[System Message: Choose one of 2 Skills]

[F-grade Skill 1: Astral Blades (Duration: 30 sec): Creates ethereal blades that surround the caster, slashing at enemies from all directions with increased speed and damage.]

[F-grade Skill 2: Mana burn (Duration: 30 sec): Burns through casters entire mana pool to double stats for a short period]

Pressed for time, Alex's thoughts tumbled through his head as he considered his options. He hoped time was frozen, or at least slowed in this strange expanse, but he doubted it. He envisioned the skills at his disposal, weighing their potential benefits and drawbacks. Astral Blades, slashing enemies from all directions, or Mana Burn, doubling his stats for a limited time. He visualised the potential of each skill. Astral Blades offered the allure of widespread attack, a whirlwind of ethereal steel, but Mana Burn was a ticket to raw power, a fleeting, dangerous supernova. That was powerful, and at the F grade? It gave credence to his suspicions on all skills being the same grade as the world they belonged to, but he didn’t have the time to experiment or even ponder- he needed to act now. Mana Burn seemed the more appealing choice. He'd need more than just convenient blades; he'd need the strength, endurance, resilience, and speed, to survive an army of beasts.

In the midst of the imminent horde, he made his decision. Mana Burn. The risk of depleting his mana pool was worth the potential lifesaving power it could provide, even without his skills, he would still have his base stats, and they were already far above his level.

With his choice made, Alex wasted no time. He raced out of the cave, his feet hitting the rocky ground hard. With the power of his stats surging through him and a Phoenix Leap propelling him, his legs became surrounded by the powerful mana of the skill. The strength within him felt like a roaring fire, propelling him higher and faster. He was unstoppably fast. Up the treacherous mountain, he flew, a blur against the greens and browns, weaving through the craggy terrain.

Below him, the mountain swarmed with creatures. Wolfmen, their feral eyes reflecting the stars above, bounded towards him. Titanapes, hulking forms of strength, followed amongst them. Their roars and growls created a maelstrom of chaos, ringing through the mountain's sides.

From a distance, the mountain was a scene of chaos. Clashes broke out amongst the pursuers, each creature desperate to halt the others. A scuffle here, a duel there; the mountain was alive with violence. The wolfmen and monstrous apes had abandoned their allegiances and fought each other to reach the summit.

They all coveted the peak's treasure.

Battle cries rang out amidst the pursuit, as all sought desperately to halt each other. Alex dodged an oncoming boulder, hurled by a Titanape with a bellow. It whizzed past him, the wind it stirred tugged at his hair. Close behind, a Wolfman snarled, launching a series of wind blades his way. Each attack, a reminder of the bloodthirsty horde tailing him. He was in the way of their prize, the rabbit in a race of wolves.

Alex's world became engulfed in light.

A barrage of energy orbs, emitted from a Wolfman shaman, exploded around him. The shockwave threw him off course, sending him spiralling. He was momentarily weightless, then gravity took hold, pulling him downward. But with a surge of will, he engaged Phoenix Leap, ricocheting off thin air, resuming his ascent.

Each leap, each narrow miss firmed his resolve. Alex needed this prize, this ‘Insight of the phoenix’ or whatever it was, was valuable enough to incite madness across the jungle. He darted and dived, twisted and turned, his body a weapon amidst a storm, his mind a fortress under siege. From his peripheral vision, a wind blade from a Wolfman sliced the air where he was a moment ago. His heart hammered in his chest with each close shave, a drum keeping time with the rhythm of survival.

Phoenix Leap. Alex’s body arced through the air, a blur against the rugged backdrop of the warring mountain. The sensation was exhilarating, a momentary freedom from the earthbound chase.

Then he landed and ran. And as he ran, the sound of a shocking explosion erupted far behind him. Then another. Then another once more. Light flared. Heat surged.

Then the sounds of a fourth, much louder explosion rattled his eardrums. This time the light flared slightly brighter, and he felt the air pulsate, the warm heat waves from the blast licking his skin from behind.

The isolated sounds grew into a series of explosions that ruptured the clashes around him. The concussive forces vibrated through the mountain air as flashes of light and heat punctuated explosive sounds that drowned out the chaos around him. With each flash of light, he caught fleeting glimpses of wolfmen and titanapes flung in the air indiscriminately- like ragdolls- teasing the corners of his vision at each sound. Each explosive roar became more distinct and louder than the last.

It was shockingly close now, he could feel it. He turned as he continued running to spare a look over his shoulder.

Behind him, rocks slid down the mountain slope and dust clouded the air obscuring his vision of the blood strewn mountain. Thick plumes of dark smoke, rock, and red misted gore covered a section of the mountain some distance behind him, as if more than just rock and stone had just exploded.

As if bodies had been instantly torn apart.

He glimpsed more flashes of light slicing the darkness and smoky dust, and a growing heat continued grazing his skin in fleeting waves with each flash. The roars and screams of beasts sounded in the smoke before cutting off forever.

Then the dust and smoke parted, and his hand clamped tightly on his sword at what he saw.

Three towering wolfmen emerged, parting the smoke in a burst of movement and gore, the bodies of their kin and enemies discarded in all directions as they hunted for the quests prize. Their forms were imposing against the wild battlefield's backdrop as they sped past and through their lesser kin. All three looked at the peak, and then to Alex, hunger and fury apparent in their feral gazes.

The first, its fur dark as the void, shot upwards, shooting across the terrain in physics breaking movements that mirrored Alex's Phoenix Leap identically.

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His eyes widened and gut sank at the sight It has the same skill, he realised.

Its massive body cut through the air, over terrain and skirmishes in short bursts of speed, the wind parting and whistling at its flight as it soared and shot above. It was a shadow in the sky, descending with hunger, its eyes locked on Alex racing form.

Another, its gray coat matted and dense above rippling muscles, launched forward, hands and feet erupting in fiery explosive blasts. The ground shook with its every burst, sending a shower of rocks and debris cascading down the slope.

Each explosion propelled it with ferocious speed, closing the gap between it and Alex at a frightening pace.

The third, its snout elongated and teeth laid permanently bare like white daggers, had burning paws that scraped against stone, leaving molten streaks as it glided swiftly over the terrain. It moved swiftly with a grace that belied its monstrous form, parting hardened rock with ease as each movement sent it streaking forwards. The ground burned red and burst into flames in its wake, wherever its smoldering feet touched. At that instant, Alex could see a trail of fire and carved burning bodies of all types of creatures in its wake, charting its path as it slid across the ground towards him with unnatural smoothness, as if the rugged terrain were nothing but slick ice. The air crackled with the heat of its passage, a palpable force that Alex could feel even from a distance.

Three beasts. They tore through the battlefield.

The ground shook as a titanape, towering and furious, crashed nearby, its eyes locked on Alex. The titanape's massive fist slammed into the spot where Alex had been mere moments before.

It bounded forward, using jagged rocks for leverage.

The third wolfman carved it cleanly in two, its body falling into pieces.

It happened in an instant, a flash of flames and claws and the giant ape was bisected, two halves of its form parting as the wolfmen sped through its center, skating up the mountain on trails of fire and scorched earth. The air shimmered with palpable heat wherever it moved.

“Damn.” Alex muttered in stunned shock as he ran, wearily taking glances at their pursuit.

They swatted aside any beasts or titanapes that dared cross their path, their claws and fangs rending flesh and bone with ease. All allegiances were lost, and only a manic hunger for the prize- the quests reward- remained.

Phoenix Leap, Alex's thought crystallized into action as he attempted to increase his ascent and create some distance. He readied his sword as he skimmed over jagged rocks. He had seen enough to know that this wasn’t a battle, it was a race, and one he intended to win. He would deal with them once he reached the top and claimed the prize. And I’ll be damned if I’m killed by a figure skating werewolf, he thought, more with hatred than concern. They were strong, sure. Probably stronger than he was. Maybe not in terms of stats, although it seemed close, but with those skills. But if the madness of the mountain was any indication, whatever was at the top could give him the edge he needed to survive this, and most likely escape, if it came to it. Letting one of these beasts claim the prize would be a mistake. It could make them infinitely more difficult to deal with and seal his fate in the dungeon. He hadn’t missed the fact that all three had powerful movement skills that rivaled or exceeded his own, one of them being exactly identical in execution. So skills aren’t unique, or maybe it’s just skill crystals that aren’t unique… but then again… our skills seem slightly more powerful? Why are all the other monsters' skills weaker? Maybe they got their skills a different way… Maybe skill crystals give more powerful skills?. More questions without answers. The quest had a reward titled ‘unique skill creation’, which implied there were ways to get skills nobody else had, perhaps more than one way. It couldn’t be that the system was the only way to acquire a truly unique skill, could it? He dismissed those thoughts as he weaved through the jagged rocks. He sped and leapt, each movement calculated, fuelled by over 300 stats. His days spent securing the cave’s perimeter and searching the mountain and laying traps guided his every movement through jagged and steep rocks as another Phoenix leap sent him soaring. He hoped his traps were slowing them down.

Another beast mimicked his movements, soaring after him through the air in an almost identical leap.

Alex’s feet pounded the rugged ground and he sprinted as soon as he made contact. Behind him, a Wolfman crashed into the ground from above, its claws scraping against the rocks and missing him by inches. Hot breath brushed Alex's neck as another wolfman lunged close, propelled by an explosion that radiated a wave of heat, casting sharp shadows against the rocky terrain. Dark fur bristled on the third wolfman as it slid across the ground towards Alex, its bared fangs catching the faint light from its trail of fire.

Alex leapt, higher.

He landed and drew his sword in one swift motion as his senses flared in warning.

From the left, the ember-trailing wolf pounced, its massive form slicing through the rocky terrain. Alex saw the area around him brighten with fiery light and frantically twisted with a swing of his blade. Sword met claws, and sparks flew at the point of impact, momentarily blinding him as on his right, the explosive wolf struck, a detonation erupting from its palm. The shockwave struck Alex, sending a jolt of pain through his back.

The blast launched him horizontally across the terrain. The world spun as he tumbled, and he caught a rapidly blurring glimpse of the mountain's peak.

Phoenix Leap.

His skill sent him shooting back up the mountain. Blood, his own, trickled down his back, a vivid red against the night.

He fled.

Alex felt the air shift near his face and instinctively dodged. He countered, his sword connecting with a wolfman's arm, dark blood escaping the wound.

A titanape landed nearby, its gaze fixed on Alex.

The ape exploded in a shower of bones and flesh as the wolfs explosion ripped through it.

The explosive wolfman propelled itself forward with a burst of fire from its hands and feet. Now covered in gore, It shot forward with more detonations, moving at breakneck speed past its peers with its gaze locked on Alex.

It’s teeth snapped shut near Alex's face as he rolled away. Standing, he thrust his sword, embedding it in the wolfman's shoulder.

Alex sidestepped its charge, feeling the wind from its movement. His sword arced through the air, striking the wolfman's side.

Its eyes glowed red as it snarled with anger.

Two wolfmen closed in from either side in an attempt to cut him off while Alex turned and raced up the mountain. Another descended from above, the one he'd struck moments earlier. His ascent slowed as he tried to evade them.

He parried a claw swipe with his sword. And an explosion from a wolfman's palm struck him after he blocked another swipe. Pain shot through his body. Blood spiraled down, joining the stains across the mountain.

He yelled in pain, knocked from the air. The wolves converged on his falling form. All four of them were aided by their skills, and had gained a slight lead on the mountain's denizens.

A Phoenix Leap saved Alex’s fall, allowing him to gain some distance. Alex savoured his lead and swallowed the cool air in sharp gasps as he ascended, intent of seizing the prize and escaping. His back was a mosaic of pain, and droplets of his blood painted the terrain, but still he ran. And the wolves followed swiftly, traversing the terrain with monstrous skills. They glared at his flight, animalistic rage in their eyes. They assaulted him at every turn, never slowing in their pursuit as they raced toward the peak.

Battles raged fiercely across mountain, flashes of light and sprays of gore coating the rocks in a twisted display of artistry. The chaotic battlefield shifted up the mountain, chasing Alex, racing toward the top. The three pursued.

He had long since lost the lead on the three and now fought for his life with every step.

The horde was some distance behind, unable to keep up with their frantic pace.

But it didn't make a difference.

The three pursued and attacked, and Alex’s world became engulfed with claws, canines, and fiery death.