The beast passed underneath, unaware of Ash's presence.
Ash averted his gaze, keeping it only in his peripheral vision. He knew better than to stare directly—every seasoned killer trusted in the sixth sense that prickled when eyes lingered too long. Who could say if this beast didn't share the same instinct?
Ash held his breath. Muscles locked, heartbeat steady. The panther-like creature glided past, its shadowy fur almost merging with the forest.
Curiosity gnawed at him. In his mind, he had already slain the beast half a dozen times—ambush from the side, stab to the throat, bullet between the eyes. But these were only simulations based on panthers of his old world. This was different. If humans here had powers, then so could beasts.
The creature vanished into the trees. Ash exhaled quietly, tension melting. He was about to leave when movement snapped his focus back.
The black beast reappeared—this time racing across branches, shadows clinging to its limbs, doubling its speed. Behind it thundered a monster the size of a bear, running upright on two legs. Its fur burned red like spilled blood, and where two eyes should have been, only one glared, glowing faintly with hunger.
Ash named them instinctively: Panther. Bear.
The panther soared past him, claws raking tree bark for grip. Ash gritted his teeth, hugging the trunk tight as the beast jumped over his perch. Despite seeing him it ignored him entirely, eyes locked forward.
Then came the bear. Each step gave the sense of an elephant walking. Bark splintered where its claws struck, and its roar shook Ash's chest. Still, it stormed past, locked on its prey.
Ash's assassin instincts were telling him to follow.
This world was different, and knowledge was survival.
He trailed them, slower but precise, reading snapped branches and fresh claw marks until he reached a small clearing.
There they clashed.
The panther darted between shadows, claws flashing, but the bear's brute force dominated. Its swipes split small trees in half. Red blood sprayed, soaking the soil until the air reeked of copper, heavy enough to draw predators from miles away.
Ash crouched behind cover, breath shallow. His blue screen flickered before him. One stat point sat unused. His eyes locked on MP.
[MP: 11/20]
"So the cap rises to twenty… and adds ten at once," he muttered. "But recovery's still trash."
Disappointment flickered, but there was no time. He steadied his Glock, hands tight, mind cold.
He had his own dilemma. Should he save MP? Should he kill both now or let one kill the other and then kill the standing one?
Despite all these thoughts, another calculation was in his mind. If he needed something from these beasts before other predators approached, then he had to kill them now and then.
Only this way could he ensure to get some useful items from the beasts' bodies.
Two shots rang out—one, two.
Bullets tore through the clearing, burying into flesh.
The beasts froze mid-motion, eyes wide. Then both collapsed.
Once fearsome beasts that could kill any human in a single strike were now dead by the hands of an assassin.
[You have slain Shadowfang Lynx.]
[+10 Exp]
[You have slain Spined Howler.]
[+12 Exp]
[Level Up!]
[+3 Stat Points]
[ Profession: Modern Assassin ]
[ Level: 2 ]
[ 12/20 Exp ]
[ AGILITY: 3 | ENDURANCE: 2 | STRENGTH: 1 | LUCK: 1 ]
[ MP: 1/20 (Recovery rate: 1 per 600 seconds) ]
[ Stat Points: 3 ]
Ash exhaled, lowering the gun.
"Two monsters, one magazine. If I keep playing smart, this world won't kill me just yet."
Ash rushed forward, dagger in his hand. With precise cuts he retrieved the panther's claws.
It shocked Ash how sharp they were, not worse than his dagger. He also retrieved the bear's claws that were as sharp and lethal.
He could use them as throwables that would enable him to kill others in silence. They were far sharper than his ordinary dagger.
His thoughts were interrupted as he heard the sound of more beasts. He was about to retrieve when he noticed a cut in the panther's chest and from inside something was shining.
Ash put his hand in hurriedly and retrieved a black crystal-like stone.
He was curious but, having no time, he ran back far from the incident.
As he gained enough distance he reached for the largest tree and sat atop it. From there the fighting place was still in his sight.
Till now he had nothing to compare the tree sizes, but they were definitely far bigger than ordinary trees and more resilient.
Using the tree leaves as cover, Ash sat leaning against the trunk.
His hand was full of blood and held some sharp claws and a mystical crystal.
"It would be a problem." Ash wiped the blood on the leaves.
[Confirm to consume beast crystal]
Seeing the new notification Ash confirmed.
And the crystal dissolved in his hand, turning to nothingness.
"What?" He had seen such tricks from magicians but it was happening in front of his eyes. A stone just vanished into thin air.
"Looks like I have to prepare myself for such bizarre scenes."
He knew despite strange things, nothing was happening without reason. If the crystal had vanished, then something must have changed and unsurprisingly his MP had recovered to twelve.
[MP : 12/20]
If he considered that two must have been recovered in this time, then he recovered 10 MP points from the crystal.
Finally, a silver lining.
But now he could feel the danger ever growing. After the fight between those beasts it seemed as if the forest itself had awakened.
Multiple strange sounds could be heard in the forest, rustling of leaves kept him on his toes.
He could see the open area where the beasts fought from his current position since he sat atop the largest tree.
He expected some beasts to devour the remains but he found none. What he saw was more bizarre. Tentacles made of green vines reached for the carcass.
Ash tried to find the origin of the tentacles but it was somewhere behind the trees, hesitant to reveal itself.
The sharp tentacles dug inside the body and in just seconds the dead bodies turned into skeletons.
Ash saw another similar crystal in the ribcage of the bear. The tentacles retrieved into the dark forest leaving it there.
Ash was ready to pounce on the opportunity but he halted when he saw as the tentacles retreated multiple strange beasts pounced on the opportunity, fighting for the crystal.
Some were panther-sized, some were lizard-type with glistening purple scales, and some of them were as big as an elephant.
And in that fight a lizard-like creature got the opportunity to devour the crystal. At that moment, as if these frenzied weird beasts had some type of agreement, they stopped fighting and went back on their own paths.
But not all of them. The smell of blood remained there and some of the beasts who had keen smell caught a strange scent different than their own kind.
Turning towards Ash they started sniffing to get to the source.
Ash hurriedly dropped down and ran straight far from them.
The light was dropping low as the sun was setting. Ash hadn't eaten anything or drunk water for who knows how long, and now some crazy-looking beasts were following him.
"I have to get rid of this smell." Ash said, looking at his messy hands.