Shadow Blood and Fire

Eli's confrontation with the Umbrathorn was inevitable. On an abandoned planet marked by portals, creatures far more perilous than an intermediate-level beast roamed, and any commotion could beckon them. Fleeing was not an option; it would only invite greater danger.

Observing the crushed Rothsoth, Eli recognized the immense power of the Umbrathorn's claws. His 'Phantom Step' had already drained much of his stamina, and he could muster only one more use of the skill. He had once believed this ability could single-handedly defeat any foe, but its dual demand for energy and stamina proved otherwise.

As the Umbrathorn charged, Eli unleashed two 'Blood Swipes,' now more potent due to his increased strength from leveling up. The attacks, however, were futile against the creature's pincers, which served as a formidable shield.

[–1HP]

[–1HP]

"Cursed pincers, nothing more than a defensive bulwark!" Eli cursed under his breath.

Yet, he was not daunted as he had been during his first encounter with the Rothsoth. With a clear mind, he activated his Advanced battle arts: 'Crimson Paradise.'

[Crimson Paradise activated]

[Stage: Initial]

[Conversion rate: 2 Arcane Energy = 20 Stat points]

This skill was his ace, granting him free stat points without expending energy—merely 2 Arcane Energy for such a powerful effect, with no cooldown or duration limit. It was akin to a converter, amplifying energy output from a reactor. Despite the gravity of his situation, Eli nearly chuckled at his own reasoning; it was indeed a cheat.

With 'Crimson Paradise' engaged, Eli's vision was flooded with tiny red markers indicating the beast's vulnerabilities and optimal movement patterns to exploit. The spots were concentrated around the joints, revealing the beast's exoskeletal nature—its skeleton was external, rendering its armor nearly impenetrable.

Eli knew he had to target these weak points, yet the eyes, glaringly obvious targets, were not an option. Striking there would be suicidal.

[Arcane Energy Conversion added to Agility]

[Agility: 21(+2) = 41(+2)]

With newfound agility, Eli charged, his movements a blur. The Umbrathorn responded, its pincers poised to strike. Eli dodged the first pincer, then the next, his focus unwavering.

Avoiding the Pincers was difficult, but Eli was now in full concentration mode. It was already shocking that the beast could keep up, and he had just a slight edge. Just how fast was this beast? That first attack that killed the Rothsoth—was the beast not even trying to use a fraction of its speed? It took Eli a lot of concentration to refuse to think about how the beast would easily eat him for dinner if he didn't possess the Crimson Paradise advanced arts. 

As the fourth pincer lunged, Eli saw his chance—the beast's defenses were momentarily down. Now was the time to strike.

Then as Eli readied his hand to cast his blood swipe skill, he felt a sharp pain in his back. He glanced upward, catching sight of a sinister tendril linked to his own flesh. Tracing its path, he realized it snaked behind the creature, revealing the beast's treacherous attack.

"A tail… a telson… a freaking stinger that wasn't there before?" Eli gasped in disbelief. The creature, with newfound ferocity, hoisted Eli into the air with its tail and hurled him against the wall with devastating force. He crumpled to the ground, the impact slashing his HP drastically.

[ 13/750 HP ]

Grimacing, Eli surveyed the gaping wound in his abdomen, from which his blood surged in a relentless tide.

[ Critical hit ]

[You have been Poisoned]

[Poison Successful Expelled]

A voluminous cloud of black gas billowed from Eli's body, yet his condition showed no signs of improvement.

[ 12/750 HP]

[ 11/750 HP ]

[ 10/750 HP ]

With each drop of blood that escaped his body, Eli's HP continued it's descent.

Desperate to halt the decline, he fumbled in his pocket and retrieved the last vial of purloined blood he had reserved for emergencies taking it in a single gulp.

Eli's mind, a peculiar entity unto itself, registered neither the injury, the Rothsoth, nor the Umbrathorn as anomalies; to him, they were unsettlingly ordinary.

[You have consumed 20Cl of blood]

[ Daily Quests: Drink 20Cl of blood completed]

[ 300HP Consumed : Emergency healing]

[ 450/750HP]

As the puncture in Eli's stomach began to miraculously mend, sealing itself completely, the Umbrathorn charged with increased frenzy. Eli regained his mobility, and as he faced the beast, he realized the tail had indeed vanished.

"Can it retract its tail into its body and extend it at will? This is going to be troublesome," Eli mused.

Had it not been for the levels he had gained while confined in the container, Eli would have met his demise. The boost in his HP convinced him that the previous blow would have been fatal, even with the pureloined blood coursing through his veins. As the Umbrathorn bore down on him, Eli understood there would be no second chances in this fight.

Hoping to stop it's charge forward, he threw blood swipe after blood swipe.

[Blood Claw Activated]

[–5HP]

[Blood Claw Activated]

[–5HP]

[Blood Claw Activated]

[–5HP]

The beast held up all four of its Pincers and crossed it against its body, protecting it at all times.

[–5HP]

[–5HP]

[–5HP]

Eli damage had increased now that his HP was high and the damage done was the same as the HP he was Losing.

But the beast was powerful and continued to push through despite the blood claw's coming towards it. 

Eli stopped using blood claw seeing that it was useless, He dashed towards the beast and started weaving a tapestry of erratic, incomplete circles around it. Each feint was a calculated deception, baiting the beast to snap its pincers in vain. Eli's fists hammered down on the newly exposed joints, exploiting their vulnerabilities. Unbeknownst to the creature, Eli was subtly guiding its movements, herding it toward the edge of the hangar. The clash of their battle echoed loudly. This showed the potency of Eli's High Tier Advanced arts as the beast's HP dwindled rapidly.

[ –3500 HP]

[ –2000 HP]

[ –2500 HP]

In a moment of evasion, Eli's leg collided with a heap of shattered machinery, causing him to stumble. The beast, seizing the moment, lunged with ferocity. Yet, Eli's lips curled into a sinister grin as he executed a swift 180° pivot, spinning away from the impending danger.

[Arcane Energy Conversion added to Strength]

[Strength: 36(+2) = 56(+2)]

Eli's strike targeted the beast's cluster of eight eyes. Knowing that intermediate beasts possess a degree of intelligence and are highly protective of their vulnerabilities, the creature ducked. However, Eli's fist followed a reverse semi-circular trajectory, connecting with a thunderous impact directly into one of the beast's eyes. The left side of its head burst open, obliterating six eyes in a gruesome spectacle.

"GGAGGGGGAAARRRRRGGGG!

A deafening shriek tore from the beast as torrents of black ichor spewed from its ravaged skull like a broken fountain and a huge damage screen.

[–17500 HP]

[4500/30000HP]

The beast's gaze locked onto Eli, its remaining eyes igniting with a bloodshot fury as it uttered an indecipherable murmur. In the next instant, Eli's world shifted—his vision smeared into a blur. A piercing, inexplicable ringing invaded his skull, paralyzing him. Sight, thought, action—all were stolen from him as his body succumbed to a dizzying weakness, teetering without the slightest shred of balance.

Struggling to advance, Eli endeavored to regain stability, but it was too late—the Umbrathorn loomed ominously before him. Through the haze, he could barely discern the massive pincer descending upon him, striking with lethal precision at the center of his head.

In the following moment, Eli's instincts surged, his muscle memory firing off commands that he willingly obeyed. His vision twisted, revealing a serpentine river looping into itself like an ouroboros, with silvery strands anchoring from beyond the hangar and further still from the structures outside. The intricate web overwhelmed his senses, blurring his vision further and sending throbbing pain through his mind. Familiar with the unfolding chaos, Eli swiftly pinpointed the Umbrathorn's thread in the tapestry of time and severed it.

[ Time Freeze Activated ]

[ – 60 Energy ]

[ Duration: Three Seconds ]

Eli's eyes snapped open, the pincer mere inches from his skull, the Umbrathorn suspended in midair. With the time freeze fleeting, Eli wasted no moment.

[ Phantom Step Activated ]

[ –10 Energy ]

[ –5 Stamina ]

[ Stamina: 2/10 (+2) ]

In an instant, Eli vanished from the Umbrathorn's view, reappearing behind the monstrous entity. He summoned his formidable strength from deep within, channeling it into his clenched fist. With a ground-shaking stomp, he drew back his arm and unleashed the full might of his attack, the hammer's potential realized effortlessly thanks to his additional strength attribute.

"Hammer Strike!"

[ Hammer Activated ]

[ – 30 Energy ]

THUD! SPLAT!

The strike landed with a devastating force on the beast's soft underbelly, tearing through it to create a gaping orifice the size of a human head. The brutal impact left a clear view through the creature.

Moments later, the Umbrathorn crumpled to the ground, lifeless. Eli, drained from the exertion, observed his shattered gauntlets. They had succumbed to the damage inflicted by the Rothsoth's earlier bite, unable to withstand the hammer's formidable blow.

[ Umbrathorn Defeated(Mini boss): +5000 EXP ]

[ First Intermediate Beast Kill: +5000 EXP ]

[ First Umbrathorn Vanquished: +2000 EXP ]

[ Experience Points: 12000/24000 ]

[ You have gained 1 Intermidiate Beast Crystal (Umbrathorn)]

[ Requirement to create an Item (1/3)]

Gazing at the fallen beast, now a source of a vast black pool, Eli's disbelief was palpable.

"This foolish creature… it possessed a Skill," he muttered, a mix of awe and irritation in his tone.

As he looked around the room, he noticed the three egg's still there in the metal pile heap. After waiting a few moments for his stamina to rise back up, he walked up to the Umbrathorn's eggs.

Before the old Eli might have shown compassion and been respectful but the fight he just had, was showing him that even on other planets, the strong ruled.

Now Eli looked at the eggs in the room, as he went forward, he lifted one of the eggs. They were large and about the same size as football. He took a few steps back before lifting it into the air and slamming it into the ground.

Black blood had been splattered all across the floor and a little half-grown Umbrathorn could be seen inside.

[ Umbrathorn Egg killed +1000 EXP ]

[ first Umbrathorn egg kill +2000 EXP ]

[ 15000/24000 EXP ]

To Eli's surprise, the system had counted the egg as a new beast kill so he also received the bonus points for that too.

He then went over to the over two eggs and threw them both to the ground similar to the first one.

[ Umbrathorn egg killed +1000 EXP ]

[ Umbrathorn egg killed +1000 EXP ]

[ 17000/24000 EXP ]

Exhaustion weighed heavily on Eli as he longed for the comfort of home and the soothing embrace of a warm bath. He scrutinized his recent notifications with meticulous care, confirming the absence of the return crystal.

"System, why haven't I received the return crystal? I've just vanquished the mini-boss," he inquired, a mix of confusion and frustration in his voice.

[You have received a Map]

A map? His frustration boiled over, his face flushing a deep shade of crimson. "Are you serious? What use do I have for a map?" Eli's voice echoed with fury, the sentiment resonating in the empty space around him.