I stared in awe and shock at the scene unfolding in front of me. The Horned Serpent was so powerful that I literally couldn’t move my body at its gaze.In my mind, I had no doubt that it was anything other than the king of this jungle. Yet, this sleek panther-like beast has seemingly appeared out of thin air and has firmly clamped its jaws into the snake right below its mouth.The gigantic snake all but thrashed wildly, lashing out its body against the trees and ground causing the very earth to shudder but it couldn’t get itself free from its hunter’s jaws. I used Identify on the second beast.

[?? - Lvl ??]

Well, that tells me nothing. The dark beast’s chest is at my eye level and I see its muscles flexing in its legs and joints as it firmly stands its ground. Its gaze is fixed on the serpent’s horns and it looks on with an almost bored expression at its prey flailing around. The serpent tried to lash out with its tail. But the beast deftly moved its body and swung the serpent in its jaws to alter the impact point of the tail strikes

Witnessing the scene before me hammered the point home; There is no possible amount of strength I could gain that lets me even hurt something like this. I feel like nothing more than a buzzing pest that these mythical creatures can swat down without even noticing. Yet my heart beat in a flurry of excitement and adrenaline as I marveled at the dark beast masterfully countering every strike the serpent made

Upgrade: Identify Lvl5 -> Lvl7

It has been only a few seconds since I crawled out of the horned serpent’s wide-open mouth but I snapped back to focus as the snake in its wild lashing, struck a huge dried out tree that stood to my left. The dead tree’s bark splintered with multiple creaks and the tree started leaning precariously towards us. I dashed away from the fight between the beasts and ran towards the closest tree to take cover. I heard a loud snap and out of the corner of my eye, I saw the tree falling right towards the clashing beasts.

The dark beast refused to release the serpent from its jaws and darted to the side to avoid the falling giant tree. In a desperate move, the serpent recoiled its body, pulling its head back from its hunters jaws. It ended up close to severing its own head off but it was able to drag the beast back to its former spot. The tree crashed to the ground with a heavy thud that reverberated through the forest floor and raised a massive cloud of leaves and dust into the air.

Every instinct of my body screamed at me to take this chance to escape but I took a deep breath and cautiously peeked from behind my cover. As the dust started to settle, I was able to make out the shapes of both beasts which seem to have made it through alive.

The horn on the serpent’s head thrummed with intense power, almost warping the air around it. The serpent seemed to have wrenched itself free from the beast’s jaws even though it suffered severe injuries around its neck, greenish fluid oozing out rapidly. It coiled its body again, swaying its head with eyes closed. I looked at the dark beast which is struggling to get up as its lower body is stuck underneath the tree trunk

[Nexstalker - Lvl ??]

Huh, interesting that I could see its name now.

The Nexstalker growled in a deep tone,its foreleg muscles tensing as it raised itself up, pushing the dead tree trunk off its back. I could barely catch a glimpse as it instantly pounced onto the bleeding Horned Serpent. The Serpent opened its slitted eyes, gaze transfixed onto the beast. The Nexstalker caught in the midst of its pounce went limp and collapsed to the ground.

The Horned Serpent uncoiled its body and began to wrap itself around the motionless Nexstalker, its gaze unwavering as it remained fixed on the beast throughout it all.

The outcome of the fight is certain at this point with the snake choosing to crush its opponent to death. A sickening feeling rose in me, like bile in my throat, watching my accidental savior losing to the murderous serpent. I knew deep down that both these beasts are equally likely to kill me without a second thought. Yet, I couldn't forgive the giant snake for forcing me to live through one of my worst nightmares—trying to swallow me alive.

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Death is the only way forward. Either yours or mine.

I rushed into the clearing made by the beasts’ battle and looked through the littered bark splinters from the crashed tree trunk. I found one that has a good weight and looked to be my arm’s length, with a jagged edge that ended in a sharp point. By this point, both the creatures are silently still with the serpent almost fully coiled over the Nexstalker. Only a few streaks of black are visible through the red and green scales of the Horned Serpent’s body.

I started walking towards the entangled beasts and my heart beat so loudly that it felt like pounding in my ears. As I got closer, every instinct screamed at me to run as far away as possible from this monstrosity but I trudged forwards anyway. I don’t know whether it's hatred towards the serpent or if I actually wanted to die and leave this place of nightmares behind. I will see the end of this one way or another.

The coiled serpent body lay across the ground with the head of the serpent barely not touching the Nexstalker’s face. The giant snake didn’t even shift its head a little as I came near. Its horn gave off an intense aura of power that almost made me cower.

I held my makeshift weapon like a baseball bat and with all my strength, bashed it right at the horn’s tip. I immediately felt the sting of the tiny splinters of the wood digging into my palm as my hands shook from the impact. The horn looked pristine with no sign of any damage or even disturbance from my full strength hit.

I was expecting it to not work. But it sucks that it didn’t even react

Alright, plan B it is. Gripping the wooden bark with its pointed edge outward this time, I drove it straight into the snake’s right eye, using all my weight to thrust it forward.

The reaction was lightning quick. The snake jerked its head, flinging me away like a ragdoll. I flew and hit a tree trunk before falling flat on the ground. As I curled up gasping to breath, I stared at the renewed action.

The Nexstalker is already tearing at the snake's throat, this time using its sharp claws to slash at the Horned Serpent’s eyes. The fight lasted barely ten seconds, ending with the serpent’s head completely removed from its body. The stalker stood heaving with its lower body bruised yet standing tall over its prey’s body

I felt a flurry of notifications in the back of mind but ignored them as the Nexstalker looked right at me. Its piercing gaze struck me like an arrow, sending a chill down my spine and raising goosebumps all over my stinging bare skin.

The constant feeling of being watched throughout my time in the forest has been this beast. It saw me as too weak a worm and used me as a bait to lure the Horned Serpent.

I shakily stood up and began to back away slowly. The Nexstalker glanced away dismissively and started digging into its meal.

I walked briskly for a few minutes, always keeping an eye out for anything moving. The forest had felt like a slice of heaven when I woke up, but now it felt like a dungeon with everything closing in on me.

I found a relatively safe spot underneath a huge mesh of roots that spread like a wave on the forest surface before digging back into the soil. I finally looked through the notifications

Upgrade: Identify Lvl7 -> Lvl9

Upgrade: Strength +1

Upgrade: Perception +2

Upgrade: Will +4

You have contributed significantly to slaying a monster at least 50 levels higher than you.

Awarded Title: Eye Of The Dronawk (Grade A)

Title Effect: Reveal weakness(Greater Ability). Effect of Perception +20%

Hidden Bonus: Lvl 0 Achievements are permanent

You have survived a close encounter with a monster at least 50 levels higher than you

You have survived a close encounter with a monster at least 50 levels higher than you

Awarded Title: Cover Of The Grixivyne (Grade A)

Title Effect: Camouflage while remaining still(Greater Ability). Constitution -2

Hidden Bonus: Lvl 0 Achievements are permanent

Note: Titles can be only be equipped after choosing Class

This doesn’t seem like a bad trade-off for a bit of mental trauma. Well I haven't tried this one yet.

“Class” I whispered.