Caw! Caw!
Birds of all kinds sang from the treetops while monkeys howled and leapt from branch to branch in the misty jungle. Raven cut through the thick foliage with his wooden sword, slashing vines and stems alike.
"From my knowledge, the jungle holds the highest diversity of monsters… but all I keep seeing are small critters. They couldn't strengthen me even if I killed a hundred of them." He sighed.
Thud! Thud!
The ground shook with slight tremors. Before long, the shadow of a hulking creature loomed over him. Turning, Raven smirked.
"About time a worthwhile beast showed up."
Roooaaaaarrr!
The monster bellowed. It stood nearly three meters tall at the shoulders, its massive, muscular frame covered in jet-black fur that contrasted with glowing, fiery eyes. Its head was bare bone with no skin, and its jaws were lined with sharp fangs. Long, clawed arms and its hunched, apelike gait gave it a primal, predatory aura.
"A Beastodon. A nice warm-up for a hunt."
[Ding!
Monster encountered: Beastodon
Category: Mystic Beast
Class: Awoken...]
"Eeeh!? The Beastodon is a Mystic Beast?!" Raven's eyes widened.
"It's supposed to be a Megafauna… it evolved!"
Roooaaarrr!
The Beastodon moved with surprising speed, raising an arm to slash at Raven. As a seasoned swordsman, he reacted instinctively, dodging with sharp agility and countering with a slash across its torso. But the strike left no scratch.
Raven curled his lip.
"Tch. I can't fight a Mystic Beast at my current stage and hope to win. I'll have to retreat."
He leapt explosively onto a tree branch, darting from branch to branch with graceful, superhuman speed. But his escape came to a halt when his eyes widened.
On the ground ahead, a dark spot expanded, out of it, the towering figure of the Beastodon rose again, glowing red eyes locked on him.
"That's what separates Mystic Beasts from other monsters… they have special abilities. It really did evolve." He muttered grimly.
"No wonder I've only seen small critters until now, it drove off every competitor in its territory."
Groooowwl!
The Beastodon grunted, trying to intimidate him.
"It may be Mystic, but it's still of the lowest class. I should be able to outsmart it."
The Beastodon lunged, jaws wide open. Raven dodged deftly and even used its skull as a springboard. The creature roared in fury, giving chase. Despite its massive size, it was frighteningly agile, trampling the forest as it pursued.
Suddenly, a shadowy pressure radiated from its body, filling the area.
Raven felt his speed slow, his reflexes dulled. He narrowly dodged again, though a claw still scraped his calf. Gritting his teeth, he kept moving.
Up ahead, a deer munched leaves. Startled by the disturbance, it bolted. But Raven gave it no chance to escape. He pivoted sharply and cleaved the poor beast in one blow, even while being chased.
[Ding!
You have killed a Great Forest Deer
Category: Great Normal
Class: Lesser
20 EXP gained
Level 0 {20/50}...]
Raven smirked at the notification but didn't stop running. The Beastodon's aura grew more intense, its pursuit more furious.
"Why do I feel like it just got angrier? What did I even do?"
Soon he reached the mouth of a river. Looking left and right frantically, he chose the left path. Not long after, he stopped again, this time smirking.
"There you are. Sorry, but I'll need your assistance."
He picked up pebbles and hurled them at the eye of a sleeping reptilian giant.
Not far behind, the Beastodon's roar echoed as it stormed toward him. But when it arrived, it froze in its tracks.
Before it stood a reptilian giant: a crocodile-like snout, bipedal posture, long arms ending in scythe-like claws, and three massive sails rising from its back.
[Triospinosaurus
Category: Megafauna
Class: Sovereign...]
The Triospinosaurus opened its eyes, glaring at the Beastodon. The latter growled lowly, stepping back to retreat.
From a tree branch nearby, Raven perched, observing.
"Damn it. Mystic Beasts are supposed to be a category higher than Megafaunas, they've got special abilities. So why's it backing off?" He bit his lip.
"I guess even a Mystic Beast wouldn't want to clash with a high-rank Megafauna… Well then, I'll just have to be the catalyst."
He inched closer, then hurled a rock the size of a basketball at the Triospinosaurus' eye.
The giant let out a deafening roar. Birds scattered from the jungle canopy. Rising to its full height, the reptile revealed its seventy-meter-tall body, water streaming down its scales like waterfalls.
It roared again.
The Beastodon, realizing escape was impossible, roared back. In an instant, it dove into a shadow and reemerged beneath the Triospinosaurus, claws glowing with dark energy. It leapt and slashed, sending a surge of shadowy force across the giant's underside.
The Triospinosaurus bellowed. Above the Beastodon, a condensed blue mana sphere materialized and fired like a cannon. The Beastodon tried to dodge, but the blast was too fast, it struck its chest head-on.
The reptile raised its scythe-like claws, aiming to strike, but the Beastodon sank into the shadows, leaving the claws to gouge deep scars into the soil. Reappearing at the giant's rear, the Beastodon struck at its ankle. Two blue mana spheres answered instantly, colliding with its shadow claws in an explosive shockwave that rocked the jungle.
"Hm. The Beastodon's ability is tied to shadows, and with the Triospinosaurus casting so many, it has plenty to exploit. Add its agility and clever use of blind spots, it's holding its own." Raven analyzed, eyes gleaming.
"But the Triospinosaurus has size, thick scales, and natural mana mastery. As a Megafauna, it knows how to bend the environment itself to its will."
He grinned, glitter in his eyes.
"I can't believe I've got a front-row seat to this once in a lifetime spectacle. And it's all thanks to me, of course ".