Chapter 40: Bloodlust part 1

Just then Zoe dropped to her feet. "I can't hold it up anymore, the wall is going to break anytime now".

"What?" Liam shouted. "Can't you hold it a little longer?"

"Come on don't be insensitive!" Emily snapped at him, she rushed to Zoe. "It's okay, you've tried, let it drop".

"Oh we're so toast". Liam moaned.

We all waited with baited breaths as the air wall became weaker, Zoe's magic was waning as the exhaustion took over her body.

I wondered if we would be able to kill all the beasts or they would overwhelm us like they did the mages of Garlem.

Zoe's magic finally gave out and the air wall disappeared.

The snakes realized the wall was gone and began to slither towards us.

Hissss! Hisss!! Hissssss!!!

Multiple hissing sounds could be heard as several snakes suddenly began to advance at us.

"Okay, we can do this guys, we can kill then all". Liam said in an unsteady voice. "All we have to do is stick together".

"There's no need to lie". Zoe said quietly and our heads snapped to face her.

"She's right". Aaron said grimly. "We're outnumbered and tired, plus they have to home advantage".

He wiped off the sweat from his forehead. "I hate to be a pessimist but I don't see us winning this".

"You mean you don't see us coming out alive". I replied, he shrugged.

The snakes were now close to us, by some good luck, our backs were facing a steep hill so the snakes couldn't surround us completely, instead they formed a semicircle around us.

I coated my knives in mana, surely the system would not let me die, or even if I did, it wouldn't be an easy one.

[Multiple enemy attack detected]

[Initiating battle mode]

[Initiating bloodlust]

I stared at the screen, what was bloodlust?

Then I remembered the last time I fought multiple beast monsters, I had fallen into a frenzy and killed over twenty beasts without even knowing it.

Was that bloodlust?

I stroked my chin, could it be that the bloodlust was activated during the fight then too and I was just too preoccupied to notice, that seemed like the best answer.

As the serpents drew near, I suddenly felt adrenaline course through my body, my vision seemed to brighten and I could see the snakes in better clarity.

All thought left my mind and only the desire to sink my blades into the scales of the serpents remained in me.

"Leave them for me". I said to the others and ran to the beast. I wasn't in danger, it was the other way round, they were in danger. I was the predator and they were the prey.

You're not the predator, the system is. The voice in my head corrected me. You're as much a prey as they are.

I smiled. "Well, my fellow prey are about to be slaughtered like chickens". I said aloud.

I didn't stop running till I reached the first serpent, it lunged at me but I moved out of the way in time and drove my knife at its side.

The snake twisted out of the way and avoided the knife, it seemed to look at me smugly as if it was gloating .

It lunged at me again and I moved out of the way, i feigned like I was I aiming for its side but changed my course at the last minute and aimed for its head.

The snake moved its head out of the way just in time and moved back.

We were engaged in a dance, our steps and movements complemented each other as we teased each other.

I pulled back and watched the serpent, it had been much easier to kill the beast monsters back home but this one was much stronger, much smarter, and much more calculating than them.

I could see the intelligence in its eyes as it anticipated my moves and then reacted based on it. It was also studying me for any weak points so it could launch its attacks.

I laughed and it sounded hollow in my ears, the snake still thought I was a normal mage, with normal weaknesses, it didn't know I had a bloodthirsty system that overpowered me in fights.

I clenched my knives tighter and rushed at it, the snake anticipated my attacks and dodged, twisting its body with impressive control. I didn't stop my attacks, I kept relentlessly stabbing at it, trying to catch it off guard.

I suddenly flipped my knife in my hand and flung it at the snake. The knife was coated with mana so it flew through the air at a great speed, the snake saw it and managed to move out of the way in time, however I was there waiting for it.

I sunk my knife into its sides and twisted it.

Hissss!!

The snake hissed and writhed in the air, I wasn't done though, I pulled out the knife and drove it in again and again there were at least six bleeding wounds in its side.

The snake was on the ground by now and as I raised my knife to finish the job, another snake leaped at me.

I ducked and rolled on the ground. I drove my knife into its side too, it hissed and collapsed on top of me.

"Levi!" Emily cried as she watched the snake collapse on me, she assumed I had been crushed under its weight.

Trapper beneath the now motionless snake, I dug my knife into its body furiously carving a large hole in its belly. S~eaʀᴄh the Nôvelƒire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

[1 beast monster killed]

I reinforced it with mana so it would cut faster, soon I had cut through its belly, the snake's intestines fell on me but I pushed them away and made started to make a hole in its back too.

Crackkk!

I heard a loud crack and the ground split beneath me and the snake, I fell inside the pit but the snake was upheld by its other ends.

From the small light in the pit I could see Liam's face and he was grinning.