[Sprint!]
Nightclowm's muscles twitched. He felt a jolt all over his body. Not of exhaustion. But of raw, untamed speed.
The world blurred around him. Nightclown shot forward. A grey and blue streak through the darkening wilderness path. The ground beneath his feet seemed to warp. Covering distance in impossible, cartoonish strides.
He wasn't just running. He was gliding with an uncanny efficiency.
Cammy, surprisingly, kept pace. Its optical lens went wide. Recording the phenomenon. It emitted a series of rapid beeps. A clear sign of its semi-sentient excitement.
The glitch felt less like fuel and more like a cheat code for reality. It was volatile, exhilarating. He hadn't felt this kind of raw, almost illegitimate, power before.
His [Sprint!] was visibly faster using this glitch. About 20% quicker and longer compared to when he used his stamina. And the energy usage was much less.
It was a thrill. A taste of something fundamentally different. And it was undeniably effective. The trees zipped past. Their thick, stylized trunks blurred into green and brown streaks.
The distant silhouette of the North Dungeon Entrance grew larger at an alarming rate. He was going to make good time. A few spamming bursts of [Sprint!] brought him right in front of the entrance in just a few minutes.
The North Dungeon entrance was a gaping maw in the side of a large, perfectly spherical, grey rock formation. It was cartoonish and not really scary.
Nightclown was still buzzing from the glitch-powered sprint. He didn't hesitate. Quickly darting inside.
Cammy whirred behind him. Its lens were expertly tracking his rapid movement.
The first floor was familiar territory for Nightclown. Bowling Bouncers. But, they were negligible threats now. Their experience yield was zero. A waste of time.
Nightclown burst past them. His feet slapped against the stone. A rhythmic thud that dissolved into a continuous hum with his speed.
He was pushing his glitch further. Not just for bursts. But for sustained, high-speed travel. He sensed his glitch reserves slowly dropped. But at a far slower rate than stamina would have depleted for this pace.
It felt like cheating. An unfair advantage over the very physics of this world. Or at least how it was supposed to work. This was the raw, unrefined power of glitch. The Eldritch Energy. It bypassed rules. Bending realities in strange way.
He remembered the path. He reached the stairwell to the second floor in less than a minute.
The Bowling Bouncers, on the way, were startled. They had no time to do anything before the speedy hare passed and left them behind in a fraction of second.
Nightclown ignored them. He descended the stairs to the deeper floor, two steps at a time.
Cammy followed. Its internal gyros compensating for the rapid descent. Ensuring a steady shot.
The second floor was different. The air was thicker. The walls were covered in what looked like plush, vibrant green moss carpet. Strange, lint-like formations clung to the ceiling.
Glowing fungi were clinging to the many parts of the the mossy stone walls. Strange, muted noises echoed from deeper within.
Nightclown slowed his pace. Scanning the area. He needed a specific target. Furball Chompers. He had fought them plenty of time. They were the primary denizens of this level.
Unlike the first floor's Bowling Bouncers, they still offered decent experience. And, more importantly, a good opportunity to test his newly upgraded weapon. Without getting killed in the first strike.
A patch of vivid fluff stirred near a cluster of luminescent mushrooms. It was a small ball-like creature. Furry. With large, innocent eyes and soft, pink fur. A deceptively cute sight. This was it.
Nightclown approached confidently. His [Thunder Nunchaku] held loosely in his right hand. He wasn't in a hurry to attack.
The Furball Chomper twitched its tiny nose. Its innocent-lookng eyes were fixated on Nightclown. It let out a high-pitched, almost adorable squeak.
Then, its form began to distort. [Morphing Shift!]... The soft fur matted. Growing coarse and angular. Its body expanded. Contorting. The head split open. Revealing a terrifyingly large maw filled with rows of needle-sharp teeth.
Its small feet became thick, stubby appendages. And its entire form became a sphere of muscle and teeth. With just a hint of its original pink fur.
"Alright, Toothie! Let's start!" Nightclown muttered. Shifting his grip on the nunchaku.
Cammy buzzed in closer. Its recording light was already on. This was the shot. This was the moment for the [Thunder Nunchaku].
The Chomper form lunged. A surprisingly fast pounce. Its primary attack... [Jumping Bite!].
Nightclown dodged to the side. A quick blur of blue and grey.
The monster's jaws snapped shut where he had been a moment before. Leaving a loud, empty CRUNCH! sound. It snarled. Pivoted. And lunged again.
Nightclown parried the next bite with a swift swing from his nunchaku. The hard stick met flesh with a dull thud. The impact reverberated up his arm. But the weapon held firm.
The toon rabbit focused his concentration. He didn't bother attacking its weak point. He didn't just want to defeat it. He wanted to juggle it. He needed to try activating the weapon's special ability...[Toon Momentum].
He feigned a retreat. Drawing the Furball Chomper into another lunge. As it committed, Nightclown spun. Bringing one end of his nunchaku around in a lightning-fast upper-cut like strike.
The impact caught the Chomper on its jaw. Sending its whole body snapping upward. Before it could recover, the loose end of the nunchaku already twirled around. Striking it higher.
The monster was airborne. Helpless...
This was his window. Nightclown unleashed a flurry of strikes. A whirlwind of wood sticks and chain. Up, left, right, up, right, left, up...
Each hit was precise. Impacting specific points on the Chomper's body. Keeping it off balance. In the air. Preventing it from landing.
The monster's current weight was too heavy to truly fly. But Nightclown's hits were imbued with the peculiar physics of Toonworld. Each impact lifted the Furball Chomper slightly. A cartoonish elevation that kept it airborne for fractions of a second.
The monster snarled. Thrashing. But Nightclown's rhythm was relentless. He hammered its jaw, its snout, its flank, its legs... A satisfying thwack! accompanied each connection.
The [Toon Momentum] ability was activated. Its effect was a visible, almost musical, flow of strikes. The Chomper was caught in a painful, disorienting dance. This wasn't about raw power... yet. It was about control. About keeping the target vulnerable.
He kept the combo going. A continuous chain of strikes that prevented the monster from regaining its footing. Or striking back. Each hit felt impactful. Yet, oddly elastic. Like hitting a rubberized target.
The Chomper was taking damage. Its snarls turning into pained yelps. But it wasn't broken. Not yet.
Nightclown felt the build-up. The cumulative force of his attacks was reaching a critical point. He saw the opening.
The Chomper, still flailing, was momentarily suspended in the air. After a particularly strong upward strike. An absurd cartoon physics.
"Now!" Nightclown grunted.
He stepped back. Swinging the nunchaku in a wide, powerful arc. Gathering all his momentum. The nunchaku became a blur. Humming with stored kinetic energy. A faint blue glow pulsed from its wooden ends.
As it connected with the Furball Chomper's midsection, a sonic boom erupted.
BOOM!
It was the [Thunder Blast]. The air vibrated. A concussive force slammed into the monster. The Furball Chomper was not just hit. It was destroyed. The triple damage dealt by the sonic burst ripped through its remaining health.
Its form flickered. Then it collapsed into a still, deflated heap. Its ferocious eyes rolled back into its head. In a matter of seconds, all that remained was a small, deflated puff of pink fur. Utterly inert.
And then that puff of pink fur disappeared. Replaced by a white smoke that was gone in just a few seconds.
A system notification flashed.
[Furball Chomper defeated!]
[Experience Gained: +50 XP!]
Nightclown retrieved the scattered coins dropped by the monster.
He took a moment to do so. His chest was still heaving slightly. Though less from physical exertion and more from the sheer thrill of the fight.
The [Thunder Nunchaku] felt more familiar for him. Like an extension of his will. He was more proficient in using it.
He had always been decent with the use of nunchaku. He never hit his own body in this world, at least. He had experience in his past life after all. When he was still a student joining the school's karate club.
Cammy were zipping around him. Its lens moved in excited vibe. It knew a good shot when it saw one.
Nightclown nodded. A big smile played on his lips. "I know that's going to look great in slow-motion, Cammy." He said. "We'll have more great quality shots later."
He needed more practice. Specifically, with the other form of his weapon... the [Lightning Spear]. Unlike the case with the nunchaku, he had never really trained with a spear. Quarterstaff, sure. But a spear was different.
It was about piercing. About range. About precision. His current spear movements were basic. Or even less than basic. It lacked the grace and efficiency he was aiming for.
He moved deeper into the second floor. Careful not to attract multiple Furball Chompers at once. He didn't need complication for now. He needed only one for practice.
And he did find another one. Curled up in a small alcove. Its cute furball form twitching intermittently. Nightclown approached. Ready.
This time, he had switched the form of his weapons. His [Thunder Nunchaku] had been retracted. Shifting into the sleek, elongated form of the [Lightning Spear]. It felt lighter in his hands. But also less familiar.
Again, Nightclown waited until the monster's [Morphing Shift!] completed. It transformed into its fierce Chomper form. He allowed it. He wanted to practice against the full threat.
The Furball Chomper snarled. Lunging with [Jumping Bite!].