Griffin’s blade was neither a plasma torch nor an energy saber, but he would be very well lying if he said that it didn’t come close.
The sand beneath his feet still impeded his momentum, but going through one ‘shifting sands’ event had greatly bolstered his confidence when it came to traversing the ever changing terrain. He strode forward with intent, his sword glowing a fluorescent orange as he closed the distance.
Griffin slashed outward with every ounce of his amplified strength, but at the last moment the flaming deer reacted.
Already having committed to the strike, Griffin watched as the tip of his blade sheared away a chunk of the flaming deer’s flesh, near the rib area.
On Earth, if he had been dealing with an actual deer, that would probably have been a crippling blow.
But he was not.
The flaming deer’s neck rapidly swiveled as it refound it’s footing a short distance away from the original spot. A moment later, it’s toothy jaw opened.
‘Oh. Oh no,’ Griffin thought to himself as a vivid reddish-orange glow bloomed in the flaming deer’s mouth.
He dove to his left with his arms protectively crossed before him, hoping that it would keep the flames from reaching his face and potentially blinding him.
But even then, Griffin was just a tad too late.
He screamed as a torrent of flames began to scald his gauntlets as they exceeded its heat tolerance. The pain was unlike anything he had experienced before, as if he could actually feel each individual nerve ending suffer a permanent demise.
Thanking Jun-Ra for her forethought as he bit into the healing pill he had been concealing under his tongue. Intense and immediate relief flooded him in the form of a warm, soothing sensation, like the caress of a lover, except even better.
He began to crawl forward before forcing himself to tumble forward, noticing that the torrent of flames had finally ceased their brutality.
His heart was beating so fast that he felt like it would explode in the next second, but Griffin forced himself to gaze forward, catching the flaming deer at a side-angle.
There was a difference in it’s visual appearance, one that Griffin immediately noticed.
He had counted ten active flame craters on its back earlier, but now, they were down to nine.
Griffin didn’t know if it was his adrenaline pill or his own near death experience that kicked him into action, but he rapidly began to move forward again.
It was odd.
He should have been fleeing from the flaming deer. He had just gotten his arms scalded and they had barely healed. The pain wasn’t something he wanted to experience again. He was too selfish to play the hero type, too non-combative to do it for the raw thrill of combat and too pain-averse to take such a great risk.
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So why did he moved forward?
The answer, Griffin realized, was a simple question.
What would it feel like, to have power like that at the command of your fingertips?
Griffin wanted to know.
He needed to know.
His desire for the flaming deer’s skill superceded his fear, desire for self-preservation and averseness to pain.
He threw himself into a sliding tackle forward as the flaming deer tried to repeat it’s previous strategy. The downward sloping half-dune they were fighting on coupled with the cushioning, shifting nature of sand allowed Griffin to slide for a fair distance, low enough to force the flaming deer to readjust and crane it’s neck downward if it wished to kill him.
Griffin’s heated metal blade viciously sliced across the flaming deer’s right forelimb, before forcing himself to roll away from the bleeding site.
Both it’s forelimbs reflexively kicked outwards as it randomly began to spray it’s flame breath before it, clearly both in pain and panicking.
Griffin didn’t allow it much of a rest as he gathered the temporary strength the adrenaline pill had lent him and kicked off the ground, driving his sword a little above it’s hindlegs.
He abandoned the heated sword and let it stay deep inside the creature’s flesh. Jun-Ra had told him that it would maintain the heat effect for five minutes or until he ‘closed’ the rune by issuing a voice command—- which, naturally, Griffin had no intention of doing.
The creature thrashed violently with the burning sword latched in its hindquarters, but Griffin continued to avoid it’s fury by circling around it, adjusting his speed to linger just behind flaming deer, maximizing his time in it’s blindspot.
At the four minute mark, it collapsed onto the ground.
Griffin was tempted to go in for the kill, but instead he stuck to light, testing slashes with his dagger— one strike and retreat, one strike and retreat, again and again until the sword finally run out of charges.
Then, he drove his dagger right through a gap in it’s ribcage.
[1:52]
[You have slain a Level 7 Solcervi]
[You have slain a beast calling creature. Would you like to use Skill Thief (Beast) on it?
Available skills that can be stolen:
Flame Creation Lv. 1
Predatory Insight Lv.1]
“Finally,” Griffin inwardly thanked the damn system for heeding his call. “Finally, damn it,” he panted even as he almost instantly decided on his choice.
“Give me Flame Creation. Oh and loot the damn carcass,” Griffin commanded, too tired to contemplate the matter any further.
[Status Upgrade in progress….]
[Name: Griffin Thorne
Age: 18
Race: Human
Calling: Apostle of Greed.
Class: Master of None - Novice (Unique)
Class Skills:- Analyze (Level 1), Flame Creation Lv. 1, Skill Thief Level 1 Slot (Martial Artist), Skill Thief Level 1 Slot(Alchemist), Skill Thief Level 1 Slot(Rogue).
Gifts: Gift of tongue: Common Verickan
Level: Level 5 (26.54%)-> Level 6 (51.49%)
Rank: E-
Statistics:
Physical: 5
Mental: 4
Proprioception: 2
Free points: 0]
Soul Essence:15/15]
[You have successfully looted the following:
Solcervi Meat x 5
Solcervi Blood Essence x 1]
“I might have underestimated the potential of creating my own class,” Griffin mused aloud as the tingling sensation subsided, the knowledge flooding his brain far too breathtakingly fascinating for him to not be moved by it.
Glancing at the now deflated solcervi corpse a final time, Griffin gave it a nod in appreciation before he broke out into a run.
It was time to ride the wave again.