Awakening With the Renegade System

Chapter three: Edge of Death

As Donald fell to the ground he was lucky for the claws of the Steel Sabertooth to have missed his face by a few inches. He could feel the gust of air sweep across his face, causing his black hair to sway. Luckily for him the Steel Sabertooth had taken a big leap, going over him. Or else he would have signed his own death sentence if the creature had managed to press him to the ground.

The Steel Sabertooth landed some meters away from Donald who was still lying on the ground before turning around. It then glared at Donald before baring its fangs at him, hot steam streaming out of its nostrils.

'Damn...' Donald cursed under his breath before rolling over so that he could face the Steel Sabertooth. He then propped his hands to the ground and pushed himself up.

But he was a little too late because the Steel Sabertooth was already upon him. Obviously it couldn't just stand still and watch its prey take action. That would mean letting its food to have more chances of survival.

So it moved towards Donald this time, clawing at his face. It didn't give him any chance to dodge, its claws tearing through the air towards his face. And it would have clawed out half of Donald's face if he had not lunged sideways!

This didn't prevent Donald from been clawed though. There was the sound of sharp steel claws tearing through his shoulder, rupturing the bones within. A mad bloom of crimson liquid burst forth, spraying into the air as Donald was pushed backwards by the impact of the claws.

"Ah!" Donald let out a high-pitched scream which seemed too high to belong to a man, an immense pain spreading through his entire right shoulder which had been clawed. It was a kind of pain he had never felt before in his entire life, one which was capable of knocking him out!

And as he was sent crashing to the ground by the impact he felt his shattered bones stab madly into his torn and mangled flesh, reducing it to a bloody mash of meat.

This time he couldn't even scream loudly and let out an agonizing stifle, his eyes widening as the Steel Monster descended on him. This monstrous creature wasn't even giving him a breather at all!

"Damn you!" Donald screamed as he clenched his left fist and threw it at the Steel Monster's face, connecting with its steel skin.

There was a crisp sound permeating the atmosphere as flesh met steel. This was later followed by the sound of bones shattering, an agonizing pain spreading through Donald's broken hand.

This time he couldn't even let out a stifle, hot sweat streaming down his forehead as his heartbeat intensified. His breathing became more laboured than before, his chest caving in as his eyes bulged out of their sockets. The pain was just too much for his brain to register.

But the Steel Monster was too savage to notice any of this as it opened its stygian maw, revealing large steel fangs which glistened under the sunlight. And the next thing Donald felt was the fangs digging their way into his torso, causing hot blood to bloom out.

Suddenly there was the familiar voice of the Renegade System in his ears but it was too fleeting for him to make out anything it was actually saying.

YOU HAVE BEEN DEALT A CRITICAL DAMAGE!

YOU HAVE LOST SIX HEALTH POINTS

And then the familiar holographic screen appeared in front of him, displaying his player status.

[HOST STATUS]

NAME: JAVIER OLIVER

RACE: HUMAN

TITLE: NONE

LEVEL: 0

RANK: NONE

CLASS: NONE

RENEGADE ALIGNMENT: 0%

HEALTH POINTS: 4/10

STAMINA (SP): 10/10

MANA: ???

EXP: 0

Obviously the Steel Monster didn't see the holographic screen. So it wasn't patient enough to allow Donald to look at it for some time. And even if it had been able to see the holographic screen there was no way it would have given Donald some time to catch a breather. Why would a monster have any sense of compassion?

And because of its savage nature it pulled Donald off the ground and tossed him into the air, causing him to land several meters away from it with a loud thud.

There were more cracking sounds as Donald's back bone snapped, causing him to widen his eyes in agony. The inertia from the throw caused him to roll several times till he stopped, coughing out mouthfuls of blood.

"Ugh..." he groaned and tried standing up but his legs seemed to be somehow dangling down. They were not on a solid surface.

This caused him to narrow his eyes despite the intense pain he was feeling, turning his head weakly to look at his legs. And it was at that time he saw that he was lying close to the edge of the ruin...which actually made no sense. Except of course the ruin had been on a mountain.

Wait, mountain! Donald's eyes widened when the realization hit him. And even when all his strength was failing him he suddenly developed a newfound will.

'There is still a chance!' he thought within himself, his heart brimming with hope. He even wanted to smile but his entire body was instantly clogged up with more pain. He almost passed out trying to pain and winced.

And at that moment he heard the deep growl of the Steel Monster as it leaped towards him with so much force that the ground beneath it cracked. Obviously it was obnoxious to the fact that Donald was already lying on the edge of the mountain which the ruin was located.

Soaring through the air towards Donald, the Steel Monster had only one thought on its mind—killing the feeble prey which had only managed to annoy it more. Alas, this thought was what led to its demise because Donald had already rolled out of the way.

The Steel Monster soared right past Donald, tumbling down the edge of the mountain. And as it fell it swiped frantically at the air, growling in terror till it was consumed by the fog which lay beneath the mountain. Donald didn't even hear it crash to the ground.

'I did it...' Donald thought within himself, struggling to stand up. But then he had no strength left in him because at that moment he was already dying.

But suddenly he heard the familiar voice of the Renegade System.

YOU HAVE SLAIN A STEEL MONSTER!

YOU HAVE RECEIVED 1 EXP!

YOU HAVE AWAKENED AS A RAIDER...

The Renegade System's voice became more distant as Donald's consciousness slipped away. And the last thing he saw was darkness. Just darkness.