Tatehan grinned widely. Fear was such a lovely tool.

Fear was the beginning of one's downfall. He knew that the moment one gave in to fear, one had already lost the battle before it even began.

Fear is simply destruction incarnate.

And at this moment, looking directly into Mub's eyes, Tatehan could see the fear residing in them. It was very little, barely noticeable, but it was there nonetheless.

Tatehan decided that would do for now.

[Congratulations Host, your aura has increased]

[Congratulations Host, you have gained knowledge points]

[HOST STATUS]

Name: Tatehan

Level: 4

Species: Human (Enhanced)

Knowledge: 70/100 [+ 4]

Repair points: 28/100

[ABILITIES]

• Gravity Manipulation - Level 6.2

• Regeneration (partial) - Level 4

• Enhanced Durability - Level 0.7 (+0.2)

[Inventory:]

[Shadow goblins core: 2]

[Chakrams]

[Map]

[Sharp sword]

[Knight armor]

Only he could see the glowing words displayed before him, and as Tatehan checked through his stats carefully, no one around him noticed that he was doing so. They all thought he was simply staring into the eyes of Mub like the latter was doing to him.

Looking at his stats in detail, Tatehan was tempted to be satisfied with his progress. The only complaints he seemed to have was why he hadn't leveled up in his actual level yet—he had done quite a lot recently, so he should be at level five or something by now.

He was a bit surprised to be seeing the shadow goblins' cores listed in his inventory, though. But then, he quickly remembered that Riven had given him a few before they had arrived at Waython Hollow.

The prospect of going back to the spaceship started to look increasingly doubtful now. How were just two measly cores going to take him all the way back to the spaceship?

And he wasn't even sure that Riven would be willing to give him any additional cores after everything that had happened.

As he was about to will the stats screen away from his vision, his gaze lingered on his knowledge points for a moment longer. Seeing the number more clearly and thinking about it seriously, he realized that it was way too small for all the knowledge he had actually gained recently.

Just 4?

He realized that the increase in his stats points had been disappointingly little of recent times. It was always somewhat little, but this was… well… too little, wasn't it?

The enhanced durability had only increased by just 0.2 points.

'Wait a moment...'

Why did he even gain enhanced durability points in the first place? He had done absolutely nothing to warrant such an increase. He hadn't engaged in any serious battle whatsoever. He hadn't clenched his fists and punched the wall too hard either, so why the sudden increase in that particular stat?

He willed the stat screen away quickly, suddenly noticing that he had spent way too much time examining it than focusing on the task at hand. By too much time, it had only been about four seconds total.

His enhanced brain was clearly doing wonders with processing information at high speeds. It seemed to be operating at a very rapid pace now.

"Leave him alone," the commander finally said firmly to Mub. "The duel will take place only after he goes to heal Kael's daughter, Lyra. But I'm strongly warning you to drop this matter entirely. Sure, your reputation will be somewhat tarnished, but let it be tarnished by the Mauler Slayer, the one who is here to restore Kael's daughter's life and health."

The commander was now back to her characteristically stern demeanor. Her face carried a look of absolute seriousness. Whatever sadness that had been visible there moments ago suddenly vanished completely.

Mub immediately went down to his knees, his face directed toward the ground in a show of respect.

"My liege, what must be done must be done," he said solemnly. Then, looking up directly at Tatehan's face, he added with venom: "I'm a man who values honor far more than my own personal safety. And what greater honor could possibly surpass slaying the kid who slayed the legendary Mauler?"

His voice carried pure viciousness, and on his scarred face was a twisted grin.

"He should be no match whatsoever for my ability," Mub said confidently, his wide grin slowly dimming to a dark smirk. "I had only lost once in my entire life—to a certain man. And now that man is dead, ripped to bloody shreds by me personally."

Tatehan swallowed a large lump of saliva that had formed in his throat, trying desperately to make himself keep standing upright without wavering.

'Just what exactly was this guy's ability?'

———

As he walked down the long corridor afterward, guards flanking him protectively on both sides, he finally got to know what Mub's ability actually was.

The question had been tearing his bravery apart piece by piece, chipping away at his aura too, at least that's how it felt to him personally. He just desperately wanted to know what the ability was so he could prepare mentally.

"Mub has one of the most shocking and genuinely complex abilities among anyone in the entire Red Crest Clan," a guard explained to him after he had asked the question as casually as he could manage.

Tatehan made absolutely sure to keep his face completely unreadable as the guard talked. He didn't want to give any emotion away that might betray his growing concern.

"His ability is called Wild Beast Transformation," the guard continued.

Tatehan looked at the guard in visible astonishment now. He was definitely giving away facial expressions at this point.

"When Mub activates his ability fully, he just..., transforms entirely. His body turns into something between man and monster. His muscles expand to twice their normal size, his bones thicken and reinforce themselves, and his skin hardens like armor plating," the guard explained, his voice carrying a mixture of fear and respect.

"But that's not even the worst part," another guard chimed in from the other side. "The transformation gives him enhanced speed that makes him move really fast. His reflexes become almost precognitive, he can react to attacks before most people even finish throwing them."

Tatehan furrowed a brow, that sounded a lot like Riven's ability.

The first guard nodded grimly. "His senses sharpen to an extreme degree too. He can smell blood from hundreds of meters away, hear heartbeats through walls, and his eyesight becomes so acute he can track fast-moving objects in complete darkness."

Nah, they had be exaggerating at this point, how was that possible.

Tatehan was speechless at this point, verbally and inwardly. He couldn't even think at this point.

"And his claws," the second guard added with a shudder. "When fully transformed, his fingers extend into razor-sharp claws that can tear through reinforced steel like it's paper. He once gutted a man in full combat armor in a single swipe."

Tatehan felt his confidence draining with every word they spoke.

This was a really big problem.

The guards weren't even done listing Mub's ability and he already sounded like some god like being who with a snap of his fingers could end him.

Facing Mub was death sentence at this point.

'What I've I gotten myself into.'

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