The noise sounded like a mixture between a roar and a hiss. It reverberated through the air like thunder. Immediately, Leo raised his head, only to see something swooping down on him from above. Before he could react, a blurry shadow rushed through the air. Leo felt his body being blown backward as something hit him on the head. He managed to stay conscious but a searing pain assaulted his senses. Everything in front of his eyes became blurred and distorted. The sound of something scraping against stone reached his ears as he struggled to get back on his feet.
In a split second, he caught a glimpse of the source of his misery - a gigantic flying creature with sharp talons and a long snout.
The winged beast descended swiftly. Leo instinctively ducked to the side, avoiding its attack. The claws of the monster missed him by mere inches. The creature let out an angry growl as it spun around to face him. Its crimson-red eyes glared at him with pure hatred and rage.
He tried to strike it with the glaive, but the creature moved too fast for him to follow. Its wings flapped violently as it launched another assault, diving forward in an attempt to grab Leo with its jaws. But Leo managed to roll away again, narrowly avoiding another hit. He rolled over and tried to stand back up but was forced to duck when the giant bird-like creature flew by him at full speed. The force of the gusting wind was strong enough to knock him down to the ground.
The monster's agility was terrifying. Leo watched helplessly as it circled overhead, circling in a wide arc before coming back to hover just above his head. Its huge body hovered in the air, blocking out the light coming from the cavern ceiling. Then the creature opened its mouth and let out an ear-splitting scream as it dove down once more, aiming at Leo's head.
Leo dodged again, but this time the bird creature swerved sharply, landing on the ground behind him. The sudden movement threw Leo off balance. He stumbled forward, nearly falling over onto his face. He regained his footing just in time to catch a glimpse of something rushing towards him from behind. The blow landed squarely on his back, sending him sprawling into the dirt. Leo barely managed to recover before the second strike slammed into his back, knocking the wind out of him. He rolled over, trying to regain his bearings, only to find the creature already looming over him.
It let out an ear-piercing shriek as it attacked again. This time he could not avoid the blow. He raised his arms to block the attacks, but the bird-beast was relentless. Again and again, it raked its razor sharp claws across his flesh. The pain was intense but Leo gritted his teeth and endured it. His limbs ached terribly, but he refused to surrender. The beast lunged forward with another vicious assault, attempting to sink its fangs into Leo's neck. However, Leo was having none of that.
"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!!!" He screamed in rage as he activated [Lesser Aura Release]. A golden hue surrounded him in an instant as waves of energy flowed from his body, enveloping him completely. A sudden surge of strength flooded into him. His muscles tensed, straining against his skin as the power swelled within him. He felt like he could tear through steel bars.
The beast recoiled, startled by the unexpected turn of events. It retreated to a safe distance, staring at him cautiously. It looked like it was sizing him up, trying to decide whether it could still beat him. Leo turned off the skill and used the momentary pause in combat to regain his footing. His chest heaved, his breathing rapid. Just one second of using the skill already burned through almost half of his stamina. He could hear his heart beating frantically in his chest, pumping blood madly through his veins. Every inch of his body throbbed, every nerve ending buzzed. But he felt alive. Alive like never before.
He hooked the glaive with his foot and kicked it upwards, catching it midair. With the weapon firmly gripped in his hands, he prepared himself for the next attack. The creature gave an annoyed hiss. Its scarlet eyes flared, glaring at Leo with disdain. The creature then let out an ominous shriek as it flapped its powerful wings and took flight. Leo braced himself for another round of fighting.
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However, the winged beast suddenly turned and soared into the sky, disappearing out of sight.
Looking at the disappearing silhouette, Leo glimpsed its name, so helpfully provided by his [Identify].
[Young Corvian Skink Lv. 21]
"Fucking hell. That was insane!" He panted heavily. Sweat poured down his forehead, stinging his eyes. His body ached terribly as he limped away from the scene. After walking for a few minutes, he found an adequate hiding spot near the roots of a tree and sat down to catch his breath. The adrenaline rush had worn off now and the exhaustion quickly replaced it. "What the fuck was that thing?" Leo muttered in annoyance. Why did it go after him? Couldn't it simply eat one of those kobolds instead?
He spent a few moments pondering over the details of the recent battle. The creature had shown remarkable speed and it was clear that he was outclassed. But despite his loss, Leo felt that it was not a waste. At least he was more or less aware of his own shortcomings. Kobolds were the least dangerous monsters in this dungeon. Even without a class, they didn't really pose much of a threat. As for other creatures...
Well, he certainly wouldn't want to encounter something like that again, but he knew he would. Of course he would. Especially considering his luck. He'd probably find something even more dangerous sooner or later. For now, he could only hope that there wasn't anything stronger lurking somewhere around.
"Damn it, that fucking hurt," Leo muttered irritably. "My whole body hurts..."
He looked at his health bar and realized that it was down by over fifty percent. If he hadn't effectively bluffed his way to survival, he would be a dinner by now. He grimaced in annoyance. Maybe he should have stayed in the Sanctuary for a day or two longer.
"On the other hand, maybe not. The last thing I need is to get complacent."
If the battle against the kobolds wasn't something that pushed Leo's boundaries, then fighting this giant skink was beyond his expectations. It was a much more difficult and dangerous opponent. And luckily for him, quite cowardly.
It reminded him of those high school bullies who would try to act tough but ran away in fear when anyone actually fought back. The very image of someone so cocky being so spineless was both amusing and sad.
He rubbed his aching shoulder, grimacing slightly at the bruises he found. "Time to move."
He needed to get back to the Sanctuary where he could treat his injuries. He definitely got a few nasty cuts on his arms, not to mention all the bruises all over his body. The good news was that he managed to level up his [Thick Skin] by two whole levels. If his previous defense was like ten layers of paper, now he had twelve of them. Not a drastic increase, but still, beggars can't be choosers.
[Dodge] also leveled up by four levels. It seems that the stronger the opponent and the more dangerous the encounter, the more skill progress will be made. These were the skills that were next to impossible to practice within the walls of the Sanctuary, so it was a welcome sight. He set his mind on finding a way to train them safely, but first, he had some loot to pick up.
He backtracked to the small campsite where he killed the first kobold, only to find the remaining three kobolds. Two of them were fighting for old kobold's necklace while the third was sitting to the side, playing around with the red crystal. They froze at his appearance. The moment they saw Leo approaching, they immediately dropped whatever they were holding and readied their spears.
One of the kobolds clearly recognized the old kobold's glaive in Leo's hands and snarled ferociously. However, at the same time, it also looked unsure whether it could take him on. It glanced back and forth between him and its companions, clearly weighing its odds.
Meanwhile, the two others began bickering with each other. Leo assumed that they were arguing about who gets to keep the black gemstone necklace, which was apparently valuable enough to fight for. He smirked wryly to himself as he approached the group of monsters.
"Karshak, oksskul!" One of the kobolds shouted loudly, pointing its spear at him. "Zel lussra kosshazhk!"
Leo wasn't sure what it meant, but judging from their expressions, they seemed quite pissed.
"Lussssk! Zel shiks zaksh!" The kobold with the biggest nose exclaimed. "Ussk ulskarshaar sshadlush!"
"I can't understand you, buddy. Sorry. Also, I'm going to kill you now, so maybe save your breath." Leo told them bluntly. He started advancing toward them, which prompted the kobolds to immediately brandish their spears. They seemed to be hesitating. But seeing that there were three of them and only one Leo, they eventually decided to charge at him.