The God of Novelty had used a truck to crush him while he was asleep… but he hadn't woken up to feel the death.
It was just darkness, a sudden end, and nothing for his brain to interpret.
But this…
This one, he could feel right in front of him.
The killing intent was real… The sound was real and the fear he was feeling was real.
If he hadn't moved his body in those last few milliseconds, he would have died right there, skewered through the spine like a pinned butterfly.
'Life… my life is so fragile.' Kōya thought as his sword trembled violently in both hands.
His knuckles turned pale and his breath shook out in thin streams. Just looking at the Twigspire's angry eyes made his chest tighten.
He wasn't staring at a manga panel and he wasn't reacting to drawn ink on a page. This was a real monster that wanted to kill him.
And the mother Twigspire screeched again.
「Host!!! Focus or you will actually die!」
The system's sharp text slammed into him harder than the monster's attack had.
It didn't erase the fear… no skill or cheat ever erased fear but it cut through the panic enough for him to think.
'I'm still alive… I still have the System.' He reminded himself.
「Good. Since this is your first battle, I'll be assisting you. The Underbody, that soft skin is the weakness of this monster. Stabbing it with your sword at once is enough to completely kill it but if it touches any other part of its skin, then your sword and your last hope of survival will die out.」
'So the stakes are that high, huh?' He swallowed. 'One wrong placement… and I die.'
He could hear how uneven his breaths were, but he forced his feet to move.
Slowly, he edged out of the alley with his sword raised. Then right… toward the pile of debris he spotted earlier. It wasn't much, just broken concrete and collapsed metal frames, but it could hide him for one second.
One second was enough to survive.
「Great thinking. When the Twigspire's wings expand, you know it's ready for a full power charge.」
And almost as if reacting to the instruction…
FWHIP FWHIP FWHIP!!!
The Twigspire's wings expanded wide, beating so fast the air warped around them.
'Shit—!'
He didn't think. He threw himself behind the debris.
WHOOOOOOOM!!!
The monster shot forward like a missile, a blur of green and rage.
The impact shook the entire alley. Its left tendril slammed down, punching straight through the debris and CRUSHING it like cardboard.
Shards of concrete blasted outward, raining around Kōya. One chipped his cheek as it flew past.
The debris collapsed, exposing him.
'Move. MOVE!!!'
The twigspire reared back in recoil, its tendril momentarily stuck in the rubble.
「NOW!!!」
He bolted out from the collapsing debris with a speed he didn't know he had. His hand snatched the steel tripline from his ring in one motion.
He sprinted straight toward the monster…
Then slid low, letting his shoulder skim the ground.
He threw the wire loop wide, catching the tendril joint…
SNAP!
It tightened instantly.
He didn't hesitate. He grabbed the line with both hands and yanked sideways, using his whole body weight.
The Twigspire's balance broke.
The monster toppled over, it's limbs flailing as its rocky vine-tendrils wildly trying to catch something, anything.
And then…
THUMP!!!
The broodminder crashed to its side, the entire underside of its body exposed… right in front of him.
「STRIKE!!!」
He didn't think neither did he hesitate.
Kōya raised the sword with both trembling hands and drove it down…
SPLURCH!!!
The blade pierced straight into the weak point. The under-chest caved inward, collapsing like wet clay before splitting entirely.
The Twigspire convulsed, it's limbs jerking and it's wings spasming as if electricity ran through them.
Then there was stillness.
The massive insect collapsed fully, twitching one last time before the light left its eyes.
Then…
「Congratulations for killing your first monster, Host」
A pulse of mana flowed from the corpse into his chest. He felt lighter and heavier at the same time and his body felt even warmer.
He collapsed onto one knee, coughing.
'I couldn't even breathe…' He thought, sucking in air desperately. His ribs ached from the sudden exertion and his hands shook so violently he nearly dropped the sword.
But he felt it.
His crest had grown thicker which meant…
He had grown stronger.
Even if only a little.
「Host, focus on the children… do not let them escap—」
He turned too late.
The three broodlings had already scattered… tiny green blurs disappearing into cracks in walls and shadows in the ruined city.
"What were they going to do?" He asked between breaths, staring at the corpse.
「They're going to call others to your location」
A heavy beat struck his heart.
'That means more monsters to kill.' He thought instinctively but then paused.
No.
That meant more monsters coming for him. Rust-class or not, numbers mattered.
'I better move fast.'
He sliced into the soft underbody, using the weak point like a zipper, and the monster's core… a glowing greenish-white crystal fell loose.
He caught it carefully.
'I guess this is a monster core, right? System, how much would it cost in KCAC?'
The system responded instantly.
「The official price of a Rust-class core within KCAC regularly at 120 crowns, but for the Twigspire Broodminder, it's 150 crowns because they are valuable. Now you're going to be paying 5% as Tax while your helper takes 3% which means after tax, you are receiving 138 crowns.」
'That's quite a deduction…' He grimaced.
Eight percent straight off the top?
'What about the body?'
「The base value of that is 250 crowns with no damage apart from the neck, and after tax, you will be receiving 230 crowns. Which means through the whole hunt, you have earned 367 crowns which is considered a very successful hunt for your rank.」
"Let's just go find the main monster." He muttered as he stored both the core and body into the ring. "I need a Stoneback Gnawler to rank up."
He wiped sweat from his forehead and continued deeper into the ruined city.
Each step awakened new danger in his nerves making his grip tightened around the sword.
After walking past one or two narrow alleys, he heard something strange ahead… the sound of something heavy struggling.
He slowed then edged toward the sound as he peeked around the corner…
His throat dropped.
There, jammed awkwardly between two collapsed walls, was a Stoneback Gnawler… it's huge, turtle-like body with steel-colored plates and a massive jaw snapping uselessly at the air.
It writhed, trying to free itself, but the rubble held it tight, pinning it in place.
"GRRRRAAAARRKKKK!!!"
It was stuck…
「I believe this is what is called Plot armor」