His muscles burned with pain, his legs moved with a speed they had never before run, his heart pounded so hard it seemed to want to escape his chest.
His ears were deafened by a cacophony of tearing flesh, beastly laments, and terrifying howls laden with a silent threat.
The terror had been etched in his eyes after having fought face to face with death and escaped unscathed.
But on his lips stained by his own blood after the excessive effort, a slight smile totally out of place formed in stark contrast to the terror on his face.
Then, his heart not only bore fear and despair, but also a slight hidden excitement blossomed within it.
A tingling spread from his chest.
Without stopping his run, he brought his hand to his face, feeling the smile on it.
'What is this?' he thought in confusion.
The sensation was at once strange, terrifying, yet exciting and addictive in equal parts.
Was it from facing the beast?
He didn't know, nor could he allow himself to be carried away by that feeling. After all, his life was still in danger.
The gigantic ape had been left fighting against dozens of beasts; the sounds of its battle spread through the vast forest. Its defiant roars indicated a desire to claim the territory for itself, drawing the attention of anyone who dared challenge it.
Because of this, the path before him was oddly peaceful, although creatures prowled here and there, the vast majority of them had been seduced by the defiant roars.
The problem was those too weak to have even a slight hope of claiming the territory.
Creatures whose strength depends solely on ambush and betrayal remained patient and ready to sink their claws into those fools blinded by the hunger for power.
To his right, a huge golden-furred beast was moving nimbly on all fours. Its fierce fangs protruded from its jaws like two giant swords.
Its tail moved with a life of its own as if it were watching every corner of the dark forest.
It did little good when, unfortunately, it jumped onto a rounded bush, countless sharp thorns extended and took the feline mid-flight, dragging it inside and leaving behind a heart-wrenching scream.
Blood slowly oozed from beneath the bush.
On the other hand, a massive creature with two sharp horns on the sides had stepped into the trap of a subterranean creature, thus disappearing into the depths of the earth.
It couldn't even leave a sound behind.
Matt was so dismayed by each of the deaths happening around him that, unfortunately, he couldn't react when a gigantic tail covered in green scale armor lashed out and struck him directly in the chest.
"Aaarghh"
The powerful blow not only knocked the air out of him but also made his bones crack and churned his insides, sending him flying several meters until crashing against a hard tree.
The tree shook, and the leaves fell around him.
Pain flooded his body, his hands moved toward his chest where his shirt was destroyed, and his skin reddened and barely scratched with small drops of blood refusing to leave his body.
But he was whole.
The blow hadn't gone beyond that; he hadn't been split in half, there were no broken bones or destroyed organs as there would have been days ago. Instead, there was only pain and a new scar to add to the many that his life in Gloria City had left behind.
If he had any doubts before, now he was sure, the system had worked wonders on his body, and best of all, it was just the beginning.
But before thinking about the future, he would have to survive the present.
Lifting his gaze, his face froze when he came face to face with the beast that had sent him flying.
'Of all the creatures in the forest, did it have to be you?'
In front of him, a gigantic lizard stood with its murderous gaze, a dented crown protruding from its head, extending its spikes along its spine down to its long and powerful tail.
Its small legs ended in sharp claws, and its jaws closed with teeth that escaped from the sides, forming what looked like a terrifying smile.
'Scaly King.'
Matt let out a defeated sigh. Among all the creatures he had analyzed in the forest, that was the most terrifying and lethal.
The lizard approached slowly, the world seemed to disappear, leaving them alone, the footsteps echoed in his head like thunder, a bestial smile formed on the creature's face as a serpentine tongue slipped from its mouth as if anticipating the taste of flesh.
Suddenly, each of the spikes that made up its crown emerged, connected to its body by a thin thread covered in tiny scales.
Each one moved, like dangerous whips, using their sharp tips like blades and surrounding Matt in an instant.
Cold sweat ran down his face and back as he felt the blade's edge caressing his skin, as if the beast was seasoning its prey's flesh with suffering and anguish before taking the first bite.
It was at that moment that he felt it, the threads tightened and their blades hardened with the edge at his face, a moment before launching at him at near-sonic speed.
Feeling these movements, Matt's body reacted purely on survival instinct, ducking just in time, the air whistled over his head, and then came a dull sound as the blades struck the tree behind him.
His eyes opened wide, and when he turned, the blades had destroyed much of the tree, sinking into it and hooking onto it.
Suddenly, the threads tightened in a failed attempt to pull back.
Seeing that moment as an opportunity, he turned and began to run, but stopped in the next instant.
A new blade whistled through the air, barely grazing his cheek. At that moment, his eyes turned to the creature, and his blood froze when each of the spikes that made up its body stretched out like new blades no less deadly than the previous ones.
Stepping back, he barely dodged three of them, only to find five more threatening to tear off his head.
Fearfully, he covered his head with both crossed hands and crouched, but it was too late.
The first three passed over his head, grazing his hair and embedded into the tree; however, the next two struck his palms.
Despite the thinness of the threads, the force behind them was titanic, pushing him so easily that his body moved like a simple doll.w
He groaned in pain as he felt his body hit the wood with such force that his bones nearly broke.
When he opened his eyes, new spikes were heading toward him. he tried to resist, but his feet were levitating, held by the blades in his palms.
Then, his legs were also pinned to the tree, making any escape impossible.
"Aaarrgh!" He screamed loudly, trying to break free.
Each instant felt like hell, and every movement sent a stabbing pain through each of his nerves.
In his desperation, the reptile slowly approached, sticking out its gigantic tongue to savor its victim.
Then he stopped struggling, and a flash of terror became evident as he tightly closed his eyes, anticipating the worst.
It was then that a dull sound was heard, accompanied by a fierce screech.
His body shook so violently that the blades found a way out, slipping between his fingers. However, the ones in his legs remained and dragged him several meters, the friction with the grass tearing his clothes and skin, leaving terrible bruises on him.
When he finally stopped, his whole body roared in pain, but something had changed.
Matt got up, supporting his hand on the grass, groaned in pain, and fell onto his elbow. When he opened his eyes, the image in front of him left him breathless.
The blades that had held him were scattered on the ground, lifeless, and a large portion of the tree had been torn off and now lay next to them. While the great reptile lay with its inert body resting against another tree.
Its skull had exploded into pieces with its blood scattered everywhere, and the body of a large wolf rested on top of it, or what was left of it.
The wolf had exploded from the tremendous force of the blow, fusing its flesh with that of the reptile, its bones and exposed guts stood out in a grotesque display over the fur.
Matt shuddered in terror, and a crazy idea crossed his mind.
He turned toward the great ape in the distance and froze.
'What the hell!?'
In the distance, the dark ape stood over the bodies of several creatures, wolves, birds, and snakes lay at its feet like a mountain of death.
The ape looked at him for a moment before pounding its chest and roaring with all its might.
Soon, a new creature jumped on it, clinging to its legs with terrifying tentacles.
Matt took a deep breath. He wanted to know why that beast was helping him, but it was not the time to look for answers.
Using all the strength in his being, he stood up, the blades in his legs were cut, but the pain remained, making him feel like hell just by standing.
His eyes turned to the bodies of the reptile and the wolf, both of which were in a perfect position, forming a bridge to the nearest branch.
His eyes shone with determination, and his teeth clenched tightly as he limped in their direction.
He groaned in pain when he had to use his hands to climb over their bodies, sinking into the flesh and fur, and the stench of blood filled his nose.
But his mind was clearer than ever, with a single thought crossing it.
'I have to survive!'
Climbing the tree was not much easier; in fact, it was a hellish task with his injured hands and legs, and it felt as if at every moment he was about to faint.
It was in this moment that he thanked the heavens, for without the Blessing skill, he would have bled out; on the contrary, he would have fallen long ago.
Once at the top, his body collapsed onto the gigantic branch, his heavy breathing finally began to calm, and a small smile appeared on his face.
Then, when everything was supposed to be darkness and terror, a faint light appeared in the distance like a lantern in the middle of the darkness.