My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 14: Rank Upgrade

As Yasmin howled at the sky Kace made good on his escape. Diving into the forest he ran is if he were possessed, wrapping the setting darkness around himself as though he were wearing a cloak. The further he ran the fainter Yasmin's agonizing screams became. He almost did not dare to stop his feet.

His heart raced, pounding in his ears like a never ending drumbeat. He had never felt so alive! He wholeheartedly knew that he did not have the strength left to win against the remaining two which had forced him to flee. The issue now would be how to deal with situation when they came face to face again.

It would definitely happen especially since he planned to use the Hunters Guild as much as possible to gain information on the world and territories of monsters and animals he could hunt to make himself stronger. With a deep sigh he pushed on. Not wanting to rely on luck that they would not pursue him. Luckily neither of them specialised in tracking, even though Connor used to be the party's scout there was a big difference in abilities.

He was not concerned about being followed if he could manag to put enough distance between them. Remembering the map that he had been shown he knew that there should be a river running down the mountain if he headed more towards the peak. This river flowed into a lake partway down which was why they had not passed it on the way here. 'That should help to throw them off.' he thought as he changed his course.

It took him about twenty minutes of running before he could hear the river running. 'Just a bit more!' he thought. That was when it came into view. There had been no rain so the river was calm in its flow. Without much thought he jumped straight into it feet first. A shock ran through his entire body as the cold water engulfed him. As he dragged himself up for air he began to swim. His clothes had become heavy from absorbing the water which made the task quite difficult but he persevered. Slightly doubling back on himself he began to swim downriver.

So far there had been nothing to suggest that they had managed to follow him. Despite this the situation he found himself in was still not a good one. He had used up all of his AP during the fight and his remaining MP was at critical levels. He only now realised that these things did not just miraculously recover like they would in the video games of his past life. This revelation put a serious dampening on his mood.

As he began to grow tired he moved towards the river bank, pulling himself through the dirt to lay at the side of the river. Looking into the night sky, he could see the light from several stars shining through the canopy. He admired the view and congratulated himself on surviving as he struggled to catch his breath.

As he lay there feeling cold but too tired to move the sounds of the nocturnal inhabitants of the forest began to enter his ears. The soft sounds lulled him into a peaceful state, sending him powerlessly into a deep sleep.

*

Kace sat upright, abruptly woken by the patter of rain on his face. 'Can't believe I let that happen!' he thought, furious with himself. As his eyes adjusted he realised it was still dark, though it was at that time where the sky was getting lighter. 'It's almost sunrise.'

Picking himself off the ground he took a good look at himself. He was in a sorry state. The mud that dried into his clothes while he slept now mixed with the rain, dripping off of him.

However he now felt as though there was a nagging feeling in his brain. Focusing on his thoughts a bundle of notifications appeared.

[Notification: You have survived an outnumbered encounter with Hunters. All exp awards are doubled.]

[Notification: Hunter Slain Awarding +40 exp]

[Notification: Hunter Slain Awarding +35 exp]

[Notification: You have achieved a Heroic Feat! Would you like to advance to Captain rank Monster? Yes/No]

Kace was gobsmacked at this unexpected turn of events. He had been told by Vaskra that he was essentially a Common rank just now and that's why it had not appeared on his 'Status' yet. If he remembered correctly both Vaskra and the Orc Warlord Kharja were of the Captain rank. Wait... then what rank was Shagrat to be declared a King?

'I should ask him next time I see him.' he thought before putting it to the back of his mind.

'Yes!' he thought. Eager to grab hold of any extra power that he could.

Immediately after he thought that another notification popped up.

[You have chosen to increase your rank. Life rating will be reinforced. Please prepare yourself for the pain!]

"Wait! What's with that last bit!" he yelled out in response.

Pain began to assault ever corner of his being. From the brain inside his skull to the nerves and blood vessels throughout his body, the pain coarsed freely like a raging inferno.

"FUCK THIS SHI...!" he screamed out as writhed around in the pools of mud that were forming from the rain.

How long had passed exactly? Seconds? Minutes? Hours? He had no way of telling as struggled to cope. Then a ray of hope appeared. The pain had begun to subside. Gasping for air he felt a trickle from his ears and nose. Wiping at it he discovered his own blood. 'This could be the end of me in the future.' he thought, contemplating the consequences.

'With this much pain there had better be good gains! Status!'

*

STATUS

Name: Kace

Title: Glutton

Level: 2

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Race: Chimera (Monster)

Rank: Captain

Legendary Feats: 1

HP 180/180

AP 160/160

MP 30/30

Exp 295/300

Strength: 7

Endurance: 6

Intelligence: 6

Willpower: 8

Agility: 15

Speed: 8

Charm: 5

Luck: 3

Skills:

Racial: Basic DNA Manipulation (Passive)

Description: Having absorbed enough DNA strands into your own DNA chain has unlocked the Chimeras natural ability to alter themselves. Using accumulated DNA points you may choose only one genetic enhancement or skill from each strand per level of Mastery. Spend DNA points to rank up. Next Level: Apprentice. Current points: 10

Just think 'DNA' to activate.

Racial: Digestion (Passive)

Description: Able to eat the meat of any living thing absorbing a portion of its Experience for your own. Slight chance to trigger Assimilation.

Racial: Assimilation (Passive)

Description: A racial ability of the Chimera. When triggered randomly increases HP, AP or MP as a percentage of subjects Max Value. Slight chance to randomly gain an ability or knowledge possessed by the subject.

Racial: Chameleon (Passive)

Description: Your Chimera bloodline his awakened the ability to give a false reading of your status. Allowing you to "blend" into the world of humans with great ease.

Tracking (Active)

Cost: (None)

Description: Heightens users sense of hearing and smell allowing them to 'see' recent paths of passing lives.

Night Eye (Active)

Cost: (None)

Description: Allows user to see in the dark.

Kinetic Vision (Active)

Cost: (1 AP/ per Second)

Description: Heightens the users ability to track fast movements resulting in faster reaction speeds.

Instinct (Passive)

Cost (None)

Description: 70% chance to detect a stealth attack aimed at the user. 30% chance to automatically react to what would be a lethal blow preventing a killing strike.

Spider Thread (Active)

Cost: (3 MP)

Description: This is the innate skill of soldier level spider monsters. Able to secrete a mana enriched spider thread. Can be made tough like steel or extremely sticky. Highly versatile.

Flame Spit (Active) (New)

Cost: (5 MP)

Description: This is an innate skill of the Salamander. Using magic you turn air into flammable liquid in your left lung. The right lung sets natural gases on fire. When you breathe out the two mix in your throat to create a high temperature flame. As you breathe out magic power mixes in to greatly increase the propulsion rate. Please note that while magic will keep you from harming yourself internally a serious case of dry mouth may be inevitable.

[DNA] [Padded Feet] [Passive]

Increases Agilility by 5.

[DNA] [Mind Numb] [Active] Cost: 3 MP

Magic that causes opponents thoughts to be slightly clouded. Occasionally causing slower thought processes.

HUNTER STATUS

Name: Kace

Rank: F

Level: 2

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Race: Human

HP 140/140

AP 120/120

MP 10/10

Exp 35/200

Strength: 4

Endurance: 3

Intelligence: 3

Willpower: 3

Agility: 6

Speed: 7

Charm: 2

Luck: 2

Skills:

Tracking (Active)

Cost: (None)

Description: Heightens users sense of hearing and smell allowing them to 'see' recent paths of passing lives.

Instinct (Passive)

Cost (None)

Description: 70% chance to detect a stealth attack aimed at the user. 30% chance to automatically react to what would be a lethal blow preventing a killing strike.

*

'Hoh, so this was why there was so much pain. All of my physical and mental stats have been improved by so much!' he thought with a mad glint in his eyes. 'I wonder how many ranks there are and how powerful I could become?'

As he thought this a number of plans began to race in his mind. He could become the Emperor of all Monsters!

"Hehehe..." He let out a so sinister giggle while rubbing his hands together. 'I wonder what else would be considered a Heroic Feat then? It's clearly different to a Legendary one.'

As he was lost in his thoughts drums began to sound throughout the forest. It was coming from somewhere in the distance.

With a slap to his own face he remembered. 'A couple of days have passed since I left the cavern. I should have been back by now!' this dark thought crossed his mind as reality set in. 'Kharja has come!'

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