An itching sensation in his teeth made him want to bite even more enemies.
"Grrrraaaah…"
Eren once again bit the throat of a hound that managed to get close to him.
Snap!
The soft skin of its throat was easily torn apart by his bite force, and warm liquid entered his mouth.
The smell was unpleasant, but the taste itself wasn't bad at all.
"Rrrrhhh—!"
Eren flung the corpse from his jaws toward the next hound and unleashed his [Moonrend Claw] on another.
Rrrip!
Flesh tore apart as blood splattered everywhere.
The slaughter continued.
Since the tunnel he chose was narrow and allowed only three hounds at the front at a time, he was able to overwhelm them with ease.
Biting, tearing, and slamming sounds echoed through the tunnel as countless system messages filled his head.
The first six enemies were slain.
After that, another three.
Then another three.
And another three.
The longer the fight continued, the more Eren realized,
'I was wrong…'
Previously, he had tried to suppress this beastly instinct, only to fail miserably.
But now, he began to fully embrace the instinctual habits of combat.
He remembered how his spiritual sense had gone out of control when he tried to forcefully restrain it in a single direction, yet became stable when he allowed it to flow naturally across multiple focuses.
'Don't focus on control… focus on the process…'
Eren's claws struck with greater precision.
The timing of his bites became even more refined.
All of his senses started to synchronize as one.
His ears twitched in every direction, catching every subtle movement of his enemies.
When the onslaught of hounds finally stopped, only three hounds remained, along with the Duskmire Tracker standing at the back.
"Grrrrrr…"
The Duskmire Tracker stood petrified as Eren let out a low roar.
Its body trembling as it watched the silver wolf walk toward it, blue eyes locked onto its form while blood dripped from Eren's mouth.
"GRAAAR!"
It ordered the remaining hounds to attack before turning to flee.
But in Eren's eyes, all of its movements were too slow.
In the very next moment, Eren's claw, covered in intense blue light, tore through its body in a single fluid motion.
Even Eren himself couldn't fully follow his own movement.
It felt as if his eyes closed on their own when something was thrown at him.
An instinctual response.
The instinct of a beast naturally born to fight.
Eren had never trained himself to battle like this.
No one could train to fight like this.
Because it wasn't meant for humans.
It was meant for beasts born to hunt.
[You have slain Level 7 Duskmire Tracker…]
[Gained 25 Life Essence and Duskmire Bone Shard ×1…]
[Random Reward Multiplier triggered…]
[Random number: 106…]
[You gained 2,650 Life Essence and Duskmire Bone Shard ×106…]
"Khrrr—rrr—!"
Three more notifications followed as the remaining Gloomfang Hounds were slain.
But Eren looked disappointed as he watched the corpses of the monsters vanish into thin air.
'I need more… I have to hunt more monsters to understand how this beast form fights…'
His mind didn't focus on the system messages at all.
All of his attention shifted toward understanding his own strength.
Spotting another group moving in his direction, he immediately ran toward them without wasting a moment.
Eren felt like he was finally beginning to understand how he should fight.
No more hiding.
No more hesitation.
He appeared directly before the group of hounds.
Eren himself didn't notice that his presence was slowly changing.
It wasn't about an increase in power, it was a shift in aura.
A predatory feeling.
The four hounds were immediately scared stiff as the snow-white silver wolf with a terrifying presence charged toward them.
"AWRRROOOOOO—!"
They let out an immediate howl to alert nearby allies, but their bodies were torn and bitten apart before help could arrive.
Eren sensed many presences gathering in one location and slowly moving toward him.
Instead of waiting like before, he moved toward them.
Just like earlier, another group of hounds led by a Duskmire Tracker stood before him.
No time was wasted.
He launched himself high into the air with a powerful leap and smashed two hounds into the ground, killing them instantly.
"Grrrraaaah…"
"Rrrrhhh—!"
"Khrrr—rrr—!"
"RAH!"
"GRAAAR!"
"KHRAAA!"
Unlike the narrow tunnel, this time Eren was surrounded from all sides.
But without hesitation, he began attacking, completely abandoning the defensive strategy he had used earlier.
Some hounds were torn apart by his claws.
Some had their necks bitten and snapped.
Others were crushed under heavy blows.
It wasn't only Eren attacking.
Some of the hounds managed to bite his hind legs.
Eren felt nothing more than a poking sensation against his skin.
His Constitution was off the charts, even higher than his Strength and Agility.
Defense, resistance, health, and stamina were all directly tied to Constitution.
Their corrosion effect was completely useless against his hide, leaving behind only shallow scratches before they were slammed into the ground and killed.
"AWRRROOOOOO—!"
The Duskmire Tracker watching from the sidelines panicked and let out a loud howl, calling for reinforcements.
Eren sensed more presences gathering in the distance, but he didn't care.
He continued slaughtering, trying to understand his beastly instincts more thoroughly.
His senses sharpened further.
In the middle of the chaos, a Duskmire Tracker sneaked in and tried to bite one of his limbs.
Eren swatted it aside with a single claw strike.
It died after letting out a pathetic cry.
Eren pushed deeper into the dungeon, seeking more battle.
He could feel his heart pounding rhythmically in excitement.
'I want more…'
Despite his eagerness, he began to feel a faint itching sensation across his body as bruises accumulated from constant bites.
[Minor Lunar Benediction]
He activated his healing skill for the first time.
A bright light, resembling concentrated moonlight, spread across his body as he continued running through the tunnels.
With a soft hissing sound, the minor injuries vanished instantly.
His fur and skin were restored to pristine condition.
Even the slight fatigue he felt disappeared as a warm yet cool sensation flowed through him.
As he approached the gathering deeper within the dungeon, he noticed something strange.
The number of hounds assembled there far exceeded his expectations.
More than fifty hounds.
Three Duskmire Trackers.
And a new type of wolf-like creature.
[Nightmaw Ravager Lv.9
Strength: 12
Agility: 13
Spirit: 9
Constitution: 13
Beast Skills: [Dreadful Howl Lv.9] [Rotfang Bite Lv.9] [Shadowrend Claws Lv.7] [Pack Domination Lv.5]
Pack Domination Lv.5: Exerts overwhelming authority over all hound-type beasts within a 200-meter radius. Grants a 20% boost in Agility and coordination under its command.
Additional Effect: Hounds under its command will not retreat until death. Completely immune to fear.]
It was a heavily built hound, nearly two meters tall, more than half a meter taller than Eren's current form.
Armor-like hide covered its shoulders.
Its jaw was much wider, revealing sharp, threatening fangs, while purple saliva constantly dripped from its mouth.
Even after seeing so many red-eyed beasts surrounding him, Eren didn't feel threatened at all.
'Huh… It seems the fight has escalated to the next level…'