Dragonkin were on the sacrificial menu today, and Vissitri ordered them up as an offering. Seeing as his demonic companion had an appetite for a good old-fashioned bloodbath, Quintin saw no reason to keep the little guy in suspense. If their heads would appease him, then they would roll in due course.

He went into the treeless plot of collared beasts, as if out for a leisurely stroll. Every distraction fled his mind, and if the beasts had been keen, they would have too. Though, as certain as the trees once stood tall here, they only saw an easy target. With a sudden burst of pressure, he tapped his toe against the ground.

He seemed to disappear, reappearing in front of a gray mantis creature with his fist drawn back. Its headless body stood tall as the explosive fist whipped up a tailwind. Its scythe-limbs fought back against the empty air, shadowboxing death itself.

The blood dripped from the sky like acid rain; because it was. The three Pimpleback Rats wasted no time in letting loose a volley of caustic loogies at his previous location. The mantis melted into goopified remains under the phlegmy concoction.

"Tsk," Quintin clicked his tongue.

He made a beeline towards them. All the while, delivering high-speed kicks and punches at those in his way. Their indiscriminate shooting became more accurate with each passing moment. Though mostly, they destroyed beast parts he could turn into weaponry later.

The spread of beasts stood no chance. Chunks of flesh and bone flew in his wake, not least because of his unstoppable status. When he drew nearer to the main tent, the minotaur stepped up. A challenging bellow left its throat as it hefted a spiky two-handed mace over one shoulder. The hulking cow lowered its horns to charge him down.

In consideration of old bullfighters, he briefly had the desire to own a red cape. Quintin slid to the side and let the bovine speed past. Instead of engaging it, he leveled a chain of projectile attacks at the vile rats, landing a headshot on one. It made a high-pitched screech as it ratcheted away in a death spiral. The penetrative power made moth-bitten holes in the tent behind, a muffled hiss came from inside.

However, his actions didn't go unpunished, the brute swung its mace into his upper back. The blow connected with his prismatic shell, sending him on a collision course with the remaining two spitters. He was mid-way there when the eight-foot-tall Dragonkin pushed out through the tent flaps.

She wore a deep blue tabard with a black long-sleeved undershirt. The way it transitioned into smooth leather strips below her waist, accentuated her muscular, ungarmented thighs. A kidney belt tied the entire outfit together. The curvature of her horns went up and around her pointy ears. She appeared remarkably human if the horns, height, and scales were discounted. That, and the still hidden tail under the exit fabric.

She made her command while clutching a wound on her upper arm, "[Explode]!"

In response to her voice, the closest collared rat began to glow hot red. The creature bloated up, expanding well past the limitations of its body like a balloon full of water. Deep red stretch marks started to show as it pulsated in a threatening manner.

He couldn't avoid it even if he wanted to, so he embraced the [Corpse Explosion] instead. He managed to touch one toe on the ground before impact, but it was enough to readjust his trajectory. The rat popped with a grotesque splat, creating a grainy blood fog. His body flew out with the chunks of meat, towards the Dragonkin controller.

She stood frozen in shock upon registering the human projectile shooting her way. Now it was her turn to feel the unavoidable sting of impending doom. Her last thought, as her head was struck by the metallic talons, being how the human had done so unharmed.

With the Dragonkin controller dead, the others became easier to dispatch. She died just as quickly as she came, and the rest did too with the threat of her presence gone.

Quintin wiped the nonexistent sweat from his brow. "One down, one to go, right Vissitri? Then three more after that."

He left Vissitri somewhere in the trees, with certainty that the rascal would watch his fight. [Si-Si-Si. Good fight. I doubt you needed to attack so directly, though. There wasn't much fear and desperation before their deaths. The rating is a high six, maybe low seven.]

"I never knew you were so particular about a senseless massacre," he blew out a deep breath and spoke again, "as for why I went so aggressive, it was all due to those Pimpleback Rats. There's plenty of useable weaponry up for grabs here, but they kept dissolving them. What else was I supposed to do!?"

Now that the battle was over, he waited for the system notice to come. He was kept waiting until impatience got the better of him. He found out the reason very shortly. There was a penalty imposed for using such an oppressive buff. To the extent he only gained a small fraction of the total experience, he should have.

With a heavy heart, he turned his attention on the spoils of war. There were a lot of horns and claws of various [Grades]. A few of which, were just as good as the [Eluded-Blood Ghast] claws he found down in Sozzelrift. However, his biggest haul came from the [Pimpleback Rats]. He put a portion of something called [Rainbow Time Acid] into [Core:Storage], amongst other corrosive fluids.

[Rainbow Time Acid]

—Ultra Rare

—Status Afflicting Acid

—D.O.T. Attack

An exceedingly rare ailment-based acid that inflicts a {Potent}

damage over time (D.O.T.) effect. Found in only the oldest,

most traveled feeders in Pimpleback Rat collectives. Over time,

the toxins ingested by such a rat contribute to making this

deadly type of acid.

Inflicts the {Debuff}:

[Raindbow Time Acid]

+{Random} damage of 1-100 dmg./second for 1-100 minutes.

+{Random} generation of 1-100 status ailments for 1-100 minutes.

—○Number of status ailments are shared amongst all applicable targets.

{Spreads}: travels to new targets with no loss in potency.

{Lingers}: capable of continued potency in an area, despite common sense.