The rubble shifted. Chunks of stone tumbled down with dry, cracking sounds as a silhouette slowly emerged from the smoke and wreckage. Luke crawled out, covered in dust, scratches, and dried blood. The explosion had thrown him clear of the warehouse just as the support columns gave way, bringing the entire structure down in a cascade of shattered concrete and splintered wood. The building was gone. Nothing remained but ash, smoke... and silence.

His left arm was a mess: burned, raw, and twitching slightly with every heartbeat. The skin had split in places, and his fingers felt distant, like they belonged to someone else. It wasn't pain that scared him. It was the absence of it.

The bracelet he'd earned after defeating the Orc Captain had absorbed the brunt of the blast, but it had shattered in the process. Now completely unusable, it would regenerate inside his inventory.

[Health Points (HP): 335 / 930]

Luke's eyes widened.

He hadn't realized how hard he'd been hit. Only now, with the system revealing the damage, did he understand: the energy blast had carved out a massive portion of his HP. It had been close. Way too close.

He'd taken hits from the manticore throughout the entire fight, but deep down, he knew. Most of that HP loss came from that one attack. Another one like it and he'd die.

He pulled a potion from his necklace—the last of the ones from the orc village. Drank it. Fast. He still had the 18 potions from the event chest, but if he burned through them here, then raiding the reward chest would've been meaningless. Then again, if he died, hoarding them would mean nothing.

That's when he remembered: he still had three unspent points from when he'd reached level 19. He had held onto them for emergencies.

This was an emergency.

Without hesitation, he opened the menu. But he didn't put the points into Vitality.

He chose something else.

Stats Updated: Strength: 88 -> 91 Free Points: 3 -> 0

The kukris flew back to his hands, vibrating like they could feel his anger. The flesh on his burned arm was still slowly regenerating, but Luke didn't care anymore. He was pissed. That had been too close—way too close. He had almost lost his arm. Almost lost everything.

Ahead, Charlie was still fighting. She was hurt. Exhausted. But still standing. The manticore had her pinned, crushing her arm under its claws. And even so, Charlie kept swinging with her free hand.

Behind them, the sky burned red. Smoke and fire. The Tyrannosaurus was still battling, and more fights raged across the city. Luke could hear arrows slicing through the air. Magic detonating in the streets beyond. But here, in this space, he only saw one enemy.

The manticore.

He was going to make it pay.

Charlie was buying time. She had system access. She knew Luke was still alive. She knew he would return, and that's why she fought alone. She pushed the monster back. Overloaded herself. Because if the creature attacked them both while Luke was in that state, he wouldn't have time to recover.

She had prioritized him.

I'm going to kill that thing. This is personal now.

Luke reappeared in a blur.

[Basic Dark Dash]

The blade tore through the manticore's side, and it roared in pain. Just as it screamed, dozens of arrows rained from the sky. A figure leapt from a nearby rooftop and landed with featherlike grace. Angelica. Bow already in hand.

"We handled the gorilla," she said with a smirk tugging at her lips. "But that dinosaur is tearing through the camp." She was already drawing another arrow. "You want my support, or should I go back to my beauty sleep?"

Luke smiled slightly as he ran toward the beast.

"I'd love your support."

"Perfect," she said, taking aim. "If my arrow glows when it hits the monster, run. That means it's gonna blow."

Luke sprinted toward the manticore, rage in his eyes, control in his body, blades in his hands. The tutorial was brutal. One minute, everything seemed fine. The next, you were nearly dead. But now? He was going to kill it.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"AARGH!"

The manticore charged, wild and frenzied, its roar slicing through the night like a blade. Luke didn't retreat. He advanced. Something had shifted in him. He reversed his grip on the kukris, holding the blades downward like fangs, then jumped and spun in midair. As the manticore dashed like a bolt of fury, Luke descended like a living blade.

A clean slice ripped across its back.

He staggered on landing but didn't break rhythm. He hurled both kukris. They duplicated in midair, striking the monster's wings. The manticore howled and spun to face him, tail launching like a spear.

Luke didn't hesitate.

"Now!"

Spectral chains exploded into the air, wrapping around the tail mid-flight. Charlie. Even injured, she had locked it in place, sparks bursting from the tip.

Luke jumped again. The kukris flew back into his hands, and he landed straight on the manticore's face: cutting, tearing, slicing into flesh, driving through bone.

The tail surged with energy. Luke rolled back at the last second, barely dodging the electric explosion that tore up the ground. He threw the kukris again, burying them into the creature.

Arrows began to fall like rain.

Bursts of mana detonated across the battlefield.

Angelica was unleashing a barrage of shots with absurd speed. Each arrow struck like a flash of white lightning, crashing against the manticore's hide.

Charlie attacked from behind.

[Heavy Strike]

Her sword sank deep into its back. This wasn't just teamwork. This was execution. The manticore tried to counterattack, but Charlie's chains disrupted its rhythm. Luke dashed around and slashed deeper into the monster's flank. The tail lashed again. He rolled clear.

Angelica drew back and fired a massive energy arrow. The explosion hit hard. The manticore roared in agony.

She shot an arrow straight into the sky. Ten heavy projectiles dropped like flaming meteors. She rolled backward as the beast charged her position. Mid-spin, an arrow pierced its eye—explosion. Blood sprayed. It howled.

Luke arrived from one side. Charlie from the other. Iron Fist smashed into the ribs. The manticore gasped, staggering. Sparks covered its body. The three backed off quickly. But the monster turned to Angelica, enraged. She slipped behind a pile of rubble, still firing arrows.

"I'M RIGHT HERE!" Luke yelled, drawing its attention. The creature turned toward him.

Charlie moved in behind. Spectral chains clamped around the tail again.

Luke charged—kukris in hand, Dance activated.

Slash. Cut. Spin.

The manticore attacked wildly: paws, claws, fangs. Luke deflected, spun, and weaved through its strikes like a storm. Then the creature reared up, raising both paws to crush him.

That was the opening.

Luke spun low and sliced beneath its paw, rolled out to the side. The manticore landed hard, roaring in pain. He had struck true.

A feline's paw pads are a vulnerable spot.

Angelica fired more arrows. Luke advanced, then leapt.

The manticore opened its mouth, preparing to unleash that deadly energy again—but Charlie yanked its neck with chains at the last second. The energy sphere shot off to the side, missing its mark.

Angelica jumped into the air, bow in hand. White light glowed. She fired.

The arrow struck the monster's face and exploded. A hole burst open.

Luke launched forward like an animal, leaping directly toward it. He drove one kukri into the exposed hole, burying it to the hilt. With the other, he pierced up through the underside of its jaw.

The creature roared, thrashed, tried to bite him—pushing, flailing.

But...

The speed faded.

The strength left its body.

The rage vanished.

And the manticore collapsed.

[You have slain the Lightning Manticore, Beast Captain – Lvl 27]

[An item has been added to your inventory]

*Your class [Demonic Assassin] has reached Level 20! (Class Bonus Points Acquired)*

[You have unlocked a new Class Skill]

**[Princess Charlie has reached Level 10 – Skeleton (Rank F)] (+1 bonus point to all attributes, +1 free point)**

[Princess Charlie has unlocked a new Race Skill]

Luke fell to the side, the manticore's weight partially landing on top of him.

"Damn…" he muttered.

Footsteps approached.

"Are you okay, Luke?" Angelica asked, offering her hand.

He took it, feeling exhaustion in every muscle of his body.

"You were brave."

"Thanks for helping me," he replied, out of breath.

A flame rose into the sky for a brief second. Angelica spun around sharply.

"We have to get back to camp!"

They ran together. Charlie followed in silence, sword still in hand, its blade soaked with the monster's blood. As they moved, Angelica gave her a quick glance.

"Thanks again for helping with the invasion, Charlie."

When they arrived, the sight waiting for them was chaos. Fires everywhere. Buildings in flames. At the center of camp, collapsed like a monument to the violence that had just unfolded, lay the corpse of a tyrannosaurus: dead, right in front of the hotel entrance.

Allison stood atop the beast. Her body was soaked in blood, her hair pulled back in a rough, improvised knot. Below her, Paul, Jonathan, Cecília, and others were gathering. Most of them had joined forces to take down that Captain quickly, while Angelica had run off to help Luke handle the threat in the forest.

Then the system notified... and what came next left everyone in shock.

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