Jake reached the walker in less than a second and immediately lashed out with a clawed hand. His talons raked the monster’s naked chest, leaving long bleeding gashes in it. His attack didn’t seem to do much damage to the mutant, though. If anything, it only made it angrier. The mutant tried to swipe at Jake with its claws, but he ducked in time, and the creature’s claws sliced through the air just over his head. The elite walker was definitely faster than regular mutants.
Undeterred, the walker attacked him again, prompting Jake to jump back to evade the strike. The mutant was tall with longer arms and claws, giving it a definite advantage in reach. Jake’s first impulse was to charge at his enemy, but he held back. It would be smart to learn more about this elite mutant before charging at it headfirst. Being bigger and stronger than average walkers, it could possibly be more intelligent too. He needed to learn its fighting tactics and behavior patterns.
The large mutant charged forward, swinging one of its arms at him. Jake dodged the attack and jumped back. The mutant lunged forward once more, extending its arms as if attempting to grab him. He leaped to the side, evading the mutant’s claws without fighting back.
For a minute, it went on . He watched his enemy, studying its movements and trying to anticipate its next actions. The walker kept attacking him, and he evaded each strike. In the end, he concluded that while the elite walker was faster and stronger than regular ones, it didn’t seem to be much smarter than them. Also, all its movements were similar to theirs. While the mutant was fast, as long as he kept his guard up, he could evade its attacks without much trouble. Now that he knew the walker’s attack patterns, it was time for him to strike back.
He leaped toward the enemy, diving under its arm as it lashed out at him, and struck out with his talons. He aimed at the walker’s stomach, hoping to split it open and slay the mutant with one precise strike. The tips of his talons dug into the mutant’s flesh but not as deeply as he’d hoped. He left a bleeding mark across the creature’s stomach, but the wound was superficial. The elite walker’s flesh was denser and tougher than a regular mutant’s. This foe would definitely require more than just a couple of wounds to bring down.
Jake aggressively slashed at the mutant with his razor-sharp claws, leaving a few more bleeding scratches across its torso. He was about to strike back at his opponent once more when the mutant suddenly let out a hoarse roar. Immediately after that, it lunged forward, swinging its claws at Jake. He ducked, avoiding the blow, but the mutant quickly swung at him with its other arm, prompting him to jump back. The mutant pursued him, closing in once more, brandishing its long claws. Jake realized it must have been the walker’s special ability called Flurry of Swings. The mutant attacked him repeatedly, pushing him on the defensive. With the mutant in a frenzied state, relentlessly striking out, all Jake could do was retreat and dodge.
At some point, he realized he was nearing the edge of the roof. The consequences of falling from such a tall building were unknown to him. What damage would it do to his mutant body that fed on magical energy? Would it result in death, injury, or perhaps no harm at all? He didn’t know. Even if it was the latter, he had to do his best to avoid falling from the roof. He leaped to the side and swiftly maneuvered around his opponent, returning to the center of the roof. As he did so, the mutant made a grab for him with a clawed hand, but he skillfully avoided its elongated talon-like fingers.
About half a minute later, the elite mutant eased off its relentless assault, its movements decelerating, returning back to normal. It was time to bring the prolonged fight to a conclusion. It’d already been going on longer than he’d expected. With the mutant no longer swinging its arms like a maniac, Jake seized the opportunity and lunged forward, raking his claws across his foe’s body. The elite walker let out a roaring cry, driven more by rage than pain.
The fierce fight raged on for a few more minutes. A few times, Jake attempted to slash his claws across the walker's throat, but each time the mutant jerked back, protecting the vulnerable spot. Jake then pounced again, tearing into his enemy with his razor-sharp claws. The elite mutant was bleeding profusely from multiple wounds now, yet it was still alive and kicking. It made a sudden move toward him, slicing through the air with its menacing claws. Jake dodged the attack and lunged one more time, swiping ferociously and leaving another bleeding mark across the mutant’s chest.
His attacks had seemingly done little to no serious damage to the walker. Jake pounced again, aiming for its throat again. This time, he managed to reach it, and his razor-sharp talons tore through the mutant’s flesh, causing dark, almost black, blood to spray from the nasty wound. He’d finally scored a serious hit. The elite mutant froze for a second as if not quite comprehending what had just happened. Then, with surprising speed and force, it lunged forward, catching Jake off guard. Being severely wounded made the mutant even more dangerous. It swiped with its claws, but Jake managed to duck his head just in time. Then the wounded monster rammed into him, causing Jake to collapse onto his back. The mutant fell on top of him, pinning him to the ground. Before Jake could come up with a defensive strategy, the creature leaned in and sank its razor-sharp teeth into his shoulder.
It wasn’t the first time he had been wounded as a mutant, and once again, he marveled at the absence of pain. However, he could still feel the damage to his body. Then the elite mutant pulled its head back, tearing a huge chunk of obsidian-black flesh from his shoulder. A signal was relayed to his brain, notifying him that he had just sustained serious damage to his shoulder. A system notification emerged in his mind.
You have just gotten a negative effect: Profuse Bleeding. You are losing mana at a rapid rate.
It was bad. It was really bad. The mutant was bleeding from the wound he’d dealt to its throat, losing its strength by a second. Still, the mutant was still alive and capable of doing even more damage to him. So Jake brought up his clawed hands and drove his talons into the sides of the mutant’s head with fierce force, breaking through the walker’s skull and penetrating its brain. The walker froze for a second, then its body went limp and dropped on top of him.
Two more system notifications popped up in his head.
Enemy killed. +100 XP
Hunt complete. You have gained a point in Body. You have gained an upgrade in Claws.
Jake pushed the dead mutant off his body and got to his feet. He glanced at the large, ragged hole in his shoulder, where a greenish-blue glow emitted from within—the mana stored inside his body. He watched as the magical energy flowed out of the wound freely and profusely, quickly dissolving into the air. The sight was truly alarming.
I fucked up, Jake thought to himself.