In the Marshy area, Ethan was seen standing in his fighting stance, ready to face two Marshhowlers. He evaded and paried their attacks. Spinning and dodging, though he was barely evading. As if these two beasts weren't sufficient another one emerged from the dark. A Fanghide Lurker.
The Fanghide Lurker burst from the underbrush behind him, a larger beast with snake-like movements, armored scales glistening in the moonlight and a fang-filled maw that stretched wider than Ethan's chest. It hissed.
Ethan leapt backward, midair flipping over a fallen log. He landed hard but kept his stance.
[SYSTEM PROMPT: COMBAT MODE ENABLED]
[SKILL: ABYSSAL LUNGE – READY]
[WRATH COST: 8WRATH]
He didn't hesitate.
"ABYSSAL LUNGE!"
A burst of force exploded under his feet. Ethan vanished in a black streak, reappearing behind the first Marshhowler mid-air. His blade cleaved through its back in a powerful arc.
The beast howled and collapsed, writhing in agony. It's body pulsating... Then stilled... It was dead already
[WRATH EXPENDED: -8]
[WRATH REMAINING: 18/30]
[MARSHHOWLER DEFEATED]
[+20 EXP GAINED]
[+5WRATH EARNED]
[WRATH REMAINING: 23/30]
[EXP TO NEXT LEVEL: 70/200]
The second Marshhowler lunged. Ethan pivoted, parrying with his blade and ramming his shoulder into the creature's snout. It stumbled back. The Fanghide Lurker moved in silently, its tail whipping through the mist like a scythe.
CRACK!
It struck Ethan square in the chest, sending him tumbling back. He crashed against a tree trunk, coughing blood. Pain radiated through his ribs.
[HP: 14/20]
[STATUS EFFECT: STAGGERED – 5 SECONDS]
Ethan grit his teeth, pushing himself up.
"I've taken worse than this... you monsters picked the wrong night."
He ducked under another strike, slashed the air twice to keep them back. The mist was thicker now, turning everything into silhouettes. But his instincts were sharp. They had to be.
The second Marshhowler lunged again, this time Ethan side-stepped, then drove his blade through its skull in a single clean motion. Blood sprayed across his face, coloring it dark red.
[MARSHHOWLER DEFEATED]
[+20 EXP GAINED]
[+5WRATH EARNED]
[EXP TO NEXT LEVEL: 90/200]
[WRATH: 28/30]
Only one left.
The Fanghide Lurker circled him, its black tongue hissing. It moved faster than the others, more calculated.
Ethan raised his blade, letting the rain mix with blood on his face.
"Come on. I need the EXP."
It charged.
Ethan darted forward too, sliding low under its snap, slicing across its underbelly as he passed. Black ooze splattered across the leaves. The beast shrieked, twisting in pain.
[+15 Wrath EARNED]
[WRATH THRESHOLD REACHED—REMAINING WRATH NOT ADDED TO WRATH POOL]
[WRATH: 30/30]
He didn't give it time to recover.
[SKILL READY – ABYSSAL LUNGE]
He pivoted, breathing heavily. Everything slowed in his vision. The world was fading into instinct, into rage. Into survival.
"ABYSSAL LUNGE!"
The second strike was cleaner, deeper. It tore through the beast's side, the blade ripping through scale and sinew.
The Fanghide roared in agony before collapsing into a heap.
Silence followed.
[FANGHIDE LURKER DEFEATED
[+30 EXP GAINED]
[+5WRATH EARNED]
[EXP TO NEXT LEVEL: 120/200]
[WRATH: 27/30]
Ethan fell to one knee, panting. Blood coated his arms. But he was alive.
Barely.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: NIGHT AMBUSH SURVIVED – COMBAT RANK: STILL LOW, YOU NEED MORE FIGHTING EXPERIENCE]
[+2 ATTRIBUTE POINTS EARNED]
The mist began to thin. The wind settled.
He wiped his blade on a leaf, breathing out.
"That's one more night survived, Licia. I'm not stopping until I reach that Kingdom. I don't care how many beasts they throw at me."
His voice was a whisper, but it echoed into the night like a vow.
He turned back toward the darkness of the forest path. There were more dangers ahead.
And he would meet them all head-on.
-----------
Moonlight filtered through the thick canopy above, painting pale lines across the forest floor. The embers of Ethan's campfire still hissed gently in the background, fading into the silence that followed the blood-soaked ambush. The corpses of the two Class I Tartarus Beasts lay crumpled a few meters away, their grotesque forms bathed in crimson moonlight.
Ethan stood tall amidst the carnage, breathing heavily. His shirt was torn, revealing the growing complexity of black and deep-crimson Leviathan markings spreading from his forearms to his chest. The further he walked in the Abyss, the greater the markings became. The pain in his body was dull now, almost distant. But the rage, the wrath, it burned hotter than ever.
[×2 CLASS I TARTARUS BEASTS DEFEATED]
[+30 EXP]
[+10WRATH]
[EXP TO NEXT LEVEL: 150/200]
[WRATH TOTAL: 25/30]
The cold system voice rang in his head. His interface flashed briefly in the air before him, revealing the updated numbers. Ethan closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"One more step... One more kill closer to strength."
His hands trembled slightly as he sheathed his blade. The ground was still warm with blood, yet his heart beat steady. He had seen death too many times now to be shaken. And still, he knew that stronger threats lurked in the wilds ahead.
He approached the carcass of the last beast, reaching into its maw and yanking free one of its internal crystals. It glowed faintly, a pulsing ember of abyssal energy.
[Minor Wrath Crystal Obtained]
Without hesitation, Ethan crushed it in his hand. The energy stored in it flew towards Ethan and entered his mouth
[+5 Wrath EARNED]
[WRATH TOTAL: 30/30]
"Bluuurrrghhh... This thing taste like vomit. But it replenish my wrath pool. I have no choice but to consume those.
A sharp jolt surged through his body. His markings pulsed once, as if reacting to the crystal's energy. His mind felt sharper, his body lighter.
"The Abyss wants me to keep pushing. It feeds me when I bleed. It guides me when I rage."
He yanked the other crystal from the beast corpse. "I will keep this one"
He staggered back to the fire, stoking the embers until a faint warmth surrounded him again. He ate quickly—dry meat and root vegetables he'd scrounged in the village. His thoughts were a storm.
Hours passed. And with them, came the whisper of morning.
---
Dawn broke quietly, spilling golden light across the damp forest floor. Birds chirped. The beasts were silent.
Ethan rose before the sun fully climbed the trees. His clothes were still bloodstained, but he didn't care. Each breath he took reminded him of his purpose. Of the vow he made beside Licia's grave. He stretched, tested his wounds, minor scratches and bruises.
The system pulsed.
[Daily Quest: Strength Through Pain - Reset]
* Run 10 km
* 75 Push-ups
* 75 Squats
* Plank (7 minutes)
* 50 Sit-ups
* 50 Crunches
* 50 Pull-ups
Reward: +5 EXP, +2 Attribute Points
He grunted. "The system wants me to suffer for strength... So be it."
With the wind cold against his skin and dew clinging to his boots, Ethan began to run.
His feet pounded against dirt, mud, and roots. His muscles screamed. The forest breathed around him, alive with unseen eyes. By the time he finished, his body was soaked in sweat, his arms trembling.
[DAILY QUEST COMPLETED]
[+15 EXP EARNED]
[+2 ATTRIBUTE POINTS]