The First Dragon God-Chapter 100: Making Progress

The battle was fierce. Every breath Leo took felt like fire in his lungs, his body burning from exertion, but he refused to slow down.

His fists were bloodied, his knuckles scraped raw against the hardened chitin of his opponent—a towering mutant centipede, its segmented body writhing with unnatural speed, each movement accompanied by the sickening scrape of its legs against the cracked pavement.

The centipede lunged, its mandibles snapping just inches from Leo’s face. He barely dodged in time, his body twisting with instinct honed by countless battles.

Without a weapon, without his skills, it was pure, unrelenting brutality. It was his fists against the hardened shell of a creature evolved for killing.

He ducked beneath another swipe of its venom-dripping mandibles, his muscles coiled tight.

Then he struck, his fist slamming into the centipede’s side with every ounce of his strength. The impact sent a crack rippling through its armored plates, but it wasn’t enough.

The beast screeched, lashing out with its tail, catching Leo across the ribs and sending him skidding backward.

Leo coughed, tasting blood in his mouth. His vision blurred for a second, but he remained steady. He couldn’t fall now.

Around him, the battlefield was littered with the corpses of mutant creatures—jagged husks of armored beetles, twisted remains of zombie abominations, and the smoldering bodies of creatures he barely had names for.

Not far from him, Fiona and the wolves were locked in their own battles. A monstrous, mutated boar, nearly twice Fiona’s size, slammed its hooves into the ground, creating deep cracks in the pavement.

Fiona snarled, her body bleeding in several places, but her eyes remained focused, unwavering. The rest of the pack circled the beast, waiting for the moment to strike.

Leo didn’t have the time to admire them as he turned his attention back to his own battle.

The centipede coiled, its many legs scuttling as it prepared to strike again.

Leo could feel the exhaustion weighing on him, the strain in his muscles from fighting without pause. But he was aware that he can’t afford to stop.

With a sharp exhale, he rushed forward. The centipede lunged, but this time, Leo was ready.

He sidestepped, bringing his entire weight into a devastating elbow strike against the already cracked portion of its shell.

The impact sent a shockwave through his arm, but he felt the exoskeleton splintering under his force.

The centipede reeled, its movements erratic as a high-pitched screech tore from its mandibles.

Leo didn’t hesitate as he immediately leapt onto its back, and started raining punches on the back of the centipede.

Leo was aware that ordinary punches won’t do any damage to the centipede and this is why he put his full strength into each punch and made sure to keep targeting the same spot with every time.

Each punch created a loud bang every time, his fist made contact with the chitinous exoskeleton on the creature’s back as they struck with the force of a battering ram.

The punches continued to fall without fail and after an unknown amount of them, Leo gave one final punch and jumped down from the back of the centipede.

He made sure he didn’t give the centipede any time to recover and make its own attack, as he followed up with more attacks.

A right hook to its mandibles.

A left jab to its exposed underbelly.

A final, devastating uppercut to its head.

The mutant creature let out a high-pitched wail as its exoskeleton finally gave way, its skull cracking beneath the sheer force of Leo’s blow.

It collapsed to the ground, its massive body convulsing before finally going still.

Leo panted, his breath coming in shallow and ragged, his body screaming for rest as he staggered back, letting the corpse collapse at his feet.

As he tried to catch his breath, he turned his attention to the system notifications floating in his retina.

[You have acquired Level 12 Mutant Centipede Life Force!]

[Your acquired Life Force has been stored and will be allocated after you have completed your evolution.]

….

The notification first popped up after he made his first kill for the day and has continued ever since.

Leo barely acknowledged the notification as his attention was more on his exhausted body.

He looked at his hands that were trembling slightly, not from fear, but from the sheer amount of strain it had experienced for him pushing his body beyond its limits.

"I really miss Nightshade," Leo sighed, as he sat down on the carcass of the centipede he just killed.

It was during his fight against the mutant centipede that Leo finally realised just how much dependent he has been on Nightshade and its abilities.

Though, he can’t really be blamed as Nightshade is his biggest asset. With its incredible sharpness that would have easily cut through the incredibly tough chitin exoskeleton of the mutant centipede, and its collection of amazing abilities, it would be impossible for him to not be dependent on it.

"Let’s see my progress," he said as he called up his status screen.

[Name: Leo ****]

[Level: 20]

[Specie(s): Human, ****, ****]

[Class: –]

[Title: None]

______

[Strength: 34]

[Agility: 21 (+30)]

[Stamina: 33]

[Intelligence: 25]

[Mana: 135]

______

[Stat Point(s): 0]

______

[Skill(s): [Regeneration (Innate)], [Beastmaster’s Bond (Innate)], [Seismic Stomp], [Berserker’s Roar], [Ravenous Regeneration], [Predator’s Instincts].

...

[Evolution Requirements for Warden]

[Defeat enemies without using skill or weapon. (15/100)]

[Defeat An Evolved Rank creature.]

[Raise Your beast companion to the Evolved Rank.]

[Defeat An Off-worlder.]

...

"Fifteen down..." he muttered to himself, wiping the sweat from his brow. He still has a long way to go.

His gaze shifted toward Fiona. She was still locked in battle, her massive frame darting around the boar as it attempted to trample her.

Leo narrowed his eyes, pulling up the [Beastmaster’s Bond] panel.

[Bonded Beasts]

[Name:Fiona]

[Species: Mutant Wolf]

[Level: 15]

[Abilities: Enhanced Agility, Enhanced Senses, Bone Claw, Regeneration.]

Not bad. She was growing, but it wasn’t enough.

Leo clenched his fists. He had to get stronger, and so did she. His evolution requirements weren’t just about himself, they were about Fiona.

He has to make sure she’s strong enough to contribute to what’s coming and so that she can be able to stand beside him as something more than a simple beast companion.

He exhaled deeply, shaking out his tired limbs.

No time to waste.

Without hesitation, he moved to rejoin the hunt.

The coming days would be brutal. He needed to complete the first requirement as fast as possible, and at the same time, find ways to push Fiona toward her own evolution.

He didn’t know what awaited him after evolution, but he had no choice but to press forward.

Leo turned his gaze back toward the ruined streets ahead.

There were still plenty of creatures lurking in the shadows, waiting.

He could feel them.

And he was going to hunt every last one of them.

…..

The hunt was relentless.

Hours passed with the sun creeping higher in the sky as Leo tore through enemy after enemy.

His fists were raw, his knuckles split open from repeatedly striking through thick hides and hard exoskeletons.

He had fought every mutant creature he found, in the bid to meet the first requirement. Each battle pushed him further, testing his endurance, his resilience.

And with each fight, the number of his kills grew.

[Defeat enemies without using skill or weapon. (27/100)]

It wasn’t enough.

Not yet.

Leo wiped the sweat from his brow, his body screaming for rest. But he ignored it.

Visit freewebnoveℓ.com for the best novel reading exp𝒆rience.

He couldn’t stop.

Not until he had reached his goal.

One might be thinking why Leo didn’t just look for a nest containing a colony of insects, just like the fire ants, but that was exactly what he did.

He found a nest filled with a colony of mutant ants but after he made the first kill, and killed a couple more, he saw that his kills didn’t count, he knew that he shouldn’t bother himself any longer.

Leo has no idea why the kills didn’t count towards his requirements but he felt that he might be able to take a guess. And his guess is that it’s because the mutant ants is a hive mind.

He doesn’t know if this is true but he felt that it could be likely, and it was the only explanation he could come up with, as his kill number started going up after he killed a zombie and two mutant rats.

Leo decided to stop thinking about his earlier inconveniences as he turned his attention to Fiona.

He saw that they were still engaged in their own battles, fighting tirelessly against their opponents. He had no doubt that they were exhausted too, but like him, they refused to falter.

Their survival depended on their strength. On their ability to fight. To endure.

There was no room for hesitation, no space for weakness. In this new world, hesitation meant death. The creatures they faced did not know mercy, did not understand fear. They existed to hunt, to kill, to consume.

"The hunt continues."