Oh, I was dead.

  Before the claws could reach my throat, Jer-kel lunged into their path, throwing herself in harm's way. Her chest plate cracked with a resounding impact, and she flew backward, crashing into the ground.

  Caught in the momentum of her movement, I tumbled along beside her until I landed hard.

  Instead of crying out in pain, she adjusted her hands to cover my ears.

  Wha—

  I didn’t need to wonder long. The answer came immediately. Her monster flew high into the air and screamed. The sound was so powerful that the ground trembled beneath us, the very earth vibrating with the force, while the shafeline howled in pain.

  Good. If she could keep that up for long enough, maybe she'd force it to faint.

  But then I noticed the fairy’s ears were bleeding, and not just hers—Jer-kel’s ears were bleeding, too. The pain must have been unbearable, and after a few moments, the fairy stopped her sonic assault.

  The trembling of the air and ground ceased, dropping from intense to nothing in a matter of seconds.

  Jer-kel muttered something under her breath. Frustration. It was clear—the fairy hadn’t had enough time to absorb the ether from the organs, not nearly enough.

  I wasn’t sure exactly how much time was needed, but it was certainly less than I had. She’d barely gotten anything.

  Jer-kel tried to push herself up, but her movements were erratic, as if she had no sense of balance. Her eardrums were destroyed, and she stumbled like a drunk.

  The shafeline, meanwhile, was coating its body in fire and pounced like a wild cat.

  The fairy barely managed to evade it. It became a game of tag, and with every passing second, the shafeline was getting closer to catching her.

  Meanwhile, I focused on Mon, trying to direct it to fire at the creature. The little fireballs shot out, but they were too slow, barely even registering as a threat. The shafeline didn't even look at them.

  I tried to lift Jer-kel, to drag her to safety, but—holy shit, she was heavy. The armor alone must’ve added over four hundred pounds. There was no way I could do this.

  But I had to.

  My muscles strained, and my legs trembled under the weight as if I were about to collapse. Come on… Come on…

  I slid on a pebble, crashing forward. My chin slammed into the ground, sending a shockwave of pain through my skull.

  That hurt... Oh god, that hurts so much.

  Jer-kel’s bleeding ears suddenly stopped, and I saw many of her wounds begin to close up.

  I snapped my attention to the fairy. Its body was coated in white energy, shimmering like a protective shield. It had recovered enough ether to heal itself, which by proxy healed its master.

  Why doesn’t it just fly higher up? I wondered. It could easily avoid the shafeline, but maybe it’s worried the monster would target us instead.

  Well, whatever. The healer was back online. That was good news.

  Jer-kel pushed herself up and said, "Get to cover..."

  "What about you?" I asked.

  "Don’t worry about me."

  "And the villagers?"

  “There should be some alive. I made sure of that…”

  Her voice wasn’t cold, but I could sense a hint of worry beneath her tough exterior. Maybe she wasn’t as hardened as she let on. There was a difference between hating someone and thinking they deserved a painful death.

  There were definitely other monsters alive. A monster could be lurking around any corner.

  I had a way to fix that.

  I focused on Mon’s senses—its hearing and its sense of smell.

  The scent of blood, feces, urine, and sweat flooded my senses. Then, I heard the low growls of monsters, too faint for a human ear to detect. About three of them, closing in.

  They were probably hunting the villagers.

  I know what I have to do.

  I made Mon lead the way toward the monsters and followed it closely.

  The first time I fought a monster, I almost died. To anyone else, my actions might seem irrational, even heroic.

  But it wasn’t about heroism. I wasn’t foolish enough to risk my life for some noble cause. I had once killed myself, indifferent to what the future held. That lack of regard for life made it hard to value my own.

  But now, there was a spark of something in me. I was excited, but also terrified, about what my future in this world might look like.

  The reason I was taking this risk? Because I hated these monsters. I wanted to see them suffer. I wanted to kill them, torture them, make them regret their very existence.

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  And, of course, I wanted to save these people. It wasn’t just about revenge.

  I spotted a monster perched on a house rooftop, looking down at a little boy hiding behind a house with his father and another person.

  The monster lunged at the boy.

  Go!

  Mon dashed forward at full speed, kicking up dust as it sprinted. My eyes locked on the monster. Just as it was within a meter of the body, a fireball, the size of a tennis ball, hit it square in the face.

  “Quaa!” the monster screeched, its pouncing form faltering, and it crashed to the ground in front of the three hiding figures.

  “What the hell?!” the father—at least, I assumed he was the father—yelled in shock.

  I didn’t waste any time. I made Mon bite down on the monster’s throat with all its strength. There was a sickening crack, followed by the frantic panicking of the monster, its life slipping away as it struggled.

  I was making my way toward them, running around the building to reach its blind spot.

  My ribs hurt.

  The monster’s claws were embedded deep in Mon’s body. I moved quickly, finally arriving at the back of it. It had no idea I was there.

  With both hands on the hilt of my blade, I struck its spine, aiming to paralyze it. I couldn’t go for a throat cut, as Mon was blocking my way.

  The blade sank deep into its back, but the bone was tough, and the monster struggled fiercely, trying to break free. I kept stabbing the same spot—well, I tried to. My aim wasn’t great.

  Just die!

  After a few more stabs, its lower back finally stopped moving. Mon, at last, ripped its brother's throat open.

  Personal Level: 4

  Shuralene Level: 9

  This was my first time feeling this.

  My whole body felt stronger. I guessed that was the result of gaining three levels at once.

  I glanced at the family. They seemed slightly terrified of me, as if they hadn’t just been saved by my actions. Maybe it was because of my violent approach, or because I was covered in blood—both fresh and old, from eating raw monster organs.

  Or maybe it was simpler than that. I was working with a monster, the very same kind that had likely killed many of their friends and family.

  I left without saying a word. I’d preferred to keep my identity as a Vlandos hidden, but it didn’t really matter.

  I moved quickly again.

  Now that I could upgrade my body, I wasn’t sure about the potential drawbacks, like fatigue from the energy required for the changes.

  I should only use what I’m confident in.

  I made Mon rip open its brother's abdomen and take its EPO. I held my breath and ate it.

  The taste and texture were still revolting. My stomach churned terribly, and my eyes teared up again.

  It’s whatever. I can handle this.

  We found another monster in a house. It was sniffing the ground, creeping toward a room like a starving hound. This time, we didn’t catch it off guard.

  Its head snapped up. A deep snarl rumbled from its throat before it charged.

  Mon rushed forward to meet it, and the two clashed. Their claws ignited, carving through flesh and fur as they tore into each other. Mon’s talons raked across the monster’s chest, but the beast retaliated with a brutal swipe, gouging deep into his side.

  I moved—faster than before, maybe twice my previous speed. Not that it meant much.

  The monster sensed me closing in and lashed out with its tongue. I ducked, barely avoiding the strike as it slammed into the wall behind me, cracking wood. The beast tried to press its advantage, lunging at me with its fangs bared.

  Mon clamped his jaws onto its shoulder, yanking it back before it could reach me. The monster howled, twisting violently, trying to throw him off. Blood poured from both of them, but neither let up.

  I circled to its flank and struck low. My blade slashed across its hind legs, cutting deep. The monster faltered but didn’t go down. Instead, it pivoted sharply, swiping at me with one massive claw.

  I barely had time to react. The blow glanced off my arm, sending a jolt of pain through my body.

  I gritted my teeth and lunged. With both hands on my blade, I drove it toward the monster’s throat—but it twisted at the last second. My aim was off. The blade dug into its collarbone instead of severing anything vital.

  Mon took the opening. He surged forward, sinking his teeth into the creature’s neck. It thrashed, desperate, but I didn’t hesitate this time. I adjusted my grip, raised my sword, and drove it into the base of its skull.

  The monster shuddered. Gurgled. Then fell limp.

  Mon let go, his sides heaving. Blood dripped from his wounds.

  t.Level: 5

  Hm. That one must have been low-level. But it's impossible to tell anyway.

  I healed my monster, restoring it to near-full health. Most of my wounds disappeared too.

  Then...

  Kill… kill... SLAUGHTER.

  Ugh…

  Mon’s thoughts were getting loud, as if the barrier between our minds was breaking.

  I can handle it. I know my thoughts from Mon’s, but this is starting to strain me.

  I felt tired, a headache beginning to form.

  I left the house, moving toward the next target, but that didn’t seem necessary anymore.

  Wait. I can no longer smell the third monster through Mon's senses. That means the last thing to do is check on Jer-kel.

  Ah, who am I kidding? I can't really help.

  I looked at her fight. It was still bad, just like before.

  The Shafeline’s tail was wrapped around the fairy’s leg, swinging it around with violent force. The air whistled with every swing.

  That was affecting Jer-kel. Her footing was unstable. Even if I couldn’t help directly, I had to do something—anything. A distraction would be enough.

  Mon, [fire spit]—

  A massive cone-shaped rock hit the Shafeline in the chest. Its body contorted with the impact, and it was thrown to the ground with a loud thud.

  Lo’jul (I prefer calling him Lo), and Jim arrived atop their monsters—a giant tree-crab-like creature and a four-meter-tall dog with gorilla and shark features, though not in a Frankenstein way.

  Jim turned to Lo’jul. “Nice shot.”

  “Always.”

  It took them forever.

  The Shafeline lost its confidence, no longer attacking but instead raising its head to the sky. Its mouth glowed white.

  “It’s going to use that flash again!” I shouted.

  The tree-crab monster swung its pincers up, causing massive vines to explode from the ground. One of them struck the Shafeline’s jaw with enough force to make a resounding bang!

  It screamed, trying to leap back, but Lo’jul’s monster slammed a gorilla fist into the ground, causing the earth beneath the Shafeline to disappear, swallowing it into a hole. It tried to escape, but the ground closed in on it with crushing force.

  Jim dismounted and approached Jer-kel. “How bad is the bleeding?”

  “Bad, but I’m okay for the most part. Damn, I almost thought you wanted me to die.”

  “I was thinking about it,” he grinned.

  She rolled her eyes. “I’ll make sure my death traumatizes you for life.”

  Her fairy flew above the Shafeline, which was struggling to breathe, and began to sing a chaotic but not unpleasant sound.

  I wasn’t sure what its purpose was, but seeing how the Shafeline suddenly fixated on it, seething with rage, I guessed it was a taunt. It was also boiling a weird rage in me, so that made sense.

  The Shafeline broke through the rock walls, charging at the fairy. But as it leapt into the air, the gorilla-dog jumped after it, catching its leg and slamming it to the ground.

  The tree-crab monster ejected an open pincer, pinning the Shafeline’s neck to the ground. Its other pincer secured its waist.

  Jer-kel clasped her ears. “Blow its head off.”

  The other two also covered their ears. I made Mon return to my seal then blocked my ears.

  The Shafeline struggled against its restraints. The ground cracked beneath it, and the pincers were being forced upward.

  But it wasn’t fast enough.

  The fairy was inhaling deeply, as though charging up a powerful exhale. As soon as the pincers were forced off the ground, the fairy unleashed a sonic boom.

  This time, the force was so intense that the air vibrated violently, the ground cracked, and houses crumbled.

  It’s too much!

  My hand warmed with blood.

  …

  I felt… shaky, like the world was spinning. Oh, this is...

  I collapsed forward, unable to move. My ears—they hurt. They hurt so much.