Level Up The Colony-Chapter 28: Shedding Human

Stan was sent flying, crashing into a tree with enough force to splinter it.

Blood dribbled from his mouth as he slumped against the trunk.

Timothy narrowed his eyes.

The system didn't notify him that the fight was over.

"So I have to kill them, huh? Knockouts won't do," he muttered, his expression unreadable.

His conscience whispered that this was wrong.

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But in a kill-or-be-killed scenario, morality was a luxury he couldn't afford.

The tug of hesitation in his chest faded, replaced by cold acceptance.

His stance shifted.

His aura darkened.

He didn't need flashy skills.

Overwhelming strength would do just fine.

'First raid and I've already blown it,' he thought, unsettlingly calm.

In a blink, he moved too fast for them to react.

His fist buried into Stan's gut, forcing the unconscious man awake with a violent gasp.

Before he could react, Timothy's second punch shattered his jaw, sending blood spraying from his nose, mouth, and ears.

The final strike landed directly over his heart.

DING!

[1/7 hostile intents eliminated]

Timothy clicked his tongue.

'Too messy.'

The others stood frozen, torn between fear and rage.

Yusuf's gaze darkened, his surprise laced with something else, it was exhilaration.

A tank, barely Timothy's age, swallowed hard.

"You... who are you?" he stammered.

Timothy ignored him.

His next target was already chosen.

A mage hurriedly chanted a spell, but Timothy was faster.

His body blurred as he sidestepped the tank's attempted bash, closing in on the mage.

His hand shot forward, gripping the caster's face and driving him into the dirt with bone-crushing force.

'Fragile.'

DING!

[2/7 hostile intents eliminated]

Timothy exhaled, eerily calm.

Yusuf strode forward, picking up Stan's axe and unsheathing his sword.

Now dual-wielding, he approached with measured steps.

"You're a monster," he said, eyes gleaming.

"But you're not the only one."

Then he lunged.

Timothy retaliated instantly, activating Armament.

Navy blue energy wrapped around his arms, granting him forty seconds of enhanced durability, more than enough to end this fight.

Their weapons clashed against his reinforced arms, sending sparks flying.

Yusuf's eyes widened.

Mana Blade? That was a skill C-rank hunters used on their weapons, but this kid had applied it to his body?

Timothy, meanwhile, had his own observations.

He saw how easily Yusuf's sword cleaved through a tree trunk.

His fists could do better.

But fists against blades was a gamble he couldn't afford.

'I really need a weapon,' he thought.

They disengaged at the same time.

Yusuf was fast, alternating between his sword and axe, aiming for vital points.

But Timothy weaved, dodged, and countered seamlessly.

Yusuf's skill was impressive, he parried every strike.

For a moment, it seemed like a stalemate.

But they both knew who was losing.

Yusuf was taking more damage with each parry, his body slowing under the strain.

A moment's distraction cost him a brutal kick to the chest, sending him crashing through a tree.

Their confrontation ended, but the last remaining mage had finished casting.

Timothy's perception flared in a warning.

He leaped away just in time as thorned vines erupted from the ground, narrowly missing his legs.

Before he could regain his footing, a tank slammed into him, massive tower shield first.

Timothy had expected this.

He caught the shield with one hand, locking into a contest of strength.

A second tank joined in, adding his weight to the push. Timothy grimaced, shifting both hands to hold them back. Even with Armament, he couldn't overpower them easily.

Then, he saw it, the faint glow around their bodies.

They've been buffed.

The healer had reinforced them.

Timothy exhaled and adjusted his grip.

Then, he pushed.

Slowly, the center of one shield buckled under his fingers.

His strength began denting the metal.

The tanks' faces drained of color.

Then Timothy's instincts screamed.

A vine snared his ankle.

Before he could react, his world flipped him into the ground.

"Don't stop!" one of the tanks yelled.

The vine flung him again into a tree.

Then the ground.

Again.

And again.

On the next throw, they realized he was no longer caught.

The tanks raised their shields instinctively, standing in front of the healer and mage.

It cost them.

Blood splattered.

The kid tank turned, eyes wide in horror.

The healer stood frozen, a choked gasp escaping her lips.

The last mage, quite a young girl was held aloft, Timothy's fingers crushing her throat.

Like a broken doll, she flailed.

Then she fell.

A lifeless thud.

Timothy exhaled, rolling his shoulders.

His Armament had long been undone by him.

And yet, it took no effort to snap her neck.

"You murderer!!" the kid tank roared, charging forward with his shield raised, aiming to bash Timothy.

But before his attack could land, his world turned red.

A single, swift strike from Timothy's knuckle to his temple ended his life instantly.

DING!

[4/7 hostile intents eliminated]

'Pitiful.'

Timothy barely spared the fallen tank a glance, his expression calm, unwavering.

In fact, from the moment the battle began, not a single trace of emotion had surfaced on his face.

The healer stood frozen in shock while the remaining tank, his tower shield raised, stepped protectively in front of her.

Both were trembling.

Timothy walked toward them, his steps steady, deliberate.

Just as he was about to end them, his perception flared with warning.

Something was coming fast.

The killing intent locked onto him was unmistakable.

No system notification accompanied it, which only confirmed his guess.

It came from the direction Yusuf had been sent flying.

A burly figure crashed into him, the sheer force sending him hurtling backward.

SPLASH!

Once again, Timothy found himself submerged in the river.

A deep, guttural howl echoed through the forest.

Timothy emerged from the water, his gaze fixed on the figure standing before him.

Unlike before, his system now registered a threat level.

[Shedding Human] – Red

Red meant danger, but Timothy's eyes remained eerily calm.

"You don't seem surprised by my form," Yusuf said, his voice laced with an almost beastly growl.

'A werewolf. That explains the scent I picked up before entering the dungeon'. Timothy thought, offering no reply.

Yusuf's lips curled into a grin.

"Let's... rematch."

At that moment, a mental relay came through from Gray, signaling that it had finished whatever it was doing with the serpent's core and heart.

'Stay away from here... and watch those three.' Timothy transmitted back, referring to the healer, the tank, and the half-dead assassin.

Yusuf and Timothy circled each other, their gazes locked, both assessing their opponent.

Then, a water bottle suddenly appeared in Timothy's hand.

Without breaking eye contact, he uncorked it and poured it over his head.

The potion's recovery effect only worked when consumed, but a few sips found their way into his mouth, was enough.

As he reached into his inventory again, something else caught his eye.

A smirk tugged at his lips.

Yusuf, growing impatient, prepared to strike.

But the moment he saw a weapon materialize in Timothy's hand, he instinctively sidestepped, retreating.

It wasn't the weapon itself that alarmed him, but the technique used to summon it.

When he realized it was only a machete, his wariness vanished.

"Brouhaha! And here I thought you had something good," Yusuf sneered.

Timothy remained silent, his smirk unchanging.

His gaze fell on the weapon.

[Name: T'Challa's Tooth]

Type: Beast Kin Armament

Grade: C

Attack: 42-80

...

It was a deep black steel machete, engraved with the image of a panther mid-leap, claws extended.

A simple weapon, shorter than a typical machete, about the length of his forearm, but longer than a dagger.

The moment Timothy curled his fingers around the hilt, a smooth sensation washed through him.

The weapon wasn't heavy, yet it carried an unmistakable aura of intimidation, not directed at him, but at everything else.

A pulse of soft green flickered across the engraving as he tightened his grip around the cloth-wrapped hilt.

DING!

[You have received the reward for the Emergency Quest.]

[T'Challa's Tooth acknowledges your grip. Its hunger mirrors yours. Let it feed.]

Timothy's smirk widened as he met Yusuf's gaze.

"What do you think? Quite the perfect weapon for hunting, isn't it?"

Yusuf's instincts screamed at him.

Something had changed. The boy before him had grown far more dangerous in an instant.

"You can't kill..." Yusuf started, but before he could finish, Timothy moved.

Faster than before.

Too fast.

Yusuf barely reacted in time, swiping his claws in front of him, anticipating an attack.

But pain bloomed across his chest before his strike could connect.

A deep gash ran vertically from his neck to his waist.

'Too shallow'.

Timothy frowned.

'He's faster than me?!' Yusuf's mind reeled.

He lashed out with another claw, but Timothy cut him off with a brutal kick to the chest, sending him rolling into the forest.

Yusuf, even in his werewolf form, standing two heads taller than Timothy had been overwhelmed in a single exchange.

Yet Timothy didn't chase blindly.

He strolled into the forest, senses sharpened.

The moment a claw slashed toward his head, he dodged and turned only to find nothing there.

He's using the trees for cover.