan cursed inwardly.

The 5% instant kill effect hadn't triggered. That effect could only be used once per monster.

Since it hadn't activated on Lepi, that meant from now on, it would no longer have any effect on it.

Noan raised his sword, determined to use this opportunity to finish Lepi—even if the 5% didn't activate, the effect of the 'Extreme Challenge Medal' was still active.

Whoong!

The bell-like sound rang out, and a blinding red sword light swept down like a cleaver, striking Lepi—still imprisoned in the flaming skull.

BAM!

A monstrous explosion shook the ground, shattering it, and both walls cracked with countless fissures spreading like webs through the corridor.

A devastating shockwave blasted outward like a storm.

The space trembled violently for a long moment before finally settling.

But Noan didn't stop—he had no way of knowing if Lepi was truly dead, so he raised his sword to strike again.

"What?!" As he lifted his sword, he was shocked to see Lepi—standing right in front of him.

"Damn it!"