The clash of blade and bone, echoed in a flash of red energy. Dexter shielded himself from the unstable explosion, managing to keep a grip on his spear as he was blown back over ten meters. When he rose to his feet, he was appalled to see that the accumulated blood mist surrounding the weregoat could still be reabsorbed to heal the beast's wounds. Fortunately, his arm was safe for the time being.

Gradually, each of the wounds he had formed were closing, and tender pink flesh took their place. The weregoat now had patches riddled throughout its fur. Dexter knew each spot was begging to be reopened. The beast hadn't siphoned enough blood from him to receive a full heal, and he would soon oblige them. But there was no pause to the battle, and the pack members had once more encircled him, blocking the path to their leader.

Eager to resume their dance, the smaller weregoat charged, attempting to do what its larger brethren couldn't, and met a singing spear. The energy around the spearhead built into a frenzy, and as Dexter pivoted, he dove forward, killing the first of the higher tiered weregoats. His spear had plunged into its open maw, and he continued with the thrust, taking the body with him as the three remaining beasts sought an opportunity to strike. But rather than hitting him, they smashed into each other as he turned, resetting the playing field.

Down at his feet, he stabbed into the weregoats eye, confirming his first strike had ended it. The fangs on the creature were wide open, and he wondered if he had taken a direct bite, would he have been changed as well? He wasn't exactly sure if there was a werewolf on the mountain. But as he had gone further down the mountain, it seemed as if the goats became more wolf-like. The smallest weregoat was in a transitory stage between the first set of weregoats he had killed. If he were to assume the same as he headed further down the mountain, the blood horned monster could very well be in that same transitory state.

Dexter swallowed at the thought, increasing his vow to proceed with caution. He was now certain that without increasing his synergy with Advanced Spear Mastery, he would never survive in the forest. Iron Shroud alone wouldn't cut it. His blood would enrich the towering trees, acting as fertilizer while some wild supernatural creature consumed him alive.

Pulling his spear out of the corpse, Dexter entered the dance once more. He could feel the synergy with the spear growing, it had increased with every kill, but it still hadn't reached the first threshold. He had a long way to go before the skill resonated with him. A basic spear mastery would have been a better starting point. But as he jumped to the side to avoid being caged in again, he felt a sliver of an alignment and knew that it wasn't entirely useless for him at his level.

Meeting the next charging weregoat, Dexter stepped into its path as it lunged, and with scant resistance, his spear pulsating with an erratic beat slammed into the weregoats skull. The aftermath was more like a club bash after the collision, and Dexter's energy reserves plummeted. He had placed more energy into charging his attunement, much more than was necessary for the smallest weregoat. The infusion had granted him another kill, but there were four weregoats remaining now that the red one had rejoined its pack, and his energy reserves were now suffering.

The red weregoat entered with menacing ferocity, forcing Dexter to abandon the health bar he had stuffed into his mouth, and the energy bar he was about to unwrap and consume. It seemed as if the beast realized what he had done by eating the ration bar, and charged to put a stop to it. Without them, his reserves were about to take a major hit, pushing him to the brink of lowering his attribute effectiveness. But Dexter accepted the consequences, flaring his attunement once more, and smiled a vicious smile as a present presented itself.

[ Iron Shroud proficiency has increased! ]

[ Iron Shroud proficiency has increased! ]

[ Iron Shroud proficiency has leveled! - Basic: lvl 2 ]

The increased proficiency doubled his energy efficiency, thereby decreasing his exhaustion. Each strike managed to deliver increasing damage as his critical chance rose. With their pack leader beside them, the wolven goats' cohesion melded into a wild rhythm. It became harder and harder to isolate the creatures, but Dexter drew more energy from his tank, and eventually reached a point where he no longer had to exert himself. A glancing blow caused the weregoats to grow skittish, quick to avoid the attuned spear.

As before, the dance had slowly begun to change, shifting towards Dexter's control as he darted between the attacking beasts. A flick of his spear caused one of the beasts to falter in their attack, and he leapt towards it, activating the haste ability on his spear. It was one of the brief instances where his weapon aligned with his mastery skill like a fleeting butterfly. But with precision, his spear pierced into the weregoats' skull like a bullet, sinking up to the hilt.

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[ Iron Shroud proficiency has increased! ]

Dexter maneuvered behind the newly dead weregoat, placing it between himself and the three remaining werebeasts. His lungs heaved as he readied his spear, but the pulsating attunement slipped from his fingers, causing him to sway on his heels. He had but a drop left. But as he steadied himself, his eyes shot open in horror.

The red weregoat had once again activated its sanguine ability, where six ethereal horns formed over its crown. Each horn had its own set, including the one he had carved down into a stump. But it appeared the missing piece didn't matter because all the blood surrounding him had stirred, misting towards the red weregoat.

The two surrounding weregoats had their wounds mist over as well, and the essence transferred to their leader in the middle. Dexter watched on as the red weregoat howled, and the siphoned quickened. The weregoats eyes had sunk into their skulls at the sound, and their bulk wavered, shrinking by a full inch as more blood was drawn.

Dexter immediately grabbed a energy bar, eating it faster than he could blink. He then scrambled to unwrap another one, and ran away as far as he could. However, there was only so much ground he could cover, and as he backed away, the six blood horns converged into one. Clawed hooves raked the ground as the horns solidified, boring grooves into the gravel like tree bark. The red lance smoldered under the sun, nearing the length of Dexter's entire weapon.

The transformation caused Dexter's heart to pound in his chest, and he grew nauseous just from the sight of it. The beast was in an entirely different tier than he had ever expected. If the wounds he received from the ability hadn't closed, he'd have been reduced to a husk, having all the blood in him siphoned.

"Ten elites for ten levels," Dexter whispered, coaxing his attunement into a symphony. The quest had just become more daunting.

Falling into a previous stance, Dexter extended his spear, planting the butt into the ground. He would swear the earth began to shake as the weregoat drew closer. It took all of his mental fortitude to hold his position, drenching the spear with copious amounts of vital energy. But as the spear broke through the weregoat's neck upon impact, snatching its spine as it impaled itself, Dexter was rammed to the side like a truck hit him. He had avoided a direct hit from the blood horn, but that didn't stop him from being trampled over.

Blood coated his mouth as he took the full force of the momentum. He winced from a throbbing pain, rolling with the weregoat, when a horrifying snap echoed. But the situation was only less frightening as he realized it was his spear cracking and not all of his ribs. The leather armor was apparently sturdier than it looked. Fortunately, the weregoat flipped over him with the shaft of his spear lodged deep within its throat, having gone all the way through.

Fueled by adrenaline, Dexter dragged himself to his feet, when he spotted the remaining weregoats charging at him. Grabbing the broken half of the spear shaft, Dexter coated it in the remnants of Iron Shroud and pulled out his dagger. The improvised weapons mirrored themselves as he lashed out. There was no distance to exploit this time, but he continued pushing his attacks as two horns stabbed into him.

Blood gushed out from his mouth and his vision swayed. He had to do something before the second weregoat arrived, but the pain clogged his judgment. The only thing that was left to him was to blindly scream and lash out, yet the tactic worked, pushing away the darkness clawing at his mind. He had managed to stab deep into the beast's eye, fiddling with its brain.

Falling back, Dexter somehow had enough wherewithal to avoid the kicks and spasms from the weregoats claws. The maneuver caused him to fall over the red weregoat, and he caught sight of the grizzly spearhead. As if on autopilot, he reached around its neck to pull the spearhead out. That's when the last beast arrived, and he desperately swung the blade like a hammer.

[ Points received! - 5,500 Renown! ]

[ Title: Lionhearted - Single-handedly defeat a group with a combined power of 15 levels over you. *Bonus experience awarded! +3 to all stats. +5% effectiveness to all attributes when facing a group. ]

[ Points received! - 2,000 Renown! ]

[ Title: Slayer - Kill a beast 5 levels higher than your own. *Bonus experience awarded! +1 to all stats, +1% effectiveness to all attributes. ]

[ Points received! - 2,500 Renown! ]

[ Title upgraded: First blood - Become the first person in your world to slay an awakened beast. *Bonus experience awarded! +3 to all stats, +5% effectiveness to all attributes. ]

[ Points received! - 3,000 Renown! ]

[ Title: Giant Slayer - Kill an awakened beast 5 levels higher than your own. *Bonus experience awarded! +2 to all stats, +2% effectiveness to all attributes. ]

[ New Quests available! ]

[ Quest: Slayer I (Title) ]

* Kill 5 beasts over 5 levels higher than your own. 3/5

* Reward: Choice between 3 compatible skills (Unranked).

[ Quest: Giant Slayer I (Title) ]

* Kill 5 awakened beasts over 5 levels higher than your own. 1/5

* Reward: Choice between 3 compatible skills (Ranked).