26

Not wanting to draw the massive monster's attention if I didn't have to. It turned my direction slowly. It's massive round maw opening as it inhaled. The force of the air threatened to yank me free. Forcing me to dig myself in down deeper to stop myself from getting pulled in. 

Sand wasn't exactly the best foothold when being attacked like this. I pushed off the sand, and started sprinting along the shifting surface as quick as I could. I couldn't get a good foothold, and I was being sucked in slowly. My feet were getting less, and less purchase with each step. I was forced to use my high jump skill again to propel myself away as fast as I could. 

My mana was dwindling, and I had only managed to damage the beast a little. It felt as if death was chasing me. There was only so much I could do against such a large opponent. The wind suddenly let up. Flames roared only a few millimeters off of the tips of my fingers. 

A fresh sheet of glass was formed in that moment, and in the heat of the moment I was able to call upon the chill that had enveloped me before. Cooling the glass with my touch alone. All that adrenaline, and movement had heated me up, but it felt as if my fingers, and toes were frostbitten just from exuding that cold for just a moment. I trembled for a moment, but the adrenaline pushed me through the feeling. Allowing me to focus on my enemy once again. 

I turned on my heel. Looking up at the massive monster once again. More blood poured from a new wound on the other side. Cutting through the mana veins seemed to be the best way to damage this massive monster. The beast turned it's head, and looked for me. 

I wasn't moving so the creature couldn't sense me. I didn't know if it had another way of tracking me, but it's confused slow movements made me feel as if it didn't know where I was. A smile crept onto my face. If it could bleed then it could be killed. Such a simple yet horrendous fact that the world seemed to want to forget. 

It reminded me of so many places where death seemed to be forgotten. One thing this awakening had done was take away that feeling. That safe little feeling. I'd never known what it was to feel truthfully safe. That fear of losing everything to one bad decision had overshadowed all my thoughts for most of my life. 

It had caused me to pretty much shut down for the last five years. If I was completely honest with myself there were only two things keeping me alive when all this started. One was that fear of pain. That little voice at the back of your head that told you it would probably be more painful to end it all if you didn't get it right. The other was my routine. 

The rabbits needed fed everyday, and I needed money to feed them. Those two things were virtually the only thing that would get me out of the house each day. I'd never done more then dream of being anything more then the slob I saw myself as. Any form of power was beyond my reach. I was a nobody circling the end of my life as it got closer, and closer. 

Even battered, bleeding, and exhausted. I was more now then I had ever been. People relied on me, and I could see a clear path to growing strong enough not to lean on anyone. I just needed to keep this up. I shifted my grip on the hilts of the soul fangs. 

These daggers were good, but they had clear limitations. Limitations that I was starting to hit. Phasing the blades through solid flesh drained more mana then I expected. Half my reserve had disappeared in a flash, and it would only get worse as I continued to use my blades. Opening mana veins gave me far more control over my mana then I'd had to start with, but it wasn't enough. 

My mana regeneration was falling behind, and my physical body was way to weak. One hour. That was all the rest time I would give myself once I left this dungeon. I should be able to handle the first floor this time with ease since I now knew what to expect. The second floor shouldn't be a problem anymore either. 

This dungeon was going to be my experience farm. Stronger monsters were only just starting to appear. I wouldn't fall behind the curve. I couldn't allow myself to if I planned to survive. I waited until my mana regenerated before launching another attack on the massive beast before me. 

Each time I would rush in, and severe a mana vein. Using a great deal of my mana each time before drawing back, and waiting for my mana to regenerate once again. Shards of broken glass stuck up from each platform of glass I'd created for myself. I didn't know if it was doing me any good to create these platforms. The solid footing was nice, and there was always the chance that the broken glass would do some unknown amount of damage. 

I kept on working at the beast for what felt like days. My own body in shambles from all the work. A few fresh holes had been punched into me through my armor from the few times I'd gotten sucked too far into the beast's mouth to get away shot free. Blood poured from my weeping angry wounds. The system had alerted me to the toxic nature of the beast's teeth once the first one had sunk in. 

Luckily the beast's poison was magical in nature. Killing it had caused my wounds to start clotting right away. My head pounded, and at the same time it felt as if I was light headed. I could distinctly feel the loss of all that blood. The only that that had kept me standing towards the end was adrenaline.