Tatehan read the stats display with a mixture of confusion and irritation, then looked back down at the creatures actively trying to eat through his armor.

If only he had inserted the core and immediately driven away, maybe checking the map later as he rode through safer, more open terrain, perhaps when the area was clearly bare and empty with no monsters in sight.

Though to be fair, monsters were rarely ever "in sight." They always lurked in hiding, and struck precisely when you least expected it.

But then again, if he'd done that, he wouldn't be in this particular situation right now.

Tatehan shrugged mentally. Not like he was particularly worried or anything, killing this creatures shouldn't be much of a problem.

Hell!, yesterday he had fatally killed a man monster—the strongest of the Red crest clan, with a single punch.

He saw more words flash across his retina, appearing and disappearing quickly, though his enhanced mind grasped the information instantly:

[70 percent absorbed]

[30 percent impacted]

The portion of force that actually reached his leg through the armor didn't cause any significant harm. The pain felt similar to what a small rat bite might cause, uncomfortable and annoying, but not debilitating.

The difficulty assessment regarding these creatures had indicated they were "pretty easy if you know how to defeat them, and very hard if you don't."

Tatehan had never fought these particular abominations before, so he had no practical knowledge of their combat patterns or behavioral tendencies, let alone established tactics for defeating them efficiently.

He decided he would handle this situation in his own way, using the tools and abilities he had available.

The creatures surrounding and attacking his legs numbered nine in total, all concentrated on biting at different points around his lower leg and boot.

His armor's kinetic absorption system had already absorbed the impact force from two separate bite attacks.

'That should be sufficient energy,' Tatehan thought.

Focusing his willpower intensely on the kinetic energy that had been absorbed and stored by his armor from the Iron-Jaw Scavengers' attacks, Tatehan mentally directed that accumulated energy specifically to the leg and boot section of his armor.

His lower leg began to glow with accumulated energy. The glow radiated vibrantly bright, then receded slightly to a dimmer state, then flared brilliantly bright again in a rhythmic pattern.

Then Tatehan released all the stored energy at once in a single explosive burst.

BOOM!

What happened next was immediate and dramatic—the Iron-Jaw Scavengers that had been desperately biting and clinging to his legs were suddenly thrust forward and away from him in a violent kinetic blast.

THOOM!

It felt like a massive explosion, one Tatehan had only watched in movies back on Earth.

The iron jaw scavengers' previously iron-tight grip that hadn't allowed him to move at all was instantly broken.

They tumbled and fell to the ground with heavy thuds, momentarily disoriented and stunned by the unexpected discharge of energy.

Tatehan quickly summoned his chakrams, immediately throwing them in rapid succession at the fallen creatures, precisely aiming for their exposed neck regions.

The spinning chakrams struck two necks cleanly, severing vital structures, then returned smoothly to his grip. He sent them flying again without hesitation—they found two more necks. The weapons came spinning back to him, and he caught them smoothly, then unsummoned them back to his inventory.

Without pausing, Tatehan summoned his sword and, moving at full sprint speed, dashed directly toward the remaining creatures who were just beginning to recover and get back on their feet.

He understood now that the creatures' primary offensive capability lay entirely in their incredibly powerful teeth. Beyond that devastating bite force, they didn't seem to possess any other exceptional abilities or attacks.

They didn't have super speed, neither did they have enhanced strength or some lethal venom. Instead, all they had was their teeth.

He swung his sword directly at the head of the nearest creature, but it dodged with surprising agility. The creature immediately opened its mouth impossibly wide and used its massive metallic teeth to actually catch and deflect his sword blade, forcing it back.

Tatehan stared at the creature in genuine surprise. It was demonstrating far greater combat awareness and defensive capability than he'd anticipated.

Thier teeths was actually good stuff in terms of usage in battles.

The other remaining Iron-Jaw Scavengers quickly followed the first one's example, all opening their mouths to their maximum width, revealing rows of those terrifying iron-like teeth. They were clearly preparing to tear Tatehan into pieces if given the opportunity.

A new system message appeared:

[Analysis: Their teeth serve as their primary and most effective weapon. When properly utilized, their bite force makes them nearly invincible against most opponents]

'Nearly invincible? Please,' Tatehan thought dismissively. Then how had he managed to kill four of them so easily just moments ago?

[Clarification: The explosive release of kinetic energy from your absorption ability temporarily disoriented their neural systems and dulled their reflexes for the brief seconds it took you to capitalize on their vulnerability. Under normal combat conditions, their defensive capabilities are significantly higher]

Tatehan regarded the remaining creatures with a new tactical assessment now.

They were definitely stronger and more capable than he had initially expected. But that didn't fundamentally change anything. He would demonstrate exactly why he was the superior combatant here.

He was briefly tempted to use the pistol the nurse gave him to end this quickly (he hadn't used the weapon before), but decided he'd save that weapon for a final finishing blow if necessary.

The five remaining creatures began advancing toward him in a coordinated fashion, moving with clear predatory intent.

Using his gravity manipulation abilities, Tatehan focused his power on all five creatures simultaneously and dramatically increased their effective weight, making them far heavier than their natural body mass.

As they opened their massive jaws to attack, they suddenly found it extremely difficult to close them again due to the increased gravitational pull affecting their jaw muscles.

Tatehan then rapidly alternated their gravitational state: making them lighter, then heavier, then lighter again, then heavier once more, then lighter yet again.

He continued this disorienting pattern of gravitational manipulation for approximately two full minutes, constantly shifting their body weight in ways their physiology wasn't designed to handle.

When he eventually stopped the manipulation, the creatures were visibly exhausted and disoriented, their bodies trembling from the sustained gravitational stress.

That was when Tatehan summoned his pistol from his inventory.

He fired once at each creature in rapid succession—five quick shots, each one perfectly placed.

He immediately stepped back several paces as the creatures' bodies exploded from the internal energy discharge, their biological matter spilling across the ground in gruesome fashion.

Suddenly, words flashed across his retina in glowing text:

[Congratulations, Host! You have successfully defeated nine Iron-Jaw Scavengers]

[Combat efficiency: High]

[Knowledge points gained: +3]

Tatehan unsummoned all his weapons, looking at the scattered remains of the creatures with a satisfied grin spreading across his face.

Truly mastering and understanding his various abilities had made combat situations significantly easier than they had been when he'd first arrived on Mars.

Earlier in his time here, he had fought in a relatively straightforward manner, using his sword and engaging in direct combat like he was some knight from an ancient medieval period, relying primarily on physical skill and basic weapon technique.

Now, while he still employed similar combat methods when appropriate, he did so with far greater tactical awareness and efficiency. He actively integrated all his abilities (kinetic absorption, gravity manipulation, enhanced reflexes) to make encounters much easier to handle and to end fights much more quickly with less risk to himself.

The difference was like night and day. Before, he had been surviving through determination, raw ability and luck. Now, he was actually developing into a genuinely skilled combatant who understood how to leverage every advantage available to him.

He decided to examine the creatures' corpses to see if they contained any cores or useful materials. He genuinely hoped they did, otherwise the outcome of this entire fight would feel somewhat disappointing and wasteful of his time and energy.

As he approached the nearest creature's body and began to search through the remains, something behind the scattered corpses caught his attention.

A faint glow—dark and glowing rhythmically.

Moving closer and pushing aside some of the biological debris, Tatehan discovered several small objects embedded in the ground where the creatures had been standing.

They were cores, but not like the ones he'd seen before. These were black in color, with an almost obsidian-like quality, and they glowed with a deep, dark luminescence that seemed to absorb light rather than emit it.

Words flashed across his retina:

[Item Identified: Weapon Enhancement Cores]

[Rarity: Uncommon]

[Function: Can be integrated into existing weapons to enhance their base capabilities]

[Enhancement Type: Increases penetration capability and structural integrity]

[Quantity Found: 9]

[Recommendation: Integrate into primary weapons for improved combat effectiveness]

Tatehan's grin slowly widened into a expression of genuine satisfaction and excitement.

This was an unexpected but extremely welcome discovery.

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