Jay activated║Hydraulic Leap║ at full capacity. The sheer force of his launch left a 2-meter wide crater in the ground as he rocketed forward. Adjusting his angle mid-air, he positioned himself to collide directly with the wolf, driven by lethal precision.
The momentum was immense, propelling him at a staggering speed of 90 meters per second. His enhanced Endurance Attribute, bolstered by 38✯ Stats, absorbed the strain effortlessly, allowing him full control.
Each use drained 10 points of Stamina, but with his significantly improved reserves, it barely registered.
In the past, pushing the skill to its limit had left him disoriented, his mind struggling to keep pace with the sheer speed. But with his heightened thought processing and the flawless control granted by║Harmony║, every fraction of a second unfolded with crystal clarity.
Time itself seemed to stretch—each heartbeat, every subtle shift in the air, all slowed to his sharpened perception, allowing him to process and react with precision far beyond his former limits.
Before a single second passed, he was upon the Lv.10 Grey Wolf. His fist came down with crushing force, striking the top of the wolf's skull.
The result was immediate and brutal. The wolf's body exploded under the impact, bones shattering and flesh tearing apart. Blood and viscera sprayed outward as organs were reduced to pulp. He barreled through the cloud of gore, his momentum unwavering.
Emerging on the other side, drenched in blood and fragments, he felt nothing—no disgust, no nausea. In stark contrast to his first kill, where a faint sense of revulsion had lingered despite his need to survive, only a cold, detached focus remained.
Even as he fought more monsters over time, traces of discomfort lingered. Yet, after activating║Harmony║, those feelings either vanished or, more precisely, were suppressed entirely. His mind shifted into a state of complete emotional detachment—cold, calculating, and unburdened by fear, anger, or disgust.
The shift was profound. The simmering resentment he had developed from constant attacks was gone. Hatred, frustration, and even hesitation had been replaced by an unyielding determination to eliminate any threat in his path. Every action was driven purely by logic, his emotions suppressed to make room for flawless execution.
Steam continued to rise from his skin, the intense surge in Attributes generating internal heat. The whistling vapor evaporated the blood and viscera clinging to him, leaving him clean and renewed. His body brimming with power, he stood unshaken, fully aware of the profound transformation he had undergone.
The sheer devastation of his punch wasn't just due to brute strength; it was the explosive speed and the increased weight of his body that made it so lethal.
Peculiarly, his body weight had shifted alongside the growth of his Endurance Attribute. With the acute body control from║Harmony║and the heightened senses granted by his boosted Spirit Attribute, he could estimate his current weight at around 250 kg ⧼550 pounds⧽—a substantial difference that added crushing force to every move he made.
The Dire Wind Wolf, though fierce and fast, was visibly startled by his newfound speed. Under normal circumstances, the wolf's movement speed would easily outpace his, but with the added momentum from║Hydraulic Leap║at full capacity, he was operating on a level the creature hadn't anticipated.
As the wolf charged, it unleashed a barrage of wind blades, slicing through the air in rapid succession. Yet he moved fluidly between the attacks, dodging with short bursts of║Hydraulic Leap║, each movement perfectly controlled.
While evading the relentless strikes, his focus shifted to the surrounding Grey Wolves. He leapt from one to another with brutal efficiency, targeting them in sequence. Each strike was deadly, each encounter ending in seconds.
As their bodies fell, he looted their Stats and Skills. The looted attributes flowed seamlessly into his║LOOTED STATUS║, automatically distributed in perfect balance across his five main Attributes.
The equilibrium maintained by║Harmony║allowed him to adapt instantly to the rising power within him, making him stronger with every kill.
With each leap, his speed increased, his control sharpened, and his movements became even more unpredictable. The Dire Wind Wolf, despite its ferocity, struggled to keep up.
It could only watch with mounting frustration as he systematically hunted down each of its subordinates, tearing through the Tier-1 Grey Wolves with his bare hands. The creature's bloodshot eyes tracked his every move, but it was powerless to stop the massacre.
As the last Grey Wolf collapsed, his Attributes in║LOOTED STATUS║had soared from 38 to 48. The boost in Agility alone propelled his raw movement speed to 32 meters per second, a speed that surpassed the Dire Wind Wolf's natural pace without even using║Hydraulic Leap║.
The shift in power was undeniable. The Dire Wind Wolf could sense it, just as he could. It realized that continuing the fight would only lead to its demise, and in a desperate bid for survival, it turned and fled toward the Bloodthirsty Earth Bear.
In its retreat, the wolf activated a skill, enveloping itself in a transparent wind layer that amplified its speed. It raced in a straight line at 40 meters per second, determined to reach the bear.
Jay pushed himself to follow, sprinting at his maximum speed of 32 meters per second, but even with his enhanced Agility, he couldn't close the gap fast enough. The dense forest hindered him from making a direct, full-powered║Hydraulic Leap║, forcing him to leap between gaps in the trees, unable to catch up before the wolf reached its destination.
The Bloodthirsty Earth Bear noticed the Dire Wind Wolf's approach and immediately prepared to strike, raising its massive paw in readiness. But before it could attack, it paused, listening intently to the growls coming from the wolf.
The air between them was tense, but instead of clashing, the two creatures exchanged looks. It was then that he realized what was happening—the wolf and bear had come to a silent agreement, a temporary truce forged in the face of a common threat.
The Bloodthirsty Earth Bear, aware of the situation, shifted its focus from the Dire Wind Wolf to him. The beast's eyes locked onto him with cautious hostility, muscles tensing as it assumed a defensive stance.
The Dire Wind Wolf, having successfully secured an ally, also turned its attention back to him. Both Tier-2 monsters stood side by side, a deadly partnership formed out of necessity.
The situation had escalated beyond a simple battle for survival. He was no longer dealing with individual threats; he had become the target of a coordinated assault from two of the most powerful creatures in the area.
The realization of the danger ahead would have unnerved most, but he felt nothing—no fear, no hesitation, only cold calculation. He understood that this confrontation was inevitable, and it would test the full extent of his newfound power.
≿━━━━━━༺❀༻━━━━━━≾
Author Note:
I'm thrilled to share that I'm taking a big leap forward! Alongside Earth's Alpha Prime, I've launched the first sub-book for EAP.
ALTER REALITY: Online (Full-Dive VR LITRPG)
The book is now published on Royal Road with just the first chapter available, and I'll be releasing new chapters at a rate of 3 per week (Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday). Do check it out!
Chapter Release Rate: 3 Chs/Week.
<<<< Tue, Thu, Sun >>>>
≿━━━━━━༺❀༻━━━━━━≾