The two moved through the unforgiving snow, breaths heavy as they slowly scanned their surroundings.
The blizzard had only recently stopped, and with the temporary calm it brought, they had set out to hunt for food—and, if possible, grow their cores in the process.
Rita was obviously in the lead, having the most experience in this place thanks to her solo survival throughout all the days Kyle had been asleep.
Aside from that, she was a far better scout than he was, capable of reading the terrain, identifying potential dangers, and predicting the best course of direction through the frozen wasteland.
Soon enough, they finally reached a large rocky ridge, half-buried in the snow. It was hardly tall enough to be called a wall, but it was still large enough to provide them with some cover.
Both of them pressed themselves against the rocky wall, their bodies lowered as they carefully peeked into the distance.
There, far away, was a treacherous being.
A monstrosity.
It was large, standing on all fours, its entire body pulsating grotesquely as though it were a grotesque compilation of liquid veins forced into the shape of a living creature. Its appearance was hideous, almost unnatural, with no visible face to speak of.
Only a mouth.
A massive, gaping mouth filled with rows upon rows of jagged, monstrous teeth.
The creature’s back bulged and twitched as it dug its fangs greedily into the corpse of a large polar bear it had killed, devouring the beast with savage hunger.
CRUNCH!
The sound of bones breaking beneath its jaws carried across the frozen landscape, echoing even to where Kyle and Rita were hiding.
Kyle’s eyes narrowed.
"This is our target?" Kyle asked, turning his head slightly toward Rita. "Is it even edible?"
Rita shook her head.
"It’s not it we’re after, but the remains of the bear it killed. The monster would be our opponent if we want to get the bear."
Kyle swallowed hard at her explanation.
At the sight of the grotesque abomination, it would be no less than a Tainted Rank creature.
Recalling the damage the ice monster they had first encountered when they arrived in this horrid hell had caused, Kyle could only imagine how much worse this one would be.
The more he thought about it, the more his gaze began to notice things he had failed to see earlier.
Around the Veiny Abomination were numerous stains of blood scattered across the snow.
And they weren’t small.
They were the size of polar bears.
About six of them.
Kyle swallowed hard.
’It murdered half a dozen of these predators... Its strength might even be too much for us to handle.’
The thought alone made his stomach tighten.
Nonetheless, Kyle couldn’t help but imagine what would happen if he could devour the soul of this predator and add it to his legion.
Or better still...
What if he could consume it?
What would happen next?
Would he attain the abilities of this monstrosity, just as he had done with the Roaches?
’Maybe not better.’
Kyle’s mouth twitched at the thought of actually eating the flesh of that monstrosity.
He quickly pushed the thought aside.
But the questions only continued to well up inside him.
More and more.
And, scarily enough, the more he imagined it, the more fighting this monstrosity began to sound appealing rather than completely insane.
In the end, Kyle turned to Rita.
There was a bittersweet expression on his face, accompanied by a crooked smile that looked more like the grin of a man who had already accepted his impending death.
"So, what’s the plan?"
Huff!
Huff!
Kyle did his best to restrain his heavy breathing, his heart beating so loudly within his chest that he was certain the monster ahead could hear it.
It felt absurd.
Completely absurd.
’Shit... This is a crazy plan.’
Kyle was moving toward the Veiny Abomination without hiding himself.
He was walking straight toward it.
As though he was begging for death.
Or, perhaps even worse, challenging the beast to a fight up front.
Like some valiant knight marching toward a battlefield to save a damsel in distress.
Except...
"The fucking damsel is hiding behind me, and I am no knight..."
Kyle’s fingers tightened around the hilt of his blade.
He continued forward, his boots sinking into the thick snow with every step.
"Just a suicidal fool walking toward his death."
His voice was barely above a mutter.
The Veiny Abomination suddenly stopped.
Its massive jaws froze in place.
For a moment, there was nothing but silence.
Then slowly...
Its grotesque, pulsating body began to turn.
The creature’s oily, vein-covered head twisted in Kyle’s direction.
There were no eyes.
No nose.
No visible organs that could be considered a face.
Yet Kyle knew without a doubt that it was staring directly at him.
He felt a chill run up his spine almost immediately.
His instincts screamed at him, death and unimaginable danger.
The sensation was so overwhelming that every muscle in his body tensed.
Kyle stared at the monstrous creature.
"As I thought..."
His grip tightened around his blade.
"Suicide."
With that, two pools of black suddenly formed beside him.
The first pool of darkness erupted upward, revealing the formidable figure of his summon.
Lord Roach.
The monstrous humanoid cockroach emerged from the darkness, its intimidating body immediately taking a position beside Kyle.
Then came the second.
A towering iron giant emerged from the other pool of darkness.
The brutal ogre.
The very same monster that had once nearly claimed Kyle’s life.
Its massive metallic body glimmered beneath the pale light of the frozen wasteland, each movement producing the faint groan of metal grinding against metal.
A large, shimmering metallic mace rested casually upon its shoulder.
The moment the two summons appeared, the atmosphere around Kyle changed.
He was no longer alone.
Yet somehow...
He didn’t feel any safer.
At this, the Veiny Abomination suddenly opened its ghastly maw.
Wider.
Until its mouth looked large enough to swallow a human whole.
Then—
"ROOOOOAAAAARRRR!"
A thunderous bellow exploded from the creature.
The sound shook the surrounding snow, sending loose flakes tumbling from the rocky ridge behind Kyle.
The abomination’s limbs bent.
Its massive body lowered into a crouch.
Kyle’s eyes widened.
’Here it comes.’
The next instant—
BOOM!
The ground beneath the monster’s feet exploded.
With terrifying, explosive force, the Veiny Abomination launched itself forward charging at them.
It was a monstrous blur of pulsating veins and flesh tearing through the snow.
Kyle’s pupils shrank.
His fingers tightened around his blade as he stared at the creature coming straight for him.
Here it came.
His first battle against a Tainted.