Shao Lin shouted a warning.

I looked and it was some kind of weird creature there, one I recognized from the books after giving it a second glance.

It was large, nearly three meters tall while on all fours with thick, stubby legs full of muscle. Its head was large and flat and looked like a clam with its one-piece bone armor. It had small beady eyes and two tiny slits for a nose.

Called a Snapper, the thing usually lived in swamps or muddy bogs where it lay in wait, mostly buried beneath the surface. It was an ambush predator, so it was weird seeing it like that, walking around in meter-deep snow. Especially since it was a slow creature with not much protection from its scales other than the face and upper back.

But I guess that’s what happened during Beast Tides. Creatures got displaced and conflict ensued.

And the Snapper noticed us after a while, its poor sight not giving it any help in that matter.

It immediately snapped its jaw in a warning and defensively lowered its head. Didn’t look like it wanted to attack us though. Actually, if anything, it looked nervous and scared.

I went closer and it began releasing what I could only interpret as warning growls to stay away. It was clearly getting aggressive but in a defensive kind of manner.

[What’s the wrong big guy? Running from someone?]

I apparently came too close as the creature snapped its mouth at me, which I dodged with a simple step back. I then slapped the top of its head, not too hard, but with the weight of my body behind it. Its chin cracked the frozen ground as it smashed into it, but it didn’t appear injured.

Definitely a good defense considering it was a lower rank.

But as its head was lower and I could see its back, I finally noticed long bloody cuts along its flank. They weren’t bleeding anymore, but they were fresh.

[Seems like we’re coming close. Someone recently sliced up this guy.]

“Yeah… I guess that would be those guys…” Shao Lin pointed into the distance.

[What-? Oh… my god…]

In the distance, among the thick trucks of various trees, I saw many brown forms moving, and as they came close I recognized the shape. It was not something I ever thought I would have the pleasure of seeing.

It stood on two strong back legs with sharp claws, had a long and powerful tail for balance, and tiny front arms in comparison, with a somewhat comically large head full of countless white razor-sharp teeth!

I almost burst out laughing.

[A dinosaur in early Golden Core?! And a Velociraptor no less!]

The brown feathery coat somewhat hid its magnificent form, so maybe it wasn’t a Velociraptor, but... Well, in my mind, it had to be.

Where else could one see a living prehistoric creature but in a world full of magic? They were much bigger too, than the records showed. Nearly two meters in height.

[Finally! Opponents worthy of battle!] I laughed. [You! Stay out of it.] I said to Shao Lin.

“That was my intention. Good luck.” Shao Lin answered and took a seat on top of the Snapper.

The creature protested at first and tried to throw him off, but after a few quick slaps, it shrunk down and didn’t try to resist anymore.

I internally nodded. I always knew that beating a beast into submission was the best way to tame it quickly. It even did it once. But, alas… That was before-

Anyway, I digress…

The raptors ran closer and spread out in a circle around the grounded Snapper. They rose to their hind legs and curiously looked at us, moving their heads somewhat like chickens would. Well, they looked at me mostly. Clearly, they haven’t seen a human before.

One of them came behind me and tried to bite my leg. It was really slow and careful in its attempt, but it didn’t escape the backhand slap that came its way.

[Bad! Bad raptor! You don’t go around biting people!]

Yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking either. The fact that they looked so much like the prehistoric creatures I grew up with, made me a bit… sentimental.

I didn’t even realize it was their tactic for one of them to keep my attention while the rest attacked from behind. And that’s exactly what happened. In the blink of an eye, I felt a bite on my shoulder, hand, leg, and ass.

Instantly I lost the ability to stand upright as the beasts tried to tear me apart, each of them pulling their own way.

[Sons of b-!] I was dragged to the ground before I had the time to properly curse and the rest of them piled on top, stabbing me with their sharp claws and stepping on my body as they tried to tear off chunks of my flesh.

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They were trying to eat me alive! And it hurt! Kind of…

[Ow! Stop that!]

“Enjoying yourself over there?” I heard Shao Lin say, mockery and sarcasm clear in his voice.

[Shut up, they are stronger than they look!] Individually they were nowhere near enough to overpower me, but when ten of them were trying to eat me at once, it became difficult.

It was nearly impossible to move when they tried to pull me apart by sinking their teeth into my flesh. I flared my Qi and reinforced my cells, yet the biting and tearing still drew blood, though not much.

I released the gravity nullification and my body immediately became ten times heavier. My true weight due to dense muscle was immense. I didn’t know exactly how much I weighed, but my feet would sink into the earth if I tried to run normally.

I struggled and jerked my body around, but they held me tight. I was stuck!

Then I suddenly got a brilliant idea. Chaotic Qi began gathering in my hands, and even before it completely formed a sphere, I released it.

Chaos magic was so messy. Phantom blades flared to life as the Qi in a small area was disrupted, and both I and the dinosaurs were cut all over our bodies in a hurricane that was created.

That seemed to do the trick as I was released and quickly took that opportunity to jump back on my feet.

I immediately gathered energy for another Qi Blast and stuffed it in the mouth of the first raptor that came my way.

[Eat shit, motherfucker!]

The ball of light flared inside its massive head, and despite a sudden spike in Qi activity from the beast in an attempt at protecting itself, Qi Blast detonated, showering me and the other creatures in blood and brain matter.

Not giving them any time to recover, my hands began glowing white hot and I went to pummel the second closest creature. It tried to tear into me, but I punched its neck and then gave it another jab on the snout that knocked it back and drew blood.

In the second it was disorientated, I dashed forward and hammered my left shoulder into it and wrapped my hand around its upper body. The fingers of my right hand then extended, and glowing white, I started stabbing them rapidly into its sternum.

Like a jackhammer breaking concrete, I broke through its ribcage and speared its heart. It died quickly and in agony, something that was inevitable in a brutal fight like that.

While I was doing so, the rest already recovered and began attacking my legs and back, tearing off what little clothing I still had. They were seriously pissing me off! Why did every retarded animal have to destroy my clothes?! Couldn’t they just bite my head off or something?!

I turned around and kicked and punched the creatures that were happily licking my blood. That was mine! How dared they drink my vital essence?! I would be doing that to them, not the other way around!

Needless to say, my body flared up in a rage. My shallow wounds healed up in mere seconds and I, naked as I was, threw myself into a brutal melee with the prehistoric creatures.

[Damn oversized chickens! You belong in a museum!]

I roared and gabbed one, one hand on the lower jaw, and the other on the upper. Everyone probably wonders what happened after, right?

Well, it’s not hard to guess. It tried to bite off my fingers, of course. As if I was going to let it do that.

I pulled my hands apart, scratching my palms on its teeth in the process, but that was nothing compared to the sickening crunch and the fountain of blood that sprayed out when I tore off the creature’s lower jaw.

[Try biting me now, bitch! That’s what you get for tearing my clothes!]

I gave it a kick, and it went sprawling on the floor, all strength having left its body.

Some of them began glowing with yellow light and tried to bite me again, but I became a real pugilist and punched like there was no tomorrow.

I held out my left hand and gave a right hook. And then a right hook. And after that, I did a right hook. Swiftly avoiding a clawed front kick, I leaned in and gave a… that’s right, a right hook! I was the best boxer the world had ever seen!

But I was getting predictable, so as another chomp missed my shoulder, I retaliated with-

No, it wasn’t a right hook, don’t be silly. It bit the creature in the neck instead! If they could do it, so could I!

Looking back at it, it wasn’t the best idea. My bite force was significantly underpowered compared to my punches, and the most it could do was pinch the raptor’s skin. Not to mention that I got a mouthful of feathers from that unorthodox move.

[Never mind!]

If I couldn’t bite and claw, there was a different way to kill.

But it was time to stop messing around. My gaze hardened and I became serious. Energy began gathering in my hands, and soon I had yellow spheres of Qi Blast forming on my palms.

I made use of my superior strength and speed and jumped in the air to avoid the myriad of attacks. Then the Qi Blasts rained down on my enemies.

The tiny spheres of death exploded and ravaged the land and creatures alike. Some of them, unfortunately, protected their bodies with barriers so they didn’t sustain any damage, however, I saw them fluctuate greatly after getting hit point blank.

Holding onto a branch while the beasts crowded underneath I was bombarding them with Qi Blasts every few seconds.

The magical energy was pushed through my arm and grew a sphere in my hand as I held it back to make it bigger. A few seconds later, when the proper amount of chaotic energy was gathered, I released it, and it shout out like a cannonball out of a cannon.

I became a magical artillery unit.

Destruction rained down, and the small dinosaur-looking creatures, having realized they were no match for my greatness, began running away. As if I would let them. I let go of the branch, and as my fall began, so did the gathering of Qi between my palms. I landed on the ground with a boom and with my hands raised above my head as a massive amount of magic formed a weapon between them.

It was an ice lance, three meters long and thicker than my head. It was shaking with energy as it powered up. I released it, my Ice Age Lance, and it disappeared and reached the escaping raptor in a split second.

It pierced the creature, making its body explode from the sheer force of impact, and then exploded for a good measure, shooting frozen shrapnel in a sphere around it.

Many other creatures fell down seconds later, their broken bodies pierced by icy fragments. Their fate was sealed as they slowly froze over, never to awaken.

I stood proudly, looking at my work. That was a pack of Golden Core creatures after all. They weren’t all that strong, in the First or maybe the Second Layer, but despite being beasts, their combat ability was nowhere near that of Shao Lin. Not to mention that they were small. Class I or II, if I wasn’t mistaken. The only thing they had for them were their numbers, and those fell quickly.

My body flared up once more, just to fix any bumps and scratches that remained, and then I wore another pair of simple clothes.

Ice magic wasn’t one of my favorites, but let’s be honest, it was winter. Ice Elemental magic was the only logical choice here. I didn’t beat all of the attackers as some managed to escape, but a quick count gave me nine bodies. More than enough for a few minutes of work.

And some of them died even without any visible wounds, foaming at their mouths. What weaklings!