The writhing purple tentacles inside the flower suddenly expanded.
Aiden’s eyes widened upon seeing this...
A dense cloud of pale-pink pollen erupted outward, and the notification for [Pollen Hallucination] flashed across Aiden’s vision.
His pupils contracted as he immediately held his breath, twisting his body to retreat diagonally.
Even so, he inhaled the tiniest trace, and a wave of dizziness struck him almost instantly, his vision blurred, the world swayed, and his balance became unstable.
’Shit!’
The effect was stronger than he expected. Aiden forced his eyes open as Thermal Perception flickered, transforming the battlefield into a distorted sea of heat.
Several untouched vines suddenly seized the opportunity, whipping toward him like venomous lashes.
One vine slammed across his left arm with a sharp crack, its barbed thorns tearing through flesh and ripping open a long, bloody gash. Blood sprayed as an intense burning pain surged through his arm, his Health visibly dropping even as his digitized body faithfully conveyed the agony.
"Fuck!" Aiden grunted, the fierceness in his eyes only intensifying.
Another vine came toward his head, and he barely ducked beneath it, though his movements were slower now, the pollen was affecting his coordination.
Regenerative Reconstruction spread a faint warmth through his injured arm, and the torn flesh began slowly knitting itself together, the bleeding decreasing even as the pain remained.
Aiden’s expression changed slightly as he realized the ability worked even while he was fighting,
’As expected of a passive trait...’ He smiled...
The wound was closing, repairing, and he could feel the energy being consumed to accomplish it.
’It’s using my body’s resources and mana,’ he understood immediately. ’If I keep getting injured like this, I’ll eventually run out of energy.’
That wasn’t a problem he could ignore. Aiden clenched his injured arm and resolved himself.
’Then I just won’t get hit again.’
Ignoring the dizziness and pain, he charged once more.
The Thorn Flower Demon sensed his approach, its vines converging as Aiden’s Thermal Perception activated at full concentration. Heat, movement, muscle contraction, he read the incoming attacks one after another: left, right, above, and below.
His body moved between them with terrifying precision.
A vine swept past his cheek. Another struck the ground beneath him. A third curled around from behind.
Aiden planted his foot, and Adhesive Dominion locked him to the ground, his body abruptly stopping as the vine missed.
Aiden stepped forward, his fist clenched as Kinetic Smash began accumulating. Mana flowed into his arm, bringing the familiar sensation of compressed kinetic energy.
He immediately controlled the output, not too much, just enough, his arm capable of withstanding this amount.
He wouldn’t make the same mistake of testing his physical limits recklessly. His gaze locked onto the concentrated heat beneath the flower.
’There!’
The Thorn Flower Demon suddenly opened its petals, another cloud of pollen beginning to gather.
Aiden’s eyes flashed. "Not happening."
He thrust his palm forward, forming a gun-like shape with his fingers. Pressure Shot activated as mana surged through his arm, rapidly concentrating at his fingertips.
A deafening bang rang out like a gunshot as a compressed burst of highly pressurized force erupted from his fingers, tearing through the air toward the Thorn Flower Demon.
’It consumes way too much mana...’
The thought flashed through Aiden’s mind, but there was no time to dwell on it.
The concentrated burst slammed directly into the flower with a booming impact.
BOOM!
The enormous crimson petals buckled violently under the force, while the forming cloud of pollen was blasted apart and scattered harmlessly into the air.
The Thorn Flower Demon released a shrill scream.
Aiden didn’t waste the opening. His foot dug into the ground as Adhesive Dominion anchored him firmly in place. Titan Strength surged through his legs, flooding his body with explosive power as Kinetic Smash reached its release point.
His fist shot forward.
BOOM!
It smashed into the thick trunk with tremendous force, sending a violent shock through the monster’s body. Cracks spread across the trunk.
Dark-green sap burst from the damaged area as the Thorn Flower Demon reeled backward.
Aiden pressed forward without hesitation. The kitchen knife in his other hand gathered every ounce of his current strength and speed.
Slightly Sharp enhanced the blade. Titan Strength drove his strike. Adhesive Dominion stabilized his footing. Thermal Perception guided his aim.
Every ability worked together seamlessly as the knife transformed into a streak of icy light.
"Break!"
SQUELCH!
The blade plunged deep into the slender stem and dark-green sap burst outward, carrying a pungent, nauseating odor.
"Screeeeee!"
The Thorn Flower Demon released an even more miserable scream as its gigantic body shook violently.
The enormous crimson flower began withering at a speed visible to the naked eye, while the surrounding vines rapidly lost their strength and collapsed limply onto the ground.
But Aiden wasn’t finished. His fingers tightened around the knife and Titan Strength erupted through both arms.
Ignoring the searing pain in his left arm, he gripped the knife with both hands and violently ripped it downward.
SNAP!
The slender stem snapped cleanly in two. The giant flower drooped lifelessly, all of its brilliance fading away.
The massive trunk and countless vines shriveled before rapidly charring into ash.
Moments later, the entire monster dissolved into countless particles of light, far denser than those left behind by ordinary monsters, which slowly scattered into the air.
Aiden remained standing, his chest rising and falling heavily.
The dizziness was already fading. The wound on his left arm had stopped bleeding, and the torn flesh was slowly reconstructing itself.
He lowered his gaze toward his injured arm and flexed his fingers.
’Regeneration is pretty useful.’
His gaze then shifted toward the dissipating particles of light.
A series of crisp notification chimes echoed through his mind.
[Successfully killed Level 3 Elite "Thorn Flower Demon" while under-leveled. Gained 350 Experience Points!]
[Ding! Level Up! You have reached Level 3!]
[Strength +1, Agility +1, Constitution +1, Spirit +1.]
[Reward: 5 Free Attribute Points.]
[Triggered "Greed" effect!]
[Obtained: [Thorn Flower Sting] ×5.]
[Obtained: [Flamboyant Petal] ×3.]
[Elite First Kill Reward Activated!]
[Obtained: [Vinewood Staff] (Uncommon Grade)!]
[Obtained Thorn Flower Demon Soul Trait: Root Entanglement!]
[Obtained: Gold Coins ×10!]
Each notification sounded sweeter than the last. The risks he had taken had paid off handsomely, but it wasn’t over yet.
Just as the exhilaration of leveling up had yet to settle, the familiar dark-gold notification appeared once more.
The Soul Essence absorption effect had triggered and this time, it brought an even greater surprise.
[Soul Essence absorbed! Absorbed from target (Thorn Flower Demon): Intelligence +2!]
A surge of energy, far stronger and purer than any previous Soul Essence absorption, rushed straight into Aiden’s mind.
It felt as though an invisible veil clouding his thoughts had been torn away.
His mind became astonishingly clear.
His senses sharpened, and the world around him seemed more vivid than ever before.
Even the lingering dizziness caused by the pollen hallucination vanished in an instant.
Aiden’s eyes widened slightly.
’So this is what two points of Intelligence feel like...’
The improvement was subtle yet unmistakable.
His thoughts seemed to flow more smoothly. His concentration became sharper, and even the slightest details in his surroundings appeared easier to process.
More importantly, these two points of Intelligence hadn’t come from leveling up.
They had been directly extracted from the soul of an elite monster.
Aiden’s gaze fell toward the handful of items shimmering on the ground where the Thorn Flower Demon had fallen.
Even with his usual composure, his breathing couldn’t help but quicken.
There was quite a haul.
Without delay, he allocated his five free attribute points. Three into Strength and two into Agility.
The moment he confirmed his choices, another wave of power surged through his body.
His muscles strengthened, his physical power increased, and his movements felt even lighter and more responsive than before.
Aiden clenched his fists, feeling the newfound strength coursing through his body. ’Not bad.’
Only then did he step forward to collect his spoils.