Predator Rising
"Damn...," he whispered, feeling cold sweat begin to run down his forehead, soaking his temples. The air around him felt heavy, almost suffocating, while adrenaline pumped through his veins.
Taking a deep breath, Dante tried to calm his mind, which was oscillating between panic and determination. He needed to think fast; every second counted. His options seemed few, but he still had that stone in his right hand—a last resort.
His eyes flicked to his arms, where two fresh bite marks darkened his skin, tearing his flesh and dripping a thread of blood that mixed with the dry earth. But he couldn't focus on the pain now.
Instead, he looked at the stone he still gripped tightly—the only object that could guarantee his survival at that moment.
He held it firm, aware that it could be his ultimate weapon.
'And I also have the Codex of Predation,' he reasoned, 'if I can drag this fight out a bit, I'll have time to absorb more stats and skills from them.'
His gaze fixed on the two-horned rabbit that stared back with small, black, piercing eyes, almost like a silent predator—a cruel opposite to the helpless prey he had imagined.
The creature tried to escape, tangled in a nearby tree, its trembling paws pressing against the rough bark. It would be the perfect prey to begin his devouring, and maybe, with luck, gain a powerful skill.
Dante barely noticed the two smaller rabbits that had bitten him. They had caught him off guard, but even if they looked cute and vulnerable, their lives were already sealed in the books now surfacing in his mind.
He refocused on the trapped rabbit, which watched him attentively, almost like an opponent studying his moves before the confrontation.
Dante's heart raced. He counted mentally, feeling his calves tense, ready to sprint.
'1... 2... 3... now!'
He exploded into motion, every muscle contracted, speed commanding his body, as if his soul was pulled by the urgency of the fight.
He slid over the beaten earth, dry leaves cracking beneath his feet, silent and calculated.
Without giving the rabbits time to react, Dante raised his arm, holding the stone above his head, aiming at the neck of the trapped rabbit—the same kind of strike the son rabbit had done to him in the past.
'One day you're the hunter, the next you're the prey,' he thought, recalling the saying he'd heard when still living on Earth.
CRACK!
The impact reverberated through his bones. The stone crushed the rabbit's head with brutal force, killing it instantly. A heavy silence fell for a moment, broken only by the faint sound of his own heartbeat.
Without pause, Dante kicked one of the approaching rabbits, while the third jumped away, quick and agile.
Fresh blood dripped from his hand, warm and sticky, but he didn't care. What mattered was the clear, urgent message only he could see.
[Vital Predation activated.]
[Absorbing attributes and skill from defeated creature...]
The ethereal screen appeared before him, bringing a cruel smile to his face.
[CODEX OF PREDATION — ABSORPTION IN PROGRESS]
Assimilated attributes:
• AGILITY +0.7
Active Skill: Silent Steps (Lv.1)
Dante smiled, a disdainful grin, feeling the new power pulsing through his veins.
He looked at the remaining rabbits, now frozen like living statues, unsure whether to attack or flee, their eyes wide, fixed on the fallen brother and then on his fierce smile.
Dante's eyes turned red, veins bulging as a grinding of teeth resonated irritably in his throat.
Without hesitation, he pulled the dead rabbit's body from the tree with brute force.
With a new impulse, he raised his arm and aimed at the base of the rabbit's horn, striking with all the strength he had.
CRACK!
The horn snapped with a dry crack. Dante dropped the body on the ground, as if discarding a worn-out tool.
The watching rabbits seemed to lose control.
They leapt at him in a wild charge filled with rage and fear.
Seeing the advance, Dante held the horn in his left hand, the stone in his right—a natural, instinctive balance.
The first rabbit charged with surprising speed, aiming directly for his throat with its curved, sharp horn.
Dante spun his body quickly and drove the horn into the attacker's neck.
CHAK!
Blood spurted, and he kicked the animal away, already ready for the next.
[Vital Predation activated.]
AGILITY +0.4
STR +0.1
A tingling electricity ran through his legs. His reflexes were sharper, more alive than ever.
A new rabbit jumped from the left side, but Dante easily dodged.
Silent Steps (Lv.1) activated, silent and lethal, guided by his mental command.
He began moving in zigzags, dancing through the bushes, his feet barely touching the ground, making almost no sound.
He used the terrain to his advantage, maneuvering around obstacles, forcing the rabbits to lose their rhythm and coordination.
He jumped to the side and stabbed with the horn, hitting the stomach of a single-horned rabbit.
[Vital Predation activated.]
AGILITY +0.5
STR +0.2
Another rabbit managed to tear his shoulder with a fierce bite as he spun to defend himself.
Dante grunted, the hot pain throbbing, but he did not hesitate.
With the stone, he smashed the attacker's head in the next moment.
Blood ran down his arm, while the intense heat of battle made his heart beat like a war drum.
Three more came together, a furious swarm.
He spun on his heels, lowered his body, dodged a vertical attack, stabbed the second in the chest with the horn, and lunged at the third with a violent movement, smashing its snout with the stone.
Attacks followed one after another, but Dante, with renewed focus and increased agility, killed the rabbits with precise, fast, and merciless strikes.
Still, he was not unscathed.
He bled from his arms and legs; small cuts and scratches marked his skin, but he remained standing, fighting against exhaustion.
[Vital Predation activated.]
AGILITY +0.6
Active Skill acquired: [Precise Jumps (Lv.1)]
A bloody smile appeared on his lips, stained by his own sweat and wounds.
"So it's like this... the more I kill, the stronger I get..." he murmured with a mix of fascination and excitement.
The two-horned rabbit, the alpha of the pack, roared—a strange and deep sound, loaded with authority and savagery.
All the others advanced at once, like a deadly swarm.
Chaos took over the forest.
Dante leapt back and to the sides, spun, crawled, knocked down the smaller ones with sure kicks, and stabbed the horn into everyone he could reach.
Precise Jumps combined with his growing agility made him almost a blur, impossible to hit.
Still, he felt teeth digging into his skin, scratches cutting his back, small wounds opening on his chest.
But he didn't stop. He couldn't stop.
It was devour or be devoured.
During a stronger blow, the stone slipped from his left hand.
Now only the horn remained.
But that was enough.
A two-horned rabbit tried to attack him from behind.
Dante spun his body, drove the horn into the attacker's throat, impaling it against a tree.
[Vital Predation activated.]
AGILITY +0.8
STR +0.2
The last two rabbits hesitated, watching Dante cautiously.
Panting, covered in blood and bites, Dante stared at them with fiery red eyes.
"Come... you're the last ones," he challenged.
The rabbits looked at each other... and slowly retreated.
They disappeared into the thick vegetation, leaving behind the deadly silence of the forest.
Dante fell to his knees, panting, the strong smell of blood and death filling the air.
The system spoke in his mind one last time:
[CODEX OF PREDATION — COMBAT ENDED]
Total absorbed:
• AGILITY: +3.0
• STR: +0.2
Active Skills:
• Silent Steps (Lv.1)
• Precise Jumps (Lv.1)
Silence returned to the forest.
But Dante knew — that forest no longer frightened him.
He had fallen into that world naked and defenseless...
And was already beginning to devour it.
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