The stingray Wain met was no ordinary stingray, but not because it could fly. What made this stingray unique was that it was electric. It was an unusual and dangerous opponent.

Wain knew that some animals could create electric charges even before the apocalypse. Most sea creatures had this ability.

The electric stingray and the electric eel were the most famous examples that almost everyone knew about. Now Wain was to fight one of them, only in an enhanced form.

'Its aura is strong, and from the sound of it, the electrical discharges it emits have enormous power, but doesn't that mean it's the perfect victim for me?' Thought Wain.

The flying, electric stingray was a rare monster. That meant that Wain had a high chance of getting Whole Soul, and he knew it. Also, if he killed this stingray, he would certainly get a soul with the lightning attribute.

Wain wasn't sure if the electric stingray's soul would have the water attribute, but he hoped it wouldn't. After all, in that case, he wouldn't be able to use that soul to develop Lightning Lizard's Dash.

'If this stingray is strong enough to wound me, then I'll get the soul I need. In a way, it's a lucky thing the Merfolks decided to ambush me and summon that octopus. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here.' Wain prepared for battle in his mind.

Wain did not activate the Code of Light and Darkness again, for he did not know how strong this stingray was. Wain assumed that he would use the Cursed Swordsman as a last resort.

He would like to avoid that since he would have to recover for several hours after using the second form, but he didn't know how their battle would unfold.

So, Wain prepared for the fight by waiting for his opponent to attack.

Wain could have attacked first by sending the plasma sword towards the stingray. However, he didn't want to remain unarmed at the start of the battle.

When the stingray accumulated enough energy, it immediately attacked Wain. Hundreds of electrical discharges converged into a single flash of blue lightning. It flew towards Wain with incredible speed.

He barely managed to react to this attack and used Lightning Lizard's Dash to get a safe distance away.

A moment later, there was a deafening explosion, and Wain saw a large crater in the ground. Wain was wary, he knew that if that lightning struck him, he would suffer severe damage.

'Hmm, that stingray looks like a shotgun, powerful but slow. Apparently, it needs some time to build up a charge of that power.' Thought Wain looking at his enemy.

After the electric stingray created a lightning bolt and shot it at Wain, it needed time to build up enough energy for the next bolt.

Wain did not wait until his opponent was ready to attack again. Wain swung his arm, and the plasma sword flew at the stingray.

However, as the weapon approached the monster, an electrical barrier formed around the stingray, which the plasma sword could not penetrate.

'Hmm, it floating in the air, and I'm not comfortable fighting it. It has a positional advantage. I need to fix that.' Thought Wain and pointed his hand at the stingray.

Then a vibration appeared in the air around his hand, and a loud click sounded. Moments later, a kinetic bullet pierced the stingray's right wing and ripped it off.

The electric stingray had not expected such a swift and powerful attack. It lost its balance and slowly began to fall to the ground.

It could not accumulate electrical discharges to attack Wain again in this state.

Then the Ring of Damned glowed brightly, and a blue scroll appeared in Wain's hands. He didn't wait or get greedy and activated it immediately.

Wain didn't know if he could break through the electrical barrier around the stingray with his powers, and he didn't want to find out.

He could buy some time by inflicting a severe wound on the stingray, and he had to make the most of it.

After Wain used the skill scroll, many drops appeared over the monster. After a second, each of those drops turned into a water spear, and they fell like hail on the electric stingray.

As Wain had expected, most of the water spears were blocked by the barrier around the stingray. However, after a few dozen spears, the barrier had exhausted its power and disappeared. Only three spears out of many hit the stingray and inflicted minor wounds.

"Great." Smirking, Wain said and pounced on the monster. Since the barrier was destroyed, Wain could attack his enemy without obstacles.

The electric stingray could do nothing to Wain, as this monster was virtually helpless without its barrier if attacked by an enemy like Wain.

Wain furiously sliced through the monster's flesh, gradually bringing it closer to death. With each swing, a surge of blood and frozen body parts flew aside.

A few seconds later, Wain was ready to strike the final blow and end this fight.

But, suddenly, he saw the stingray's tail glow brightly. When Wain saw it, he cut it off instantly, but that didn't help stop the process from getting underway.

Half a second later, the tail exploded. This explosion was like a massive electric sphere that unleashed all its power instantly.

Within five meters of the explosion's epicenter, everything was destroyed and wiped away.

Wain managed to use Lightning Lizard's Dash moments before the explosion, but he reacted too late. Wain moved away from the blast's epicenter, but he was still in the kill zone.

He was thrown by the shockwave several meters to the side, and his body broke several trees.

Wain did not expect the stingray to have such a suicidal hold. Moreover, the force of the blast stunned Wain. Even for him, it was impressive.

"Fuck!" Swore Wain.historical

He could barely get to his feet, but he immediately vomited blood when he took just one step.

Because of this explosion, Wain suffered numerous wounds. He was bleeding slightly internally and had several burns in his arms and chest area.

Since none of the wounds were deep, they were all superficial. It would take him several hours to recover.

"Damn, this was impossible to predict. This world gets more dangerous every time. If it weren't for my high stats, I'd be dead by now and all because of the unexpected." Wain muttered.

He didn't move anymore and just lay down by the nearest tree. Wain looked up and saw an almost triangular-shaped orange fruit dangling above him. Wain tapped the tree, and the fruit fell into his hand.

Wain took a bite and felt the slightly sour juice in his mouth. The fruit was juicy, sweet, and sour at the same time. At that moment, the fruit seemed like the most delicious thing in the world to him.

Unfortunately, this fruit did not have any regenerative powers, but this way, Wain regained some strength.

Then Wain began to eat whatever was left in his ring. He didn't even notice that a pink soul was slowly flying towards him.

At that moment, Wain didn't think about it. He wanted to eat and recover quickly. He had expended a lot of energy over the last few battles, and the stingray's explosion was the climax.

"I completely forgot about the soul." Mumbled Wain and looked in the direction of where he was fighting the stingray. He saw a soul flying toward him, and a second later, it entered his body.

[Soul of Electric Stingray (Whole)

Chronicle: Primary

Rating: Epic]

Wain smiled contentedly. He received many wounds but also a decent reward.

"Just what I need. This soul must not possess the attribute of water. Stingrays usually live at the bottom of the sea and are essentially aquatic creatures.

However, this monster never used water attacks at all. Perhaps this soul only possesses a lightning attribute. Moreover, it floated in the air rather than floating in the water." Mumbled Wain and opened the skill enhancement menu.

Since he had gained the necessary soul, he could improve Lightning Lizard's Dash to Lightning Boots.

[Lightning Boots (Primary Chronicle Active Skill, Epic Rating): All conditions for this skill are met.

[Requires Epic Rating Whole Soul with Lightning Attribute: 1/1]

[Want to use the necessary materials and develop Lightning Lizard's Dash skill to Lightning Boots?]