The New World

8 Living Mana

Another mind crawled towards mine, feeble and fleeting. Jerking my hands back, I gripped my palm that touched the mana. This blot of mana was alive. Not giving me time to think, the BloodHollow Golem crashed through the field of mana before slamming formed fists at me. I rolled sideways, bits of stone pattering on my skin.

I charged forward and smashed a blow into its thigh boulder. A powder dusted off my fist before the golem slammed its fist into my shoulder. Bone cracked. My vision blurred. I flopped through the air, bruises forming where I tumbled. The golem pulled its boulders from its body, engorging its arms with pebbles and boulders. Like swinging whips, the earthen thrall slammed its elongated arms at me. I dodged several strikes, but the attacks never ceased. Two or three blows skimmed me before the golem turned a full circle. Its arm dragged behind it before it reached me.

I braced for impact. A deafening echo sounded from my shoulder, and I slid on my feet. I stayed standing after the blow, pieces of stone falling from my shoulder. It pulled its arm back, but I kept a piece of it in my hand. I smashed against the cavern floor before shouting,

"Is that all you've got?"

The golem raised its arm back and lobbed another heavy strike. It whipped past my face as I darted forward. The golem's arm smashed the rock behind me as I pressed my heels into the ground and planted my feet. I clasped my hands, turning them into clubs. I torqued my body for momentum, smashing my fists into the golem's side.

My bones bent, and my flesh sheared. I snapped another blow into the monster before its arm crashed into the side of my face. Blood poured from my forehead, and I grimaced. I smashed another blow into its side before it crashed another hit into my chest. My shoes rubbed on stone as I dragged back.

It tried again, but I blocked its strike with crossed arms. It pulled back, but I closed the gap while growling,

"Come on Golem. We've just started."

I ducked under a blow with my fist dragging behind me. With a whipping hook, I crushed my fist into its side. A sharp, cracking boom resonated through the cavern. A set of bats flew away, terrified of the fight. My body held on as we traded blows for minutes at a time.

Agony burnt the creature's stone body, melting the rock to jelly. Scrapes on the boulders turned to cracks that turned to cleaved slabs as we fought. The massive health pool of the golem waned over time, but mine did not. Time passed, and I got a grip on its style of combat. I evaded more of its strikes, finding opportunities to hit the monster.

In the last moments of the battle, I ducked under a quick slice of stone and countered with a hook. Another blow missed me as I tilted my torso. I countered again. I weaved in counter after counter, its hits predictable until chunks of its center fell apart. More like fighting a mountain than a monster, I tore it apart with my granite fists and Agony's aura once it stopped moving.

When the golem died, I almost felt sorry for the poor thing. Almost.

Level gained! Two level ups!

I put both points into constitution before checking out my attribute screen closely.

Level 52 Attribute Menu

I tilted my head at the screen, the menu changing from the last time I saw it. I guess a reality warping status screen changing its formatting wasn’t exactly too surprising. Either way, my attributes beefed up since investing into the perks. Those cascading gains resulted in attribute totals that exceeded my level.

Keeping that in mind, I checked out my character screen. The numbers amazed me.

Daniel Hillside | Character Screen

Debuffs - Agony(430 hp lost/min)

Compared with when I started, I improved my toughness forty times over. Agony burned down hp like nobody's business, and my stamina regen was effectively infinite. For now, at least. The willpower and constitution bonuses to Agony made the skill a terror to deal with too. By level fifty five, I’d be able to finish the Determinator tree and get the last perk for constitution.

With my status checked, I moved back towards the golem's remains. Besides stubborn rubble and fine ash, a glowing core remained. The orb swirled with stormy energies, tiny clouds whirling on its glassy surface. Schema identified it.

Golem Core - Contains remnants of the mana required for summoning the golem. Can be used for many useful recipes or enchantments.

I pocketed the tiny, glowing orb before turning back towards the writhing cloud of mana. I neared the wall of heavy air before placing my palm back onto the surface. The pieces of a mind shouted and wailed,

"Do not. Kill. Me. Beg. Stop."

I pulled my hand from it, the primordial consciousness giving me an eerie feeling. With a piece of my will, I told the fragmented mind to calm down. The fluctuating voices silenced. A message appeared.

A cloud of mana has offered to inhabit a container of yours. You are given a choice: store the cloud in the golem's core, or allow it to live within your own mana. Warning: Co-inhabitation of mana may lead to corruption. You may absorb the cloud's mana from the core at any point.

Wanting to avoid the ‘corruption’ at all costs, I put the cloud of mana into the golem's core without a second thought. I hoped it would become useful later. The pool of gray water dimmed until only my little blue sacks of cyan water kept the cave lit, though the water remained. After washing myself in the dark pool, I trekked back out into the cave’s depths.

The bats increased in volume, but I dispatched them with mechanical proficiency. I couldn't avoid killing them even if I tried. I found myself daydreaming as I fought them, the motions of murder practiced till they required no effort anymore. As I jogged forward, an hour passed of further monotony.

I was so tired of the cave, the endless walls of stone, all of it. Another pool appeared with living mana. I thanked the change in scenery, and when I approached, water rose from the pool of gray. Ice formed in massive chunks, even larger than the last one. They came together, forming a moving glacier.

BloodIce Golem | Level 95 - A golem made of crystalized mana and ice, bound with blood. Can use long range ice spears, a chilling debuff in melee range, and can freeze targets. A very powerful and dangerous foe.

By now, fear didn’t flavor my mindset much. I wanted a change, even if it was dangerous, so I pounded my fists together before charging forward. Above the golem, water spiraled into spears. The golem lobbed them at me with large sweeps of its arms. They shot forward like glass bullets.

I bent backwards, dodging the first, but two others stabbed into my foot and through my shin. Like kicking a glass table, the pain shot through my legs, electric and vibrant. I raised my fist and smashed one ice spear. I grimaced before smashing the one through my foot. I ducked sideways, dodging another lance.

I gritted my teeth. Running in wasn’t the best idea. I pulled my feet and shins from the shattered ice spears. As I did, a chilling crack and sickening suck sounded from my wounds. The mana wall around the golem rippled in response. I couldn’t tell why.

Another spear shot forward, I weaved sideways, more a wild reaction than timed dodge. Shutting Agony down, I let my regeneration begin. Another lance of ice came, and I dove onto the floor. My right leg gave out as I did, making me roll more than I intended. Magical ice pierced rock behind me as I did.

The beast of ice and malice spiraled, its form composing more ice to fire at me. Having a few seconds, I got a handle on the situation. Closing the distance required avoiding the lances. Once I got close, it looked far more frail than the last golem.

With that plan in motion, the crystallizing water popped and crackled in the distance. My legs healed before the golem lifted a spindly arm. It rotated, a thin javelin crossing towards me. I rolled sideways as the ice flashed into the rock beside me. I tried sprinting, finding my leg still giving out.

I cursed before limping behind a boulder. Ice clashed against the rock. A cool mist of ice sprayed over me in an oncoming wave. Another deafening crack and another gust of icy mist followed. This boulder served as a defence.

The golem's stomps echoed through the cavern, their volume growing with each step. A few more seconds passed, and my leg skin wrapped back around my leg. Times like that made my new body feel like it wasn’t mine. Waiting until the footsteps stopped, I charged out of the boulder before rolling forward.

Brittle cracking resonated throughout the cavern and a shard whistled over my head. I stood back up, finding the ice golem forming a swarm of needles. Panicking, I bolted behind another rock. A rain of sharpened spines impaled the stone instead of me. A shrill howl filled the air before another blob of ice tore into the stone behind me.

A sharp explosion boomed from behind, the colossal boulder cracking in two. I whipped around the crags and sprinted at the golem. When I got within ten feet, a wave of cold chilled me down to my core. I pressed through the frigid temperature before ducking beneath a swing of the frozen thrall.

I reached it. Pushing up with my heels and digging them into the ground, I wailed at the beast. I snapped two quick punches into the monster before it formed an icy mallet over my head. I pivoted sideways as the maul crushed where I once stood.

My right arm dragged behind me as I lunged forward. Momentum built throughout my core, my shoulder, and eventually, in my hand. With an ear splitting pop, the golem's chest cleaved. A chunk of ice fell apart before it let out a piercing howl. Keeping my arms close to my sides, I turned on my feet like a tornado.

I whipped hook after hook with Agony melting the ice. The cracks on its body webbed outwards, appearing throughout the golem. It raised its arm towards me, slamming my chest. I flung back a few feet before it raised its other hand towards me. I ducked back, but the arm extended out, smothering me in ice.

The frost covered me in a thick layer, holding me in place. Clear and crystalline, I glanced around from within, unable to move in the prison of snow. The golem snapped off its arm before pulling more water from the pool nearby. Ice expanded above its head in layers. The lance thickened until a spear the size of a car coalesced above its head.

Surging fear stormed in my chest. I struggled against the ice confines around me. I writhed and squirmed with all my strength as the spear grew. The golem reared its arm back, the harpoon following the movement. My frantic squirming doubled in intensity, veins popping out of my neck. I was going to die.

The golem stepped forward. My eyes grew bloodshot from my effort. A nosebleed formed and filled my nostrils with blood. As the spear fired forward, the ice around me shattered and I fell. The wind of the spear pressed against my back. A second later, a thundering crash left my ears ringing. I pulled myself up, enraged as the golem fell onto its knees. I stare at the faceless ice. Exhausted and unmoving, it stared back with an eyeless face.

Silence. I shattered that quiet and its face with a slapping hook to its neck. It fell sideways, and I was upon it. Over and over, I pounded and pulverized its remains with my fists. They act as hammers and mauls as I crushed the ice into a fine powder. When it falls apart and melted, a notification sounded.

Level gained! Three level ups!

I placed three more points into constitution, and the difference proved palpable. My body stiffened until my flesh felt like bark. Even with the strength bonus of Titanic, I slowed down by a bit. I hit the wall of what constitution could give me without suffering for the durability. Wanting to mitigate that issue, I’d invest in strength until it wasn’t a problem anymore.

Keeping that in mind, I opened my perk menu.

[Willful(Willpower of at least 10) - Your willpower is good. Doubles mana regeneration.]

[Disciplined(Willpower of at least 20) - Your willpower is excellent. Willpower adds an extra 1% mana regen for every 1% missing max mana. Your mana can form a shield around you, blocking 1 damage for every 2 points of mana.]

[Uncompromising(Willpower of at least 25) - Your willpower is incredible. Doubles mental resistance from willpower. Half of mental resistance from willpower added to elemental, plasma, and radiation resistances. 1/10th of willpower is added to intelligence.]

[Colossal(Constitution of at least 30) - Your constitution is without limit. Half's strength requirements for moving bodyweight and limbs. Adds another 1/10th of constitution to strength. Adds .2% damage reduction per level, extra weight, density, and height per level, and each point in constitution grants 5 health. Doubles stamina consumption.]

[Strong(Strength of 10 or more) - You are strong. Doubles physical power bonus.]

[Fledgling(Reach level 5) - You've just started learning. +10% to experience.]

[Beginner(Reach level 10) - Now you know a little. You can step out of the tutorial zone now.]

At this point, I warred with two options - Colossal and Strong. The more damage reduction I had, the more like steel I became. Being steel had its perks, but unfortunately, it was also very hard to move. Strong would double the benefits of my strength perks, making movement much easier.

That being said, Colossal also halved the strength requirement for moving myself, giving me the same benefit. It also gave me some strength as well, further assisting my movement. The delicious damage resistance would also give me tons of tankiness for Agony as well. Knowing I probably shouldn’t but doing it anyway, I picked colossal and selected finalize.

A rush of strength flooded my limbs, and yet, I became unbending. Arcane, shifting powers flooded into the tendons, ligaments, and bones of my body, making me metal. My blood turned like liquid mercury, heavy and weighted. My arms and legs turned like iron, and for moment, it felt as if I’d fall into the stone beneath me.

It held me upright as the surge of the perk faded. My body remained stiff as the mana left me. So stiff, I could lift my arm out in front of me and relax, but the limb wouldn’t fall. It remained outstretched. As if attached to wires, it floated in the air without me having to hold it there. Even with the extra strength and lowered requirement, shifting quickly turned into a chore.

All of that early endurance went to good use as I burned stamina from just moving. I brushed off bits of ice and took the golem's glistening core. A blizzard howled inside the marbled exterior, and I pulled the field of mana into the orb.

Taking a second, I gave myself a mental slap. Whether I liked it or not, being here by myself was weighing on me. I was starting to make stupid mistakes and thoughtless decisions. To avoid that kind of stupidity, I needed constant reminders to keep my motivation high. I did that, making sure I didn’t do something that idiotic again.

I paced onwards to my next enemy. My entire body felt like someone else’s, as it proved awkward and dense. The sheer unwieldy heft made going forward take mental effort. It was like moving a rhino’s body instead of my own. I was certain I’d adjust, but it might take a while. At least if I stood still, it wasn’t a problem.

Based on strength’s feel, a perk or two in the attribute would alleviate a lot of my concerns with rigidity. Dexterity might help as well. Mentally squaring that away, I raced over towards the next pool while killing bats. As I fought, Colossal showcased its might.

Even if one of the umbral bats slammed into me, I kept balance. I was moving a wall now, and they couldn't fight me anymore on equal terms. One slammed into my back, and I pushed myself into it. The monster literally splat. It gave me a cool feeling, but yeah, blood gushed everywhere.

I rinsed twice that day.

To reflect the ease of killing, the bats dished out less exp. If a creature was ten levels below me, I still got full experience. At eleven below, I earned one tenth less experience. That tenth less experience pattern continued until they gave me negligible amounts. It was a multiplicative difference, but it still mounted pretty quickly.

Considering the dramatic increase in exp requirements as I leveled, anything less than full exp felt outright painful. Still, the pool mini-bosses helped out quite a bit. They gave at least a level a pop, and the mana cores were interesting to look at. I kept them in a plastic bag, the same kind I used to keep glowing water on me for light.

By now, I ran low on the bags, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it. I’d be stumbling around in darkness soon. With that in mind, I pushed onwards as my steps thumped against the ground, training random skills as I walked.

I ran, jumped, and tried out various acrobatics. I fell many times, and if someone was with me, we’d probably have laughed about it together. Man, I really missed having someone to talk to. If Michael hadn’t warped out, I’d be fine. As is, the extended silence battered on me with brutal strikes.

But, there were only two options. Either he died in this cave or he disappeared into the tutorial. I hoped for the latter, as I was lucky to defeat the first bat. A stalactite stabbed through it before it ate me, and the chances of that happening twice were next to none.

Even then, the chances of Michael killing a bat bare handed was non-existent. I relied on Agony, which also glitched into my status. If anything, it seemed suspicious the more I thought about it. The Schema might have been testing me as an experiment or something. I didn’t have enough information to tell.

With that in mind, I trained and trained and trained. I focused on the task, and after several hours, I reached the next pool.

BloodHollow Bear | Level 76 - An enormous, terrifying creature. Fight with caution as it's red aura and monstrous strength are very effective tools for dismembering adventurers.

This time there was no fear. Turning myself into a stony creature may have left me immobile, but I gained the heft of a giant as well. Using that mass, I gained speed, running towards the bear. My steps thumped on the ground. The wind whistled in my ears. When I tackled the bear, it flew back into the pool it guarded.

It skin, once stone, became like my own. It scrambled out of the water, panic stricken and suffering shock. My fists sunk into the beast’s soft body, like punching a leather sack. Thirty minutes passed, and I beat the thing to death. I gained a level, and placed a point into strength. A quick meal later, I gave the bear to Baldag-Ruhl.

Like clockwork, I ran, found another pool with another bear, and I killed it again. The cycle repeated three more times before I gained another level. I placed another point in strength. By now, my onward momentum carried me forward as I drilled my skills between trips, eager for skill levels.

That was when I reached a cyan pool. Filled with disappointment, I approached the glowing water before a screeching howl roared out. By now, howls were common place, but this scream was like a symphony for my ears. It was like ecstasy, a release that I needed. The reason for that was simple.

It was a human voice.

I shut off Agony before running towards the source of the sound. A part of me filled with hope at seeing Micheal, though it was a woman’s voice. I found the source of the noise seconds later. A short, brunette girl was here, with a bow at her side. She wore plated leather armor from the hides of monsters, and a subtle, white aura sheened off her skin.

I found her stringing her bow over a dropped teacup. The liquid steamed from a campfire they made, though they used a glowing gemstone for heat instead of actual fire. As I slowed behind the cyan pool, I tilted my head at her in confusion.

She stared at me like I was a wild animal. I peered down, finding myself covered in scrapped clothes, blood, dirt, and a few fluids I didn’t know the name of. She may have had a point. Either way, I raised my hands while trying to say I come in peace.

Having not spoken for days, my voice cracked. The sound echoed, my voice deeper than I remembered it being. The girl’s wild eyes widened as she sent an arrow flying towards my chest. It thunked hard, sinking an inch and a half deep into a rib. I growled out before snarling,

“What the hell’s your problem?”

Her face went pale as I pulled the bladed arrow out of my chest. I snapped it between my fingers before she raised her hands, “Oh my god, are you ok? I-I thought you were some kind of, uh, troll or something.”

I touched the regenerating wound, making sure I wasn’t spraying blood, "Man, do I look that bad?"

She grimaced at me, “What happened to you?”

I winced, holding back a wave of relief and emotion, “A lot...A whole hell of a lot.”

Curiosity bloomed over her face before another arrow slipped through to my face. I bent my head down, and the arrow hit my forehead, sliding off my skull. It left a four inch slit across my scalp, and turned to the hiding attacker. Agony roared into activation, and I smothered whoever hid in the darkness.

A howl erupted before I stepped up while seething,

"Whoever you are, if you attack me again, I'll feed you your teeth through a hole in your throat."

Behind a boulder, I found a thin, gangly guy on his knees, grabbing the sides of his head. I picked him up by the cuff of his shirt,

"Why are you both firing arrows at me?"

He hissed in pain, "You...you look like a monster."

I raised an eyebrow, "Even I know you need a notification before recognizing monsters. Even if I’m looking worse for wear, I’m still roughly humanoid at least. Check next time before you try killing someone."

I pulled Agony back before tossing the guy against the boulder. It knocked the breath out of his chest. The girl waved her arms, frantic to smooth things over, "Look, we thought you were the dungeon boss. When you got near us, everything was pain. Doesn't that sound like a monster to you?"

My eyes widened. They fell into Agony’s aura, and that explained the immediate animosity. I frowned before taking a deep breath. This was a misunderstanding, and I had some fault in it. Walking around with Agony cranked to full all the time wasn't exactly prudent.

I rubbed the back of my head as the guy stood up, clenching his stomach. I turned a palm to them, "Alright, so I think we all got off on the wrong foot here. How about we introduce ourselves and start from there?”

The two of them shared a glance. Not just any old ordinary glance, a glance that tells a conversation in a moment. It could only happen between two people who understood each other exceptionally well. The guy stared down, taking a deep breath, he stood up straight and outstretched a hand,

“Yeah, that was my bad.”

I gave him a handshake, “Same.”

The girl carried a small smile as she gestured to herself, "I'm Stacy. He's David. We're here to explore our first dungeon since the tutorial. We finished them about a week and a half ago."

I raised my eyebrows, “Over a week? Damn, I’ve been stuck in here longer than I thought.”

David tilted his head, “Wait a minute...stuck here? Like, you can’t leave?”

I frowned, “Yeah. Both of you are stuck here too.”

They peered at each other, each of them turning pale. Changing the topic, I pointed a thumb at myself, “The name’s Daniel, by the way. Daniel Hillside.”

Stacy blinked and raised a hand, “Uhm, it’s good to meet you. You said we’re stuck here? We...We can’t leave?”

I nodded. They stared down, each of them falling into an abyss. I raised my brows, “Welcome to the club.”

David waved his hands, "Ok, this isn’t right. We’re supposed to be able to leave whenever.”

I shook my head, “You’ll need to kill either the dungeon boss or the big guy guarding the door’s for that.”

They took a moment before Stacy leaned back from me, “Gah, you reek.”

I crossed my arms, “Yeah, fighting alone in a cave for weeks does that too you. Do either of you have soap, maybe?”

David scoffed, “We have some hand soap for dishes.”

He got some out of his pack, tossing me some. I caught it while smiling at the beautiful sight,

“That’ll do.”

Taking a moment, I cleaned myself up, taking off the scrapped remnants of my shirt. I washed myself in the pool while they continued setting up camp. After I felt human again, I dried myself off beside their heated gemstone. We sat in a circle on the ground around the gem, and they got me some bottled water and trail mix. Needless to say, it was a step up from raw bear meat.

In fact, it was so delicious, it was a damn near sexual experience. I relished the nutty goodness, and they watched me inhale the food like a vacuum cleaner. After a few minutes, Stacy leaned back,

"When did you decide to come here?"

I shook my head, “I didn’t. I spawned here.”

They gawked at each other before David scratched the side of his face, “Like, you spawned here before the tutorial?”

I devoured the food before me, “Yes.”

Stacy narrowed her eyes, “How are you still alive?”

I lifted the rags of my shirt, “Pain, hardship, and blood.”

They both grimaced before David leaned towards me, “What’s your level anyways? It’s got to be high if you’ve been fighting since day one.”

“Fifty seven.”

David blinked, "Woah...That's thirty levels higher than anyone I've ever seen."

I peered up from my food, “Thirty, huh? I thought people would be leveling faster.”

Stacy bit her lip before wincing, “It’s...Well...People are still pulling themselves back together. The internet and power went down, and people haven’t figured out how to put it back up. Cell lines, all of that stuff went dark.”

David sighed, “It’s been chaos. A lot of people died in the tutorial too.”

I pointed a finger and gestured to our surroundings, “Was it worse than BloodHollow?”

Stacy scoffed, “Absolutely not, but, you know, not everyone’s a fighter. David and I, we were more than fortunate because our warping wasn’t, you know, terrible.”

I raised a brow, “Warping?”

David waved a hand, “Everybody just disappeared all of a sudden. We popped up in a forest, surrounded by wolves. We got weapons before having to walk out of a pillar of light.”

I remembered the pillar of light at least. I chewed some food before saying, “How hard were the wolves to kill?”

David closed his eyes, “They were level five, and a pack. It, well, a lot of people didn’t make it.”

Stacy spread her hands, “It was ridiculous. It’s like, no one had any idea what was going on. We needed to team up, but not everyone wanted to leave their pillars of light. Our group got lucky, and no one died from it. I heard that one guy on another team tried to organize everybody, but then he just left the pillar of light while no one else did.”

Stacy seethed, “And he was torn to shreds. Imagine trying to get everybody else out after that.”

My stomach sank hearing that, “You’re kidding, right?”

David’s eyes went distant, “No.”

A silence passed over us before I set the trail mix aside, “Why are you guys here instead of with your families then, and why this dungeon?”

Stacy scratched the side of her head, “Like I mentioned earlier, we were lucky. We got through without anyone really passing in our families. Our grandparents died a long time ago, so most of them were able to pull together.”

I smiled, “Well, it’s good to hear not everybody’s life has sucked since this whole thing started.”

David rolled his eyes, “I wouldn’t say that. Our parents don’t want us leaving the house for anything. It got so boring I wanted to peel my eyes out of my head.”

I raised my brow, “So you guys tried to find a dungeon you could handle.” I smirked, “BloodHollow, huh?”

Stacy narrowed her eyes, “Yeah, yeah, we get it. We’re in over our heads. We both have leveled since the start, so we thought we’d be ahead of the curve. We were wrong.”

I rolled my shoulders, “It’s a good thing we found each other, at least. How about we party up and get the hell out of here?”

David nodded, “Oh absolutely. I’m level fifteen and Stacy’s seventeen. We can’t even kill the bats.”

I shrugged, "Good luck getting past the bears. They're over level 75."

David put his palms together, giving me a slight bow, "Oh mighty dungeon dweller, we are in need of your help.”

Even with the sarcasm, I couldn’t hold back a slight smile, “It turns out, I’m in need of some company.”

Stacy stood up and brushed her clothes off, "We’ll team up, but just know you still look like a troll to me."

I helped them pack the gear, putting some in my backpack, “Eh, ugly or not, at least I can fight.”

David got up with us, “Do you know where to go?"

I threw my hands up, "Honestly? No. I’m just heading towards more pools of water. I need to give the dungeon boss some bear meat or else he'll hunt me down and kill me. It's a tough life."

Stacy took a step back, “You’re helping the boss out?”

I waved my hands, “It’s a long story. Let’s just say I’m biding my time, alright?”

They gave each other another look. David zipped up one of his packs, “So, er, how strong is this boss exactly?”

“Too strong for me. We need time to level.” I stood tall, “But once we have, I’m confident we can take it.”

They both perked up. David smiled, “Hell yeah.”

I smiled back, “Then let’s head out.”

Before we got our packs ready, a rustling echoed above. A bat swooped down right at David’s neck. I ran over, shoving him aside before jamming my hand at the bat. My hand disappeared into the bat’s maw. It bit down, scratching my skin before I gripped its squishy insides. I grabbed one of its legs and pulled it back.

With a sweeping slam, I butted my head against the monster’s skull. A sickening crack ebbed from it, so I pulled the creature back and cracked it three more times. Each popping thud degraded its face to a bloodier pulp. Once it stopped moving, I threw it down and stomped the head in further for good measure. Getting its blood on my face, I turned to the others.

“Damn. That was close.”

They gawked at me like I was a monster myself.

Skill unlocked! Intimidation | Level 1 - Some lay in fear of those that surround them. You have chosen to be the one they fear instead. Increased success of intimidation attempts.

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