Chapter 48 - The Universal Hunter

Slowly I prepared myself for what I thought was to come. Unsure of what I might encounter at this point I silently took a step back, trying to be cautious of the situation. This to me felt like the right thing to do, preparing for what lay ahead I took a defensive stance preparing for the worst.

What stepped out partly of the leaves without a care in the world couldn't be distinguished as different as the leaves. Yet I knew something was inside of them.

"Should I close in on it?"

I thought to myself, knowing it wasn't the best of options. The creature must have seen trying to move back on the branch. Because the movement suddenly stopped.

The feeling I got from this encounter wasn't a pleasant one. Unable to see what it was I still felt watched… As if it was completely aware of my presence. Bloodlust shot through the air like a gust of extremely hot air it hit me head-on. I broke out in a cold sweat knowing this creature meant business. But what could I do if I wasn't sure of its position?

Unsure where our eyes would meet I decided the best way of action was getting the high ground on the bark of the tree. I knew whatever it was, was sizing me up…

Waiting for the precise moment to strike or to get away when one of us would drop their guard. This collision of wills had come to a stalemate… I knew something had to be done, but unsure of what to do the only reasonable thing would be to move as quickly as I could.

With my mindset on gaining the higher ground, I turned around to try and dash up the tree.

I was not prepared for what happened next because the moment I had turned my back to whatever was residing in the leaves, took this chance to strike.

Taking this opportunity the creature had struck first. Within a fraction of a second, my tail got caught in a sharp and spiked claw. It was painful, thinking I was got caught in a trap I struggled to getaway. Within seconds the creature launched its other claw towards me almost like a one-two punch in boxing, only this time to catch me in its trap.

At the moment of his second claw colliding with my body my tail got ripped off,

barely escaping the situation with my life I took the opportunity to secrete some acid.

Which had proven effective enough to repel the creature's gigantic clamping claw.

Rushing up the back of the tree without a second thought, there was a slight moment of relief that I escaped with my life intact. I took the liberty to crawl my way around the thick bask having to see what had attacked me just now.

What I saw to my surprise was something I had seen and read about in my previous life,

yet curiously had not encountered till now. Thankfully I hadn't encountered it till now.

I analyzed the creature with caution as it opened its wings and raised its claws open wide to seem bigger.

The familiar creature was an insect known as the universal hunter in its territory.

It almost looked identical with its long limbs, thin body, and even razor-sharp pinching claws which like in the old world were covered with spikes.

"The Praying Mantis!"

I was sure this creature could pose a serious threat to me if left unchecked.

On the other hand, it would only attack when hungry, indiscriminately for that matter as anything could be on its menu, it honestly didn't care what presented itself in front of it.

Yet now I was the unlucky one to have been sighted…

Knowing these savage hunters there were only two options, now that I was free to either run or to take the confrontation head-on. This could be quite the challenge seeing how they are normally able to adjust within the battle and learn from their mistakes.

Looking at it differently, they were around my size posing quite the challenge and I had not found any food in a while, it could be the better choice to take this challenge head-on allowing myself to feast on the bastard since it was already feasting on my tail…

I had to pay him back in some way, right?

Giving in to my hunger and pride I crawled back to confront the bastard who snapped off my tail. My pride as a seasoned survivor simply didn't allow me to turn away from my tail.

My whole balance was off, having to move without it.

Thankfully I knew thanks to previous experiences that my tail would grow back eventually. Worst case scenario I could even eat my tail, but truth be told I never wanted to consider the option.

At the same time, this was the best opportunity I had, not only to walk away from the creature but to strike back!

Having the higher ground I knew the time was now.

The mantis just didn't care about anything other than feasting of the tail.

It must have been famished too.

I had to act carefully, from a distance so it couldn't grab me a second time.

Considering the danger there were only two types of attacks I could throw his way.

My fire, acid, or a combination of both.

Knowing I had to eat it, not only getting back at it for grabbing my tail one of them instantly got dismissed.

Leaving fire as the only option. Now that the day had turned into night Mandralio should have gone its separate way, allowing me to fight without worrying about the titan.

I conjured small balls of fire giving me enough opportunities to strike. If only one could catch onto its wings it couldn't fly away anymore. But what to do after that? I had to wait and see.

Round two was about to commence, the tension could be felt in the air, at least from my side. The mantis kept eating without a care in the world. Satisfying its hunger.

Having summoned a multitude of tiny fireballs the barrage was about to commence.

When I let them loose a message popped up, taking away my concentration of the battle in front of me for a few seconds.

[Due to enough accumulated experience and extensive use of the <Fire Conjuration> skill "Mira" has unlocked the skill <Fireball>. Allowing for more efficient use of fire conjured ranged attacks.]

When I looked back, the praying mantis was gone, but the question remained, was I able to hit it with my fireballs?

Quickly looking around trying to find my opponent, I concluded that it too had to gain the higher ground. Looking up I saw the creature mocking me as it hangs upside down finishing its final bites of my tail…

The mantis was finished eating, but it wasn't enough. It seemed like my tail gave it a taste for more. A craving that started the collision of the second round.

The mantis turned its head and chipped out the scales which had gotten stuck in its pincher-shaped claws. Mockingly throwing it away as if it was nothing I felt our eyes meet.

The bloodlust I had felt for a brief moment earlier was back.

Flooding my body with a wall of hot air, this time I fought back against it letting the mantis know I meant business, the second barrage of fireballs got hurled towards the mantis.

I knew when I saw the mantis take on its stance. The mantis took the approach of a boxer once more. Holding one of its claws in front of the others and instantly repelling the fireballs. Little did it know that my goal wasn't to hit him directly, rather chip away at its territory.

A series of rapid jabs repelled most of the fireballs, the mantis did so with the same one-two movement I had felt when it latched onto my tail. I was astonished by its speed but stayed cautious of the situation. Some of the fireballs struck the branch the mantis was hanging on, scorching it slowly. Unable to move away from the flames the only way for the mantis was down, back to the branch we first encountered each other.

I opened both its pinchers making a mocking movement as if it wanted me to come to him.

Annoyed by it, I knew I stood a better chance of creating momentum and opportunities with my fireballs. Smoke came off the branch which was caught aflame, quickly rising in the air. Moments passed as we came to a stalemate, the mantis knew it was best to attack with caution, as did I. The second round had been tilted slightly in my favor, gaining the higher ground over my opponent.

Yet, never had I encountered such an intelligent creature before.

A creature who studied my behavior and approached with caution.

Truly a challenge I had not experienced before.

Being confident in my expertise and experience the third round was about to commence…