Chapter 14 : Day 4 (2)

Standing in the distance, where the cliffside met the winding forest trail, was a figure. No—a monster. Mantis-like. Six feet tall. Its vertical body was shaped like a razor blade. Bladed arms curved like hell-forged scythes. Green—but not leafy. Green like rusted copper and poison. Its head turned sideways with a sharp, unnatural click. Unlike the ones we saw on Day 1, this one was smaller. I was in my beastification form, with eight eyes, and I could see it clearly. Its glowing red eyes were locked onto the dead crab. The corpse hadn’t even cooled when the air turned... wrong. The hairs on the back of my neck rose. Because now, its eyes were on me. Every joint clicked as it moved—like clockwork made of meat. The worst part? Its eyes weren’t filled with rage, like most monsters. They were calm. Calculating. Then—nothing. It vanished. A breeze passed. A blur of green and wind. The sound of metal slicing through air. I barely had time to shout— "SCATTER!" A massive blade slammed down where I’d been standing a second ago. I rolled, kicked up, and fired a web into the canopy to reposition. It sliced through the crab’s hard shell like butter. Even Ye-Rin had needed multiple strikes to crack it open. Then the trees exploded. Shell fragments flew. Dirt lifted. That’s when everyone noticed this silent predator. It vanished again—then reappeared directly in front of my mother. She barely ducked. Her cheek split open like paper, blood spilling. She swung her scythe to create space. Ye-Rin leapt in, her axe flashing to intercept—but the mantis blocked with one claw. She managed to block the second strike, her axe shrieking against the mantis’s blade— Then it kicked her in the stomach. She flew into a boulder. That’s when the blue screen appeared: --- **Name**: \[None] **Race**: Mantodea **Age**: 4 Days **Level**: 11 **Title**: \[Candidate for Boss] **Nature**: Ambush Predator * **Strength**: 170 * **Agility**: 300 * **HP**: 80 * **MP**: 130 * **Stamina**: 200 **Ambush Predator** – Gains a chance to inflict a deadly strike if the target is unaware. --- In-Ji dove and fired two shots. *Ting. Ting.* They bounced. "Regular ammo’s useless!" he cursed. Then I saw him yank something from his bag—a snake. The same snake from those wolf hybrids. "I need 30 seconds!" he yelled. Speed. I needed speed. I launched upward. **THWIP**. My tail web latched onto a tree. I swung over the battlefield, barely dodging a blink-slash aimed at my face. The mantis zipped after me like a missile. It was faster. I caught its arms with my two upper limbs, trying to stop it from tearing me apart, while my other arms pushed it away. I wrapped its torso with my tail, trying to crush it and web its wings—but it was stronger. I was losing grip when Seo-Yeon threw both palms forward. "GET AWAY FROM YE-JUN!" **BOOM.** A shockwave of force blasted the mantis backward. It twisted mid-air, landed cleanly like a demonic ballerina—and blinked again. I fell, smacking my back against a rock. Ye-Rin, coughing blood, stood and grabbed her axe. "I’ve had enough of your salad-ass." She charged. Screamed. Swung. The beast tackled her. Finally, Mother’s "Curse of Slowness" landed. The creature staggered. Slower—but not enough. It blinked again—right in front of her. I leapt and sprayed its legs with sticky webbing—pinning it for half a second. Seo-Yeon hurled a rusted car door. It slammed into the mantis’s side. It staggered. **Tick. Tick. Tick—BOOM.** The mantis shrieked—one arm exploded off. In-Ji had finished crafting. **Explosive Core Round.** He fired another shot. The mantis reeled. Its armor cracked. Its back split open, revealing a glowing core. Serrated edges formed on every limb. Its speed— Tripled. It blinked through the team, carving crimson trails into us all in seconds. Mother dropped, bleeding from her thigh. In-Ji took a slice across his shoulder. I dropped from the canopy and punched it in the face. It didn’t even flinch. I missed my staff. It caught me mid-air—its claw wrapped around my torso—and squeezed. My ribs screamed. Vision blurred. Then— "FALSE HEALING!" Mi-Sun shouted from behind. A wave of black-purple energy surged outward. \[False Healing Active – HP Restored: 20%] \[Shin Ye-Jun, Shin Ye-Rin, Seo-Yeon, In-Ji, Shin Mi-Sun – Healed] I lashed my tail around its legs and yanked. It stumbled. I twisted mid-air, spun like a wheel, and slammed both feet into its chest. Seo-Yeon launched a **Force Spike**. Ye-Rin jumped—her axe cleaved through its legs. I sprayed webs—fast, thick, endless. "In-Ji!" I shouted. "FIRE!" **BOOM.** It twitched. Then went still. --- \~ Boss Candidate Defeated. \~ EXP Gained. Party Leveled Up. --- **Breathing ragged, we checked our status:** * Ye-Jun – Lv. 10 * Ye-Rin – Lv. 10 * Mi-Sun – Lv. 10 * Seo-Yeon – Lv. 8 * In-Ji – Lv. 8 \~ You can now summon new equipment. I deactivated Beastification and returned to my human form. We stood over the bloodied corpse—wounded, sore, shaking. "I hate insects," Ye-Rin muttered, dropping to the ground. "Crabs. Mantis. What’s next?" In-Ji panted. I glanced at the monkey in my arms. It was trembling—but alive. "You’re up next, buddy." Mother gave a tired smile. "That’s enough for today. Let’s return to the cabin." We all agreed. We made mistakes. Took hits. But we survived. And that’s what mattered. Updated Stat sheets. Name : Shin Ye-Jun Gender : Male Age : 26 years old Nature : Primal Guardian Level : 10 Class : Druid Sub-Class : (Unlocks after Mission 5) Title : ( Unlocks after Sub-Class ) Strength : 0060 Agility : 0030 Health Points : 0180 Magic Points : 0180 Stamina : 0050 Nature : Primal Guardian Defensive stats increased by 50% when protecting an Ally. Increase in Mental Resistance Skills : •)Low nature Spirits: Can change the shape of a wooden Weapon. •) Tame : Can tame a monster. Limit (1/2). •) Beastification : Become a hybrid with your tamed pet. 20% stats increased Accordingly to pet stats. Equipments : None. Name : Shin Ye-Rin Gender : Female Age : 19 Nature : Lucky Roulette Master Level : 10 Class : Dragon Rider Sub-Class : (Unlocks after Mission 5) Title : (Unlocks after Sub-Class) Strength : 0200 Agility : 0040 Health Point : 0140 Magic Point : 0020 Stamina : 0100 Nature : Lucky Roulette Master You are incredibly lucky. Skills: •) Lucky Evasion Predict high-risk attack patterns. •) Dragons Summoner Limit(1/1) •) Stats Sharing 50% stats shared with your summoned dragon •) Wyren Commander Can control the group of Wyren type beasts, if the user is strong. Equipments : 1) Drake cleaver Axe (B -) •)Dragon’s Lullaby: When held near a wild or enraged dragon, the axe emits a subsonic frequency that soothes the creature. •)Infernal Bite: The blades store heat from previous attacks, releasing flames upon command •)Scale bound Grip The weapon naturally clings to its wielder, preventing disarmament by conventional means. Name : Shin Mi-Sun Gender : Female Age : 56 Nature : Bloody Eyes Level : 10 Class : Priestess of Dead Sub-class : (Unlocks after Mission 5) Title : ( Unlocks after Sub-Class) Strength : 0040 Agility : 0080 Health Point : 0090 Magic Point : 0230 Stamina : 0060 Nature : Bloody Eyes Can distinguish between good and bad. Truth and lies. Hidden and unhidden. Skills: •) False Healing Uses Enemies life force to heal allies. Healing percentage depends on total targeted Allies. •) Curse of slowness Reduce the target’s thinking speed as well as its actual speed. Percentage Depends on the level gap between the target and the user. Equipment: 1) Dark Scythe (D -) •)Draining Slice: Recovers stamina per hit. •)Requiem Strike: Instant-kill if the enemy is stunned. (Cooldown: 5 min) Name : Seong In-Ji Gender : Male Age : 21 Nature : Scavenger Level : 8 Class : Gunner Sub-Class : (Unlocks after Mission 5) Title : (Unlocks After Sub-Class) Strength: 0120 Agility: 0160 Health Point: 0040 Magic point : 0024 Stamina : 0056 Nature: Scavenger Grants an increased chance of finding high-value items when opening chests. Class: Gunner Skills: •)Enhanced understanding and accuracy with firearms. •)Increased firearm efficiency. •) Ballistic Craftsman A recipe book to create any kind of bullets. Requires monsters specific parts. Equipment: 1) Hammer-Fired M1911 (D) A small-caliber pistol, effective against monsters. • Capacity: 7 rounds Name : Park Seo-yeon Gender : Female Age : 21 Level : 8 Nature : Heartbound Hidden Nature : Berserker Class : Telekinetic Sub-Class : ( Unlocks after Mission 5) Title : (Unlocks after Sub-Class) Strength: 0048 Agility: 0088 Health Point: 0064 Magic point : 0144 Stamina : 0056 Nature – Heartbound Your strength deepens when protecting those you care for. When a bonded ally is within 10 meters, you gain +30% mana regeneration and +20% resistance to fear effects. Class : Telekinetic •)You can move objects with a total mass of up to 10% of your body weight. •) Regenerates 0.5 mana per second while resting during battle. •) Force Spike Unstable telekinetic burst that knocks enemies backward. Chance to stun the target. Equipment: 1) Appleton’s Earring (C) •) Increases resistance to temperature by 80% •) Increases natural healing by 8% New skills are unlocked after 5 levels. New equipment summons become available every 10 levels.