Re-Awakened :I Ascend as an SSS-Ranked Dragon Summoner-Chapter 288: Run the gauntlet

Noah rolled his shoulders as the first wave of beasts charged down the corridor. The Eclipse Blade hummed in his grip, its dark energy resonating with his own.

[System Alert: 10 Category 1 beasts approaching]

[Quest Progress: 0/50 beasts eliminated]

A pack of Spine Wolves led the charge—sleek, lupine creatures with quills protruding from their backs. Noah didn't wait for them to reach him. He surged forward, the Eclipse Blade moving in a horizontal arc that bisected the lead wolf mid-leap. The creature's body split cleanly, both halves crashing to the floor in a spray of dark blood.

[Experience gained: +15]

[Quest Progress: 1/50]

Two more wolves flanked him from either side. Noah pivoted, driving his free hand through one beast's chest in a perfect thrust. As his fist emerged from the other side, clutching a glowing red core, he swung the Eclipse Blade backward without looking, severing the second wolf's head from its body. The decapitated corpse collapsed in a heap as Noah flicked the core into the air.

[Experience gained: +30]

[Quest Progress: 3/50]

The glowing core disappeared into a small purple rift that opened momentarily before his palm.

[Beast Core (Category 1) added to Void Storage]

'Snack for my boys in the domain or it could even fetch some decent credits later,' Noah thought, eyeing the remaining wolves as they circled more cautiously now.

One launched its quills—deadly projectiles capable of piercing standard level two or three military armor. Noah grinned, twirling the Eclipse Blade like a windmill, deflecting each spine with mechanical precision. Several quills ricocheted into another wolf, piercing its flank and drawing a pained howl.

"My turn," he murmured.

He stomped his foot, sending a shockwave through the floor that momentarily stunned the beasts. In that split second, Noah became a blur of motion. The Eclipse Blade danced through the air, cleaving through flesh and bone with terrifying ease. Within three seconds, the remaining wolves lay in pieces, their blood pooling across the corridor floor. Noah moved methodically among the corpses, extracting each core and sending it to his Void Storage with practiced efficiency.

[Experience gained: +105]

[Quest Progress: 10/50]

[ 7 Beast Cores (Category 1) added to Void Storage]

Noah barely had time to breathe before the next wave emerged. A troop of Armorskins—Category 2 beasts resembling giant armadillos with crystalline plating—rolled toward him like destructive boulders.

[ 8 Category 2 beasts approaching]

"Standard armor penetration won't work on those," Noah muttered, analyzing their rapidly approaching forms. Their outer shells could withstand even level 3 military-grade explosives.

The first Armorskin unfurled mid-roll, revealing razor-sharp claws and a maw lined with crystalline teeth. It lunged at Noah, who sidestepped with deceptive casualness before Void Blinking directly above the creature. As gravity pulled him down, he drove the Eclipse Blade through the beast's armor with shocking ease, the void-infused edge splitting the supposedly impenetrable plating like paper. The blade continued through to the floor, pinning the creature momentarily before Noah ripped it free.

[Experience gained: +30]

[Quest Progress: 11/50]

Two more Armorskins converged on him simultaneously. Noah laughed, actually laughed, as he vaulted over the first, landing on the second's back. The beast thrashed wildly as Noah rode it like a mechanical bull, steering it into a collision course with other approaching monsters.

"Let's make this interesting," he called out, leaping high into the air at the last second.

The Armorskins collided with a sickening crunch of breaking crystals and bones. Noah descended, the Eclipse Blade extended below him, and impaled one stunned beast through its cracked shell. He kicked off its corpse, launching into a spinning attack that caught three more Armorskins in a single devastating sweep.

[Experience gained: +120] ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

[Quest Progress: 15/50]

Blood and shattered crystal fragments littered the floor as Noah extracted the gleaming cores from each fallen beast, their bodies remaining where they fell.

[5 Beast Cores (Category 2) added to Void Storage]

The remaining Armorskins altered their strategy, forming a defensive circle. Noah's eyes narrowed as they began generating an electromagnetic field between them—a rare cooperative behavior that could disable most technological weapons.

"That won't save you," Noah commented, Void Blinking directly into the center of their formation.

From inside their defensive circle, Noah unleashed a whirlwind attack, his hand extended fully with the Eclipse Blade as he spun like a deadly top. The void-enhanced edge sliced through electromagnetic field and armor plating alike, dismembering the creatures in a gruesome display of raw power. When he finally stopped, Noah stood in the center of a circle of carnage, breathing only slightly elevated.

[Experience gained: +90]

[Quest Progress: 18/50]

[System Notification: 3 Beast Cores (Category 2) added to Void Storage]

'I don't know who set this up but Nyx and Storm would love to thank you personally,' Noah thought with half a smile.

[System Alert: 12 Category 3 beasts approaching]

[Identified: 6 Venom Stalkers, 4 Burst Mantids, 2 Phase Leopards]

"Now we're getting somewhere," Noah muttered, eyeing the diverse group of Category 3 threats.

The Venom Stalkers came first—arachnid creatures with translucent bodies that revealed toxic organs pulsing within. They scuttled along walls and ceiling, attempting to surround him while releasing clouds of neurotoxin.

Noah held his breath and charged through the poison mist, then abruptly Void Blinked to the ceiling, defying gravity as he ran upside-down along the surface. This was only for a few seconds. The Stalkers hesitated, confused by his unexpected maneuver. Noah capitalized on their hesitation, dropping onto the nearest Stalker and driving the Eclipse Blade through its central mass. The creature's legs curled inward as it died, acidic blood sizzling against the floor.

Two more descended from above on silk threads. Noah grabbed one thread, yanking the beast toward him while simultaneously launching a Void Bullet at the second. The energy projectile punched a perfect hole through the Stalker's body, sending it crashing to the floor, twitching.

[Void Energy: 1400/1450]

[Experience gained: +120]

[Quest Progress: 21/50]

The remaining Stalkers coordinated their attacks, spraying venom in calculated patterns to limit his movement options. Noah's expression remained calm as he analyzed their formation, identifying the optimal counter-strategy in milliseconds.

"You're thinking too two-dimensionally," he taunted before Void Blinking rapidly between different points in the corridor—floor, ceiling, walls—each blink culminating in a lethal strike. The Eclipse Blade flashed like dark lightning, severing limbs and piercing vital organs with surgical precision.

[Void Energy: 1350/1450]

[Experience gained: +150]

[Quest Progress: 27/50]

Within seconds, all six Stalkers lay dead, their corpses leaking venom that hissed and bubbled against the concrete floor. Noah moved quickly to extract their cores, mindful of the caustic fluids.

[6 Beast Cores (Category 3) added to Void Storage]

Before he could prepare for the next wave, the Burst Mantids attacked—bipedal insectoid creatures with forelimbs that could generate explosive force upon impact. The first Mantid thrust its claw toward Noah's chest with enough power to shatter concrete.

Noah didn't dodge—he met the attack head-on, swinging the Eclipse Blade to intercept. The void-enhanced edge sliced through the Mantid's limb just as its explosive burst triggered. The resulting backlash sent the creature's severed arm careening into one of its companions, while Noah remained untouched.

[Entropy Touch]

Noah pressed his palm against the mutilated Mantid, purple-black energy spreading across its exoskeleton like oil on water. The creature thrashed as its body rapidly deteriorated, segments of its armor turning to dust before its internal organs followed suit. With a casual kick, Noah sent the half-disintegrated beast into the path of another charging Mantid.

[Void Energy: 1300/1450]

[Experience gained: +40]

[Quest Progress: 28/50]

The remaining Mantids attacked in perfect synchronization, their explosive strikes coming from multiple angles. Noah dropped low, sweeping the Eclipse Blade in a complete arc around him, then transitioned into a vertical leap. The Mantids' attacks collided beneath him as he somersaulted overhead, landing behind the confused creatures.

"Too slow," he quipped, reversing his grip on the Eclipse Blade and driving it through two Mantids simultaneously. The blade exited the second creature with a spray of yellowish fluid, leaving both impaled bodies to slide lifelessly to the floor.

[Experience gained: +80]

[Quest Progress: 30/50]

Noah extracted their cores quickly, adding them to his growing collection.

[4 Beast Cores (Category 3) added to Void Storage]

With the Mantids dispatched, Noah turned his attention to the Phase Leopards—perhaps the most dangerous Category 3 beasts in the corridor. Their name derived from their ability to partially phase through solid matter, making them notoriously difficult to hit.

The first Leopard charged, its body flickering in and out of phase as it moved. One moment solid, the next ghostly and transparent. Noah tracked its movement pattern, calculating the milliseconds when it would become fully corporeal.

[Void Blink activated]

Noah teleported directly into the Leopard's path, timing his appearance perfectly with the moment the beast became solid. The Eclipse Blade met no resistance as it passed through the creature's neck, severing its head in a single clean stroke. The body continued forward several steps before collapsing, as if not realizing it was already dead.

[Void Energy: 1250/1450]

[Experience gained: +50]

[Quest Progress: 31/50]

The second Leopard was more cautious, circling Noah while rapidly shifting phases. It lunged suddenly, passing partially through the floor before rematerializing directly beneath him with jaws agape.

Noah smiled. "Predictable."