Charon was really happy that he had a champion like Mark, wasn't he? This damn tsundere.
Mark got off the boat and landed on the shore of a large rocky area that disappeared into the darkness in the distance. There was a strange glow that allowed Mark to only see a hundred meters or so in front of him, but that was enough for Mark to get a good look at the surrounding area. There was nothing here other than the desolate wastelands and a lot of rock beds.
A tall wall on one side of the landscape prevented Makr from moving towards the west side, so he decided to explore the east side first and find out what to do next.
Mark bowed his head one last time before he watched Charon sail away until he disappeared into the fog. A system prompt appeared in front of him.
[The User has successfully completed the second test [The River Crossing.]]
[The gods are surprised by how the user handled the second test and they keenly await the third test.]
[Thanatos sneers in irritation and demands that the third test begins immediately.]
[Test 3: The Beast At The Gate]
[The User stands before the gates of the underworld which are being guarded by the three-headed beast of carnage. The User is to defeat this beast and make his way through the gates to pass the third test. The beast has been sufficiently weakened to give the user a fighting chance against it. The beast currently possesses only 15% of its true strength.]
[Test Conditions]
-> The user is not allowed to use all his skills during the fight.
-> The user must kill the beast. Th manner of killing it is up to the user's discretion.
-> The user must walk through the gate after defeating the beast.
[Number of Lives: II]
[The user has been granted a favor due to the incessant demands of his patron god, Sozin. Thanatos has agreed to allow the user to use one skill during each test. Due to their Passive Divine nature, the Divine skills cannot be deactivated, and the user will be allowed to use them during the fight. Please select the skill you wish to use]
[Mana Circulation – D Rank]
[Taunting – F Rank]
Why!!?
[Number of lives remaining: I]
Mark did not know what just happened, and he didn't even know what caused it, but he knew that a monster that he didn't see was what hit him from behind! He had to get out of the open!
Woosh!
"Fuck!"
Mark immediately dropped to the ground as he heard something fly overhead above him. He rolled to one side and jumped to his feet before turning around to get a good look at what just killed him!
The monster that Mark saw behind him was a large, black-skinned grotesque-looking thing. It had the body of a dog, with three large heads that were staring down at Mark with foaming jaws that revealed sharp canines that were at least as large as Mark's arms.
The beast was the guardian of the gates of the underworld. The final boss that anyone who wishes to meet Thanatos must first go through. Cerberus, the three-headed dog.
Mark immediately took two large leaps backward while keeping his eye on the dog to make sure that it didn't charge at him. Mark knew that it would be a bad idea to get hit by that thing again. Only one hit was enough to take Mark out, and another hit would be the end for him! There was no way he could survive if that dog got another clean hit like it did last time!
Didn't the system say that the monster only had fifteen percent of its true power? How in the world is this fifteen percent? Mark started to wonder how strong the monster would have been if he was told to fight it at its full power.
Right now, the monsters had to have strength that was way above Calamity Class. It had to be at least on the same level as an Eldritch Class Anima. That was the only way It could kill Mark as easily as it did. If it was a calamity class, Mark would have been able to tank that hit and walk away without even an injury on his body.
Mark's durability was already higher than before due to the gift that he got from Charon, but even with that addition to his stats, Mark was still not able to tank that hit from Cerberus. He needed to find out how to deal with this bastard.
Cerberus started to stalk after Mark once it saw that its initial attack did not hit. It was a little surprised that the human managed to avoid the hit, but Cerberus did not allow itself to remain dazed for long as it started to move after the human with slow steps and a predatory gaze in its six eyes. Like a lion stalking a prey.
"GROWL~!!"
One of the three heads released a deep growl, and the other heads immediately understood what it was trying to say as they all got on the same page! They were going to charge for Mark and overwhelm him before he could get far! The Styx was right to their left, and they only needed to throw him in there for him to be drowned by the numerous souls that were crying out from inside the water!
They immediately sped up their pace as they ran after Mark, and Mark immediately cursed as he started to run faster. He noticed that the Cerberus was moving towards the right to try and make him go left, and when he looked to the left, he immediately knew what sort of plan they had! Was the monster trying to make him drown in the Styx? This fucking sadist!
It wasn't enough to kill him by using force; now it wanted to drown him as well!