"Welcome back, system, check the number of beasts within a 10km radius of me."
[---Computing, please wait…---]
The system's voice, usually a welcome reprieve, was drowned out by the roar of the forest and the surge of bloodlust still thrumming in my veins. Beast horde was a misnomer. This was a monster carnival. And I was the main act.
My eyes swept across the horde, a silent, predatory assessment. I wasn't just observing, I was feeling them. My enhanced senses, combined with my usage of the {Divine Glasses}, allowed me to predict their movements, to see the cracks in their defenses.
A colossal, snake-like creature, its scales gleaming like polished obsidian, lunged from the shadows. It was fast, terrifyingly so, its fangs dripping with a viscous, green venom.
I didn't dodge. I met it.
My sword, wreathed in the faint shimmer of its adaptive metal, met its fangs head-on. The sword almost breaking against the hard fang, making a flurry of sparks illuminate the darkness. But instead of parrying, I twisted, using the creature's momentum against itself. My wings flared, pushing me to the side, adding a rotational force to my attack.
CRACK!
The serpent's jaw dislocated with a sickening sound. It thrashed, its body coiling violently, but I was already moving. My gun roared, a series of rapid-fire kinetic blasts targeting its unarmored underbelly. Each shot was a punch, a gut-wrenching impact that tore through its flesh.
The serpent shrieked, its coils tightening, slamming against trees with bone-shattering force. But I clung to it, like a crusader riding a monstrous steed, raining down death with every shot. I found its eyes and unleashed a final, concentrated blast.
POP!
The serpent's head exploded in a shower of black blood and gore. Its massive body writhed for a moment, then collapsed with a thud that shook the very ground.
The thrill of the kill was exhilarating, intoxicating. It wasn't just survival; it was a mad dance, a dance of destruction. My movements were fluid and purely instinctual. My sword and gun moved as one, a deadly extension of my will.
A pack of smaller, agile beasts, resembling overgrown feral cats with razor claws, swarmed me from all sides. I grinned, a wide, terrifying smile that stretched my lips, revealing teeth that felt sharper, somehow.
Come on then, you little rats.
I activated {Two Of A Kind}'s synergy skill. "Mirrored Rhythm!"
[---Skill: {Mirrored Rhythm} Activated. Duration: 10 seconds. +50% reaction speed, increased motion sync.---]
The world snapped into hyper-focus again. The cats' movements, a blur to the naked eye, became clear, almost slow-motion. Their coordinated attacks, designed to overwhelm, were easily read.
I became a whirlwind of motion. A blur of red-streaked {Hooded Armor} and flashing steel. The first cat, leaping for my throat, met my blade mid-air, its body cleaved in two. The second, attempting a leg sweep, found its back blown out with a shot from my gun. I spun, my wings beating against the air, providing a momentary lift, allowing me to strike downwards, bisecting another cat that had been attempting to pounce from above.
The {Enhanced Bloodlust} was a roaring inferno within me, urging me on, pushing me past the limits of human endurance. My breathing was ragged, my muscles burned, but I felt no exhaustion, only a savage joy. Each kill fed the bloodlust, amplifying my strength, my speed, my focus.
The fight was a brutal, relentless ballet of death. I moved through the forest like a force of nature, a one-man massacre. Horns, claws, fangs, acidic spits, crushing blows – I met every attack with a counterattack, every wound with renewed fury.
I didn't count the kills anymore. The system did it for me, a dispassionate tally in the back of my mind.
[---KILL COUNT: 15---]
[---KILL COUNT: 37---]
[---KILL COUNT: 82---]
[---KILL COUNT: 154---]
'How are the beasts still this many?'
The scent of black blood was so thick it coated my tongue, a bitter, metallic taste that mixed with the sweet, primal tang of my own escalating bloodlust. My wings now felt like a natural extension, beating against the air, providing bursts of acceleration, allowing me to dodge blows that would have crushed me.
[Daniel, the computation is complete, some people have been watching you, they are about your age, a boy and a girl. there are only 144 beasts left; however, 4 of them are greatly dangerous, for example, the Lizard that's about to jump on your leg.]
Then, a purple lizard jumped straight out of the darkness and onto my leg, biting and refusing to let go.
'Is this supposed to be a dangerous beast?' I asked internally as I gave it a few shots to the head, making it release its grip on my leg, but instead of dying, it became bigger and bigger until it was as big as 5 meters.
[I told ya.]
Thinking quickly, I bellowed "Akai! I need you to pull a bait-and-switch! You take over, pull its attention away, and lure it towards the castle! But don't go in it yourself! Once it's close enough, swap back!"
"We're both dying anyway if we don't try!" I roared, blocking a massive head that tried to bite me in half. "Trust me! I made you!"
A moment of hesitation. Then, a surge of defiant courage from Akai.
[---Skill: {Dual Soul} - Active mode initiated.---]
Suddenly, my vision blurred. I felt myself recede, a conscious observer in the back of my own mind. Akai was in control.
He stumbled, his movements less fluid, more human. The lizard, sensing the sudden shift in its opponent's fighting style, hissed, its head focusing on him.
The lizard, enraged by this sudden impudence, pursued him relentlessly, its massive body crashing through trees, creating a path of destruction. It was slow, cumbersome in the dense forest, but utterly relentless.
Akai was almost at the castle. Its shimmering, insignificant presence felt like a cruel joke in the face of the monstrous beast.
Now, Akai! NOW! I screamed in his mind.
[---Skill: {Dual Soul} - Active mode ended.---]
My consciousness slammed back into my body. Akai's fear, fresh and potent, still clung to my senses, a cold prickle of sweat on my skin.
The lizard was right in front of the castle, but not close enough to be drawn into it, but with a final surge of adrenaline, I threw the castle at the beast.
'Rot in hell, you son of a bitch.'
I closed my eyes, forcing my ragged breaths to slow. The next chapter of my life, the one I had unwittingly written for myself, had truly begun. And it was going to be a bloodbath. I just hoped I was ready for it.