The canisfangs mangled sides also seemed to be missing large chunks of flesh. The messy remains were obvious signs that the canisfang had been eaten immediately after being killed.

Kurushimi couldn’t see anything else around the body. Neither the culprit for this scene nor any other canisfangs could be seen at this moment. She found it weird for there to only be one canisfang, meaning that the others had to be elsewhere.

“I guess… All I can do is continue.”

Kurushimi looked back at the path. If she were to continue on, she could perhaps find the other canisfangs. She didn’t know how long ago the canisfang had been killed or whether the killer was still hanging about. Despite that, she still would rather fight one enemy than the 30 or so on the right path.

KREEEE EEE EE EE!

Suddenly, Kurushimi’s attention was drawn to abrupt shrieking. The cry of canisfangs emanated from the path. She stepped away from the canisfang body and glanced towards the darkness the shriek had come from.

“They’re still fighting, huh~?”

Kurushimi slowly turned back, looking at the canisfang behind her. Mana conjured in her eyes, activating a skill. Text prompts popped up into her vision a moment afterwards.

《Used skill: 『Appraisal Lvl. 2』!》

《Canisfang Lvl. 13》

“Not too high level. If they are still alive, the thing they are fighting can’t be anything as bad as Karshak…”

Reading the text, Kurushimi checked the canisfangs level. It was seven levels below her own, to which she was confident she could handle a pack of canisfangs about this level herself. She smiled confidently as she held onto her katana and turned around again.

“I haven’t come across anything good to test ‘Sword 1’ on yet! The canisfangs earlier weren’t strong enough. Umu! This might be fun!”

An enemy of equal standing before her, Kurushimi found herself excited to challenge it. Her original target had been stolen from her and her bloodlust ended up redirected to this new adversary. She understood it was a little risky, but she wouldn’t ever get stronger if she was afraid to take risks.

. . .

Over 7 foot tall, an armoured man stood surrounded by canisfangs. Before their shrieking, the armoured man stood resolute and strong. In his hand was a large and daunting greatsword. The greatsword was soaked in blood.

Multiple canisfangs started running at the armoured man all at once. Their large and menacing fangs were exposed as they unhinged their jaws. The armoured man stood still while the canisfangs charged him.

The second a canisfang clamped down onto his armour, the man had grabbed it in a blur. His large hand wrapped around its neck, restraining it. The other canisfangs clawed and bit at his armour. Even while blood slowly leaked out from the punctures made in it, the man's attention was wholly devoted to the grabbed canisfang.

His dark and soulless eyes focused on the canisfang, he thrusted his greatsword straight into its stomach. The tip of the sword tore through the canisfang and pierced through its back.

Retracting his blade, it slid through the canisfang along with some of its guts spilling out. The other canisfangs gnawed away at his armour the whole time, but they simply couldn’t get the man to take notice of them.

The armoured man dropped the canisfang and roared out. The surrounding canisfangs staggered back in fear from his roar. It was horrendous and ear-piercing, not like any sound a human should be able to make.

The armoured man twitched and shook, his helmet violently shaking as he roared. The area where his mouth started to twist and deform. The metal opened up revealing a red and fleshy inside that seemed attached to the armour.

Rows of sharp and grotesque teeth were exposed that shook as it roared. When the armoured man had finished roaring, it suddenly bent down towards the canisfang. It dropped its greatsword to clutch onto the canisfang and ripped chunks of flesh off with its teeth.

The canisfangs watched in fear as it scoffed down chunks of flesh and ate the canisfang with a voracious appetite. The armoured man slowed down until it came to a stop. It slowly stood up as its mouth closed up and returned to its original form.

The armoured man picked up his great sword and returned to its resolute and noble stance. Gone completely silent, its attitude and demeanor had seemingly changed back to normal as if being flicked on and off by a switch.

KREEEE EEE!!!

The canisfangs shrieked and prepared to run at the armoured man once more. Suddenly, something burst out of the chest of the armoured man. The armoured man's calm demeanor instantly broke and became one of confusion.

Out of the armoured man's chest, a dark blade protruded diagonally. From behind, a girl stood gripping onto the hilt. A thin veil around herself had broken apart and fallen off, revealing the girl's image.

“Now what in the hell was that!?”

Kurushimi looked up at the armoured man. She positioned her foot on the armoured man’s back and kicked it away, making it stagger slightly as she jumped away. She had originally thought the man was human and intended to help him. But she ended up moderately surprised as the man’s armour unexpectedly opened up and revealed multiple rows of teeth along with its deafening roar.

Kurushimi felt lucky she coincidentally got to see that before attempting to help the man out. She jumped back and observed the armoured man. She had landed a good hit on it but she was unsure if she had killed it.

ROOOARRRRRRRRR!

The armoured man suddenly let out a thundering roar as it swung forward with its greatsword in anger. It cleaved through multiple canisfangs along its path before the greatsword hit the floor, resting in the armoured man’s hand.

The armoured man breathed out heavily, puffing out air as it turned back towards Kurushimi. Its soulless and void-filled eyes suddenly took a dangerous, crimson hue. Its eyes glowed ominously as its stare fixated on her.

The metal armour pulsated as if it were alive and breathing. Kurushimi conjured mana into her eyes as she watched the armoured man. Text prompts popped up shortly after.

《Used skill: 『Appraisal Lvl. 2』!》

《Living armour Lvl. 26(Berserk)》

“Hmm, that ‘Berserk’ wasn’t there before. I wonder if that's a skill?”

Kurushimi held up her katana and stood ready. The living armour had seemingly entered a ‘Beserk’ state. She had wounded the living armour a fair bit with her previous attack but it looked like the battle had only just begun.

CLUNK. CLUNK. CLUNK. CLUNK.

The living armour ran towards her as it roared again. The ground shook under its metal boots and its giant greatsword dragged through the ground as it ran. The living armour came to a sudden stop and swang up. The heavy greatsword hurled towards Kurushimi’s direction. Time slowed down as it approached her.

《Used skill: 『Evade Lvl. 2』!》

Kurushimi easily sidestepped the sword. She had to dodge the greatsword as there simply was no way she could block it. Luckily for her, the greatsword was large and slow. This allowed her to dodge it with relative ease using ‘Evade’.

Kurushimi stepped forward and raised ‘Sword 1’, preparing to slash downwards onto its shoulder. But before she could, she suddenly received a strong impact to her stomach. The living armours fist dug into her stomach making her face twist up in response.

-It let go of its sword?!

The greatsword clattered down onto the ground, making a loud noise. The living armour had let go of the sword, allowing it to fall to the ground as it landed a punch on her stomach. As Kurushimi watched the greatsword rattle about on the ground, the living armour reeled back its other fist and slugged her in the face.

Kurushimi was knocked over by the second attack. On the ground, she attempted to wipe away the blood from her nose. She felt that she had once again been relying too much on ‘Evade’. If the skill was a higher level, it may have helped her better there. But she seemingly hadn’t learned as much as she thought she had from the Karshak fight. Kurushimi quickly started conjuring mana. As she made a swiping motion with her hand, her spilled blood shot at the living armour's face.

《Used skill: 『Blood magic Lvl. 4』!》

The blood landed directly onto the living armour’s helmet. It staggered slightly but the blood was too little to do any damage. Using this bought time, Kurushimi hurriedly jumped up and re-collected herself.