13 Chapter 13 - When Mythology Materialise #1
"Grr..."
Adam's moment of happiness was cut short as the werewolf's body staggered for a few seconds. It seems that this guy's soul is yet to dissipate, he deduced.
Preparing himself for the impact of pain, Adam drove his fractured bone into the beast's neck. The strike was lacking in strength but not bad at precision.
Thud.
The beast attempting to raise its torso fell dead under the lethal strike. A stream of blood oozed from its neck after a short moment of twitching.
"Ngh!"
While Adam's exposed bone cross-section managed to pierce a hole in the beast's neck, the victor was gritting his teeth in pain. The depleted energy stock send a numbing sensation all over his body and Adam can tell that he would have died many times over if he weren't what he was.
'That's right.'
A sudden sparkle could be seen in his eyes as he quickly raised his head and stared at the beast's torso intently.
"The crystal." His heart spoke to himself as he crawled to the corpse.
But there was a problem obstructing his path to acquiring the crystal - the beast itself.
Adam observed the beast and noticed that it has reinforced bones and muscles. Even with the overwhelming augmentation from energy, Adam could only stand toe-to-toe with the beast.
"Screw it." Gritting his teeth in pain, Adam pierced the beast's thorax while every movement of his sent waves of numbness to his head.
...
And after an exasperating endeavour, Adam was able to pull out the crystal.
"And it cost me everything."
The blood loss from the battle didn't pose a threat to Adam but it did act as a catalyst in slowing down his progression. As time went by, his consciousness was beginning to murky yet he persevered.
Adam's forelimbs were important for digging out the crystal. But with almost all tendons torn and all bones broken in an effort to cut through the cage enveloping the heart, Adam's hands were nothing more than a thoroughly mutilated extension.
But his lips were crescent in delight.
"Worth the work." Adam lay on his back with his eyes staring at the large crystal lying next to his face. It was larger than an adult's palm and had a deep blue hue. The complexion had a mystifying characteristic.
While enjoying the beauty and savouring the aesthetics of the crystal, Adam was assaulted by a weird sensation.
Ba-dump!
His heart almost leapt out of his chest, causing a boom evidently audible. FOllowed by that a sharp sting emerged from his chest slowly spreading to the entirety of his body.
"Hope this works."
Using all his strength, Adam pushed his torso towards the crystal and his teeth successfully broke a fragment from it. As it went down his throat, an unbearable pain threatened to rip his body.
'I think I need to consume more.' Finding his condition worsening at once after consuming a fragment of the crystal, Adam unconsciously deduced that he must intake the entire crystal. His deduction came from the fact that the pain originated from the mutilated limbs and wounds over his body.
Within seconds, Adam had chewed down the entire crystal bit by bit. Though there was a considerable decrease in the ache, the throbbing still left a numbing sensation.
And when he was thinking that his condition would stabilise, every single bone in his body crackled at once, shattering like a fragile piece of glass, piercing and tearing apart every tissue in his body!
***
Meanwhile...
On a different part of the outer section of the Prime Celestial Preserve.
Several cloaked figures exploiting the shadows of the trees were running in fear for their life. Their eyes were brimming with fright and within every couple of minutes, a ferocious beast would catch up to them, slicing the last one to three parts.
"Eron, we won't make it to the base. Activate the rune!"
A second before a vicious claw sliced down one of the remaining three recon agents, the voice fell in the ears of the figure leading the fleeting scattered scouting party. At once, the latter pulled out a vibrant stone from his Space Ring and imbued his mana into the object. Instantly, a pillar of light shot upward basking the surroundings in a serene and soothing warmth.
Under the bright beam of illumination, the duo that barely luckily survived the assault of the unknown being caught the sight of a royal blue coloured streamlined figure leaping into the woods and disappearing from the sight.
But before vanishing into the depths of the jungle, the figure halted for a second to peek over its shoulder and a pair of vibrant red pupils fell on the recon agents. As if a suffocating pressure dawned on them, cold sweat drenched them and one of them fell on his rear.
"B...Blood-Wind...Panther."
The shock of witnessing the pupils of the beast which mercilessly chopped down a three dozen member party to a pair of helpless trembling veterans had overwhelmed their hearts. To add surprise, it was a Blood-Wind Panther.
"...it's all luck that we survived."
The figure of the second scout staggered yet retained his strength while attributing their escape to the grace of an unknown entity watching over them from beyond the land of stars.
Within seconds, a couple of levitating vessels approached the vicinity and took the duo on board before departing from the forest. There was a sliver of light seeping from the horizon indicating that the reign of darkness was temporarily over.
***
The sun had only risen over the valleys and mountains, but there was a figure lying amidst trees.
Krack...!
As if thrashed by a mantel, the agonising sensation rampaged over the naked body with an unnaturally irritating vibe.
At once when the pain became unbearable, the unconscious being jolted up from its slumber.
"Where am..."
Before Adam could complete his words, a surge of pain came from the interior's of his skeletal system and it was intolerable. It was then that Adam heard his own bones cracking and reforming under the command of an autonomous program.
"GAHHH!!!"
A deafening vociferation that travelled across more than a mile carried an awful lot of throbbing that scared the beasts witless. The roar jolted many beasts' from their sleep and their fur stood at the end.
The prince's camp wasn't an exception.
Raising his torso over his four limbs, Adam could tell his bones breaking and joining together at an incredible rate, only to break again with excruciating pain. The event went on for more than an hour and Adam grew accustomed to this crucifying feeling.
Strangely, numerous beast who unintentionally entered the vicinity backed down and fled from the spot.
...
A couple of hours later.
Reclining on his back, Adam was staring at the leaves of a tree that had cast its shade over him. Though his eyes seemed to be in a daze, he was actually observing a leaf at the top-most branch of the tree.
"...I wonder what other surprises this world has in its store for me."
Adam woke up an hour ago. He immediately felt that something was abnormal about him. Without a delay, he detected that his skeletal structure has been thoroughly altered and he was no longer his old self.
Glancing at his limbs, they exuded a vigorous aura along with a tinge of pain when he abruptly moved them. The ache subsided quickly and Adam found himself reconstructed to an upgraded version.
Even his little brother had benefitted slightly.
An entire half an hour went past and Adam was completely introduced to his new vessel. The revelation that his bones have been reforged and his muscle tendons have been reinforced brought delight in his heart.
When our protagonist was familiarising himself with this newfound body, the sound resembling a sharp object slicing the air emerged from his back. Instinctively, Adam rolled to his side and evaded the strike only to perceive a blunt object homing on him.
Thwack!
The mantel struck right on Adam's chest and projected him a few dozen metres away.
If I was my old self, I would have died, Adam commented.
Rising from the shattered remains of wooden splinters, his black pupils noticed a humanoid figure charging at him from a distance. There were an axe and a war-hammer in its hands which had a rusty yet hostile exterior. The trail of blood oozing down the axe's blade indicated that the charging beast had committed a killing before attacking him.
While observing the bipedal beast which housed unrefined killing intent with absolutely bloodshot eyes, Adam couldn't help but recall a peculiar mythical being from Greco-roman mythology.
"Isn't this...a Minotaur?"
