No XP, Just Seed : My Apocalypse Cheat

006 The Encounter

Dungeon D-6012-10, the deepest reaches of the boss room. The air was suffocatingly hot. Before us, a massive, fifteen-meter-long white snake hissed in fury.

Its predatory gaze locked onto us. Its jaws unhinged, exhaling a thick plume of white smoke that billowed rapidly in our direction.

This wasn't just ordinary poisonous gas; it was a highly acidic, incredibly lethal vapor. Droplets touched the floor, and the solid rock hissed violently, instantly melting into sludge.

If Elena's bright blue magical barrier hadn't enveloped us just in time, we would have already melted into the floor.

Staring at that deadly display, my grip on my spear tightened. Beads of cold sweat rolled down my temples. "Babe, if the smoke is this dangerous, how am I supposed to get close enough to attack?" I asked quietly, not daring to take my eyes off the giant serpent.

Standing firmly beside me, Elena just let out a soft laugh. The silver-haired girl didn't look panicked in the slightest. "Don't worry, Kael. Trust me."

"Elena? What do you—"

Before I could finish, the spear in my hands suddenly erupted with a blinding light.

The weapon's surface was now coated in a dense, shimmering golden magical energy that pushed back the blistering heat. My eyes widened at the miraculous phenomenon perfectly binding itself to the sharp blade.

My mind raced with awe. 'Insane. It takes god-tier mana control to coat a physical weapon with a defensive spell! Yet she pulls it off effortlessly when she only unlocked the Mage Queen class a few days ago?'

My thoughts were shattered by Elena's frantic scream. "Kael! Behind you!"

"Huh?!"

A sense of impending doom exploded in my chest. Wasting no time, my combat instincts took over. I whipped around and vaulted hard to the right.

The white snake's massive, razor-fanged maw snapped shut on empty air exactly where I had been standing a second ago. Its bite had nearly taken a massive chunk out of my back.

I instantly regained my footing. The monster's head was wide open and completely defenseless. "Now! Piercing Strike!" I roared.

My spear shot forward like lightning, thrusting straight at maximum speed. The magic-coated tip slammed brutally into the side of the monster's head. The deafening crack of a fracturing skull echoed through the room.

The strike completely obliterated the white snake's head, splattering blood in every direction and killing it in a fraction of a second. Its colossal body crashed heavily against the stone floor.

The moment the serpent died, the dense, acidic smoke flooding the room faded and disappeared entirely.

The protective magical barrier vanished. Elena sprinted toward me immediately. The beautiful girl was panting, her chest and shoulders heaving as she tried to contain her overwhelming worry.

With an anxious expression, she inspected me from head to toe. "Kael, are you okay? Let me look at you—did you get hurt anywhere?" she fretted.

Seeing how utterly adorable she was, a warm, faint smile crossed my lips. I raised a hand and gently stroked her long hair, which felt softer than silk. "Thanks to your shield and support, I'm perfectly fine. Thank you so much, babe."

Elena let out a long breath of relief. "Thank goodness. Because if you got hurt today, we'd have to take a break from leveling up tonight, you know."

I slowly raised an eyebrow, looking straight at her with a highly amused expression. "Oh? So that's what you were most worried about?"

She nudged my arm playfully. "Hehehe, do you mind?" Elena stuck out her tongue, flashing a teasing smile that made her cheeks flush red. Damn it, my girlfriend really was the cutest in the world!

I laughed easily, ruffling her hair again. "Of course not. In fact, I'm really looking forward to tonight."

"Hehehe." Her sweet laughter echoed, chasing away the last remnants of tension in the dungeon.

Once we were sure the area was safe, we gathered the item drops scattered across the floor. Today had been quite physically draining since we had successfully conquered two dungeons back-to-back.

The quality of the loot wasn't bad. Even so, the total market value was still far below the price of the high-tier mithril spear I was currently using.

However, since Ririsa had made it clear we were allowed to keep all drops from D-rank dungeons, we agreed to sell the entire haul at the market.

Thanks to the sale of today's loot, our future savings account had finally broken the ten-million ERE mark.

That kind of money was enough to buy a cozy little house on the outskirts of our district. If we wanted to rent an apartment instead, we could actually afford a luxurious, high-end unit. But the size wouldn't be very big, considering the outrageous premium on space in the central district.

During our leisurely walk home, our route happened to take us past a brightly lit nighttime amusement park. The colorful decorative lights and cheerful music immediately caught our attention, so we decided to drop in for a bit to get some fresh air.

As you know, the two of us were officially dating after surviving our fair share of life's twists and turns. Even so, our days were constantly tied up with fighting in dungeons and leveling up in bed. Because of that, we hadn't actually gone on a proper date like a normal couple yet.

For that reason, the moment I saw the amusement park, a sweet thought crossed my mind: I wanted to enjoy my youth with my beloved girlfriend.

I couldn't read Elena's mind, but judging by her unusually radiant expression, she probably wanted the exact same thing.

For tonight, we simply enjoyed our time together, just acting like a pure couple without any ulterior motives. We bought tickets and had a blast riding all the couples' attractions.

Elena's bright laughter seemed to ring out constantly that evening. Her eyes were crinkled in pure joy. Seeing her so carefree and at peace made me smile unconsciously, deeply grateful that our paths had crossed.

I had hoped we could enjoy our date without any problems. But the reality of this world often goes directly against our sweetest hopes.

While we were enjoying our coffees and gazing into each other's eyes on a park bench, a man and a woman suddenly marched up to our table and ruined everything.

"Kael? Wow. How is a pathetic guy like you still alive?"

The woman's harsh, cynical tone rang out loudly, stabbing straight into my heart. By pure reflex, my hand gripped my coffee cup tightly.

I looked up, staring straight into my ex-girlfriend's face with a cold, deadpan expression. "Whether I'm alive or dead is absolutely none of your business, Gina."

Rather than showing any remorse, Gina let out a condescending laugh. "Hehehe, hear that? You sound so much more confident now. Did you find this fake courage because you're sitting with this cheap escort?" she sneered, shooting Elena a look of utter disgust.

My eyes widened instantly. My blood boiled, anger rushing straight to my head. "What the hell did you just say?!" I snapped loudly.

Honestly, I hadn't wanted to engage with my ex-girlfriend at all. But the second her filthy mouth started trashing Elena, an uncontrollable rage exploded in my chest.

Gina tilted her head challengingly. "Oh my~ am I wrong? Because there's no way a normal woman would ever accompany a guy like you to a nice place like this."

My chest tightened at her insult. It felt like a bloodthirsty demon was thrashing around inside me, right on the verge of breaking its seal.

Suddenly, the man beside her stepped forward. He stared condescendingly at Elena. "Hey, how much are you getting paid to hang out with this piece of trash? Listen, I'll pay you ten times his rate if you ditch him right now and come over to my side."

Gina clung tightly to the man's arm. "Seto?" Gina called out coquettishly. That sweet voice, which had once made me fall in love, now only succeeded in making me feel so incredibly disgusted I wanted to throw up.

The man named Seto flashed a smug, self-satisfied smile. He said cynically, "Didn't you say you wanted to destroy this guy? In that case, we should steal his woman while we're at it."

"Hehehe, you're so right, Seto. Hey! Seto is being kind enough to take you in. So stand up and come over to us already."

Unexpectedly, Elena actually stood up from her chair and strolled over to them. Her steps were calm and entirely unburdened.

Seeing this, Gina smiled condescendingly. "That's right, be a good girl," Gina said proudly.

Seto swallowed nervously as Elena's beautiful face drew near. His body flushed with lustful heat as he imagined getting to do whatever he wanted with a woman as perfect as Elena.

Unlike the two of them, who felt they completely had the upper hand, I stayed seated and calmly sipped my coffee. I trusted Elena implicitly.

Sure enough. A split second later, the explosive sound of two incredibly loud slaps cut right through the noise of the park.

SMACK! SMACK!

Elena's right hand swung like lightning. The first slap landed brutally on Seto's cheek; then, her hand instantly reversed its momentum, delivering a backhand just as vicious to Gina's face.

Instantly, the arrogant couple's cheeks burned red, swelling up as if they'd been stung by a swarm of bees. Several broken teeth flew from their mouths. As they groaned in agony, their mouths filled with fresh blood that began dripping heavily to the ground.

"You two are incredibly annoying. This is a lenient punishment, considering."

Elena wiped her hand, flashing a charming, faint smile without a shred of guilt after slapping them with all her might.

Gina and Seto collapsed weakly to the ground, so profoundly stunned they were rendered entirely speechless for the time being.

To be continued...