Rion felt the immense pain that came with the armor. His body screamed, tortured by the very armor he wore. But now was no time to let his mind linger on pain. He lunged forward at top speed, kicking off the ground and into the air, coming down with a Superman punch.
"Booooooom!" The punch thundered, its shockwave spreading instantly. The monster was knocked back a few meters, and Rion landed on the ground. He didn't waste a moment before rushing ahead.
The monster spun, swinging its tail at top speed. Rion leaped over it, his gaze locked on the monster, only to see that a strange black energy formed at the tip of its horn, and before he could react, it blasted him.
He was thrown back through the air in a perfect arc before slamming into the ground and rolling for a few more meters.
"Urghhhh," Rion groaned. He was fighting against the force from being knocked around and also the pain from the armor. The lizard didn't care about any of that and was already headed for him.
Rion pushed himself up and lifted his hands, ready to go again. The monster planted its feet into the ground, stopped, and then spun, using its tail for a wide-area attack. Rion blocked the tail. He was instantly pushed back a few meters, but he managed to stop it and then grabbed it, his fingers instantly digging into the tail.
"Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" He let out a thundering roar, feet planted into the ground. He kicked hard and pulled the lizard, sending it flying in the opposite direction. It slammed into the ground hard, sliding for a few meters.
At this point, Rion wanted to stop, but the suit was yet to get its fill. He lunged forward at top speed. The lizard got back on its feet as quickly as it could, immediately using the horn blast to attack. The blast ripped through the air, headed for Rion. He kicked the ground, lifting off the floor in a cool flip as the blast tore through the ground beneath him.
His eyes locked on the lizard, and all six tendrils shot out of his body and latched onto it, pulling Rion in fast. He went in with a kick right into the head of the lizard, knocking its head to the ground as dark blood spilled.
"Screeeeeeeeeech!" The lizard let out a pained cry. It tried to get up again, but Rion used the same method. The tendrils latched; he jumped high into the sky and then came down like a slingshot right into the head again, this time, his foot going through the temple, shattering the skull and instantly killing it.
He pulled his bloodied foot out and stood triumphantly before the monster's body for a few seconds before collapsing to his knees and coughing up a huge mouthful of blood.
His entire body was weak and in pain. If he kept the armor on, he would surely die, so he took it off. The armor returned to his mark, and his entire body was covered in blood.
"Boooom!"
She had taken down her monster as well. It collapsed to the ground after taking so many cuts that it looked mutilated.
She walked over to Rion, staring at the lizard on the ground and then at him. "You managed to kill it, and yet somehow you look like you suffered more injuries," she stated.
Rion chuckled a bit, then forced himself back to his feet. "It's part of my ability."
"Yeah, a really crazy ability. I saw you use it, and it was like you had transformed into a completely different person. I haven't seen anything like it before. Well, I've seen armor abilities, but there's something different about yours."
"So what do we do with the bodies?" he asked.
"Uhm, use them to gather evolution points. Your bloodline, which is tied to your ability, needs monsters to evolve. That's why I told you your task here is to kill monsters.
"Each ability has its unique way of gathering the points. Some have to take something from the monster, and others can get it immediately after they kill it. I get mine the second way, but since you didn't get it, it means you must have a particular specification.
"Either way, do your thing. I'll go carve up some of the lizard. The flesh is okay and gives temporary buffs." She walked off.
"Hey!" Rion called out to her. She stopped and turned. "My name is Rion," he said. "What's yours?"
"Sigh, call me Shadow," she replied and kept walking.
"Shadow, huh? I guess it's a nickname. She can't trust me enough with her real one," Rion muttered. He turned his attention back to the monster, and like last time, his tendrils latched into it.
[You have gained 7 bloodline points]
[17/100]
"I got less? Last time was ten. Does it reduce over time, or is it different for all?" he wondered out loud.
After she was done carving up what she could carry, they continued their journey, leaving the massive lizard bodies behind.