A Cold-Blooded POV

Dirt flew in the air and grass was strewn from underneath the ground. The air still had its cool feel but the light breeze felt warm on Ethoss's scales.

*Whoosh!*

Ethoss swung his body, aiming to counter the unknown creature's ambush. What he had forgotten was that - most of his tail was still missing at the moment!

His nubby tail swung hard along with his body but his attack came extremely short, missing the creature entirely.

A loud growl resounded.

Seconds later, a wave of pain encompassed Ethoss's rear end. He flinched, looking behind him at his tail and found that the monster had bitten a mouthful from what was left of his tail. Ethoss jumped back a few feet - to gain some distance between the two of them.

He watched as the monster in front of him lusciously munch on a piece of his tail. Thick saliva drooped from its mouth, accompanied by Ethoss's blood from the chunk of meat that it chewed.

Seven seconds later, the beast licked its lips after finishing off the piece of tail. It then let out a long exhale. It's tongue hung out of its jaws and its mouth curved - giving it a satanic like expression.

The monster was a hairy creature. It had a large head with a long, thick, muscular neck and its front legs were longer than its back legs, giving the creature a fairly large build with a sloping back. It had a relatively short torso with lower hindquarters. Tiny black dots and stripes covered the monster's brown rough fur. The monster's eyes glowed a deep green color.

However, in terms of height, Ethoss and the monster was tied. It was obvious that the monster had an uniquely powerful set of jaws that gave it the force and might to - not only damage Ethoss's scales, but to bite directly through, taking chunks of meat from Ethoss body.

"He He He He!"

A loud cackle came from the creature. It was constant, and annoyed Ethoss. This monster looked down on him - most likely because of his missing limbs and disadvantages. The mockingly sounds only made it even more irritating to Ethoss.

Suddenly…

"He He He He!"

"He He He He!"

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"He He He He!"

Three more high-pitched cackles came from around him; Ethoss hadn't even sensed anything so close to him. Three more monsters similar to the first rushed out and surrounded him within a circular formation.

Unlike the original one, these three were much smaller in size, and didn't have stripes on their bodies - just the black dots. Each one had their mouths gaping wide open, anticipating his next move.

'It seems that call of laughter was a signal to call for the rest of his buddies…' Ethoss complained internally.

Any other monster would have probably tried to escape these monsters, however, Ethoss was too pissed to try to escape.

Seeing how this group of monster's leader stared at him made him seethe in anger; the fact that this monster looked at him as 'prey', the fact that it thought of him as weak, merely because of his missing limbs, the fact that it didn't know the difference between an apex predator and a inferior creature such as itself.

Ethoss's esophagus boiled, condensing literal flames of his rage.

As soon as he moved slightly, one of the monsters from behind him charged. Ethoss twisted his neck, releasing flames of pure hatred.

"Heargh!!"

The monster cried out in pain as it's fur lit up in flames. Instantly after seeing Ethoss's attention on one of the other creatures, another of the smaller ones rushed toward him, attempting to catch him off guard.

Again, Ethoss had already predicted this, he easily dodged it's attack, dashing to his left. Ethoss's legs were physically burning from how much mana he was sucking from the ground. Lifting his single forefront claw, ice began to crystallize over them - sharpening his already incisive claws.

With a single movement he stabbed his ice-shard claw into it's back mid-air, slamming it into to the ground underneath him. Another set of high pitch cries rang out, however, Ethoss was far from finished - this was his chance to kill off one of the smaller creatures.

Without hesitation, Ethoss didn't even allow the monster to finish its cries of pain; he instantly open his cavernous maw and locked it over the monster's entire head and face. Once he had a firm grip, Ethoss yanked with all his force, pushing off of the ground.

During this whole procedure, Ethoss never looked away from the creature's leader figure. He obsessively stared viciously at it. Seconds later, the monster's neck gave way, and the bones within its neck snapped; Ethoss pulled and pulled, snatching some meaty insides out from within the body, right along with the monster's head itself.

[You have defeated level 4 Iuvenis Dira Hyeana]

[You have gained XP]

Decapitation. Ethoss lifted his head, glaring savagely at the leader with it's pack member's head in his mouth. Small broken and snapped bones was poking out from its neck, wrung out and ripped veins hung listlessly - while blood dripped all over his legs, chest, and the ground.

The monsters around him all watched cautiously. It seemed they were shocked by his speed and strength, it was highly evident that they expected him to move sluggishly and weakly. The leader took a step back for its safety. It's eyes weren't the same as before - it no longer looked at Ethoss with the eyes of a predator viewing it's prey, now it looked as a predator encountering a monster.

Ethoss filled his jaws with strength and bit down on the blood drenched skull of the dead pack member.

*Crack!*

[You have consumed a new source of Biomass: Iuvenis Dira Hyeana, you have are awarded one Biomass]

[Basic profile of the Iuvenis Dira Hyeana unlocked]

Munch. Munch. Munch.

[You have gained one biomass]

Ethoss arrogantly ate the head of their once, previous pack member, never dropping his glare from the leader - yet also not losing his vigilance from the lesser members. He mimicked what the leader had done when it bit a chunk of his tail, blood and slimy saliva hung and fell to the ground.

Ethoss then reached his claw out, grabbing the body of the deceased monster and pulled it closer to him. As if none of the monsters were around him, he leisurely took another bite into the dead pack member provokingly.

'What are you gonna do about it?' Ethoss thought, a carnivorous smile growing slowly.

***

Monster Profile:

[Iuvenis Dira Hyeana: Juvenile Dire Hyena. A scavenging monster that more often than not prey on weak or injured monsters. These monsters are also known for feasting on remaining leftovers from other monsters. Often sighted within groups upwards to 20. Hunters that catch prey with their teeth rather than claws. Found in the Dark Plains and on the first stratum of The Elzic Dungeon]