Part 1: Collecting monster cores
From MC's Perspective:
The third warrior had fled far, but my heightened perception picked up traces of his path—disturbed dirt, broken twigs, subtle signs left behind in his desperation. As I followed the trail, my pulse quickened.
The silence of the forest was suddenly shattered by a heart-wrenching scream, echoing through the trees. It was filled with agony, and my stomach dropped with the realization that the scream had come from the warrior. I rushed forward, my heart pounding in sync with my footsteps.
When I arrived, the sight was grim. The warrior lay lifeless, brutally crushed to death, his body a crumpled heap at the mercy of a massive Class-7 Sky Python Monster. The monster was colossal—its coiled body stretched out, thick as an ancient oak, easily between 20 and 25 feet long.
Its scales shimmered with an oily sheen, reflecting the dim forest light, and its eyes glowed with cold malice. A predator through and through.