Verdant Boa

[Primal Tracking:

Sometimes, the prey of a predator isn't always readily available. As such, the predator must use its senses and skills to track prey to hunt.

With Primal Tracking, the user fuses their instincts and aura to form a hunting sense beyond the physical, allowing them to perceive and follow the lingering imprint of movement, emotion, or energy.

The more familiar the prey, the deeper the connection, enabling pursuit across distance and concealment alike.]

Mike read through the description as he rubbed his nose violently. It felt like someone had shoved a knife up his nostrils. It didn't feel comfortable at all.

However, the gains were worth it, and his healing was already kicking in to repair whatever damage lingered.

'Unexpected, but not unwelcome.' Mike managed a small smile at the unexpected boon. Who knew that his reckless actions would bear fruit? He sure didn't.

He 'stared' at the trail in front of him which seemed to persist even with his eyes closed. He instinctively knew that it would lead him to Theresa, and if he tried, he could make the smell more potent to his senses.

'Pretty cool. Not a whole lot of uses outside its intended purpose, though. At least, I can't find any. But it will be nice to use to get around and find certain people...' A brief coldness flashed across his eyes as he thought about Namor and Agnes.

Just then, his ears twitched, and he spun while stretching out his arms.

As soon as he did, the maw of a massive snake crashed into him.

Mike was pushed back as the creature slithered at incredible speeds, smashing him through rocks and 'small' trees alike.

Due to being caught almost off guard, Mike wasn't able to brace himself fast enough. As such, he was taken for a ride.

After the seventh-or-so boulder, Mike gritted his teeth and smashed his feet into the ground, creating two long grooves in the ground and he pushed back against the raging creature.

Its charge finally slowed, and Mike growled as he strained to keep the thing in place.

Just then, his nose tingled as an acidic scent hit him, followed by his instincts going crazy.

His leg whipped upwards, catching the underside of the snake's mouth which sent its head arching back, followed by a stream of poison that shot into the air.

Mike quickly distanced himself from the snake whilst avoiding the falling droplets that sizzled whenever they came into contact with any surface.

Mike then jumped to the branch of one tree and observed his attacker.

The snake was large, nearly 15 meters long and 3 meters thick. Its body was covered in tough yet flexible verdant scales, and its eyes shone with malevolent light as it too observed him.

Mike frowned.

'This thing is different from those felines.' He thought as he looked to the side. Some ways away, several familiar bones could be seen tucked away.

'Was it their predator?' He wondered as he regarded the snake once more.

He then had a thought and pulled the map up on the HUD of his helmet.

As he thought, he was in a red dot on the map that hadn't been too far from where he had landed. Specifically, it was the territory of a creature called the Verdant Boa.

"Sigh. Look, I understand that I took your prey, and entered your territory, but I'm in a bit of a rush, so can we just let bygones be bygones?" He asked while sitting on the branch. He had no idea whether the snake understood him, but he might as well try his luck.

HISS!

He didn't need to understand snakes to know that was a resounding no.

"I see." Mike sighed again, then his gaze turned sharp.

"Guess you are my next prey." His body leaned on the branch slightly, then he pushed off it with so much force that the branch exploded into splinters.

Mike threw a punch while the snake slithered and swung its tail.

The two of them clashed, and a large shockwave erupted from the point of contact, stirring up dust and sweeping through the area.

Surprisingly, both of them seemed to be equally matched as the tail of the Boa recoiled along with Mike's arm.

As soon as Mike landed, he activated Crimson Ladder and rushed forward to meet the snake once again.

The creature had no qualms with fighting in close combat, as its body coiled like a spring before shooting forward towards Mike, jaw wide open.

Mike drew a ring in the air and sent it towards his opponent, but the Boa broke through it right away. However, it gave Mike enough time to wind up another punch as he surged forward and slammed his fist into the side of the massive creature's head.

Its entire body was thrown to the side, but not before it lashed its tail at him once more. But Mike leapt into the air and activated his aura properly. He tensed his arm as his aura condensed around his fingers.

Primal Rend.

Several large slashes of sharp aura descended on the Boa, but instead of lying there and taking it, the creature aimed its head upward and unleashed a stream of thick green poison.

The two sides met, and Mike's attack started to get corroded. However, it still had that Primal tag, so after a brief resistance, it broke through the Boa's counter and landed on its side, leaving three deep gashes that sprayed blood.

The snake hissed in pain, and Mike created another ring above himself while rotating, then he kicked off it and flew towards the Boa like a rocket, his fist clenched.

Hissing, the Boa managed to move its head out of the way before Mike crashed down on it.

The earth beneath its body shattered as Mike's fist collided with its scales which shattered under the force.

HISSSS!

The Boa let out a pained and enraged hiss, and Mike was about to continue his assault when his instincts acted up again, and he swiftly created another ring around his body while retreating.

A cloud of poison suddenly erupted from its body, and everything within a 50-meter radius died almost instantly as everything was corroded.

Mike saw his Haven Ring turning a sickly shade of green as it rapidly started to lose integrity, spurring him to leave the dense cloud of poison.

As soon as he did, the ring broke, but he wasn't able to rest as the cloud shot towards him, and within it, he could clearly see the Boa shooting at him with its jaw wide again.

Mike clicked his tongue and made claws with both hands before swinging them at the cloud, unleashing two Primal Rends before quickly moving away.

He watched as his attacks were corroded before they could deal any meaningful damage to the snake, but he simply landed on a tree and let out another pair of Primal Rends.

This scene continued and Mike jumped around from place to place, occasionally attacking the snake while it chased after him fiercely.

It left a wave of desolation in its wake, as wherever it passed, the once vibrant forest was turned into a sickly green wasteland. With such potent poison, it was doubtful that anything would be able to grow on the destroyed spots for years.

Eventually, though, Mike got bored.

'I guess that's everything it has.' He thought, feeling a bit disappointed. He'd hoped that the creature would be able to do more, but as things stood, it was already on its last legs.

It was burning through an insane amount of energy to sustain the poison cloud, and if Mike kept avoiding it like he was doing, it would soon tire itself out.

However, that seemed like an equally boring way to end things.

As such, Mike stopped retreating.

When he landed on his next tree, instead of leaping away, he leapt towards the snake.

Seeing this, the Boa was spurred on and moved faster. However, what happened next made it freeze in its tracks.

SHRILL!

A horrific presence suddenly descended on the surroundings.

The wind that had been turbulent as a result of the clashes suddenly went still, and the surrounding sounds turned muffled.

As for the cloud of poison, it was like a giant sneezed it away, the entire thing being blown apart like the gas it was.

This revealed the figure of the snake, which went from menacing to meek in an instant.

It's body couled up defensively as it stared at Mike with a mix of awe and horror.

Mike landed in front of the snake with an indifferent expression.

He stepped forward, and the Boa shifted back and trembled.

"Stay." He said simply, but it was like the decree of a higher being, causing the snake to freeze. It wanted to move, but it was like an icy hand was holding it in place, preventing it from doing anything except watch in despair as Mike raised his hand, his aura flaring.

There were no extra words. Mike simply increased the output of his aura, and in one clean motion, he swaung his arm.

Several claws of aura sliced through the neck of the Boa, and it's body went still as it's head slowly departed from the rest of its body, followed by a shower of blood.

[Ding. The Host has Leveled up.]

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