Chapter 41: Chapter 41: Escape

The tree was thrown with an incredible force and it reached Stroph very quickly. Violet immediately stood in front of him about to break the tree trunk in two, but the next second, Stroph grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and threw her as far as he could. Violet didn't understand what was happening, or why her master was acting so strangely.

The beast immediately turned its attention to flying Violet, but Stroph drew his revolver and instantly fired his entire clip, aiming for the beast's head. Without waiting for the monster`s reaction, Stroph rushed away, he was absolutely certain that the beast not only survived, but that it only received a few scratches. That's why, he ran away, putting all his strength into his legs.

Stroph was truly horrified by what he saw, for right before the beast attacked them, he had checked it with "Evaluation" and after what he saw, he had only one option - to run.

[Name: Flesh Hunter]

[Race: beasts]

[Strength - 42]

[Dexterity - 49]

[Endurance- 41]

[Intellect -15]

Judging by the way "Bookmark" assessed it, this monster could be of the 5th rank, moreover, its dexterity was at the very edge of rank five and it was just a little short of rank six. When he saw the characteristics of the Flesh Hunter, Stroph's entire back was drenched in a cold sweat and he realized that running away was his only chance to survive.

<Fuck, fuck, fuck! Where did such a strong monster come from!? He would tear me to pieces and not even blink an eye.> Stroph was running as fast as he could, he knew very well that in a few seconds the beast would rush after and catch up with him very quickly.

He didn't know what to do, so he tried to think of a plan in these extreme conditions, but unfortunately for him, the Flesh Hunter caught up with him in practically one leap and already swung at him with its clawed, huge paw.

Stroph didn't know how to dodge this attack, but he reflexively pushed himself back from the nearest tree, which gave him momentum, thanks to which the beast's claws didn't hit him, but only turned the tree trunk into splinters. Stroph kept thinking how he was going to get away from the monster running after him, but the next second he heard the incredibly creepy and satisfied voice of the "Snow White Darkness" : <AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, this guy is clearly different from all the previous weaklings, stop thinking about nonsense, we need to kill it!>

Hearing its words, Stroph thought that a madman was talking to him: <How do you expect me to kill him!? Even if I had a hundred lives, I couldn't even scratch it!>

To these words, Stroph received a simple and harsh reply: <You don't need a hundred lives, all you need is a wish.> The "Snow White Darkness" said nothing more.

Hearing his companion's words, Stroph realized that he had forgotten one very important and, most importantly, incredibly powerful thing. It had simply slipped his mind that he had Negative Energy.

But he still wasn't sure if he should try to fight using Negative Energy, because he hadn't learned yet how to use it when he wanted to. It had been all purely by chance until now.

The next moment Stroph felt his desire to escape grow weaker and weaker, even as the beast was coming closer and closer.

The beast was breathing down his back, ready to open its mouth and devour him in one fell swoop, but instead, attacked him.

As soon as the "Flesh Hunter" began to open its mouth, a fist wrapped in thick black smoke flew into its jaw. The beast couldn't have expected its prey to dare to attack it, and with such a crushing power.

The monster flew back several meters, and many shattered scales fell from its head to the ground.

At that moment Stroph forgot all about escaping, he had only one thing on his mind, he wanted to kill it no matter what!

The next moment Negative Energy on his fist evaporated, and immediately appeared on his feet. He made a sharp leap and headed straight for the beast, which was still in flight. His jerk sent a multitude of cracks along the ground, and a small crater formed where he stood.

With maddening speed Stroph leaped toward the monster and with a mighty swing of his leg struck it squarely in the stomach, sending Flesh Hunter flying to even greater heights. The legs are much stronger than the arms, so, in addition to many shattered scales, the monster had several broken ribs.

But even that wasn't enough to kill such a strong opponent. That's why, right in the air, Stroph took the "Lotus" and aiming at the monster falling to the ground, began to fill it with all Negative Energy he had.

<YES! YES! That's it! Kill it, for if you don't kill it, you will be killed!> At this moment, "Snow White Darkness" was truly jubilant, it was just excited about this duel.

Gradually, the cracks on the "Lotus", began to be filled with darkness from Negative Energy and it also seemed that the cracks were slowly moving like some vines.

[Negative Energy is zero, no further consumption is possible.]

Immediately after the alert from "Bookmark", a blue lotus opened on the sniper rifle and a deafening shot was fired.

A moment later, the black line reached Flesh Hunter's body. Their collision caused an incredibly powerful explosion that tore the monster's flesh apart.

Flesh Hunter's carcass, torn to pieces, fell to the ground. The monster died at the moment Negative Energy`s shot reached it.

Stroph landed gently on the ground and dropped exhausted to his knees, supporting himself with the "Lotus" to keep from finally falling to the ground.

At that moment, he saw a dark haze begin to emerge from the monster's dead body, heading straight for the "Snow White Darkness".

<Great, just great, it's so much better than anything we've gotten before.> "Snow White Darkness" was clearly pleased with their catch today.

Several notifications from the system hovered before Stroph.

["Water Lotus Plexus" Mastery was increased by 32.1%.]

["Snow White Darkness" Mastery was increased by 0.01%.]

[50 units of Negative Energy were received]

Stroph was greatly surprised by this large increase in skills, but it was only the beginning.

[Congratulations! The epic level story - "Defeating Goliath" was received]

[You were able to defeat an opponent several times stronger than you, despite all the risks and the overwhelming strength of your opponent, you did not succumb to fear and came face to face with a deadly enemy for you and in doing so you`ve got a crushing victory! This is a historic moment in your life!]

[The effect is that no matter how powerful the enemy is, you will not succumb to fear and your mind will be clear. You have defeated an incredibly strong enemy, now the creatures equal to you or weaker than you will take 10% damage more].

Stroph was in amazement at all he had received, the rewards were indeed incredible, but to his shock, this was not the end.

[The effect of the history of epic level was activated - " The ant who got the dragon ". You got a reward for defeating an opponent who was several times stronger than you, randomly it was received a common(progressive) level skill - "Field of Greatness"]

"What? Progressive skill? Field of Greatness?"