The beast's body uncoiled like a spring, launching itself through the air with terrifying speed. Its jaws gaped wide, revealing those acid-dripping fangs, and for a split second, I was paralyzed by the sheer primal terror of having several hundred pounds of muscle and rage hurtling toward my face.
Then instinct took over.
I threw myself sideways, hitting the ground hard and rolling as the beast sailed past where I'd been standing. Its claws raked the air inches from my head, close enough that I felt the displaced air ruffle my hair.
Thud.
The creature landed heavily, its paws churning up dirt and dead leaves. It spun toward me with unsettling agility for something so large, lips curling back in a snarl that exposed every one of those nightmarish teeth.
'Move! Get up!'
I scrambled to my feet, my heart hammering against my ribs like it was trying to escape. My hand was still on the saber's hilt, but I hadn't drawn it. Some part of my brain was screaming at me to run, to flee, to do anything except stand here and face this thing.
Then the translucent blue screen materialized in my peripheral vision, and text began scrolling across it.
[Beast Identified: Crimson Maw]
[Rank: Novice (Mid-tier)]
[Description: An aggressive predator native to forested regions. Crimson Maws are known for their acidic saliva, which they use to weaken prey before going in for the kill. They typically hunt in packs but will act alone if sufficiently hungry or territorial.]
[Threat Assessment: Extreme. A Novice-ranked beast can easily kill an Unranked human. Your current status makes you particularly vulnerable.]
[Known Abilities:]
[- Acid Bite: The beast's saliva contains a potent acid that can dissolve flesh and weaken armor.]
[- Enhanced Strength: Physical power significantly above human baseline.]
[- Predator's Instinct: Heightened senses and ability to track prey over long distances.]
'Novice rank? That thing is ranked and I'm not?'
Before I could fully process the information, more text appeared below.
[Beast Ranking System:]
[Beasts, like humans, are classified by rank based on their mana capacity, physical capabilities, and threat level. The rankings are:]
[Unranked Beast: Ordinary animals with no mana enhancement. Pose minimal threat to trained combatants.]
[Novice Beast: Creatures that have begun to accumulate mana, developing enhanced physical abilities and sometimes basic magical traits. Dangerous to Unranked humans.]
[Apprentice Beast: Beasts with significant mana development and refined abilities. Can threaten Expert-ranked humans in certain circumstances.]
[Expert Beast: Powerful creatures with advanced abilities and high intelligence. Require coordinated efforts from multiple Expert-ranked hunters to subdue.]
[Master Beast: Apex predators capable of devastating entire regions. Only Master-ranked combatants or higher can face them.]
[Grandmaster Beast: Legendary creatures of immense power, often considered natural disasters.]
[Note: Beasts rank up through mana accumulation, consuming other creatures, and surviving life-threatening situations. The process is slower than human advancement but more instinctive.]
The information crystallized in my mind just as the Crimson Maw lunged again, this time staying low to the ground, attempting to close the distance before I could react.
I jumped backward, my boots skidding on loose earth. The Crimson Maw's jaws snapped shut where my leg had been, and I heard the wet click of teeth meeting teeth. A glob of saliva hit the ground, and the grass where it landed immediately began to smoke and wither.
'That could have been my leg. That could have been my face.'
Fear surged through me, sharp and cold. This wasn't some game where I could respawn after dying. This was real. The pain would be real. The death would be permanent.
The beast circled to my right, forcing me to turn to keep it in view. Its eyes never left me, glowing with that eerie predatory intelligence. It was gauging me, looking for weakness, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
I needed to fight back. Standing here dodging would only delay the inevitable. Eventually, I'd make a mistake, and those jaws would find their mark.
'But I don't know how to fight. Kaine's memories are useless. He stopped training months ago, and even before that, he was mediocre at best.'
My hand tightened on the saber's hilt, and I felt the weapon respond. A pulse of warmth traveled up my arm, almost reassuring, and suddenly I remembered something from the status screen.
The Blade Born title.
Instinctive mastery. My body inherently understands how to wield the soul-bound weapon.
'Right. The system said basic forms and movements come naturally. So I just need to... trust it?'
The Crimson Maw must have sensed my moment of distraction because it charged again, this time with no feint, no hesitation. Just raw, overwhelming aggression aimed at tearing me apart.
I drew the saber.
The blade sang as it left the sheath, a clear, ringing note that cut through the morning air. Silver-blue steel flashed in the sunlight, and the moment my hand settled into the proper grip, something changed.
My stance shifted without conscious thought. My feet found the correct spacing, my weight distributed perfectly between them. The saber rose into a guard position I didn't remember learning, angled to deflect rather than meet force directly.
The Crimson Maw's claws came down in a vicious swipe aimed at my chest.
I moved.
The saber cut upward in a diagonal slash that intercepted the beast's paw mid-strike. Steel met claw with a sound like a hammer hitting an anvil, and sparks flew from the impact. The force of the blow traveled up my arms, making my shoulders ache, but the strike was deflected away from my body.
'I did that. I actually did that.'
There was no time for celebration. The beast recoiled from the deflection, momentarily off-balance, and some deeply buried combat instinct screamed at me to press the advantage.
I stepped forward and slashed horizontally, aiming for the creature's exposed flank.
The blade bit into fur and flesh, drawing a line of crimson across the Crimson Maw's side. It wasn't deep. The beast's hide was tough, more leather than skin, and my strike lacked the strength to penetrate properly. But it was a wound. First blood.
The creature howled, a sound of rage more than pain, and whirled on me with renewed fury.
'Okay. Okay, I can do this. The weapon is helping. My body knows what to do.'
But knowing the forms and actually winning a fight were two very different things.
The Crimson Maw came at me in a frenzy, claws and teeth working in concert to overwhelm my defenses. I backpedaled desperately, the saber moving in a series of blocks and parries that my conscious mind couldn't have planned. Each impact sent shockwaves through my arms. Each dodge left me a little more off-balance.
I wasn't strong enough. My endurance attribute was only eleven. My strength was twelve. Against a Novice-ranked beast with enhanced physical capabilities, I was outmatched in raw power.
Clang. Clang. Scrape.
The saber deflected a claw strike aimed at my throat. I ducked under a follow-up swipe that would have taken my head off. Spun away from a lunging bite that sprayed acid saliva across the ground where I'd been standing.
'Too fast. It's too fast. I can barely keep up.'
My breathing was already ragged, my muscles burning from the sustained exertion. Meanwhile, the Crimson Maw showed no signs of tiring. If anything, the shallow wound I'd inflicted seemed to have enraged it, making its attacks even more frenzied.
I needed to end this quickly, or I was going to lose.
The beast feinted left, then lunged right, its jaws opening wide. I brought the saber up to block, but I was too slow. The angle was wrong. The teeth were going to close around my arm and—
Time seemed to slow.
I felt the saber pulse in my grip, a surge of energy that wasn't quite mana but something similar. The blade seemed to guide my hand, adjusting my grip, tilting the angle just so.
Instead of blocking, I thrust.
The saber's point drove forward and up, threading between the Crimson Maw's open jaws and into the soft flesh of its upper palate. The blade punched through with a wet crunch, and suddenly the beast's momentum was working against it, driving the weapon deeper as it tried to complete its lunge.
The Crimson Maw's eyes went wide. Its body went rigid.
I twisted the blade and yanked it sideways, feeling the saber tear through tissue and bone. Blood, dark and thick, poured from the creature's mouth, mixing with the acidic saliva to create a noxious cocktail that splattered across the ground.
The beast staggered, its legs shaking. It tried to growl, but the sound came out as a wet gurgle. One of its legs buckled, then another.
I pulled the saber free in a spray of crimson, and the Crimson Maw collapsed onto its side. Its chest heaved once, twice, then went still.
Silence fell over the forest, broken only by my ragged breathing and the rapid hammering of my heart.
'I killed it. I actually killed it.'