BANG!
The sound of a heavy collision rang through the night as Declan crashed head-on into the Panthercrack.
Its claw came straight for his face, but he twisted sharply to the side, causing it to slam into his shoulder instead.
A diagonal gash tore through his flesh, red blood spraying into the air.
CREAK!
Declan’s teeth clenched against the pain, blood seeping from the corner of his lips as the force sent him reeling backward, yet his hands never loosened their grip on the spear.
BOOM!
The ground shook violently when Declan crashed into the earth, a shallow crater forming beneath him as blood quickly pooled around his body.
The Panthercrack, meanwhile, landed on the tree branch Declan had launched himself from, but this time, it didn’t immediately attack.
GROWL!
A deep growl rumbled from its throat, carrying not aggression, but pain.
SPLITTER!
A faint splash of liquid sounded behind the beast, causing it to slowly turn around.
Declan used the spear beside him to drag himself upright, pain coursing through his body while his left arm hung uselessly at his side.
Yet despite the agony, a wicked grin slowly curled across his lips.
One of the Panthercrack’s five eyes had been destroyed.
The eye positioned directly in the center of its face now had a deep diagonal cut running clean through it.
The creature’s tail flickered as its claws dug deeper into the tree, preparing to lunge again, seemingly unfazed by the loss of one eye.
But Declan only smiled coldly, before immediately running forward.
’Idiot.’
The creature hadn’t even traveled a meter before its body suddenly lost control, causing it to helplessly crash toward the ground, but before it could hit the earth, Declan was already there, his right hand driving the spear toward its neck.
BANG!
A powerful force slammed into his arm, sending him stumbling backward several steps, yet before he could be pushed any farther, he regained his footing and charged forward again.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
For the next several minutes, the only sounds echoing through the night were the repeated clashes of metal against claws as Declan stabbed relentlessly.
His movements were rough and amateurish, but every strike was aimed at the same place: the Panthercrack’s neck.
That singular target gave his attacks at least some degree of precision, yet the beast’s erratic movements allowed it to deflect his increasingly predictable thrusts.
Its furious roars echoed through the forest as its claws repeatedly smashed against the spear and sent Declan tumbling backward.
Before he could recover, its tail whipped toward him, Declan immediately dodged to the side, but he wasn’t fast enough.
BANG!
SPLATTER!
The Panthercrack’s tail slammed into his dangling left arm, severing the limb completely.
"Tch..."
Declan’s face twisted from the pain.
"DIIIEEEE!"
He roared in fury, but instead of stabbing at the creature’s neck again, he abruptly changed his target, driving the spear straight through its palm and pinning its claw to the ground.
A mournful roar erupted from the Panthercrack’s throat as its remaining claw immediately lashed toward Declan’s head, but he had anticipated the action.
Declan twisted aside, narrowly avoiding the strike as the creature stumbled from its own momentum.
[Here’s your chance!]
The System’s panel flashed before his eyes, and Declan immediately ripped the spear free from the Panthercrack’s pinned claw and charged forward.
Leaping into the air as his right hand tightened around the weapon before he thrust it downward toward the beast’s wide-open neck.
’I have won...’
His eyes locked onto the exposed flesh as the spear descended toward its target.
All of sudden,
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP!
Something shot forward, moving so quickly that Declan’s eyes could barely follow it.
What he felt was the object slicing at the corner of his stomach, roughly throwing him backwards.
BLERGH!
Blood erupted from Declan’s mouth, and for a moment, the entire forest fell silent.
The Panthercrack’s tail had transformed, its tip having opened like a blooming flower, revealing a razor-sharp blade that had pierced straight through Declan’s body.
The beast slowly raised itself, its tail still flickering behind it.
Of its five eyes, two were responsible for nearly ninety percent of its sensory perception, and Declan had blinded one of those two special eyes, leaving the creature disoriented.
But even so, it forced itself upright.
One step after another, it approached the helpless Declan, sniffing at him before a disdainful sneer curled across its maw.
Its prey was helpless and at death’s door. It had won.
The beast threw its head back.
"ROOOOOOAA—"
PUUUUUUCCCHII!
Its roar of victory was cut short by the sound of flesh being pierced.
The Panthercrack froze, and its four remaining eyes widened in shock as it slowly looked downward.
The prey it had already considered dead was staring back at it, whilst grinning.
"I know your tail had a special ability, Panthercrack!"
Declan spat the words through blood; and gathered every last ounce of strength remaining in his body, forced the spear forward.
The blade plunged deeper into the creature’s neck.
Then...
BUUUURST!
It burst through the back.
The Panthercrack died instantly, its massive body collapsing.
The Panthercrack possessed a single special ability that it only revealed when cornered.
That flickering tail wasn’t merely used for balance; hidden beneath its skin was a lethally sharp blade that could unfurl at a moment’s notice and pierce straight through its prey, delivering a fatal strike precisely when they believed victory was already within reach.
The Panthercrack had believed it was the one in control, but it was wrong.
Every move in the fight had been calculated by Declan.
Blinding one of its two special eyes had not been a coincidence; it had been done specifically to disorient the creature, and Declan had willingly sacrificed his left arm to make it happen.
His relentless attacks against its neck had served another purpose as well, creating the illusion that he was becoming desperate while simultaneously forcing the creature to focus on defending that single area until, eventually, it felt cornered and used its trump card exactly when Declan wanted it to.
This had been Declan’s first fight, and he had won, but the price had been devastating.
A gaping hole had been punched through his stomach, his left arm was gone, and now his consciousness was rapidly slipping away.
’At least I didn’t go down without a good fight.’
He sneered at himself mockingly as darkness slowly crept across his vision.
Just before everything disappeared...the System panel flashed.
[Congratulations, Host has Completed his First Quest: Kill 1 Nocturnal Beast]
[Rewards:
+100 EXP!
+1 Level Up Card
+1 Ability Upgrade Card]
[EXP: 100/100]
[Host has reached the criteria for leveling up.]
[Leveling will now begin!]