Ba-Dum!
My heart thumped in my chest loudly and the world changed before my eyes.
"I… see everything." I murmured, savoring the sensation.
Everything seemed to have slowed down, no, it didn't slow down but clarified.
Previously almost untraceable movements of the Cave Runners… I could see them now. Not only that, I could also see their patterns.
Their claws.
Their muscles.
The slight twitch before they lunged.
The shift of weight before changed direction.
Since I could see everything, I was confident in dodging and attacking.
A grin spread across my bloodied face and I moved.
Shua!
Just a split second later, a Cave Runner leapt toward me.
Before I would've barely reacted.
Now, I had acted before it even made its move and easily stepped aside.
A hint of confusion flashed in the Cave Runner's eyes as it watched me move out of its attacking range.
My grin widened and the stone came crashing down onto its skull.
BANG!
CRACK!
Its skull shattered instantly.
'Two down.'
[Viewer 'BloodSpectator': Oh?]
[Viewer 'GoldenEye': He adapted.]
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Two rushed me from both sides.
I immediately saw that their angles and timings were different.
'The left one will attack first.' I concluded and pivoted slightly to the right.
Shua!
Dodging its claw strike with a hair's breadth, I grabbed its neck mid-lunge and slammed it into the second.
THUD!
Both collapsed into a tangled mess.
I didn't hesitate.
Bang! Bang!
Crushed one skull, then the other.
'Four down.'
[Viewer 'LaughingSkull': HAHAHA! Much better! Keep Breaking their Skulls.]
"Keep watching." I muttered, breathing steadily. Thanks to my heightened perception, I wasn't panicked and was making zero wasted movements, thus saving a lot of energy.
Though, my body still hurt. Blood still flowed.
But I completely ignored that because… I was in control and I was loving it.
…
Seeing three of their companions die in a blink of an eye, the remaining Cave Runners hesitated, a hint of fear flickering in their red eyes.
"Let's not stop, shall we? I have got no time to waste." I stepped forward.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
The Cave Runner instinctively stepped back.
"It seems you are realizing that… you lot aren't the hunters anymore." I moved.
Skree!
Maybe it was due to my provocation or it was their desperation… all the Cave Runner shrieked and attacked at once.
'Good. This makes things easier.'
One came from above.
Two from the sides.
One from behind.
A perfect encirclement.
Unfortunately for them… it wasn't going to make a difference.
Swoosh!
I ducked. Spun. And kicked one aside.
Then, I grabbed that came from above mid-air and used its body as a shield.
SLASH!
Crunch!
Claws from the others tore into it, making it convulse and shriek in pain.
Bang!
I smashed its skull with stone, killing it, and threw its mangled body toward one of the remaining three.
While it jumped to the side to dodge, the other two lunged at me.
With not a hint of fear, I stepped in and drove the stone into one's eye. My aim precise.
SHLICK!
Twisting the stone, I pulled it out. Then turning around, I smashed the second beast's skull in one fluid motion.
CRACK!
Its skull burst.
Now only two were left.
The one I had blinded a moment earlier and the last Cave Runner stared at me, growling lowly.
'Want to run?' My eyes flashed as I realized what they were about to do.
Though having killed a total of ten beasts, I had already completed the first objective, I had no plan of letting them escape and become a latent threat.
Swoosh!
I rushed forward and reached the uninjured one right as it turned around.
Grabbing its tail, I planted my feet firmly on the ground, channeled all my strength into my hands, pulled and swung the beast into a one-eighty-degree arc above me before slamming it down.
SPLAT!
I marveled at how weak it was defensively once again as I saw it turn into a mush upon the impact with the hard stone ground.
Swoosh!
I turned around, staring at the blinded beast.
It froze, trembled, then lowered its body to the ground and bowed its head as if submitting to me.
My lips curled up seeing this and I walked toward it with slow, unhurried steps.
Just as I reached it, savagery and desperation flashed in its remaining eye and it lunged.
I stood there, unmoving, and watched as it flew toward me.
At the last second, I calmly tilted my head.
Its claws missed, flying past my neck.
Then, my hands shot forward and captured its neck.
I stared into its eye as I put all my strength in my fingers and crushed its throat.
CRACK.
Thud!
…
Silence filled the cave.
I stood there, not breathing, my gaze fixed on the blinded beast's corpse in front of me.
'Even such a mindless beast doesn't want to die.' I thought, 'It was willing to submit to me to survive. When it felt I wasn't going to spare it, it didn't hesitate to go all out despite knowing it was probably futile.'
Hu!
I closed my eyes and breathed out.
I had seen its terror and helplessness as I killed it.
'If I can't become strong enough to ensure my survival no matter the situation, sooner or later, I'll meet the same end as it did.'
—
[Stream Ended]
[Peak Viewers: 5]
[Total Gifts Received: 1]
[Broadcast Evaluation: Good]
[Viewer Satisfaction: High]
[Performance Grade: B]
—
My emotions didn't as much as ripple..
Then, the screen flickered again.
[Objective Update]
Cave Beasts Eliminated: 10/10
Find the Exit: 0/1
Maintain Stream Activity: In Progress
[Reward Available Upon Mission Completion]
'I just need to find the exit now, right?' I thought, but I felt it wasn't going to be so simple.
I looked deeper into the cave, toward the faint torchlight. That was probably where the exit lay.