Chapter 31: Blood and Bones

The loud sound of impact reverberated through the dark cave walls as my Aura-covered fist collided with the back of the Bone Spike's head. A mild tremor rocked through the environment, filling my body and prompting my savage smile to twist and curl.

The Bone Spike was hurled forward from the impact, its lean, tall, and bony body crashing into a wall with a shattering sound.

'...No system message.' I clicked my tongue internally. Well, it would be too anticlimactic if it were that easy. I smiled wider and channeled more Aura.

As soon as my feet touched the ground, I burst forward in a blur.

The Bone Spike had amazing defense and terrifying attack speed, but that was mostly the extent.

It wasn't particularly fast in overall movement, nor did it possess overwhelming strength and power. The only unfair advantage it had was perhaps its hard bony exoskeleton, but it shouldn't be harder than the Boulder Crab.

On the other hand, I had speed and mobility.

My figure blurred across the distance before the Bone Spike could recover. My sensitivity and perception peaked, and everything seemed to play in slow motion before my eyes.

The most substantial change I experienced in my body after eating the Fruit of Aurora was the precision of my sensitivity and perception.

If I focused enough, I could hear the 'whispers' of the Aether in the world and make corresponding judgments about imminent danger. My intuition was on the level of a sixth sense.

...

[Ding! New skill has been unlocked.]

[Congratulations, you have obtained passive skill {Danger Sense} level 1!]

...

'Huh?' Before I could properly react to the sudden system message, the hairs on the back of my neck tingled, and a sensation like thousands of needles prickling my skin assaulted my mind.

The very next moment, the dirty creamish-brown claw of the Bone Spike swiped through the air at a vicious speed. The air split apart as if cleaved by an invisible blade, and the sharp tips of the claws raced toward my face.

I pressed my right foot forward, forcefully stopping my advance with a sudden movement, and twisted my torso at the very last minute, narrowly avoiding the claw.

The long ghastly claws ended up missing my face and raced past it with a sharp sound. The sudden impulse of my actions caused a strain in my ankle, and I ended up spraining it.

I suppressed the pain and pushed off again with the same right foot, backing away from the monster, recoiling each time my foot touched the ground.

'Fuck that hurts! What the fuck, Meta?!' Unable to suppress my emotions after nearly dying, I screamed internally at the system.

[You unlocked a new skill.] Meta's cold voice simply said, uncaring or unfazed by my predicament.

'Yeah, no shit! It was a bit too hard not to hear the incessant ringing in my head while having my immediate vision suddenly blocked!'

Even now, the system tab was still there since I had yet to dismiss it.

...

[Passive Skill {Danger Sense} Level 1 is strongly activated!]

What the?

I suddenly realized my breathing was deep and rhythmic, my fingers twitching from overstimulation.

My heart raced, but I maintained control over my emotions and actions.

I could almost feel the slightest vibrations in the air around me, allowing me to quickly notice the Bone Spike crawling out of the wall with its long, ghastly fingers.

Pieces of rock fell and crushed underneath its feet as the exaggeratedly tall and bony figure loomed in front of me.

Slowly, the ugly monster turned to face me. My eyes reflexively swept the tall figure from head to toe. A bead of sweat trickled down the side of my face as a toothy, strained grin crossed my lips.

"Unscathed."

There wasn't the slightest damage to its bony skeletal armor, even from where my fist landed. I laughed inwardly, self-mockingly, and exhaled deeply.

As expected. There was no way it would go down from a simple blow to its head.

The Bone Spike stared at me, then slowly straightened its slouched, tall back. Its long, sharp claws that nearly scraped the ground slowly spread apart and flexed, a wave of animosity washing over my whole body like a tremor.

My smile widened gleefully, darkly.

Excitedly!

"That's more like it! You finally taking me seriously!"

Speed armament.

Threads of my dense aura burst out of my body, coiling around me like a stream. I leaned forward, brimming with malevolence. The Bone Spike's movements were slow and sluggish; it began to raise its arm and took a step toward me.

I didn't wait for it.

Tightening the stream of aura coiled around me like a spring, I exploded forward in a blur at the Bone Spike.

'Aside from its absurd defense, the only thing I should be most worried about is the insane speed it can swipe its claws at. But if I can devote a part of my mind and rely on my intuition to sense the incoming danger ahead of time, I can react efficiently and retreat,' my mind raced.

In the end, I relied on the new and sudden skill I had just unlocked and mindlessly lunged forward into the range of the Bone Spike.

I switched armament from speed to strength at the last second and threw my pulsing fist forward for the midsection of the Bone Spike, covered by rib bones.

The purple hue of my aura flashed eerily as my right fist collided heavily against the targeted area with a loud force.

A small gale burst forth from the impact, rushing past my face and through the scattered strands of my hair. Despite the force of the collision, the Bone Spike didn't move a single inch and remained unfazed.

A sensation akin to earlier, like having my skin tingle from a hundred needles, occurred again. I quickly realized it was the skill reacting to an incoming attack. The left claws of the Bone Spike swiped at me from below, right in my blind spot! The lean, sharp bony claws cut through the air, ascending toward my face.

The years of experience from countless street fights and fist wars on Earth manifested in the form of pure savagery and instinct, prompting my body to react regardless of how dire and tight the situation was.

I reflexively opted to retreat backward, but a sharp pain jolted up my right leg. My sprained ankle throbbed from the sudden shift in weight and gravity.

I swallowed down a groan and a curse, leaned back as much as I could, and tried to retract my face from the trajectory of the claw.

In the end, I was too late.

The long, sharp tips of one bony finger pierced my skin and tore a bloody gash across the side of my face and over my left eye. By the time I had completely retreated, I did so with a bleeding cut across my face.

I stumbled backward, pressing my left arm against my face. I felt the warm trickle of thick blood streaming down between my fingers. A sizzling pain filled my left eye, burning like a ravenous flame from within. Half of my vision was dyed in blinding red, and my sight momentarily shook.

The Bone Spike took advantage of my disorientation and lunged with a follow-up attack.

My senses buzzed with the prior reaction of the {Danger Sense} skill, but I was unable to react in time. The Bone Spike raised a single long finger claw and drove it straight through my left shoulder joint with a piercing squelch.

I gritted my teeth as clarity filled my mind from the pain.

The Bone Spike didn't care. It was unfazed and drove its long appendage further through my shoulder until almost half of its full length was embedded, pinning me against the cave wall like a dart.

A fountain of my blood spurted from the wound, covering my shoulder in thick red moisture.

Trails of blood flowed down my left arm and trickled down my face, pooling into droplets at my chin before falling to the ground.

"Haha...that fucking hurts, you bastard."

I raised my head with some difficulty and chuckled at the Bone Spike. Its tall figure remained slouched and indifferent as it stood there with a claw impaling my left shoulder against the wall.

Its face, an ugly mess of twisted crevices, lacked any discernible eyes, nose, or mouth, making it impossible to gauge its feelings. Not that it ever made a sound throughout the ordeal.

Wait. Why was I contemplating the feelings of a monster trying to kill me? Ah, yes, it must be because of the blood loss.

Oblivious to my thoughts, and in its usual indifferent manner, the Bone Spike continued to slowly push its finger deeper into my shoulder with an ugly, wet squelch.

The pain bored through my shoulder like a tunnel, sending tremors down my arm. I gritted my teeth and laughed widely at the Bone Spike. This damn monster had an unexpected taste for torturing its prey!

'Prey...'

'Prey?'

'Who? Me?!'

A deep laugh filled with malevolence and dark glee left my lips. Looking straight at the ugly face of the Bone Spike, I slowly raised my left arm and grabbed onto the bony finger stabbed into my shoulder.

Then slowly, I pulled my shoulder through it, driving the finger deeper and deeper in the process.

The unsettling sound of wet squelches filled the cave as the muscles in my shoulder were shredded and torn. The pain was agonizing, but I didn't care. I smiled through it all with half of my vision dyed red.

I threw a weak fist against the outer carapace of the Bone Spike, not leaving so much as a dent on its skeletal armor.

"...Don't get cocky... just because you're levels higher than me, you bastard." I spat out and spread my right fingers against the monster's bony chest.

As if taunted by my words, the Bone Spike twisted its finger in my shoulder, sending another wave of pain through my body. My smile widened and my laughter deepened. I bit my lower lip tight enough to draw blood.

I channeled my Aura, and my right arm exploded into an eerie purple radiance, like liquid flames. The molten energy gathered and flowed down my arm, condensing and folding with power toward my palm. The surface of the Bone Spike's chest lit up with a dense purple radiance as a result.

Its small head lingered on my face for two seconds longer before slowly turning toward the source of the radiance—my hand.

Armament...

I tore a bloody smile at it and uttered in a low voice,

"Impulse."

-BANG!