[Quick Water Breathing has reached Level 17.]

[Master Water Resistance has reached Level 20]

[Do you want to evolve the skill Master Water Resistance to Perfect Water Resistance?]

Having spent this much time underwater Dhruv wasn’t surprised to see the notification for the skill evolution. Nodding his head he gave the final confirmation.

[Master Water Resistance has evolved into Perfect Water Resistance]

Closing the status, Dhruv activated his mana sense and began looking for the final boss. Anywhere he went in the dungeon everything was still the same, if not worse.

He was still surrounded by the cold, dark waters of the ocean after descending further into the dark abyss. Despite the breathing skill, he could hear his heart pounding within his chest.

Before swimming deeper into the ocean, Dhruv transformed into his monster form and activated his senses to their fullest. From all the previous battles, he knew his spells weren’t doing much damage this deep.

Dhruv moved as the oppressive darkness of the ocean was occasionally pierced by the bioluminescent glow from strange monsters moving around. The moment any of these creatures showed themselves, they were killed without any mercy.

[You have killed a Tier III monster: Abyssal Nightstalker Serpent.]

His spells alerted something deep within, as Dhruv suddenly felt something shifting. Gulping a mouthful of water, he focused all his senses on the disturbances.

"Found you..." Dhruv smirked, finally laying his gaze upon the monster he had been searching for all these hours.

The monster emerged from the darkness its massive form blended seamlessly with the dark waters around it. Its scales shimmered and shifted in color, showcasing its terrifying display of camouflage ability.

Impressed by the monster, Dhruv sighed, his eyes narrowing and locking on the monster. There was no way he would let go of it after seeing it once with his ethereal eyes.

Not happy with someone hunting in its own territory, the Serpent struck first by creating a massive whirlpool with the help of external mana manipulation.

The water around Dhruv churned violently as it began pulling him toward the center of the vortex. Flapping his wings, he responded quickly, using his own water manipulation to counter the whirlpool.

While the two whirlpools were canceling each other out, Dhruv raised his hand and began manipulating fire. Having the blood of a phoenix running in his body, he could summon fire that could deal damage even in the water.

A burst of superheated steam erupted around him as a giant blue fireball summoned itself in reality. Dodging the incoming water pillar, Dhruv aimed it toward the serpent’s face and fired the spell.

Facing the brunt of the attack, the Serpent’s scales shimmered as it vanished from sight, blending into the surrounding darkness. Dhruv’s eyes darted around, searching for the monster.

Manipulating his mana, he summoned an exact replica of himself and began searching for the monster.

Seeing its prey distracted, the Serpent struck, lunging at both of them with its powerful jaws.

"You think I can’t see you... dream on..."

Unlike his thought the the serpent had never properly hidden itself from Dhruv. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Both Dhruvs were illusions while the real one was invisible, waiting for the monster to fall into his trap...

And the monster fell for it.

Seizing the opportunity, Dhruv manipulated the metal mana, forming a sharp, metallic spike. Compressing the spike to the limit, he infused it with fire and launched.

Shrreeeeekkkk!!

Hitting the Serpent right in its belly, the spike carved out a massive chunk of meat. The dark water turned crimson because of the blood and the monster monster writhed in pain.

The wound would have been lethal if only the monster didn’t have its trump as well. Activating its healing gland, the monster regenerated its body like nothing happened.

Chrrrrr!

Angered, the Serpent released a sudden, powerful charge of electricity that surged through the water.

’Woah! that’s new...’ Dhruv thought, feeling a jolt of pain as the charge hit him.

Dhruv was surprised but wasn’t flustered. Having dealt with electricity-related attacks, he knew exactly what to do. Manipulating his mana, he created metallic shields all around himself that conducted all the electricity away from his body.

Shriiiekkk!

The Serpent roared in frustration, its shriek reverberating through the water.

The sonic roar caused shockwaves that disoriented Dhruv as the monster didn’t miss the opportunity and attacked him with a powerful strike form its tail.

"Fuck!" Dhruv cried in pain as he found his hand’s bone dislocated. He felt another wave of pain while trying to correct the bone’s position.

Looking at the monster with bloodthirsty eyes, he moved toward it.

Manipulating air, he created powerful currents that swirled around the Serpent, pushing it back. While the monster tried to free itself from the whirlpool, Dhruv fired shot after shot of enhanced fireballs.

The barrage of fire created bursts of steam that obscured the Serpent’s vision. But, like everything else, the monster wasn’t really using its vision.

Using mana sense, the Serpent lunged through the steam, its jaws snapping at Dhruv.

With quick reflexes, Dhruv dodged to the side and formed a blade out of metal. Laughing, he struck at the Serpent, trying to slice through its scales. Deflected by its scales, the blade couldn’t do any damage.

Having anticipated this, Dhruv dodged the incoming water bullet and ignited the blade with fire. Ripping a scale off its body, he stabbed the blade into the Serpent.

The water sizzled as the blade pierced through the monster’s body.

The serpent thrashed wildly as its regeneration couldn’t compete with the burn caused by the pure flame. The inside of the monster began to burn as it tried to move away from Dhruv.

"Not yet..." Having grabbed one of its scales, Dhruv wasn’t in the mood to let go.

He was about to increase the power of the flame when something appeared in front of him, distracting him. His grip loosened and the monster moved away from him.

Paying attention to the monster, he looked at the message the cosmos had sent.

[The Main Quest #03- Hunt the Hunters will end in V hours. Anyone still in the dungeon, please get out.]