Chapter 7: Stonescale Whark!
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Blood.
Flesh.
Death.
They lingered on the currents.
Wharks of Tier 2, 3, and even 4 clashed in a violent, chaotic brawl.
Carcasses floated lifelessly, their gaping maws frozen in death, while others fought on, tearing into one another with mindless brutality.
I licked my lips.
My gaze swept across the battlefield, searching for a worthy opponent.
Then, my eyes locked onto something massive.
A colossal Whark, its body layered in thick, jagged stones, loomed above the carnage.
Twenty meters.
It wasn't just its size that made it terrifying.
The presence it exuded was overwhelming, suffocating, unlike anything a mere Stage 0 creature should be able to endure.
Its eyes glowed with an eerie, earthy hue as it observed the battle beneath it, indifferent.
Unbothered.
I exhaled sharply, suppressing the hunger rising within me.
I could feel it in my bones.
I was stronger than that thing.
Perhaps… perhaps I could devour it.
My jaw clenched as I whispered my mantra in my mind.
Be calm like water.
Be kind like a priest.
By doing so, I shall remain who I am.
Again.
Be calm like water.
Be kind like a priest.
By doing so, I shall remain who I am.
My mind calmed.
All unnecessary thoughts vanished.
And then, I moved.
Like a shadow of death, I shot downward, my fangs sinking into an unsuspecting Whark.
It didn't even make a sound before it vanished from its position.
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[You have slain.]
• A Stage 0 Tier 2 Level 4 [Whark.]
[You have gained 400 EXP.]
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Then again.
My body surged into another unsuspecting Whark and tackled it, crushing its skull.
A hologram appeared yet again.
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[You have slain.]
• A Stage 0 Tier 2 Level 5 [Whark.]
[You have gained 450 EXP.]
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I glanced upward as a grin crept across my face.
Hunting under these conditions... it's the easiest, yet most cowardly method.
Slowly, I repositioned myself, scanning the battlefield.
I charged again.
My maw clamped around another unsuspecting Whark, just as it was about to enter the fray.
Then came the hologram hovering.
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[You have slain.]
• A Stage 0 Tier 2 Level 6 [Whark.]
[You have gained 500 EXP.]
[You have gained a level.]
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The hunt was successful.
But the problem was efficiency.
I had to wait minutes, find an opening, and ambush either an unsuspecting Whark or an injured one.
This won't do.
At this rate, even reaching Tier 3 might take hours, or days.
I gurgled a massive volume of water deep in my throat...
Then opened my maw.
And let out a bone-chilling howl.
WOOOAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
The battlefield froze.
Every Whark, hundreds of them, turned their attention toward me.
And then, as if answering my challenge, they howled back.
Good.
I grinned, surging upward just as they swarmed me.
They charged.
Fangs clamped down, sinking into my scales, but not deeply enough.
Their strength wasn't enough to tear my flesh.
Their efforts were futile.
My vision darkened as they piled over me, gnashing, thrashing, suffocating.
I bashed my body against theirs, biting and tearing, as holograms after holograms flooded my vision.
But they didn't stop.
They clung to me like starved parasites, jaws locking onto my flesh, their weight pressing down like an ocean of death.
I howled.
RRAAAAAGHHHHH!!
Thrashing violently.
More came, replacing the ones I had just killed.
My stamina dropped.
My health reduced.
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[Health: 40/59]
[Stamina: 35/59]
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Damn it.
Was it reckless to provoke them all at once?
Of course.
But every Whark I killed brought more experience.
And I leveled again.
And again.
I didn't know how much time had passed.
Minutes?
Hours?
Days?
It didn't matter.
I had slain half of them.
Yet they kept coming.
Tearing into me.
Ripping into my flesh.
Rage burned in my chest.
You think a swarm of cowardly nips will bring me down?
I laughed bitterly.
Why did these cowards, didn't attack the massive one above?
But… I was in no position to judge.
I had been one of them.
Just like in my past life.
I had ignored it.
Endured it.
Like a coward.
Damn it!
My blood boiled.
My movements became explosive, fueled by rage.
The Wharks trembled as I thrashed like a bull, ripping and tearing, jaws snapping in every direction.
How dare they bury me like I was already dead?!
My jaw ached.
My body screamed in agony.
Thousands of needle-like fangs pierced my flesh.
I didn't care.
I continued.
They couldn't take me down.
Time blurred.
Exhaustion clawed at me.
But I refused to stop.
To rest was to die.
I couldn't die.
Not yet.
I needed more power.
I needed more.
My movements slowed.
The Wharks' growls grew louder as they tore into me.
Was this hell?
Yes.
But it wasn't mine.
My blood boiled once more.
My movements turned erratic.
And then, like a beast unleashed.
I let go.
I no longer cared.
Like a rabid animal, I bit and tore into flesh, jaws snapping wildly.
Holograms blinked across my vision, but I ignored them.
My grin widened.
I enjoyed this.
Why should I fear death?
I'd already died once.
If I died again, so what?
A third time?
A fourth?
As long as I enjoyed it, what did it matter?
The Wharks grew frantic.
They sensed it now.
Something was wrong.
And they were right.
I broke free.
Their eyes widened.
Their tails flapped in panic.
They scattered.
Running.
From me.
And then.
A shadow loomed overhead.
Massive.
Suffocating.
The bastard had finally moved.
I gulped.
Damn it.
I glanced at my status.
A grin tugged at my lips.
This should do it I guess.
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[Health: 25/59]
[Stamina: 15/59]
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Slowly, I turned.
My eyes locked onto the bastard.
It snorted.
And then, it vanished.
BOOM!!!
PAIN.
It exploded through my side as my body flew across the currents and slammed into a mountain peak.
My vision blurred.
Through the haze, I saw it.
The stone encrusted behemoth.
Its massive maw stretched wide in a silent challenge.
It was toying with me.
Arrogant.
It thought it had won.
Rage reignited in my chest.
I bashed into it with everything I had, knocking it off balance.
Before it could recover, I lunged.
My fangs sank past its armor into its raw flesh.
It howled.
It thrashed, charging into a nearby peak.
I smirked.
I waited.
And waited.
Then.
NOW!
I released my grip.
My body rolled across the current as its fat body crashed into stone.
CRASH!!!
Cracks spiderwebbed across the peak from the impact.
A cloud of sand and debris burst into the currents, obscuring everything.
I grinned.
Without hesitation, I surged into the fog.
BOOM!!!
My body slammed into it.
The cracks deepened.
It howled again, the force rippling through its massive frame.
But before I could bite, it thrashed.
CRACK!
Its tail struck my ribs.
I spiraled back, tail flapping to steady myself.
I couldn't stop the wide grin on my face.
It was weaker than me.
The only issue?
Its sheer size.
Triple my length.
Triple my weight.
Fine.
I howled, spinning through the currents.
It smirked.
Then.
It vanished.
Damn!
CRASH!!!
It slammed into me from above.
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[Health: 18/59]
[Stamina: 12/59]
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Blood pooled in my mouth.
I spat.
Snarled.
Then.
It bolted forward again.
Its maw opened wide.
I made my decision.
If this failed, so be it.
Its jaws snapped shut.
But I had already maneuvered and shifted my body from the last second.
My maw had already dug deep into its fin.
Hard.
CRUNCH!
Blood and stone filled my mouth.
I flapped my tail, ripping its left fin apart.
It shrieked, spiraling downward.
CRASH!
Its body was skewered on jagged rocks.
Helpless.
It had tried to reverse the situation at the last moment.
Pathetic.
I was Alister.
Once a human.
Once a genius.
Now?
A beast.
A predator.
A grin stretched across my face.
With a final, powerful thrust, I dove.
Twisted.
BOOOOOM!
My body pressed it deeper into the seabed.
A tremor shook the currents.
It cried out, but I didn't stop.
My jaws clamped down through the cracks in its hide.
Flesh.
Blood.
I devoured it.
The Whark thrashed.
I didn't care.
This was the law of the wild.
The strong devour the weak.
Just like they devoured me in my past life.
Even as a Swordmaster, I was nothing but a stepping stone.
But this world...
Strength ruled.
And I would become stronger.
For my pride.
My will.
My freedom.
I tore deeper.
Bones cracked.
Pain flared.
Fangs broke, regenerated, again and again.
I was becoming something greater.
A true apex predator of Stage 0.
Once my stats reached 1.00...
Not even Stage 1s monster could defeat me, unless Titled Beings were my opponent, none could stand before me.
This bastard's vitality was absurd.
Any other would've died long ago.
But it was done.
Trapped.
Devoured.
Hours passed.
Until finally.
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[You have slain.]
• A Stage 0 Tier 1 [Whark.] x53
• A Stage 0 Tier 2 [Whark.] x32
• A Stage 0 Tier 2 [Whark.] x12
• A Stage 0 Tier 2 [Whark.] x6
[You have gained 47,900 EXP.]
[You have slain.]
• A Stage 1 Tier 2 Level 5 [★Stonescale Whark.]
[You have gained 10,200 EXP.]
[You have gained a level.] x7
• Level +7
• Health +7
• Stamina +7
• Physique +0.07
[You have achieved an unfathomable feat.]
[You have gained the title:]
• Predator of the Impossible
[Your level has reached its maximum limits.]
[You may now ascend.]
[Yes] / [No]
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