"Two-level ups today, that's good," Erik said to himself. Despite the situation, he gained a lot today. However, he couldn't increase his stats anymore since they were already growing because of the system's rewards and the neural links he made. From now on, he would only increase his energy.
[WARNING: THE BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER'S MANA RESERVES ARE NOW DEPLETED. THERE WON'T BE FURTHER QUESTS UNTIL THE USER KILLS OTHER CREATURES OR THE SYSTEM IS ABLE TO GATHER MANA FROM THE SURROUNDINGS.]
"All right…" he then turned to look at his surroundings. No beast was around; otherwise, the system would have alerted him. However, his thoughts trailed back to ten minutes ago; the system told him that aside from the cameras in the surroundings, it also disabled a drone.
Immediately, he got angry. Was someone spying on him? He was unaware that a curious girl had watched him escape from the Red Palace and was currently watching Aaron struggle on the other side of the city.
Erik ran toward the end of the street and quickly went toward its end. After a couple of twists and turns, the young man stopped to rest a little bit. However, that was short-lived.
He didn't even have time to rest for five minutes before the system gave him another problematic notification.
[WARNING: HOSTILE DETECTED.]
The awakener was immediately alarmed, but at least this time, there was only one beast, and since he leveled up, he got his mana and stamina replenished. The system was wonderful, with all those perks and functions.
A sound that chilled Erik to the bone immediately interrupted his thoughts. It was a low growl, and it seemed to be coming from somewhere behind him. Erik turned to face the source of the sound and slashed at it by instinct. He blocked the fangs of a beast barely a couple of centimeters from him. He was shocked to see that the thaid in question was a very dangerous one.
Standing before him was a thaid unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was big, easily three times the size of a man, and its eyes glowed with a fierce red light. Its jaws were lined with razor-sharp teeth, and its claws were as long as daggers. It resembled a puma, but its fur was crimson red, and a fiery flame burned at the tip of its long striped tail.
He knew about it thanks to the technology he downloaded about the thaids, but seeing the monster up close was another experience altogether.
The creature was a Ferele, a thaid usually spotted near New Alexandria. Erik guessed what the hell the creature was doing here, so far from his natural habitat, which was way far from where the horde came. However, something was clear: The beast had followed Erik all along.
This time, the situation was serious. The Ferele was not only physically impressive but also had a very strong brain crystal power that allowed it to produce and manipulate fire. If it weren't for the fact that Erik knew how dangerous this beast was, greed would have blinded him, making him do something stupid.
He was still wrestling the beast, blocking its mouth with the flyssa, which was still whole because Erik used his metallization power on it, making the sword rather durable. However, he was also pumping a lot of mana into it because the Ferele's strength was high.
The awakener knew he was in trouble. He had escaped the Red Palace and killed the Eganesus, only to end up fighting a beast he wasn't certain he could defeat, and that was definitely more dangerous than the thaids he had just killed.
"Fuck!"
Erik then used his poisonous astral wolf bite to kill the creature; this was a good move for when he couldn't use his hands. However, as the beast felt the mana assembling in the air, it jumped back, releasing its mouth from Erik's blade, and narrowly avoided the attack.
But the beast didn't give up easily. He kept his distance from Erik, looking at his mask and trying to understand if his prey feared for his life. It circled him, snarling and hissing, waiting for him to make a mistake, lose focus, or suddenly move.
By having the possibility of using his other powers, Erik had a more diverse skillset at his disposal, and he needed to understand how to use it. He was also sure no one was observing him; since there was no camera around, and the system deactivated all the devices in the surroundings. It was also unlikely that people were in the nearby buildings, so he planned on going all out. As he looked at the creature, the beast did the same.
They both stared at each other, but it was at that moment that the Felere's tail sprouted fire from its tip. The size of the flame increased, and a fiery gale spread throughout the surroundings. The thaid then opened its mouth, and a light came from its throat. It was clear what the beast was doing—shoot at him.
A ball of fire came hurtling toward the young man. Who jumped to the side to avoid the move; however, the Ferele did the same; it followed Erik and lunged at him. The young man slashed at the beast, severing its claws with a neat movement. However, the vast paw ended up hitting him on the chest, making the young man stop breathing for a moment.
The Ferele jumped on him again, but Erik conjured up the astral wolf, who started wrestling with the Ferele. It was the fight between a giant mana head and a smaller but still powerful beast. The wolf bit the Ferele, and its venom started seeping inside the thaid's veins. But it was too early to have any effect. However, that was at least something.
Erik knew he had to be more careful. He couldn't afford to make any mistakes again, or he would end up dead. He retreated, putting some distance between himself and the Thaid. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and the adrenaline surging through his veins. He took a deep breath and assessed the situation.
The beast was strong, but Erik still had enough mana to fight against it. The creature kept circling around him, watching his every move. Erik analyzed the beast with the biological supercomputer's power, and a screen appeared before him.
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- Name: Unnamed or unknown.
- Brain Crystal Power: Fire Manipulation (Uncommon).
-Race: Ferele.
-Physical characteristics: Approximately 1.80 centimeters tall and 2 meters long. Lean build. Estimated weight of 500 kilos.
-Personality and traits: The Ferele is a rather aggressive beast. It tends to hunt alone but mates once a year. Females are protective of their cubs until adulthood; males do not care about them at all after birth. They eat meat and prefer to hunt other thaids. However, sometimes they will try to hunt dangerous creatures when they are starving.
-Power Level: 104.
-Approximate Strength: 53.
-Approximate Intelligence: 3.
-Approximate dexterity: 35.
-Approximate Energy: 250.
...
...
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<The beast is at my same power level but slightly stronger,> Erik thought. That was why it was hard to fight against it. Erik took a deep breath and analyzed the situation, looking for any weakness he could exploit. He noticed that the beast had a tendency to favor its left side during attacks, so Erik decided to focus his defense on that side and wait for an opportunity to strike. With this plan in mind, he readied himself for the next attack.
The Ferele lunged again, but at that point, Erik had already conjured a poisonous mana dart, and when the creature attacked him, he launched the dart and hit it right in the chest. This second poison started spreading throughout the beast's body, but this time, Erik made a poison that significantly debilitated the thaid and took effect quickly.
He then jumped backward while the beast was still in the air. It then landed and tried to bite Erik, who luckily avoided the move.
Erik then feinted left and swung his sword at the Thaid's neck from the right. The creature tried to dodge, but his blade caught the beast on its back, slicing through its thick hide. A nasty wound appeared on the creature's skin. The Thaid roared in pain and turned towards him, trying to attack him again.
Erik didn't allow the beast to come closer; however, the fact that the thaid was far from him wasn't reassuring at all due to the beast's brain crystal power.
The fight continued, with the Ferele relentlessly attacking Erik and the latter avoiding them. The awakener knew that it was only a matter of time before the astral wolf's poisonous bite took effect and killed the beast. In the meantime, its movements became more sluggish as the fight progressed due to the dart's poison. All of this significantly increased Erik's fighting chances, but the poison couldn't do much due to how high the creature's mana reserves were.
In all that situation, Erik was starting to get tired too. He could feel his arms and legs beginning to ache due to the exertion. Due to how many times he had to stop the creature from biting his throat. He needed to end this fight soon, or he would risk dying.
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