The Iron Chained Blood Grizzly was enraged. It scratched –it snarled –it bellowed.

The clanking and clanging of metallic chains rattled through the air. The blazing chains whipped at the ground with booming noises.

The chained grizzly glared at me with its vicious eyes and pounced towards me. Its paws with razor-sharp claws stretched towards me; and its bared, ugly fangs aimed at my neck.

I let it come nearer and nearer. Its wheezing became heavier, and its stomping shook the ground more and more.

Its maw was now directly in front of me, shooting its teeth towards my head. A putrefying stench came from its breath. It was way worse than from before.

From above it and both its sides came blazing chains shooting towards me. They cut off every possible way where I could jump to.

If I would evade the beast's mouth by jumping up or to the side, the chains would attack me. And in this short distance, they would probably come at me in dozens – more than I can handle with only one spear.

Jumping back was no option either. The grizzly was faster than me and would get me sooner or later.

So, I took my only chance. I rammed the spear like a rudder into the ground and used the recoil to slide under the Iron Chained Blood Grizzly.

Its iron chained body whizzed over me while I slid on my back over the ground. None of the chains on its belly moved or even showed the intent of attacking me. They seemed completely lifeless.

'That's my chance!' I thought and thrusted the spear into its belly.

The spearhead drilled through the thicket of chains and penetrated its armor of chains. The Iron Chained Blood Grizzly gave a thunderous bellow in pain.

Blood oozed out from the wound and dripped down from the chains.

Drop after drop came the blood flying into my face. Each drop smacked into my face. I had to shift my body to avoid the dripping blood.

'I haven't hit the card?' I thought and rammed the spear further into its belly.

A sloshing sound came from its belly and blood gushed out from its wound like a fountain. The smell of blood etched into my nose. I plugged it with my other hand to avoid the stench.

'I'm glad I moved my head away from there…' I heaved a sigh in relief.

But there was still no explosion heard. I missed the card again. It was really difficult hitting a card in a massive body of a grizzly.

However, it was not impossible. The only thing I needed was a little bit of luck. The "Heaven's Strike" skill was ready to use now too.

So, I tore my spear out from the beast's body; and with a push of the spear against the grizzly's body, I slid out from under it.

The grizzly turned around and savagely snarled at me with bared teeth. Its red eyes filled with hatred and rage. The chains raged around it, yet the blazing on them stopped. It seemed that its mana ran out too.

Its legs trembled and quivered, clearly indicating that it is losing its strength. The loss of blood hit it harder than I imagined.

I could probably kill it now without targeting the grenade card in its belly or using my spear's skill. But why should I? To prove myself? To proof that I am good enough without relying on cards or skills?

I raised my spear into the air and the emerald-green clouds on it lit up. A thunderous rumbling and grumbling vibrated the entire hall.

A sudden explosion blasted the already damaged ceiling apart, and a humming lightning whipped into the hall, crashing into the Iron Chained Blood Grizzly.

But that was to be expected. The grizzly was insanely tall and iron chains surrounded its body which reached far into the air. It was like a moving lightning rod. How could the lightning not hit it?

The iron chains on the grizzly's body flashed with white electricity. Humming and crackling noises penetrated the otherwise silent hall.

A blasted smell came from the grizzly and the red light in its eyes intensified. Not even a snarl or bellow or whatnot came from it. Noiseless it stood there with widened eyes.

The lightning probably electrified its muscles so that it can't make a noise or even move.

Suddenly, an ear-shattering explosion crashed against my pain-ridden ears. The chains on the grizzly's body violently shook and expanded outwards.

Blood gushed out from each side and every slit on the grizzly.

'The grenade exploded?!'

A feeling of happiness warmed my heart and a smile came onto my lips. Finally, the fight would be over…

The lightning disappeared and only the burned and blasted smell of grizzly lied dense in the air. The monster's corpse sagged onto the ground. Only the rattling of the chains followed it.

*ding* *ding* *ding* *ding*

…

[Message]: You killed an Iron Chained Blood Grizzly (LV 20)[Elite].

[Message]: 5000 Coins gained from the kill.

…

[Message]: Mission "A New Beginning – Stepping into new Land" completed.

[Message]: Quest "A New Beginning" completed.

…

Seeing all these messages gave me a feeling of accomplishment. I gained a lot of money and finished the quest after all. How could I not be happy? There may be a reward from Zhihui too.

And right as I thought of him, his voice sounded out through the hall. "Young One, congratulations on passing my test."

"Everyone who can land a single hit on the Iron Chained Blood Grizzly's body and injure it even a little bit passes the test. And people who surrender will never be able to breach level 10. This test tested your courage and heart."

"But you surpassed it by all means and even killed the monster. As a special reward, I award you three lottery draws from my card collection."

"The rewards span from unique and rare occupations to every card in existence. The higher the level of the card or occupation, the slimmer is the chance for it to be drawn."

Suddenly, three illusory cards of golden light emerged before me. Each card shimmered in a mesmerizing glimmer. There was neither a color-circle nor an image on it. Every card was completely empty; it was just a simple, golden card of light.

"Tip on a card," the voice said.

'I hope I get something overpowered,' I thought and swallowed my saliva in excitement.

My fidgety fingers kept moving around, playing with the spear's shaft. This was a moment that could change my life after all. How could I not be nervous?

If I draw a rare or even unique card, everything would change in my life. I would never have to worry about dying by monsters anymore. And I could finally safe everyone dear to me; nobody would have to die or suffer.

But if I draw only common cards like black-circled weapons, I would stay as I am… Not that that is a bad thing… but it could be better…