"Raise your head, bare your fangs, sharpen your bdes. Stand firm and never back down. March forward, crawl if you must, but op. Do that, and you just may survive. And if you fail? If you let the Void e you? Well, in that case, you have no o yourself to bme."

  ~ High Master of Tariem, 49th Outbreak

  So oer another is definitely not gonna work... Leo grumbled as the Kiss of Death once again faded away after he tried to put it on another cw.

  F the Kiss wasn't much different with his cws than with a on, but it took more focus and trol to tame his Essence during the process. Yet, it was still doable at least until Leo tried to put the ability on another cw.

  Each time Leo moved onto another finger, his Esseook it as a and to dismiss the previous Kiss. No matter how much he tried to separate the process, the mysterious energy always found a way to mess with Leo's pn.

  Awenty minutes wasted. He shook his head, gng at the Life Support timer. With so many Rock Eaters dead by his hands, Leo didn't really have to worry about Ether. Still, it didn't make his current problem any less frustrating...

  Gonna need awenty if I want to pce it on every cw at once. Leo sighed as he sat cross-legged and pced his Tainted hand upon the human one.

  The process took even lohan he expected. Multiple times, his Esseried to escape between his fingers. However, Leo always held it tightly, taking mier mio calm down the raging energy.

  e on! Leo ched his teeth as the crimson sheen seeped into his cws, gradually transf into the familiar bck aura. Essence fought like it'd never battled before, five cws at oesting Leo's current trol. Just a little more.

  Leo gasped for breath, colpsing against the rocky wall, sweat rolling down his face.

  Never again. Leo mumbled soundlessly, gazing at the faint glow on his cws. At least not until I get more trol or experiment with the Kiss. This took way too much out of me, and look... another half an hour. For fuck sake...

  Reag deep into his soul, Leo grimaced at the droplets of Essehat remaihere. Great... Without moving even a finger, he dropped True Stealth. As long as he literally didn't do anything other thah, he should be fine for some time.

  In the meantime, Leo's mind again began to run through different sarios of the approag enter. He had to figure out the best way to deal with the Guarding Rock Eater in case his initial po shit or just wasn't enough to kill the beast.

  The hunting rifle was always an option, but Leo doubted it could do much against the monster for some reason. I'm too limited for now. Whatever happens, I still o find the Eater's ots. And if that doesn't work out, then Crystalized Essence is my only hope...

  Time flew by as Leo pted his options. It wasn't long before even his meager regeion mao refill his reserves, and True Stealth once agailed over his skin.

  Alright, let's do this.

  Standing up, Leo stretched, feeling joints popping all over his body. Rolling his shoulders, he checked every on and nodded. Khe short sword, and cws all covered in the Kiss. It's now or never.

  As his cws snatched a small pebble off the ground, Leo's human hand was already w on f a small, sturdy ball of light. That should do it. He murmured and stopped right o the chamber's entrance, his eyes taking in the slumberi in the middle.

  Owo, three.

  At once, Leo chucked the two objects in his hands towards the cave's far end. Like before, they flew true, skidding against the rocky surfad creating a stant echo in the chamber.

  The Guarding Rock Eater was on its feet in a blink as it released a blood-freezing shrill. Before Leo could eve, the beast dashed toward the Void Gate, pletely ign the distra he had created.

  Fuck! With that sihought in mind, Leo jumped ihe chamber, Reinfort seeping into his muscles as he sprio the Void Gate.

  Now, Leo expected many things to happen, some fitting into his pns, while others not so much. However, the monster had decided to pletely abandon any expectations as it threw its bded arms forward, stabbing right into the Gate's violet veins.

  As if responding to the beast's as, the entire chamber shook, trembling as the veins pulsed briefly, their color bleeding into the all-familiar crimson.

  Another notification appeared in the er of Leo's vision, but he paid it no mind. Only a few meters separated him from the beast, and it was not time for distras, especially wheer still hadn't pulled out of the Gate.

  My turn. Closing the remaining distah a quick jump, Leht down his cws upon the upper part of Eater's leg. With the Kiss of Death, Leo cut ly through most of the skin and bone, leaving the limb barely hanging.

  Even as the beast screeched, almost bursting Leo's eardrums, he didn't stop, never oo leave a job half-finished.

  The bowie knife in his hand sang through the air as it cut through the remaining tendon, dropping the useless leg to the ground with a thud. Uh, oh. Leo cursed as the beast finally swung its arms, slig where his head used to be a moment ago.

  Leo danced away from the monster, putting enough distaweeo read through the notification. He had to know what the hell happeo the Void Gate.

  Warning! Dimensional Gateway has been sealed. Kill the Guardian of the rift to release the Gate from its influence. Entering the portal in its current state will result ih.

  That would have been o know before I went in! Don't you think it is the kind of information that should be iiary?! Leo shouted internally even as the Eater's eyeless gre settled on his shoulders. Gah, whatever, no use g over spilled milk.

  It definitely wasn't the time for that, especially wheer decided that it waited long enough for Leo to move.

  Dodge and deflect; do not block. This short mantra pyed over and over in Leo's head as the Eater closed on his position and forced the smaller fighter to jerk away.

  Even with one leg missing, the Eater — like any other Voidling — was relentless, not giving Leo a sed to recover before attag again. Unfortunately, unlike any other Eater, the Guardian had way more in its arsenal than just jaws and a powerful body.

  For fucks sake! How something so massive be so fast at the same time? And where in seven hells is the ot?! Leo growled, sparks filling his vision as he deflected yet arike.

  Pushing just a bit more Esseo Reinfort, Leo rolled under another blow. He cut the beast's underbelly with his cws, spilling bck blood all over his body.

  The monster shrieked and jumped away, swaying when its feet once agaihe ground.

  Got you. Leo smirked even as droplets of the monster's blood slipped into his mouth. The coppery taste was familiar; however there was something more underh it, disgusti powerful. Essence.

  Spitting the filth out, Leo narrowed his eyes when the chamber shook again. Even the Guardian wasn't spared as it tumbled to the side, the missing leg finally being a problem.

  Leo sprio the beast, hoping to use the shaking to his advantage. Only he never got far as the reason for the tremors showed itself, splitting the ground in front of him, another Rock Eater quickly jumping out of the gap.

  Oh no, you don't. Leo gritted his teeth as a small pulse of Esseraveled into his left arm.

  At once, green symbols spread across the entire limb and gave Leo the fideo meet the regur Rock Eater in the middle. He reared his tainted arm and puhe monster with everything he had, sending it flying to the side.

  Limit break to full power!

  Energy surged into his body, the golden sheeling against his skin. Leo ighe feeling, his gaze locked on the recuardian. Just one more leg.

  Closing in, Leo slid onto the ground, dodgi another swipe of the monster's bded arm. As he passed by, he grabbed one of the two legs that remained on this side and tugged harshly.

  Down you go.

  The Eater's shrill once again filled the chamber as it colpsed. Not wasting a single sed, Leht down his bowie k the leg's knee, or rather what he thought was a knee.

  The dismembering required two more strikes, but in the end, the Guardian was left with only fs. Its entire body trembled as it climbed to its feet, the one limb barely enough to support the monster's weight on one side.

  Now to fini... Leo spun on his heel as a shriek sounded from behind him. Instinctively he jerked his body to the side and stabbed the Rock Eater that just shot past him, creating a long gash across its body.

  The monster colpsed a distance away, the System instantly alerting Leo of the kill. Thank god for Limit Break. Leo sighed as the golden glow faded along with the adrenaline from Reinfort. Almost no strain this time. Good.

  Turning to the Guardian, Leo almost chuckled at the monster's poor attempts at walking. With each step taken, the beast fell on its damaged side, shrieking louder with every sed.

  Let's put you out of misery. Leo yawned, digging a Crystalized Esse of his pocket.

  He could have sin the Guardian with his ons alone, but the beast was still dangerous in its current state. Its bded arms were no ughing matter, and Leo wasn't about to face them without Limit Break and Reinfort.

  Then there was the Guardian's sheer size, which meant chopping the beast for at least aen minutes until it died. Thanks, but no thanks. Gre is.

  The crystal was already brimming with Essence as Leo approached the beast, its massive jaw stantly opening with another shriek. Catch. He shouted and threw the crystal right into the monster's mouth.

  'Boom'

  The middle of the monster's body exploded in a shower of gore, separating the Guardian in two dead halves. Liters of blood flowed out of the corpse as the entire chamber shook again, but the tremors opped this time.

  What the hell is going on?!

  Guarding Rock Eater (LVL: 10) sin | Experience awarded | 8 Ether gained

  Level 9 reached. Css attributes added. Please assign your 2 free attributes.

  Title Rift Destraiitle assimited into Adaptable. Bonus: Might Effectiveness +5%

  Warning! Guardian of the rift has been killed. The Rift Passage is colpsing. Find the Void Gate if you want to survive. Time remaining: 2 minutes 13 seds

  I just 't catch a break. Leo growled as he sped to the Guardian and quickly sunk his cws into the corpse. Although le bonus. Also, Soul and Might.

  Only a minute remained whewo halves turned into dust, and while the Guardian didn't leave any loot behind, it gave Leo over ten hours of satiated status.

  Time to go. Leo thought as he spriowards the Gate and jumped into the colorful portal. He expected many things to happe, but getting spit out almost instantly wasn't among them.

  Leo screamed as he colpsed, the force behind the movement sending him tumbling across the hard ground. I already hate this method of travel. He coughed, climbing to his feet and quickly taking in his new surroundings.

  Shit... As he g the narrow rocky pteau, Leo cursed. There was nothing beyond it but enormous nothingness in colors of bd red. They mingled in a never-ending dance, and as beautiful as the sight was, Leo couldn't help but shudder when his gaze fell to aeau ected to his own.

  Five dark pilrs rose from the gray rocky surface, creating a perfect pentagon. All of them were inscribed with symbols sn a so familiar. However, even those inscriptions didn't hold Leo's focus; no, that honor fell to the fist-sized shard floating right in the middle of the pentagon. Bd red, just like the world around him.

  No... Leo froze as an image simir to the one in front of him fshed through his mind. It 't be.

  'e...'