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"Damn," I muttered, my voice echoing faintly in the silent cave. My muscles screamed in protest, the lack of proper diet and nutrients was already a pain and now with constant exhaustion and injuries, I’m sure whether I survive or not I’ll be a walking skeleton.

I closed my eyes, willing the spasms to ease, letting my body remember what it felt like to relax.

"Just... breathe," I whispered to myself, each word a struggle. Minutes passed in a haze of labored breaths and searing pain. Slowly, agonizingly, the burning sensation began to ebb, and my muscles loosened, control returning to me bit by bit.

I again pulled out a canteen and took a few sips of water, the cool liquid soothing my parched throat. I dug out a strip of jerky, tearing off a piece and chewing slowly, each bite grounding me, restoring a fragment of my strength.

The taste was bland, almost cardboard-like, but I didn't care. Food was fuel, and I needed every bit of energy I could get.

As I rested, I forced myself to look at the creature I'd killed. Now that I wasn't fighting for my life, I could take it in fully.

The elite's form was lean, far more so than the usual hulking beasts I'd encountered. Its body was compact, almost athletic, with taut muscles rippling under mottled gray skin.

It was built for speed and precision rather than brute strength and also the last elite I faced was more towards the ability route while this one was on the physical route.

Great… that just increased my odds of being a snack…

"Fucking hell," I breathed, my gaze tracing the length of its bone blades. Serrated edges gleamed dully in the faint light, each blade nearly as long as I was tall.

If I hadn't managed to block or dodge when I did if my focus had slipped for even a second... I shook my head, trying to dispel the gruesome image of my own head rolling across the floor.

Yeah truly a dance with death…yet I feel so good…am I weird in the head…

I glanced down at my stomach, where the creature's blade had left its mark. The armor was torn, a jagged gash marring the dark material. But to my surprise, the fibers were slowly reweaving themselves, a faint shimmer of enchanted energy dancing along the edges.

My skin beneath was mending too, the wound sealing itself, though faint traces of blood still smeared the area.

"Nice," I muttered, a hint of a smile tugging at my lips despite the lingering pain.

The Unbreaking enchantment was doing its job, working in tandem with the armor's restorative properties. The realization lifted my spirits—a small but crucial reminder of how far I'd come, how much this armor had already saved my ass.

Phew~ It feels much better and…entertaining no..thrilling now that I’m in better gear and can engage in proper combat…

I leaned back against the rough stone wall, chewing thoughtfully on another piece of jerky.

My thoughts drifted to the armor itself. It was an incredible find, beyond anything I could have imagined scavenging in this hellhole, and seeing its potential, Yeah I’m 100% upgrading you when I get the chance noctis…

I glanced back at the creature, my eyes lingering on the menacing bone blades once more. And yet, I thought, shivering slightly, even with all of this, it was close. Too close.

That damn thing’s agility, its precision—if I hadn’t had Exira amplifying my reflexes, my stomach wound might’ve been my last. Just like when I hadn’t noticed the initial slash, the same could’ve happened to my neck. I could practically feel the cool touch of a blade against my skin, slicing through before I even registered the attack.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

I looked away, suppressing a shiver. This elite was different from the others I’d faced. This one was pure physicality, a creature that relied on speed, skill, and those damn bone blades.

It's good that I finished the bastard fast enough… I’m sorely lacking in the endurance department right now…

I forced myself to refocus, pushing aside the flash of past terror. That was then; this was now.

Here, I’d won. Barely, maybe, but a win was a win.

After finishing the meager meal. Rest time was over. I had to move ahead.

I pushed myself to my feet, rolling my shoulders to ease the last traces of tension. My body still felt heavy, weighed down by the residual strain of Exira, the headache was still there but I could feel it will subside in a few moments.

Taking out my torch, I cast its light over the corpse. The shadows stretched and shifted as the white glow washed over the creature's grotesque form. It was taller than I'd realized, its elongated limbs and jagged bone blades giving it a menacing silhouette even in death.

I knelt beside it, studying the details one last time. Its claws were sharp, honed to deadly points, and I considered taking a few as keepsakes, or perhaps materials for crafting.

Standing over it, I couldn’t help but wonder how many more were out there. Elites like this one, lurking in the shadows, waiting to rip apart anything foolish enough to cross their path. My armor would only protect me so much, and Exira, as powerful as it was, had its limits. Pushing it to level three had nearly drained me, and I couldn’t count on that kind of strength for every fight.

My martial prowess was something I still took pride in, even now, with only fragments of my memories left.

The image of the battle flickered in my mind, and with it, a half-formed memory—a flash of myself in training, swift, deadly, unstoppable. It was strange, almost surreal.

I couldn't remember the details, but I knew—deep down—that Alexis before amnesia would've handled this monster without breaking a sweat. I was missing so much crucial information, experiences, and techniques.

I chuckled quietly, the sound hollow in the silence. “Guess I used to be something,”

I crouched beside the creature’s head, tilting the torch to get a closer look at its face. It was ugly in a way that felt almost deliberate, designed to evoke fear, every inch of its elongated skull a nightmare-made flesh. Its jaws were wide, impossibly so, and filled with teeth, each one a serrated, jagged edge, all mismatched and cruelly sharp.

I could only imagine what it would’ve felt like to be caught in those jaws. The creature was a killing machine, built to rend and tear, to leave nothing but ruin in its wake.

Drawing out the new set of knives I’d acquired, I began the grim work of harvesting the creature. The knives sliced through flesh and muscle, their edges sharp and precise, each cut methodical, every motion smooth from years of practice. My hands worked almost automatically, first severing the bone blades at the elbows, their dense structure making each cut an effort even with enchanted steel. These blades would be useful, valuable—either for crafting or for trading if I ever found a place to barter.

Once I’d set the bone blades aside, I moved on to the claws, prying them free one by one, each one almost as thick as my own fingers. They were hard as stone, the points razor-sharp, and I could practically feel the faint, lingering trace of the creature’s power within them. I turned one over in my hand, feeling the weight of it, the texture, imagining how it might serve as a weapon or component, how I could use it to craft something deadly of my own.

Curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to go deeper. Pulling out my knife, I drove it into the creature’s chest, slicing down through layers of muscle, peeling back flesh to expose its insides. The thick, sinewy tissue resisted, each layer tough and fibrous, but I kept going, prying open the chest cavity until I reached the rib cage. I paused, glancing at the exposed bones, at the twisted structure within.

I cracked the ribs apart, the sound echoing in the stillness, and finally exposed its inner organs. Despite the elite’s terrifying appearance, its insides were remarkably similar to the regular monsters I’d fought. The same twisted organs, the same dark, pulsing mass of veins and sinew. Nothing about it seemed special, nothing that would explain its enhanced strength or intelligence.

I huffed in frustration, wiping my hands on a rag as I glanced over the creature’s open chest cavity.

So maybe the physical structure isn’t what gives them their power. My mind wandered to El’s words, the cryptic hints he’d dropped about essence and power points. He’d told me that killing an elite or boss would yield an “essence”—a source of energy, something powerful. He’d implied I’d know it if I found it, that it would be obvious.

But standing here, staring into the creature’s chest, I saw nothing. No glowing core, no strange organ thrumming with power, no hidden source of its strength.

Does it even exist physically? Or is it… something else?

El words…or rather the drawings implied that I would know if there is an essence…haa guess my luck is not that good.

I reached out, pressing my fingers along the edges of its internal structure, feeling for anything unusual, anything that might indicate a concentration of energy. Nothing.

The monster’s body was a dead thing, no different from the countless corpses I’d encountered...

Yeah well, eventually I’ll get it right now I need to find the Boss place and get the hell out of this place…

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