Although the damage Zaen dealt to the ghoul was mediocre, the ghoul went flying through the collapsed wall just like Zaen did moments ago. While being thrown out was a blessing for Zaen, it was a curse for the ghoul.
It wasn't that the ghouls hate the light and that's why they tried to avoid it. They avoided light because they were vulnerable to it and could kill some of them, just like vampires. While vampires were susceptible to sunlight, any kind of light was enough to either grievously harm a ghoul or drastically weaken them.
Zaen thought kicking the ghoul outside would be the end of it, however, that didn't happen. Had it been a normal Hunter ghoul, a Runner ghoul or a Minion ghoul, it would've been their end. But for Tainted ghoul, it just led to a debuff, but an expensive one. Being exposed to sunlight reduced the ghoul's armour and strength considerably. Moreover, the ghoul was [Blinded] by the Sun.
[Being exposed to the Sun's UV rays reduces the Tainted Ghoul's defence by 190 points. Its strength has also been reduced to 100 points.]
[Sun is the ultimate source of life. And the ghoul's devour the fruits of Sun's labour by slaying and chewing the humans to their bones. A curse befalls on the ghouls that are exposed to the righteous light of the Sun.]
[The Tainted Ghoul has been *blinded* due to being exposed to the Sun.]
[Blindness: The Ghoul's accuracy drops to 12%. The damage dealt by the Ghoul on successful hits is also reduced by 80%.]
This was a blessing Zaen couldn't allow to get wasted. He picked up his fallen dagger and charged at the ghoul even before it had stopped skidding on the ground. Zaen tore through the dust clouds like a punisher chasing after a corrupt soul.
The Ghoul screamed in a mixture of pain and anger. It kept howling while helplessly flailing his sledgehammer-like hands around, hoping to hit Zaen. But no matter how hard the ghoul tried, it couldn't harm as much as a single strand of Zaen's hair.
Seeing the Ghoul struggle like that reminded Zaen of the day he tried fighting against his middle school bullies. Back then, he couldn't hit them either, not even once but he didn't give up, just like the ghoul wasn't.
"Maybe I am a bully as well?" Zaen chuckled before once again kicking the ghoul, "Time to end this... I suppose."
The Ghoul couldn't see Zaen, but it could sense the looming death over its head. At that moment, the ghoul gave up on fighting back and tried to run away from the monster of a human.
[Ability: Scare Tactics (Level 1) activated. The target is scared of you.]
"Sure... I wonder where will you run to? It's not like I'm going to let you go just quench my curiosity though." Zaen sighed. The predator had turned into prey, and Zaen wasn't going to let his prey get out of his hands.
Before the ghoul could even get up, Zaen latched onto its back. He warped his legs around the ghoul's waist, while his free arm grabbed its neck, before pinning the ghoul to the ground. It was Zaen's half-as*ed attempt to lock the ghoul in a rare-naked choke. The ghoul tried to bury his claws deep within Zaen's arm but failed. The Ghoul's blindness had helped Zaen yet again.
Once locked in, a rear-naked choke usually stops the blood flow to the brain and a person could go to sleep in just a few seconds. But this was a ghoul, not a human. Zaen wasn't even sure if the lock would work on the ghoul. Either way, Zaen wasn't planning on knocking the ghoul out. He just wanted to restrict its movement to kill it without much resistance.
Thus, rather than grabbing his bicep with his other arm to complete the traditional chokehold, Zaen plunged his dagger through the ghoul's chest. The ghoul thrashed his arms around in pain before letting out a final cry of pain. Soon the ghoul stopped moving. Its limbs turned limp, falling sideways. Zaen's job was complete.
[Total damage dealt: 1023]
[Tainted Ghoul HP: 0/2000]
[Congratulations! You've killed the Special Monster: Tainted Ghoul. Exp +1000]
[Ability: Veracity has levelled up. Accuracy while using throwing weapons increased to 5%]
[You've levelled up! Current level: 12]
[HP has increased by 100 points. Current HP: 2450]
[Your HP has been fully restored. Your wounds have been healed.]
[Total Exp: 410/1300]
[Your rewards for completing the mission have been added to your inventory.]
Zaen retrieved his dagger and threw the ghoul off of himself. A moment later the ghoul disintegrated into dust, leaving behind a stack of bandages and a skill stone.
__
Item: Skill stone
Type: Consumable
Rarity: Rare item
Effect(s):
• Rare drop which can be obtained after slaying a special boss. Can be used to obtain a rare skill. The skill obtained would be generated in light of the user's affinity.
• Can be used to obtain the skill, Stunner.
• Stunner (Level 1): Stuns anyone who appears within its area of effect. Targets are stunned for 2 seconds. Has a cooldown of 3 minutes.
__
Zaen stored the stone in the inventory. He couldn't waste his time anymore. He had to reach the park to see what the Special force was planning to do before it was too late. Right, when he was about to leave a notification popped up in front of him.
[You have successfully closed a rift.]
[Rifts closed: 01/10]
As soon as the text appeared in front of him, the house he had been fighting in, got covered in a thick green mist and the next moment it was gone. Nothing was left behind. Not even a brick. Even the corpses of the ones unfortunate enough to die by the ghoul's claws disappeared without a trace. The building which looked odd amongst the others vanished, leaving an empty plot of land behind.
'Well... that solves one problem.' Zaen thought.
He was wondering what would happen to the corpses after he killed the ghoul. He couldn't leave it be, as his fingerprints were all over the place. Also, if the police got a wind of it, he was done for. No one would believe that he wasn't the one to kill them. Thankfully, he didn't need to worry about it anymore. Instead, he was worried about a different thing... there were more than one rifts that required to be closed.