The clang of metal echoed through the hangar. Three Scordanas crept through the haze, their tails twitching like blades testing the air. Quinn's pulse hammered in his ears.
He slammed his palms to the ground. "Stone rise." The floor shuddered, and a jagged wall of earth shot upward, cutting off one Scordana's charge. It didn't slow for long — the three beasts rammed straight through, shards of rock scattering like glass.
"Damn, it's hard to deal with all three of them at once…" he muttered, stepping back.
He quickly touched the ground, pouring water across the floor through his second ability. Then he raised his hand, focusing on the cold in his veins — the new energy he barely understood. Frost crept along his forearm, coating his skin in a pale light. When the nearest Scordana lunged, he thrust his hand forward. "Ice spike!"
A spear of ice erupted from the wet floor, impaling the beast's claw and pinning it down for an instant — just long enough for him to move.
"Yes… if I use the water ability along with ice, I don't have to use a lot of MC to create more ice."
"Flash Step!" He vanished from sight and reappeared beside it. Imagining a sharp spike of earth, he slammed his boot into its exposed side. The impact sent it reeling, but the creature only hissed louder, dragging itself free.
The other two came around the side, tails raised high. Quinn's breath caught. He dove aside using Flash Step once more as one tail slammed into the ground, cracking the metal floor.
Though using earth, water, and ice required imagination, he didn't have much practice, and his abilities were seconds slower to manifest, putting him at a disadvantage. Moreover, his current way of using the elements wasn't enough to break through that exoskeleton.
"Think, Quinn… you can't just throw power at them."
Concentrating, he drew the moisture from the air, freezing it around his hands. Using the water ability, he allowed the water to spread finely through and around his palms, then began to freeze it over, forming white gloves of solid ice. Concentrating even harder, he poured more energy into it, and the white turned translucent, glass-like. His knuckles burned with cold. This time, he didn't wait.
He darted forward. "Flash Step!" Reappearing beneath a swinging claw, the first punch landed on the beast's joint, the second slammed into its gut, and as he stomped down with his foot — "Hammer Strike!"
The blow cracked through the shell, sending the Scordana sprawling and screeching until its sound died down.
[Scordana beast killed]
The others screeched, circling tighter. He could feel his gauntlets cracking under the last impact, the ice thinning. He switched to defense.
He lifted his hand, and water rose from the ground, twisting into a fluid barrier. The tails slashed through it, slowing their force just enough for him to dodge between them.
He turned the water cold — ice fragments forming midair — and flung them into their faces. The beasts reeled, their vision clouded. Quinn didn't waste a heartbeat.
He Flash Stepped again, behind the largest Scordana, and drove his frozen fist into the soft gap near its spine. The ice shattered, but so did part of the shell. The creature shrieked and collapsed.
[Scordana beast killed]
Quinn fell to one knee, gasping for breath, hands bloodied from exhaustion. He had already used too much stamina in Flash Steps and Hammer Strikes, and his body showed it.
He stared at the fallen beast, chest heaving.
The last Scordana hissed, backing away into the shadows, dragging its wounded kin. Quinn didn't chase. Instead, using the last of his power, he formed a thick earth pole reinforced with ice and shot it straight toward the gap in the Scordana's spine. The pole pierced through, killing it instantly.
[Scordana beast killed]
He stood there, surrounded by shards of ice and splinters of rock, the hangar silent once more — only the soft sound of notifications echoing in his mind.
Opening the system screen, he read:
[Scordana has been killed 1000 EXP][Scordana has been killed 1000 EXP][Scordana has been killed 1000 EXP][First intermediate beast kill 5000 EXP][First Scordana killed 2000 EXP]
Quinn slowly caught his breath and looked at the mess he had made. His wounds were already healed. After resting, he noticed one more thing remaining — the egg of the beast.
He walked toward it and lifted it up. It was large, about the size of a football. He took a few steps back before lifting it higher and slamming it into the ground.
Black blood splattered across the floor, and a half-grown scorpion could be seen writhing inside.
[Scordana Egg killed 1000 EXP][First Scordana Egg kill 2000 EXP]
To Quinn's surprise, the system had counted the egg as a new beast kill, so he also received the bonus points for that.
System calculating…
Then another wave of messages appeared.
[You have levelled up][You have levelled up][You have levelled up][You have levelled up]
System level: 8476 / 12800 EXP
3 intermediate crystals have been added to inventory.
"Damn! That was a hell of a reward. Now I just need two more levels to complete the main quest."
He then checked his stats:
Strength: 22Agility: 22Stamina: 22HP: 55 / 55
Suddenly, Quinn felt a rush of energy surge through his body, washing away the exhaustion.
He smiled, relieved that his body had improved — and more so that his HP had increased.
After taking one last look around, Quinn's eyes landed on the door to the storage room. His excitement began to rise again. Though he had just fought an intense battle, he was eager — more than ever — to find out what lay beyond that door.