Chapter 39: Yup, I overdid it (Final)

<Shall We start with your training, MASTER>

"Let's start"

Our training began with Lily leading me towards the low tier-1 Nightmare python that was slithering alone, far away from other Nightmare pythons by itself. It was scraping the mud on the swamp looking for some weak monsters to fill its stomach.

<Do you think can handle this one?> Lily pointed towards the Nightmare Python that was still scraping the Mud while Hissing from time to time.

As I was ready to reply to her, the python in front of us started hissing loudly seemingly excited before suddenly dragging a crocodile-like monster from inside the swamp. And the monster it dragged, It was huge to say the very least.

The monster it had dragged out from the swamp was a bit smaller than the python itself. It was roaring madly at the Nightmare Python that had already started constricting it after yanking it outside its shelter where it was hibernating to digest its last meal.

While the monster was roaring at the Python, I was able to look at its stats which were as;

 [ Swamp Alligator]

 [Rank: Soldier]

 [Attribute: Strength]

 [Strength: Tier-1(low)]

 [State: In rage and fear]

 [Description: Predatory monster found within the Greyvile forest, one of the deadliest areas within the Azaroth Planet. It has a great defense but does not have good enough stamina to fight in prolonged Battles. But beware of its bite as it can easily shred the defense of monsters up to tier-2(mid) with its powerful jaw. Has good defense with strong bite force but low stamina making it one of the easier monsters to hunt in the forest]

The Swamp Alligator looked ferocious with sharp jagged fangs protruding from its jaws, jet black razor-edged protrusions coated with blood on its back, single talons that shone with brutality on its limbs, and a spiked tail to complete its monstrous appearance... It even had two curved horns instead of eyes making it look grotesque but way less than the abomination of a Monster it was getting constricted by. 

The battle was brutal and ferocious to say the very least but it was short-lived with the ultimate victor being Nightmare Python. Although the Swamp Alligator had amazing battle prowess and defense, its stamina was pitifully low as it was only able to battle on equal terms with the Nightmare Python for about three minutes max before getting exhausted only to be slaughtered by the Nightmare Python at the end. It was the result of not being able to fight back in the place ruled by the law of the Jungle.

The battle between these two monsters was an eye-opener for me at least as I had not even once seen these types of battles take place while clearing the forest with the Daemons till now. Their brutal attacks were always aimed at the opponent's weakness, the level of ferocity they showed, amazing reflexes humanly impossible for average lords at the same tier as them, and the blood that flowed like rivers, it was all grotesque yet reminded me of the kind of life I as a Lord would have to become accustomed to.

<Are you ready, Master?> Lily asked me with a serious face while I was absorbed in looking at the battle that took place in front of us.

"Yup, I am."

I also replied to her with a light smile before throwing myself towards the Nightmare Python that was gnawing on the Swamp Alligator after slaughtering it. I could feel the satisfaction it was feeling while munching on the meat of the Swamp Alligator that had just been killed by it.

SHAAA.....

I plunged the Nightmare Fang towards its exposed brain on my hand by targeting its eyes which were the main weakness of the monster.

Squelch..... 

Hiss.... Hiss....

I landed the attack on the python that was ignorant of its surroundings after securing the meal for the day. Having attacked it without being able to kill it was somewhat disappointing but anyways...

Another reason it wasn't able to notice me was of course due to heavy injuries caused by the Alligator while battling earlier.

The alligator had pitifully low stamina for sure but its jaws were deadly to say the very least. It was only able to land its attack for once but the great chunk of flesh protecting the head of the Nightmare python was gone. I was able to see the bone protecting its brain visible. Even the thick bone protecting its brain was scrapped, leaving several gashes that nearly ruptured its brain if Alligator had the chance or had enough stamina to battle for longer than it was able to.

Although I wasn't able to kill the Monster in front of me with one strike, It was gravely injured with brain matter oozing out of the bony socket on its destroyed face. The Dagger, Nightmare Fang was still stuck inside its eye socket with me being unable to take it out in time.

Even though I was unable to take Nightmare Fang out, I was able to activate the skill "Phantom Slash" that summoned the phantom of the peak Tier-0 Nightmare Hound to attack the Python before getting back.

<Master, Are you all right?> Lily came beside me while looking at my trembling hands, the smile on her face was long gone with a hint of worry flashing occasionally.

HUFF.....Huff.....

I took a deep breath, looking straight at the Nightmare Python that was thrashing its body on the ground and hissing in pain. The purplish brain matter that oozed out of the python's skeletal sockets reminded me of the day I saw this abomination for the first time.

I was still afraid of the way these abominations looked like even after having killed several of these monsters with the help of my Daemons.

The way I attacked the Python in front of me was similar to the way Lilith and Lily killed it, plunging the dagger into its eye sockets.

It was even severely defenseless without thick flesh on its head for extra protection, but I wasn't able to kill the Python in one strike as my hands started trembling just as the Nightmare Fang in my hand pierced through its brain destroying it in the process.

I could only look at the Python thrash itself for about ten minutes before finally getting killed due to the obliteration of its brain due to the skill 'Phantom Shash' that I had activated before backing off after being unable to kill with my strike earlier.

[ Beep... Killed initial tier-1 Nightmare Python. Obtained 30 SF points.]

Huff....

Looking at the notification I was seeing in front of me after killing the Nightmare Python, I was excited.

I had every reason to be excited as it was my first kill without any help from my recruits. My trembling hands were also slowly stabilizing while looking at the Nightmare Python that was disintegrating in the environment with items dropped from the monster.

After collecting the Items dropped by the monster and retrieving the Nightmare Fang stuck in the swamp, I was ready to start training once again.

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Thwak....

Cough... Cough....

I was thrashed in the swamp by the Nightmare Python due to me being unable to kill the python in one strike. I also wasn't able to react to its attack on time which resulted in me getting hit by its tail. 

The python I had attacked was curled up and sleeping soundly, far away from the rest of its kins seemingly digesting the meal it had gobbled up in recent times as its stomach bulged up.

The monster was defenseless but my trembling hands weren't able to properly impale the Nightmare Fang while obliterating its brain in the first strike. And, the Skill "Phantom Slash" was still in cooldown which gave the chance to the Nightmare Python as it was able to thrash me into the swamp with its powerful tail.

"Was I going to die here?" I had such thoughts when I was thrashed into the ground by the Nightmare Python. But, I had Lily with me so... And the reason I only had such thoughts was of course because I wasn't actually going to die in the first place. I would be able to resurrect myself inside the Lord's Cottage after a week with some damage to my soul which could be bothersome in the future. 

I was only able to escape alive as Lily came to my rescue killing the Python in the process. I could only look at her killing the python in amazement as she just killed the python by pulverizing its brain by using the Nightmare Fang still stuck on its head.

Since that fight, I had Lily help me by trapping the Nightmare Pythons inside the illusion before I struck at them killing them by myself.

Some needed me to strike several times before killing them while some were killed in just two or three strikes. The proficiency of killing the Pythons in fewer strikes was also increasing rapidly along with the Percentage of the skill "Housemaster" as the number of kills increased.

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<Haha... Great Job, master.>

"Haha... Thank you, Lily."

I killed an initial tier-1 Nightmare Python while thanking Lily who was happily cheering behind my back while flailing her arms in the air.

This was the thirteenth Nightmare Python I had killed today. 

At first, I needed help from Lily to trap the Pythons in the Illusions in order to kill them as my hands always trembled in fear whenever I attacked the python which nearly got me killed in the process. 

As the number of slaughtered pythons increased, the fear in my heart also slowly receded making me able to kill the Initial to Mid tier-1 Nightmare monsters without Lily's help.

The Python I killed just now was such a (third)monster that I killed without Lily's help which was also the reason Lily was excited looking at me killing the Pyhton all by myself.

FWoosh...

[ Beep... Killed (initial) tier-1 Nightmare Python. Obtained 30 SF points.]

I also collected the items dropped by the python before looking at Lily who was with me for the whole time today with a smile plastered on my face. The SF points were also increased by 420 as I killed the thirteenth monster today while training with Lily.

I had a satisfactory result today as the proficiency of the skill 'Housemaster' increased by a whopping 10% which was amazing, to say the least.

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After killing some more monsters while training the skill, I started feeling the strain on my soul which resulted in us returning to the territory before I finally exited from the Lord's space. The final proficiency of the skill had reached 17% after training the whole day today.

Arrgh.....

I wasn't even able to scream properly after exiting the territory due to the excruciating pain I was feeling, I fainted from pain just after exiting the territory.

All the training and thrashings today that reflected back on my body just as I exited from the territory was enough to make me unconscious making me fear even after waking up after one hour.

Sigh....

"Did I overdid it?"

I asked myself while having my body writh in pain. It felt like my whole body was being hammered and thrashed by someone(the Nightmare Python) to have every part of my body cry in pain.

Sob... Sob...

I was even tearing uncontrollably due to pain.

"Did I overdid it...."

Yup, I overdid it.

I thought before going towards the bathroom with shaky feet as the pain was still there but I couldn't just sob while lying on my bed, Could I?

Still, my eyes were filled with tears due to the pain I was feeling all over my body.