I had to make a decision, and fast. Much as I loathed these vile creepers, was I truly about to hurl myself headlong into a death wish against a higher stage beast? Normally, not a bloody chance! I was quite content where I was, thank you very much. Plenty of monsters my own level to deal with, and they usually fell with the grace of a colpsing deckchair. Simple stuff.

  At least, that’s how I felt. But right now? Well, things weren’t exactly normal, were they? The hideous thing in front of me was already half-done for, leaking foul-smelling ichor from its tattered flesh, limping like an injured dog. The real question wasn’t whether I’d go for it, but how I’d go for it. A pn began to brew as I eyed that gaping wound. My eyes flicked to the forest surroundings.

  Yes, this could work. And if it all went pear-shaped, I could always bolt—there’s no way the lumbering lump of meat could give chase in its sorry state.

  One look at my stats told me I had 13 mana left out of 15. Should be enough. I quickly funneled four points into my fire gnd, filling it up nicely. Four shots of fme, just enough. Fmethrower was by far my most potent weapon—likely because my fire gnd had hit tier three. My gaze locked on to the torn flesh on the creature’s side. Perfect. I just needed to get a little closer… a bit more…

  NOW!

  The instant it stepped within range, I let loose a searing torrent of fme, aiming directly for its festering wound. The fire snaked its way inside, scorching its guts from within. HAH! The beast howled, thrashing wildly, its one intact tentacle whipping about like a maddened snake. Then, its eyeless, gruesome face swivelled towards me, mouth agape with rows of gnashing, gleaming teeth.

  Welp, that might’ve been a mistake. Note to self: there should be a monster manual rule—never make eye contact with something that spits fire.

  Gah! HAVE ANOTHER FLAMETHROWER, YOU FILTHY SACK OF DISEASE! The beast shrieked as the fmes poured from my maw. Despite its injuries, the bastard darted sideways with a surprising burst of agility. I’ll give it that, it had some nerve. But my fire wasn’t that easy to shake off. Fmethrower instinctively guided me to the right angle, and I leapt back, maintaining the fiery onsught, now roasting another one of its festering wounds.

  With its face and mouth charred, flesh hanging in tatters, it was well on its way to having the worst day of its miserable life. Good riddance. I’ve always hated its kind.

  I kept the inferno going, each precious drop of mana extending the torrent of fmes by nearly five seconds. Doesn’t sound like much, but in the heat of battle, those seconds are golden. Four charges meant I could keep this up for close to 20 seconds—plenty of time to turn the wretched thing into a walking bonfire. If I wanted, I could even cut one stream short and bank the remaining seconds for ter. Yes, I’d been crunching the numbers on this little trick since the day I got it.

  So, there I was, on my third charge when the beast finally figured out who was cooking it alive. Tough thing, of course, it was stage 4 for a reason. And, of course, it charged straight at me. Typical. I wasn’t even remotely surprised. A quick burst of Quick Dash—three in a row—and I was out of its path in moments. The hulking brute pounced where I’d been, cws shredding the ndscape like some unholy blender. Great holy Thador! If I’d been a second slower, I’d have been reduced to bloody ribbons. What happened to being an ambush predator? That swipe had enough force to cleave through a house!

  Focus, Jade, focus. No getting cocky. Charging three more mana points into my fire gnd, I primed another round of fiery torment for this abomination. It looked around, its eyeless face searching the forest before locking onto me again. I braced for another charge, but… nothing. It hesitated. And then, just like that, it slunk back and—poof—vanished.

  …

  Oh…

  oh-ho-ho.

  Hehehehehe.

  HAHAHAHAHA!

  Oh, what a joke! These sneaky little shits, always thinking their cheap illusion tricks can outsmart me. Of course it had magic—it’s what happens when these things evolve. Perfect sense for an ambush predator. But here’s the thing—those pesky hues in my vision? Ahh, they were singing, showing me exactly where this creature wasn't. The hues avoided it like the pgue, giving away its position. Not today, you sneaky bastard.

  Its stealth was impressive, I’ll admit. It circled behind the trees, a blur of movement where the hues wouldn’t touch. But I’d already lined up my next move—fmethrower ready, and I let rip, channeling a stream of fire straight at the creature’s nasty mug. Hello, disgusting thing. Care for a roast?

  To its credit, it must’ve guessed I was onto it, judging by the tilt of my head. It broke stealth and darted sideways, but the fmes were relentless. If it hadn’t been so grievously injured, it might’ve dodged entirely. But no, its movements were sluggish, its body refusing to cooperate. Good. That was all I needed to see—my confidence spiked. Its fancy illusion magic was utterly useless against me now, and I had a few more tricks up my sleeve. My wings itched with anticipation, but I wasn’t ready to use them just yet. No, flight would stay tucked away, my trump card.

  Another round of Quick Dashes and I was off, putting some much-needed distance between us, just enough to line up another fiery barrage. The beast, clever sod, dodged right, but my fmes were relentless, searing into its already scorched, torn flesh. It was having a truly dreadful day.

  I kept moving, the wretched creature frantically scrabbling, trying to close the gap out of sheer desperation. One swipe from those cws, and I'd be minced meat—and it bloody well knew it. Yet, despite all the damage, it still had the nerve to craft a cunning little pn. These creepers—fearsome lineage, indeed.

  And slyly, it was closing in. Bit by bit. Tree behind me. Oh, bloody hell. The creeper lunged, legs moving before I could even think. Quick Dash shot me sideways, just in time to dodge its gleaming cws. But the tree? Oh, that poor bastard got shredded to splinters. Came down with a crash.

  It growled, absolutely refusing to let me make another inch of space. I'd have loved to fly off, but let’s be honest, I’m leagues more nimble on the ground. If it jumped with that same mad haste, I knew I was in deep trouble.

  FOCUS, YOU FOOL!

  Fire gnd fully charged—three more points spent, three more left. Right, fmethrower’s the ticket. I locked on. The creeper wasn't slowing, its ferocious momentum mounting with every relentless swipe. Another downward arc of cws from the right—head left, Quick Dash, more distance, rinse, repeat. But there it was, another cw right on me.

  Bollocks! It was reading me like a book. And with those monstrous limbs, it was set to catch me good and proper. Quick Dash has a one-second cooldown, and I didn’t have time to faff about.

  But no panic. It was expecting me to dodge. So, why not give it a little twist?

  When its cws came, I dodged, Quick Dash again—only this time, I didn't go sideways. I shot straight forward.

  It angled its grotesque head, clearly baffled as I appeared right in front of its disgusting, eyeless mug.

  [Echo Cw].

  My cw connected with its face, shredding its burnt maw as a scream tore through the air. The echo deepened the gash, ripping its mouth clean in half. It toppled sideways, bellowing in agony. But before it could even blink, I was gone—thanks to a flurry of Quick Dashes, far out of range.

  Just in time too. A massive tentacle smmed into the ground where I'd been a moment earlier, gouging the earth. Blimey, that thing was sharp. If I’d been a second slower, I’d be skewered for sure.

  But now the brute was down, my chance had come. It wouldn't be pouncing at me again, not this time! I let my wings unfurl, soaring to the treetops, before unleashing another blistering inferno straight above its thick skull. And, for good measure, I aimed a fresh bst at its already mangled gut. BURN, YOU VILE CREATURE!

  [Fmethrower has reached level 3]

  Oh, smashing, right on time!

  The beast bellowed in torment, thrashing on the ground, desperate to rid itself of the fire's relentless fury. But no, it wouldn’t be wriggling free. I held the fmes steady, the second wave of scorching fury in full swing. And for good measure—third charge engaged. It made a pathetic attempt to flee, but the creature was spent, colpsing in a heap. HELL YES! I snarled, letting loose yet another torrent, fmes greedily consuming the beast.

  What I didn’t expect, though, was the glint of another cw cutting through the fmes. Wait.. what in the bloody hell...? How… My brain went into overdrive as I desperately swerved. No Quick Dash in mid-air, though. The damn thing feigned its own colpse to lure me in. Clever piece of shite.

  Too te to think now—one of its cws raked through my stomach. Felt my scales harden, but that wasn’t enough. The cws tore through them like parchment, and I screamed as the sheer force of the blow hurled me sideways. I crashed into the trees with a bone-rattling thud.

  Vision swam, but the pain and pure adrenaline yanked me back to reality. Gritting my teeth, I knew this thing was suffering worse than I was. A mere ssh wouldn’t take me down. Struggling, I rose onto my cws, eyes locked on its crippled form. Through the trees, it crawled—desperate, broken, but still clinging to some idiotic hope of survival.

  Not today.

  Hatred burned hot inside me as I lunged. Quick Dashes carried me closer, cws humming with power as I charged them with every st drop of stamina. I sshed through its legs first, each swipe leaving deep, vicious gashes, with the echoes following and digging deeper still. Let’s see how it pns to lunge with no legs. It howled, thrashing as it tried to drag itself away, but I was having none of it. A tentacle shed out—big mistake. With teeth bared, I cmped down, hard.

  [Spectral Crunch]

  Already wounded, was it? Well, I bit down on the same spot, and Spectral Crunch tore into the injury, ripping it wide open. The beast went limp, and I could taste the moment it knew—this was the end. But no, I wasn’t done yet.

  Its pitiful howls filled the air as I shed out with more Echo Cws, vicious, wild strikes hammering at its limbs. Each blow targeted joints, locking it down, stripping away any hope of escape. The burns from the relentless fmethrowers, the damage I’d already done—it all piled up. It staggered, trying to rise on its hind legs, but NOT ON MY BLOODY WATCH!

  I bit down again, cws shredding wildly, sapping my stamina but widening its wounds. Its fight ebbed away, crumbling beneath me. But I didn’t stop. Didn’t falter. Cw. Bite. Cw. Bite. Cw. Bite.

  I ripped it apart, tearing chunk after chunk, until bones gleamed through the carnage. Even then, I didn’t stop. I shredded it to pieces, and only when that familiar chime rang in my mind did I finally relent.

  [You have sin a Level 24 Umbrocephalus Rapax Carnifex (IV).][Experience Points acquired.][Level increased.][Level increased.][Level increased.][Skill point(s) obtained: +3.]

  Took me a while to settle my frenzy. I gnced down at myself—drenched in that foul bck ichor, properly looking like something out of a nightmare. Before I could even think, it surged up my throat, and I unleashed a ROAR of triumph. Loud, proud...and then cut short by a sharp twinge of pain in my sides.

  Adrenaline fading, I had a good look at the state I was in—one hind leg feeling numb, a nice, deep set of cw marks running down my fnk. Not exactly the clean hunt I was hoping for.

  Still, the victory buzzed through me. Ha! I’d bested the damned thing! Even though it nearly had me in those final moments. Bloody menace it was, even after I’d burned it to crisp. I had one charge of fmethrower left, but when I gnced at my stats, I was knackered. 3 mana? 2 stamina? You’ve got to be joking!

  Even time wasn’t on my side. Actually... still isn’t. It reminded me I hadn’t used that stamina surge from the Macro-Trophic Sac upgrade yet. Focused on it, and just like that, a fresh burst of energy. Stat screen showed stamina bumped to a modest 7 points.

  Decent. But more important matters—healing and rest. Luckily, with the sac offering both stamina and healing through consumption, the answer was staring me right in the face.

  So, without any more hesitation, I bared my fangs and dug in.

  Mangowo