Gale climbed up the tree where the tent was. The beast stood below, tired but still ready to fight. Its eyes watched him, fierce and wild.

What kept it going?

He knew it was smart, but not how smart. A normal beast by now would’ve left and run. It took too much damage, and it didn’t even manage to lay a hand on him. The boulder stuck on its arm would slow it down. No way it could catch him now. The trap had worked.

But traps alone wouldn’t kill it. He needed to finish this properly to extract its Origin.

The beast walked into the centre of camp, its battered appearance managing to get this far. Spikes and spears jutted out from its flank, back, belly, and bottom. The leather hide had been skinned off by the boulders that fell on it multiple times, showing some of the bones underneath. A couple of its fangs were chipped, most likely from the same boulders.

Gale jumped to a branch and pulled a vine. Instantly, more vines shot up and wrapped around the beast’s legs. It thrashed and broke free.

Gale moved to another tree and triggered the next trap. Sharp stakes rained down from all sides. The beast used the boulder on its arm as a shield to the front. Stakes bounced off. The exposed parts struck the leather of the beast. It looked more like a porcupine now rather than a beast.

Their eyes met. The beast was clearly angry. It charged forward and hit the tree with the boulder. The whole tree shook. Gale almost lost his balance.

He hadn’t expected it to adapt so fast. It used the boulder like a weapon. He needed to end this quick.

He climbed higher to a different platform. His hands snatched at switches hidden in the bark. Traps activated all at once.

A smart beast would’ve been at the bottom of the tree he was on. And X marks the spot which the beast was standing on top of.

Spikes shot up from the ground. Boulders fell from above, some hitting the beast’s head. A pit opened under it, catching one leg. More spikes stabbed through its foot.

The beast roared. Its eyes never left Gale as the traps tore at its body. It knew he caused all this. Its face twisted with rage.

It got closer. This platform was too low. He jumped to a higher one, but something hit him mid-air.

The beast had thrown a rock the size of his torso. It timed the throw perfectly as he jumped.

He fell through the air. His hand caught a vine he’d set up earlier. He swung in a wide arc away from the beast.

His free hand hit a series of cords between trees. Each connected to a different trap.

The forest exploded into action.

Nets flew from all directions. They tangled the beast’s limbs. Logs swung from every angle, smashing into its body.

Gale landed on a distant branch. He caught his breath and looked at his work. The beast fought in the pit, feeling its ribs with its free hand.

But it wasn’t dead. It tore through the nets. Its muscles flexed as it broke free.

How are you not god damned dead? All the fucking traps were done. Triggered. Nothing.

The beast’s eyes found him again. He felt the coldness seep into him from its glare. Whether that was his imagination or real, he didn’t want to find out.

He gripped his spear harder. Time to face this thing up close. He jumped down to the ground.

The beast charged. It moved fast. For Gale, time slowed down. Everything became clear and sharp.

His fingers tightened on his spear. He used Alter. The weapon shrank as he rolled sideways. The beast’s claws missed him by inches.

Gale stood up. His spear shot forward. He aimed at the beast’s side, exposed after its attack. The weapon hit deep into flesh.

A roar shook the forest. The beast turned, its eyes somehow understandably full of pain.

Gale didn’t wait. He ran, creating distance. His hand grabbed another spear from his back.

He used Distort. Light bent around him. He turned and charged straight at the beast.

The creature watched the bent figure coming at it. It swiped with huge claws.

But it hit nothing. Gale had expected that. He slid past its belly. His spear struck up, hitting soft flesh underneath.

Another loud roar echoed through the trees. The beast stumbled. Blood soaked its fur and scales where the spears that porcupined it had hit.

Gale backed away. He’d hurt it but not enough. It still came after him, eyes fixed on killing him. He needed something better.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

An idea hit him. What if he focused Phase Touch just on the spear tip? It was risky and sounded dumb, but he had no choice.

He put space between himself and the beast. No Distort this time. The creature was too smart for that trick again.

Gale held his last spear. He made Phase Touch work only at its tip. Pain shot through his head. A warning flashed:

[Warning Max Load Breached.]

[Warning Current Load Usage: 10]

He ignored the pain. His knuckles turned white on the spear. All his focus went to keeping Phase Touch at the tip.

[Your Phase Touch increased in proficiency…]

The beast charged. It sensed him pause. Its mouth opened wide, ready to end him with one bite.

Gale waited until the last second. Then he shoved the spear forward with everything he had. The Phase-touched point hit the beast’s skull and went through like butter. Through the spears, he felt its bone and brain matter stab through, butchering its insides in real time.

The beast’s weight pushed it further onto the spear. Its roar cut off into a wet gurgle. It stumbled, legs giving out instantly, and crashed to the ground.

Gale held on, his spear buried deep. The beast twitched twice, then stopped.

[Tainted Forest Predator felled.]

[The royal guard’s loyalty was fierce. They once were the symbol of power for the Lord, never relenting and fighting against even death himself. They now haunt the Desolate Forest to seek out any trespassers that dare invade the Lord’s territory with beasts on its leash.]

What the fu…

For a moment, Gale just stood there, staring at the text. No fucking wonder it was so stubborn. He could barely believe it was over. One attack had killed it after all that chasing.

His chest heaved as he caught his breath. He let go of the spear, leaving it stuck in the beast’s head. He tried to stand but fell back down. The technique had drained him too much. He never wanted to go through that again.

A notification appeared:

[Extracting Origin from prey…]

[Core Density Increased: 4/12]

[Lungs Core part built. Stamina increased.]

[Skin Core part built. Regeneration increased.]

[Bone Core part built. Bone rigidity increased.]

Warmth spread through him, stronger than the first time.

Three core parts from just one kill. Whatever he’d faced was way above his level.

Gale laughed. He was stubborn, wanting payback on something that seemed impossible. But he’d done it anyway. No one was there to stop him.

He read the description of what he killed. It was his first time seeing it, though he recalled there was one for the forest beast too. The words were hauntingly eerie. This land once had a lord ruling it.

The word ‘tainted’ seemed weird. The forest beasts were awakened, but this one was tainted. More questions popped up. But he didn’t care if it was awakened or tainted. Revenge was all that mattered.

Gale walked to the dead predator. His bone armour clicked as he moved. He pulled out a crude stone knife and started cutting up the body. No time to rest.

His hands worked fast. He’d done this many times. Each kill made him better at it. The beast’s flesh cut away, giving him materials he needed to survive.

He checked the skull, hoping to use it for armour. But it was ruined. The Phase Touch had done too much damage. A hole went straight through. Around the hole were cracks all around.

Useless.

“Tch, what a waste.” His voice sounded rough after not speaking for so long.

He tossed the skull aside. The rest of the bones were still good. Gale upgraded his weapons, making his spears stronger with the dense material. He made new spearheads. Each change gave him an edge in the fight to stay alive.

There was too much meat to eat before it spoiled. He cut it into thin strips for smoking. The work was boring but gave his mind time to wander. A nice break after who knows how many days of stress.

The beast was smart. He was smarter. And used its own smartness against it. It was a good reminder that he couldn’t just rely on tricks. Traps were one thing. Finishing the fight was another.

Now that he’d killed an actual predator, life couldn’t push him around anymore. He wasn’t special or a hero. Although his armour made him look like a monster, fate gave him no choice. He would fight back no matter what it took.

With the meat ready, he put it in his smoker. He spaced the strips evenly so they’d smoke right.

Gale built up the fire and added wet leaves for thick smoke to preserve the meat. A strong smell filled the air.

He cleaned up camp next. He gathered tools, sharpened dull blades, and fixed his shelter. He did each job carefully. Small mistakes could kill you out here.

His mind drifted to his past life. The orphanage seemed far away now. He wondered if he’d ever go back, or if he even wanted to. His life wasn’t any different then now. Maybe slightly better food if they could even call the food they served at the orphanage ‘food’.

He pushed those thoughts away and focused on now. He took off his bone armour. Sweat, blood, and dirt covered his skin. A quick wash in the stream cleaned most of it off.

The cold water felt good, but he didn’t stay in long. He dried off with a piece of cloth and put his armour back on.

Back at camp, he checked the smoking meat. It would take hours but already smelled better than raw meat. He added more fuel so the fire would keep burning.

Gale sat back against a tree trunk. His muscles ached. The smell of smoke and meat mixed with forest scents. He closed his eyes for a moment of rest.

…

Name: Gale Hathie

Race: Dainv

Core Class: Awakened

Core Density: 4/12

Core Attributes: [

Max Load: 7

Efficiency: 2

Essence: 41/100

]

Skills:

[Phase Touch Lv.2][Alter Lv.1][Distort Lv.1]

Passives:

[Breath of the Void Lv.1]

[Missions]

[Exit the rift]

…

Gale checked his stats. His Max Load had gone up. That part of his system was hard to understand before. Now he knew what it meant after using focused Phase Touch.

Each skill had its own difficulty. The more complex the skill, the harder it hit him. If he used something beyond his max load, it hurt him physically. The headache was worse than any migraine he’d ever had. Only his need to survive kept him awake.

He used Phase Touch on a pebble to test if efficiency changed anything. It did. His essence dropped by only 3 instead of 5. Gale felt proud. This whole experience made him stronger.

He could now probably kill a forest beast pretty easily.

A smile crossed his face. In just a few days, he’d smiled more than he ever did on Earth, except when reading books.

Suddenly, a snap echoed through the forest. One of his traps had been triggered. Not in the inner perimeter. Those were all done. It was in the very outer perimeter.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep