The shield split cleanly in two the moment the Crescent Moon Slashes struck. One of them, slower than the rest, took advantage of the opening and slammed directly into Nathan's body.

A series of cracks echoed through the air as his armor split in half. The most critical issue was that the Crescent Moon Slash, no longer dampened by the shield, carved a diagonal path across his chest.

The impact launched him backward into the snow, sinking deep into its thick blanket. Blood sprayed upward, painting crimson flowers against the white canvas. Coughing violently, he scrambled to his feet, his trembling hand trying to stem the flow of hot blood dripping down his body. His chest armor was torn wide open, revealing a faint grayish-white mark beneath. Similar marks appeared on both arms. In some places, the white light grew more intense, triggering Moon Scar and causing Nathan to groan in agony.

The fresh wound proved its tenacity by refusing to diminish despite the hissing sounds emanating from his body. His skin seemed to burn and evaporate as energy within his body rushed to fuel the healing process. It all made him slightly dizzy. Left with no other choice, he ramped up his power.

Berserker, 15%.

Taking a small vial from his belt, he downed its contents in one gulp.

The Blood Essence Wine exploded within his body with intense warmth. Simultaneously, the essence supply gradually increased, and the energy would help him endure for a period of time.

Qi Armor was established, joining in the struggle where his skin was at a disadvantage. The effect was immediate. Tiny points of essence battled against Moon Scar, pushing it outward to allow the skin to heal. Nathan's body now bore points of light not unlike Lunar Shadow, constantly vibrating as the essence did its work.

Grabbing another shield, he prepared himself for the next round.

Lunar Shadow was licking the wound Nathan had left on its flank. It was applying the same Moon Scar technique on its own body. While enemies had to suffer from this skill, for the creature itself, it was nothing short of rapid healing. Blood from the slash wound was sealed and blocked by a grayish-white layer. The pain gradually subsided into a dull ache. It raised its head, swearing not to spare the human. Two ethereal tails alongside its real ones swayed in manifestation of its anger.

Abandoning Night Walker, the monster employed Moon Step instead. It leaped into the air, forming invisible platforms. When it landed, space rippled like disturbed water. It advanced toward Nathan with incredible speed, dropping down from above with lethal intent.

With newfound strength from Berserker, Nathan managed to block the attack with his left hand without too much difficulty. He withdrew his hand from the grip, allowing himself freedom from the Crescent Moon Slashes raining down from above. Snow exploded around him. With a powerful leap, he swung his sword in a horizontal arc toward the monster's head.

Lunar Shadow opened its maw wide, catching the sword between its fangs.

Nathan used the trapped sword as a pivot point, swinging his body upward, reaching a height surpassing even the floating Lunar Shadow. Utilizing his immense physical strength, he thrust his palm backward, creating explosions in mid-air that propelled him downward at terrifying speed. During his descent, he had to twist his body and thrust his palms in various directions to adjust his trajectory, avoiding the Crescent Moon Slashes.

Finally, he succeeded in delivering a spectacularly powerful counter-attack to Lunar Shadow's head.

A crystalline shattering sound rang out, followed immediately by a boom as the monster crashed into the ground, plowing through the thick snow.

Not giving the monster any time to rest, Nathan raised his arm. Various poison bombs of his own making were thrown. With a stone in hand, he timed its throw perfectly. The stone pierced through the poison bombs, causing them to detonate. Solutions and powders rained down on Lunar Shadow.

The wolf monster shook its head, still disoriented when its nose detected danger. The rain of poison made it jump in alarm. Green-black poisonous smoke obscured its vision. Lunar Shadow activated Night Walker to try to escape.

But Nathan had been waiting for exactly that action from outside. He always kept his focus locked on the glowing spots created by Luminous Grazer powder. Once it moved, he was ready. With a kick enhanced by his passive skills, he knocked Lunar Shadow back into the poison cloud.

The monster refused to give up, attempting to leave in another direction. What greeted it was Nathan's shield charging forward. Thornweave Ancient finally proved its worth thanks to the enemy's poor visibility. Several thorns pierced Lunar Shadow's body, making it howl in pain.

The monster exhaled sharply, its mind growing increasingly foggy. It had never been so disadvantaged before, which only made it more panicked. It immediately used Moon Step to raise itself higher, hoping to minimize its exposure to the surrounding poison smoke.

Seeing this, Nathan pulled on his mask, lowered his center of gravity, his leg muscles tensing to their limit. He shot straight toward where the monster was trying to escape. His hand reached out at the exact moment Lunar Shadow's nose found some fresh air. Flexing his arm muscles, he threw the monster back into the battlefield he had prepared for it. Simultaneously, he threw more bombs containing Luminous Grazer powder, refreshing the glowing effect on Lunar Shadow's skin.

Lunar Shadow's back slammed hard into the ground. It coughed out sounds of pain and exhaustion. While its energy remained, the poison was truly pressing on its spirit. Looking at it now, it no longer maintained its former majesty. Its fur was contaminated with various colors - the deep green of poison and brown of earth. Beneath the fur, its skin was bruising from the human's punches and kicks. Its mouth drooled uncontrollably. Its eyes kept narrowing. Its nose couldn't smell anything.

Nathan stood outside, observing with tense anticipation. The strength he gained from Berserker had allowed him to match Lunar Shadow in raw power. This was completely unexpected. He had thought he would need to activate the 23% state much earlier. However, he understood where this capability came from. [Titan's Descendant]. The Bloodline he possessed enhanced all aspects of Physical Cultivation to become even stronger. At Physical Cultivation Tier 1, Phase 3, he could confidently use his body's strength to face Roran, who possessed Tier 1, Phase 8 of Spirit Cultivation. Following that logic, even though he was only at Tier 2 Phase 1.5, that number alone didn't tell the whole story of his strength. With [Amplifying Strike] and partial Berserker state, the force he could generate might reach the threshold of Tier 2, Phase 7 or 8.

One thing to note was that Lunar Shadow's level didn't reflect Physical Cultivation, but rather Spirit Cultivation. The monster was evaluated based on cultivation and mana usage ability. The monster's powerful body was just a natural advantage. That said, it showed just how terrifying Lunar Shadow was in terms of pure physical strength.

Not to mention its dominating skills, the monster was already a force that couldn't be underestimated. And now, it became even more unreasonable. Nathan's skin crawled when a long howl rose from within the poison smoke.

Without thinking too much, he found another shield and attached it to his back. He tried to reassure himself that this would be enough.

A mystical scene unfolded before Nathan's eyes. The space around him grew darker in his vision. The silver moonlight transformed into countless tiny points, floating in the air. They grew increasingly larger as the moon provided more energy. Then, when they reached about the size of a fingernail, they shot toward Lunar Shadow, penetrating through the poison smoke.

Nathan watched but could do nothing. Those points of light were essence carrying the Lunar Aspect, a type rare among humans but fairly common among monsters. However, not every creature had the ability to control and absorb moonlight like Lunar Shadow.

Nathan saw a wolf figure formed by points of light from moonlight inside the poison smoke. Its brightness rivaled Luminous Grazer, forcing him to shut his eyes tightly. All he could see were system notifications.

Triggered [Tingling Sense]. One credit given.

Triggered [Adrenaline Boost]. One credit given.

He only knew he was affected by a silent blast that swept just above the ground. But thanks to that, he could still hear the whistling sound the monster created due to its speed. Through training with techniques from [Martial Art Mastery], he had improved his ability to hear and react to attacks, thereby adapting and countering. This was the moment to test those days of blindfolded training, dodging stone throws from the Vermilion Ape pack.

Raising the shield to his right hand, he roared, putting forth all his strength. The monster's head slammed into the shield creating a violent shockwave, drawing a crack in the snow from the point of impact.

Both hung in the air for a moment, then [Rebound] activated.

Lunar Shadow was pushed back by its own force.

Nathan only felt slight soreness from his counter-attack. He landed on his knee, tilting his head up to smile beneath the wolf jaw helmet from the Great Spine Wolf. The battle was now entering its most intense phase as Lunar Shadow's ultimate technique Night Hunter had been activated.

The wolf monster shook its head once, regaining clarity. Its eyes locked onto its opponent. Though puzzled by how a human could possess such powerful physical strength, it had no time to dwell on it. The Night Hunter state couldn't be maintained for long, so it had to make the most of this brief period. It swished its rear, another ethereal moon-white tail like mist appearing, ready to attack.

Nathan moved quickly and decisively, dodging the five Crescent Moon Slashes fired at him. But that wasn't enough. Waiting for him was a rain of white curves in the air from all angles. Night Hunter had helped Lunar Shadow transcend its limits, raising its mana cap significantly enough for wasteful spending. After all, once it ended, this energy source would disappear anyway, so the monster saw no point in conserving it.

A Crescent Moon Slash grazed him, cutting away part of his fur cloak. He spun around, swinging his sword to counter another slash. Their collision immediately demonstrated the gap between Spirit Cultivation and Physical Cultivation. His attack carried no mana, purely physical force. While the Crescent Moon Slash was only blocked at the point of contact with the sword, then split in two, continuing its trajectory forward. Only by concentrating all his essence into his hand to increase Qi Armor's intensity could he successfully deflect the divided slash.

Understanding he could only rely on Qi Armor and evasion, he focused intensely. [Quick Feet] no longer requiring him to bite himself to activate was operating at full capacity. He continuously dodged from side to side. Sometimes sliding low on the ground to approach the enemy. Other times jumping up and using Qi Armor on his legs to kick and break Crescent Moon Slashes.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Lunar Shadow calmly observed everything. Its hatred for Nathan had reached its peak. Its mind wasn't highly developed but it remembered his scent. Over a month and a half ago it had wanted to eat him alive. Yet it was stopped by someone stronger. Someone who had brought it here from its beloved homeland. Even among its kind, it was considered an outstanding existence. Yet before it could grow up, it was taken far from home, forced to serve another's will. Surely the human before it was one of the causes. Understanding this, it wanted to tear the enemy's throat even more. Lunar Shadow stamped its foot, its tails still continuously firing Crescent Moon Slashes, activating Night Walker. The moonlight explosion earlier had dispelled both the poison and the Luminous Grazer spots Nathan had thrown on it.

Always keeping one eye locked on the wolf monster, Nathan noticed immediately when it disappeared. Struggling with the deadly slashes around him, he couldn't prevent it.

No matter, he remained calm in battle.

From the fight with the Vermilion Ape Leader, he discovered that special monsters behaved very differently from what the data he had on PsiLink suggested. Information about these variants was too extensive, becoming expensive when trying to collect enough and find the exact one being targeted. Therefore, he had spent time thinking, drawing out possible scenarios that Lunar Shadow might execute. If Luminous Grazer's spots could stick permanently that would be ideal, but once dispelled, he needed a backup plan.

He raised his hand, index finger pointing straight at the sky. A howl sounded nearby. Right after Scarlet's signal was fired. The Vermilion Apes threw the bombs their leader had entrusted to them earlier. The bombs flew high into the sky. When they reached their peak, the hidden mechanism activated. A small parachute deployed from each one, causing them to hover in the air.

Nathan smiled slightly, silently praising Scarlet for always watching him intently. Taking out small knives from his pockets, he threw them at several bombs. A rain of explosive powder descended, different in that it contained no poison smoke but rather tiny sparkling particles of various colors.

Scanning around, he immediately saw the dust particles moving in a position to his right. Without hesitation, he used Qi Armor concentrated in his hands to deflect the final two Crescent Moon Slashes. The dust particles moved more chaotically near him. He slammed his shield down, throwing himself high up. The monster struck, knocking the shield from his hand. Five Crescent Moon Slashes fired from all angles. Nathan pulled out the shield from his back, using it to strike directly at Lunar Shadow's head while utilizing it as a pivot to skillfully dodge the slashes.

Lunar Shadow roared, using all its strength to throw Nathan off. While the enemy was unbalanced, it immediately opened its jaws wide to bite. Its new strength shattered the shield in Nathan's hand despite biting from the sides. Just as its fangs were about to succeed, they were stopped by an invisible barrier.

Nathan hung suspended with his right hand trapped between the monster's jaws. Qi Armor was frantically consuming essence to prevent him from losing an arm. Using his other hand, he threw a punch at the monster's nose. Yet it still wouldn't let go. He twisted his hand, drawing out the Scarab sword, delivering several more cuts before Lunar Shadow finally tilted its head away, staggering and in pain, releasing the human.

Jumping backward while panting, Nathan was shocked by the speed the monster possessed. Before the Night Hunter state, he had already matched Lunar Shadow, yet now it not only had abundant mana, its body had also received formidable buffs. Looking at his hand, he shook his head in dismay. Although Qi Armor had protected him, the pressure points from the monster's fangs had still left two deep indents in his skin. He figured his hand would have been crushed to pieces if Lunar Shadow had penetrated his defensive line.

The wolf monster shook its head violently, the burning pain it endured from Nathan's cuts making it extremely uncomfortable. The notable thing was that there was poison in the cuts too. The first slash wasn't strong enough in dosage for it to care. With this deeper cut, it finally felt it.

Nathan was picking up another shield when the monster pounced. Clenching his hand, he tried to defend. But instead of crushing the shield like before, his pushing force met only air. The monster had used Moon Step mid-way, using it to change attack direction, its mouth opening wide to bite at his sword hand. Simultaneously, five Crescent Moon Slashes were sent out, ensuring he couldn't use the shield to block its mighty fangs.

A clear ring sounded out. The Scarab Armor sword shattered into colorful fragments spraying outward when Nathan raised it hoping to block the monster's jaws. The more dangerous problem came after. His hand was once again caught in the monster's mouth, while Crescent Moon Slashes had cut through his shield. Qi Armor was forced to spread out evenly.

"Arghh," he groaned as the sharp points of fangs pierced his skin, his body marked with grayish-white streaks from Moon Scar.

Seeing its success, Lunar Shadow shook its head hard, throwing Nathan to crash straight into a tree. The impact force broke the tree backward, falling in the forest creating rustling sounds in the night, ending with a loud thump as snow flew in all directions.

Nathan staggered to his feet, blood seeping from locations all over his body. Lunar Shadow's bite had created four holes in his forearm. Moon Scar was active at the positions where Crescent Moon Slash had cut through.

Taking out Blood Essence Wine, he drank it all in one complete gulp. The warmth from the wine made him more alert. Most importantly, it replenished the essence that had been recklessly consumed by Qi Armor. Indeed, this skill compared poorly to mana shield. One type would consume energy even without contact, while the other maintained stability unless impacted. There was good reason why this path of Physical Cultivation had gradually fallen into obscurity. This school, without various foods and drinks, would have too many shortcomings. The system, seeming to understand his situation when providing [Cooking], had stepped in to help with this deficiency.

His Stamina was also restored thanks to the essence of the Crimson Lotus seed. The lethargy surrounding him was pushed back, making room for intense focus. As Lunar Shadow had reached its peak, it was time for him to crank his power to the maximum as well.

Berserker, 23%.

Lunar Shadow raised its head straight up, its nose sniffing with disbelief. The human wasn't paralyzed by that throw, but had regained his strength instead. And he was shooting toward it with even greater speed than before.

Nathan's downward kick from above only served to stir up the snow below, missing completely. He grabbed the shield that appeared right beneath, swinging it to the side, smashing hard into the monster's body. Lunar Shadow retreated backward, disappearing again. He threw knives toward the hovering bomb bags. The glowing dust descended once more. Observing movement in the air, he spun around pushing his shield forward, his other hand yanking a fang from the Great Spine Wolf's collar, simultaneously thrusting forward.

Lunar Shadow yelped after taking the hit, a white fang stuck in its neck. It took a deep breath, expelling the thorn's pushing force. Poison once again flooded into its system. But that still wasn't enough to make it fall.

Only six left.

Nathan's shield count was steadily decreasing, Crescent Moon Slash and Lunar Shadow's bites too mighty. This was something he couldn't have predicted. The monster's development was impossible to measure with his data. Nevertheless, he remained confident this hunting trip would still end successfully.

Utilizing the speed, endurance, and explosive power Berserker provided, he moved around in a calculated yet frenzied manner. He wasn't just picking up shields but also gathering backup swords. At intervals, he would stir up bomb traps from the ground, making the air increasingly mixed with poison. It was time for him to take risks - not being immune to poison meant exposing himself like this caused him difficulties like Lunar Shadow. He was betting on his Qi Armor, [Poison Processing], and physical constitution.

Lunar Shadow was no slouch, continuously moving, continuously using its skills. Night Walker and Moon Step combined smoothly and precisely. Sometimes it would attack from the air, combining with Crescent Moon Slash, forcing Nathan into tight spots. Even when the human predicted its direction, it still utilized platforms from Moon Step to deliver purposeful bites. Nathan's shields and swords kept shattering under its pressure. What frustrated it was the bleeding wounds appearing on its body. It had found ways to block the enemy's sharp weapons, yet its blood wouldn't stop flowing. It couldn't allocate more energy to transform these wounds into Moon Scars when the enemy attacked relentlessly without rest. This increased the exposure potential as the surrounding poison grew ever stronger.

The Night Hunter state was about to end.

With only two shields remaining, Nathan dared not waste them, concentrating all his strength into moving like a storm. Because of this, he didn't notice that [Bleeding] had activated, causing difficulties for his enemy. He changed masks one after another, spitting out poison-countering candy only to throw another into his mouth. The muscles on his body heated up with each motion. His punches generated powerful air pressure. His kicks were decisive and mighty. His running steps carried unmatched speed. He himself was an army, appearing on all sides, giving the enemy no chance to rest. The wounds on his body seemed forgotten, as if familiar. Moon Scar wasn't as frightening as before. Moon Slash became trivial once he applied [Improved Pattern Recognition] and [Martial Art Mastery]. Every movement of the enemy, every mana fluctuation in the air was clearly visible to him. Saving the Berserker state until now to unleash it fully was precisely for this moment. To force the monster to its knees.

Lunar Shadow gradually became hesitant. Its body now was far from pristine. The beautiful white fur was stained with blood, poison, and black marks that seemed about to fester. It was slowly becoming what it had always despised before. That skinny and lowly monster humans named Great Spine Wolf. The consequence for that inferior monster was death. And Lunar Shadow could feel that coming for itself. Nathan's crazed eyes piercing through the poison smoke were absolutely clear. They were more terrifying than the times the monster had to face larger, stronger Lunar Shadows. All had one thing in common - they only wanted to drink the enemy's blood.

With not much strength left, the wolf monster chose close-quarter combat. It bared its fangs from above, biting down.

Nathan retreated backward, his fist striking forward making Lunar Shadow's head snap upward. The monster took advantage of his unstoppable momentum to raise its claws, raking across his chest. Qi Armor wasn't thick enough to prevent three deep grooves being carved into his flesh. Ignoring everything, Nathan hooked a strike from the opposite direction, using a One-inch punch. Before the monster could howl, the second strike arrived. Then [Rebound] activated. Lunar Shadow spat blood and saliva as its head twisted to one side, its nose breathing heavily in exhaustion. The poison had crept into every corner of its body.

Nathan threw his shield aside. He knew Lunar Shadow no longer had enough mana to use its innate skills. Now it was just a battle of flesh and blood.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

His punches and kicks landed on the monster's body. Lunar Shadow fought back with bites and claws. But close combat like this was no longer its strength. With a desperate move, it tensed up, taking one of Nathan's punches, still maintaining its advancing head.

Lunar Shadow's action succeeded. Because not just it, Nathan was also reaching his endurance limit.

He roared in pain as half his right body was caught completely in the monster's mouth. Qi Armor had only a thin layer left trying to resist, preventing the teeth from sinking too deep. Even so, he could feel another solid object scraping against his bone.

Gritting his teeth, he yanked the necklace loose causing the sharp fangs to float in mid-air. With an incredibly swift motion, he grabbed one, stabbing it deep into the monster's neck as thick as his whole body. Blood sprayed out, hitting his face.

Lunar Shadow didn't give up, clenching its jaws tighter, its feet thrashing trying to claw at its opponent.

Nathan endured the claws cutting into his skin. Essence still only focused on his right shoulder. His left hand grabbed another fang at its falling point.

Thunk!

Lunar Shadow exhaled sharply from the second pain on its neck, the poison growing increasingly stronger. It still wouldn't surrender, its neck lurching forward slightly, searching for more strength for its bite.

Nathan felt the fangtips wanting to pierce into his bone. Pain nearly blinding him, he almost dropped another knife. Using his index finger to flick it up, he managed to grab it in time.

Thunk!

Lunar Shadow's saliva poured freely as it suppressed its own scream. Its entire body trembled. It believed it was close to victory.

I'm close, Nathan thought the same.

The fourth stab.

Nathan's shoulder bone had broken.

He roared for both of them. The sound echoed throughout the forest.

Thunk!

There were no more knives within reach for him to grab. Essence was depleted. Strength was also exhausted.

Lunar Shadow could no longer clench its teeth. It staggered backward, its body growing limp. All around was nothing but blood on snow, mixed between it and Nathan. Its dim eyes looked at the hunched body before it.

Nathan seemed to have lost all feeling in his right side, blood spurting out like small waterfalls. The Berserker state was being maintained to increase his recovery ability and keep his spirit from breaking immediately.

But he couldn't help smiling.

He won.

Seeing this, Lunar Shadow tried to stand straight. Its dirty fur swayed in the wind. It was afraid but not desperate. It was a Lunar Shadow variant. Because it could eat to grow stronger. That's why Darkan had brought it here. Eat and temporarily inherit the skills of the Tier 2 monster it consumed. The final trump card.

And the last Tier 2 monster it ate was the Vermilion Ape Leader.

Howling once, Lunar Shadow's eyes gradually changed from black to red. The blood around rose like a mist entering its nose. Its once sleek body swelled up, making it lose its inherent beauty. Becoming uglier, more savage, and stronger.

Seeing this, Nathan shuddered, muttering.

"No, you're really going too far now."

Lunar Shadow, enraged state.