I gigantic crimson red creature ruptured the earth, crackles spreading inside the cave. Upon facing them, it revealed a pointy horn on its wolf-like head, oval eyes observing its potential prey. The beast was towering over the entrance, showcasing its formidable presence.
Before Shay moved his trembling legs, his companion dashed under its mighty limbs, hiding in the shadow.
He finally woke up from his daydream, taking a guarding stance. He scanned the giant abomination before his eyes, awaiting its response.
Snarl!
It showed its razor sharp fangs, as long as his arms, making a warning sound. They were slightly crooked and aimed outward, threatening anything up close.
His thoughts raced for strategies, condensed sweat drenching his clothes. Options of escape and surprise attacks occurred in his mind, but nothing with sure success.
Though moments appeared to halt, he shouldn't delay much longer. His friend awaited a favorable time to attack. If Shay distracted the beast sufficiently, Shade could strike from its shadow, biting the abdomen.
'Should I just anger it? Will that be enough for an opportunity?' Uncertainty about the next steps paralyzed him.
One can't be too careful, especially when facing a powerful foe.
He once again scanned the surroundings, deriving his options. As he considered his capabilities, the beast's horn glowed and its fur ignited. Intense heat radiated from it, burning anything around itself.
Shade whined and dashed back to Shay. Although having a half form disallowed fire to spread through, it was its natural enemy.
"Sorry, I took too long with considering my options." He shook his head, losing every crawling thought.
Concentration dwelled inside him as the blue ember blazed from his heart. Cold killing intent beamed out of his eyes, clutching his fists and pivoting his left foot.
"You should move. I'll take care of this!"
Boom!
Both Shay and the creature bolted from their position, destroying the rocky platform beneath them, while Shade fled the fighting zone.
The cave crumbled from the immense shock, closing the entrance with rocks and gravel.
Luckily, Shay's new skills allowed him to touch flames for a moment, driving the fight in his favor. However, his endurance still lacked, leading to evasiveness, rather than confronting the assaults.
Here and there, he dodged its claw slashes, bites, and even jump attacks, without the ability to counterattack, as the beast always faced him right after. Its stability and movement were perfect, defending his strikes with its sturdy, long tail.
'Fuck, that's annoying!'
The battle prolonged further, as Shay tried passing through the defense, being pushed back repeatedly.
On the other hand, he started getting used to its strike patterns, revealing openings between their procedure.
Thus, he waited for one round of brawl. He slid below it when it jumped at his afterimage, kicking up with both his legs.
The beast flew about 20m high, blurting out blood which dyed the surrounding vegetation. What Shay miscalculated, though, was the terrain he ground, as some of the rocks were too sharp, piercing his hardened skin.
This mishap led to slight bleeding, which he couldn't stop without water.
He gazed at the descending creature, perceiving a familiar pattern. He dodged to the left as a beam shot impacted the surface, sending stone fast shrapnels around. Some trees dived from their powerful impact, rattling the earth below his feet.
Since the ray was lightly tilted, the flying rocks aimed in one direction, missing Shay.
'This could have been my death bed, fuck!' he thought, shaken from the laser, shivering his spine.
The monstrous figure kept falling down, plotting something else. He locked his eyes onto it, looking out for other attacks.
At that moment, he saw fire claw slashes traveling toward him. The surrounding air strengthened their blaze, rising on effective range.
Shay's peepers narrowed as he crossed his arms and leaned forward, killing the attack's inertia.
Although his skills improved flame resistance, such a slash cut through part of his flesh, charring his injury.
"Arrrgh."
He groaned, gritting his teeth from the powerful impact. His breath fastened while holding one of his limbs.
'I should have expected it has tricks up its sleeve.'
Bang! Crackle.
The creature, being heavy, landed on all its fours, further deepening the crater it formed.
It didn't wait for him to recover, jumping up from the pit as vibrant orange light filled inside its mouth. However, instead of condensing the fire essence, it burst like a flamethrower, sending flames from left to right.
Smirk appeared on Shay's face, as he dashed straight through, throwing his fist at maw, teeth breaking off its sockets by the vigorous punch.
'You didn't expect that, bi—'
Smack!
A tail whipped at his head and smashed him into the rocky hillside, creating a man shaped hole obscured with dust.
His ability to scream died as the piercing pain spread, ending inside his brain.
Being too naïve, he forgot about his firm sense that warned him about the imminent danger.
Since he remembered to depend more on his senses, he sent himself out of the opening, pivoting to dodge a tremendous beam.
Boom!
An avalanche of rocks rolled down the mountain range from the explosion, imitating a minor earthquake. The surrounding land terraformed and landslides formed a circular arena with the crater inside.
'Now's my chance!'
He ran into the created shadows when the beast turned and focused on dodging the rolling stones. If its body wasn't so huge, it could've moved where Shay was, solving the problem in a split of a second.
While the creature was still occupied, he crept around it, throwing a spin kick from behind.
Bang!
[Critical Hit]
It flew to the artificial arena wall, getting pierced by a peeking stone spike. On the tip, a beating heart died from being disconnected, squirting the last bits of blood it contained.
[Bestiary milestone reached. Reward: Warlord's Flame Comprehension]
[All evolutions of Growlers and their milestones completed.]
[Achievement 'The Wolf Hunter' unlocked. Reward: +5 points for each stat]
[Strength: 32 (26%)] - 4x
[Endurance: 26 (42%)] - 2x
[Agility: 36 (60%)] - 4x
[Dexterity: 33 (7%)]
[Intelligence: 27 (1%)]
Shay landed on the uneven terrain, stumbling because of a sticking out pebble.
Suddenly, something soft supported his body. Shade, with his shadowy fur, bolted under him so he didn't fall on his injured, bloody arms or back.
"Thanks… man," ending his words, darkness engulfed his vision.
******
"Are you kidding me!!!" Zoe shouted, stomping with her slender foot and throwing her hand up.
She wanted to slap Arthur, but retreated when she saw sorrow in his eyes.
"We went through so much! Saving urban areas from golem invasions, wiping out wyvern nests, helped with rebuilding settlements, and now, you don't want to climb anymore?!"
Although she felt sorry for him, the shouting never stopped for a reason.
"I know I pledged a promise to you, but the only thing that helped me grow is this stupid Holy Sword. I am no different from others that level up, neither am I better than those aiming higher. How the fuck am I supposed to prolong your life, if the progress is too slow?!"
Streams of tears flowed from the corner of his eyes, merging below his lips and dripping from his chin. Although his voice heightened, it all came out of agony, not anger.
Slap!
Zoe was no longer able to hold herself together and swung her palm to his face. She also started weeping.
The whole pub was in silence. Every person who was present quietly stepped out the main door, not daring to interrupt the heated conversation.
On the other side of the duo, Luden played with his bowstring, while talking to his Elven associates.
"Your hero leader seems in shambles, haha." Said one of the three friends, closest to Luden.
He sighed at reality and observed the two again.
"Why don't you leave them and hunt with us? You might climb the upper levels faster than with them, haha."
"I suppose you're telling the truth. But unfortunately, I can't just forsake them. Zoe saved my life and I am not a bastard to ditch her," he said, letting out another anguished sigh.
******
Tickle-ish breeze brushed Shay's head, waking him up with a fixing hair reflex. He raised from Shade's fur, realizing they altered the location, the humid air touching his sturdy, soft skin.
They were near a river, surrounded by plains of flowers, bordering trees covering up the place.
Shay thought about his injury, but upon inspecting his wellbeing, he was healed completely. However, his clothes were stained with blood, messing his visage.
"Hey kid, you have finally awakened, I see," Blarken said, sitting on the only stump inside the plains area. From gazing at the diminishing stream, Shay turned around, his eyes locked on the giant before him.
The flowing water filled the quietness between them, as he didn't know what to tell him first. He moved his lips, but retreated as soon as other thoughts crossed the one present, messing up his mind.
"Feel free to stay quiet," he said, switching his sight to Shade.
"Let's just head back. I will have to ask the principal about your pet, though. However, knowing her persona, it should be fine, haha." His ironic laugh died in the air quickly, as Shay only nodded, and signaled his companion to come with him.