Chapter 19
{Preparing another beast attack… finding nearby beast… beast found}
{Good luck our dearest NPC, we want to see how you will fight your way out of here with an attack from a C rank beast}
"Wait! C rank what?!" Zen shouted as his eyes bulged in horror and his heart thumped loudly.
THUMP, Thump, Thump!
The sound of feral footsteps echoed toward Zen, causing him to spin toward the right entrance. A low growl reverberated through the chamber, bouncing off the dungeon walls, followed by a loud, menacing howl.
"No, no, no!" Zen muttered as he swung his head left and right in panic. His gaze locked onto the door several metres away, glowing ominously, almost as if it were beckoning to him.
'That is my ticket out of here. I need to get the hell out now!' he screamed inwardly, forcing himself upright despite the searing pain radiating through his body.
The fear of death outweighed any pain he felt, propelling him forward toward the door just ten metres away.
"Come on!" he hyped himself up as the growl grew louder behind him. The door still seemed painfully far.
"Let's go!" Zen roared, surging forward. His hand stretched toward the doorknob, just inches away when...
Something fast zipped through the air and slammed into him, sending him hurtling back with brutal speed and force.
{-4 HP}
{3/20 HP left}
"Shit! Kuk!" Zen coughed out a mouthful of blood as he tried to push himself up when...
"AWOOOOO!" A loud howl erupted in the chamber.
Zen slowly raised his head, blood dripping down his face, and finally saw the creature responsible.
It emerged from the far shadows of the chamber, a wolf, towering at shoulder-height to a grown man, stepped into the light. Its massive frame rippled with lean muscle beneath a coat of midnight-black fur.
That fur shimmered with a silvery underglow, pulsing as it moved, almost like it was absorbing ambient essence from the dungeon itself.
Its crimson eyes locked onto Zen with unnerving intelligence, as if it understood far more than a mere beast should. Long, sharp ears twitched at every sound. Each movement was calculated, silent, fluid, deadly.
Two massive fangs extended past its bottom lip, curved like ivory scimitars. Its thick, black claws, sharpened by countless hunts, dug into the stone floor with every slow, deliberate step forward.
"No need for the inspect skill. I can already sense how strong my death is," Zen muttered as he pushed himself upright, the wolf's growls deepening.
"I'm not some stupid protagonist in an anime that, despite how weak and injured they are, still wants to find a way to fight. I'm not a damn protagonist that wants to level up so badly that even when there's an option to run, he chooses to fight.
No! This is my life on the line. These are real stakes. I can't fight it. I need to run away as soon as possible, or my death is guaranteed." Zen said aloud as he frantically scanned the area.
The wolf was three metres away. The door was six metres behind it. His heart thudded louder.
'Damn it! What do I do? How do I escape with just three HP left?' Zen thought, his brain racing.
But the wolf didn't give him time to strategize. It dashed forward in a blur, heading straight for him.
'Damn it! The higher the rank, the greater the speed and strength,' Zen thought, clenching his teeth as he prepared to dodge.
Just in time, as the wolf leapt for his face, Zen ducked low, pain ripping through his abdomen. But it was worth it. The wolf landed behind him with a loud snarl.
"The door," Zen muttered.
Without wasting another breath, he bolted straight for it with all the strength he could muster. Behind him, the wolf howled and lunged forward.
'Fuck, fuck, fuck! I can hear it closing in. I need to go faster! Go faster!' he screamed internally, forcing his exhausted legs to keep moving.
Every heartbeat felt like a drum of doom. The door was just ahead...
'Shit! It's gaining on me! Wait... duck!' Zen screamed inwardly. His instincts took over just in time, his body diving low as the massive wolf lunged with its fangs bared, jaws wide open, aiming to tear his head clean off.
The beast soared past, landing with a thunderous impact barely a meter ahead. Zen's eyes widened as he stared into the wolf's maw which had rows of jagged, bloodstained fangs dripping with saliva.
His heart pounded like a war drum, louder and faster than it ever had before. Sweat streamed down his face, stinging his eyes.
'I... I was so close to getting ripped apart. Am I really going to die here?' Panic gripped his thoughts like a vice, freezing him in place. The wolf snarled, and for a terrifying second, its lips curled into something disturbingly similar to a smirk. Zen's eyes bulged. Was it… enjoying this?
'No! Keep moving! Push forward!' he told himself. But before he could even take a full step, the wolf blitzed forward again its movement a blur.
'No!' he roared mentally, throwing himself to the side at the last second. The beast slammed into the spot he had just stood, cracking the stone beneath with sheer force.
'Now!' Zen thought, scrambling to his feet. A flicker of hope surged through him. This was his opening.
But his legs which were tired, battered, and trembling buckled beneath him. Pain flared through his body, white-hot and paralyzing.
'No, no, no! Run, damn it! Run!'
"AWOOOOH!"
The wolf let out a chilling howl that echoed through the dungeon chamber, shaking Zen to his core. With horrifying speed, it charged again but this time faster, more relentless.
Zen's eyes locked on the exit. It was right there. Just five meters away. He clenched his jaw, ignoring the searing pain as he forced his body to move. Blood trickled from reopened wounds, but he kept going. One step. Then another.
Then...
THUD!
The wolf leapt with terrifying grace, its shadow eclipsing Zen. It crashed into him like a battering ram, and Zen was thrown violently to the floor. He landed face-first, his body skidding against the stone.
"AHCKK!" he cried out, pain wracking his entire being.
Dazed, he rolled over just in time to see it. The wolf was above him. Close. Too close.
It loomed with glowing crimson eyes, its breath hot and reeking of blood as it growled lowly...like death itself had taken a physical form.