Hunting Ornidon, Slow & Steady

Instead of going with his previous one-hit kill idea, Rei settled on… Something not so different.

'I'll position myself right under its nose, and use both the pincer on my right side, and the limb coated with metal from those drills on my left side. If I can hit with both at once, I should be able to damage its throat seriously. Additionally, the wounds will quickly get infected, even if that isn't enough to finish it off. Also, because of their heavy carapaces, they can't run like Rhinos can! This is a piece of cake!'

Once half the distance between him and the Ornidon was crossed, Rei stopped for a second.

'Going for both hits at once might not be the best solution… I'd be wasting force on both to go through the skin. Slicing with the pincer, and then piercing with my metal-coated limb through the wound made by the pincer might be the best way of doing it. If I'm lucky, this might reach its brain, or, at least, give it breathing problems. The issue is that this takes a bit longer… It'll respond to pain and damage faster than to a stone thrown its way. The mist doesn't reach below its head, but the heat probably does. Still…'

[Skill: Heat Resistance.]

'I obtained this Devouring those Worka people. I assume the planet they come from is pretty hot, so this will come in handy.'

The Paru nodded to itself and walked closer.

'Damn…' 

Gulp-

'The closer I get, the larger these guys look. Their strength might be enough to step on my shell and shatter it completely.'

[It is not.]

'Oh. Okay. Good to know.'

Thanks to Invisibility, Rei managed to stand right in front of the Ornidon.

'Slowly… Slowly… Below it head… Slowly…'

The Ornidon's neck wasn't long, but it sure seemed thick. 

This made Rei's decision about where to cut a bit easier.

The Paru opened up its pincer as wide as it could manage. 

'Looks like I won't be able to cut a huge part. Way too thick! Still, the goal is just to make an entry point for my other limb. Actually, no…'

Rei could almost chuckle at how foolish the mistake was.

'I have so many limbs, I might as well use numerous at once. Why limit myself at two?'

The sharp limbs coated by the metal were immediately pulled back. The Pincers were brought forward, and two other limbs were prepared as well.

It would only take a moment, but all six limbs would have to be used.

'The tentacles are too soft, so I'll use the others…'

The Paru took a deep breath in, before moving swiftly!

The pincers were brought together, before being clamped at once! The cuts made became one, and blood started leaving the wound! Before the Ornidon could even react, the Paru used two other limbs to push the severed skin away and open, exposing the muscle below! An instant later, the metal-covered limbs, sharp as the drills used by the Worka, pierced through the wound in two different but close spots! 

The Paru pushed those as deep as it managed, piercing through muscle and tissue. 

Even once they were stuck, the Paru moved them around for a moment, before swiftly pulling them out, allowing for heaps of blood to descend upon the earth!

The grunt had resonated. 

The Paru had only managed to take four steps away.

The mist was expelled!

'Fuck… Fuck!' He cursed internally, as he could feel the heat from that mist.

Even though Rei wasn't within it, the mist was to his right and to his left!

[Your "Heat Resistance" Skill fights off the Heat produced by the Ornidon!]

[Your Health Points aren't decreasing.]

[Your Endurance Points decrease rapidly!]

This information made complete sense to Rei, who didn't feel his skin or body burn, but could feel himself grow more and more dehydrated by the second!

The mist lasted for eight seconds.

The Paru had exited the area with three seconds left.

In other words, he had spent five seconds surrounded by the mist.

[Endurance Points: 400/1050.]

In other words, more than 500 Endurance Points had been used up.

'I… Can't take another one of these…'

Indeed. Were his Endurance Points to reach critical levels, Rei would start losing Health Points.

[Health points: 30/30.]

Something that he absolutely cannot afford.

'I'll just… Stay away… For now…'

Noticing the bubbles of blood hanging below the Ornidon's throat and wounds, Rei was glad to notice that he had, indeed, perturbed the creature's breathing system.

'Doesn't look like there is more than these on this planet. I'll focus on them with the time I have left.'

…

It took about twenty minutes for the Ornidon to fall to the ground, gasping for air and grunting from the pain.

The rest of the herd immediately distanced itself from it.

A foul smell was coming from its direction.

'Infectious Cut sure is powerful.'

Rei didn't feel dehydrated anymore, but it would take more time for his Endurance Points to recover fully.

Using Invisibility, he walked towards the crying Ornidon, and pierced through the same wound once again. 

This was enough to finish it.

'I'm still invisible, but if I start eating it, the rest will get suspicious. There's a lot I want from them. The ability to produce the mist, the ability to expel it, to resist the heat it produces, those claws… I'll have to Devour quite a few if I want to get all of these abilities.'

Rei knew it was possible for one to be enough. Still, why risk making the herd run away? Seeing their brethren's body slowly disappear would be enough to spook them out, wouldn't it?

'Too bad. I thought I could kill it with consecutive attacks. For the rest, I'll take my time.'

For the next four Ornidon, Rei would use his Pincers to cut their throats, and walk away.

Once the mist is expelled, he walks back closer, and pierces the wounds with the metal-covered limbs.

The second step is repeated multiple times to ensure a faster death instead of waiting for them to bleed out, or waiting for the breathing problems to grow too severe the way they did for the first Ornidon.

[Your Skill "Heat Resistance" becomes "Heat Resistance Lv.2"!]

[Your Vitality Stat increases by 1 Stat Point.]

[Your Vitality Stat increases by 1 Stat Point.]

[Your Vitality Stat increases by 1 Stat Point.]

[You have Developed the Skill "Burning Mist Production".]

[Your Vitality Stat increases by 1 Stat Point.]

[Your Strength Stat increases by 1 Stat Point.]

[Your Strength Stat increases by 1 Stat Point.]

[You have Developed the Skill "Burning Mist Expulsion".]

[Your Strength Stat increases by 1 Stat Point.]

[Your Strength Stat increases by 1 Stat Point.]

[Your Strength Stat increases by 1 Stat Point.]

…

It was, indeed, quite the haul.