The released pressure from inside the spear tore through the monster, sending a shockwave of force outward from the impact area on its body. Splinters of wood and blackened bits of flesh scattered in every direction as the unfortunate Gloomkin was reduced to little more than a mangled torso. The others around it recoiled, their guttural cries turning into alarmed screeches as the scene momentarily disoriented them.
Kael didn’t waste a second.
The moment he let go of the spear, he was already moving, sprinting toward the stunned group. His enhanced speed carried him forward like a force of nature. The nearest Gloomkin barely had time to react before Kael closed the gap, his fist crashing into its ribs with enough force to send it skidding across the ground, coming to a stop unmoving.
The remaining five had snapped out of their daze. One lunged at him, swinging a knife in a wide arc. Kael sidestepped the attack, then grabbed the creature by the throat and lifted it clean off the ground before slamming it down with bone-crushing force, its head hitting a rock, and cracking its skull.
Another Gloomkin attempted to use this chance to impale him with a spear, but Kael twisted his body at the last moment, the crude weapon grazing past his side. In one fluid motion, he caught the spear mid-thrust, yanked it from the creature’s grip, and drove it through its chest, ending its life.
Only three left.
Kael noticed one hesitated, as fear took hold. The others, however, snarled and charged. Kael met them head-on.
His left fist shot out, catching one directly on the side of its head, the impact sending cracks through its skull. At the same time, he twisted his body, using his momentum to bring his knee up into the gut of another one that was trying to bite him, making it buckle under the force before Kael twisted its neck.
As he had expected, the last remaining Gloomkin made up its mind seeing that and turned to run.
Kael reacted instantly. He dropped low, grabbed a fallen spear, and hurled it at the retreating creature. The weapon missed the killing shoot but impaled its leg and sent it tumbling to the ground. It screeched in pain, clawing at the dirt, trying to drag itself away.
Kael approached it, his steps slow and deliberate. The creature twisted its head to look at him, its black eyes filled with desperation. It knew it wouldn’t escape. Kael didn’t let it suffer. One swift stomp to the skull was all that was needed to silence it.
[ Experience Gained: +24 EXP x 7 ]
[You have leveled up!]
Kael felt the level-up boosting his body, the addicting effect was now much less than it used to be, Still, the new level made him stronger and that was all that mattered. And as a bonus, his level was in the bobble digits now. Kael dismissed the notifications, not wanting to waste time on them.
The second group—the five he had spotted earlier—were already making their way toward him. Kael adjusted his stance, rolling his shoulders. His Essence-enhanced limbs still pulsed with power. He had enough left in him, for one more fight, before he needed to refill his core.
The five Gloomkin emerged through the trees, their dark eyes scanning the aftermath of the slaughter. Their expressions twisted between confusion, rage, and fear. One of them, standing slightly ahead of the others, twitched in hesitation more than the rest. Kael recognized that immediately, the look of this group's runner, and this one looked like it was going to run before the fighting even began.
But he wasn’t going to give it the chance to try.
Grabbing another spear from the ground, he quickly lined up his shot and hurled the spear with all his might. The weapon struck true, piercing through the Gloomkin, ending its life before it could even try to save it by running away.
The others reacted immediately. Three charged toward him, while the last lingered behind, observing. Kael met the first head-on, twisting around a wild slash from its axe before bringing his fist down like a hammer onto the side of its head, the impact sent it sprawling, but he didn’t stop, and grabbed its axe right after.
He stepped over its twitching form and moved onto the next, ducking beneath a wide swing before cleaving with the stone axe into its gut, the fragile handle breaking in the process. As it doubled over, he finished it with a sharp elbow to the spine.
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The third managed to get a swipe in, its claw-like nails raking across his forearm. It tore through his skin leaving a shallow cut, Kael feeling the sting of it. He responded in kind—grabbing the creature by the arm, he pivoted, using its own momentum to slam it into the ground. His foot came down hard on its chest, feeling the crunch of ribs giving way beneath him.
[ Experience Gained! ] x 4
Kael turned to the last one, the Gloomkin having tried to sneak up on him from behind. Their eyes met, or so Kael thought before the monster lunged at him. Kael met its momentum with a kick, sending it flying back. Then he went after it, and before it could get back up kicked its head, followed by another, and another until it died.
[ Experience Gained! ]
Kael stopped and looked at the notification, not having paid attention to what the previous one had said. It had changed. Before saying the amount of experience, now just that he had gained experience. Kael brought up his status.
Name: Kael Aranthis
Level: 9 → 10
EXP: 409 / 450 → 11 / 100%
Rank: Mortal
Stats:
* Strength: 24 → 26
* Agility: 26 → 28
* Endurance: 22 → 24
* Intelligence: 28 →31
* Wisdom: 29 →32
* Essence Control: 33 →37
It seemed that reaching level 10 brought changes to his status screen. His status no longer counted the individual points he needed for level-ups but told how far away he was from his next level in percentage. Kael didn't care much, feeling that the new change didn't do much to change his situation, or how he could tell how far he was from his level up.
Turning his attention away from his status, Kael surveyed the carnage.
Twelve dead Gloomkin, their bodies sprawled across the clearing. He glanced at the remains of the one he had struck with the explosive spear, shaking his head at the gruesome sight. It was surprising how much damage pressure could do when there was nowhere for it to go, and the containment holding it was not strong enough. But it had proven to be an effective method of attack, even if it took time to prepare, and was mostly useful for an opening attack.
Kael had decided he would not attempt to use this form of attack when other things were occupying his mind. The window he had to let go and throw the weapon was short, especially given that he also needed to pay close attention to when and if the weapon was at its breaking point before it could be thrown. This then made it so Kael did not want to risk it exploding in his hand while he was occupied with a fight.
With one final look around Kael stepped away from the clearing, leaving the bodies untouched for the others of their kind to find. Not wanting to be here in case other monsters came after getting attracted by the smell of blood.
While making his way through the forest, he took some moments to regenerate his core.
----------------------------------------
He spent the next several hours hunting down more groups. The more he fought them and got used to their fighting patterns, the more it started to feel easy. The Gloomkin, while aggressive and numerous, lacked proper coordination, and some suffered from cowards. Time and time again, Kael would find small groups of them—sometimes three, sometimes ten—and he would kill all of them before they could mount a proper defense.
At one point, he encountered a group of three Gloomkin all of them level 3 who, upon seeing him, didn’t even attempt to fight. They turned and ran the moment their eyes met his. Kael smirked, but he wasn’t about to let them escape.
Chasing them down took little effort. His speed was superior, and he dispatched them with ruthless efficiency. However, as he was finishing the last one off, he stumbled across another group—five more Gloomkin lurking just beyond the tree line.
Instead of hesitating, Kael took advantage of the situation, eliminating them before they even realized what was happening. One by one, he tore through them, his enhanced strikes making the fight nothing more than a brutal display of his growing strength.
More than once, he saw Gloomkin fall into one of their traps. One particularly amusing instance had two Gloomkin trying to flee only for one to trip on a hole and grab its friend resulting in it and its friend impaling themselves on the wooden stakes. Kael had watched it happen with a mix of amusement and disbelief.
“Thanks for the help...” he muttered before putting the creatures out of their misery.
By the time it started to look like the sun was about to begin its slow descent, Kael had thinned their numbers considerably, this area of the forest now being full of scattered groups of dead Gloomkin. Feeling satisfied with his work, Kael decided it was time to pull back. He wasn’t foolish enough to push his luck any further. By now more were on their way seeing that Kael had made a point of not allowing a single one to run away from him.
As he made his way back north, he stumbled upon an unexpected gift—a hare, caught in one of the traps the Gloomkin had set. It was a simple pit trap with a small hole and wood picks at the bottom. Kael crouched down, inspecting it. The creature looked still fresh, likely snared recently. He grinned, lifting it by its hind legs.
“Well, at least they’re good for something,” he mused.
With that, he continued his journey home, careful not to leave any tracks as he moved. The day had been productive. Now, all that was left was to rest and prepare for what came next. Kael wasn't done terrorizing them yet.