Chapter-35
'Crap!'
This was the only thought in Karna's head as he awkwardly fell backward, allowing the bloodhound's jaw to close right in front of his face onto the wooden stick with a loud "Clack!".
The jagged, chitinous canines were so close that he could clearly see bits of things sticking between them. Its breath smelled disgusting, to the point that it made Karna want to vomit.
If not for his reaction speed right on time and the wooden stick that was barely holding against the beast's jaw strength, Karna was sure that this beast would have ripped his head off with this attack.
Despite its failed sneak attack, the bloodhound refused to yield. Filled with determination and aggression, it lashed out at Karna with its sharp claws, aiming to inflict harm upon him.
Karna, now faced with a direct and immediate threat, had to react swiftly to defend himself against the bloodhound's relentless assault. He, reacted by utilizing every single muscle in his arms.
The bloodhound's relentless biting persisted, its determination to shatter the wooden stick evident. However, in a sudden burst of strength, Karna swiftly rotated the stick with all his might, causing the beast's head to follow suit.
Caught off guard by this unexpected manoeuvre, the bloodhound's head twisted almost 180 degrees in a fraction of a second, accompanied by a chilling crack reverberating through the forest.
In the blink of an eye, the level-2 bloodhound's body went limp. Its jaws hung open, and with a lifeless thud, its once formidable frame collapsed onto the ground, defeated.
The triumphant outcome of Karna's decisive action was evident in the lifeless form of the vanquished beast.
That was when he heard the familiar mechanical notification sound of the system going off again.
[Ding!]
[Ding!] <100 total experience points gained>
[The host has gained the required exp to level up.]
<+50 HP>
<+1 Strength>
<+1 Agility>
<+1 Vitality>
<+1 Senses>
<+1 Intelligence>
<+5 Available SP to distribute>
[The host has gained a total of 10 stat points, out of which 5 SP have been equally divided between strength, agility, vitality, senses, and intelligence stats.]
[The host can distribute the other 5 stat points according to his preference.]
"My level rose up." "Finally!"
Karna shouted aloud, feeling the change in his body due to gaining a single stat in each of his attributes.
Clenching his fist and feeling the newly gained strength, Karna felt hopeful. He stood up straight far quicker than he should have, something that he instantly regretted the very next moment.
"Ah–Ah!" Now standing, he was feeling a sharp pain in his lower torso.
[Ding!] [Host has sustained an injury.]
<-20 HP>
Before the fight with the now dead bloodhound, his HP was 80. He had lost 20 points because of all the fatigue and minor injuries he had sustained while sprinting through the forest up to this point.
Seeing the sudden notification he looked at the place where he felt the burning pain, his eyes widen in surprise.
There was a wound on his left side of the abdomen that was bleeding. It was not a big one, just a single cut from the beast's claw, but it was bleeding a lot.
[The host has sustained an injury and is under the effect of bleeding.]
"I am injured...? I thought I had reacted faster." Saying that weakly, he asked the system if it was dangerous.
Thanks to the Pain resistance skill, Karna wasn't feeling as much pain as he should, but due to this, he also couldn't tell how serious the wound was.
[Host, the wound is a small but a deep one.] [Luckily, no organs are damaged, but host I recommend you to stop the bleeding hurriedly.]
Knowing very well that the situation had worsened for him, Karna placed his hand on the bloody wound, trying to stop the bleeding. Right after that the decreasing HP slowed down and he got an new massage.
Seeing that, He grunted and then said in ragged breathing, "Okay, huff—now you," gazing at the wounded beast, which was now slowly standing.
As the fallen bloodhound's lifeless body lay before it, the level-3 bloodhound, fuelled by fury and grief, emitted a menacing growl directed at Karna.
Bracing himself for another confrontation, Karna prepared to advance further. However, his forward motion abruptly halted when he noticed another bloodhound springing towards him from behind the injured one.
Seeing that, Karna jumped and rolled towards his right, dogging the attack, and then hurriedly stood up, not wasting any time. Gritting his teeth, he turned around and ran.
Or at least Karna tried to but was stopped by another bloodhound, who was standing behind him.
Another two bloodhounds walked out of the high bushes on his right side, growling, and showing themselves. Two on his behind, two on his right, and one in front of him—the situation was not good.
"S**t!" Karna cursed, realizing that he had taken too much time, and before he knew it, the other four beasts had him surrounded from three sides.
Presently, there were five beasts in front of Karna: the wounded one is level 3, three are level 2, and one is level 1.
One of the hounds approached the wounded bloodhound and then used its jaw to extract the pierced, shattered spear from its chest.
As the jaw of the beast clenched on the damaged weapon and pulled on it, entirely extracting it, the wounded beast winced in pain.
Turning his back against the one side he could run to escape; Karna faced the six beasts. He gazed at the injured hound to see that it was very delighted with the current situation.
'Tsk…. Just wait; I'll finish you in no time." 'If only I had a weapon. Even one like a sword or something, then dealing with them would be so much easier.'
His left hand was still covering the bleeding wound, but it was only able to stop the bleeding a 50%, as blood could still be seen seeping through his fingers and dyeing his sweatpants in a red shade.
But due to the increase of one stat in each of his attributes, Karna had some hope even in this dire situation.
'And I still have five SP left; if I were to use them, maybe then I could kill another one or two of them and again level up.'
All five bloodhounds' eyes glowed with a blood-red glint before they opened their mouth's wide, disgustingly manoeuvring and displaying their needle-like tongues.
Checking the required exp for him to level up, he commanded the system, "System, invest..."
But before he could even complete the command, one of the level-2 bloodhounds sprinted and jumped, attacking at him.
Karna seeing this, step backward, then moved to his right, letting the pouncing beast go right past him. But just then, another bloodhound came to attack him.
The bloodhounds displayed an unusual strategy, relying more on their tongues to slash or stab rather than utilizing their claws to their full extent.
Recognizing the reason behind this tactical shift, Karna swung the wooden stick in an attempt to deter the approaching beast.
However, the bloodhounds tenaciously pursued him, refusing to be deterred, and closed in on him with relentless determination.
With quick thinking and agility, Karna sidestepped to evade the bloodhound's attack. Seizing the opportunity, he channelled all his newfound strength into a powerful kick aimed at the beast's neck.
The force of the blow, combined with the bloodhound's own momentum, propelled Karna backward, allowing him to roll away from the immediate threat and create some distance between himself and these relentless magical beasts.
Having successfully distanced himself from the immediate danger, Karna regained his footing, ready to face the bloodhounds once again.
The intensity of the encounter heightened, with Karna prepared to continue his arduous battle against the formidable adversaries. Know standing he gazed at the four bloodhounds in front of him.
'Huh? Only four.' He widened his eyes in shock when he realized that the one that had jumped past him was now nowhere to be seen.