Chapter 76 - 76- Insanity Or Genius (Part 1)
Chapter 76 - 76- Insanity Or Genius (Part 1)
The monster was completely lost in the maze of broken houses. It couldn't find Talon at all with all the small holes and corners where he could hide with ease. It was akin to a human trying to find a cockroach in a messy room.
Talon knew that very well and decided to take advantage of it to the fullest. It was a very crazy idea that even the bravest of people would immediately shake away with how ridiculous it sounded.
However, more than courage, Talon was eyeing the benefits he would get from killing that thing. Ignoring the huge number of stat points he would get, he knew that this was considered impossible. So, if he achieved it, the Core Dimension might reward him with something that this world had never seen before.
It was a gamble, a very risky and foolish one but nonetheless a gamble. If it worked, then Talon was going to reap the best rewards he would ever dream of.
'High risk, high reward.' He thought to himself.
However, the question remains, how can he actually kill something like that? Granted, he had the element of surprise on his side, but, that didn't mean that he could kill it simply by ambushing it. He needed something more than that.
'A weak point I can exploit. If I can find anything like that, I might be able to kill it without ending up dead too.' His eyes squinted as he silently eyed the monster from his hiding spot.
From what he could see, the monster's body, as slim as it was, was probably tougher than anything he fought so far.
"What can you tell me about it, Acrypha?" He asked his companion with a serious tone.
"Hmm, I think that's the Grim Roamer. A species of creatures that live in the Endless Fog Plains. They're carnivorous and extremely hostile no matter what the situation. They also live and hunt in groups so you rarely would find a lonesome one moving around like this."
"Do they have any special ability or anything I should worry about?"
"To be honest, you should worry about everything related to it. It's stronger and faster than you by a large margin. They have strong defense and lethal attacks. However, if you want to know their worst ability, it's their sound waves." She said.
"Sound waves?"
"Yeah, using their mouths, they can create strong sound waves that can travel a good distance. If it makes contact with a target, depending on their strength, it could make their heart and brain explode due to how loud and concentrated they are. It can also give heavy internal damage if it doesn't outright kill you."
'... Shit, that sounds even more terrifying.' Talon gulped down a mouthful of saliva. He would be lying if he said that he wasn't even more terrified of that Grim Roamer now due to this piece of information.
"Are you still intending to fight it?" Acrypha asked as she stared at him.
"Yeah, I'm going to give it a try." He nodded his head without hesitation.
Acrypha rubbed her temples with a sigh. "I can't seem to understand whether you're a huge idiot or a genius."
"I'm both. Quite special, no?" Talon smiled nervously as he wiped the sweat and blood off his face. "So, does it have any weaknesses I can exploit?"
"Normally, a Grim Roamer has rather weak skin and defenses due to its skinny body. However, because of the huge level gap between both of you, it's not a weak point anymore." Acrypha thought for a second before she replied.
"Fair enough… The skin, huh? I think that would work." Talon murmured.
As the two were like that, they suddenly heard the monster slowly turn around. Talon didn't waste a second as he hid again before it could see him. The monster stared in his direction for a second as if it was suspecting something before it slowly made its way toward the noise it heard.
Talon held his breath again as he waited anxiously. 'Calm down, calm down, calm down…' Feeling his heartbeat in his chest, the young man clenched his teeth.
A few seconds later, the monster reached the area where Talon was hiding. It was so close form him, in fact, that he could see its shadow cast on the rock in front of him. He was barely a few meters away from the monster. The silence and the lack of noises made it even more nerve-wracking.
Talon found himself in a psychological warfare with his own fear. His mind was playing tricks on him left and right.
But, for better or worse, the monster didn't seem to notice him as it moved forward, slowly appearing in Talon's vision as it looked in a different direction. Barely a few meters away from him, it stood and looked around.
Talon could notice all the details on its body, the weird blemishes on its snowy white skin that he hadn't seen before, the giant feet it had that would leave a trace in the rock wherever it walked, and the sharp, terrifying fingers that were at least 1 meter long.
Looking silently at it, Talon's eyes flashed with a weird glint as he instinctively gripped his spear tighter. His mind was going through countless options at that moment at a rapid pace.
'What if…' He thought to himself as he got an idea.
Then, taking a deep breath, Talon gave Acrypha a signal as he slowly moved out of the hole. He looked up to check if the monster was about to look back or not. Luckily, it was occupied with something else to notice him leaving the hole.
So, slowly, he crawled out and crouched on his knees to keep himself invisible. Taking a deep breath to calm his heart, Talon counted in his head to three. Then, without giving himself the time to even hesitate, he dashed forward at top speed, closing the distance between him and the monster in a split second as he used all his strength to swing his spear.
*Swish*
The blade swiftly moved through and sliced the monster's Achilles. The moment the spear made contact with the Grim Roamer's skin, Talon felt his muscles shudder as it was met with an extremely tough object.
However, he still clenched his teeth and forced the spear through, cutting the monster's flesh. The creature's hollow eyes widened as he made a loud, hollow groan that echoed in the entire area.
Black, ink-like blood splattered out of its body and splashed on Talon as he quickly dashed away without looking back at all. He didn't even check if his attack successfully severed the monster's Achilles Tendon as he wanted or not.
However, when he heard the loud thud of the Grim Roamer falling to the ground, his terrified, pale face drew a small relieved smile as he slid through rocks and hid again before the monster could even see him.
'I did it! I severed one of its legs! Now it can't move around as fast!' He thought to himself.
After seeing the back of its foot, Talon realized that the Grim Roamer perhaps had the same anatomy as humans and so, if that was true, then cutting that particular part would paralyze it in its place.
Acrypha witnessed all of that happen with wide eyes. 'He's trying to slowly make it unable to move around which reduces its threat… This kid…' She thought to herself as she looked at Talon.
Meanwhile, the monster was on both knees as it grabbed its foot painfully. Its sad, disturbed face now had a hint of profound anger. Looking around it, it searched for Talon eagerly. However, there was no trace of him left.
That made it even more outraged and Talon could feel it as he watched it closely. The monster's whole behavior shifted completely as it released its bloodied foot and instead put its hands around its mouth. A sign that humans do usually when they're about to yell.
'Oh no…'
Before the young man could even react, the inevitable happened. An extremely loud and booming shriek filled with endless terror was released out of the monster's mouth in a random direction.
The sound was so loud that for a second, Talon felt his eardrums shudder and his bones shake. Grabbing his ears, he quickly closed them.
'So loud!!'
*BOOOOOM*
The scream lasted exactly 6 seconds, during which, Talon could hear nothing at all except an extremely painful ringing sound. When it stopped, he finally opened his eyes again as he looked outside quickly in terror. There, he witnessed a sight that made his heart stop for a second.
In the direction that the monster screamed in, all the rocks, debris, and buildings were swiped away completely. Leaving behind an empty barren land. With just one single scream, it cleared out an entire area.
That's when Talon realized again… He was fighting a Level 25 monster.
(A//N: Thanks to everyone who supports the book with power stones and golden tickets, you guys are the best:) )