New Mission!

Jason discarded the messages as he rose his sword, facing the discolored beast.

It didn't stand too far from them, only a few arm's lengths away.

Their first fight as a complete party would now commence as the cat leaped forward, swiping its dangerous claw straight at the closest person.

The blond girl jumped back, narrowly avoiding the deadly claw. However, that wasn't the end of it as it kept going forward, releasing another fast swipe at the woman.

Dashing forward, Hugo intercepted the claw with his hammer, saving the girl from her death.

The two were in a short battle of strength before the cat went at Hugo, opening its large mouth in an attempt to bite the man's muscular arm.

Seeing this, he quickly pulled his body back, releasing a kick at its mouth which the cat easily dodged.

"HISSSS!"

The cat retreated, hopping back to where it leaped from.

The cat stayed low seemingly waiting to pounce at any moment. They all cautiously inched closer and closer, flaring out until they encircled the beast.

Jax was the first to send a magic attack, a black blur ripping through the air to the cat.

It managed to jump to the side, yet that was a great mistake. Jason jumped forward, taking advantage of the fact it was mid-air to attack.

He swung his sword in a broad arc upwards, successfully leaving a surface cut on its side. Its purple blood trickled onto the floor, releasing a pungent stench.

Hugo rushed forward. He knew the monster was fast as he readied his axe on his hip. 'It's fast... It even managed to keep it even in a battle of strength despite me being the strongest here. Can any of them really take it on solo?' Hugo thought.

A new sense of responsibility overcame him as he realized the others able to inflict a blow on it was low. He had the highest agility and strength, if he couldn't land a blow who could?

However, he was not alone. William shot to the flank of the cat, cutting off its retreat. Pinned in between the two, it started using a casual intimidation tactic of jumping and splaying its arms to the two.

"C'mon kitty..." William muttered.

Growing impatient, Hugo pulled his foot back, powering up for a dangerous kick to send to the animal.

What he failed to account for was now that it was evolved, it also had a better sense of mind and overall its functions evolved.

It leaped outwards to dodge the strong kick, only 5 meters away from Jason. The kick hit nothing but air. The cat not only displayed its strength but now its unmatchable speed.

Jason stepped forward, just to the side of the cat. Jason brought his sword back and pushed forward, jabbing his sword at the cat's hip.

Before it could connect, the cat lowered its body and tensed its muscles, leaving a visible paw imprint on the ground beneath it.

It leaped diagonally toward Jason, weaving around the blow and closing the distance between the two. Once it was in range, it flared its sharp claws and slashed Jason's leg with its claws.

Exposed and vulnerable, Jason could only watch as its claw cut through his skin and muscle with ease.

[-43 HP]

The cut was deep and it courted blood as it flowed down his trousers, another cut being made while he was caught off-guard.

[-15 HP]

Both cuts were deep, but one reached way deeper than the other dealing severely more damage than the other.

'It's so powerful! That's more than half of my HP in one attack!' Jason screamed in his head, using all the force in his legs to retreat from the feisty cat.

[Alert!]

[You are infected with ****!]

[If the virus doesn't escape your body in 25M 09S, you'll turn!]

Jason didn't have a second to read as the cat didn't let up its relentless assault on him.

Luckily, his teammates have fought before and weren't going to let him get attacked.

Hugo jumped forward, swinging his axe downwards at the unsuspecting cat. Despite him having the element of surprise and being the fastest one there, the cat still managed to evade his blow, leaping at its attacker.

Finally, the blonde man made his first move. Reaching out his pole in the cat's trajectory, the cat clashed with the pole interrupting its leap. Ducking below the pole, Hugo pulled his fist back and struck at its hip, dealing a good blow that sent the cat flying a few meters.

He managed to knock the breath out of the cat which gave Jax the perfect moment to use his spell.

When he was within a closer range, he reached out his hand, and a black orb of pure darkness was conjured and squirmed as if it was alive.

"Shoot, Dysmitheous." He chanted an odd name and the orb blasted through the air, connecting with its leg.

Although his precision wasn't great, the bullet still drilled through the leg exiting through the back. It was a severe blow and it proved effective immediately.

The cat wailed as it attempted to stand, but it couldn't. Steam could be seen flowing out of the wound, coupled with the unique purple blood that stained the fur.

"It has erosive properties. If the muscles weren't vaporized, they're eroding with every second. That leg will be gone in no time." Jax proudly stated, a smirk on his face as he pulled his weapon out.

Such a spell was surely dangerous and extremely effective and it was only reasonable for it to deplete a high amount of his mana. Two was his limit if he wanted to be in a state to fight with weapons, so he capped himself unless he needed to go above two.

In an attempt to redeem himself, Hugo swung his axe to the side, severing the disabled leg of the beast.

"Nice!" Jason yelled out praising the large man. His attack didn't stop there as he stamped his foot on its other leg, a deafening crunching sound emitted as it screamed in pain from the attack of a 26 Strength player.

A pool of blood formed from the severed leg, its other leg being deformed and caved in at a particular place.

"Kill it! C'mon!"

Jason stepped forward first, stabbing his sword right in the middle of its ribs.

Shockingly enough, It only managed to go 2 inches deep before coming to a complete halt.

'How? This is a whole fucking sword and I have nearly twenty points of strength!'

Not only was this breed by a Suljar, but it also evolved. Its muscles and bones evolved to be extremely durable as the only one capable of inflicting grave physical attacks was Hugo.

"Fuck it!" Jax said as he came only a few inches away from its lower neck.

"DYSMITHEOUS!"

As before, the black orb was manifested and it launched directly at the neck of the dangerous creature, eliminating it instantly.

The skin and muscles around it corroded until it ultimately crumbled from its body.

"Brutal. That ability is really scary." Everyone shared an identical thought. So powerful and can corrode the muscles of this sort of beast.

[Ding!]

[Mission completed!]

[Level 17 >>> 18]

[2 Stat points unallocated.]

[Evolved Suljar Breeded Cat Killed! 1000 XP]

[First Evolved Suljar Breeded Cat Kill! Bonus 2000 XP]

[Level 18 >>> 19]

[4 Stat points unallocated.]

[480/4300 XP]

[Hidden quest completed!]

[You avenged your fallen comrade, Christian Darke!]

[1000 XP!]

[1480/4300 XP]

This was meant to be a moment of happiness for the group. Not only did most of them level up twice or once, but they also managed to kill the beast without anyone getting hurt or dying.

But in this new world, was happiness really a long-term thing?

Sebastian sank to the floor and tears streamed out his eyes as he started sobbing.

"Why... WHY!" He roared out, hitting the ground in pure anger. The area around it caved in, vibrating the floor around the party as it suffered his anger.

The moment was solemn. The party consoled the man and hugged him. None of them dared to say a word and only gave their silent embrace to the man as he wept.

The only one who wasn't tending to the man was Jason as he read the most important notification. [You are infected! 23M 35S]