Biting off the head of the green-furred ape, the Draconic Crocolisk chewed as the skull was crushed within its maw. Drinking the blood from the now headless captive, the B-grade celebrated as the many other scaled monsters around also reveled in their victory.

After the Simivita Warlord had fallen, the natives of what was formerly known as Simivita Island all fled, while those who were left behind had all been hunted down. The damn apes weren’t easily gotten rid of, and chances were the survivors would join another tribe elsewhere. Either way, the Crocolisk and other B-grades had all taken over the island and began reaping its resources.

Despite its happy mood, the Draconic Crocolisk wasn’t entirely pleased, though.

“Should have killed that damn bird,” he muttered, annoyed at the cowardice of the other B-grades. None of them dared to fight the Sovereign, partly due to how little they would gain from it.

The bird hailed from another section of the planet, so killing it wouldn’t even result in more territory. The Grand Lake which the Sovereign’s island was placed on was also a lot more dangerous than the one the Draconic Crocolisk occupied, as a lot of the older B-grades lived there.

Most of the B-grades around the Draconic Crocolisk had only been B-grades for a few decades at most. Only the Forest Fae had been a B-grade for over a century, which was definitely why she was considered the strongest on the Grand Lake.

The Draconic Crocolisk had full confidence that if he had also been a B-grade for an entire century, he would be far stronger than some stupid fae. In fact, with just one good opportunity, he could close the gap...

With a tooth-filled smile, the B-grade drank the last of the Simivita’s blood as he leaned back on his throne of stone and bones. “Let’s hope that human stops by again to create some chaos and excitement.”

“Your Lordship, aren’t you worried about this human choosing to come here?” a peak C-grade Crocolisk asked with a face full of concern.

Without any warning, the Draconic Crocolisk reached and grasped the head of the other reptilian. The other party didn’t even have time to react as the claws dug into its skull, drawing blood.

“Are you saying I’m weak enough to die to some C-grade human?” the B-grade asked in an angry tone. “The Warlord was pathetically weak, and that stupid bird was just overconfident. Even if the human has a few tricks up his sleeve, so what?”

Throwing the C-grade away, making it smash into a tree, the Draconic Crocolisk spread out its arms and grinned widely. “Even if he dares face me within my own territory, what’s he gonna do to me? I have the scales and Legacy of the dragons! No C-grade can penetrate my- “

Just then, a pervasive sense of danger washed over the Draconic Crocolisk. It was the kind of danger that normally made creatures react quickly and try to dodge... but the Draconic Crocolisk had never been one to dodge.

Blessed as a rare variant from birth, he possessed the Lineage of a True Dragon within his body. He had always been stronger than others his level, easily evolved, and even reached B-grade within only twenty years of birth because of the unique environment of the planet and his sheer innate potential for growth.

One thing that had never let him down was his scales—the most pronounced aspect of his Draconic Lineage. They offered flawless magic resistance, and no C-grade had ever even chipped a single scale since he became a B-grade.

However, perhaps the most important reason why the Draconic Crocolisk responded as it did was due to a lack of experience. Most believed instinct was something entirely uncontrolled, but such an understanding was heavily flawed. Instinct was instead merely the innate action that came before thought, and this innate action was built on something. Muscle memory, habit, or, once more, most importantly, experience.

The Draconic Crocolisk had always reacted to danger by believing in his own durability, and so he had done that day. Sadly for him, this instinctive response proved to be the worst he could have possibly made, as the only micro-adjustment he made before getting stuck was to position the most durable part of his body to block the brunt of the incoming attack...

His skull.

--

Jake had held nothing back. All of this passive skill stacked up to the nines, whatever Hunting Momentum he had gathered passively by observing the B-grade, his boosting skill fully activated at a 60% boost, and of course, a Powershot channeled to the point Jake’s shoulder was about to explode from overexertion.

The payload he delivered was also the strongest Jake could make. Eternal Hunger, transformed into the shape of a large spear-like arrow, and Protean Arrow of Eternal Horizons used to truly augment that attack by embracing the mythical weapon in destructive energies, creating an Impetus Arrow. The entire thing naturally coated with his best Heartrot Poison for maximum damage, should his opponent survive the initial impact.

All of this delivered from stealth and far up in the air, down upon the Draconic Crocolisk. There was so much at play at once that it was hard to keep track of, but Jake had put in the time to make sure this was an attack that the B-grade couldn’t just walk away from.

He needed to do some serious damage with his opening attack if he wanted a chance to win. The B-grade was surrounded by its kin, and Jake needed it weakened and damaged for him to have any confidence in taking it down, as, while Jake did believe in himself, he also knew that fighting a B-grade alongside its army wasn’t something he could handle.

Releasing the arrow and watching it descend, Jake was ready to make sure it would strike true. The Draconic Crocolisk stood below, its arms spread out while showing off to what it clearly considered its lesser brethren.

Ready with Gaze for when the B-grade noticed the attack and tried to dodge, Jake waited with bated breath as the arrow closed in, another attack already nocked as he was ready for the follow-up. The entire flight down didn’t even take two full seconds, but to Jake’s eyes, the arrow may as well have been traveling in slow motion. He hadn’t even done anything with his new Unblemished Arrows, as he hadn’t seen a need to. Manipulating the timing of the arrow wouldn’t have made it hit harder in any way, after all.

As the arrow was about to strike, Jake predicted the Crocolisk would try to dodge. With how fast the arrow was flying, it definitely wouldn’t succeed and likely end up striking the shoulder. A survivable hit for sure, but one that would give Jake a massive advantage.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

However... the Draconic Crocolisk didn’t try to dodge at all. Instead, it did the exact opposite and purposefully moved its head into the pathway of the arrow at the very last moment as all the scales that covered the beast’s body brimmed with energy.

Jake didn’t doubt that the B-grade was durable. It definitely had far higher toughness than both the Sovereign and Warlord. The dragon-like scales covering the monster’s body were impressive indeed... but they weren’t even real dragon scales, and even if they had been, they wouldn’t have stood a chance against the arrow.

Penetrating Arrow and his upgraded Unblemished Arrows came into play as the faint magical barrier given off by the scales was instantly broken through, the arrow not losing any momentum at all as it pierced through the scales of the B-grade. Next, the sharp tip of Eternal Hunger encountered the thick skull of the Crocolisk, which offered more resistance than the scales, though still far from sufficient in stopping the two-meter-long arrow.

The arrow pierced through the skull, into the neck, chest, and stomach, before finally exiting at the thigh because the arrow had veered slightly off course by the many bones it had to destroy during its travel through the B-grade’s body.

After exiting the body of the Draconic Crocolisk, the arrow impacted the ground with meteoric proportions. A massive explosion of arcane energy swept through the center of the island, sending dozens of C-grades flying in the process as a crater several kilometers in radius formed, destroying an entire section of the jungle as trees were uprooted and tossed away.

The crater hadn’t even fully formed before a rain of arrows fell upon the island, and a tenth of a second later, the second salvo arrived as Jake used Rapid Fire from Timeless Focus to shoot down Rain of Arrows after Rain of Arrows.

Massive explosions of destructive arcane mana enveloped the crater. Jake focused as he peered through all these explosions, as he focused solely on the creature in the middle, intent on not giving it any reprieve. The Draconic Crocolisk had lost its entire head, the majority of its upper body, and an entire leg where the arrow had exited at the thigh. Yet, despite around sixty percent of its entire body mass being destroyed, there was no notification in sight.

Not enough yet, Jake told himself as he kept shooting. The vitality of a B-grade was truly not to be underestimated, and the raw damage of Jake’s attack simply hadn’t been enough to end its life in one blow, even if the hit had been absolutely perfect.

That didn’t mean he couldn’t end the fight quickly, though. He saw the flesh of the B-grade wriggling as the Draconic Crocolisk began regenerating in real time, but Jake didn’t want to give it the opportunity. Making use of his newfound time arrows, as he called them, Jake shot down incredibly quick stable arrows; the concept of time itself corroded during flight, cutting their travel down to a fourth.

These arrows struck right where most regeneration took place, and while the arrows could only pierce the flesh because of its delicate and exposed state and did very little damage since a lot of their innate energy was consumed to burn through the concept of time to arrive faster, the same couldn’t be said about the poison that coated every arrow tip.

The Heartrot Poison impeded regeneration because of its hemotoxin properties, and Jake aimed his arrows wherever the B-grade attempted to heal. Well, Jake didn’t really believe the Crocolisk was consciously controlling its regeneration process, which only made the job easier for Jake, as he knew the beast had to be burning through vital energy at an absolutely astonishing rate.

Jake was on a timer, though, as the B-grade wasn’t alone. His initial attack and explosive follow-up had sent all the nearby C-grades flying, leaving many of them disoriented and shaken, but soon some of the stronger ones managed to stabilize and get a read on the situation. Three peak C-grades moved toward the Crocolisk, seemingly intent on using their bodies as shields, but a Gaze on all three delayed them by a few moments, allowing Jake to land a couple more arrows on the Draconic Crocolisk.

His next arrow was blocked, as a C-grade crocodile that also walked on two legs managed to get in front of it, but the next two struck true as Jake made some incredibly tricky shots, both curving the arrows and manipulating their time to make them fly faster and more unpredictably.

At this point, a second C-grade moved to help their leader, followed by the last of the trio. Jake kept shooting and got in a few potshots, but soon, more C-grades joined their comrades, forming a wall of bodies between Jake and his target. A few of the beasts even began taking to the air, flying straight toward him.

Jake couldn’t hit any more arrows... but it had been enough.

Raising a hand, it glowed a dark green color as Jake empowered and stimulated the poison within the B-grade’s body. He actively helped his toxins fight against the vital energies of the Draconic Crocolisk, and he could already feel now that it was enough. The Health Pool of the B-grade was just about dried up, and with a final push, Jake aimed to finish it.

Detonating his Hunter’s Mark, a brief flash of arcane energy lit up the crater, fading away instantly. Left behind was the broken body of the B-grade, the flesh now no longer wriggling with any fervor. Instead, what remained of the once mighty ruler of the island turned black and rotten as the aura of the second B-grade in Area 1 was whisked out within only a few weeks of another.

You have slain [Draconic Crocolisk – lvl 352] – Bonus experience earned for killing an enemy above your level

’DING!’ Class: [Arcane Hunter of Horizon’s Edge] has reached level 310 - Stat points allocated, +50 Free Points

Jake took his level and had no interest in sticking around any longer. Hunting these C-grades seemed meaningless, and a few of them even stopped mid-air upon realizing their leader had died.

When Jake turned and left, only a few pursued him for a few minutes, but they quickly gave up upon realizing they had no chance of catching him, and even if they caught him, all that would await them was death.

Flying while using the occasional One Step, Jake quickly got far away from the island to take a breather. Seeking down toward an island, Jake found one with nothing close to the shoreline as he touched down and deactivated his boosting skill so he could fully recover once more.

After drinking a quick mana potion, Jake entered meditation once more while briefly reflecting on the “fight” he just had, and went away from the hunt with a few key takeaways. The most important thing was that his fully powered attack could definitely take out a B-grade in one hit if everything went according to plan. He had been both lucky and unlucky with the Draconic Crocolisk. Lucky that it was a bloody moron that thought it could take his arrow head-on, allowing Jake to land a dream arrow, and unlucky in that the beast had definitely been on the more durable side.

Regardless of luck, the mere fact his arrow had torn through a seemingly bulky B-grade with such ease was proof of just how powerful his attack was. The Impetus Arrow, using Eternal Hunger as a medium, was on a whole other level compared to anything else Jake could use for his opening attack. Its damage was compounded by so many damn passive and active effects at once that it created a blow no C-grade should be capable of delivering.

Speaking of Eternal Hunger, Jake had naturally retrieved it with a mental command before he left, likely confusing the crocodile-like beasts as the mythical weapon that had nearly killed their leader in one shot, simply dispersed into black smoke, only to reappear within Jake moments later.

A second thing Jake was now more certain of than ever was just how inexperienced these B-grades were. This wasn’t like fighting a B-grade that had slowly grown through the grades over a couple of centuries through precarious fights, but more like beating up beasts that had grown up in a nice zoo with food provided three times a day.

There were some obvious exceptions, such as the Sovereign, and he had a feeling—and also severely hoped—some of the other B-grades would also prove themselves capable of actually fighting, but it wouldn’t be all of them.

Not that it mattered, for he was going to take down all nine B-grades... well, eight now.

After recovering for roughly an hour and drinking a stamina potion after getting back up, Jake headed out once more, his second target already scouted out during his preparation phase earlier.

Following the Draconic Crocolisk, Jake was no longer overly concerned about his ability to kill these B-grades. His goalpost had moved, and he was now aiming for something that would sound certifiably absurd and the ramblings of a madman to any other C-grades his level.

Let’s see if I can take down the next one in a single shot.