Defiance of the Fall

He didn’t dare make a beeline for the incursion just yet . He was afraid that there would be monsters there that he still couldn’t handle , such as the Heralds themselves . Instead , he was walking around the edges of the island while steadily making his way inland . He had been walking for roughly 30 minutes now and still hadn’t seen any monsters . He had seen some animals though . Most were the same as before the change , but some obviously had evolved from cosmic energy . For example he’s seen a squirrel as large as a golden retriever . Luckily it seemed very docile , and it immediately escaped into the tree crowns after noticing him .

Finally he heard the familiar menacing growl from ahead . Zac was afraid he had been spotted , and immediately hunkered down behind a bush . There was no charging demonling heading his way fortunately , so he crept forward again . While hiding behind a tree he finally saw the beast 30 meters in the distance . It was the same sort of demon as he had fought before , a 6 legged monstrosity of oversized muscle and maw . This one seemed a bit leaner than the first he had fought , but he couldn’t be sure . It seemed like it was lazing about in the sun in a small clearing . There was a small animal carcass next to it , so it appeared that it recently had a meal and was now resting .

Zac had made battle plans based on his first experience fighting these monsters , and now it was time to use them . He inched towards a sturdy tree that was at the end of the clearing , leaving only open field between the tree and the demon . He placed down his spear two meters away from the trunk and picked up a small rock . By now his heart was racing , his hands almost shaking from a buildup of adrenaline .

Calm down , calm down… - he whispered under his breath , nerves taut but with a glint of determination in his eyes . He had no choice , he had to push forward , for both his sake and his family’s .

With a deep steadying breath he walked in front of the tree , making him stand in full view for the demon . The demonling immediately noticed him and stood up into an aggressive posture . Wasting no time Zac immediately chucked the stone with full force , and he managed to hit its torso which elicited a pained yelp .

Clearly the taunt worked well as the demon roared and barreled toward him like a runaway train . Zac held his position until last minute before lunging two meters to the side . The demonling zoomed past him and with a tremendous force head-butted the tree .

This was essentially the same tactic he had used on the first demon . The demons were powerful but seemed quite stupid , so he surmised the same tactic would work again . Now , handy boulders wouldn’t be everywhere , but he was in a forest full of thick tree-trunks . This time he had help from being ready and having improved stats . Zac therefore managed to jump out of the way without either taking damage or falling over this time .

Knowing that time was of the essence Zac wasted no time and immediately was upon the beast . With a fierce overhead swing he severed the spine at the lower back . With his improved Strength it felt like cutting through dry wood , and he easily embedded the whole 15 cm axe head in the beast . With a tug he ripped it out of the body , and with it came a spurt of blood . He had planned on also doing the same at the neck of the beast , but the demonling was immediately woken up from the intense pain . With a pained roar it tried to turn and catch Zac with its huge maw . Luckily its maneuverability was already bad with all working legs . Now it was even slower with the two hind legs listlessly hanging backward .

Zac didn’t want to take any chances , as a nasty swipe of the beast could easily make him bleed out in minutes . With a few seconds to spare until the demonling could turn he slashed a few deep bloody gashes on its side . Both blood and viscera immediately started pooling beneath it . By now the fight was essentially over , and Zac hurriedly backed off and picked up his spear he had placed down before the fight .

He planned to poke a few holes in the monster to bleed it out faster . However , reality is often disappointing . On the first stab he only made a flesh wound before the spear started to bend rather than push in further . On the second stab the demon snapped the spear in two by moving its head with surprising alacrity . The forward momentum of the stab almost made Zac fall right into the eagerly waiting rows of teeth of the beast . Luckily , he barely managed to get out of the way with a push of his left leg which made him fall to the right of the beast . Still the beast managed to get in a swipe on his left arm which left a shallow , but long gash .