"This is harder than I expected..."
Cain had already lost count of the number of monsters he had killed. With every swing of his blade, there would be a few more drops to add to the ever-growing pool of blood on the ground.
It turned out that the monsters weren't just fighting against Cain and the others. They were also fighting against each other. The monsters tore at each other viciously.
They bit and clawed until they devoured, or were devoured.
So whilst these creatures were fighting against each other, Cain and the others had become collateral damage.
For the mutating beasts, this wasn't about good or evil... All they wanted, was to satiate their ever-growing bloodlust.
This was exactly why Cain didn't want Teddy to join in on the fight. He knew the beast wouldn't be able to control its immense bloodlust due to the situation of the environment. So he decided to save himself the hassle of killing it. After all, he had hopes that it would be of use to him in the future.
Cain did a bit of calculating, and realized that they had been fighting for about 30 minutes. The fight had gone on for such a brief period and yet, a mountain of corpses and a river of blood had formed beneath him.
'So much for the plan...'
About 10 minutes into the battle, they were unable to push the tides of bloodthirsty mutants, and as such, they were all separated. Cain couldn't spot any of them through the thick sea of creatures, so he just decided to keep going. He was sure the rest would all survive...
'But seriously, this is becoming a hassle.'
Cain was referring to the fact that not only were his clothes all shredded into pieces but he was also drenched in blood. The mountain of corpses also made it difficult to move through, hence, he ended up getting careless a few times, and had taken a few injuries as a result.
'On the bright side, {Devil's Broken Claw} is getting stronger by the minute.'
What Cain said, was true because the strength of {Devil's Broken Claw} increased proportionally to the number of enemies he slayed.
{Devil's Broken Claw}: (epic)
Strength: 30.
Agility: 20.
Control: 0.2.
Defense: -5.
Skills: Fear, Bloodthirsty.
{Fear} (passive): Release a malevolent aura akin to a devil, inflicting fear onto your opponent. Decreases opponent movement and attack speed by 5%.
{Bloodthirsty} (passive): Consume the blood and flesh of fallen enemies to increase the power of the Devil's broken claw. For every 100 enemies slain and absorbed, attack power increases by 1%, but weight increases by 10kg. Effectiveness of {Fear} also increases by 0.1%.
Although the weight of the blade increased drastically with every 100 kills he made, as long as his power increased proportionally, he didn't need to worry about anything. When he had first gotten {Devil's Broken Claw}, he had thought it was a bit too light. But now, after killing about 1000 mutant creatures at once, he felt himself becoming more fluid with the blade. Almost like it had become an extension of himself.
It felt surreal...
Cain released a sigh at the sky as he moved through the sea of corpses towards the last of the mutants in his vicinity.
A huge deer with golden antlers, a mean attitude, and a very very big wolf. They had been fighting each other previously, but since Cain has shown up, they decided to transfer the aggression over
Their red eyes made Cain aware that their minds had most likely become oversaturated with bloodlust.
Although the deer's former graceful features become even more graceful if one decided to look at it through an aesthetic lens.
Its antlers had become way bigger than normal deer antlers. They shone with a bright metallic luster, and stretched out onto its back, forming a connection with its tailbone. It was also the size of a cow, and the amount of power it exuded relative to the other animals, was extraordinary.
The only thing that ruined its features were the extremely sharp set of teeth jutting out from its lips, as well as the ominous red eyes with a white center that stared him down with both the bloodlust of a beast, as well as the calculating of a human. Bone spurs also protruded from various parts of its body, creating a very beautiful, yet terrifying visage.
The giant wolf was even worse. Its huge frame towered over Cain and the deer. Its furry coat was darker than midnight, and its eyes, unlike the other beasts, didn't even give off any light. If not for Cain's high perception stat, he probably wouldn't even know the beast stood before him.
These mutants were very powerful, even amongst the stronger mutants. They were as strong as the {Devil-eyed White Primate} Cain had fought before. The wolf had the darkness attribute, while the deer had the nature element.
The nature element was very unique because it was the only elemental mana source that granted the control of other lifeforms. The summoning skill Hunter possessed was also considered a natural skill.
Although these creatures were really strong, right now, they were bleeding from various parts of their bodies. The deer was already missing an antler, and a very large patch of flesh had been gouged off the body of the huge wolf, causing its blood to flow like a river. There were numerous smaller wounds on them, but these were the most obvious.
The patented with heavy breaths, as the cause of their injuries, walked through a mountain of corpses created by his own doing. This mutant beast had begun to feel fear for the first time in their lives. This was mostly due to the effects of {Fear} from {Devil's Broken Claw}, but a part of it came from the sinister aura coming from Cain.
An aura that sought to devour all life that stood before it. An aura so overwhelming, it tried to push them to their knees every time he took even a step forward.
They considered retreating in that instant, but it was already too late. Cain. arrived before them in the blink of an eye, ready to continue from where he left off.
'I can't believe I've become so strong in the span of a few hours.' Cain thought to himself as he arrived before the mutants. The night before, just a few hours ago, he couldn't even face the {Devil-eyed White Primate} who was just as strong as the two before him. Now, he was able to handle two of them, and although it wasn't without struggle, he was still winning.
Cain swung his blade down to kill, but it was parried by the razor-sharp claws of the {Midnight Demon Wolf}. A wave of darkness spread out from beneath it, forming a pool of darkness. Tendrils of darkness stretched out from within grabbing at Cain in an attempt to lock him in place.
The {Golden Horned Beast} saw this as an opportunity to attack. Its single remaining golden antler glowed bright amidst the darkness of the night. Dark green vines with razor-sharp thorns magical appeared from beneath the ground. They snapped forward like whips, attempting to tear Cain to shreds.
"It's useless..." Cain didn't even bother dodging.
A deep golden glow enveloped him.
"Golden Halo."
5 Magic circles appeared out of thin air and began revolving around him.
BANG!
The attacks of the two creatures were instantly stopped in their tracks, while all the magic circles exploded instantly.
These magic circles were created from the arrangement of runes in certain ways that would produce the desired results. Runes were the basics of all magic applications, and they determined how mana behaved in the physical world.
Runes were used to create most skills. They were used to create potions, formation of weapons, and many other things. They could also be used as a stand-alone way to directly increase power.
Cain retaliated instantly with a deadly counter.
Golden rays of light escaped from around his blade, forming a pillar of golden light.
A look of panic escaped from the eyes of the {Midnight Demon wolf} as it attempted to move backward. But Cain simply increased his speed, following after it until he caught up. The {Golden Horned Beast} tried to stop him, but a swift kick accompanied by the sound of breaking bones from Cain sent it flying.
Seeing as there was no route of escape, the mutant released a howl as it dashed right at Cain, rage burning within its dark eyes. Its body released black smoke, completely covering the area surrounding Cain and itself. As soon as this dark smoke spread completely, Cain lost all his senses at once. Even the light coming from his blade couldn't pierce through the darkness.
'A unique skill...' Cain was surprised, as he didn't expect the mutant to possess such a troublesome skill.
The {Midnight Demon Wolf} had become one with the black smoke. Cain was completely unable to sense it. However, there wasn't a single sign of worry on his face. He quickly made his preparations while he waited for the mutant to strike first.
There was absolute silence within the darkness...
Cain kept his hands on his blade, his heart is as calm as still water. There wasn't even a single ripple in his emotions as he waited.
Eventually, the {Midnight Demon Wolf} lost patience. Like a bolt of black lightning, it moved through the darkness. Its abyssal maws spread apart like the gates of hell, ready to devour Cain.
As soon as it slammed its fangs down, golden light once again shone from Cain.
"Golden Halo."
The magic circle appeared once again, preventing the {Midnight Demon Wolf} from biting down. In a moment of desperation, the mutant put all of its power into its jaws, crushing golden halo after golden halo in quick succession. Its powerful jaws slammed down until it made contact with Cain's shoulder.
"
The metallic taste of blood filled its mouth, causing it to growl in joy as it attempted to bite down with even more force.
"Why are you so happy?" Cain looked back at the mutant with a grin on his face.
The wolf suddenly realized that it couldn't bite down anymore. This was because although its head bit down on Cain's shoulder, its body had already fallen to the ground. The cloud of black smoke cleared up, revealing the bloody battlefield once again.
The head of the {Midnight Demon Wolf} fell to the ground, devoid of life. When it bit down on Cain's shoulder, Cain had used {Golden Severance} to sever its head from its body.
A clean cut, straight, and precise...
Its blood erupted out like a fountain from its decapitated body in a bloody arc. But Cain ignored all that and moved towards its twitching body. He stooped over the corpse of the mutant and place his hand on its chest.
He retrieved a container from his inventory to collect the blood that was wasting away. Once he was done with that, he felt around its chest for a while. Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
"Yes! Another one." With a jab, Cain thrust his hand directly into the corpse, dragging out a black sparkling gem half the size of a pinky.
This gem was a mana shard. A darkness elemental mana shard to be precise...
Cain wiped the blood off it quickly before placing the container and the gem into his inventory.
He looked around his surroundings and discovered that the {Golden Horned Beast} was nowhere to be found.
"It escaped..." Cain was a bit unhappy that one of his prey had gotten away, but he later consoled himself. After all, he had found another mana shard. Mana shards could only be gotten from elemental mutant creatures, so they were just as rare. Even though he had killed more than 1000 mutant creatures, he only had a bit over 100 mana shards.
Cain took a moment to observe the situation around him. The entire schoolyard and its surroundings were almost destroyed.
Cain stood on the pile of corpses, and he finally spotted the others. Although they looked bloody all over, they fought just as ferociously as they had in the beginning. The number of monsters in the surroundings had dwindled greatly, so Cain decided to go and help the others out.
Before he could take a step, he sensed a deep and menacing bloodlust assaulting his senses.
He turned around, and to his surprise, just behind him stood the {Devil-eyed White Primate}...