“So, all along, it’s been a dog that was chasing me‽” Feng Bujue realized that and was incredibly annoyed. Furthermore, he had activated his skill. If he stopped and reverted to his normal status to initiate the combat, the Life Points that he had burned through for the past half a minute would be a complete waste.

He slunk out from his hiding place, attempting to use the fastest, cruelest method to take down the hunting hound that had tricked him for so long. As Feng Bujue slid from one cover to the next, he held the flashlight in his left hand and Mario’s wrench in his right hand. He was ready to land a one-hit ko on the dog. However, when the creature entered Feng Bujue’s sight and when the light fell on it, the man’s heart skipped a beat. He was thankful that he had activated Body Enhancement Spell beforehand.

A rush of hurried footsteps cut through the heavy, damp fog that had collected due to the overly wet air. A large, scary shadow was slinking through the fog. Its neck was proudly titled high; it had almond-shaped eyes, a flat head, and ears that were perked up. Other than that, it also had a row of white teeth that had the appearance more similar to a saw. The muscles on its body were taut and well-developed. The neck was rather narrow before widening as it moved to the rest of its impressive body. The back was short but sturdy; it was wide enough to support the four powerful legs. The overall balance of its body was optimum.

These were the symptoms of a well-trained premium hound. Of course, as a monster in Thriller Paradise, the purpose of its existence was to scare and kill, not to attend the Westminster Dog Show, so it was expected that it would possess qualities that a normal dog would not.

It was as dark as coal, and the eyes were red like they were burning. The size was impossibly large. In fact, if you compared it to a tiger, then the latter would be no bigger than a common house cat.

Its snarling jaw revealed the sharp fangs as saliva dripped out between the gap of its teeth. However, the most startling feature was that the hair around the hound’s mouth, neck, and head was shining. This lent it the appearance of the mythical hell guard dog, but unlike Cerberus, who had three heads, this only had one.

“This thing is definitely not made in nature! Probably alchemy!”

When Feng Bujue was surprised by its appearance, the hound leaped forward. The creature only needed to stand on its hind legs to reach Feng Bujue’s neck. Therefore, he did not dare dawdle. As the dog made its move, he jumped as far as he could backward to avoid the lunge by the hound.

The distance that Feng Bujue had jumped was so far that it surprised even himself. The effect brought forth by Body Enhancement Spell was far beyond his expectations. This was the first time that he had experienced owning a body that was so much better than a normal person. He was not yet used to it. After all, one needed time to get used to something like dynamic vision. Once he had enough focus, it felt as if everything before his eyes had slowed down. Even a flying mosquito passing before his eyes could be followed easily, and he felt like if he had just reached out his fingers, he would be able to pluck the mosquito out of the air quite easily.

It was a feeling not dissimilar to how Neo felt after he awakened to his power at the end of the first Matrix. When Smith attacked him for the first time, he handily dealt with the aggression. With a confused look on his face, he lowered one of his hands to deal with the attacks, proving that his ability had at least doubled what he was able to do before… So, it was natural this was something that needed getting used to.

The hound’s attack did not stop. With a howl, he leaped as far as Feng Bujue did and attempted another attack at Feng Bujue’s neck.

The sound of metal clashing echoed through the forest. Feng Bujue was toppled over by the creature, but he was not bitten because he stuck Mario’s Wrench horizontally into the hound’s jaw like a bone. The hound had a vicious bite, and its jaws were as tough as steel. The jaws were closing in on the metallic wrench. If this was a normal hound, the teeth would have chipped already.

At this extremely close distance, Feng Bujue got a closer look at his adversary, and he confirmed once more that the species of the hound was truly an unknown. The head and the fur looked like a Doberman, the body was that of Mastiffs, but the size was bigger than a lion. This was probably some composite creature made up by the system.

Feng Bujue’s strength was enhanced, too. He used his right hand to grab the wrench and hold it between the hound’s jaws, temporarily locking him in a stalemate with the monster. At the same time, his left hand let go of the flashlight and sought out the dagger that Zaroff had given him from his bag. He aimed it at the soft underbelly of his enemy and thrust as hard as he could.

Instantly, Feng Bujue was sprayed with a face full of blood. However, he knew that the battle was not yet over. Before the breath had completely disappeared from his enemy, the attack would never stop. He ignored the stain of dog’s blood and applied more force in his wrist. Carving a straight line, the dagger moved from the hound’s neck down to its abdomen. At the end of the day, the creature was a beast. After its dangerous jaws were locked down, it could not do much against a human whose joints were nimbler and who knew how to use weapon.

Before its death, the hound showcased impossible strength and left a deep teeth mark on the wrench. Thankfully, that power was still not high enough to break the equipment. The dangerous snarl eventually changed into a weakened whimper. Its blood showered on Feng Bujue before losing strength in all its limbs, collapsing to the ground. Feng Bujue quickly moved its large body, allowing it to topple to the side. The man was drained. If he did not do this, he was afraid that he might be trapped under the hound’s enormous body.

After dealing with this dangerous ’dog’, Feng Bujue immediately ended the effect of Body Enhancement Spell. In less than three minutes, he had exhausted his Life Points at two points per five seconds. On top of that, his Life Points had not been full when the battle started, so when the battle ended, his Life Points had fallen down to thirty-two. There were still at least three hours until sunrise. If this happened again, without even involvement from Zaroff, Feng Bujue would die if he ran into another similarly tenacious hunting hound or the leeches incident occurred again.

“Huh… Huh…” After deactivating the skill, Feng Bujue gasped hungrily for air. The pain, lethargy, and discomfort from his body overwhelmed him like a tsunami. It was not until then that he realized that there were side effects to using Body Enhancement Spell. This effect was not something that could be shown in the menu or via a status signifier. It was more like an overbearing fatigue from over exhaustion.

However, there was no time for Feng Bujue to rest. He had to continue on his journey. Every step that he took toward his destination would translate to moving slightly further away from the danger. His plan was one that traded space for time, so while fighting for more space, he had to try not to waste time as well. When his breath came more evenly, Feng Bujue picked up his flashlight, put away his weapons, and continued on his journey. The discomfort that he felt could not be put into words. His body was covered in the blood that sprayed out from the dog’s body. The liquid caused his clothes to be stuck to his skin, and the damp environment and warm temperature were positively torturous.

There was an impossible endurance to Feng Bujue—he could endure through most things that others would consider disgusting or insufferable. This quality provided the man with a lot of convenience in life. Other than able to survive through a long period of time on nothing else other than noodles, he could also… stay inside a cramped train cabin next to those aunties who liked to lean on other people for no reason for more than forty minutes without complaint. He could put the homemade food that his friends whipped up down his throat without a shift to his expression. In fact, he could finish the whole meal and provide the chef with his compliments. He could also not shower for a whole weekend and not change his clothes…

In conclusion, these everyday discomforts disturbed Feng Bujue to a minimal degree. Some dog’s blood was not enough to challenge his life that was not dissimilar from that of a monk. However, if the same thing happened to a less-stoic player, they would have given up already. If they could not find a water source to wash away the disgusting stuff, the possibility of them disconnecting from the game was incredibly high.

Speaking of other players, the situation of Not a Scaredy Cat and One Sword was not that good. They had also run into a hunting hound; it was basically the same as the one Feng Bujue encountered. Thankfully, there were two of them, and One Sword was technically a combat-based player. In term of combat ability, he should be more powerful than Feng Bujue without the effect of Body Enhancement Spell.

When the combat first started, One Sword made the first move. Using extremely agile movement, he used his sword to circle around the hound. However, as the battle dragged out, he was slowly cornered. He knew internally that once he was toppled over by the hound, it would be a bite at his throat, and he would die on the spot. Therefore, he could only continue to circle around the hound, using his Life Points to exchange for some small openings that he might use to attack the enemy.

This continued for a while. Not a Scaredy Cat, who retreated to the side, realized that One Sword was unable to deal with this threat alone. If he perished, she would have to continue the scenario alone, and that was something that she refused to allow happen. The active skill provided by her title, Hide-and-Seeker, was Count to Ten. It was a skill that was only useable when there was a teammate around her. Therefore, she needed to try her best not to get abandoned.

Therefore, Not a Scaredy Cat decided to temporarily abandon the disguise of weakness that she put on. She pulled out her weapon and silently approached the hound from behind.

In the battle, One Sword’s area of mobility was slowly compressed by the hound. He was forced to retreat to a tree, and the space that he could use to evade the dog’s attack was dwindling. He had an accurate assessment of the battle standard of himself and the hunting hound. If he moved at his maximum speed, he was thirty percent faster than the hound, but that was all. The difference in terms of strength more than undid that advantage, so he was unable to face the creature head on.

Such was the process of combat. How one felt at the start of combat and in the middle of combat would be different. Mere observation of the enemy would not be more accurate than actually fighting the enemy. Those who believed themselves to be absolutely stronger than the enemy before the battle started would usually be taken down immediately.

With his Stamina Points dropping and the battle slowly getting out of his control, One Sword was faced with the need to make a decision, either fight it out for a chance at victory with a great loss of his Life Points or continue this circling until he could figure out a better solution. Just as One Sword was hesitating, a scene that he could not believe happened.

The battle was close to a stone cliff, and the trees around them grew far apart from each other. The night sky above them was clear and beautiful. The stars were shining coldly, and the moon hung in the sky. They were showered by its soft, hazy glow.

Under this moonlight, a small figure leaped into the air, cutting an arc. It landed right behind the hound. Both the creature and One Sword were stunned. The former was from the imminent threat of danger and the latter was due to the sight that was shown before his eyes.

Not a Scaredy Cat was holding a large hammer in her arms and barreling down on the creature with the aura of a tigress on her prowl.