Chapter 339:A fight that was accidentally...

Chapter 339: 339:A fight that was accidentally...

The Stalker knocked the handgun from his grip. Silver brought the sword up but the creature bit down on the blade.

For a second, he stared at the Stalker in disbelief. The Cave Stalker’s teeth scraped metal and jerked its head violently, trying to pull at the sword.

Silver nearly lost his grip on the sword from the sheer force of it. He gripped with both hands.

[Primal Strength Lv2 Activated.]

His muscles tightened. Silver twisted and the blade tore free. He slashed towards it but the Cave Stalker jumped backward, the tip cutting across its muzzle.

The beast hissed as blood sprayed from the injury. He finally saw anger from it.

"Good." His voice came out breathless. "At least I’m annoying you."

The Stalker rushed him again. He stepped aside but the animal adjusted mid-charge. It was too fast, leaving him no room to avoid it normally.

He disappeared.

[Short-Step Lv2 Activated.]

Space folded and he reappeared several meters behind the creature. His body protested immediately from the strain. The previous injuries made the spatial shift harsher than usual but it worked.

The Cave Stalker skidded and Silver took that opening to attack. The blade cut across the hind leg. Insight had marked the joint as one of it’s weakpoints. Blood burst from the wound.

The Stalker spun with frightening speed, its tail slamming into Silver’s side. He staggered and the creature immediately lunged.

He blocked with the sword. Claws scraped along steel as they collided but one slipped past. It tore across his chest.

Silver stumbled backward. His shirt now had enough holes that the AP he’d spent on it felt increasingly insulting.

The Cave Stalker didn’t give him time to complain. It pressed forward. He would slash his sword and it would bite at it. Silver was left to defend, retreat or block. He has never felt so passive in a fight like now.

The narrow tunnel beyond the alcove made everything worse. He had more space than during the Ironclaw Burrower fight, but not enough to move freely.

The Cave Stalker was built for this environment but he wasn’t. His sword struck stone once and the shock ran up his wrist, he hesitated.

The beast used the opening; its head slammed into his chest. He hit the ground, the sword slipping from his hand.

The Cave Stalker jumped.

Silver’s eyes widened. He raised both arms in defence. The animal landed on him, its jaws open and weight crushing the air from his lungs.

Silver grabbed its throat.

[Primal Strength Lv2 Activated.]

The jaws stopped centimeters from his face. His arms shook holding its weight while the Stalker pushed down, saliva dripping from its teeth.

He stared directly into its pale eyes.

"You’re ugly up close."

The creature snarled as though understanding him. His strength slowly began failing.

The beast was ranks above him and already injured plus exhausted after fourteen hours of travel, this was exactly how people died.

It wasn’t because they fought something impossible but because they fought something merely stronger while tired.

Silver’s fingers started slipping. The Stalker’s jaws came closer.

He looked toward his handgun but it was too far. He turned to the sword; it was closer but still beyond reach.

He could Short-Step, maybe, but teleporting while pinned by the animal could go badly.

Space Slash was an option. Dangerous at this range but better than being eaten. Silver released one hand from the beast’s throat and its jaws dropped closer.

He concentrated.

[Space Slash Lv2 Activated.]

A thin spatial distortion formed beside the Cave Stalker’s body. Silver angled it carefully before releasing it.

The slash tore across the beast’s lower chest. The Cave Stalker screamed, its weight shifting. He shoved with everything he had and the creature rolled away.

He scrambled backward, his head throbbing. This was the first time he has never used space slash without his sword. The spatial reserves dropped noticeably but he was alive.

The Stalker stood again, blood now running from multiple wounds but it was still fighting.

Silver couldn’t help respecting it slightly.

"You’re persistent."

The creature lowered itself.

He grabbed his sword as the Stalker charged. He didn’t retreat; instead he ran forward. The animal hesitated for the smallest fraction of a second from confusion.

Silver exploited it. He slid beneath the first claw, his sword cutting toward the lower chest.

The Cave Stalker twisted and the blade entered shallowly.

He pulled back, only to notice that the creature’s injured hind leg faltered.

It was compensating.

Every turn put more weight on the opposite leg. Insight hadn’t merely shown him the weakness, the first strike had worsened it.

Silver needed one clean opening but the problem was surviving long enough to get it. The Cave Stalker disappeared into darkness again.

He swore quietly.

He activated Spatial Sense.

[Spatial Sense Lv2 Activated.]

He noticed movement farther away this time. The creature wasn’t immediately attacking, it circled.

Silver watched with his headache intensifying. The beast moved behind a stone formation, stopped and waited.

He understood what it was doing. It knew he was tired and injured, so it didn’t need to rush. Eventually he would make a mistake.

Silver deactivated Spatial Sense.

He looked down, blood from his shoulder had dripped onto his hand.

An idea came.

He remembered the system description; exceptional scent tracking and patient pursuit. The animal had probably followed his blood for hours.

He reached into the medical pouch and pulled out the old blood stained dressing he’d removed earlier. He’d forgotten to discard it.

Silver looked toward the darkness.

"Let’s see how much you trust your nose."

He slowly backed toward the opposite side of the chamber. The Cave Stalker remained unseen.

He opened the dressing. The blood was partly dried which was not ideal. He pressed it briefly against the fresh wound on his shoulder. Pain hit him as more blood soaked into it.

Silver grimaced, then threw the dressing toward a narrow gap between two rocks. It landed several meters away.

He immediately moved in the opposite direction and switched off his headlamp. Darkness swallowed everything.

Then he activated Spatial Sense.

[Spatial Sense Lv2 Activated.]

The Cave Stalker moved, slowly as it approached the blood scent.

He patiently waited as it drew closer. The animal stopped and lowered its head, investigating the dressing. Silver tightened his grip around the sword, not yet. The Stalker realized something was wrong and tts head lifted.

Silver moved.

[Short-Step Lv2 Activated.]

He appeared behind it. The Cave Stalker reacted immediately and spun but its injured hind leg slipped.

That was the opening.

He swung.

[Space Slash Lv2 Activated.]

The spatial blade crossed the damaged leg and the limb gave out. The Cave Stalker collapsed sideways.

Silver didn’t hesitate and rushed forward. The animal tried to rise, its front claws striking wildly. One caught him across the abdomen.