I caught air, that's what I caught. Around this time I felt something bump into my belly. Looking down I saw a snake. Without wasting time, I grabbed its neck and gave it a stern jerk, rendering it stiff.

A snake, with five legs. Now I had seen everything. {A proverb in Bengali language. It means flying too high.} I looked at it. It looked back at me. Green shiny scales. Pink patterns on it making it look dreamy. Intoxicating elongated eyes. Smiling at me coquettishly like a bratty little ready to be punished and a small flower on its head.

"Why the fuck do you look like that one slutty snake I saw in a hentai?"

That aside the snake was really beautiful. I can't believe I am saying this but that is the truth. For a brief moment I thought about keeping it as a pet but my left hand protested painfully.

As I was getting bewitched by its beauty the snake was trying to find a footing with its legs. Seeing this I twisted my hand breaking its neck. The snake twitched for a moment then became still.

A suspicion was budding in my chest, despite that I decided to give it a try. The speed in which it was moving was definitely noteworthy but the way it died was rather pathetic. 'To think the 《Gravity field》would work that effectively against a boss monster is unbelievable.'

I could believe the 'neck snapping easily' part. My strength was monsters. But the gravity spell shouldn't have worked that well.

"Oh well, I will learn once I eat its heart."

I moved to the 30th level. Eating the core immediately pulled me into a vision. In that vision I was zooming around the woods. Testing my speed afterwards showed positive results but it was not even a fraction of what speed the sake showed me.

As I was testing my speed I started choking on nothing. 'This pattern seems strangely familiar.' As if to confirm my suspicion, I passed out.

I was expecting another vision and I saw one. In that vision I was running away. Running away from my predators. Running away from destiny. Running away from life. Running away from anything and everything I encountered.

I woke up jolted.

So that's how it is. The snake let go of everything but speed to survive. It was not strong so it just ran away and did it better than everyone. The fish was not good at moving around so it became stronger than everyone. Some pieces are missing but I feel like I am tapping into something profound.

Putting that thought into the back burner I started practicing to control speed. I was confident that if I tried I could reach Mach one speed. Theoretically at least. That is to say that if I actually tried to pull that stunt my body would have suffered tremendously.

The major problem came in the form of my brain's processing capabilities. Running fast without being able to perceive the surroundings is a death sentence. Just like how the snake died. It was not fit for combat. Being cursed by the red eye, it was forced to act against its nature. Ultimately falling to its demise.

__________

Forest areas mini boss was a bat, but with four forelimbs. Both sets of forelimbs connected to the hindlimbs like a regular bat. When in flight it flaps its wings alternately.

"How does that work? And, what's with this fascination with an extra pair of limbs?"

All four mini bosses had an extra pair in some form or other. Kelpie had 4 big wing like fins, the crocodile bird had wings and tiger went straight up with two extra hands.

'Is this some kind of fashion statement that I am unaware of!'

With both air magic and sound magic, the bat had potential to be a threat to me if I did not have two insanely op characteristics. 'Hmmmm? Was it sound magic or the bat was just being noisy? Guess I will never find out.'

This time I was not hopeful, so when I did not get any kind of magic I was not as sad as I had been in previous encounters. I learned bat dance though. All things considered the forest area really was lackluster.

Now I am left with three bosses and one miniboss. Who would have imagined that I could turn such a lively place into a mass graveyard. The respawning theory is out. Not a single monster popped up after my extermination efforts. They kill each other all the time, how did they not go extinct! I wanna smoke a brisket. I wonder if there will be some metal in the next part! More importantly, who should I go after next?

The ice miniboss is definitely the logical choice but I don't get much out of minibosses. What to do? What to do?

After thorough deliberation I decided to settle it with a lottery. The volcano boss won. Standing on the edge of the volcano crater I was trying to imagine what kind of monster actually lived inside an active volcano?

I shouted as loudly as I could. The hollow interior of the volcano amplified the sound. I could go inside the flowing lava but I decided against it. I got the lava resistance skill from the crocodiles, they used to live in the lava pools outside. Going inside lava was one thing, breathing inside it was another and I did not want to go in its home turf. One snake was enough to teach me what they could achieve in their ideal space.

Challenging it in a fight worked. The beast emerged from within the lava. A pangolin like armor cased Rhino. Supporting it was a flat and thick tail like a beaver, presumably for better movement in the viscous lava, long as its main body. Four lone horns on its head. The rhino was relatively small but still boasting an impressive size similar to an elephant.

"And, of course it has six legs. You know what? I'm not even gonna ask anymore. You do you."

Vexed by this unjust treatment I jumped in. 'I too want two extra arms. More so for sexual fantasies than their usability in daily life but that's not the point.' I just said that I learned from my past mistake, didn't I? Well, just because I learned something does not mean I am gonna follow through. Be prepared for a lot of this. I am a whimsical creature after all.

Without any warning I punched the rhino on its face. Trying to get an upper hand. The rhino did not even move a muscle. It just looked at me in disdain. Zooming through the area I punched it multiple times but the result was the same. Unable to use ⅕th of my total strength didn't help either.

"So, this one is all out in defence!"

I left. Feeling empty. The Rhino didn't even put me in it's eye. It was just me one sidedly attacking it. Forget about retaliating, it didn't even move. This is why weapons are important but my hammer would have just broken if I used it on that thing.

__________

Next I fixed my eye on the dry land. I wanted to test all the bosses out and formulate a proper plan for defeating them. I had two advantages and I had to use them properly.

I scaled the mountain that I presumed to be the boss's nest and started stomping on it. Tremors ran throughout the mountain. Anticipating its arrival I jumped out of the way. Before I could land on solid ground I saw a giant hand in front of my face then it booped me into oblivion.

I flew all the way through to the forest area and landed on a tree. I stayed quiet. Taking in all the information I could. 'Fuckkk that hurts.' Coughing up a few gulps of blood I started counting. 8 ribs broken and one leg out of its socket. That was the physical damage I suffered in one punch.

Taking out a core with difficulty I chowed it down. I kept a few on those in my backpack. For situations like these they were god send. Within a few minutes I recovered completely.

"Don't get hit. Noted."

I shouldn't have jumped. I could have easily ran away but I jumped instead. Why would I think it would come out and declare its presence fast? Because it was an animal? 'I need to keep my mind open.'

"Huuuhhhh, let's go see what the ice age have to offer."

__________

In the distance there was a white flame, flickering, burning in this land of snow. A rather unusual scenery. A contrasting monochrome.

Braving the snow storm a lump of fur was moving toward the flame. Humming a disturbing song. 'Give me your bone. I need it for my own…….' The brave adventurer was none other than me. I knew I was heading toward the mini boss. Thus the humming.

I stupidly discarded all the boss monster's carcasses after taking the palate and heart and now they were all gone. Except for the wheal sunfish. It was still floating on the water.

What I needed the bones for was to make weapons. I wanted to make knives out of them. Speed and strength is perfect for an assassin build. Don't get hit and keep chipping away at their health. Simple enough right? As for how I knew the flame was a miniboss! That's easy. No boss monster so far used any magical abilities. Minibosses on the other hand depended heavily on magic.

Closing in on the eye of the storm I heard a roar. Warning me. 'Lion?' It was. Pristine white furs decorating its body. Ice crystals covering its toe. Light and dark mixing together making it look as if a heavenly beast have descended on the mortal land. Well, technically they are all heavenly beasts whether they look the part or not. I am looking at you crocodile bird.

And yes, six legs. Even the whale sunfish had four tiny flaps under its belly. Why am I the only one without them. This does not make sense. I have killed them and eaten them, so I should have them too. This is unfair.

As the lion came to my sight the blizzard became fierce. 'So it was not natural.' Magnificent, truly magnificent. This is how displays of power should be, I thought. Then flames rose. Covering the vista in its glow. It was utterly mesmerizing. I got hit by some of them. The first touch was freezing. Soon it started to burn.

"Awesome."

I shouted. Too bad I would never get it for myself, but beauty must be appreciated. So, I decided to take the fight slow. I wanted to see how beautiful magic can be.

Around the lion light started to twinkle. Shaking his mane he aimed the flying shards toward me. Burning in that cold flame, like missiles they shot toward me. I moved through the storm and went behind him.

"More, show me more."

Unfazed the lion covered his paws on fire and jumped on me. Like burning comets they made beautiful arches in the air. I swayed my body away from them. Angry the lion puffed up his chest and breathed fire toward me.

I was so engrossed in that fight I forgot about time. The lion attacked. I dodged and this tag continued for a long time. To me however it was not long at all. At the end the lion fell down, out of mana.

I sat down near its head and whispered.

"Thank you. We could have been friends if you did not have the red eye. Not a pet, not a mount, as equals. I am sorry. I need to kill you for selfish reasons. I will remember you."

Saying my apologies, I held his head and put him out of his misery. I was eternally thankful toward him.

The fight was everything I wanted it to be and some more. The majestic creature. The stunning display and the exciting suspense. I could live with that memory for the rest of my life. This was what I envisioned while dreaming about fantasies. The skillful display of utter arrogance. He was worthy of it. Perhaps the kelpie could have shown something similar if it was not poisoned.

The blizzard died down soon. I only took the lion's heart and kept his body intact. I didn't want to paint this memory red more than I needed to. I would manage somehow without the bones. I still had the bison's horn.

Staining the snow red I walked toward the edge of the icy land. I could not wait for the vision.