Behind him stood a Direwolf, blood from its lesser kin dripping from two massive fangs, each about the length of a pole and sharper than any blade.
The creature rose nearly seven metres at the shoulder, brutishly muscled. Its fur was a coarse blend of black and ember-red, with faint orange light pulsing along its spine when agitated, as it was now.
Its eyes glowed molten gold, like twin smouldering furnaces.
'I thought I had struck good luck for once, but as always, I get the damn usual served,' he thought, a faint tremor running through him.
The only advantage was that he needed only to avoid its strike if he could. Its agility tripled that of an athletic field runner, with strength far above a sumo wrestler's.
Luck, if that word could even be used in this dead-end situation, came from the fact that the beast, despite being Enraged, was still in the Foundation Purification Realm.
So long as it had not ranked up, it possessed no elemental affinities at all.
However, another edge was that the creature was such a menace that all lesser beasts avoided this path to keep from being eaten.
It had no protectors because it had devoured every single one of them.
Kyle shook his head, forcing his scattered thoughts into order before the beast could strike.
He needed to get out, but desperation clawed at him.
Leaving without the Essence Cores was unthinkable.
This was his chance, and letting emotion cloud his judgement would only worsen the odds.
It was time to take the greatest risk of his life. He bit his lip and ducked just as the Direwolf's claws lashed out.
The strike missed by only a few inches, gouging a deep mark in the ground.
The chamber's cramped space hampered the beast's movement, but what should have been Kyle's greatest advantage meant little.
He was still too weak.
***
Vitality: 68%
Stamina: 54%
Spirit Energy: 73%
***
'Yes… kill me, rather!' Kyle roared inwardly, eyes burning with a constant rage as he twisted and ducked, each dodge became slower than the last.
His major stats had plummeted long before this fight, not because of the Direwolf but from earlier encounters.
Even before awakening the manual, dodging its strike had been nearly impossible.
Now, that sudden skill was his only lifeline.
But something felt different. He knew the reason, but it was irrelevant now.
Despite his sluggish pace, he was starting to read its movements, catching flickers of intent before it struck.
The advantage was, however, short lived.
One hooked nail raked his arm, slicing through his trash armour and ragged cloth with ease, leaving a single, deep gash on his skin.
He crashed backwards into a mound of dead Glassfang rats, the stench of stale blood enveloping him as their limp bodies half-buried him.
The beast saw him still and moved in to finish the kill.
Instinct took over, snapping his mind into a brief, reckless clarity.
He burrowed deeper into the pile, shoving carcasses forward to shield himself as thick, ashen blood spilled over him like a grotesque shower.
"Ugh, fuck all this. I'm going to survive and get out of this cursed place, no matter what." He muttered with a grimace, burrowing deeper until his hand found the iron picker.
Without thinking, he drove it wildly into the surrounding corpses, not caring where the point landed.
The Direwolf's first strike slammed into the mound, sending bodies tumbling and almost exposing him. His eyes narrowed with desperation and he forced himself further down until he hit a dead end.
Then he began ripping Essence Cores free in a frantic rhythm, one after another.
Three more strikes shattered the pile completely, but by then Kyle had seized eight Cores and flung them to the ground.
With them secured, he could now fight to the last breath. He believed he was going to survive.
Kyle gritted his teeth and hurled himself at the beast like a cornered animal, driving the picker into its hide. The point bent instantly.
Without Qi, the weapon was useless.
He was hurled aside like a rag doll, crashing into the wall with bone-jarring force. Blood spattered from his lips as his eyes flared wide, the shock fading into a grim resolve.
Within moments he was dragging himself upright, each staggered step carrying the singular intent to kill.
This time, the beast's Essence Core would be his trophy.
He launched himself forward, ferocity contorting his features, the weapon arcing towards its eye with murderous precision.
"I will kill you, bastard!" he roared, every fibre in his body coiled for the decisive blow.
***
A few minutes later, Kyle slumped half-conscious against a corner. The Direwolf writhed in agony, completely blind and unable to regenerate either eye. It roared fiercely, raking its claws against the ground in torment.
Kyle glanced up, coated in his own blood, the beast's, and the remains of the carcasses.
His eyes flickered with a weary, hopeless light.
That was the fullest extent of the damage he could inflict — a bitter humiliation that weighed heavily on him. The crushing burden of his frailty closed in once more.
"Why? Why? Why? Just why won't you die?" he rasped, mustering the last of his strength to shout in bitter frustration.
The familiar voice returned, announcing his precarious condition:
***
Vitality: 45%
Stamina: 20%
Spirit Energy: 34%
***
Kyle smiled grimly at death's door and spoke in a hollow voice, "Thanks for the information. But I'm quite certain I said I'm not done until this bastard dies."
He struggled to rise, only to collapse back in despair.
Yet surrender was not an option.
The will to kill blazed fiercely within his chest, and soon his eyes ignited with fierce determination.
Despite his broken state, he surged forward with astonishing agility, leaping at the blinded creature and relentlessly driving his weapon into its wounded eyes, inflicting agony beyond measure.
The creature's vitality gradually ebbed, slow and inexorable, until it could endure no more and collapsed to the ground, as exhausted as Kyle himself.
Ashen blood and tears welled from its eyes, pooling on the ground as the creature, partially sentient, trembled beneath the shadow of inevitable death.
Moments later, the pain intensified until it claimed the creature's life.
Kyle collapsed onto the ground, tumbling like a battered ball, his eyes wavering briefly towards slumber, perhaps a final one.
***
[Alert!] First kill
[Alert!] You have slain a Green Zone boss, Enraged rank, Direwolf
[Reward] One Qi condensation pill granted. All stats fully restored
Congratulations on your remarkable achievement, [Clueless]
[Your needs have been fulfilled]
[The Green Zone is now liberated]
***
"...Luck? What a scam."
That was Kyle's final word before darkness claimed his vision entirely.