The monster did not give Lucien any time to recover. It advance again, slower now, wary of Lucien. Lucien rose to one knee, his eyes locked on the abomination in front of him.
Blunt force is ineffective, Lucien thought as he studied it's body. It has the same body type of a human but it was tougher.
Let's change my approach, Lucien thought as his gaze quickly scanned his surroundings, noting the loose stone lodged between collapsing structures, unstable ground and narrow passages.
The monster lunged again, its sharp clawed hand aiming to cut Lucien's neck. Lucien did not retreat far this time, he just avoided the initial strike as quickly as he could before turning and running inside one of the narrow passages. Lucien was now slipping between the collapsed structures, the creature after him as he silently went deeper through the path.
Pursuit followed. While Lucien was weaving through the jagged edges of broken stone jutting outwards, the monster went through the path carelessly. Numerous but small slashes now covered the monster's body. The passage tightened ahead but Lucien didn't slow down. To slow down is to die a certain death.
The monster was approaching him, and Lucien can feel death breathing behind him. The monster then lunged inside the tight passage but at the last moment, Lucien veered sharply to the side, slipping through a narrow gap between two leaning slabs of pillar and stone.
The monster got stuck, it's elongated limb caught between a rock and a hard pillar. It thrashed immediately while snarling, it's body contorting as it tried to force its way through the narrow passage. The rocks shifted and cracked but it held, temporarily.
Lucien did not waste the opportunity though. He turned his head side to side, scanning his surroundings for any weapons to use. Any objects sharp enough to kill the monster in front of him.
There, Lucien saw a fractured wooden support beam, half buried beneath debris. It was long and sharp, one end splintered into a sharp crude point. Lucien grabbed it, heavy but manageable.
The monster shrieked in agony and fury as it thrashed under the debris, it's trapped elongated limb bending in unnatural angles. Cracks are appearing on the pillar, slowly spreading like the web of a spider. Dust slowly fell in thin streams.
Lucien tightened his grip on the beam as he inched closer towards the monster. His
eyes were focused on any sudden movement, waiting for the perfect timing to attack the monster.
The monster clawed towards the direction of Lucien, it's body slowly getting out of the debris. Rocks above the debris fell towards the back of the monster, pinning it down even more.
Lucien was now in range of the monster's clawed arm. Fortunately, the rocks that fell down pinned the clawed arm. Lucien circled it and now faced the monster, its eyes full of hunger as it stared at Lucien while panting heavily.
The monster's mouth was full of sharp uneven teeth as it tried to bite Lucien, saliva flying everywhere. The monster's breath was foul, rot and decay mixed together. Lucien endured the smell as he avoided the lunging bite of the monster. He changed his position, finding the right moment to plunge the beam on the monster's body.
As the monster overstretched its head while trying to bite Lucien again, Lucien found the perfect moment to attack it. Lucien immediately thrusted the beam towards the head of the monster, missing by the hair as it lodged on the chest of the monster. The monster howled furiously, the beam being held by Lucien shaking violently as the monster tried to get the beam out of it's body.
Not critical enough, Lucien thought as he pulled the wooden beam outwards, black blood splashing all over the place as the monster shrieked in pain.
Lucien stepped backwards and shifted his aim towards the monster's head.
One more, Lucien thought as he prepared his self again to go into the maw of the beast but suddenly, the monster was enraged even more.
The monster struggled even more violently, the present cracks on the pillar continued spreading. Lucien watched everything, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. But it never came, instead, a wet tearing sound echoed.
The monster ripped it's trapped elongated limb from beneath the rubble, breaking free. A broken choking sound echoed from it, scraping Lucien's nerves. It's mouth was wide open, showing all its jagged uneven teeth as black blood flowed on the corners of it's mouth. It was laughing, or if you can call that a laugh.
Unlucky, Lucien thought as he dashed backwards, barely avoiding the claw strike of the monster.
It's now or never, Lucien said to himself as he tensed his whole body, surging forward to meet the monster directly.
The monster lunged at the same time, jaws wide open as it's black blood and saliva splattered all over the place while it spills from it's mouth. It used it's remaining arm to claw towards Lucien, only hitting air. It then tried to swallow Lucien's head, it's monstrous mouth only a second close to eating him when Lucien lowered his stance dodging it by his hair's breadth.
Lucien then drove the splintered wooden beam upward with everything he had, growling like a tiger as the sharpened wooden beam pierced through the creature's jaw.
The wooden beam splintered the monster's jaw bone with a sickening crack, the makeshift weapon driving straight into it's skull. The force exerted by Lucien carried him upward, slamming the monster back to the debris he broke free from. A huge amount of blood splatered all over the debris, painting it all black.
Lucien walked backwards as he observed the monster, covered in blood.
Suddenly, the monster convulsed once more, it's usable arm clawed recklessly, hoping to hit the one who injured it. But it was useless, the heavy injuries Lucien inflicted on it was now visible on the weak claw strikes. Easy to dodge with no force behind it.
Lucien found a sharp rock as he approached the monster again, sidestepping a sudden claw strike from his side as he brought the sharp stone down again and again on the monster's head. The monster's body shuddered, spasming as it's face was now disfigured beyond recognition, if it really has a face. Black blood and rotting meat pooled over the cracked ground, soaking it wet. Lucien then threw the stone to the side as he grabbed the wooden beam once again, pulling it backwards and thrusting it again on the chest of the monster. Lucien trusted it deeper and deeper until the monster went still.
Silence now returned to the ruins, broken only by Lucien's ragged breathing while he stood covered with his opponent's blood. His whole body trembled, the adrenaline finally wearing off as his nerves calm down from all the exertion he did. He slowly stepped back and observed the monster.
The corpse of the abomination slumped awkwardly, it's face smashed in and it's body pinned in place. Lucien took off his bloody coat and used the dry places to wipe all the blood on his body, unfortunately it only cleaned him a little bit, dark blood and dust from the rubble now smeared on his skin and face. His chest was still continuing to rose and fell rapidly, forcing himself to stay alert even if he was exhausted. He now knew that this world was more dangerous than Earth.
Suddenly, something changed. Lucien felt it before he saw it even happened. A faint pulling force was being released by his body. At first, it was subtle, hardly noticeable like a thread brushing against skin. But over time, the pull grew stronger as the monster's corpse began to leak a thin, smoky essence from it's whole body. It was dark in color but it seemed to be glowing.
The dark luminous essence of the monster drifted towards him like ants following their path to home. Lucien stiffened and did not know what to do but his body was craving this essence, it wants him to absorb it.
Lucien did not move away. He trusted his body and his instincts that he honed since he started murdering evil people. His instincts will never betray him. The essence now touched his skin, and sank in softly like a child embracing his mother.
Lucien's body jolted, a sharp breath tore from his lungs as heat flooded his veins, spreading rapidly through out his whole body. It was not painful but it was also not pleasant, like a foreign object traveling inside your body.
Lucien then noticed the changes occuring to his body. His fatigue began to melt away, the burning sensation from his muscles slowly easing then vanishing. His ragged breathing became steady, and the weakness and numbness in his arm disappeared.
Newfound strength now filled Lucien's whole being as he clenched his fists slowly, feeling the difference in power. He could feel it. He was now tougher, faster, and stronger than before. His six senses was also now sharper than before. His vision was clearer and he can see even farther, his hearing can now capture even the faintest of sounds, and his touch can even feel slight vibrations from the air.
The absorption of essence continued for a few seconds before slowly fading away. The corpse and all the blood was now gone. It was now all Lucien's power. Dark motes slowly drifted in the air as it also disappeared into nothingness. His surroundings now empty, only encircled by broken stone structures.
"F-rank sinbound, the lowest rank, and I struggled?" Lucien said to himself as he chuckled, his existence now know the power system of this world.
Mysterious sounds echoed from deeper within the ruins where much larger buildings have fallen and crumbled.
"Looks like I have to hunt again," Lucien said as he stared at the distant ruins, craving more power as he tasted what it felt like.