Demonic Beast

Aaron was now prepared to face the Demonic Beast. He had Trained in the guide on Basic Spirit Energy manipulation thoroughly, and he had been following the reports of Demonic Beast sightings closely. Finally, he received word that there was an outbreak in a nearby forest.

Aaron made his way to the forest, feeling his heart pounding with excitement. He had never hunted a Demonic Beast before, and he was not sure if he was ready. However, he knew that he needed the Unranked Crystals if he was going to be able to compete with Adrian.

As he entered the forest, he could feel his senses sharpening, feeling the familiar scene. In the [Training Time] the black figure hunted inside a forest himself, which was the experience Aaron needed and through it he knew that the Demonic Beast was close. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and his heart raced as he gripped his sword tightly.

Suddenly, he heard a loud growl, and he spun around to see a massive creature charging at him. The Demonic Beast was at least ten feet tall, with razor-sharp teeth and claws. It was covered in thick fur and had glowing red eyes that seemed to bore into Aaron's soul. Aaron quickly scanned the area and noticed a large tree with low branches. He sprinted towards it and leaped up onto one of the branches, using his agility to stay out of reach of the beast.

The Demonic Beast roared in frustration and circled the tree, trying to find a way to reach Aaron. Aaron used this opportunity to assess the beast's movements and search for any weaknesses. As he circled the tree, the beast let out a loud roar, and Aaron saw an opening. He jumped down from the tree, with his sword glowing with Spirit Energy and plunged it into the beast's side. The Demonic Beast roared in pain and thrashed its body wildly, Aaron struggled to hold on, but he refused to let go. He poured all of his energy into his sword, using every ounce of Spirit Energy he had to drive the blade deeper and deeper into the beast's flesh.

Finally, with a final roar, the Demonic Beast fell to the ground, dead. Aaron breathed a sigh of relief, his body shaking with exhaustion and adrenaline. He had done it. He had killed a Demonic Beast and earned its Beast Core.

"I should be eligible for a reward as well" He said happily. Since the forest was close to where he lived, he managed to get there before the Guardians or any other Cultivator or Hunter.

Hunting down Demonic Beasts in an outbreak was a common job that even non-awakeners do, using bullets artificially infused with Spirit Energy to hunt, earning a lot more from a couple of successful hunts than what they would get from a normal job's monthly salary. Selling the Core and getting the numerical reward earned them a fat sum.

"Impressive!" A rough voice spoke from behind Aaron, startling him. He turned around with wary eyes, looking at the man in a ghillie suit.

Seeing Aaron's gaze, the man chuckled, pointing at the Core and the Demonic Beast's corpse and said. "Just leave those behind and you can go"

Aaron's grip on his sword tightened as he glared at the man in the grass suit. "Fuck off," he repeated, his voice low and menacing.

The man's laughter died down, replaced by a sneer. "You're in no position to be making demands, boy. I could take that sword from you in a heartbeat."

Aaron didn't back down, though he felt a knot of fear in his stomach. "I earned this Core fair and square. You have no right to take it from me."

The man raised an eyebrow. "Fair and square? You mean by wasting all your Spirit Energy on one Beast? You won't survive long in this line of work with that kind of recklessness."

"I don't need your advice," Aaron spat.

"Then sorry for doing this!" Aaron's heart raced as he watched the man level his gun at him. His fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword, and he braced himself for a fight.

Without warning, the man pulled the trigger. Aaron reacted quickly, ducking and rolling to the side. The bullet whizzed past him, narrowly missing his head. As he scrambled to his feet, he used his movement technique and rushed towards the man before he could react and swung his sword at him, but he was too quick. The man sidestepped the attack and brought his gun up to aim at Aaron once more.

Aaron circled him warily, using the trees as cover as he waited. Not long after the man started shooting, wood splinters flew everywhere as the barrage of bullets destroyed the trees. These were no normal bullets.

Tick tick!

The rifle's clip finally ran out of bullets, this was when Aaron reappeared from his hiding place, with light injuries from the wood splinters and started rushing the man.

Suddenly, the man lunged forward, trying to tackle Aaron to the ground. But Aaron was ready. He sidestepped the attack and drove his sword deep into the man's side.

The man grunted in pain and stumbled back, dropping his gun. Blood poured from his wound as he clutched at his side. Aaron didn't give him a chance to recover. He lunged forward and delivered a swift blow to the man's head with the hilt of his sword, knocking him unconscious.

Breathing heavily, Aaron stood over the man's motionless body. His heart was still pounding from the adrenaline rush of the fight. He knew he needed to act fast before the man woke up and attacked him again.

Quickly, he searched the man's pockets and found a small device that looked like a communication device. He smashed it to pieces with the hilt of his sword, making sure the man couldn't signal for backup.

Aaron stood in the clearing, his breaths coming in short, ragged gasps. His skin began to shimmer and fade, becoming gradually transparent until he was nothing more than a terrifying skeleton, adorned with inscriptions etched into each of his bones. His empty eye sockets flickered with a purple flame as he raised his sword, ready to exact revenge on the unconscious man before him.

As Aaron swung his sword, blood sprayed from the man's neck, and he thrashed and flailed in his death throes. Aaron watched the scene unfold, his hallowed voice echoing out as he murmured, "I wouldn't have been able to do this in my human form."

After taking what he needed from the man's backpack and satchel, Aaron picked up the Rifle, Core and the Demonic Beast's corpse and hurried away, his flesh slowly reforming as he walked.

As he moved through the forest, Aaron couldn't shake the feeling of detachment from the violent scene he'd just witnessed. "It's like I'm a different person when I did that," he muttered to himself. "The scene still bothers me."