The flames that Egon had unleashed penetrated the Nightmauler's body, exploiting a weakness that the creature never thought a small and insignificant creature like Egon could exploit. Caught completely off guard, the Nightmauler was left reeling and helpless as Egon's flames began to consume it from the inside out.
Suddenly, a brilliant light began to radiate out of the Nightmauler, illuminating the dark environment with a bright and powerful glow. "Arrrrgh!" the creature howled in pain as particles of light burst forth from every part of its body. A moment later, blood began to flow out of the creature and splattered across Egon's face.
With a mighty roar, the once-mighty 10-foot-tall monster was brought low by a single young boy. Its massive body parts lay scattered around the surface of the mountain, and the only thing that still shone in the slightly-illuminated environment was the creature's Core.
As Egon closed his eyes and concentrated, he began to sense the nature of the energy that was contained within the core. It was not a tangible force, like a physical object, but rather a feeling of strength, courage, and resilience. It seemed to be a manifestation of the monster's own life force, still vibrant and alive even in death.
Egon didn't have much concern about the core, he was just happy that he had defeated another opponent.
"You don't look so tough now, bitch," Egon spat, wiping the blood from his face with a flick of his wrist.
Even Mega, who had seen many battles and powerful fighters in his time, was astonished that Egon had accomplished so much in just a single day after gaining his powers. "Egon, you've done the impossible. No one has been able to take down a Rudimentary Evolver at the visceral stage for over 100,000 years. You're incredible."
Egon smiled as he looked at Mega's tiny robotic body. "I couldn't have done it without you, Mega," he replied.
LB added, "Mission successful!" before announcing, "Your reward for defeating the Nightmauler has automatically unlocked all of your mid-level beginner stats."
*Novice stat maximum*
Abilities: Fire
Strength: 5/10
Dexterity:10/10
Luck:10/10
Intelligence:10/10
Constitution: 10/10
"Seriously," remarked Egon. He wasn't pleased with his new stat, there wasn't any much improvement from his previous one.
LB responded while looking as Egon didn't want to go for the core. LB new that Egon wouldn't like his stat, so he said quickly,
"The Visceral core of that animal has incredible potential for enhancing your abilities. The Nightmauler is a Rudimentary 4 evolver beast, and its core can boost your abilities by four stages at once," LB lectured.
Egon was taken aback by the Visceral core's numerous benefits. Excitedly, he exclaimed, "I guess that the reward from this core is better than the reward the systems offer."
Initially unaware of the vastness of the system, Egon questioned its intentions: "Seriously, what does this system want from me? I don't understand why it has to put me in danger to make me stronger."
Upon hearing Egon's statement, Mega chuckled and replied, "Actually, you have to face danger to become stronger. It's the only way to lay the foundation for a solid and sturdy core."
LB disagreed with the statement and said, "I don't think so, Egon. The system allowed you to face the beast on your own and beat it, enhancing your abilities indirectly. I alerted the beast by sending a bionic signal from far away, so you could use the core."
"The core's potential is enormous," added Mega, Egon's other AI companion.
"But obtaining it is not an easy feat. The individual who uses the core must merge their blood with the Nightmauler's blood to be able to glean its energy and power."
Egon's eyes grew wide with surprise. He realized that he had completed such a fusion during his battle with the Nightmauler. "I... I did that?" he stammered.
"Yes, you did," confirmed LB.
"That's why you will be able to utilize the core and harness its energy. Congratulations, Egon. You are now one step closer to becoming a true warrior."
LB provided a lecture, stating, "Everything was calculated from the start."
LB interrupted, reminding Egon about the vaporization of the Nightmauler's core, "Enough questions, Egon! You don't have much time left before the core vaporizes."
Egon quickly rushed over to the Core's location.
Egon's went towards the core and his hands were touched the core which was as large as a football, and he was sweating profusely.
The core started to drain his mentality, and this was evident from the expression on his face.
Moments later, with a gasp, Egon's consciousness was abruptly dragged out of his body, leaving him feeling empty and drained. He had collapsed on the ground, and Mega rushed to his side, trying to revive him.
4 hours later he became conscious back, the Core's energy had slowly dissipated and entered his body.
Then, thunders from heaven struck his bidy and the energy entered him as he stood.
After a few minutes, Egon's eyes opened, and he announced his successful level-up, saying, "I feel lighter and stronger than before." He then turned to LB and requested a rank check, asking, "LB, can you check my ranking level?"
LB responded, "You've reached the level equivalent to the 4th stage of Visceral Essence."
Egon was disappointed with the outcome and expressed his disillusionment, stating, "Seriously? I believe that with the immense power I feel, I should be in the Rudimentary Evolver stage by now."
Mega interrupted Egon's thoughts and argued, "Remember, Egon, your strength surpasses that of the Paranormals' abilities. You cannot compare yourself with them because you are on a completely different level. Achieving a four-level breakthrough at once is a remarkable feat."
As the sun slowly approached, Egon asked Mega about the time, having spent a significant duration in the forest, "Mega, how long have we been here?"
Mega estimated that they had spent roughly eight hours in the forest when Egon checked the time and became frantic, realizing he had forgotten about Tracy, "FREAKING HELL, I FORGOT ABOUT TRACY; I'M DOOMED!"
Egon knew he had to act fast and instructed LB to take them out of the forest via quantum jump, shouting, "LB, we must leave this place immediately! Quantum jump now!" Egon then caught Mega in his Robotic hands and held his glasses tightly.
Suddenly, a rippling noise evolved above their heads before it sucked them out of the environment with a loud "Vooooom." A ripple was just above their heads and sucked them out of the environment.
Egon materialized inside his house and called out, "Tracy, I'm home! Tracy, where are you?" He sprinted up the stairs, feeling anxious.
However, he soon realized that his uncle had informed him earlier that he wouldn't be home that day, making him panic.
Nevertheless, Egon still couldn't shake the feeling that Tracy, who disliked being alone, had been lonely the night before. The thought weighed heavily on his heart, and he would have apologized to Tracy. He eventually reached Tracy's room, flung the door open, and shouted, "Tracy!"
The door creaked open, and Egon saw Freya sleeping beside Tracy. Upon hearing Egon's voice, Freya immediately woke up and shouted, "Egon!" Egon reciprocated, bellowing,
"Freya!"...