30: Val vs a Group of Ravenspines

After letting out an uncanny cry, a rallying signal, perhaps, the Ravonspines began to charge towards him.

While they were still closing the gap between them, Val launched another Blood Bullet towards one of the Ravenspine.

The Ravenspines were intelligent monsters. They knew that if it hit their weak points they would instantly die thus they covered their weak point with their scale-covered claws.

The bullet didn't hit its intended target. It impacted against the claws of a Ravenspine. The impact caused it to stumble back a few steps, but that's all. It easily shook off the assault and regained its footing. Its emerald scales bore minor scratches but were otherwise unscathed.

A fleeting pang of disappointment crossed Val's mind as he acknowledged the limitations of his [Blood Bullet] against these armored foes.

These dungeon creatures are smarter than I gave them credit for. Time for a change in tactics,' he thought.

Seeing that they have covered much of the distance that separated him from them, Val stopped holding back. His blood reserve took a sudden plunge of 200 units as a brilliant stream of blood erupted from within him. It twisted and churned into a serrated torrent of lethal intent as it hurtled straight towards the foremost Ravenspine.

A moment's silence was followed by a bloodcurdling shriek as the blood torrent shredded the Ravenspine to pieces.

[Ding! Congratulation, Host. You've defeated a level 1.7 dungeon monster. You get +3.4 EXP.]

Turning his gaze to the two remaining Ravenspines, momentarily dumbstruck by their leader's gruesome demise, Val proclaimed, "Next, it's your turn."

Their moment of stunned inaction proved fatal.

With a swift, practiced flick of his wrist, Val steered the swirling, torrential mass of blood, manipulating it as if it were an innate part of him. He swept it horizontally, its razor-sharp edges transforming into an executioner's blade. In an explosion of bone-chilling sounds, the torrent decimated the remaining Ravenspines, reducing them to a spectacle of gory ruins.

[Ding! Congratulation, Host. You've defeated two level 1.4 dungeon monsters. You get +5.6 EXP.]

In the wake of the brutal onslaught, only a single Ravenspine remained from the original group of five. Its spirit broken by the swift and ruthless annihilation of its allies, the creature turned to flee.

"Think you can escape? Not on my watch!" Val roared as he conjured several crimson swords using his bloodline skill and send them after it.

The last Ravenspine cleverly utilized the dense foliage for cover, weaving in and out of the trees, dodging Val's relentless ranged attacks.

The creature exhibited a cunning intelligence that grated on Val's nerves!

Val clicked his tongue in frustration.

'Seems like I can't avoid a little physical exertion,' he thought as he launched himself into pursuit.

Thinking so, he gave chase.

However, despite his best efforts, he was failing to catch up with it.

It was obvious that the fleeing Ravenspine held a clear speed advantage.

The gap between them wasn't narrowing; on the contrary, it was gradually growing.

It was for times like these that he had saved his stat points.

Frustration ignited determination within Val, and he allocated four of his stat points to agility and the remaining two to stamina.

[Your agility has increased to 18 points!]

[Your stamina has increased to 14 points!]

Instantly, his movements became more fluid, and his speed skyrocketed. In a matter of moments, he bridged the gap between them, drew his sword out of its sheath that was attached to his side, and prepared to strike.

The Ravenspine's back was to him. It couldn't see the attack coming.

With an effortless, swift motion, Val's sword cleaved through the monstrous beast, splitting it into two symmetrical halves. The bisected remnants of the Ravenspine collapsed to the forest floor with a faint thud.

[Ding! Congratulation, Host. You've defeated a level 1.7 dungeon monster. You get +3.4 EXP.]

Val took a moment to assess his progress. The defeated group had netted him a considerable sum of around 15 EXP points, bringing his total to 30 EXP.

There were 20 more Ravenspines and a chieftain still lurking in the dungeon.

Val thought, 'If I can take them down, leveling up might just be in sight.'

'Before I set out to seek them out, there's still something I need to do.'

He walked over to the bisected bodies of the monster he had killed and pressed his cursed sword to the first half of the Green Devils' remains. With a low sigh, the sword seemed to drink in the rich blood that oozed from their carcasses.

[Aquarius has consumed the blood of a few dungeon monsters. The Rage meter has increased by 2/10th!]

Once the rage meter was filled to its brim, he would be able to unleased Aquarius's full might!

Next, he focused on the other half of the Ravenspines. Using his Blood Absorption bloodline skill, he absorbed the blood that pooled around the dead dungeon monsters.

The rich, potent life fluid was drawn into him, not only refilling his blood bar but also increasing its size.

[Your Blood Bar has increased by 480 hundred units!]

The system notification chimed to confirm the increase, displaying a healthy 870 points in his Blood Bar. The count could have been higher had he not expended several hundred units while engaging with the Ravenspines.

Lastly, he looked for the AGT, DEX, and STR type cores within the dissected remains of the Ravenspines.

He found them embedded within their bodies, pulsing with residual energy.

One by one, he carefully extracted them, storing these precious resources away in the pockets of his windbreaker for future use.

After that, Val set his sights on the rest of the forest.