Rakna kicked the ground while reinforcing his body and reappeared in front of a running orc with his eyes glowing. The spot he was standing on just before had a distinct imprint of his foot and Pronos blinked in shock as a small shockwave hit him.
The orc that was faced by the soaring silhouette couldn't react as a clawed hand grabbed its face and slammed it on the ground whilst piercing its brain. Rakna stepped in midair and vaulted over the falling corpse of the monster.
He extended his hands and two star-energy glaives appeared in his hands. He swung them at the closest monsters and cut them in half without any resistance. From a few meters away, several goblin shamans raised their crude staff and conjured a rain of fireballs.
"[Shadow Step,]" Rakna muttered and shadows covered him, even as the light of the flames was getting closer. He became imperceptible for exactly two seconds and the next thing they knew; the shamans had their necks broken and Rakna was standing behind them.
⠀
❮◈❯ Shadow Step has leveled up! ❮◈❯
⠀
"That makes nine," he said with a detached voice and the weaker monsters who were already affected by his Despair Aura stepped back in fear. But, a group of level 20 Dreorins spearheaded the stampede toward him.
Rakna turned around and conjured a star spear with which he deflected several wind blades cast by a bunch of iguanodon-like creatures. He squinted his eyes at them and gathered mana under his feet, "[Flash Step.]"
⠀
❮◈❯ Flash Step has leveled up! ❮◈❯
⠀
His figure became a blur and reappeared above the dinosaurs. "[Swords of Liberation,]" he said and three swords fell from the sky and pinned down three of the beasts. He landed on one of their back and briefly activated Soul Drain to recuperate some of the energy he had used. But he didn't stop there.
He expanded his soul power and shaped them into invisible tentacles. "[Soul Scourge,]" the words came out of his mouth and became an intrusive thought inside the Dreorin's heads until their eyes darkened and hollowed.
⠀
❮◈❯ Soul Scourge has leveled up! ❮◈❯
⠀
Rakna jumped off their back and whispered one word, "Attack." They roared and charged at the others monsters like enraged berserkers. Rakna landed on the ground on all four and a group of goblins and bear-like animals lunged themselves at him.
He closed his eyes as their combined bodies eclipsed his surroundings. He let out a growl and fur grew on his body. His fangs sharpened, his eyes became purple whirlpools; and in a sudden burst, he became a werewolf. He went even farther and used Gigantism until he was five meters tall.
⠀
❮◈❯ Despair Aura has leveled up! ❮◈❯
⠀
His Despair Aura gained a boost in intensity and the monsters froze again. Rakna noted that he had now a fluffy mane around his neck, just like a lion. He snorted and looked at his targets from his superior height. He brought his fist down, squashing a couple of them, and conjured a ring of lances made of star energy around him.
With a thought, they were launched at the same time and they pierced several monsters, going all the way through their bodies to go for another victim to impale. When they ran out of momentum and pierced the ground, they released a faint glow and imploded, bringing down more lives with them.
Rakna then proceeded to focus his reinforcement on his speed and became a blur, ripping goblins, orcs, Dreorins, and beasts apart with his claws every second.
⠀
❮◈❯ Reinforcement has leveled up! ❮◈❯
⠀
On the other half of the meadow, Pronos had also taken down at least fifty of them with his poison and incredible swiftness. The snake could let himself be hit by magic or physical blows but they wouldn't do anything to him.
Rakna bit the neck of an orc as he was lifting it and wrenched its head out once it was weakened enough. Many of the monsters fled right then and there back inside the forest, away from the towering wolf wiping the blood on its mouth with the back of his hand while holding the decapitated head of the orc.
"74," he uttered and kicked the ground again, aiming for the stronger ones that had just entered the fray. This stampede seemed to be both natural and manipulated by the System itself so that they would come in waves.
His black hole-like eyes whirled as they turned to gold. He jumped high in the air, to dodge a giant tail belonging to a level 30 diplodocus, followed by a fire breath of a large salamander. He stepped in the air twice and escaped the flames.
He deployed his wings and they released a silver mist as a hundred feathers were shot at the two creatures along with many other mobs around. The diplodocus lowered its head to shield its eyes and the salamander burned them down before they could touch him.
"[Gungnir,]" Rakna said with crystallized breath and a barbed ornamented spear appeared in his hands, taking away 10% of his mana pool. He then threw the weapon and it flew through the air and pierced straight through the two beasts in the heart at once, killing them.
He then landed and glanced at the last one of the Dreorins he had hypnotized and saw it die under the club strike of a green-skinned creature, even larger than orcs, that came out of the forest along with several others.
'Level 35 Ogres… a direct evolution to Orcs. They're similar but possess stronger attributes and faster regeneration. This is starting to scale to my level,' Rakna thought but didn't stop moving even once.
He stole the initiative and dashed at them with Flash Step. He pulled out his Greatsword from his storage and swung it like a dagger at one of the ogres, aiming to cut its head off. But for the first time since the stampede started, his blow was blocked.
"[Mana Blade – Blood Wave,]" the werewolf said in a growling voice and the ogre let out a grunt out of disbelief as the sword drank blood and mana.
It cut apart the monster's weapon and launched a crimson wave that bisected it vertically along with two of its brethren behind it. They died instantly, their regeneration incapable of saving them from the extensive damage.
⠀
❮◈❯ Weapon Reinforcement has leveled up! ❮◈❯
❮◈❯ Fatigue Resistance has leveled up! ❮◈❯
⠀
"[Raise Undead,]" Rakna's ring flashed red and the dead ogres instantly gained a paler skin tone and their severed body parts sought each other and knitted themselves back together. He felt a connection being formed between him and them and he ordered them to attack the others.
⠀
❮◈❯ Raise Undead has leveled up! ❮◈❯
⠀
The three newly-raised undead roared, their eyes blazing with blue light, and attacked everything that was still alive. With a careful inspection, Rakna noticed that they seemed to have kept their attributes and proficiencies but had completely lost their reflexes.
'Not too bad,' he thought and helped his undead killing the rest while also using Soul Drain once again. He used the ring's skill on three more ogres and relaxed his tense muscles and released a breath of cold air as if he was a machine releasing steam.
"134…" He muttered and looked at Pronos in the distance who was finishing off an ogre by melting its insides with venom.
Rakna scowled at that and looked around. Other than his groaning undead, there were no other monsters left. The stampede should be over but his instincts told him otherwise. He scrutinized the meadow's edges, even past the leaves and bushes of the forest, with Fabled Sight.
Then, he smelled it. He snapped toward the source and began to hear loud noises akin to the footsteps of a giant. The ground trembled and he turned on his soul sense. It was large. Way larger than the weaklings he had just fought.
He jumped back and flapped his wings to regroup with Pronos. Right after, they heard the trees being crushed by an incoming force followed by an unearthly roar. Rakna's expression twitched when he saw the creature stomp over the trunks with its large claws.
Six meters tall, a mass of pure muscle and bones, a jaw capable of crushing steel, two hind legs of immense power…
"Tyrannosaurus Rex," he uttered and the slit pupils of the renowned dinosaur narrowed further when it saw him. "Level 50," Rakna mumbled and constructed a bow with star energy. Then, he expended 20% of his mana pool to make a bladed arrow appear in his hand.
The T. Rex perceived the fluctuations of mana and was promptly encased in flames as it began its charge. Rakna eyed it calmly, not showing any sort of nervousness in his movements as he nocked the arrow on his bow. Even when the creature was just ten seconds from reaching him, he pulled the string as if he was contemplating the weather.
Then, when the T. Rex was twenty meters away, quite literally a few seconds from making it into attacking range, he let go of the string and opened his mouth, "[Dáinsleif.]"
The star-arrow through the air with a whistle and the T. Rex exhaled sparks through its nostrils as it got close to it. The dinosaur opened its mouth and, much to Rakna's shock caught Dáinsleif with its maw.
The blades of the arrow rotated inside and exploded right away. It was followed by a roar and a surge of flames and a cloud of dust that shrouded the T. Rex's figure.
Rakna barely had time to react when a pair of glowing eyes pierced through the dust and the king of dinosaurs emerged from it at high speed, smoke coming out from its mouth. It jumped in the air and spun in the air before hacking down with its claws.
The shockingly acrobatic attack was blocked by barehanded and Rakna buckled his knees because of the force. His eyes widened and he saw the T. Rex inhale while they were still at a standstill.
He got a bad feeling and used both Shadow Step and Flash Step to disappear before a breath of fire more condensed than anything he had ever seen before tore through the earth and carved a molting linear crater where he was standing.
⠀
❮◈❯ Flash Step has leveled up! ❮◈❯
❮◈❯ Shadow Step has leveled up! ❮◈❯
⠀
"That thing chomped Dáinsleif and came out of it unscathed and now this," Rakna grumbled.
[A combination of Exceled Magic Resistance, Dreorin Scales, a Fire Breath, and Aura,] Alexa commented more to herself than to actually inform her Host.
"{Truly a tough hulk of muscle.}"
Rakna rolled his eyes. He really didn't want the two voices in his head to start chatting about how strong his opponent was. As he was musing what to do, the T. Rex locked its eyes on him and began to slowly walk to the side. He imitated it and they slowly reduced the distance that separated them while circling each other.
"[Cross Dimensional Sagacity,]" Rakna whispered and his eyes gained a plus sign in their center. He spotted the focal points on the T. Rex's body and inhaled before stopping.
The dinosaur also halted and glowered at him, wary of what he was planning. Rakna channeled all the mana he had, which had the side effect to bolster his aura. The temperature became freezing cold as he uttered a spell, "[Star Make.]"
The T. Rex snarled and sprung at him before he could do whatever he planned. This time, instead of flames, the beast used a second element which cloaked around its leg and then struck against the ground.
A green, brownish energy traveled through the soil, and Rakna was unable to move out in time as thick roots sprouted and coiled around his legs with enough tension to bind even him with 45 of strength as a werewolf.
'Wood Magic,' he clicked his tongue but continued to focus on his spell. All around him, many miniature spheres of star energy formed and began to elongate, taking a certain shape.
However, the T. Rex was already looming over him, charging another Fire Breath which had no chance of missing this time. But, Rakna wasn't worried.
"You seem to have forgotten something, big guy," he uttered with a bit of mirth in his tone and before the T. Rex had the chance to consider those words, an azure flash latched around its muzzle and forced it to close its mouth.
Pronos smirked as his eyes crossed the large dinosaur and he opened his mouth, exhaling a deadly purple poison fog. The beast roared and immolated itself in fire again, burning away the toxin and shaking off the Eion snake at the same time.
But, immediately after, six burly monsters jumped on him, disregarding the fire and the damage it made to them. The undead ogres groaned like zombies and punched and hacked their weapons at the impenetrable defense of this archetype of predators.
The T. Rex snarled in anger and extended his magic to his surroundings. Large roots came from underground, catching fire at the same time as they tangled around the ogres, destroyed their bodies, and burning them.
"[Koschei's Needles.]"
The T. Rex heard these words and looked back at the three-tailed werewolf with a shudder. It then saw dozens of thin blue needles floating around him, pointed at it and ready to be shot.
Normally, this shouldn't have bothered the creature. Its scales could deflect blades and magic with ease. What would some weak-looking needles be able to do to it? But, even when it thought that there was something in the back of its mind that told it to run or death would welcome it.
Unfortunately, the decision wasn't made in time and Rakna launched the needles. They zoomed through the air, leaving trails behind them, and clearly being controlled by something as they did spins and waves. Then, they all accelerated and targeted specific spots on the T. Rex's body.
The dinosaur tried and managed to dodge and destroy some of them but it couldn't avoid all of them and more than ten of them found their mark. What followed was something that the apex predator couldn't comprehend.
It felt its body being torn from the inside. Those needles were nothing, but somehow, they made it vomit blood. Its scales cracked and one of its legs was separated from the rest.
The T. Rex gargled in its own blood and collapsed on the ground, unable to move and overrun by spasms it couldn't control. Rakna sighed and walked toward the beast who had its eyes open wide in shock, fear, and bewilderment. The last thing it saw was a large cyan weapon being thrust at its head.
⠀
❮ ◈ ❯
⠀
Cross Dimension Sagacity has leveled up!
Cold Star Magic has leveled up!
⠀
---
You have created a new sub spell; Koschei's Needles!
---
⠀
Lv.50 Ancient Dreorin – Tyrannosaurus Rex killed.
You defeated a foe 11 levels apart from yours! Experience increased by 50!
⠀
Level up!
+0.1 STR, SPD, INT!
+2 Free Points!
⠀
---
⠀
The Stampede has been defeated!
Congratulations!
Your contribution amounts to 100%! (A pet's contribution is included)
Rewards: 50 000 Talys, 750 Experience, Skill Card 'Wrath Yaksha'.
⠀
---
⠀
Level up!
+1 Free Point!
+0.1 STR, SPD, INT!
⠀
Requirement for level up updated.
Current progress: 304/410
⠀
❮ ◈ ❯
⠀
Rakna let out a breath and dispelled the energy sword in his hand before sitting down. "Okay… I admit this got a bit out of hand. I only wanted to attract monsters with the smell of blood."
"{And you instead attracted a whole horde and what seemed to be the boss of this area,}" Higure snickered.
"Don't laugh. Even I have to admit that could have been dangerous. I would have been dead meat if I didn't have Soul Drain to recover mana and stamina."
"{But it was grandiose. All the way, from the beginning until the end, it felt like watching a beautiful dance. You have incredible sharpness when you fight. It was mesmerizing,}" the lioness admitted with a yearning voice.
"{And the way you used Cross Sight at the end was marvelous. Locating the focal points and creating a spell on the spot capable of targeting them with perfect accuracy… You amaze me more and more, devourer of mine. If only I had a physical body, I wouldn't have hesitated to take you.}"
"What did I do to deserve a horny lioness like you stuck in my head?"
"{Who knows. You might have performed enough deeds for karma to reward you.}"
"…so, you say you are a reward?"
"{Of course. You know you're happy about it.}"
Rakna sighed and looked at Pronos who had literal stars in his eyes as he snuggled in his mane, which even himself found to be very soft. It was probably a paradise for the lazy snake.
"{Oh, and have I told you that mane looks very handsome on you?}"
"…thanks… I guess…" He muttered and squinted at the T. Rex's corpse. He stood up and placed a hand on it before opening his mouth, "[Raise Undead.]"