Dustin gritted his teeth as an intense, blinding pain assaulted him. The impact of the heavy stone against his liver sent shockwaves of pure agony through his entire body. He forced himself to take a ragged breath, used all of his remaining willpower, and finally stood back up.
He gripped his steel daggers tightly just as the monkey charged.
Clang.
Dustin crossed his blades and barely managed to block the monkey's heavy downward strike. The force of the blow rattled his bones. He immediately pushed back and slashed forward, forcing the giant ape to dodge by jumping away.
Dustin quickly scanned his surroundings. The area in this part of the cavern was almost completely empty. The floor was flat and smooth. There were no big stones or thick pillars behind which he could hide. He could not use the same hit-and-run tactics he had used to kill the previous giant monkey. Silent Steps was completely useless without cover. He was entirely on his own, forced to rely strictly on his raw fighting skills and his Agility.
The fight dragged on. After another few brutal rounds of exchanging blows, both Dustin and the monkey were panting heavily. They were losing their stamina at a rapid pace. Dustin had not taken any more vital damage since that thrown rock. That projectile was a trick he had not expected, but it forced him to become even more vigilant. As the saying goes, experience is the best teacher, and pain makes sure you never forget the lesson.
The giant monkey was not looking good either. It had several deep cuts bleeding across its golden fur. Two of those wounds were huge. One was a massive gash across its left waist, and the other was a long slice down its broad back.
The pain and the drawn-out fight were making the beast impatient. It roared and kept launching wild, heavy attacks at Dustin. Dustin stayed focused. He defended against the brutal swings and managed to land a few more shallow cuts every now and then.
Even though the monkey's physical strength was immense, it possessed very low intelligence compared to Dustin. Because of that lack of intellect, the beast simply became angry and rushed its attacks. Dustin was looking at the bigger picture. He stayed calm, focused on his footwork, and patiently waited to find any openings while strictly defending his vital spots.
As time passed, both of them grew incredibly exhausted. The cuts on the monkey kept increasing, which made the beast more and more agitated. Dustin remained quiet and calculating. However, the toll on his body was severe. Even though the monkey could not land a clean punch on his body, the sheer force of its fists crashing against the sides of Dustin's daggers was doing damage. Dustin's hands had started to ache terribly, and his legs burned from constantly darting around the cavern floor.
After a few more intense rounds of fighting, the angry beast finally overextended itself. It threw a massive, looping hook that missed entirely and left its guard wide open.
Dustin did not waste this precious chance. He glanced at his system interface and saw he had less than ten Stamina points left. This was his final opportunity. He lunged forward with everything he had and swung his blade upward.
Slash.
He delivered a deep, long cut that started from the monkey's face and dragged all the way down to its thick neck. Hot blood sprayed across the stone floor.
Screech.
An intense pain assaulted the giant monkey. It screamed in absolute agony and began attacking Dustin completely blindly, throwing its massive arms around in a furious frenzy.
Dustin quickly tried to jump back to avoid the wild thrashing. He planted his foot to push off, but he stepped directly onto a loose, smooth stone.
He slipped.
Before Dustin could even manage to balance himself, gravity pulled him down to one knee. The giant monkey saw the opening and immediately brought its massive fists down like a hammer. Dustin raised his dagger to block the crushing blow, but his tired arms were moving just a fraction of a second too slow. He knew he could not make it in time.
At The Survivors Place.
A huge, angry crowd was standing near the outdoor forge where the blacksmiths made their weapons. This loud crowd mostly consisted of people who had the Civilian class or those who did not possess any active combat skills.
The chaos had started just an hour ago. The young boy who had awakened the new Swordsman sub-class had run straight back to his friends. He proudly showed them his new system screens and proved that a regular Civilian could earn a combat class through sheer hard work.
This news spread through the camp like wildfire. The entire settlement went into absolute chaos. Everyone already knew that the tutorial period had been extended and that some kind of dangerous special event was going to happen very soon. This impending threat had everyone feeling incredibly worried. The civilians and the people with non-combat classes were the most terrified of all.
It was not because they did not trust the fighters in the camp to protect them. It was simply human nature. When the world ends and monsters are at the gates, a person's own strength is the only thing they can truly trust.
Now, everyone was demanding weapons from the blacksmiths. They all wanted to train, gain new combat sub-classes, and fight for themselves.
The blacksmiths stood behind their anvils with nervous expressions. They did not want to hand over their limited supply of forged weapons to an untrained mob. However, they realized they had no choice. The crowd was growing larger and angrier by the minute. If the blacksmiths refused, these desperate people might just attack them and take all the weapons by force anyway. To make matters worse, Gareth was currently out exploring the dungeons, and Andrew was also away from the main camp at the moment. There was no leadership to control the riot.
Seeing the desperation in the eyes of the mob, the blacksmiths slowly backed away from the weapon racks and allowed the people to take what they wanted.
The moment the blacksmiths stepped aside, the huge crowd rampaged into the supply tents. Everyone wanted to get their hands on the best possible weapon before anyone else could take it. This sudden rush of greed immediately became the cause of many vicious fights. Desperate survivors started punching and shoving each other just to secure a better blade.
"Leave this sword with the fire affinity alone. I saw it first!" a tall man shouted. He cursed at another survivor who had both hands wrapped around the same hilt.
"It is mine! Let us see how you take it from me!" the other man cursed back, pulling a hidden knife from his belt.
These types of violent fights were breaking out all over the camp. The desperate scramble for power and safety quickly turned bloody, and many people were severely injured before the sun even began to set.
In a dungeon deep within the forest.
Six people were currently fighting for their lives against a massive, terrifying spider. The beast was at least six feet high and several feet long. Its entire body was covered in thick, bristly hairs, and its cluster of black eyes gave it a very eerie look.
Despite the nightmare standing in front of them, the people fighting it were completely relentless. They kept attacking the beast from all sides while carefully defending themselves from its venomous fangs. They moved with coordinated precision, never giving the monster even a single second of rest. After fighting together in the dangerous forest for the past few days, their teamwork had become incredibly solid.
Slash.
"Take this!" one of the men yelled.
He ducked under a swipe from the giant spider and swung his heavy broadsword, completely cutting off one of the monster's front legs. Thick green fluid sprayed onto the dungeon floor.
The rest of the team also kept up their relentless attacks. They threw spells and arrows from a distance to keep the beast distracted. After a few more minutes of intense fighting, the spider was severely injured. Dark fluid was pouring out from the many deep wounds across its abdomen. It was slowing down.
"Give me a hand!" one of the men shouted from the back of the group.
He was holding a long, wicked-looking black spear. He started running at full speed directly toward the screeching spider.
Hearing the command, one of the other men quickly dropped down onto one knee and kept his hands locked firmly over his other leg to create a sturdy platform.
The man with the black spear sprinted forward, stepped his heavy boot right onto the knee of his teammate, and used the momentum to jump high into the air. He soared right over the snapping jaws of the giant spider.
"Here we go!" the man roared from mid-air.
He twisted his body and threw the black spear with all of his physical strength directly toward the spider's main cluster of eyes. The heavy spear tore through the air and slammed into the spider's head with devastating force.
Boom. Boom.
Two loud, explosive sounds echoed through the cavern, coming one right after another. The black spear had dealt heavy damage two times back-to-back upon impact. The spider's head completely caved in under the massive force.
"Take my Double Thrust, you overgrown damn spider," the spearman said.
He landed smoothly on the dungeon floor and struck a very cool pose while pulling his weapon free. Behind him, the massive spider twitched its remaining legs one last time before it finally died.