Titan stirred as the first rays of morning light crept through the jungle canopy. It was now the third day since he had been ambushed, but now his muscles no longer ached from his brutal battle against the Ironhide Monitor. The pain had dulled into a lesson, move faster and don't get hit. He reflexively extracted his cws as he stretched, feeling the new strength coursing through his body. His victory had granted him power, but it wasn't enough, he would still be a meal for any number of magical beasts. His goal was to get to the top.

  His golden eyes flicked toward the deeper jungle, a debt he wanted to repay. His unfinished business, the Barkhide Stalker. The first beast to challenge him in this world had nearly killed him, forcing him to flee with his tail between his legs. That shame still burned in his mind, but now things were different, he had grown confident in the use of his body.

  'I was alive for 30 seconds before the bastard attacked me, and I had no way to damage the creature until now. With my crunch skill that can pierce through its armor I have a chance. It is strong, but seemed to possess low maneuverability, so it may be a battle of attrition but I can do it.'

  This time, he wasn’t going to run.

  Titan returned to the river and followed it upstream where he had first encountered the beast. He looked for the damage underbrush from its disregard for anything in its path. He moved with practiced silence, weaving through the underbrush as he searched for his target. He reached the pce where their first encounter had taken pce; a twisted grove of gnarled roots and thick moss-covered bark that had been torn to shred by its reckless charging. He instantly recognized the scent of the stalker, the fear from his previous encounter with it made the scent unmistakable.

  His ears twitched, he heard movement. He slunk down to an army crawl and hide in the underbrush waiting for his prey to become visible. It did not take long for the rhino sized beast to come into view.

  Titan activated Inspect(II).

  [Inspect: Barkhide Stalker (D+): Lvl 10][Primary Attributes: Defense, Vitality, Tenacity]

  Titan’s tail shed out, thumping the ground. As expected, the beast was built to take hits, prevent debuffs, and keep fighting. The thick bark-like pting covering its body would make normal attacks nearly useless.

  'I doubt I'll be able to damage it much with my rake ability even after its rank up,' he thought as he continued to watch it, 'Crunch is going to be my main attack for this one.'

  He crept forward, muscles coiled like a spring. The Stalker prowled ahead, oblivious to its hunter. Titan would strike first this time.

  Titan lunged, a blur of white fur as he crashed into the Stalker’s fnk. His teeth found purchase—

  [Crunch!]

  A sickening crack echoed as his fangs sank through the beast’s bark-like hide. The Stalker howled in rage, its body twisting violently. Titan held on, trying to cmp down harder—the beast went berserk.

  The beast threw itself sideways, smming him into a tree.

  [-3 HP]

  Titan yelped as pain erupted in his shoulder, but he had twisted his body enough to guard against most of the damage. The Stalker whirled on him, its yellow eyes burning with primal fury. The thick bark pting along its neck and back flexed, hardening further as it prepared to counter.

  'Did it just use a skill?'

  Titan had quickly rolled himself to his feet, shaking off the hit. He couldn't let it take control. He bared his fangs and roared—

  [Predatory Roar!]

  Nothing. The Stalker wasn’t fazed. The level and rank difference were too great.

  The beast lunged, its armored head lowered as it went to trample him, he dodged out of the way, but not fast enough. He got clipped by the charge making him roll head over heel, but he avoided most of the damage.

  [-2 HP]

  Titan, like the cat he was, rolled back onto his feet, but forced himself to move immediately he could not afford to just react. He needed to create an opening.

  He feinted left, baiting the Stalker into swiping again, then exploded forward, unching himself underneath its guard. His cws raked at its underbelly—

  [Rake!]

  Minimal damage. The bark-like skin was too thick, too strong, Titan had expected that, but it seemed like it only took a single point of damage if any at all.

  He darted past, taking full advantage of his high agility to circle back.

  'Maybe I can proc a bleed with my cws if I can accumute some wounds on it.'

  The Stalker snarled, lowering its head and charging recklessly at him. Titan leapt aside at the st second, the beast barreling past with sheer momentum. It had trouble stopping, its body skidding slightly before turning back toward him. Titan smirked, he was happy he remembered that the creature couldn't change directions quickly. That was something he could use.

  Again, he dodged as it charged, forcing it to overcommit. The beast skidded on loose dirt, nearly toppling over before regaining its footing. Titan used the brief moment of hesitation to leap onto its back.

  [Crunch!]

  His fangs sank deep into the back of its neck. The Stalker shrieked, twisting and bucking like a wild beast. Titan held on, his cws digging into the creature’s pted hide. It smmed itself against trees in a desperate attempt to dislodge him, but Titan stayed locked in pce, biting down harder.

  The Stalker roared, muscles tensing as it prepared to roll again. Titan knew he couldn’t stay on forever. He released his bite and sprang off before it could crush him beneath its weight, he let go just as the Stalker threw itself sideways again. He nded hard, skidding across the dirt, but avoided the worst of the impact. The beast whirled, panting, bleeding, but still standing.

  He hit the ground running, weaving through the terrain as the enraged Stalker wheeled around and chased him. It was fast—too fast to simply outrun. Since it had trouble turning, its bulk was working against it. Titan was zigzagging left and right, making it correct its course over and over. He could hear its furious snarls growing louder behind him, he could hear the beast tiring as its panting grew louder.

  Then he saw something that may deal quite a bit of damage, a boulder.

  It loomed ahead, massive and immovable. Titan pushed himself faster, baiting the Stalker into one final charge. It took the bait, lowering its head and thundering forward with all its might.

  At the st possible second, Titan leapt to the side.

  The Stalker had no chance to stop.

  It crashed headlong into the boulder with a deafening impact. Shards of rock exploded outward causing Titan to dodge the shrapnel. Even though the stalker made it completely through the boulder, blood started to ooze out of cracks between its armored pting. The beast reeled, dazed and staggering until it dropped to its knees.

  Titan wasted no time.

  [Rake!]

  His cws tore into the exposed wounds from his crunch ability, ripping deeper into the weakened flesh. The bleed effect on the open wounds was immediate, additional wounds split open across its body, sap-like blood dripping from where Titan's rake struck it.

  [Rake!][Rake!][Rake!][Rake!][Crunch!]

  Titan tried to stack multiple bleed debuffs onto the stalker, and because of its high tenacity stat only one of the rake attacks procced another bleed. The crunch was aimed for its throat, cinching down his jaws the stalker let out a gurgling snarl, its body convulsing as the bleeding effects took hold. Its legs trembled, breath coming in ragged, uneven gasps.

  Titan circled it, watching as its strength drained away with every passing second. The fight was over. The beast shuddered once more, then stilled.

  Victory was his.

  [Enemy Defeated: Barkhide Stalker (D+): Lvl 10] [EXP Gained: 120] [Level Up! 4 -> 7][Title Awarded: Reckless Challenger - greatly boost exp for fighting enemies of higher levels. Exp is further multiplied by taking on higher tier creatures][Awarding Reckless challenger Exp...][Level up! 7 -> 10][+6 primary stats, 18 unallocated stats]

  Titan gasped for breath, his body trembling as the familiar surge of power flooded his veins.

  [Level 10 Reached] [First Evolution Avaible]

  A deep, primal force surged within him. His muscles tensed, his bones ached as the world around him seemed to blur. The system’s voice echoed in his mind:

  [Select Evolution Path]

  Titan’s breath was heavy, his body burning with anticipation. He had come so far. This was the moment where he decided what kind of hunter he would become.

  He had won and now it was time to evolve.

  _____________________________________________________________________________________________

  Level: 10/10Title: Reckless Challengerunallocated stats: 18

  HP: 20/20Strength: 16Defense: 6Agility: 16Charisma: 15Wisdom: 6Intelligence: 5Perception: 7Tenacity: 7Endurance: 7Vitality: 10