The night air still pulsed with tension from an earlier ambush. Again. Ethan was hunted, the further he walked, the more Tartarus Beasts were on the way. But Ethan was coping with the successive attacks.
Ethan wiped beast blood from his blade with a torn piece of cloth, the metallic scent of the battle still sharp in his nostrils. The corpses of three Class I Tartarus Hounds lay scattered among the twisted roots and gnarled trees, their black ichor staining the mossy forest floor.
He exhaled slowly, standing up straight as the soft chime of the system interface echoed in his mind.
[×3 CLASS I TARTARUS BEASTS DEFEATED]
[+45EXP GAINED]
[+15WRATH EARNED]
[CURRENT EXP: 57/300]
[WRATH: 30/30
[WRATH THRESHOLD REACHED, REMAINING WRATH WILL NOT BE ADDED]
Ethan clenched his fists. Still not enough to level up. Every beast he fought pushed him closer to evolution, but the path was slow, brutal. His body ached with every step, and though the bleeding cuts had closed, somehow accelerated by the faint pulses of the Abyssal System's auto-regeneration, his stamina was fading. He proceeded in extracting the Wrath crystals, keeping them in his inventory.
"I need to find shelter," he muttered, turning his gaze toward the dense thickets ahead.
The forest had changed since he entered it. The trees grew taller, their bark twisted, corrupted. An unnatural fog hovered low above the damp soil, and distant howls reminded him the wilds were far from empty.
He pressed on.
Hours passed under the moon's gaze. Ethan followed animal trails, ducking under thorns and climbing ridges slick with moss. His breathing grew heavier. His boots soaked through. Hunger gnawed at his insides, but he had no time to hunt or rest.
Then came the marsh. Another Marsh, Again.
The forest floor sank beneath him with a wet squelch. Black water covered the terrain ahead, reflecting moonlight like a cracked mirror. Trees stood like sentinels, their roots gnarled above the surface. He stepped forward, and immediately the mud clutched his leg like a vice.
"Dammit..."
Still, he moved forward, slower now, blade in hand.
Suddenly, the system flared again.
[WRATH SURGE DETECTED]
[ENEMY APPROACHING – CLASS I TARTARUS BEAST]
[NAME: MARSH CRAWLER – STATUS: AGITATED]
The water rippled.
From beneath the surface, something burst upward.
A lean, amphibious beast with elongated limbs and a translucent belly lunged from the marsh. Its eyes glowed an eerie green, and webbed claws swiped toward Ethan's throat.
"Too slow," Ethan hissed.
He ducked low, pivoting. The Marsh Crawler missed by inches and landed behind him with a guttural shriek. Ethan didn't hesitate.
"ABYSSAL LUNGE!"
A burst of compressed force rocketed him forward. He twisted mid-air and brought his blade down in a diagonal arc across the creature's spine. Flesh tore. Green ichor sprayed.
[WRATH EXPENDED: -8]
[WRATH REMAINING: 22/30]
[COOLDOWN: 8s]
[DAMAGE DEALT: 15%]
[+6WRATH]
[WRATH: 28/30]
The Marsh Crawler thrashed, letting out a bubbling screech. Ethan landed and rolled to avoid a counter-strike. He rose just in time to meet another swipe.
CLANG!
Claws met blade. Ethan's knees bent with the impact.
"I can't waste time."
His fingers curled, and a deep pulse answered within him.
[ABYSSAL CLAWS]
[SKILL ACTIVATED: ABYSSAL CLAWS]
[WRATH COST: 20]
[WRATH REMAINING: 8/30]
[DURATION: 90s | COOLDOWN: 180s]
Black energy surged down his arms. His fingertips extended into spectral claws, dark as the void, humming with wrath. The marsh water around him rippled with the pressure.
The Marsh Crawler hissed.
Ethan lunged again, claws leading.
SLASH. SLASH. SLASH
The beast howled as both its shoulders were torn open, its chest raked by Abyssal power. Green ichor continuously spuwing out]
[CRITICAL DAMAGE: 62%]
[EFFECT: Prolonged bleeding]
[+10WRATH EARNED]
[WRATH 18/30]
"Die already!" Ethan roared.
He drove his claws into the creature's throat and dragged downward. Bone cracked. Flesh split. The Marsh Crawler collapsed, twitched once, then went still.
[MARSH-CRAWLER DEFEATED]
[+20EXP GAINED]
[+5WRATH EARNED]
[CURRENT EXP: 77/300]
[WRATH: 23/30]
He stumbled back, panting. The claws retracted.
The system whispered again.
[WARNING: ENERGY LOW – REST REQUIRED]
Ethan ignored it. He gazed at the body.
"That's another one down tonight... no more surprises."
He limped to higher ground, dragging his tired body from the marsh. There, under the roots of a massive tree, he found a hollow space shielded by moss. He collapsed into it.
His blade rested beside him. The stars were faint through the canopy. Cold bit at his skin.
He didn't care.
He whispered to himself.
"I'll survive. I'll get to the kingdom. And I'll crush anyone who tries to stand in my way."
His eyes closed. In the distance, another howl echoed. The wilds were not done with him yet. Ethan knew that but he needed some rest.
A hissed resounded not far from Ethan's position. Immediately, his eyes fluttered opened, his grip on the blade tightened. He stood to his fast instantly and unsheathed his sword. Ethan rolled from the roots of the tree. He knew the space wasn't enough for a fight.
Taking his stance, he was ready to welcome any beast that comes out for him with a clean slash. The hissing continue...leaves dancing...dry leaves creaking...branches breaking.
[WRATH SURGE DETECTED]
[ENEMY DETECTED–CLASS II TARTARUS BEASTS]
[NAME: CENTIPEDE MARSH-CRAWLER]
A centipede-like beasts emerged from the dark. Snake like movement, dark like midnight, clad in carapace with gleaming blue eyes.
"You won't let me sleep innit? Let's dance then..."
Ethan charged forward, the beast screached and darted forward too. Raising its front body like a cobra ready to strike.
CLANK....
Carapace met metal. Ethan parried the centipede but was sent backward. Pushing his legs to the ground to slow his backward movement.
"Wow... A strong one there...I have slained more than you dude... Can't wait to see the EXP I earned from slaying you"
The beast charged forward and so did Ethan. Clank.. Clank... Clank... Ethan was parying all the centipede's attack with ease. He was using more strength, holding his word's hilt tighter. Though the carapace was hard, it would soon succumb to the blade. Ethan took three steps back, taking his fighting stance, inviting the centipede to attack.
Offended by Ethan's action, the beast's eyes gleamed in furry and rage, then charged at full speed. Spat a mouthfull on green viscous liquid, Ethan side-stepped, dodging and charged forward without waiting anymore seconds. He was fast, but not enough to impress the beast. The beast wagged its tail towards Ethan, he parried and strike, a clean cut on the tail.
The beast screached once more, more in fury than in pain, this ant was nothing easy to deal with. Ethan ran toward a tree, he held one of its branch, dragging in backwards, small crackling could be heard, the branch was close to breaking but then Ethan let go. He didn't waste time and charged forward. The branch hit the centipede hard, it was just a distraction.
Ethan used this to take the beast by surprise.
SLASH. SLASH. SLASH.
Dealing three slash on the Centipede's head before stabbing it in the maw. Dark ichor sprayed all over the place. It was raining on Ethan. Adding to the blood pressure from past fights.
[CENTIPEDE MARSH-CRAWLER DEFEATED]
[+45EXP GAINED]
[+10WRATH EARNED]
[CURRENT EXP: 122/300]
[WRATH: 30/30]
[WRATH THRESHOLD REACHED, REMAINING WRATH NOT ADDED].
He extracted the Wrath Crystal and kept it in his inventory.
"Not that tough... I guess I can have some rest now"