Chapter 168: Rupture Hopper Part 2
The Rupture Hopper was a powerful beast, one that moved in explosive bursts so fast it was like it was fired out of a giant cannon. Not to mention the energy blasts it could fire from its legs.
And yet Ethan saw the creature as nothing but a warm-up for what was to come.
"Now it’s my turn, you ugly fucker."
He focused inwards and drew upon his Ulfen’s second skill.
’Predator’s Frenzy.’
His muscles tensed and his eyes flashed red, then he burst forward in a blur of motion.
"Cross Slash!"
His claws carved across its body, sparks and blood flying.
The creature screeched and retaliated instantly.
Boom!
Another explosive burst, but Ethan didn’t retreat and pushed straight through it.
’This beast doesn’t need strategy. I just need to crush it like the insect that it is!’
With that, he unleashed the skill again and again relentlessly.
"Cross Slash!"
"Cross Slash!"
"Cross Slash!"
It was like spamming the same move in a 2D fighter game, but it was working, and Ethan was ferocious with his attacks. He used his own explosiveness to match it, violence against violence.
They clashed repeatedly, each time rattling his body, but he kept attacking.
’Timing, that’s what’s key.’
Ethan had a keen eye, and as fast as the beast was in movement, it had a massive tell before bursting forward. The slight shift in its hind legs each time gave him an additional split second to react to its explosive attacks.
Making the most of it, he was slowly closing in on the creature with each exchange.
And this time, just as it was about to burst, he moved first.
Ethan burst forward and slid on the ground under the beast as it launched itself towards him, and as he did, he drove both his claws deep into its core.
"Got you!"
The creature had its abdomen cut open, its insides starting to spill out. That was the first significant blow in their battle. Immediately, the Rupture Hopper’s survival instincts took over, and an energy built in its legs, but this time not to attack.
’You’re not going anywhere!’
Ethan burst forward, his bloodied claws ready for one final attack.
"Cross Slash!"
It was a brutal strike that tore the beast apart as it tried to escape, its body collapsing to the ground with a heavy thud.
Moments after, he finally heard it...
{Beast Eliminated!}
{Would you like to acquire this beast as your own?}
Ethan stood there, breathing hard, and simply shook his head.
{Beast Capacity: 3/4}
The beast was impressive and all, but it wasn’t to the extent that it was worth acquiring it. His fourth slot was special and needed to grant him an entirely new facet of abilities.
He also didn’t dwell on the decision.
His body ached, and he had a metallic taste in his mouth from the impact of their clashes.
’That was harder than it should have been.’
It wasn’t that Ethan was weak, far from it. In hindsight, he should have gone all out from the start and summoned his beasts since he was supposedly alone, but the beast was simply strong.
He glanced at the corpse.
’If that’s the common beast equivalent here...’
His gaze lifted toward the unknown of endless floating islands.
’This gate is going to be tough.’
But despite the exhaustion, despite the injuries, despite the creeping realisation of just how dangerous this gate truly was, Ethan didn’t panic.
He had long since expected this to be the case.
’And I’ve been here before.’
Not this place specifically, but the feeling of isolation, struggle, and the constant threat of death lurking just out of sight. The Tower had already broken him down and rebuilt him for this.
Fighting alone against beasts stronger than him, adapting, surviving, that had become his new norm. And because of that, he knew that compared to the others who had entered the gate...
’I’m probably doing much better.’
And he was exactly right...
-
Elsewhere, across the hundreds of floating islands scattered throughout the gate, chaos had already claimed its first victims. Two of the C Rank Titled in the squad were already dead, torn apart within seconds of spawning.
They hadn’t even had time to properly react before the beasts assigned to them descended like predators sensing weakness. It was almost as if the gate itself was testing those who had entered, picking them apart and punishing the weak.
Every single entrant had been dropped onto a random floating island, and every single one faced a beast almost immediately.
Kaela?
She didn’t even hesitate.
The moment she sensed a beast coming her way, her aura flared violently, and the creature assigned to her was obliterated in a single, devastating strike.
It was effortless.
Elara, surprisingly, also held her own without relying on the demon within. Her blood-red energy flickered to life as she moved, her body blurring forward.
’Crimson Flash!’
In a single strike, she managed to wound the beast deeply, and once she followed it up with another, it was over. It had been nerve-wracking for her, and the first time she had actually fought a beast or monster alone, but she felt proud once she did.
Liora, the remaining A Rank, took a different approach.
She was calm and controlled, forming a cube of translucent barriers around her target, locking it in place. Then, slowly and deliberately, the walls began to close in.
The beast thrashed, screamed, struggled, but it didn’t matter.
It was crushed within the compressing space until there was nothing left but a mangled heap. Her attack wasn’t nearly as flashy as the other two A Ranks, but it was terrifying in its own way.
Then there were Darius, Seraphina, and Rowan, who all handled their respective beasts with relative ease. The difference between them and the C Ranks, Ethan included, was obvious.
But what they didn’t realise was that the beasts they faced hinted at the insanity that was to come...
-
Back to Ethan, he crouched beside the corpse of the Rupture Hopper, tilting his head slightly as he examined it. A giant cricket-like monstrosity that was grotesque and alien. Its limbs twisted at unnatural angles, and its shell cracked where his attacks had landed.
The way he had gutted the beast and riddled it with Cross Slashes didn’t help.
And yet...
"It looks kinda tasty."
He frowned as he realised what had just come out of his mouth.
’I guess the Tower Of Beasts really has changed me.’
Compared to the other disgusting creatures he’d been forced to eat before, this was practically a delicacy.
"At least it’s not some acidic frog thing."
So without hesitation, he got to work without any fire or preparation. He could very easily summon or assimilate with Spark to char it, but this wasn’t the kind of beast you cooked.
He ripped off one of the creature’s limbs with a sharp twist, the joint snapping with a wet crack.
Then another.
And another.
The outer shell was tough, but not impenetrable, and with enough force, he pried it open, exposing the softer, tender flesh inside.
’It’s almost like seafood, just giant and green,’ he joked internally as he enjoyed the quiet.
If anyone saw him, laughing to himself while feeding on an overgrown insect, they would think he was insane. But his moment of respite didn’t last long, and the Rupture Hopper he had faced was just the start...
