Snap!
The world blurred for a fraction of a second, blue light spilling into my vision as time rewound itself 30 seconds prior.
I quickly lowered my neck and hid behind a dune. My hands, which were by my sides, instinctively flew to my mouth to cover it.
'What the actual fuck…' I took silent breaths and gathered my thoughts.
There was no way I didn't see what I saw clearly. Without a doubt, that monster had turned to stare at me, but how was it possible?
I had used a full week to study this area, and I was sure that all monsters in this desert were blind… or was I wrong?
Shaking off the thought, I relaxed my back a little, took another breath, and raised my head slightly to peek at the monsters.
The moment I did, my heart jumped straight into my stomach. My legs began trembling, and my eyes were fixed on what I stared at.
Directly in front of me, staring into my eyes as if searching for their depth, was the flying snake from earlier.
The snake grinned.
'This fucker!'
He could see me.
I was sure now. The way it was staring at my eyes and the sickening grin it let out when it noticed my pale skin.
I forced out a grin too.
I could just snap my hands now and everything would rewind back, but that would be a waste of a loop. There was enough mana to have as much as possible, but I wasn't one to waste things.
Instead of opting for the safer option, I raised my hand and clapped it gently.
[User has activated Runic Skill: Equalization]
The monster tilted its head as a bit of fog escaped my lips and mana coated my outer skin. The sun and moon tattoos on my hands were now glowing, and with one leap I made some distance between the monster and me.
The Desert Rider let out a small hiss before lunging forward.
By now, my 30-second safe zone was nearly over, so I didn't need to put much mind into it. All I needed was to make sure the bastard didn't make a loud noise that would alert the others.
I spread my legs, stretching my hands forward to grab the monster by the tail and tossing it over my shoulder with mana enhanced arms.
The Desert Rider opened its mouth and shot out poison. I shifted quickly to the side, the sand rising at my feet, making my legs hurt a little.
However, it didn't stop there. It took to the sky, shooting poison sprays one after another to make sure I couldn't come close. Once it was far enough, it opened its mouth, forming a ball of poison.
By that time, the other Desert Riders had already noticed my presence.
I could certainly defeat a level 2 monster, but it was a different story when there were more than one.
"Well fuck it!"
Snap!
Time reset itself again, and I found myself just before the monster took to the sky.
The poison that it shot towards me was in the air again, but this time I didn't dodge it.
The poison made contact with my skin in an instant, and a sharp pain coursed through my entire body. My vision began to blur, and it seemed the surroundings were no longer a desert but an oasis.
I held my ground and reached out for the part of my body that the poison had touched. I could feel the liquid poison on my skin.
There was a reason why I took the blow this time.
I took the poison that was now on my skin and put it into my mouth.
"Hehe… hahahaha!"
The taste of the poison was that of garbage, but that was beyond the point. I wasn't yet that hungry where I would go around eating poison.
The reason was simple.
[Your unique skill Assimilation has been triggered]
[Because of your understanding of poisons from your previous life, no attack with this level of poison or lower can harm you]
A large grin spread across my face, and my blurred vision began to clear.
If this was really the case, then that special thing that the body of the Desert Rider caused was all mine.
The monster still had a grin on its face, and now I was surrounded by its fellow folks.
But it was different this time. Without a skill, they were lesser than the holographic Asura. And since I could beat her, these monsters were NOTHING.
I spread my legs into a stance like I was about to draw a sword. My breath came in a steady rhythm.
One…
Two… three… four…
Five… six…
Once it reached ten slow breaths, I shut my eyes, letting my mana flow through my hand.
Mana was a tangible force, just like electricity, which meant it could be reshaped "physically" the way the wielder wanted.
I opened my eyes once more, the vision of a katana already in my heart.
With a swift step back, I lowered my posture, mana surging through my body and feet.
Mana crackled like electricity at the tip of my fingers until a visible blue katana formed in my palm.
I lunged forward, using the extra mana in my feet as a boost, as I sliced one of the Desert Riders in two. The monstrosity didn't have time to react as the system flickered in front of me.
[You have killed a "Level 2" Desert Rider]
[You are the first "Level 0" hunter to kill a Level 2 demon]
[You have earned an enormous reward]
A grin formed on my face, and I nearly burst into loud laughter. After days of sitting still and doing nothing, I was finally gaining the fruit of my patience.
My head tilted back unnaturally as I stared directly at the other Desert Riders who were about to take to the sky.
I lunged forward before they could even think, slicing them one after the other, the grin still plastered on my beautiful face.
The demons fell one after the other, and the system kept chiming in my head.
After ten minutes of absolute joy, I darted my gaze around only to notice that all the Desert Riders around me were already dead.
I let out a heavy sigh and sat down on the cold sand.
"That was a nice hunt."
With this much meat, I could probably survive for a bit more time.
My gaze lowered to my shaking hands. They were pale and thin. If it wasn't for my massive amount of mana, I could have died of hunger already.
I stood to my feet and wiped the dirt off my clothes.
Once I was on my feet, I pulled out a sack made out of cloth with a runic symbol etched on it.
The rune had one useful use, and that was to hold more weight than it normally could. It was the same set of codes used when programming an in-game inventory, so making it wasn't that hard.
I put the Desert Riders inside the sack and stared at the horizon.
The sun was going to come up soon, so I would have to stop my adventure here.
I turned back towards the route I used to come here and began running back to the skull.
I couldn't escape now, but with food, I could come back later and get out of the damned desert.