The Demon Monarch System

----

Gazing coldly at the earthen yellow glow surrounding the Violet Stone Bear, Apollo tightened his grip around the knife while raising it under his jaw. His eyes scrutinized every last movement the bear made. Unbeknownst to him, an effect of his over 10 Intelligence was showing.

[You are entering the Sensitive Instinct state. This requires you to have at least 10 Intelligence. Unfortunately, it can't be held for long. Do you best to end the fight before it elapses.]

"Okay," calmly stated Apollo before taking a cautious step which then turned into an abrupt dash. Growling in response, the Violet Stone Bear slammed its paws against the ground causing two earth spikes to erect in the position Apollo stood. However, how could he not perceive this?

In his heightened state, he "felt" the flow of Natural Essence and weaved between the two earth spike like a slithering snake. His movements were fluid. Unfortunately, a third spike appeared right before him without a moment's notice.

In this situation, he didn't tense up as one would usually do. His 8 months of continuous training where his rest relied upon him surviving in a half-awake state wasn't for show. He possessed an initial mastery of his emotions in this state.

'Fwoosh!'

Swiping his arm, the Vantablack Knife cut through the earthen spike like slicing through butter. After all, a Rank 2 Spirit Beast bones were much harder than the surface they walked upon. In order to strengthen the spike to that degree, an even larger amount of Natural Essence needed to be imbued.

Kicking off his back foot, Apollo dashed forward uninterrupted. The cub had reached its limit. Due to it lacking in maturity, its control over Natural Essence wasn't that great when it came to endurance.

Holding it in a reverse grip, Apollo punctured the cub's torso as he breezed past its side. A long gash appearing on the side of its torso. However, only a trace amount of blood leaked from the wound. In its stead, a yellowish glow appeared coating the wound.

Once again, Irauk was surprised by the situation at hand. 'It seems the cub possesses the means to activate its innate defensive ability [Lesser Earthen Armor]. Nevertheless, although it's an inferior technique; it can still increase its defense greatly. I wonder how he will deal with this in his current state. I was correct about him. That state he has entered is something that shouldn't appear until one has gone through their 2nd awakening.'

"Is my attack ineffective?" murmured Apollo as he glanced at the glow while also directing some attention toward the battle alert.

«Damage reduced! You have dealt 20 damage.»

'I wield 28 Zuls, which means it mitigated at least ¼ of my damage. If it's like this...which will last longer. My stamina or its health?' mused Apollo as he shifted back to his earlier tactics—attacking vitals.

Changing to a neutral grip, Apollo attempted to stab his knife into the eye of the cub. However, a shockwave exuded from its body as it emitted a loud roar. Bracing himself, he retreated a few steps taking note of the changes.

'What's that?'

A more complete earthen armor surrounded the bear. Furthermore, a rock helmet appeared on its head. While the armor didn't cover everything it covered all vitals. It's head, back, joints and torso were protected.

"Luckily, I possess this knife. However, its new should also present a large drawback. A hindrance to its speed—it should essentially be a stone fortress due to its joints solidifying," muttered Apollo as a sharp gleam danced in his eyes as they darted back and forward.

[Sound judgment. It had indeed sacrificed copious amounts of speed to protect itself after deeming your knife to be of grave danger. In doing so, it believes it has saved itself from imminent danger. It is now your turn to show it that it isn't the case.]

Nodding in agreement, Apollo dashed forward. If he couldn't approach its vitals then the number of injuries would have to become compensation. Dashing back and forth, he took advantage of his superior speed.

1...5...10… the number of small cuts on its fur and chips on its armor continued to grow in number with each passing second. Of course, it didn't simply wait to be injured. It tried to present attacks of its own. Regrettably, it was entirely too slow—this is what happened when you were pinned against your bane—you suffered.

Using its limbs as springboards, Apollo gained momentum from the bear cub's movements.

"Groooahhh!" It roared indignantly a few times as the fact that it couldn't land a paw on Apollo infuriated it. In response, a small smirk appeared on Apollo's lips. At the same time, he began to question why it was he felt even a pang of apprehension for this beast. As long as he possessed high enough stats, he didn't need such emotions. While it would take time, it seemed he was capable of hunting beast beyond his level. Granted, they needed to be in line with his strengths.

'Krrk!' 'Krrrk!'

Repeated cracking sounds echoed from the Violet Stone Bear's Earthen Armor as the Vantablack Knife turned into its worst nightmare. The obsidian weapon became the bane of its existence.

«You have dealt 25 damage.»

«You have dealt 23 damage.»

Depending on the area he attacked and the extent of the damage Apollo he inflicted upon the Earthen Armor, the values of his attacks varied albeit minisculely. By now, he had chipped away at nearly 60% of the Spirit Beasts' health. However, he had already been embroiled in battle for over 5 minutes!

His stamina was reaching dangerous levels. Taking note of this, Irauk rubbed his chin with a peculiar expression in his eyes, 'This young lad has already passed my test but let's see where his heart lies. Is he capable of finishing what he started? If so, I'll present even more to him. After all, I'll need to prepare him for the future.'

On the other hand, Apollo kept mental notes of his stamina as well as the overall situation. 'My stamina is approximately 80% depleted while this beast still possesses 40% of its health. If it's like this then…'

Changing his modus operandi, Apollo stopped any excessive movements and instead stuck close to the beast. Any movement it made, he began mirroring it, retaliating with the least amount of energy. In this way, he also began noticing small errors in the beast's movement.

Its intent on survival caused its actions to become sloppy. Not to mention, it was a cub and barely possessed experience. Capitalizing on this information, Apollo lowered its health to 5% in just 3 more minutes. Luckily, the Resplendent Jadeite Pendant was mitigating just enough stamina consumption to remedy his use.

At that point, the movements of the cub became an utter mess. Its mangled armor was falling over while it struggled to stand with all the cuts to its joints. It was now or never. Throwing caution to the wind, Apollo performed an arc step and lunged forward as he thrust with all his might.

'Pucht!'

«Fatal Damage! You have dealt 100 damage.»

«Congratulations, you...»