Derek's pulse thundered in his ears as the colossal Nether Hound bore down on him, each molten step sending cracks splintering through the charred ground. The heat alone made his vision blur, but running wasn't an option; his legs were already on fire from Quickstep's repeated use.
He clenched his jaw. He really had no time to think.
The beast lunged, a furnace-hot maw snapping shut just as Derek blurred sideways. He hit the ground hard, rolling through ash, and came up firing. The Glock kicked in his grip, bullets slamming into the hound's glowing fissures.
[Damage dealt: 0.01%]
"Oh, screw you," he snarled, dumping the entire mag into its ribs.
The hound barely staggered. Instead, it reared back and exploded forward, swiping with molten claws.
Derek threw himself back, narrowly avoiding a disembowelment. His jacket sizzled from the heat.
[Warning: Prolonged exposure may result in spontaneous combustion. That's bad.]
"No shit!"
He slapped in a fresh mag and kept firing as he backpedaled, boots crunching over shattered bones. The beast pressed forward, relentless. Derek barely had time to reload before it lunged again—no chance to breathe, no time to think.
Another swipe. He dodged. Barely.
[Fatigue rising. Hope you did cardio.]
Another lunge. He Quickstepped on instinct, but his body screamed at him—muscles locking, lungs burning, the backlash from spamming his skill catching up fast.
[Stamina: 20%]
[Tip: Maybe stop running into the murder-dog's claws?]
Derek gritted his teeth and forced his body to move. This Nether Hound was too fast but it was also big, and big meant momentum. From the horizon, he could see black and orange dots approaching
More of its minions were appearing.
The Netherhound flashed above him.
It swiped, but Derek was seemingly prepared, he ducked low and emptied another mag straight into its exposed flank. This time, the impact staggered it just a little. Progress.
[Damage dealt: 1%. Keep chipping away, champ!]
The hound roared, molten energy flaring through its veins. Then it slammed its foot down.
The ground trembled and pieces of large rocks detonated sending Derek into the air.
Derek was airborne before he even realized what happened, his body flipping through heat and debris. He landed hard—too hard—skidding through the dirt as his back screamed in protest.
[HP: 45%]
[Reminder: You are not fireproof.]
Derek groaned, shoving himself upright just in time to see the hound rushing again, jaws wide to snap him in half.
" No kidding, Gimme..break"
He twisted his body out of the way but he was too slow.
Fire-hot fangs grazed his shoulder before he jammed the Glock against its snout and pulled the trigger. Point-blank mag dump.
BOOM.
The rounds detonated in the beast's face, sending it stumbling back with a furious howl. Derek scrambled to his feet, chest heaving. His arms shook, his vision swam, but he wasn't done.
[Stamina: 10%. Warning: That's dangerously close to passing out. Maybe take up knitting instead?]
The Nether Hound wasn't stopping but neither was he.
Derek charged.
The beast lunged, molten claws tearing through the air, too close, too fast.
Instead of dodging, he dropped low at the last second, slid beneath its guard, and grabbed a jagged bone shard off the ground.
One shot.
He drove it deep into the glowing fissure at its ribs, twisting with everything he had left.
" These bone shards are quite sharp" Derek murmured to himself.r
The beast SCREAMED.
[CRITICAL HIT!]
[Now that's some damage.]
Lava-like blood erupted from the wound, scalding his arms, but Derek held on, shoving the shard deeper. The hound thrashed, but he clung to its side, ignoring the pain.
[HP: 20%. Consider not dying.]
"WORKIN' ON IT!"
With one last, desperate move, he yanked the shard free and rammed it straight into the core of the wound.
The Nether Hound convulsed.
Its molten veins flickered—then collapsed.
It let out one final, strangled snarl before its entire body imploded, crumbling into searing embers.
Derek barely managed to stumble back before he collapsed to one knee, his vision swimming, breath ragged. Every muscle screamed.
Silence.
Then—
[Colossal Nether Hound defeated. 250 EXP gained.]
[Total EXP: 325/300.]
[ New system Feature.....]
A series of system of messages rang out but he was too tired to listen, he summoned the Novice Health Potion, and gulped it down, a wave of warmth flushed through his body, the burns and cuts on his body began to heal at an incredibly fast speed.
He staggered toward a half-molten femur and collapsed onto it, too drained to care about the heat. His fingers fumbled for an energy bar—half-melted, barely edible.
Didn't matter. He tore it open, shoving a bite into his mouth, the taste of burnt protein barely registering.
Though his injuries were gone,the exhaustion was not, his body ached, his hands trembled.
There were still a few smaller Nether Hounds approaching, he sighed and got up, another wave of EXP was approaching and he was pretty sure with Level 5 strength he could deal with them quickly.