A Cold-Blooded POV

Chapter 55 Fatigued

The dopey aroma of iron hung densely in the air. The scent was so thick it could make someone's nose feel numb, like when you bite down on your tongue too hard while trying to taste something sweet, but it turned bitter instead from the pain.

Ethoss flickered his tongue. He could taste it, literally.

Ethoss lifted his legs and claws, moving to the side away from the decimated corpse of the hyena leader.

He had used his claws to quite frankly dig into the stomach of the monster - ripping and tearing through random organs in the process. Ethoss had ripped so deep into the hyena that he'd torn even through the monster's back - and had started digging into the dirt that laid underneath its body.

This created the image of a large hyena that had a massive hole in its body, with only small lumps of flesh holding its upper half and lower half together.

It was a gruesome and gorey scene - another ordinary day for Ethoss.

He looked around for the other lesser hyena corpses. The carrion of the hyena he had so arrogantly started eating earlier to provoke the group was still in the same spot - segments of its body missing from Ethoss's eating. Warm crimson liquid continued to leak and spill out into the soil, becoming nutrients for the grass and plants.

Turning his head a bit more, Ethoss found the most recent lesser hyena laying listlessly against one of the abnormally large trees. It's body was completely charred black and most of its fur had been burned off entirely. Ice shards that were about ten inches long were stabbed into its body - stapling the upper half of its body to the tree.

The last hyena's corpse was more or less just random body parts and organs strewn across the grass in an unordered manner. Each of these pieces were seared and burned from Ethoss's scorching hot flames.

At this point Ethoss's energy had worn off and he was now exhausted and fatigued. Ethoss could feel the cool mana-filled air entering and touching on his open cuts and wounds - blood ran down his scales sluggishly.

His musculature that was filled with so much vigor - now felt like it would cave in at any given moment. His eyes drooped heavily as if they were full of sand or weights attempting to pull them shut.

The pain of his missing limbs ached terribly. Even though his leg and tail were missing, they had basically healed - closing up the open wounds after he stuffed himself with delicious biomass.

However, now, even though they looked healed, they were aching as if he had just got his tail and leg chopped off once again. Not to mention, his other wounds he had received in this fight alone was enough to make him want to nose-dive straight into the miracle lake once more and allow himself to drown blissfully.

The muscles inside his mouth were sore and tired, feeling swollen after all the biting he did. Ethoss had finally realized that his body was shaking and shivering. It seems he had taken more damage then he thought?

Ethoss glanced at his HP.

HP: 33/54

'My HP has gone down a lot for sure' Ethoss thought. 'However, would this amount of damage to my HP result in the amount of fatigue I'm feeling at the moment?'

It didn't make sense. Ethoss had taken far more damage back when he was escaping the humans and even then, he did not feel as miserable as he did now.

Then it hit him.

Ethoss turned his neck, staring in the direction of the stomachless hyena. This hyena was the largest of the group, obviously more evolved than the others. Ethoss remembered an attack it used when it attacked him.

Each time it charged him and attacked, a dark energy always condensed in its mouth. Ethoss could vividly remember seeing this energy, and within that energy there was mana!

'Magic.' Ethoss thought. 'But what sort of magic was that? The properties of that element of magic was far different from the simple fire and ice elements.'

'Hmmm… I'll think about this more deeply after I get all of these corpses into the nest. I'm growing more and more tired as time progresses.' Ethoss thought as he looked over the deceased monsters.

Monster corpses would inevitably be sucked into the dungeon given enough time. If that happened, Ethoss wouldn't be able to profit from his kills - attaining the biomass the carrion possessed.

Before that happened, Ethoss wanted to eat these corpse, however, he was tired and didn't want to risk the chance of another monster spotting his lovely food laying on the ground - and/or attacking him for it.

Ethoss grabbed the leader hyena's body, specifically its leg since it gave him the most grip within his maw. Without wasting anymore time, Ethoss pulled it - heading in the direction of his nest.

The corpse was far from heavy with the strength and force power of Ethoss. Still, it was a chore given the fact that he was intensely fatigued at the moment.

As he pulled, the tall grass made the friction of the fur on the hyena body even harder to pull - additionally making the thin lumps of flesh that was holding the upper and lower body of the hyena.

Ethoss realized this and attempted to pull a bit more gently but not even five seconds later…

*Rip!*

The remaining middle parts of the flesh snapped, separating the two pieces of the body.

'Stupid weak creature!' Ethoss complained internally.

Even though it was because of the hyena's body mass and weight being at friction with the thick grass, Ethoss blamed the hyena. He blamed it for having weak flesh…

Now he had to make double trips just to get this one monster into his nest due to its size.

After dragging the two half's of the larger hyena, Ethoss went to collect the remains of the lesser hyena he had began eating earlier. These lesser hyenas were much smaller than their leader - so Ethoss could easily just pick them up with his strong maw and carry them to his nest.

Retrieving the hyena that was stapled in the tree, Ethoss lifted his left claw, and just like what he had done during the mana overload incident at the miracle lake - he undid the ice spell. The icicles magically dispersed into mana that flowed into the air, showing a visually pleasing effect.

Instantly, the stapled body dropped lifelessly. Ethoss stuffed it into his maw and carried it into his nest.

The scattered pieces of organs and body parts of the last hyena that Ethoss bathed the insides of with his flames; He simply ate those on the spot as he passed them. He didn't see a reason to carry them, however, he also wasn't a fan of wasting food.

Eating these random body pieces, Ethoss gained a single biomass.

Surprisingly, Ethoss had found something he never expected to see for a while. Cores!

Those gorgeous, circular, crimsoned colored orbs of charms and wonders - he had found three of them!

With maximum amount of attentiveness, Ethoss meticulously made sure to carry these balls of mana into his nest with care.

Entering his nest for the final time, Ethoss licked the air. The familiar scent of dirt, rock, and dust assaulted his taste buds - a smell he could distinguish easily from his time in the tunnel within the cavern network.

Luckily he had excavated enough room prior, just in case he wanted to carry his food into his nest. There was plenty of space for his large frame and the dead hyenas.

Ethoss laid down in a comfortable position on his bed that mimicked the goblins creation, finally resting his fatigued body. In front of him was a large pile of biomass - just waiting on him to devour.

Without a second thought, Ethoss began chomping it down.

The taste of the bloodied meat was always worth eating every bite of it, and the organs - such as the heart and liver, were delicacies. His tongue ran across the flesh as if it were running over the top of an ice cream cone. As he ate, more meat would fall into his mouth like popcorn. Each time meat would fall from out of his mouth, he'd quickly bend down to pick it right back up.

[You have gained one biomass]

[You have gained one biomass]

...

It had been about twelve minutes of eating. Ethoss continued munching away until he reached something different – not meat but some sort of thick, rubbery skin. With a quick jerk of his head, it came off easily enough. A second later, and the apathetic robotic voice returned.

[You have consumed a new source of Biomass: Nigreos Dens Dira Hyeana, you have been awarded one Biomass]

[Basic profile of the Nigreos Dens Dira Hyeana unlocked]

***

Monster Profile:

[Nigreos Dens Dira Hyeana: Black Tooth Dire Hyena. One of the evolutions given to the Juvenile Dire Hyena. This monster is known for its affinity to shadow and the powerful fangs capable of inflicting maximum amount of pains to the victims of its bites - even creating high pain within minor cuts or healed injuries. These monsters are most likely leading groups and play a captain role among their species. Just like their inferior counterparts, these monsters prefer catching prey and/or hunting with their teeth rather than their claws. Found in the Dark Plains and the first and third stratum's of The Elzic Dungeon]