"Fuck! He has a skill!" Hadeon’s heart sank.
The Black Fang Mole had used a flame skill he was very aware of. It was a basic skill used by human pyromancers to increase their speed by causing an explosion below their legs.
By making an explosion, they propelled their body like a rocket, giving them an explosive increase in speed for a short amount of time.
*Swoosh*
Hadeon cursed as he quickly swung his weapon at the beast, but it whistled through the air, hitting nothing but air.
"Shit!"
He had missed his target.
He clunched his jaws tight as he jumped back, trying to evade the mole’s attack.
*KHRCHH*
A strange sound of tearing clothes reverberated in the silent wasteland.
In the next moment, Hadeon felt a burning sensation spreading across the left side of his chest.
*Ahhh*
He cried loudly as he fell to one knee, fresh and warm blood oozing out from the wounds. Three foot-long claw marks etched onto his tattered jacket.
Hadeon quickly covered his wounds with his left hand tightly as another wave of pain erupted, blood gushing out as it painted his bruised hands red.
He groaned but kept his hands fixated on the wound.
’Cannot lose more blood.’ He thought.
*Inhale*
He took a deep breath as, in the next second, he stood up facing the mole that was again charging straight to his face.
His hands were shaking from the severe pain.
’FOCUS! Take deep breaths!’ He reminded himself.
He stared at the savage and lowered his body, trying to be as defensive as possible. He couldn’t win with brute force alone.
That mole was just too fast to get hit by his stick.
The savage quickly exploded in flames again as it appeared in front of him in an instant; before he knew it launched itself onto his stomach.
Hadeon swung his stick diagonally this time.
*Clang*
The sound of two metals being struck echoed as sparks flew everywhere.
The stick landed on the mole’s obsidian claws, and the impact sent him flying backwards meters away.
The mole was weak, but the beast’s momentum alone sent shock to Hadeon’s arms as it felt numb all over.
"Fuck, I need something else!" Hadeon cursed and glanced at the mole; by no means did it look injured at all.
Hadeon’s body was now drenched with sweat and blood now feeling weak and tired.
His grip around his stick was getting weaker, and his vision was tunnelling.
His mind was getting dizzier and becoming foggy with each passing second.
’I think I have to use it. ’ He remembered gaining a spirit imprint after killing the second mole.
The mole was again rushing as if its only goal was to kill the man in front of him without any regard for his own life.
He didn’t have time to read the description, but that’s the only choice he had.
"Status. Imprint the spirit on my soul core!" He ordered the Status in a desperate tone.
< Do you want to imprint ordinary grade spirit of Black Fang Mole?>
< You cannot remove the imprints afterwards. Please consider agai...>
The system voice rang in his mind, reminding him that he only had one slot for each type of spirit Imprint.
"Yes, I permitted you. Imprint it fast without any delay." he quickly dismissed the system words.
"Do it fast." He added again.
It wasn’t the time to sit and read the descriptions of the Imprint he had just gained.
Hadeon would be dead if he even dared to distract from the fight.
That little bastard would kill and eat him without any mercy.
***
Spirits could only be obtained after killing any awakened being, and they’re divided into three types— Summons, Relics and Imprints.
Spirit Summons, as the name suggested, could be summoned in battle, aiding the Awakeners in the fight.
Spirit Imprints were the second rarest spirit type after the Summons.
Each awakener could only absorb seven imprints on their soul.
One of each different grade.
One Flawed Imprint.
One Ordinary Imprint.
And so on.
Imprinting it on one’s soul core gave supernatural traits or skills that were once owned by the dead creature.
Lastly, Relics were the least rarest of them all. They manifested themselves in the form of weapons and armours of all sorts.
For example, a tortoise may give a shield or armour as a Spirit Relic.
It was said that each Spirit represented the Will of their dead owners.
***
Hadeon commanded the system as mechanical ringing started to appear one after another.
<Inscribing the spirit. Processing the spirit... >
< Processing Complete.>
< Congratulations, Host! You have gained a Passive Trait: Highlighted Senses.>
< Ordinary-grade Spirit Imprint slot has been used up! (1/7)>
< Open the status for more information.>
The cold and mechanical echoed in his mind.
...
He felt the world around him getting bigger. A warm current spread from his chest where his soul core remained to his head, making the dizziness from blood loss go away.
His hearing was improved too, as if he could hear the low gurgle coming from the deep cracks in the earth that he once thought was dead and silent.
His vision improved as things got clearer than before; his eyesight range increased as he could see the farthest even in the smoky surroundings.
Everything became clearer than before.
It felt wonderful, the world around him revealing its secrets.
But suddenly he felt the intensity of pain increasing as if his skin had become more sensitive, making his pain receptors go crazy.
Even the high temperature he once adapted to was now making him uncomfortable.
A wave of stress ran through his body, making it even more difficult to move.
He shifted his attention to the mole who was lunging at him with full speed, its mouth wide open, trying to bite off a piece of human in front of him.
*Inhale*
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his agitated nerves as he focused his gaze on the mole who was lunging at him, still in mid-air.
It felt much slower than last time as a wide, cruel grin appeared on his face.