Tentatively flexing my new legs, I felt the explosive power contained within, like a coiled spring ready to break free.

  In the horizon, the identity of the pursuers soon became clear; it was the group of beastmen I’d seen earlier, most likely drawn by the fresh scent of blood. At least a dozen strong, they eagerly pounced forward on all fours like ravenous sharks.

  They must have thought a battle had already broken out and come to take advantage of the situation.

  Time to go. I pressed hard upon the ground, shooting forward like a bullet and..... immediately crashed into a tree, knocking the wind out of me.

  Cough cough. Well, that’s embarassing. Looks like I still need to get used to this new speed.

  Thunk! A metallic, silver shuriken-like object deeply embedded itself into a tree several feet from me. With a crackle, the entire tree instantly froze, creating a massive ice sculpture.

  A shiver ran down my spine- one hit from that thing and it’d be lights out for me.

  Fortunately, it seemed that they still weren’t able to see me under the cover of darkness, and had thrown it based off the sound I’d made hitting the tree.

  I picked myself up and once again began to run, being much more deliberate with my movement this time.

  A barrage of shurikens peppered my steps, leaving pillars of ice in my wake. It seemed these beastmen had exceptional hearing, being able to determine my position from just the light brush of my claws against the ground.

  I was able to see them coming in advance with my enhanced vision however, and adjust my course accordingly.

  As I ran, I boldly shouted, "Fellas, fellas! Can’t we talk about this? Let’s be civilized here. Also, whoever’s throwing these things really needs to work on their aim.”

  The leader of the group, a huge leonine beastman with azure fur, roared with laughter and said, "Very well. Empty your Inventory and slit your own throat, and then we’ll leave you alone.”

  Dang, even the people from other worlds say the same clichéd crap huh?

  Alright, you asked for it.

  As another shuriken flew by, I reached down and plucked it from the ground.

  With the icy cold metal firmly grasped by the Lycoph arm, I cocked back and threw the shuriken with all my might, backed by a Strength stat over 40.

  With a high-pitched whine, the harbinger of death tore through the air at a speed several times greater than before, straight at the pursuing group of beastmen.

  Splurt!

  Without even being able to react, a tiger beastman fell forward as the shuriken cleanly passed straight through it, leaving a gaping fist-sized hole in its chest.

  Ding!

  One down, eleven more to go.

  Disappointingly, there was no explosion of ice that accompanied my magnificent throw.... must be some sort of gacha ability. I’d been hoping to take out at least a few of them with it.

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  With howls of rage, the beastmen pressed on with increased vigor as the alpha beastman screamed some drivel about tearing me from limb to limb.

  My eyes tingled as the beastmen suddenly activated their light sources- seems like they no longer care about being seen.

  With bright light now guiding their way, my pursuers’ speed had noticeably increased and the gap between us began to shrink.

  Alright, I’ll pick up the pace as well then. I’d already mostly adjusted to the Deinopi legs and the miniscule delay they had when moving them. Soon, the narrowing gap stabilized once more and I pressed forward through the dark underbrush.

  In the distance, where the large clearing was, I could vaguely see explosions of light and flame that briefly dispelled the ever-present gloom of the Canopy.

  It seemed that the fighting had truly begun in earnest.

  I began to run towards the epicenter of the chaos, hoping to shake them off there. I wouldn’t be able to maintain this speed for long with my low physique stat.

  Suddenly, as my figure was briefly illuminated under another explosion of light, grasping tendrils of thick roots bound my left foot.

  Shit, they must have been able to see me under that light and hit me with another ability.

  I desperately tore through the binding roots with my Lycoph claws and tried to run, but that brief pause had been enough.

  An ice shuriken flew through the air, heading directly towards me. I immediately raised my Lycoph arm and blocked it, causing it to ricochet off to the side.

  However, the damage had been done; with a crackle, my entire arm froze solid under a thick shackle of ice. Thankfully, due to its high physique stat, the ice didn’t spread beyond my shoulder.

  The Lycoph arm was completely done for. Gritting my teeth, I pulled out the Nanoblade and amputated it as I continued to run.

  As it rolled away into the darkness, I gave a quiet farewell to my first companion. You served me well, time to rest.

  Without the weight of the heavy Lycoph arm, my speed further increased and I was able to make it to the clearing where the Objective had spawned.

  There, utter pandemonium and mayhem reigned. Multiple different groups could be seen fighting to the death with a myriad of bizarre and devastating abilities.

  A scaly, reptilian creature phased in and out of vision as it snuck up and decapitated an unsuspecting victim. In retaliation, one of its tentacled companions stomped its webbed feet and created a row of serrated earth spikes that impaled the invisible creature.

  Horrifically mangled and corpses burnt beyond recognition lay strewn about everywhere. A green skinned otherworlder appeared to be the main cause, cackling maniacally as it unleashed an inferno that made the F-grade fire ability I’d seen look like a parlor trick.

  Praying that none of them would pay attention to me, I bolted to the other end of the clearing and into the comforting cover of the forest once more. Gazing behind me, I could see that the group of beastmen had become entangled in conflict with the tentacled creatures.

  With a sigh of relief, I began to sit down in order to catch my breath when suddenly I felt a gust of wind near my head. Instinctively, I immediately leapt to the side.

  BOOM!

  The tree I’d been leaning on completely vanished in an explosion of bark and sap as a hulking, colossal figure emerged amidst the debris.

  A twisted smile could be seen on its misshapen ogre-like face, standing nearly 4 meters tall. Beneath its blue skin, bulging muscles thicker than my torso rippled menacingly. It held in its right hand a massive obsidian club that was nearly half its height, studded with glowing spikes.

  The moment I saw it; I could instinctively feel from the very root of my being that this was a higher life form, qualitatively different from the other races I’d seen. Every cell in my body shuddered in fear and awe in its presence.

  As it began to raise its club once more, I frantically leapt into the trees, ignoring the protest of my burning lungs.

  “Melchior, what the hell is that thing!? There’s no way that's something from a Tier 5 world! You scammed me you bastard!”

  “Master Adun is correct. This appears to be a member of the Onisha race, which hail from a Tier 4 world. However, please do not accuse me of leading you astray. I merely said that D-grade objectives would most likely attract only those of Tier 5 worlds. Master Adun was simply unlucky as usual.”

  Oh, now you’re talking back to me you little twerp? We’ll see about that later when I make you thoroughly analyze the composition of my boogers.

  “Does it have any weaknesses? Anything I can do?”

  “The Onisha have an extremely high Strength and Physique stat among tier 4 worlds, ranging in the 70s and 60s, respectively. However, their Agility stat is incredibly low, so Master Adun should be able to escape it by simply continuing to evade up into the trees.”

  Excellent. Someone else can deal with that thing. I nimbly jumped from branch to branch, ascending ever higher into the web of the Canopy.

  Hahahaha, see you later you fat pig.

  BOOM!

  With another gust of wind, I narrowly twisted my body to avoid an explosive force that leveled an entire row of trees right next to me.

  Heart pounding in shock, I turned my head to see an unforgettable sight.

  With a mocking grin on its face, there the Onisha was, soaring impossibly in the air right behind me.

  Ahhhhhhh! Melchior you damn scammer!