Sunny pulled his boot out of the ribcage of a Needle-Rat. The ground was slick with black blood and scattered quills.
"Fifty-two," Sunny panted, wiping sweat and grime from his forehead. "Fifty-two rats. That's a genocide."
He looked at his pets. They looked like shit.
Nova, the Molten Sprite, was barely glowing. His bright orange magma skin had dulled to a dark, crusty red. He was sitting on a charred stump, wheezing, little puffs of gray smoke escaping his mouth with every breath.
The Obsidian Spike-Stag wasn't doing much better. Its beautiful black shell was scratched to hell, and one of its legs was bent at a weird angle.
"You guys look pathetic," Sunny grinned, though his own chest was heaving. "But you did good."
[Ding!]
[Experience Threshold Reached!]
[Pet 'Nova' Level Up!]
[Level 4 -> Level 5]
[Level 5 -> Level 6]
[Mana Capacity Increased. Heat Aura Range Increased.]
[Pet 'Obsidian Spike-Stag' Level Up!]
[Level 4 -> Level 5]
[Level 5 -> Level 6]
[Agility +2. Horn Density Increased.]
A golden light enveloped the two exhausted monsters.
Nova stood up. The crust on his skin cracked and fell away, revealing fresh, blindingly hot magma underneath. His flames roared back to life, taller and angrier than before.
The Beetle shivered. Its bent leg snapped back into place with a sickening crunch as the System healed it. Its shell darkened, absorbing the moonlight, becoming even more like a stealth bomber.
"That's what I like to see," Sunny clenched his fist. "The grind pays off."
But the celebration was short-lived. The ground shook.
Sunny's smile vanished.
From the ruins of the largest barn at the edge of the village, a shadow emerged. It tore through the wooden walls like they were made of paper.
It was a rat. But calling it a rat was like calling a tank a bicycle.
It was the size of a minivan. Its fur was a matted mess of grey and black. But the most terrifying part was its back. It was covered in long, metallic spikes that looked like spears.
Its tail was a whip tipped with a bone blade.
[System Warning: Boss Class Enemy Detected!]
[Monster: Mutated Needle-King]
[Rank: Tier 2 (Low)]
[Status: Enraged]
[Abilities: [Spike Volley], [Tail Whip], [Frenzy]]
"A King," Sunny whispered, his eyes locking onto the beast.
A Tier 2 Boss after fighting a horde for two hours? That was suicide.
He looked at the Needle-King's metallic spikes. He looked at his Obsidian Spike-Stag.
[System Analysis]
[Target: Mutated Needle-King Corpse (Potential)]
[Fusion Target: Obsidian Spike-Stag]
[Compatibility: 92% (Excellent)]
[Projected Result: Ranged/Melee Hybrid Upgrade.]
"Ninety-two percent," Sunny licked his lips. A greedy, feral hunger rose in his gut.
His beetle had one weakness: it had to get close to kill. If he fused it with this King... he could give his assassin a sniper rifle.
"I want it," Sunny growled. "I want that body."
The Needle-King roared, exposing yellow teeth the size of daggers. It saw the piles of its dead children. It saw Sunny.
The King arched its back. The muscles rippled.
"DODGE!" Sunny screamed.
SWISH-SWISH-SWISH!
Three massive spikes shot from the King's back like ballista bolts. They tore through the air faster than arrows.
Sunny dove to the right.
One spike hit the tree behind him. The tree trunk shattered, exploding into splinters.
"Holy shit," Sunny scrambled to his feet. "That's kinetic force comparable to a gunshot."
Nova and the Beetle had dodged too, thanks to their level-up refresh.
"Plan B!" Sunny shouted. "Nova, suppress it with fire! Blind it! Beetle, wait for an opening! Do not get hit by that tail!"
Nova didn't need to be told twice.
"GRAAAH!"
The Molten Sprite waddled forward, glowing like a miniature sun.
[Skill: Eruption!]
Nova opened his mouth and sprayed a continuous stream of lava.
The lava arc hit the King's flank.
The King shrieked as its fur caught fire. But this was a Tier 2 monster. It shook its massive body, flinging burning fur everywhere.
It turned its red eyes on Nova.
It spun around, whipping its tail.
The bone-blade tail sliced horizontally, aiming to cut Nova in half. Nova was slow. He couldn't dodge.
"Magma Armor!" Sunny commanded.
[Skill: Magma Armor Activated.]
Nova's outer layer hardened instantly into black obsidian rock.
The tail hit Nova. The impact sent the little fire elemental flying twenty meters into a pile of hay.
"Nova!" Sunny yelled.
Nova popped out of the hay, shaking his head. A crack had appeared on his chest, but he was alive. Angry, but alive.
"He tanked it," Sunny realized. "Level 6 makes a difference."
The King was distracted by Nova.
"Now! Beetle! Go for the eyes!"
It slammed into the King's face.
The King flinched, closing its eyes just in time. The Beetle's horn skidded off the King's armored eyelid, leaving a deep gouge.
The King roared in frustration. It couldn't hit the tiny, fast fly, and the fire-boy was too far away. It looked at the third target. The human.
"Oh, fuck me," Sunny muttered as the massive rat turned toward him.
It trampled the ground, closing the distance in seconds.
Sunny stood his ground. He only had his [Chimera Lord] body.
Strength 12. Endurance 10. [Chitinous Skin].
"Let's test this upgrade," Sunny gritted his teeth, planting his feet.
As the King lunged to bite him in half, Sunny dropped to his knees and slid forward, under the gaping maw.
He pulled his Balanced Iron Shiv.
"Gut him!"
Sunny dragged the blade along the King's soft underbelly.
The skin was tough, like old leather, but Sunny's strength forced the blade through. Black blood rained down on him.
"ROAR!"
The King bucked, kicking Sunny in the chest.
Sunny flew backward, skidding through the mud.
[HP: 75/120]
Sunny coughed, tasting iron. "Ribs intact. Nice."
The King was bleeding from its stomach, but it was still standing. It was frenzied now. Its eyes were glowing neon red. It prepared another volley of spikes. All of them.
"It's going to nuke the area!" Sunny realized. "Cover!"
Nova crawled out of the hay pile. He was glowing white-hot. He looked at the rat that had slapped him.
The Beetle hovered above the King, vibrating so hard it hummed.
"They want to kill it," Sunny realized. The Soul Link was transmitting pure aggression.
"Fine!" Sunny wiped the blood from his mouth. "Do it! Combined attack!"
"Nova! Aim for the wound on the belly! Cauterize it!"
"Beetle! Sonic Dive! Aim for the spine!"
Nova unleashed everything. He didn't spit lava. He threw himself. The Molten Sprite jumped, turning into a living fireball.
He slammed right into the open wound Sunny had made on the King's stomach.
The King screamed. Having a magma elemental inside your stomach wound was agonizing.
The King reared up on its hind legs, exposing its back.
"DROP THE HAMMER!" Sunny roared.
The Obsidian Spike-Stag was already diving. It came down from fifty meters up.
It hit the King's spine, right between the shoulder blades.
The sound was sickeningly loud. The massive beast collapsed, twitching. Its spikes rattled uselessly.
Nova crawled out from under the beast, covered in burnt rat blood, looking extremely pleased with himself. The Beetle sat on the King's head, chittering.
[Ding!]
[Boss Defeated: Mutated Needle-King]
[EXP + 800]
[Level Up!]
[Sunny is now Level 7.]
Sunny limped over to the corpse. He was covered in mud and blood, his chest ached, and he was exhausted. But he looked at the massive, spike-covered body of the King.
"Beautiful," Sunny whispered.
He placed his hand on the corpse.
"System," he commanded, his voice trembling with anticipation. "Store it. Don't waste a single drop of blood."
[Item Stored: Mutated Needle-King Corpse (Rare)]
"Fusion Level 2 is unlocked," Sunny grinned, a manic light in his eyes. "Beetle, you're getting an upgrade."
He looked at the horizon. The sun was starting to rise.
"But first," Sunny kicked a dead rat. "I need to loot these fifty trash mobs. I'm going to be rich."
He pulled out his knife. The villagers were starting to peek out of their houses, looking at the boy standing amidst the carnage like a god of death.
"What are you looking at?" Sunny snapped at a farmer. "This is Academy business. Go back to sleep."