With a skillful landing Marcus arrived on a large rock, a broken piece of the looming cliff. About twenty meters ahead moved one of the largest monsters he had ever dared to engage alone. It had a large, heavy body like a rhino with a shoulder height of three meters and six legs ending in thick hooves. The head was also uncharacteristically large, but most of it was a giant maw that looked strong enough to grind granite slabs for breakfast.

The whole monster was clad in thick natural armor, reminding Marcus of an armadillo from Earth. It looked heavy, maybe 20 tons? It felt heavy, Marcus thought as the thing slowly stomped through the rocky surroundings. Even from this distance Marcus could feel light tremors every time one of the massive hooves hit the ground.

Under no circumstances can you get under those hooves. No regeneration in the world will allow you to survive that.

Oh, is that one of your insightful comments? Don't get stepped on?

Are you salty?

So what, you treat me like an idiot then I can be salty like one.

Alright, we will talk about the future, but only after you survive this. I have a bad feeling about this monster, something is off.

Pleased by Xeen's offer Marcus agreed this monster felt extremely dangerous. But waiting around wouldn't get him any results, Marcus burst jumped into the rear arc of the monster. With its size and general body structure it would have problems turning quickly, that was the theory. Marcus landed and directly delivered an Impulse Hammer into one of the hind legs. He used full power and the beast roared and started to turn.

Marcus repeated the trick two more times, circling around the monster while it turned. After the third attack Marcus realized this wasn't working. Impulse Hammer wasn't powerful enough to cause enough damage in such a gigantic body and he also couldn't throw the thing around as he did with smaller enemies. He needed to hit the head to cause serious damage. Still, that was only a matter of time and tactics, as he had predicted the monster was too large and slow to catch him.

Marcus hadn't finished that thought when the tremendous body of the beast suddenly started to fly, leaving the ground without any signs of resistance and quickly gaining height. The view was so utterly stupefying that Marcus just stood there for a second and gawked at it.

MARCUS! Xeen's shout brought him back to reality and he used Burst to change his position.

One second later the monster dropped to the ground at his previous location and caused a minor earthquake. The ground deformed and split, rocks cracked and the local wildlife started to flee the area. Marcus held on to a nearby rock and tried to get his rising terror under control. How is something this big flying?

Stupid question, it is a monster! How can some frameworks fly?

Xeen quickly helped Marcus to understand what was happening. The Icarus class could fly without the use of force, and humanity had no idea how it worked, so why not a monster? Marcus started to move and the monster rose up into the air again, preparing another 20 ton press from hell. Marcus used the rocks and his Burst jumps to stay mobile but the area quickly became desolate. Even large boulders were crushed under the massive hooves of the thing and Marcus started to realize how incredibly tough that monster was.

He continued his cat and mouse game and formulated a plan in his head. The enemy had some glaring weak points. It couldn't see well when it was floating, it could only move in straight lines and after it landed it needed a moment before it could fly again. Marcus had a plan, but to take the thing down he would have to risk hurting himself.

Marcus started to compress red energy into a small ball and avoided the next attack with relative ease. The impact of the monster made the world shake, but he compensated for it and the moment he had steady footing again Marcus Burst jumped towards the left shoulder of the monster. He tried to hold on to the rugged hide, but his enemy moved a lot more than he had expected. Marcus cursed as he lost his grip, falling down towards the deadly hooves. In the fall he pushed off the massive leg in front of him using Burst and created some distance to the monster.

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Instead of trampling him, the beast moved up once again, giving Marcus some time to get back on his feet. Wrong. As he pushed himself up, the giant body accelerated in mid air and moved directly towards Marcus. In a panic move Marcus pumped Impulse Hammer through his hands and added the prepared compressed energy to it. The blast threw him nearly twenty meters through the air and he collided with the base of the cliff.

Marcus' whole body was aching from the massive boost and the painful impact, but he had no time to rest. The thing was already in the air again, and once more it directly charged at Marcus. Desperate, he pushed his feet into the ground and Burst charged under the colossal beast, avoiding a future as a red smear. After a rough landing Marcus came up again, still aching from his wounds, only to see the monster rise again.

That motherfucker! His enemy had hidden its true strength, Marcus realized. The monster could not only move much faster than he had thought, it was also able to move diagonally. All Marcus could do right now was avoid, he did not even have the time to attack. Impact after impact the landscape changed into a moon surface, while Marcus upgraded his plan. He started to run in a large circle and compressed red energy once again. His breath was still steady and while he had some close calls his overall resources were actually recovering.

Good, keep calm and analyze yourself and the enemy. Your idea is reckless, but it might work, with a bit of luck.

I hope so, because I am running out of options, Marcus thought.

Marcus increased his speed until he was sprinting in a circle. The monster flew high up and started its next attack. By that time Marcus had already moved out of the way, and because he was running in a circle his enemy actually showed his flanks to him. With a prayer on his lips, Marcus Burst jumped, intercepting the path of the beast with both arms stretched in front of him. Luck was on his side and the timing was good. Marcus collided with the massive body in the air and he unloaded a double Impulse Hammer together with a large amount of compressed energy. The knock back was devastating and Marcus felt his arms break and his body accelerate towards the distant tree line.

His speed and weight caused Marcus to shatter several trees, and finally he hit the comparably soft forest ground a moment later. Gritting his teeth through the screaming pain in his body he listened to signs of another attack. The battlefield stayed silent. Second after second his body reconstructed and Marcus slowly crawled out of his self made crater and towards the desolate moon surface.

The mighty monster was lying on the side, its thick legs lifeless and still. Carefully Marcus rotated around the beast inspecting the corpse. Blood dripped out of the maw and its large black eyes. His intuition had been right, Marcus decided. The monster needed its massive legs to absorb the impact of the heavy drops. When Marcus intercepted it mid air and pushed it over, it landed on its side and its own weight and speed crushed it to death.

Great work Marcus. From planning to execution.

Thank you Xeen.

"How did it feel to fight the Huba?" Shen was suddenly behind Marcus and patted his back. Huba? Really? "Dangerous, but more than that annoying," Marcus said honestly. Shen smiled and said, "Now you know how your enemies feel." Marcus had to blink twice before he realized what the ginghi meant. Big, tough, slow, linear but devastatingly powerful, it fitted the monster and Marcus at the same time.

He took a deep breath. "So this was a lesson?" Marcus said, but Shen was shaking his head, "I was looking for this monster, you learning something from the fight was a nice extra. To be honest, I didn't expect you would be able to beat it. Your new ability is still very rough, but its power is significant." Shen praised Marcus and he felt good about it.

Afterwards Marcus watched in awe how Shen carved the giant body up, using its own blood. First he drew out a massive amount of blood, like it was nothing. Then the blood formed into giant tools, blades, forks and hooks. The blades seemed to be wicked sharp as they sliced through the body like butter. A few minutes later Shen retrieved a few mangled organs.

"Not too bad, I think the amount will be enough," Shen said, and put them into a large sack he had been carrying on his back. Marcus looked at the giant Monster and said, "Such a dangerous monster so close to the city. Is this the reason why you have the giant walls?" Shen furrowed his brows and looked at Marcus.

"No, that is in case a Flood happens." And taking Marcus' expression as a hint he continued, "Do you not know what a Monster Flood is?" Marcus wasn't sure, "When monsters come through portals we call it an invasion or incursion, depending on the amount." Shen squinted his eyes. "Has Earth never seen a Monster Flood?… In some cases a large portal opens on a world with a high monster density and a stampede of monsters rushes into the less occupied new land behind the portal. That is a Monster Flood. It is a major catastrophe," he said, and Marcus imagined a horde of monsters spanning the whole horizon.

"We had some dangerous monster attacks before, but nothing on this scale," Marcus said, and Shen nodded. "If a large Flood comes, a whole continent might be lost to the monsters. In such a case even I and all our brave warriors might not be enough to protect our city," the old man said with a thousand mile stare. "Has this happened to the ginghi?" Marcus asked with a dry mouth.

Shen nodded with a grim expression, "Yes, long before I was born the ginghi lived on another world, when a giant Flood came. Our people had to abandon nearly everything and flee. All that was left of the ginghi founded Mihr Jhel and started to rebuild." Marcus shivered and decided once he was back on Earth he had to spread this information asap.

"We are done here. It is time to go back. I want you to meet Pin and Tokk," Shen said, and started to move through the woodlands at great speed. Marcus start running again, and for a long time both of them said no word.

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