The crocodile roared, trying to intimidate Dante while displaying its 5-star cultivation level. But it was the wrong move.
It had just marked itself as a walking prey, making Dante instinctively rush toward it.
The shattered armor wrapped around his body, and Dante shot forward like a blur, landing a heavy punch toward the beast's head. The crocodile couldn't believe such audacity. Dante's fist crashed against its hard, plated hide.
Even so, Dante didn't stop. He twisted his body and delivered a powerful kick to the crocodile's side, sending the massive creature flying. Yet the attacks didn't seem to inflict much real damage; its armor was extremely tough—tough enough to make Dante's hand bleed.
But he wouldn't stop. Just imagining the taste of the beast made his muscles tremble. He charged again, ferocious, while the creature retaliated. Its tail whipped toward Dante as it lunged forward to bite. But Dante wasn't stupid: being bitten by a crocodile was fatal, a straight path to losing a limb.
He retreated swiftly with his thin body, and the retractable claw of the armor extended. Dante slashed the crocodile's arm, allowing himself to be struck by the tail.
His body was thrown back.
Boom!
He crashed into the water, sending droplets everywhere and soaking himself. But he was still practically unharmed — and he charged forward again.
Dante rushed like a starving animal, leaping toward the crocodile and smashing a heavy punch onto its back. Using his feet, he stomped on the arm he had previously cut. He was probably so focused on killing the beast that he forgot a basic truth: to kill a crocodile, one must attack its underside, where the vital points are easier to reach.
Ssssssiiiii!
Raaw!
Ravi and Slay appeared to help. Ravi bit down on the crocodile's tail, preventing it from using it to attack, while Slay — extremely smart — began biting the beast's underside. He had no venom, but having someone puncture small holes into your stomach area is far from pleasant during a fight.
Unfortunately for the creature, its opponent was Dante.
The punches kept falling on its head without pause. The armor could withstand most strikes, but as the impacts accumulated, the crocodile's mind began to crumble. Each blow made its brain shake inside its skull. Under such immense pressure, the creature quickly died.
With the beast at his feet, Dante immediately began cutting it apart. Using a flame seed and scraps of his clothes, he lit a small fire to roast the crocodile.
Dante then stopped for a moment, feeling strangely reflective. He always managed to end up in completely insane situations for no reason at all.
For an instant, he remembered Viviane calling him a trouble magnet, and a small smile appeared on his face.
I hope I get home soon, he thought, watching the two little ones already running off after finding a rodent.
Dante then picked up the 5-star core of the beast and swallowed it boldly. Gaseous mana poured through his body, restoring his energy and reconstructing more of his arm.
This time, however, even more than he expected — it had already begun rebuilding past the forearm, even though he had lost it just before the elbow.
Thump.
His heart made a single beat before his body began heating up. Gaseous mana was considered a whole different level of energy, and even while being used for reconstruction, it still brought heavy side effects. He felt his mana threads beginning to gasify before stabilizing, his body strengthening in response. In exchange, he grew even thinner and felt his strength draining away.
Dante sat on the ground, waiting for the reactions to fade. There was no pain — only discomfort. And hunger.
Cook faster, he thought, lying down and staring at the cave's ceiling, falling into thoughts that cannot be measured in words.