Before taking action, Iskander steeled himself, moving cautiously toward the edge of the room. He was curious about what lay beyond the building.

As he reached the crumbling wall, the wind hit him hard immediately, forcing him to narrow his eyes instinctively. Where the hell am I?

That was the first thought that struck him as he gazed at the view beneath his feet. His brow furrowed in dissatisfaction.

It seemed Iskander was in a multi-story building perched on a small hill. At the base of the hill, the remains of what once might have been a city stretched endlessly into the distance.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t great at estimating distances, so he had to guess the city’s size in other ways. If I walked straight from this tower to that collapsed wall, it’d probably take me at least half an hour.

The silhouettes of towering walls loomed over the city, curving around it like a protective barrier, most of them crumbling already. However, on the right side, about seventy percent of the wall remained intact, while the rest had crumbled to less than half its original height.

Iskander spotted something resembling a sun hanging in the reddish-purple sky. Using it as a reference, he guessed the building he stood in—the observatory, perhaps—was north of the city center.

To the northwest of the observatory, a dead forest caught his eye. The trees there were unnaturally large, and from this distance, he couldn’t see their leaves—only the skeletal branches stretching toward the sky as if trying to claw at it. A thick mist blanketed the area. Hey, I’m an elf. I could probably manage to cross that forest, no? He humored himself, trying to ease his own feelings.

In addition to the forest, a massive fissure dominated the northeast landscape, which is the most striking feature in sight.

On the contrary, an unassuming temple-like structure stood on the west side of the hill where the tower stood. I might have to check that out later.

There were no other notable sights until—

“Hm?”

Iskander halted, his gaze sharpening. His attention was drawn toward the ruins below.

He hadn’t noticed it earlier. Are they moving? The shadows...

Amidst the ruins, a group of shifting shapes caught his eye. It took him a moment to realize they were shadows.

Focusing on the closest pile of rubble, his unusual keen vision revealed that the shadows were humanoid in form.

He furrowed his brow. Where are they coming from?

Normally, shadows are cast by objects blocking light—physical objects. But he saw nothing that could explain this phenomenon.

A feeling of unease quickly crept over him. I need to get out of here—

Thud!

Iskander spun around, drawing the kris as he did.

His gaze locked on the swirling dust near the only door in the room. A small piece of debris, unseen at first, had fallen from the ruins. The fragment rolled a few times before coming to a stop. Iskander reacted in confusion. Am I being too paranoid? No, I’m not. There’s something.

The door was on the northern side of the room, cast in shadow. The darkness didn’t impair Iskander’s vision. However, given what he’d just seen, an ominous feeling settled over him. He could also sense it right from the beginning—a blatant stare coming from that direction.

This… this is quite tense.

Iskander exhaled slowly, hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.

“Who are you?”

A heavy, yet youthful voice echoed through the room.

The words echoed in the empty space, but there was no reply.

The distance between the edge of the room and the door was about ten meters. Even if whatever was hiding there was faster than him, the scattered debris on the floor would slow it down. ‘Maybe I can reason with it,’ he thought, trying to stay positive.

To his disappointment, it couldn’t.

Damn it—

Iskander cursed under his breath, swiftly leaping over some rubble to his left.

Bam!

Something slammed violently into the wall where Iskander had been standing moments before.

He didn’t bother looking back to check the damage. His focus was entirely on the entity emerging from the shadows by the door.

If he had to describe it briefly—it was a monster.

There was no mistaking it; it was undeniably a monster.

To elaborate, it was a humanoid creature that moved on all fours. Its body was draped in tattered, purple garments, but what caught Iskander’s attention was its inhuman size—it stood over two meters tall at the shoulders, with a grotesquely oversized torso compared to its limbs. Despite its monstrous appearance, there were traces of human-like features, enough to make the creature even more unsettling.

One of the features cemented its monstrous nature were its eyes—or rather, their chaotic placement. One eye was lodged in its forehead, another beneath its jaw, and a third dangled disturbingly from its left cheek. Its face looked as if it were made of melting wax, with skin folding in warped, irregular patterns. Its mouth hung open unnaturally wide, revealing blunt, mismatched teeth as though they came from different creatures entirely.

A low, guttural growl rumbled from its throat, reverberating through the silent room. Iskander instinctively tensed. ‘I’ll need to avoid its arm strikes.’ It can hurl debris with that whip-like arm. A direct hit would leave him badly wounded.

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As he considered this, the creature lunged forward with unnatural speed.

That’s fast!

Iskander quickly jumped back, and to his surprise, easily avoided a swipe of the creature’s claws as they cut through the air. Dust and rubble flew into the air as the creature charged, tearing through everything in its path.

Roar!

Oh, shut up.

Iskander clicked his tongue.

He wasn’t intimidated by the creature’s speed. From the look of things, he wouldn’t be particularly threatened by that.

Just how should I kill this thing without getting myself hurt?

That was Iskander’s main concern.

As he shifted his stance, a sharp pain flared up on the upper left side of his waist, momentarily breaking his concentration. On top of that, his right elbow, left shin, and even his jaw throbbed with a dull ache—not severe, but enough to be a distraction.

The creature’s speed isn’t overwhelming— surprisingly. Aiura Moor’s body is clearly way above Iskander Yansen’s.

Iskander tried to think of a way, and quickly, knew that he would have to risk himself getting hurt in the process eventually. I hate pain…’

Iskander winced, but forced the nasty feelings aside and focused on what he should do.

“Grr.”

The monster growled, its gaze locking onto Iskander.

Iskander scoffed. “Here I am trying to negotiate—”

And you’re already coming at me again.

No sooner had he spoken than the creature lunged once more. This time, however, Iskander didn’t retreat. He didn’t sidestep either.

His sudden advance caught the monster off guard, causing it to hesitate for a brief moment. Good. Now, let’s see how you like this—

Iskander stared directly at the creature, and in that instant, his vision darkened.

Degrading Vision.

A single second was all he needed.

Confidence Reduction took effect immediately, causing the monster to freeze.

Seizing the opportunity, Iskander drew the Kris of Bloodhound and drove it smoothly into the side of the monster’s head.

“!”

The creature froze for a moment, its body stiffening as the paralysis took hold.

Iskander quickly withdrew the blade and leaped back, watching as the beast remained immobilized for another second, unable to move.

“Hehe…”

A faint smirk tugged at his lips.

The Blood Disruption seemed to be more powerful than I thought.

In addition to Blood Disruption, Kris of Bloodhound also has Slow Strike and Soul Drain effects.

Iskander hadn't pinned much hope on Slow Strike. As for Soul Drain, which reduced the enemy's Soul Force by 5% and transferred it to him, he could perceive the feeling that could be attributed to it, but it was so subtle that he only barely realized it was there. He shared the same lack of hope because of that.

The monster trembled, trying to shake off the effects. Its body shook as it struggled to move forward, impaired.

Iskander allowed himself a brief chuckle before forcing himself to stop.

Originally, he had considered using Tread of Decline to destroy part of the monster’s footing and knock it off balance. But that carried too much risk—he might have buried himself under the debris as well. He didn’t even know how high up this floor was. Would it be enough to seriously injure the creature? If it wasn’t high enough, the fall might not hurt it at all.

Now, I can finish it—

“!?”

Suddenly, the creature surged forward with unexpected speed, catching Iskander off guard. He didn’t have time to watch his step while he dodged.

“Urk?!”

The sudden movement caused him to stumble and fall.

In an instant, the creature loomed above him, its front limbs raised high.

“Shit—”

Iskander scrambled backward in a panic, barely managing to avoid the beast’s strike as it slammed down between his legs.

Quickly regaining his footing, he darted to the side. He was trying to put some distance between them. Yeah, no. I can’t do that.

He instinctively moved in a certain direction, allowing his body to react on its own.

Between his knowledge and "his" experience, it was clear which one he trusted more.

Sure enough, his kris collided with something solid, sending a shock up his arm as the force pushed him off to the side. Iskander almost lost his balance again, but at the last second, he managed to steady himself.

Crouching to avoid the monster’s whip-like swing that sliced through the air horizontally, he used the brief opening to deliver another slash.

Roar!

This time, he quickly retreated, successfully evading the counterattack. His eyes focused on the second effect of the Kris of Bloodhound now taking hold. A dark smile spread across his face. What is this thing, really?

He didn’t expect an answer, but just then, the Hologram appeared, shimmering faintly in his peripheral vision.

[Moniker: Husk

Type: Beast

Rank: Unique]

[Status Effects:

- Head Trauma: -20% Movement Speed

- Blood Loss (Kris of Bloodhound): Erratic blood flow for over 10 seconds]

[Abilities:

- Savage Claws: Powerful slashes that deal significant physical damage.

- Berserk Rage: Increases attack speed and damage by 50% when Health drops below 50%.

- Instinctive Reflexes: Enhanced reaction speed, making it difficult to ambush.

- Corrupted Regeneration: Regenerates 1% of maximum Health every 5 seconds unless incapacitated.]

[Weaknesses:

- Internal Damage: Sharp weapons are highly effective.

- Mental Attacks: Particularly vulnerable to mental disruption, such as confusion or paralysis.]

Iskander skimmed through the information quickly.

—huh, I can still kill this thing.

Its erratic, reckless movements suggested a lack of intelligence. Iskander wouldn’t say that he was particularly smart, but he is certainly more intelligent than this creature. Combined with his superior physical abilities, that gave him a clear advantage.

He glanced at the kris in his hand. I can get used to this body while I’m at it.

“Heh…”

He forced a grin.

Tightening his grip on the kris— now held in a backhand stance— he steeled himself for the next phase of battle ahead.

Come and get me, you ugly monster.