Fighting a Hawk

The gywolli was just minding its own business, silently munching on the corpse of a hawk it had just expertly killed with its own speed. A slight rustling from the bushes made its head snap around, and it released a snarl as it saw a little green man approaching it. Prey.

Naturally, this green little man was Trace.

The gywolli lunged, just as Trace predicted. Trace quickly summoned his [Primal Talons]. 

Trace, instead of sidestepping, stood his ground and reacted quickly. His fist shot out, unaided by Power Dao as all three claws cleanly went through the gywolli's head, piercing its brain and halting its momentum.

Trace already knew it was dead as he withdrew his fist, the gywolli slumping onto the ground. The whole exchange had been less than 5 seconds.

[You leveled up to level 21!] 

The surge of Essence was unlike anything Trace had felt before, and he quickly remembered the reason why. He had already used [Intrusive Eye] on the thing and had found it to be level 24, just a level away from the start of F-Grade.

Looking down at his clawed fists, Trace felt conflicted. With E-Grade weapons, he could kill practically every beast under level 30 in one punch. While Trace knew he had to level up quickly before the [Divine Cherry] ripened, he still desired challenges.

Shrugging, Trace disappeared back into the foliage, looking for more prey.

...

On his hunt, Trace felled any unfortunate barghest that stumbled onto him. Trace's leveling speed was simply insane. He had only been here for two days, and he was already nearly at 25. It was obvious barghest were naturally weaker than gywolli. Speaking of which, Trace supposed he could even fight Demon Hound now.

Trace did find a few gywolli, but they were only levels 19 and 20, so he killed them swiftly.

On his third one, another warm rush of his body getting stronger greeted him.

[You have leveled up to level 22!]

Trace continued like that for a while, killing anything he came across. And finally, it happened.

[You have leveled up to level 24!]

Just one more level, and Trace would get to evolve and pick a class. 

Trace didn't know why, but he felt oddly giddy as he thought about this prospect.

However, just as Trace was about to look for his next victim, an acute sense of danger from his Bloodline flared and warned him.

It wasn't different from the one he had felt fighting his first gywolli, but it was heightened.

Trace moved his head to the right urgently just as a condensed ball of wind blew up where his neck had just been. 

Who the hell just tried to decapitate me? 

Trace immediately turned around, only for his danger sense to go off again as he ducked under a blade of wind.

Trace laid eyes onto his attacker, which was a rather normal looking hawk perched on a branch. It actually looked very similar to a regular hawk, even in size. What wasn't so regular were its eyes. Pure white that simply stared into his soul, accented by its brown feathers.

Trace immediately used [Intrusive Eye].

[Galeborn Hawk - Level 34]

Trace gave it an annoyed look. How was he supposed to fight a beast that had already evolved? Trace had no doubt having a class and a Beast Core would be a major improvement in power. The step from 24 to 25 should be a significant one.

The hawk, however, had already elegantly descended from its branch and was soaring towards Trace.

Trace got ready. Let it come, he would-

The galeborn hawk suddenly accelerated, leaving a gray flight trail as the 30 meters between them suddenly turned to 10. 

Trace had to pivot to the side quickly, earning him a scar across his head. Trace quickly retaliated by punching the bird with the Dao of Power, but even as his punch displaced the air, he only hit the bird's wake.

"Come on..." Trace frowned. "I'm tired of all these fast monsters. Give me a skeleton any time of the day." 

Trace immediately activated Supreme Concentration. Now Trace could see everywhere around him for about 30 meters, which was always convenient.

The world again slowed, and Trace thought this was common among most for the world to slow down when the concentrated, only his was heightened.

After all, how else were you supposed to react to an arrow moving as fast as a sniper bullet or a sword travelling several times the speed of sound?

The hawk made a sharp turn and darted towards Trace again, this time, the edges of its feathers turning gray. Trace already knew what it was trying to do- turn its wings into blades.

"Uncreative..." Trace muttered as he infused his legs with the Dao of Power and jumped.

Trace got a good 10 feet into the air, 6 feet above the surprised hawk. Trace had predicted its move and reacted accordingly, and now, he was just relying on instincts. 

Clenching his fists, Trace ejected a burst of Power Dao out of his feet, causing a small burst of air as he flew down towards the hawk. Well, more like dropped. 

With Power Dao guiding him, Trace punched with all his might.

The hawk reacted quicker than Trace expected, twisting midair and raising its still gray feathers to block.

However, midair, it had no real force behind it. Coupled with Trace's E-Grade claws, its defenses couldn't hold up. Trace pierced through the feathers and further into the body. The hawk let out an enraged screech as Trace continued through with the punch, slamming the hawk into the ground.

This created some hairline cracks in the ground, though it was hard to tell with the grass blocking the way. 

[You leveled up to level 25!]

[Will be unable to level until you pick a class and evolve.]

[Note: Postponing evolution may have adverse effects.]

[Commence with the Evolution?]

[Commence with the Class Selection?]

Trace felt a surge of Essence unlike anything he had ever felt before- literally. He was immediately disappointed that the rest of the Essence wouldn't give him a level according to the second notification, but he was surprised to find that the excess Essence simply lingered there, which he supposed was a good thing.

Either way, it was time to become a proper F-Grade. 

In Trace's excitement, he completely forgot the Beastcore still within the hawk carcass.