Erik's breaths came out in ragged gasps as he entered a small pocket of forest further ahead of his previous position, a narrow expanse that provided a brief reprieve from the Ursolith's pursuit. It was a tiny refuge, only ten meters wide, but it was enough for him to gather his wits and prepare for the impending confrontation. The beast had been weakened enough for him to fight one-on-one.
Erik's heart pounded in his chest, and time seemed to slow down. The air around him was tense, with a palpable sense of danger and anticipation. He braced himself, his mind racing with calculations and strategies, looking for any advantage he could gain.
The twenty seconds he had left before the Ursolith reached him felt like an eternity, each second stretching and contorting under the strain of anxiety. Erik's gaze was fixed on the small clearing's entrance, his eyes darting back and forth, his senses heightened to detect any sign of the approaching beast.
The Ursolith then burst into view with a bone-shaking roar that shattered the silence. The ground trembled beneath its massive weight as it charged forward, its eyes fixed on its prey, its enemy, Erik, with unwavering determination. Its massive form took up a lot of space from the clearing, casting a shadow that seemed to engulf everything in its path and leaving tiny room to move to the young man.
Erik's mind snapped into action, his calm demeanor giving way to a determined resolve. His muscles coiled with tension as he planted his feet firmly on the ground.
The Ursolith charged at him, its thunderous footsteps closing the gap with terrifying speed, yet not on par with what it had been able to do until five minutes ago.
Erik unsheathed his Flyssa with a lightning-fast reflex, the gleaming blade catching the dappled sunlight. His movements were fluid, almost choreographed, as he prepared for the impending clash.
The Ursolith arrived ahead of Erik, casting a dark, imposing shadow. The creature came to a halt, its piercing gaze fixed on its prey. A hush hung in the air, pregnant with anticipation and raw power.
The Ursolith then unleashed a roar that shattered the tranquility of the surroundings with a thunderous eruption. The sound broke the silence, reverberating through the trees and echoing into the distance. Its roar seemed to consume the entire forest, drowning out all other sounds in its wake.
But as the deafening roar died away, the once-vibrant forest fell silent. It was a heavy silence, pregnant with fear and awe. The silence encircled the trees, the leaves barely rustling in the aftermath of the Ursolith's primal display of dominance.
[DANGER: A FEAR STATUS HAS AFFECTED THE HOST. RELEASE OF CALMING SUBSTANCES INTO THE BRAIN IN 3...2...1]
The silence engulfed everything as if the air had stopped breathing in response to the beast's proclamation. It was a tense moment in which the forest seemed to hold its collective breath, awaiting the next move in the deadly dance that was about to begin.
"Shut the fuck up," Erik said with a challenging look. The beast couldn't understand what the young man said but noticed he was unaffected by its brain crystal power, but it then resumed its attack undeterred.
The massive Ursolith lunged forward, jaws snapping with bone-crushing force aimed at Erik. The young man twisted and contorted his body in a breathtaking display of agility, narrowly avoiding the beast's lethal bite. His movements were quick and fluid, displaying his acrobatic abilities as he danced around the Ursolith, always one step ahead.
Erik launched a quick counterattack, seizing the opportunity. His Flyssa glinted in the sunlight as it sliced through the air, finding its mark on the Ursolith's flank with a deft flick of his wrist. The blade met resistance as it bit into the tough hide of the monster, leaving a deep gash filled with dark crimson.
The Ursolith's roar shook the forest to its core—a primal howl of pain and fury. Undaunted by its wound, the creature retaliated with a devastating swing of its right paw, aiming to crush Erik beneath its enormous strength and weight.
As he evaded the powerful strike, the young man's reflexes went into overdrive, and his body contorted with preternatural grace. His instincts guided him, and he narrowly avoided the Ursolith's fatal blow. The wind from the beast's swing brushed against his cheek, a chilling reminder of the danger the creature posed to his safety.
Following his escape, the awakener took advantage of the opportunity to strike once more. He lunged forward with calculated precision, his Flyssa gleaming as it sought a vulnerable spot on the Ursolith's massive body. The blade found new life, sinking deep into the creature's flesh and eliciting another earth-shattering roar, but it wasn't enough to kill the beast.
The Ursolith, bloodied and enraged, turned its full attention to Erik. Its eyes burned with a feral zeal, its primal instinct urging it to eliminate the threat before it.
Erik scanned the Ursolith for flaws that he could exploit. He noticed that, despite the numerous wounds on its body, the thaid wasn't going to die soon, and because the awakener only had a limited amount of mana to play with, he needed to end the fight quickly, or he'd be the one dying.
It was then that he noticed the severe wound on the beast's neck, a reminder of his earlier assault; it was nasty enough for the young man to use it to kill the creature.
<How can this fucker still be alive with that wound on its neck?> The young man wondered.
He needed to target that weak spot if he was going to have a chance of defeating this tenacious foe.
With his decision made, the awakener shifted his stance with calculated precision, his Flyssa firmly in his grasp. He had to time his killing of the creature perfectly.
The Ursolith, wounded but unafraid, decided, for some strange primitive reason, to stand on its two feet and kill the pest named Erik with its massive front paws.
It swung the lethal weapon multiple times, each strike exuding raw, unyielding power and causing the wind to shift. The beast's goal became clear: keep its vulnerable neck out of Erik's reach, forcing him to defend himself.
"You are smarter than I thought!" Erik shouted.
The awakener's instincts took over, his body moving with a fluid grace honed over months of practice. He ducked and weaved to avoid the crushing blows that were about to pulverize him.
Despite the beast's relentless assault, Erik remained unharmed. He evaded the Ursolith's attacks by sidestepping and rolling with otherworldly grace. His thoughts raced, looking for an opening, a chance to land a crushing blow on his formidable opponent, but he had to force the beast to lower its neck.
The Ursolith's snarls echoed through the forest, filling it with its ferocious presence. Its eyes blazed with rage and determination, refusing to yield to Erik's deft evasion.
The young man's concentration was high. He studied the Ursolith's movements, looking for an opening amid the chaos of the fight. Then, in a split-second decision, he took advantage of a brief window of vulnerability.
Erik took advantage of the Ursolith's mighty paw strike and used his Plant Master brain crystal power to bridle the Thaid and prevent it from moving; then, he darted forward, narrowly avoiding the beast's attempt to bite him with its massive jaws.
He then went toward the beast's hindquarters, his Flyssa poised to strike with the speed of a striking serpent, evading the deadly claws of the beast. Erik didn't have enough mana to completely restrain the Thaid.
The blade sliced through the air, aiming to sever the tendons in his right hind paw and limit the Ursolith's mobility further. He was successful, and the beast fell to the ground with a resounding thud.
As he saw the neck within his grasp, every muscle in his body coiled like a tightly wound spring, ready to unleash a final, decisive strike.
The beast attempted to stand on its own, using his ferocious jaws and jagged teeth to keep Erik at bay. On the other hand, Erik still had numerous wounds from when he was at the Red Lotus Lounge and had limited mobility.
However, he didn't miss that chance and took advantage of the situation; he evaded the monster's paws once more, deftly maneuvering to position himself on the beast's side, close to the neck. He closed the gap between himself and the beast in a swift and fluid motion, his blade poised to strike.
Erik launched his attack with a primal yell.
"DIE!"
The blade descended with unyielding force on the Ursolith's exposed neck. The sound of steel colliding with flesh and bones echoed through the forest.
As the awakener's blade found its mark, the Ursolith roared in agony, but its roar was cut short when the young man severed its head, leaving a bloodied stump on the beast's body. Blood poured from the wound like a fountain, staining the ground.
[URSOLITH KILLED: MANA ABSORBING PROCESS STARTING.]
[0%...1%....5%...30%...70%...100%]
[MANA SUCCESSFULLY ABSORBED, STARTING CONVERTING PROCEDURE.]
[3...2...1...0]
[MANA SUCCESSFULLY CONVERTED INTO EXPERIENCE. 1371 EXPERIENCE POINTS AWARDED TO THE HOST.]
[QUEST COMPLETE. REWARDS ISSUED.]
"Yes!" Erik shouted. He managed to kill another strong beast, and its power would help him fight against monsters he couldn't survive against. The ability to instill primal fear in his opponents was bound to be very useful.
Erik then approached the thaid's body and licked the red substance from the bloody stump.
[URSOLITH'S DNA ACQUIRED. STARTING THE ANALYSIS.]
[ANALYSIS COMPLETE.]
[URSOLITH'S DNA HAS BEEN FOUND COMPATIBLE WITH THE BRAIN CRYSTAL POWER "ANIMAL SHAPE SHIFTING" TO STRENGTHEN THE POWER, THE HOST IS REQUIRED TO DRINK AT LEAST 20 CC OF BLOOD.]
[100 DNA POINTS ARE REQUIRED TO EXTRACT THE DNA. 500 TO GET IT WITHOUT INCURRING PAIN AND LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS.]
[1690 DNA POINTS DETECTED. COMMENCING EXTRACTION?.]
"Not now, but I will power up the animal shape-shifting power," Erik said. With that, he cupped his hand and drank the blood until a new notification appeared in front of him.
[BLOOD ABSORBED. DNA STORING PROCEDURE STARTED. PLEASE WAIT.]
[PROCEDURE COMPLETE.]
"Good." He then extracted the brain crystal from the thaid's severed head and swallowed it.
[URSOLITH'S BRAIN CRYSTAL ACQUIRED. STARTING THE ANALYSIS.]
[ANALYSIS COMPLETE.]
[100 DNA POINTS ARE REQUIRED TO EXTRACT THE POWER. 500 TO GET IT WITHOUT INCURRING PAIN AND LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS.]
[1690 DNA POINTS DETECTED. EXTRACTION IS NOT ADVISED; THE HOST HAS INCOMPATIBLE DNA.]
[EXTRACTION ABORTED]
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