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The ground shook.
THUMP... THUMP...
Whatever it was, it was not weak; not like the monsters Hao Yun had fought till now.
Slowly, the air became heavy. There was a strange pressure that gave Hao Yun the chills.
Suddenly, the trees fell as a colossal monster approached from behind the black pines.
It was at least 4 times the size of the Chimera Dragon Hao Yun fought back then. Its body was nothing but an abomination of scraps of monsters' skin stitched together. Its skin was dark, like burned meat, and its face… wasn't really a face.
He tilted his head, noticed Hao Yun... But did nothing.
Suddenly, its face, which looked smooth, split open, revealing crooked teeth.
Then...
It began sucking in the air, like a vacuum cleaner. Hao Yun dodged it, but was wondering why it was so slow.
However, then he realized, this monster wasn't targeting him from the beginning. It targeted... the monster corpses.
In an Instant, hundreds of monster corpses with their cores intact went inside its mouth.
The monster chowed them down and released its breath that contained dark misama.
In a few moments, the misama spread throughout the area.
Hao Yun didn't know what it was trying to do. But his instinct told him it wasn't good timing to attack.
He waited for the miasma to dissolve. But when it did... The monster wasn't there.
It had been completely melted. Its remains looked like it was melted plastic. In the center of that molten pool stood a strange, dark humanoid figure.
The figure straightened its back, removing the molten substance from its body. Its white, pupil-less eyes focused on Hao Yun.
Suddenly, it smiled.
It was probably the creepiest smile Hao Yun ever saw.
"You… smell… strong," it spoke in a broken speech.
Without any warning, it vanished.
Hao Yun was perplexed.
He couldn't sense it anymore.
It seemed like it had gone somewhere else.
But, just as he barely turned around, a massive fist slammed into his ribs, sending him flying before he collided with multiple trees.
Cough-Cough...
Hao Yun coughed out a mouthful of blood.
It was completely unexpected.
"Shit! I shouldn't have let my guard down."
[Highly Dangerous Elite Monster Detected.]
[Activating Apex Hunter Title: 10 percent temporary bonus stats granted.]
[Activating Instinct Override: Time slows down in near-death moments for last-second dodges or counters.]
"Even this helps a lot at this moment. But let's add one more." Hao Yun used his skill Predator Instinct once again. So far, this skill has been useful to him in many kinds of situations.
With these traits and skills, Hao Yun finally fought the monster on near equal terms. Though the monster still had the advantage over him.
In no time, both were equally wounded.
But... Then, the monster looked at his shadow and pulled out an uneven black sword. The blade's sharpness was hard to predict since its shape wasn't very sword-like, but... Hao Yun was unable to look down on it because of its murderous aura.
Once again, the monster smiled, like a half Moon. But unlike Moon, his smile was creepy... and scary.
The slight advantage had now turned into a big one.
Hao Yun had nothing except his few skills and fists.
He tried using Singularity Blade against the monster, but its black sword destroyed all of them. The sword acted like it had its own spirit.
Finally, they clashed. Hao Yun's punches and kicks were fast, but still, against this monster, he was only able to parry, and even that was possible thanks to his traits and skills.
During the fight, Hao Yun had only one thing in his mind: "I can't let this monster leave the forest. It would destroy the world in no time."
As each moment passed, the monster seemingly became stronger, as if it were learning from Hao Yun's moves. The attacks were becoming precise, and each was aimed at Hao Yun's vitals.
One of his slashes caught Hao Yun's left shoulder. He tried to back down, only to feel extreme heat and cold sensations at the same time.
Aaaaaaa...
The arm fell on the ground.
Hao Yun screamed.
But at the same time, he couldn't stop.
If he were to get distracted even for a moment, he would end up losing his life.
"No! I can't die at the hands of a creepy monster like this." He thought.
Blood continuously splattered on the snow, but the monster didn't give him time to breathe.
Hao Yun gritted his teeth.
When the monster lunged again, Hao Yun dodged it again, but right into its swing.
The blade grazed his side, but his right hand grabbed the monster's face.
"Let's see what you do now..."
He slammed its head into the frozen ground with all his remaining strength. The ice began cracking, but he didn't let go. He smashed again, and again, until the monster's black blood painted the snow.
When it looked like the monster had taken enough damage, Hao Yun instantly snatched his sword and stabbed the monster all over its body.
At last, the humanoid monster melted away just like it did before the transformation, leaving only a colorful core that was 10 times larger than a golf ball.
However, the sword didn't disappear. It still remained in Hao Yun's hand.
A new message appeared.
[Weapon Obtained: Cursed Blade Ashfang.]
[Curse blade Ashfang: A jet-black, longsword forged from condensed monster essence. Its blade constantly emits a light ash-gray mist, carrying a sinister curse. Each swing leaves traces of "curse burn" that slowly eat away at flesh, bone, and even mana channels.
Special abilities:
Curse Brand: Wounds inflicted by the sword heal 70% slower due to the curse.
Ash Surge: When fed a monster corpse, the blade temporarily gains +30% attack power.
Soul Drain: Killing a creature with the blade transfers a fragment of its life force to the wielder.
[Skill Little Thief Activated.]
[Extracting a Random Skill from Target]
[Skill Extracted: Spatial Step]
[Allows user to teleport at a short distance by stepping through a fracture in space. Can bypass obstacles and attacks made during the skill being used will be evaded. Usable for 10 minutes]
[Cooldown period: 1day]
[Devourer's claim in effect.]
[Stats upgraded.]
[STATS
Strength: 17
Speed: 19
Vitality: 13
Endurance: 20
Intelligence: 13
Willpower: 14
Charisma: 11
System Affinity: 0
Luck: 34
]
"So it was not like that boss monster was insanely fast, he was just using this skill to teleport at short distances."
Hao Yun finally took a sigh of relief and fell to the ground. He was still feeling the extreme burning sensation all over his body, especially his left shoulder.
Slowly, his eyes closed...
Meanwhile, in the village, the Bartender kept worrying about Hao Yun. After all, he saved his life in a cruel new world. He just hoped nothing happened to him and kept waiting for him outside the forest.
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