Seeing the monster approaching him, Kayen turned and ran immediately, racing through the forest with all the energy he had.
The monster behind him appeared to be weakening, and realizing this, Kayen attacked the monster's front leg quickly.
*Roaaarrr!*
The monster's roar was heard at the same time that Kayen struck its leg; because of his blow, the monster's flesh was revealed, but no drop of blood was spilled.
After seeing this, Kayen launched another attack, but he was not able to strike when the monster used one of its tentacles to parry. Without hesitation, Kayen shifted his attack to the charging tentacle.
Because this time the monster was ready, Kayen was unable to sever the tentacle, even though a wound was made on it. Kayen wasn't pleased with this.
But right when Kayen was going to do something else, the monster hurled another tentacle at him. Seeing that, Kayen literally turned his back around to flee, showing his back to the monster.
The monster struck Kayen shortly. Kayen, for whatever reason, was running slowly, so the monster charged him head-on. Kayen looked over and saw the monster but was unable to evade the attack. However, Kayen remained calm.
'Perfect.'
Attacked by the monster, Kayen was slammed into a tree, but the monster was also injured. Just as he was slammed some distance away, Kayen managed to throw his axe at the monster's tentacle, and immediately black blood began oozing from it.
The monster's tentacles spun and lashed brutally. It was intended to strike Kayen, who was now unarmed, but before it could touch him, suddenly it realized it couldn't get any closer.
Seeing this, Kayen's thin smile curved on his face. The monster's body had dissipated its limit; it had already rotted long ago, and the blow from Kayen merely hastened its breaking point.
'As planned.'
The monster's body suddenly fell to the ground, and the tentacles went limp. Seeing this, Kayen chose to wait for a couple of minutes after the monster fell, being cautious more so after the recent black crystal incident.
Meanwhile, Kayen grab a wood and shaped it into a spear. Taking up the new spear that he had made, he trained himself in casting it for a short while.
Practiced, Kayen gripped his wooden spear tighter. Focusing his mind with utmost intent, he aimed at the monster's still-flaccid tentacle and cast the spear with maximum force.
The wooden spear hit the monster's tentacle, extracting black blood from the injury immediately. The monster groaned weakly and tried to shift its tentacle but realized that its body had strained itself.
Feeling this, Kayen approached the monster's limp body gradually. He remained careful, anticipating any trap.
As he got closer, Kayen threw some rocks at the monster's tentacle, but the monster didn't respond anything at all, like a long-dead creature. However, Kayen knew that the monster was actually not dead because he had not received a system notification.
Near the monster's body, Kayen pulled out the axe stuck in the tentacle. As he pulled it out, black blood gushed from the wound caused by his weapon.
'My axe is dirty again.'
Kayen noticed that his axe was covered in black blood. Then he raised it high, planning to kill the monster off. But then, the rustling of leaves distracted him.
Glancing back at the quivering bushes, Kayen saw nothing more than a weasel darting around, thankful that it was something harmless. He turned to the monster, however, to find himself face to face with tentacles torn from the tiger's form in front of him.
'Shit.'
Kayen wanted to lash out at the monster, but it was useless—there was a hand's width between them. The monster could not reach him before
Black light suddenly burst from Kayen's eyes, cutting at the tentacles almost brushing against him. The light destroyed the tentacles completely without a trace.
'Oh my. what's this light?'
Kayen was shocked and collapsed to the ground. Looking around, he guessed it had to be from an incredibly powerful individual upset by his and the monster's intrusion.
"Sorry. Sir, I won't cause any more trouble, sleep well."
Kayen stuttered out in an anxious voice.
He never thought that the light came from himself; a system message floated in front of him.
[Congratulations! You have successfully killed a level 2 monster.]
As soon as he noticed the message, Kayen suddenly realized that he himself was the one who had killed the monster, which meant the black light was his own power.
Lost and baffled as to where the light had originated, Kayen soon remembered the black crystal that had blinded him. Connecting the dots, he decided to go back to the crater to see what was responsible for the light.
But before that, Kayen gripped his axe and opened the parasite's interior, and within moments he had two essence stones. Watching this, Kayen immediately understood one of them was from the parasite and the other from the tiger that was not digested.
Not wasting any time, Kayen absorbed both essence stones, and just waiting for a moment, a system message appeared.
[You gained 20 EXP]
'Not bad, 975 EXP to go.'
But suddenly, something appeared in front of Kayen.
[Congratulations! You have obtained a Relic: Parasite Sword.]
'A relic. Amazing.'
Kayen immediately opened his status.
••
Name: [Kayen ]
Rank: [Novice] (Level-1)
Title: —
Essence: —
Traits: —
Art: —
Relic: [Veridom Map], [Parasite Sword]
••
Kayen then checked the relic he had just obtained.
[Parasite Sword]
[Mortal]
Relic Description: A parasite sword that utilizes the parasite as its basic attack, made from the flesh, soul, and essence of the parasite and its host.
With this description, Kayen summoned the parasite sword.
It was like a black katana with a reddish color, giving an ominous and frightening impression. The sword seemed to be alive and organic.
The blade of the sword was red tipped black coloring. The hilt was black with thin red vertical stripes, and the scabbard was black.
Kayen drew his sword without hesitation and struck a nearby tree with it. The sword's weight felt heavy yet flexible, and it split the wood effortlessly.
There was a scratch on the tree grew bigger and deeper with each hit. With each hit, the scratch broadened fast, tearing wood fibers forcefully.
Eventually, the scratch turned into a large wound on the tree until it fell with a loud crack, crashing to the ground under Kayen's strike.