The walk was surprisingly calm. A fact that would have made me feel except for the constant sensation of eyes on me. It wasn't the same as the killing intent though I was sure that got worse the further I moved. This was different like a low-level version of my danger sense. It was enough to grate on my nerves but no matter what I did I couldn't find where it came from nor could I make them attack. I considered blasting everything around me for a moment, but my gut told me not to do that. There was also the fact that my spell wasn't set up for widespread destruction. The status quo continued for what felt like an eternity when I heard a branch snap. I spun just in time for my danger sense to go into overdrive.

The dull hum turned into a scream as an orange blur shot toward me. I leaped to the side but was too slow. Pain exploded in my left shoulder before I could process what just happened. I turned after the blur ready to blast whatever it was. What I saw nearly made me piss myself. A tiger the size of a car had somehow managed to leap past me and dig its claws into the dirt. Claws that dripped with blood. My blood. The realization allowed my brain to catch up with the rest of my body. My left arm was clawed so deep I could see the bone. The upgrade to my species had to make my bones stronger because there was no way I should have an arm left. Based on the look on the tiger's face it agreed. It seemed like the world had frozen as we stared at each other.

The stillness was destroyed as we went into a flurry of movement. The tiger shot for my throat, no doubt intending to rip it out. I pushed as much energy as I could into Psychic Aegis. The brief window before the barrier emerged was an eternity as the tiger crossed the distance. I threw myself to the ground. The tiger was so close that I could feel its warm breath as it passed over me. Thankfully my shield formed just as I hit the ground. I pushed energy into my mental attack and threw my hand forward. The tiger was bathed in indigo light before it could launch at me again. It stumbled and I retreated. I had to put some distance between us. I only made it ten feet before the tiger was after me. "Fuck!" I exclaimed as it slammed into my shield.

A spider web of cracks spread out from the impact sight but it held. I wasn't sure who was more surprised between me and the tiger. I flashed the overgrown cat a smile and blasted it again. It was the tiger's turn to retreat. It was stuck in between a proverbial rock and a hard place. It was forced to decide between taking and receiving an attack or fleeing. After a few more exchanges it decided to run. I pushed my body to its limit and was just barely able to keep the damn thing in range of my spell. Our battle quickly turned into a one-sided slaughter now that it gave up on attacking. A burst of spiritual energy confirmed its death and I couldn't help but cry out.

Adrenaline shot through me like the greatest of caffeine. "Am I losing my mind?" I laughed as I turned away from the tiger's corpse. I wasn't sure how long I sat at the base of a tree and laughed before I got control over myself. I took a moment to address my injury and was a bit concerned. The injury was healing, which was good but I had no way to protect against any kind of infection. As far as I knew these robes didn't have that kind of protection. It was a bit freaky to see the robes clean up the blood stains almost as fast as they were made. It kind of looked like the robes were drinking the blood which was kind of fucked up.

I came back to the current moment and let out a sigh. The killing intent was mostly gone now. Which meant the major threat to this section of the forest was gone. The only exception came from the West. Even with my makeshift bubble, it felt like I stared into the maw of a monster. Part of me wanted to get out of here but that wouldn't work. Mostly because the System wouldn't teleport me out of here until after I had dealt with the monster. There was also the fact that whatever the fuck it was would make me stronger. Another part of me was worried about my growing desire to push myself into danger but that part was quickly pushed down.

I wasn't a mental health expert but I didn't need to hesitate right now. I stood up and resummoned my shield. There was no way I would survive if something stronger and faster than the tiger got the drop on me. I considered cultivating to regain more energy but the kill energy was more than enough. I also didn't feel comfortable just sitting here. I didn't want to run the risk of more monsters stumbling across me. I gave myself another ten minutes to rest before I set out. The walk through the rest of the forest was no less nerve-wracking. After then minutes I wished that the beast would just step out from behind a tree and we could get the battle over with. It was made worse by its consistent nature. This didn't feel like I was being watched, it felt like I was being led to a ring. A place where I would either be the victor or torn apart. Just another fool who got too big a head.

I gritted my teeth and gave up my bubble of defense. Instead, I pushed my aura outward in every direction. It felt like I was yelling into the void around me. Declaring myself as more than prey, more than victim. I wasn't sure what I expected to happen but it certainly wasn't what did happen. The forest around me shattered as if it were made out of stained glass. My attention was pulled to the monster sitting less than thirty feet away. It was a lion the size of an elephant only it was all wrong. It had a pair of demonic wings that were tucked down and around him. Its head looked monstrous and misshapen as if someone only had a bare idea of what a lion was supposed to look like. The monstrosity's tail was the striking part. As if someone saw the king of the jungle and thought it needed more weapons. It had thick bone spines that covered the tail like a mace.

It took me longer than I wanted to admit to make the connection. This wasn't a lion at all. It was a massive manticore. The part of my brain still reasonable enough to process fear wanted to run as far away as possible but another part couldn't help but smile. I scanned the area as much as I could but it was clear there was nowhere for me to run. Instead, I focused on the part of me that wasn't afraid. The part of me that wanted to fight this monster. I concentrated all of my killing intent, my desire, and my will on it. As if I could kill just by wanting it bad enough.

The manticore finally moved. A cruel gleam in its eyes as it got to its four feet. The beast didn't need to speak for me to understand what it felt. Two predators had entered the same domain. Only one of us would get out. The manticore opened its mouth and let out a roar. A roar so dark and demented that it felt like it came from the deepest pits of hell. A primordial fear swelled up inside me to the point that nothing mattered except for getting away. I took a step back but the manticore followed. There was nowhere to go. I was going to die. I was— Suddenly something inside me snapped and the fear was forced back. It was still there but now it was more manageable. I didn't feel like I was going to drown in it and the manticore looked more normal now. As normal as a ten-foot-tall lion monster could look anyway.

It only took me a moment to figure out what happened. The bastard had used a mental attack, one that made me afraid. Fury swelled inside me as I stared at it. This overgrown cat had made me terrified. I grabbed hold of that ember of fury and stoked it until it was a mighty flame. I began pushing spiritual energy toward my spells and the manticore lunged. The manticore turned into a blur of motion but it was still slower than me. I abandoned defense and unleashed Psychic Blast. The manticore was forced back a step as the light washed over it. Instead of being cowed, the manticore raised its tail and unleashed three barbs at me.

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I dodged all three before I broke out into a sprint. I wouldn't be able to beat the manticore in a straight-up brawl but its mind couldn't be as strong as its body. I shifted my focus to summoning Psychic Aegis just as the manticore leaped after me. "I should have put more points into Agility." I scolded myself as the manticore swiped for me. Its claws caused the aegis to shatter. My eyes widened as I was forced to make a choice. I sacrificed my left arm to narrowly avoid the beast's jaws. I bit back a scream of pain before pressing my free hand against its head. I unleashed another Psychic Blast. The attack was more of a flashbang of light. I couldn't tell if touching my target made it stronger. It succeeded in giving me the chance to get away.

I bit back a scream of pain as I tried to my left arm. It was likely broken and I wanted nothing more than to leave it alone but I couldn't. I bit back another cry of pain as I used my other hand to place it inside my robes. I couldn't make a cast for it but this would stop it from flailing about. The manticore must have sensed my weakness because it shot toward me with renewed vigor. I summoned Psychic Aegis once again this time focusing a continuous stream of spiritual energy into the spell. The manticore slammed into the barrier like it had hit a steel wall. The small victory was enough to drive me forward.

Another blast of psychic energy met the wolf as I pressed forward. I tried to hold the barrier in place while attacking but it was impossible in my current state. I would get either a worthless attack or a worthless defense. A scream of danger warned me just in time to avoid a storm of barbs. Even with the warning Two of them cut through my right leg. I screamed and collapsed to one knee. I blasted the manticore just as it moved to capitalize on the moment. The beast leaped back and narrowly avoided the attack. My knee buckled as I forced myself to stand back up. I took a second to look over the wound and my blood ran cold. There was a green liquid dripping out of the wound. "Poison? Why why would something like this need poison."

I mentally cursed whatever fucked up person created this thing and turned my attention back to the fight. The manticore snarled and rushed me. I unleashed another blast only for the manticore to turn into a blur. I was in motion before I felt the scream of danger. The manticore's claws narrowly missed my right eye. The dodge cost me as I landed on my left arm. I screamed as agony shot through me. "Fuck fuck fuck." My knees buckled as I forced myself to stand up. Plans ran through my mind as I tried to figure out what I should do next. A plan formed in the back of my mind. One that made me want to curse everyone. I gritted my teeth as the manticore began another charge.

I gritted my teeth and stood my ground. The manticore leapt for me and it was like time crawled. I watched its wicked maw opening like the executioner's axe. Every instinct I had including my danger sense told me to move, to run, to avoid that mouth. Still, I stood. When the manticore was close enough I let out a roar of defiance and rushed forward. I lowered my shoulder and slammed into the manticore's body with everything I had. My Strength was no match to the beast but I never needed it to be. Its maw met empty air before we crashed to the ground. I suppressed another cry of pain before reaching up with my right hand. I unleashed a continuous burst of Psychic Blast. The manticore recoiled from the mental attack but it wasn't able to get its body under control.

Something slammed into my side but I refused to be moved. I reached for that part of me that enjoyed battle. The part of me that would give me the power to keep going. I wasn't sure where the idea came from, it was like someone else had reached down and taken control of my body. I reached my mental tendrils out for my aura and narrowed it on top of my spell. It was like they refused to be mixed, as if they had water and oil but how would that stop me? I forced the two together and indigo turned into a deep azure blue. The manticore let out a cry of pain. A cry that sounded like the sweetest music I had ever heard.

Another blow, this one took me from behind and nearly caused me to fall. The manticore once again unleashed its roar and the fear crept in. I snarled in defiance my ruined hand coming forward as I unleashed another blast of mental energy. Finally, the manticore went still. I let out a scream of triumph as my vision began to fill with darkness. I fought it off as long as I could. I wouldn't run the risk of it being a trick. If the manticore was just— the thought was washed away as a tsunami of kill energy slammed into me. It felt like I had fallen into an ocean of power and pleasure. A bottomless ocean. When the darkness finally claimed me it was a sweet sweet release.

I bolted up in a panic. Spiritual energy churned in my dantian as I scanned everything. I wasn't in the forest anymore. I was in my bed? The end of the battle rushed back to me and I chuckled. One chuckle turned into a bellyaching laugh as I reflected on how close I was to death. I wasn't sure if I laughed out of relief or if it was out of fear or some other emotions. No matter what I did I couldn't stop. I wasn't sure if I had gone crazy or not but part of me enjoyed it. In a situation where a reasonable person would have run or shat themselves, I laughed. I proved myself better than the manticore. Better than the metal man, better than the wolf. Every battle since the start of this death game rushed through my mind. Each one made another round of laughter pass through me.

"I did it," I spoke out loud when I finally got control over myself. "This is wonderful. I won." I scanned my body for any injuries but there were none. No one had explained why were healed after the quests especially when I wasn't even awake for it. Not that I was complaining. Now that the quest was over it was time to go over my spoils. The first of which was the massive amount of kill energy. It was just enough to push me to level 14. Which brought me within six levels of my class. Those twenty levels felt like a far-off goal at first but now. Now they were inevitable. It was a given that I was going to get a mental class. I killed everything with mental attacks. I left spending my attribute points after I reviewed the new titles. Of which there were two.

Tutorial- Quest 6: Survive The Tutorial Reward: All Attributes +10 All Attributes +10%

Overlord Slayer: Solo kill enemy 30 levels or more above you. All Attributes +5, All Attributes +10%.

Both titles added to my monstrous power in a way that made the near-death experience worth it. I still had nothing to compare it to but I felt confident that this was enough. I was a bit curious as to what the next stage of the tutorial title would be but that was something to worry about tomorrow. I still had six points to spend and the last battle made me want to go toward Agility. The only thing stopping me was the sudden boost I just got. Putting the points into Wisdom would bring the attribute across the one-hundred-point line. Of course, once I got my class I imagined Wisdom would just shoot up even further. Which would make my other attributes an even bigger weakness. There was a third option though. It was clear that surviving wounds was a big deal. Despite the barrier each of my fights required me to take several brutal hits which meant Constitution was a serious contender. I went back and forth on it for a few more minutes but the more I thought about it the more Constitution seemed like the winner. Once I spent my points I turned my attention to my quest log and my new reward.