"Whhimm!"
The limb lashed through the air with a whipping crack, emitting air fluctuations in the form of shockwaves that distorted the space around it.
And even as quick as it had come, Dimm also possessed speed that was enough for him to dodge the attack. He found himself leaping high in the air, his body twisting with supernatural agility as he narrowly avoided the deadly strike.
With his hands, raised in Y-form and his fingers gripping the hilt of his sword tightly, he landed softly, a few distance away from his former position, and raised his head towards the creature.
Instead of seeing the creature, the screen from earlier materialized before his eyes.
[New Skill Detected: You can dodge!]
[Skill Apprehension: Fear– avoid fear!]
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Dimm exhaled sharply as he saw the notification. "Come action, come notifications," he muttered.
He removed his gaze from the screen which disappeared on his own and locked his stare on the monster in his front. Squiggon’s piercing dragon eyes also bore into him.
’You are really might,’ Dimm thought.
"I know you are amazed as to how I dodged your unexpected attack."
Of course, it was something amazing that Dimm was able to avoid that attack. No other candidate or low player would do that.
In response, a low growl rumbled from within Squiggon’s throat before it spoke. Its voice echoed in the whole environment with a vibrating volume of intensified crackles.
"I am Squiggon!"
Dimm scoffed. "Squiggon, hmm?" He tilted his head slightly. "Honestly terrifying."
Squiggon’s eyes narrowed. "And no mere mortal has passed this path to appraise survival!!!"
"Uhm, now that you said that," Dimm tapped his right index finger mockingly on his chin. He feigned deep thought before continuing with a smirk. "Guess I will have to be an exception again."
Maybe the monster heard what he said. Its octopus legs shifted and curled, gripping the stone that was beside it with inhuman precision. Its eyes locked unto Dimm.
"Huh. Don’t look at me that way."
The monster seemed to be losing patience for mockery. Without warning, it whipped one of its limbs for the second time, downward.
Dimm sidestepped just in time, rolling smoothly across the ground. Dust shattered as well as rocks, exploding into the air as the limb crashed into the earth. Its sheer force created a deep crater where he had stood moments ago.
"What the fuck? You want to bury me before my time?!" Dimm shouted at the monster who seemed to have the motive of death alone. It slashed its two legs horizontally, almost immediately but Dimm reacted on instinct.
He flipped like a whirly shark in the air, rotating his boy mid-air as the two legs cut through the space beneath him.
Just as he was about to land, another attack from the monster targeted him. But this time, he delivered an effective kick to the approaching leg, sending the limbs to roll around the monster’s neck.
On his part, he backflipped a distance away from the monster once again as it uncurled the limbs around the neck.
"Just before now, I had no intention to lunge an attack," he said with his head bent before raising them. "Or should I keep defending its attack?"
But the system seemed to have a different plan for him. It wanted him to attack.
[Activated! Engage Hostile Entity.]
"Okay. So, here we go," he said with much enthusiasm, but within, he tagged this monster as deadly, and felt a sort of fear. But, he mustn’t think about fear. He was clearly warned against it.
Unwillingly, yet, supposedly , his body moved even before his mind could register it. His movement towards the monster was at a very high speed, as he skidded sideways with the motive to distract the monster.
Squiggon roared, reacting fast. It disgorged a massive surge of toxic mist, constituting its venomous breath to fill the air, with its product as a corrosive fog.
"Now, tell me this is one of your tricks," Dimm lamented before twisting to the side, narrowly avoiding the poisonous cloud. He knew better than to breathe it in.
"Or, maybe I should try."
His speech was distorted in between, by a simultaneous strike from Squiggon which took advantage of Dimm’s prevention movement. One of its limbs shot forward like a battering ram, aiming directly at his midsection.
"Uh-oh," he said with a low tone. "Okay, we got this."
He tried to brace himself, but this time, he was too slow.
The limb slammed into his chest, causing an effect that seemed to explode through his ribs like a war hammer.
[CON: -40%]
Dimm flew backward, the force from the hit launching him into the air. His body crashed into one of the trees, before sending him to land on the ground with his descent causing dust plumes to diffuse skyward.
’Gosh, I should have activated my dodge skill,’ he blamed himself inwardly.
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"Pain," he muttered in between breaths. "Blinding, suffocating pain."
The proof of the effect from that hit showed itself as he coughed violently, blood dripping from his lips. His vision flickered, the edges darkening as he struggled to see what the screen notified him this time.
[Critical Damage Sustained. Recommending Recovery.]
Dimm cursed under his breath. If only he had the strength enough to talk, or even, even what…his mind did the job instead. ’Why the hell will you recommend recovery? Get on with it immediately.’
Dimm groaned. "Yeah, yeah. I got it."
He advanced to stand. His muscles screamed in agony as his body protested, so he ended up kneeling with his two hands as support. The screen flickered before him again.
[CON Status: 6000 SP]
’Really? Just a hit from the creature had cost him more than half of his constitution score point. At this rate, I shouldn’t take another hit from that monster.’
He surely couldn’t take another hit, at least a direct hit.
His problem wasn’t really the monster’s problem. ’Why the hell is the recovery taking so long to commence?!’
He wished he had screamed that with his voice. Just like he had screamed "Help!" and the system shockingly showed up. Maybe, there will be another change yet again.
In his front, the monster snarled, preparing its finishing blow.
But before then, it resounded once again with its loud crackling echo. "No mere mortal shall cross, and live!"
’What if I repeat for the second time that I will be an exception yet again.’
Such hopes.
Aside from that, Dimm was tensed. He knew he had seconds to react. Squiggon possessed such speed in attack that even with his current stats, he would surely fail against it this time.
’I need a plan. I can’t lose. I need help!!’ he sobbed, his hands hitting the bare ground where he knelt.
But, did something happen? Yes.
Before Squiggon could launch its attack, just before it could strike, he heard this voice.
A soft, pitched but commanding voice echoed from the shadows.
"Such a surprise. You held out longer than I expected."
Dimm’s head snapped up, his eyes searching the area for the carrier of the voice. His sight finally beholds a figure.
A figure that stood atop one of the high trees, bathed in the eerie glow of the battle scene.
At the call of this voice, Squiggon suddenly hesitated. Its eyes flickered toward the newcomer.
Dimm’s breathing was ragged, but he felt satisfied a bit. ’Whoever it was, thanks for the help.’
And why did it feel like the battle had just taken a turn? Why does it seem like Squiggon paid heed to the voice? And this voice–
He looked up to the tree to find the figure had disappeared.
But to where?
He could have shown his gratitude at least.
Dimm’s heart continually pounded in his chest as he ran through the forest. The snarls, the growls, and the bone-crackling sounds that echoed behind him only made his mind race faster than his legs.
He thought. He tried to make sense of what he had just witnessed–the refugees. No. The beasts–were no longer human. They had transformed completely now.
’And these were the creatures I traveled with all this while.’
The once serene atmosphere had turned into a nightmare, and he was at the center of this nightmare. Unfortunately.
The forest was thick, with the canopies formed by its trees blotting out most of the sunlight. Making it possible for Dimm to have a glance of his shadows as he continued to run.
Dimm’s breath came heavily, in ragged gasps as he ducked his head each time to dodge low-hanging branches and leap over gnarled roots.
His legs burned out, he was rapidly losing strength. But…but the fear of those beasts fueled his tenacity to keep running, and at a steady pace. He could hear them trailing behind him, they were approaching and at a quicker rate. He sensed.
But then, a thought came into Dimm’s mind and he skidded to a halt, turning to face the direction of the approaching beasts. His initial terror began to wane just as the thought struck him.
’These aren’t mythical beasts. They are just animals.’
His eyes ignited at this thought as he narrowed them to watch every movement and appearance of these beasts. ’Big? Yes. Dangerous? Not really. Just animals nonetheless.’