This F-Rank Bubble Mage Is Too OP!-Chapter 40: The Last Trial (Part-2)

River fought against the constructs using only his dagger and his Bubblecrafter Skill.

Each movement was tight, deliberate. His Bubble Bombs burst like silent grenades in the mist, hurling torrents of shallow water into the air. The concussive force knocked one construct back into a jagged obsidian wall, causing its mana-blade to flicker. But it wasn’t down. Not even close.

It only took seconds for them to charge again.

One construct rushed in from River’s left, its arm transforming into a blade of solid mana, extending like a spear. River ducked low, slid across the wet floor, and spun as he came up—slashing across the back of the construct’s leg. Sparks flared. The strike didn’t disable it, but it disrupted its balance.

That was enough.

Another construct came in fast, this one lighter, faster. It moved like a blur, feet barely touching the floor as it twisted midair. River threw a Bubble Bomb upward, detonating it just above him. The explosion didn’t hit the construct directly, but the shockwave caught it mid-flight and sent it spiraling to the side.

River winced. That move had cost him nearly fifteen mana points.

His MP bar was draining at an alarming rate. The deeper he fought, the more every second turned into a gamble.

He panted, chest heaving as he fell back a few steps, blood trailing from a cut along his ribs. His D+ Grade Steel Dagger was chipped now—its edge dulled from repeatedly clashing against mana-hardened limbs. But still, it was reliable. His only lifeline in this madness.

The water around his boots rippled.

He spun just in time to catch another construct lunging straight at him.

Clang!

Steel rang against raw mana as River parried the strike with his dagger, his arms shaking from the force. The construct pushed forward, overpowering him with sheer momentum. River let himself fall back and summoned a [Bubble] beneath him. It lifted him like a platform, giving him just enough height to avoid the follow-up strike.

He dropped behind the construct, twisting his wrist and slamming a Bubble Bomb right at its back. The detonation was point-blank.

The explosion sent both of them flying in opposite directions.

River tumbled across the floor, coughing, skidding through steam and blood. The air stung his lungs, and pain throbbed in every joint.

But the construct didn’t get back up.

He blinked at the crumpled heap, its mana core flickering weakly before finally fading into silence.

His first confirmed kill in this trial.

River didn’t celebrate.

He didn’t even have the energy to feel relief.

Another two constructs had already appeared in the distance, drawn by the noise. Their silhouettes emerged from the haze like reapers summoned by blood.

River spat a mouthful of iron-tasting blood into the water and forced himself to his feet.

His Bubblecrafter Skill was versatile, but it wasn’t designed for prolonged, direct combat. And yet—here he was, using it like a blunt weapon against an enemy that shouldn’t even exist in an F-rank dungeon.

"If this really is a test of will... then I’m not done yet."

The constructs closed in—fast.

He threw himself forward.

These monster constructs possessed terrifying strength—each one stronger than the last. Some moved with the raw force of a D-rank Hunter, while others struck with the speed and precision of a C-rank. And among them, a few radiated presence so intense that even River’s instincts screamed in warning. Those... had the power of B-rank Hunters.

And they weren’t just powerful—they were coordinated.

River could never let his guard down. One second of hesitation, one misstep, and it would be over.

He clenched his jaw and weaved through the ruins, soaked boots splashing across the shallow water that coated the obsidian floor. His breaths were short and measured, each one fogging slightly in the strange, shifting air. His body ached, cuts littering his arms and legs, and his left side throbbed from where a previous construct had slammed him with a mana-coated strike.

He had to use his Bubblecrafter skill sparingly. Each Bubble Bomb, each barrier, each trick he conjured came at a cost. His MP couldn’t dip too low—not here. Not when the trial seemed to punish even hesitation with swift retaliation.

Every movement was calculated.

Each step took more from him than the last.

Whenever a lull appeared, even for a few seconds, River would activate Mana Gathering—his breath stilling, his body focusing—and draw in the ambient energy of the battlefield. Wisps of mana would respond to his call, pulled in from the shattered fragments of the realm, replenishing his Mana Points bit by bit.

But it was easier said than done.

The battlefield didn’t stay still.

The enemies didn’t rest.

Even when he tried to retreat into the shadow of broken pillars or duck behind warped slabs of stone, something was always there—tracking, sensing, hunting. He could feel their gazes, like the weight of pressure on his skin, an invisible force pushing against his mind.

His eyes flicked upward.

Above, streaks of red lightning pulsed within the fractured sky, bathing the battlefield in an eerie, shifting hue. The fog clung low to the ground, thick enough to hide a construct just meters away. It didn’t help that the water beneath his feet rippled with every movement, revealing his position if he stepped too hard or too fast.

And then... the tremor came.

The ground vibrated ever so slightly beneath him—rhythmic. Heavy. Measured.

Hoofbeats.

River’s heart skipped a beat.

He turned his head, just as a massive shadow emerged from the fog—its body towering, the lower half shaped like a warhorse forged in black steel and burning runes. Above it, the torso of a demon loomed, draped in broken, jagged armor, its eyes glowing beneath a helm shaped like a snarling beast.

The centaur-like construct had arrived.

And from the weight of its presence alone—River knew this wasn’t like the others.

This one was faster.

Smarter.

Stronger.

"This is going to hurt..." he muttered.

And then he launched.

As he met a construct with the lower body of a massive armored horse and the upper body of a snarling demon wrapped in jagged black plate, River didn’t hesitate.

He enveloped himself in a cocoon of bubbles—thousands of them layered atop one another like translucent armor, glimmering under the flickering crimson sky.

Then—he detonated.

A deafening boom erupted as he ignited a concentrated cluster of Bubble Bombs behind his back, launching himself forward like a human cannonball.

The force of the blast cracked the shallow obsidian floor beneath him, sending ripples of water skyward. His body crashed into the centaur-like construct with devastating impact, the power behind the charge more than enough to send the beast flying backward.

The monster slammed into two more constructs behind it, dragging them all into a chaotic tumble of armored limbs and distorted mana. The clash was thunderous, steel grinding against stone and the screech of fractured enchantments ringing in the air.

But the price was steep.

The layered bubble shield around River shattered instantly upon impact, the sheer force of the explosion and the collision rupturing it into fragments of mana. He hit the ground hard, skidding across the slick obsidian surface.

River dropped to one knee, his breath coming in ragged bursts. Pain stabbed through his ribs and shoulder, and he could already feel something cracked inside.

His vision blurred for a second, but he forced his gaze to steady.

"Dammit," he breathed, fingers tightening around the dagger in his hand. "Still not enough..."

But respite was not a luxury the trial offered.

A new threat emerged before him—one of the faster constructs, sleek and humanoid, its body shimmering with flexible mana-threads that wove in and out of its armored plating like tendons made of liquid energy. Its glowing blade-arms hissed as they extended, one of them already raised for a strike.

"F*ck!"

River barely had time to react.

With a desperate jerk of his arm, he conjured a bubble barrier in front of him.

It exploded the instant it appeared, absorbing the construct’s powerful attack—but just barely.

The impact still sent River flying, his body rolling across the battlefield like a ragdoll. His back slammed against the jagged edge of a cracked obsidian pillar, and a burst of blood left his lips.

The world swam for a moment. The taste of iron filled his mouth.

Everything hurt.

His bones felt like they’d been rearranged. Every breath scraped like sandpaper against his lungs.

But even as the pain consumed him, River’s eyes remained sharp, burning with a fire that hadn’t yet gone out.

His fingers twitched, his hand still gripping the dagger. His will unbroken.

He couldn’t stop now.

Not here. ƒгeewёbnovel.com

Not yet.

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