Rise Online: Return of the Legendary Player

72  Steel Claws Mantis

When Kaizen raised his head, he saw something green, about two meters long. If he hadn't come face to face with this monster, he would never have been able to tell that it was a Steel Claws Mantis.

Its pair of front legs, toothed like a sickle, was longer than any other member of its body. Dark green in color, the front legs were covered with a metallic sheen and were not like its frail body. The stiffness of the front legs was definitely on par with the best metal Kaizen had ever forged or seen.

The monster also seemed to have spotted him, but the Psyker didn't dare move abruptly. He smoothly slid his right index finger down and equipped the Spear of Theus. However, Kaizen underestimated the perception of the insect in the darkness. Even though, at this moment, the environment was being illuminated only by the crystal that Kaizen had thrown earlier, this creature was already used to the darkness. As soon as the spear was summoned from inventory, the Steel Claws Mantis rose into the air, gliding with spread wings toward Kaizen. Its front legs slashed against his head before it could react. Kaizen was luckily someone of frightening reflexes, and he backed away subconsciously, avoiding being killed with a single hit.

Filled with ecstasy, Kaizen took the opportunity to spin his spear and slash the thin waist of the Mantis in front of him with a ferocious stab. Even Kaizen's swift movement could not escape the creature's eyes, which immediately defended using the claws of its hands.

The clash of the spear tip with the praying Mantis's steel blades rang out at the same time as the flash of another thunderclap illuminated them.

Kaizen took a moment to note the enemy's statuses.

[Creature: Steel-clawed Mantis

Level: 30 | Attribute: Insect | Nature: Primal

HP: 200 | MP: 20 Attack: 30 | Defense: 10 | Speed: 35 Strength: 35 | Wisdom: 20 | Resistance: 10 Resistance to the spells of: Stun and Blindness].

'Hum. Fighting a Level 30 won't be easy, but he's apparently and statistically fragile, so I'll go with everything I've got.'

Kaizen didn't plan to waste much time killing just one creature because he wanted to use this trip to farm as many levels as possible. Furthermore, the Steel Claws Mantis movements didn't seem complicated, although they were very fast and powerful.

When the creature came at him again, Kaizen decided to wait for the attack.

The praying Mantis turned 180 degrees and tried to hit the man with its powerful right leg. As Kaizen was already expecting an unusual attack from how the insect moved, he instinctively stuck his spear into the creature's chest. The leg of the Steel Claws Mantis struck Kaizen's forearm, and Kaizen defended himself by shrugging off the left side of his back to use the maximum defense statistic that his armor could provide for him. The impact of the blow was so strong that it caused him to slide to the right. Kaizen felt for a second that his left arm would explode. Still, Kaizen smiled with honor as he heard the voice in his mind.

[You killed a Steel Claws Mantis and gained +1000 XP].

Kaizen suddenly gained a boost of energy and happiness. When he saw the one thousand experience points he gained for killing a single Primal Rank monster, he was excited about the possibility of encountering a Mutant Steel Claws Mantis. Fighting it would possibly be a great challenge for him, but Kaizen was definitely not intimidated by possibilities alone.

With his lantern in hand, Kaizen walked through the Howling Cliff and alerted several Steel Claws Mantis to the attack, but they could not deal enough damage to the point where they could get through his armor. Kaizen took the opportunity to kill them all with a swift spear thrust to the chest, just as he had done with the first one.

[You killed a Steel Claws Mantis and gained +1000 XP].

[You killed a Steel Claws Mantis and gained +1000 XP].

None of them dropped anything that seemed flashy or surprising to Kaizen, but he saved everything to sell to Klank. Even when he gained the monsters' heads, legs, or claws...

The voice continued to ring in his mind, making him proud and energetic, gasping for more. There were no weak enemies in the Howling Cliff. Each praying Mantis was unique, and at first, it seemed that each of them had its own battle style. However, Kaizen was someone who was perceptive and attentive to detail. The game developers had masked the attack patterns by mixing and varying them in the minds of the creatures' However it only took to less than an hour for Kaizen to memorize all these patterns.

When Kaizen felt tired, and his mana was running out, he would not pause but rather eat while fighting. It was an interesting and somewhat disgusting experience if you consider that blood flew every time he moved the Spear of Theus. This also didn't fully recover his stamina, like when he paused to eat.

Before he knew it, he had already reached level 17. That was two levels more than he needed to use Sword of the Butterfly Bear, which he had traded with Xisrith.

"That's great news! Don't get me wrong my dear spear, but your attack is only 15, while that of this sword weapon is 40... What am I doing?" Kaizen suddenly realized how stupid he looked talking to the weapon. He looked at the Spear of Theus again and remembered how beautiful the spear was. "All right... I will try to restore it after I return to Holinda, but you will be sold and there is no discussion about that."

At that moment, Kaizen was about to open his inventory to put away the old spear and equip his new sword. However, he heard a roar coming from the depths of the treacherous cliffs that echoed more than any thunder could. This sound was shrill and agonizing, like a rigid rage that made every bone in Kaizen's body tremble. *ROOOOOARRRRR*

...

Edited by: DrHitsuji

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