Rise from Zero

12

The Spotted Cave Behemoth lunged forward with a speed that completely defied its massive body weight. The swing of its front claw, coated in a thick crust of stone, sliced through the air, aiming directly for Gatot's head.

​Whoosh!

​Gatot ducked low in an extreme dodge. The wind from the claw's swipe whistled sharply over his hair, smashing into the stalagmite pillar behind him and shattering it into pieces. Without losing his momentum, Gatot thrust his body forward, launching a bare-fisted strike packed with sixteen points of strength directly into the monster's solar plexus.

​Boom!

​The sound of a dull impact echoed loudly. The Behemoth's giant frame shuddered slightly, taking two steps back. However, its rocky skin was simply too thick. Gatot's raw punch left only a tiny crack on the surface of its outer scales, while Gatot's own knuckles instantly bruised and began to bleed fresh blood.

​In the corner of the room, Gery could only press his back tightly against the cold stone wall. Both of his knees had completely given out, his eyes wide as he witnessed the absurd spectacle before him. His lips trembled violently as he murmured the words that kept spinning in his head.

​"Isn't this insane? How can... how does he have this kind of courage? He's just an E-rank hunter," Gery whispered, his voice choking in his throat.

​Gery stared straight at Gatot, who leaped once more to evade the sweep of the monster's spiked tail. The youth gripped his expensive silver armor with hands drenched in cold sweat. In his eyes, the reality he knew about the hunter world had just shattered into pieces.

​"I'm dead for sure," Gery sighed in resignation, letting his body slide slowly onto the ground littered with bones. "If I don't die by that monster, I'll definitely die by this fake E-rank hunter. It's impossible. There is no way an E-rank has that kind of stamina and speed!"

​But Gatot had no time to listen to Gery's rambling. The battle in the center of the hall was a living hell. Every second felt like a razor-thin gamble with his life. Gatot rolled to the side just as the Behemoth's giant fist slammed into the ground where he had been standing, creating a thirty-centimeter crater in the cavern floor.

​Gatot scrambled to his feet, his breath starting to come in ragged gasps. As he looked up to lock onto his target, his gaze was immediately drawn to the circular symbol above the monster's head.

​Dammit! Gatot cursed inwardly.

​The deep purplish-blue color that had previously hovered over the Behemoth's head was now slowly changing. The color was shifting into a deeply saturated, dark red, gleaming sinisterly in the darkness of the cave. The aura of magical pressure radiating from the creature surged drastically, making the atmosphere inside the room twice as heavy as before.

​It turned out this monster possessed a passive berserk ability. The more physical attacks it sustained, the higher its rage and destructive power climbed. The darkening red color was a visual indicator from the system that this creature was crawling up toward a far more lethal predator tier.

​Roar!

​The Behemoth roared thunderously, the sound waves creating a tremor that sent sharp pebbles raining down from the cavern ceiling. The creature reared up on its two hind legs, then slammed its entire body weight forward in a blind, rampaging charge.

​This was madness. How was Gatot supposed to survive against a killing machine that continuously evolved to become stronger inside an enclosed space like this?

​Gatot did not attempt to block the charge. Utilizing his agility points, which stood at fourteen, he pivoted his body to the right, using one of the large stone pillars as a natural shield.

​Crash!

​The two-meter-wide stone pillar disintegrated into small debris as it was struck by the Behemoth's stone-clad chest. Sharp fragments from the collapsing pillar flew in all directions, several of them scratching Gatot's cheek and arm, leaving thin trails of wounds that immediately bled.

​Gatot was thrown into the air by the impact's shockwave, rolling across the mounds of lycan bones. A stinging pain flared across his body, but his high vitality attribute kept his bone structure and muscles firmly intact without sustaining any significant internal injuries.

​Hiss...

​The snake scent ability inside Gatot's head suddenly detected a highly concentrated distortion of heat coming from the monster's dual jaws. The Behemoth was not relying solely on physical strength. From between its massive teeth, a kelvin-gray uap of hot steam began to spew out.

​The monster was preparing to unleash an area-of-effect attack in the form of a toxic magma breath.

​Gatot forced himself to stand up immediately, even though his head throbbed from the impact. He stared grimly at the isolated room around him. The exit was blocked by a thick stone wall, Gery had lost his will to fight in the corner of the cave, and in front of him, a high-ranking monster was ready to burn him to ash.

​There was no weapon in his hand, and no team to back him up. All that remained was a pair of injured fists and an absolute will not to die a foolish death in this disgusting place.

​Gatot took a deep breath through his nose, letting the metallic scent of monster blood retrigger the dark memories of the elves' torture. That pain, that anger, and that despair flowed back into his veins, turning into an adrenaline fuel that burned away his remaining exhaustion.

​The Behemoth began to lower its head, aiming its giant snout straight at Gatot's position, ready to vomit its burning entrails.

​Gatot straightened his back, his eyes glaring wildly at the dark red circle above the monster's head. This crazy fight was not over, and he refused to become the next prey.

​"You're going to die by my hands, you bastard!"