The Draco’s evolution gave it many abilities that elevated it from what most normal people consider normal.
One of these abilities was the newly-gained protective eye layer. It evolved due to Evelyn constantly trying to blind it with her stone arrows.
It was confident that this arrow flying towards it would do nothing.
Then it experienced darkness. Half of its vision was suddenly taken from it by an arrow that broke through its protective layer.
It roars in pain. The sound contained madness and rage. Losing its focus, the Draco’s grip on Ximi suddenly weakened. Without missing a beat, Ximi strikes the Draco’s chest with his right fist, pushing the Draco off of him. Ximi immediately runs away from the Draco and into the forest.
While Ximi was escaping, the Draco’s mind screamed, not understanding what just happened.
WHAT HAPPENED?!
It didn’t understand how the sharp arrow that couldn’t hurt its body suddenly pierced it now.
Taking advantage of the confused Draco, Evelyn runs forward and leaps off the tree.
Midair, Evelyn pulls out three steel-tipped arrows. Notching them, Evelyn lets loose a barrage of steel hell. The Draco screeches in pain as three arrows embed themselves deeply into its body. It looks up to search for the source of its pain but Evelyn smartly keeps to the Draco’s blindside.
Landing on the ground, Evelyn starts to move. The Draco follows the sound but couldn’t find Evelyn.
Michael was right. It has almost 360 vision but now, one side is blind.
The Draco moves around, trying to catch a single view of Evelyn but she never stops moving. The Draco feels another arrow pierce its flesh. It feels the cold metal pierce its right thigh. The arrow was small and didn’t impede it but each time it moved, the arrowhead caused the Draco pain.
It continues to chase after Evelyn’s shadow but after getting pelted by three more arrows, it desperately thrashes around in a desperate attempt to hit Evelyn.
But Evelyn didn’t need to be in melee range to damage the Draco. Notching another arrow, Evelyn aims at her target. The Draco turns and finally sees Evelyn with its remaining eye.
She smiles and lets loose the arrow, targeting the Draco’s remaining eye. Fearful of the suddenly sharp arrows, the Draco covers its face with its wings. It didn’t care if the arrow pierces its wings as long as it doesn’t become blind. The Draco’s sensitive hearing takes note of the flying arrow which connects with its wings, only to bounce off.
The Draco was surprised but it was quickly replaced with elation. Removing its cover, it sees another arrow flying arrow. It had an expression of arrogance. This time it was confident and chose to ignore it but then the arrow pierces its protective scales and embeds itself deeply into the Draco’s neck. It roars in pain and confusion.
Tsk… missed the eyes.
While the Draco roared in pain, Evelyn was disappointed she missed her target. Despite the pain, the Draco charges forward. It could’ve flown upward to get some advantage but the pain it was experiencing was like no other. It was too addled by rage to think properly.
Evelyn immediately backs away but she notches multiple arrows and sends forward a volley. The Draco roars, planning to ignore the volley just to reach Evelyn. Then the volley of arrows connect, only to bounce off the Draco’s body
This actually causes the Draco to hesitate which gives Evelyn ample time to widen the distance again before notching another arrow.
The Draco charges again to try and rebuild its momentum. It sees Evelyn raising her weapon to shoot another arrow toward it. The Draco raises its wing to block the arrow only for it to bounce off again.
It continued its charge and two arrows flew toward it. It ignores it, believing it would bounce off again but the arrows pierce the Draco’s body, causing it to roar in pain and stopping it in its tracks.
Evelyn didn’t stop the barrage of arrows, alternating between the stone arrows and steel arrows. The confusing pattern prevented the Draco from figuring out which arrows were going to hurt and which weren’t.
Evelyn felt exhilarated. The Draco constantly hesitated moving due to the pain and Evelyn was able to extend the gap between them.
Despite the Draco’s current state, Evelyn knew that she hadn't dealt any lasting damage, except blinding one of the Draco’s eyes. But she still felt happy. After all, everything was going according to plan.
Except, that didn’t last long.
The Draco roars and spreads its wings. Evelyn shoots a steel arrow that pierces the Draco’s chest but contrary to expectations, it doesn’t flinch in pain. The Draco then charges.
Evelyn keeps pelting the monstrous reptile with a barrage of arrows but the Draco was done being hesitant. It ignored every arrow flying toward it even if it ended up piercing its body.
Fuck!
Evelyn dodges to the side as the Draco’s charge almost hits her. She winches in pain as she grabs her shoulder. Looking at her flank, Evelyn sees that the Draco’s full-power charge nicked her shoulder. She sees blood and for the first time since she entered Teremarae, she is reminded of the feeling of a laceration.
Goddamit! Michael is right again!
Evelyn curses when she realizes that Michael’s prediction that the Draco could hurt her was correct. But now wasn’t the time to panic.
Nothing another steel arrow, Evelyn shoots at the Draco, piercing its back. She hopes it hits a nerve but she knew it was almost impossible. The Draco turns around toward her with the same vigor, if not more. It charges again, roaring, creating a powerful shockwave around it.
Yep, bye!
Evelyn proceeds to dip out of the edge of the forest and go deeper into it. The monstrous Draco chases her. Evelyn used the natural obstacles of the forest to widen the gap between her and the Draco. Still running away from her enemy, Evelyn turns her head and sees the monstrous reptile having difficulties following her through the forest. She smirks.
Blind on one side, the Draco was still able to see Evelyn. Due to its interactions with Michael, the Draco had a minor understanding of human facial expressions. With its minor understanding, the alpha beast knew that Evelyn was smiling at it.
While it understood the expression, the Draco didn’t understand why.
Then it hears a familiar roar and only then does it understand why Evelyn was smiling.
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Ximi roars, releasing a powerful shockwave around him, as he brings down a tree trunk towards the Draco’s body.
The Draco’s momentum was too strong and it directly collided with Ximi’s attack. It feels a staggering amount of force travel through its body and it was forcefully slammed to the ground.
Evelyn, who saw Ximi chasing the two of them, cheered.
Yeah! Good job Ximi!
Ximi internally cheered as well but he knew that being in the Draco’s proximity was nothing but suicide. He immediately jumps toward a large tree capable of supporting his weight. Watching his enemy, Ximi feels a rock hit his shoulder. Turning to its source, Ximi sees Evelyn wave at him.
Ximi felt hesitant but after being introduced to the Draco’s overwhelming might, he knew that teaming up was a good idea. He uses his immensely powerful legs and jumps toward Evelyn’s tree.
Landing beside Evelyn, Ximi was finally able to see the size difference between the two of them. Seeing how large he was compared to Evelyn, Ximi looked at the wounded Draco. He admired how such a small creature could deal so much damage to a far stronger opponent. In addition, he couldn’t help but be amazed by Evelyn’s graceful movement.
Ximi then feels a light thud on his shoulder as Evelyn gently punches him with a smile. Looking at the human beside him, Ximi couldn’t sense any hostile intent. She definitely didn’t intend to harm him with such a weak punch. He was also surprised when a weird unfamiliar sound came from her mouth.
“Ximi! That was great!”
Ximi felt confused by Evelyn’s spoken words but he quickly realizes that she was trying to communicate with him. He felt weirded out by the way Evelyn’s eyes sparked. Evelyn, on the other hand, was just thinking of how cool Ximi was.
Ximi’s so cool! He’s so strong too! Shame, I wish Michael could see this creature. A non-hostile superspecies!
While the two were trying to communicate, they hear an angry growl. Turning to their enemy, Evelyn and Ximi see the Draco slowly stand up.
“Fuck… This thing just won’t die… How are you still standing up?”
Evelyn remembers Michael’s description of the Draco. It was an unstoppable creature.
Do I really have to cut this thing’s head off?
Ximi roars in anguish. It came from a species that already evolved to become strong and just earlier, it evolved again, gaining unprecedented strength and power but even then, he was not even half as tough as the Draco.
Once the Draco was able to recover some of its strength, it releases another roar of defiance.
Evelyn notches an arrow and Ximi tears off a nearby thick branch. They prepare for the next round.
Seeing its enemies, the Draco charges.
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Michael dodges an incoming bite as the blinded super reptile tries to rip into him. Taking advantage of the creature’s blind spot, Michael leans in and grabs the hilt of the deeply embedded steel dagger then he grips it.
The super reptile roars in pain as blood starts to spurt from its ruined eye socket. Unfortunately for the blind super reptile, Michael wasn’t done.
Still holding onto the embedded steel dagger, he rends the half-blind super reptile’s side, causing a fountain of blood to burst out. Seeing its family getting ripped apart, one of the healthy super reptiles charges Michael.
Ignoring the charging creature, Michael continues ripping into the half-blind super reptile’s side, then he ends by pushing his hand as deep as he can and then pulls out the creature’s guts and viscera.
It weakly cries and tries to attack Michael but its dying body was too sluggish to catch the evolved superhuman.
Briefly giving the charging super reptile some attention, Michael prepared himself. He waited for its approach, knowing that his support would come.
The charging super reptile suddenly screams in pain as a clay pot accurately hits its nose.
The smell of rotten eggs, spoiled meat, and putrid vegetables assault the super reptile’s hyper-sensitive nose. It was suddenly robbed of its powerful senses as the vile concoction not only killed its sense of smell but also blind its eyesight. The super reptile could no longer see but knew that the one that blinded it came from the tall trees.
Then it feels a sharp object pierce its skull. Its consciousness fades away and its body slumps to the ground. Michael leaps off of its dead body and observes the remaining super reptiles.
Only three.
He immediately leaps upward, dodging an incoming super reptile. The super reptile immediately opens its jaw to swallow the falling Michael. But it feels a disgusting and pungent liquid explode in its mouth as Bob throws another stink bomb.
The creature retches but it couldn’t release the sticky putrid liquid. It started to puke out the contents of its stomach while Michael lands nearby. He takes advantage of the creature’s weakness and leaps toward the creature’s exposed neck. He jabs the knife on the super reptile’s neck and rips its throat apart, releasing all of the remaining horrible liquid and blood stored in it.
Now there were two.
Michael looked at the two remaining super reptiles. One of them was wounded and had his spear embedded in its shoulder. The other was relatively healthy but looked terrified.
And like all terrified animals, the two super reptiles ran.
Michael wasn’t having any of it and immediately dashed toward the wounded super reptile that had his spear. He didn’t work for an entire year just to lose his weapon to a terrified animal.
Despite its shoulder wound, the super reptile was still able to run quickly. After all, fear was a great motivator. Michael sheathed his dagger and he started to pour immense strength and effort into his legs.
This translated into superhuman speeds that allowed him to catch the wounded four-legged super reptile.
The wounded beast releases a wail of despair as it sees the only superspecies equivalent of the human race closing the gap between them.
The super reptile helplessly watched as Michael got closer and closer. Once Michael was close enough, he jumps forward, pulls out his steel dagger, and accurately slices the super reptile’s knees, cutting important muscles. The super reptile momentarily loses control of one of its legs and stumbles. It violently rolls on uneven ground which causes the spear to embed itself deeper into its mangled body.
Once it stops rolling, it sees Michael walk toward it with an annoyed expression. It desperately snaps its teeth, trying to scare Michael.
Wiping the blood off of his steel knife, Michael approaches the desperate super reptile. It stands up despite its weak leg and mangled shoulder.
Michael pitied it but he had no choice. The creature weakly lunges and Michael responds by ducking forward and quickly stabbing its neck. With one swift movement, he rips its neck apart. Using the knife as a handle, he pushes himself up and lands on the creature’s back.
He immediately sees the deeply embedded spear and grabs the protruding shaft. He yanks it out with a single pull, showering him with a fountain of blood but he manages to retrieve his spear.
The super reptile cries in pain and loses all strength in its legs. It falls and Michael safely lands beside it. He then approaches its neck and retrieves his dagger as well, resulting in a splash of blood. It weakly gasps for air but Michael quickly delivers relief and stabs its skull with enough force that the dagger pierces its brain.
Looking around, Michael frowns as he sees the carnage he brought upon the super reptile species.
Pity…
Once the 4th super reptile was dead, looks around. Once the coast was clear, Michael signals that it was safe for Bob to go down.
Bob appears from a nearby tree and jumps toward Michael.
Michael catches Bob and puts him on his shoulder.
Bob scrunches his nose and gives Michael an annoyed look. He then signs.
+Stink! Michael stink!+
Michael smirks, knowing that his bloody appearance is surely a bit stinky.
+Let’s quickly wash up then.+
Michael returns to the area where he killed the three super reptiles. He looks for the tracks of the other super reptile. While a year is a short amount of time to master hunting, Michael’s talent allowed him to easily find the tracks of the other super reptile.
He knew that the surviving super reptile has a head start on him. He needed to kill it unless he wanted to risk creating another Draco.
As he was about to leave to hunt the remaining super reptile, Michael heard another roar.
Looking at the distance, Michael knew that there were currently two superspecies fighting each other. The invisible shockwave created by the Draco was a result of its immensely powerful evolution. While Michael has never seen the phenomenon done by another creature, he was confident that the shockwave can only be done by other superspecies.
He also knew that the direction where he was looking at is where the Draco and Evelyn is.
Is Evelyn fighting two of them?
Michael shook his head.
Impossible.
While he didn’t know every detail, Michael knew he had a job to do. He couldn’t hesitate just because he was worried about Evelyn.
I can’t stall. I need to finish up here so I can help Evelyn.
Michael leaves the super reptile tracks and continues his trek toward the Draco’s nest. His instincts scream at him to chase the 5th super reptile but he ignored it.
With each step deeper into the Draco’s territory, Michael hardened his resolve.
He knew that this would eventually happen. It was only a matter of time.
Despite the overwhelming physical difference, Michael intended to come out on top.
If he wanted to keep the peace that he had now, he needed to succeed.
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The Draco saw Evelyn and Ximi on top of a large tree but this didn’t stop its charge. Filled with malevolent intent, the Draco slams its massive body on the tree, shaking it.
Wait, don’t tell me-”
Before Evelyn could finish her thoughts, the Draco exerts an immense amount of strength and uses both of its front limbs to grab the tree and bend it to the side.
Evelyn quickly jumps off but Ximi wasn’t as lucky. He falls near the Draco.
The Draco doesn’t hesitate and immediately closes its jaw on Ximi’s shoulder. The evolved berserker ape roars in pain but the Draco wasn’t in the mood to play. It immediately uses its immense strength to turn its body, using the momentum to slam Ximi into another tree, breaking it. Before Ximi could use any strength to stand up, the Draco does it again but instead of slamming Ximi into a tree, the Draco sends Ximi flying.
Ximi hits a nearby tree while Evelyn lands a few meters away from the two superspecies. The Draco then turns its attention to Evelyn. It gives her a toothy grin that meant that it would rip her to pieces.
Evelyn didn’t need to be as familiar as Michael to know that she was in danger.
The Draco charges toward Evelyn. She immediately pulls out a clay pot and throws it toward the Draco’s face. Still cautious of Evelyn’s antics, the Draco stops moving to cover its face with its wings. The clay pot shatters, releasing a putrid liquid that spreads across the Draco’s body. It was able to protect its face from any irritants but it feels its other wounds start to sting from the liquids.
It growls in pain and glares at Evelyn.
It hears Ximi’s weak breathing and for a moment it was tempted to finish him off but the stinging pain reminds the Draco that Evelyn wasn’t just a small creature to kill. Unlike earlier where the Draco considered Evelyn to be a pest, it now considers her to be a dangerous creature. It spreads its wings to look large and menacing.
In a short period of time, the Draco’s priorities switched. It no longer cares if Ximi escapes or survived today. Right now, the Draco wanted Evelyn dead.
Its current feelings were familiar. It felt like it was back to the time it was just about to evolve.
It glares at the human in front of it.
It wondered if it would evolve again like before.