"Oops, my bad!" Theryn exclaimed, shrugging.
He had cautioned Kaen to be vigilant, yet he himself was the source of the noise! The beast had woken up!
Seizing the moment, Kaen, who had already pointed his sword at the Cravenn's head, attempted a lunge. Just before the tip of his sword could touch the magical creature's head, Kaen felt a sharp pain in his ribs and lost his footing.
He flew several meters before slamming into the wall and falling into the mud.
The Cravenn was on its feet!
With a speed disproportionate to his size, it managed to block Kaen's attack and hit him with a paw, knocking him into the air.
When the monster stood up, its true form was revealed: its body was covered with long black fur and armadillo-like scales. Its arms were misshapen. The longer arm had long, sharp claws. The shorter arm had a prehensile hand much like a humanoid's, but with one less finger.
Cravenn's neck and head were the only parts not covered by hair or carapace. Its long neck was black as pitch, smooth, and slippery like a leech's body.
Upon discovering it was no longer alone in its lair, the monster roared excruciatingly in Kaen's direction. It gaped its circular mouth, revealing several rows of small, sharp teeth.
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[WARNING]
[Damage taken to the bones]
[Physical Pain Reduction activated]
[Recommended action: flee from battle]
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Although the blow would have broken the back of an unarmored human, Kaen only felt slight pain. In less than a second, he was on his feet, wiping mud from his face.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Theryn hurried to a far corner of the room, ready to help from a safe distance.
The Cravenn roared again, bent down, got on all fours, and began walking in a circle. The beast peered at Kaen from head to toe with the small blue eyes on either side of its neck that could move in all directions like a chameleon's.
As it moved, a detail of its body that had remained hidden was revealed: a long, reptilian tail as long as its body, a couple of meters long.
Kaen pointed his sword at the Cravenn in defiance. The Void activated, painting his eyes black, as well as his hands and part of his arms. The Spell Shield appeared on his forearm. Beneath it, he still held Theryn's repellent bomb.
Suddenly, the monster sensed something.
It stood still, scanning its opponent, and lowered its neck, closing its mouth. An instant later, it lunged forward, charging at Kaen with devastating speed.
Kaen released the power of the Void, offering no resistance and relying on its bloodlust. He had never felt so powerful; he felt he could defeat anyone and was not afraid to die.
The monster's neck stretched out towards Kaen and its mouth spread wide, ready to devour him. Kaen snapped to the side and the monster attempted a new attack, this time with its long arm.
Kaen somehow dodged the second attack as well. The beast's longer claw missed his neck by a few inches. After a few moments, he noticed another detail: the deformed face of a large animal, probably a bear, oozed out of the Cravenn's arm.
Recalling what Theryn had told him about how a Cravenn is born, Kaen paid attention to that detail. The original body of that beast must have been a ravenous monster with a black coat, the same color as the fur on its arms, chest, and between the scales on its back.
"It was a bear! The mana took possession of the corpse of a bear!" he thought aloud, hoping Theryn might suggest a way to defeat it.
-------------------------------------
[Magical Beast identified: Cravenn]
[Impossible to find stats]
[To identify creatures and magical items' weak points, stats and other info, you need to unlock 'Void Sight' – Cost: 6 FoM]
-------------------------------------
Kaen quickly scanned the Void System's HUD.
Before he could react, the Cravenn had launched another attack.
Claw after claw tried to strike its target, snarling and attacking like a ravenous bear.
Despite the speed of the attacks, the power of the Void allowed Kaen to dodge each one successfully. After the third dodge, Kaen rotated his arm and slashed the beast's long arm, causing a deep cut and getting covered himself in black blood.
"Buaaargh!" The Cravenn became enraged.
The beast rotated its body, feinting another frontal attack, and struck Kaen with its tail, catching him off guard.
Kaen raised his shield, blocking the blow and reducing the damage. His body was pushed several meters backward and he slid through the mud on his feet.
"The recommended action is to flee" he thought, addressing the Void System. "But you haven't considered that, even without the powers you gave me, I have always been able to fight! This is the result of hard training with my brother!"
Seized by a sudden sense of revenge, Kaen counterattacked the Cravenn with a frontal assault.
The beast blocked the sword with its jaws, ready to strike its challenger with a paw. At that moment, Kaen had an insight. With a violent blow of the Spell Shield, he struck the Cravenn's jaw, opening it slightly. Kaen turned the hilt of the sword, raising the blade and forcing the beast to gape.
"Go, boy! Go!" Theryn suddenly shouted like a cheerleader from the stands. He had never moved from his "safe place" out of fright.
Before the Cravenn could react, Kaen threw Theryn's stun bomb into its mouth.
A dull explosion rumbled in the magical beast's chest, and white smoke billowed from its mouth.
The Cravenn closed its eyes, stood on its hind legs, and backed away in a daze.
Kaen struck his opponent twice, once on each leg. With two clean cuts, he forced the Cravenn to its knees, making it fall to the ground in pain.
Kaen held his shield in front of him and aimed his sword again at the beast's head. The decisive moment had arrived. The Cravenn had no chance.
Kaen jumped, blade pointed downward, ready to finish off the enemy.
The Cravenn pulled his shorter arm out from under its body. On the palm of its humanoid hand, a small blue sphere took shape.