Capítulo 9: Relentless battle.

A worthless human body was tossed aside like a sack of bones, landing on a mountain of slimy refuse that stank up the place.

The sound of squeaks and chatter filled the air as rats stealthily moved around.

❰Left side ribs have been broken❱

〘Health: 8/10〙

❰Three minutes to restore health and heal broken ribs❱

'Damn! That attack was strong enough to damage my ribs?' Damon thought, clutching his teeth in endurance. The pain was excruciating, but Damon powered through it.

Whenever Damon got severely injured, either during a spar with Kenny or while scavenging, Kenny always gave him a strange elixir that healed his injuries in minutes. However, Kenny was absent, and there was no way to escape without being attacked from behind.

'Also, I am not leaving here without completing this quest to get my reward,' Damon thought, encouraging himself.

The rats were fast, though they lacked much strength. However, their speed made up for that. If an object traveled at a certain speed, it generated enough force to double the object's strength, increasing the impact.

Just like the rats' meaty tails.

Rising with jelly legs and struggling with his ribs at the same time, one hand held onto his abdomen while the other gripped the knife tightly.

With a determined look, Damon shouted, "Come at me, you bastards!"

Suddenly, a burst of purple flames ignited from both his hands, burning violently. Immediately, the time for Damon's ribs to heal decreased, and he felt relieved instantly, letting out a sigh.

❰Due to the activation of void energy, all your injuries have healed❱

'Amazing, this practically means void energy has healing properties. What a surprise,' Damon thought. Less than three minutes later, his entire body had healed, rejuvenating his stamina and preparing him to carry on his crusade.

The tattoo on his right hand illuminated once again in an eerie darkness of nothingness, powering him like a battery.

While this happened, a rat whipped Damon again, sending him in another direction and plummeting his sorry ass to the ground. For some reason, Damon didn't defend himself. His body froze as the tattoo did something to him.

〘-2hp〙

〘Health: 6/10〙

He stood up, seemingly regaining himself with confusion written on his face.

'What just happened?' Damon thought. However, time was of the essence, and more rats came his way.

Although Damon felt his life draining from his body due to the use of void energy, he somehow withstood it. Void energy was extremely corrosive, and Damon being able to wield it for five minutes was already a miracle.

Normally, when the energy came in contact with life, especially humans, it completely ate away their bodies, causing them to decay rapidly until they finally died. Or, in some cases like the mega rats, their bodies underwent mutation and took control of the host.

However, Damon defied that law and was even able to use the energy in combat form without dying, a fact that could shock humanity to its core.

Eventually, the dizziness subsided, and Damon regained his composure.

"I guess this is the side effect the system warned me about when using void energy. It seems to feed on my stamina, but it's really powerful to use," Damon said, deflecting a tail whip from the rat like swatting a pesky fly.

"Now, let the battle begin," confidence reflected in Damon's tone.

A rat jumped back upon seeing Damon attempt to approach, fearing the danger of the energy greater than it. But instead of cowardly abandoning the area, it curved its tail like a scorpion's stinger.

The stinger started to gather purple energy, forming a slight whirling that materialized into a crystallized spike that shot out like a bullet toward Damon.

Upon seeing the impending doom, Damon used void energy to cover his knife, which sent an intent of sharpness in the air as he slashed out, deflecting the attack.

Unfortunately, due to the rebound force of the impact, it hurled him sliding back four meters across the ground. Damon's fingers felt numb from the collision with the crystal spike, leaving a few tears in his palm, which started to heal immediately.

'Hmm, my HP did not decrease from the tears. Which concludes that it only decreases when I receive a large amount of damage,' Damon analyzed. The health feature seemed to take time to refill as he still had six HP left, which wasn't good. From the force of that attack, Damon could tell if he was hit again, the result might be fatal.

Damon jumped forward with a powerful leap, landing squarely on a rat that rustled around like a raging bull. Other rats instinctively launched crystal spikes, aiming to impale Damon, who swiftly avoided them. The rat he gripped onto got struck by a few spikes, knocking it down.

Damon jumped off the rat to avoid getting crushed, before driving his hand right through its head, ending its existence. The impact of the first crystal spike had destroyed the knife, so he had to use his hands to fight. With void energy covering his hands, Damon could manipulate it to make his hands sharp enough to pierce easily into the rats' heads, even through their skulls.

〘50exp received〙

Level up!

Level 3 [0/ 200exp]

Avoiding a crystal spike, Damon leaped once again, both arms held together, slamming down on a rat's head, shattering it along with its skull.

〘50exp received〙

Level 3 [50/ 200exp]

The hit completely destroyed the rat's head, leaving a bloody mess. To make sure, Damon bashed its head multiple times as blood splattered everywhere.

'Three more of those bastards remaining,' Damon thought, picking up three deceive stones. Gripping one tightly, Damon threw it with all his strength, creating a little explosion that drove it further in speed.

The stone itself became invisible due to the speed it traveled, only a purple light could be seen traveling at a speed no human technology could reach.

The three rats were about to shoot crystal spikes at Damon, but one of their heads exploded upon the impact of the speeding rock, sending it to rat heaven.

〘50exp received〙

Level 3 [100/ 200exp]

The horrific sight of the rat's head exploding left Damon in awe. The unintelligent brain of the rat splattered, covering the ground with a blanket of red liquid.

The sight of their brethren didn't stop the other two rats' advancement, sending shots of spikes. The spikes seemed to take a while to reload each time they were shot, this realization gave Damon the time to subdue one of them with the rock.

Damon sidestepped as a spike went past him, but he got struck by another in the shoulder.

〘-3hp〙

〘Health: 3/10〙

"Ahh, bastard," Damon exclaimed. "That attack took 3hp. Fuck, I have only three left. If it's anything like those games, that would mean I'll die if one more of those things hits me again."

The realization shocked him to the core, prompting him to survive at any cost.

Unaware, Damon was being watched from a distance.

'A human using void energy, how interesting,' a hidden observer thought.

***