“Grrrr….”
Gritting my teeth, I endured the pain surging through my body. My head spun, and my mana felt disrupted with each passing second. The dagger wound on my arm throbbed relentlessly.
“Ho? You’ve managed to dodge it.”
As the pain from the dagger wound seared through my arm, I clenched my teeth and tried to regain my composure.
THUMP!
My heart was beating rapidly, and my body heat was increasing.
‘Calm down.’
My instincts had saved me from the full brunt of the attack, but I had been injured, and the danger wasn’t over.
I forcefully calmed myself down, applying mana to my veins and heart, slowing the circulation of blood.
Swiftly, I scanned my surroundings, assessing the situation. My eyes locked onto the three approaching students, their faces set with malice.
One of them, a tall and imposing figure, spoke with a hint of satisfaction. “You are quite good, aren’t you?”
He was one of those who entered the dungeon with me, but I hadn’t sensed anything from him, let alone any attention.
‘This is not good.’
My brain worked rapidly, processing the information I had gathered. I didn’t know why they were targeting me, but it was evident that I was not in a favorable position.
‘My senses aren’t working.’
Something was amiss about those guys. Even though my stats weren’t as high as high-ranking students, at the very least, my [Intuition] parameter should have been enough to sense their presence, considering they belonged to the lower ranks of the academy.
That meant one thing.
‘They are hiding their strength.’
If they were able to trespass my senses and sneak attack me, that meant they were hiding their strengths. I am pretty confident that I should be able to sense any intent directed at me unless the enemy is a high-ranking person.
‘Or, there is something fishy.’
Before I could analyze the situation further, the guy before me made his move.
And as he stepped forward, something unexpected happened. From his hand, black-crimson energy started coming out, directly linked to the body of the remaining monsters.
“SCREECH!”
The two remaining Ruinscreechers, still alive, suddenly started oozing a dark aura from their bodies as they went berserk.
Their growls turned into enraged screeches, and their eyes glowed with an eerie light. The dark energy within them surged, making them even more powerful.
THUMP!
Coupled with my heart beating. My body was responding to the energy that started surrounding me.
It was repulsing….The same thing that I had felt whenever I was in the presence of my enemy.
“Demonic Energy.”
CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!
As I mumbled to myself, another student before me started clapping her hands. This time it was the girl with a hood covering her face.
“You are really, really good.”
Even though most of her facial structures weren’t visible, I was able to see the crazed smile on her face.
“Give me a good show, won’t you?”
Following her words, immediately, the Ruinscreechers, now infused with demonic energy, charged at me with even greater ferocity.
Their movements were faster and more erratic, and the aura of malevolence that surrounded them was overwhelming. I was struggling to maintain my focus, as the pain on my body was making it harder for me to move.
SWOOSH! Even then, I dodged a vicious swipe from one of the monsters but narrowly avoided the claws that came dangerously close to my throat.
CLANG!
The other Ruinscreecher lunged at me, its fangs snapping perilously close to my arm. At the last second, thanks to the feeling, I was able to block the monster’s attack with my daggers, but my posture wasn’t the perfect one.
I wasn’t able to properly estimate the enhanced strength granted by the dark energy, and my dual daggers struggled to keep up with the accelerated movements of the Ruinscreechers.
“Focus, Astron,” I reminded myself, drawing on my experience and all the training I did. I couldn’t afford to falter now.
Even the pain was enveloping my thoughts; even though my body was holding me back, I couldn’t falter now.
Because, in front of me, were demonic humans.
‘I need to see their faces at least.’
The fight became an intense dance of death.
SWOOSH!
At that exact second, the Ruinscreecher blasted itself to me, leaving a trail of dark energy on its path.
It was so fast that I wasn’t able to react. No, it was as if something was disturbing my senses that the intuition I developed wasn’t working. I couldn’t even activate my skill [Eyes of Hourglass], let alone [Dash].
STAB!
The monster’s claws went past through my chest, and from three points, I was penetrated. My insides were burning, and the monster’s dark mana entered my body, disturbing its functions.
“Burghk!”
I couldn’t help but feel the blood rushing through my mouth as I vomited a mouthful of that.
‘It is too fast.’
My head was spinning, and I couldn’t think properly. My consciousness was on the verge of losing.
“SCREECH!”
With a screech, the other monster also rushed at me and bit me with its fangs.
‘At least I can return back.’
Since this was a Mid-term exam, the watch provided by the academy had the function of returning any student with a health risk.
But as the second passed, and I felt the connection between my consciousness and me was slipping away, nothing like a spatial mana psions moved around me.
‘Huh?’
As if what was supposed to happen wasn’t happening.
“SCREECH!”
Between the monster’s screams, I was able to take a look at the watch provided by the academy for the mid-terms.
It was supposed to show the number of monsters killed by each student by connecting the server.
‘Don’t tell me.’
The moment my eyes darted to the watch, I saw nothing on the screen. ‘They are blocking the mana connection to the watch.’
“Did you realize it?”
At that exact second, the same voice of the tall student reached my ears.
PULL!
“Burghk!”
His voice was followed by the monster’s retreat as the first one pulled its claws out. And, because of the absence of its claws, the wounds were opened, and blood started pouring out from there.
“The connection between the academy and this space is blocked.” He continued. I could see a clear mocking in his eyes, as if I was nothing but a mere insect to him. “No one’s going to save you, you know. You will die here, alone.”
THUD!
From the dizziness and the loss of blood, I could no longer sustain my body as it fell to the ground.
“It is pathetic.” The girl with a hood watching me from the side spoke; the smile on her now vanished. “End it, Reiner.” And she sentenced me to death.
“Tch, don’t order me.” The tall boy said, waving his hands. “I am going to do it anyway.”
“SCREECH!”
With the wave of his hands, the monsters started screaming once again as if going berserk. More and more demonic energy was being supplied to the monsters as their aura got stronger with each second.
“Heh….” However, as they were talking, I couldn’t no longer hold it in. I could no longer hold the feelings in my head.
“Hahahahaha…..” The laughter I had been suppressing for a long time, I was finally able to let it out.
“What?”
Amid the dire situation, their expressions transformed from mockery to confusion. The boy, Reiner, showed a puzzled look, his arrogance faltering. “What’s so funny, huh?”
I couldn’t stop the laughter that bubbled up. After all, if the connection to the outside was now broken down, didn’t that mean I could go all out here?
Didn’t that mean I could use everything in my arsenal? Since the cameras watching me are probably not working either.
“Man…….It is flipped once again….”
As I started supplying myself with crimson mana, I could once again feel the world around me turning to crimson.
My thoughts, my vision, my feelings….Everything started transforming…..
The wounds on my body, the pain, the blood loss….Everything turned into one simple thing.
“I want blood.”
At that exact second, on the cliff of death, I was having my best time.
“He’s gone mad!” Reiner declared, taking a step back. His companions shared alarmed glances.
‘Yes…..This is how it should be…..You should fear me more….’
The girl with the hood, however, maintained a twisted smile. “No, he’s not mad. He’s something else.”
I was pretty sure I was making the same expression as her right now.
“JUST DIE YOU FUCKER!” The guy named Reiner shouted as he pointed his finger at me.
At that exact moment, the monsters rushed at me.
SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
The Ruinscreechers, fueled by the dark energy, were faster and more relentless than before. Their movements now had a different pattern, and they attacked with a savage ferocity that made it difficult to anticipate their strikes.
CLANK!
But I didn’t need to anticipate.
I could simply feel it.
On the verge of death, when the afterlife was this close, I slowly transformed into something.
Something animalistic.
‘Two Fangs of Blood Moon.’
SWOOSH!
At that exact moment, my body shot forward….