Now Jyu felt exhaustion and pain throughout his entire body. It was as if his body no longer wanted to move, only able to lie on the ground amid the dark and silent atmosphere inside the cave. He could only close his eyes and regute his breathing so he could calm himself.

  What Jyu was doing now was like meditation. In an instant, he could become calm and focused, entering the core of his soul. This meditation made all five of his senses more sensitive. Now Jyu seemed to know everything happening around him. The rabbit monster is running to the south, and the other rodent monsters are hiding inside the cave.

  Jyu also knew of Tyrex’s presence. The monster was staying still or hiding in a crevice between massive rocks. Its eyes were closed, but one of them was still dripping blood from the ssh of Jyu’s sword.

  And Jyu finally found the pce where his demon power resided.

  “There!” Jyu said, his eyes instantly widening when he knew with certainty the position of his bear demon power.

  This power was inside a cave about two kilometers from where Jyu stood. But entering it would not be easy, as the only path was the rocky crevice Tyrex used as its shelter. That meant Jyu would have to fight that terrifying monster once again.

  Winning was of course impossible, but Jyu believed there had to be a way to overcome this obstacle. Knowing that his goal was within reach, his spirit bzed once more. It was as if he had received a drop of dew that cooled his body. The exhaustion and pain immediately lessened, and his body began to rise again to continue fighting.

  “I don’t want to die yet, I still want to live,” he said, trying to strengthen his heart, rekindling the spirit that had nearly faded.

  Jyu approached the dead rabbit monster, lying on the ground with blood flooding the area around it. With trembling hands, Jyu once again collected the monster’s dripping blood. Then he drank it, even though he had to endure the disgust that made him nauseous and want to vomit.

  “This tastes awful!” Jyu said as he kept shaking his head, trying to drive away the nausea in his stomach and throat.

  Though disgusting, Jyu was still not satisfied. His stomach had not been filled with food, so he immediately pulled the sword from his waist and sliced the monster’s flesh.

  He did it skillfully. Now there were several slices of rabbit-monster meat ready to eat and use as provisions. Of course, these provisions were not only for food, but also to deceive the mystical creatures around him.

  Jyu devoured the monster meat greedily. His teeth kept tearing it apart, chewing, then swallowing it. The taste? Certainly terrible, but Jyu kept eating while imagining he was enjoying a steak dish.

  “Hopefully after this I won’t develop a phobia of meat.”

  Now there was still one problem Jyu had to face, the cold that kept piercing his body. The only solution was to skin the rabbit monster and wear its hide as a cloak.

  Because Jyu was used to hunting, this task was truly easy for him. In an instant, a rge sheet of skin from the rabbit monster was successfully removed. Jyu immediately fashioned it into a cloak to cover his body.

  “Perfect!” he said when he saw the result of his work. The hide was folded in two, then a hole was made in the center for his head. The sides were woven together with small strips of rabbit monster skin.

  The night grew deeper, meaning only one day remained for Jyu to obtain his demon power. If he failed, he would be trapped in the realm of Darkent forever. He refused to let that happen.

  For now, Jyu did not want to continue his journey. He chose to observe his surroundings first. Jyu climbed a conical rock formation, and from a height of ten meters, he was able to see the entire realm of Darkent.

  Jyu had now entered an area of dense conical rocks, with the rocks extremely close together. Then Jyu looked north, and there he saw a rocky area fnking a cave. This was where his demon power was located.

  “That monster is still there,” Jyu muttered when he saw Tyrex remaining in the rocky crevice in front of the cave. This was the most difficult obstacle Jyu had faced during his time in Darkent.

  While observing his surroundings, Jyu assumed that there were no other mystical creatures nearby. This was Tyrex’s territory; all monsters surely feared it. If there were any, they were merely rodent monsters that could hide within the rocks.

  That was why Jyu did not want to move at night, choosing instead to wait for sunrise. The next day, Tyrex would surely grow hungry and search for food. That would be Jyu’s opportunity to enter the cave.

  That was the first scenario. Jyu also thought of another strategy. An idea crossed his mind: fool the giant monster with the rabbit meat from his hunt. It seemed this would work if Jyu prepared everything carefully.

  As a result, Jyu spent the entire night resting, gathering stamina for the battle the next day.

  ---

  The next day arrived, sunlight beginning to illuminate the realm of Darkent. Jyu immediately awoke, his gaze sharp and ready to face Tyrex again. But this time with a well-prepared strategy he believed would succeed.

  Jyu climbed the conical rocks again to observe his surroundings. From this height, he saw that Tyrex was still asleep. It even seemed to be sleeping soundly, because even when a rodent monster passed in front of it, the beast remained asleep.

  “What is this?” Jyu was truly shocked when he saw the territory ruled by Tyrex. All the rodent monsters had come out of their nests—rats and even rabbits. All of them seemed to be searching for food. Now beneath Jyu the area was filled with those monsters, devouring the rabbit carcass he had left behind.

  “Was my assumption wrong? Yesterday I was attacked by Tyrex when dusk fell and the rodent monsters hid. Does that mean Tyrex hunts at night? Damn it!”

  Jyu was truly at a loss now. Going down immediately could mean death at the hands of thousands of rodent monsters. But if he did not move now, it meant more wasted time.

  Yet this could also be a golden opportunity, because Tyrex was truly sleeping soundly. Even when rodent monsters climbed over its body, it did not wake. But did Jyu dare fight thousands of rodent monsters alone?

  This was the problem! Every option he could choose was equally dangerous.

  “To hell with all of you, I won’t die fighting lowly creatures like you.” In truth, Jyu did not have enough courage to fight thousands of rodent monsters. He chose instead to remain at the height for shelter. Then he would wait for midday or dusk to confront Tyrex directly. Of course not with brute strength, but with intelligence. As a human, Jyu refused to lose in that regard.

  Now he only needed to wait for the right time to strike, when the rodent monsters had truly returned to their nests. Life and death would be decided within the next few hours.