The beast lunged.

  It moved like a blur, a nightmare of bone and molten sinew, its gaping maw stretching too wide, filled with jagged, obsidian-black teeth. My body screamed at me to dodge, but I wasn’t fast enough.

  Pain exploded across my side as its claws raked through my torso.

  I hit the ground hard, rolling across the cracked obsidian. My fingers dug into the scorched terrain, slowing my momentum as I skidded to a stop. My breathing was ragged, my chest on fire—but I was alive.

  I shouldn’t have been.

  [Defiance (Rank ???) activated.]

  [Lethal Damage Negated.]

  [Survival Instinct Boost Applied.]

  I clenched my teeth. That skill—the only thing keeping me alive right now—was working on pure nonsense. I felt the attack. Felt the claws tear through me.

  No damage.

  The creature twisted its grotesque form toward me, the heat from its molten veins distorting the air around it. It roared, the sound a jagged mix of metal scraping and stone fracturing.

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  I couldn’t stay on the ground. It would kill me if I hesitated.

  I forced myself up, my muscles sluggish, my movements delayed. I had no weapon. No stats. No System backing me. My fingers clenched into fists anyway. If I had to fight with my bare hands, so be it.

  The beast rushed forward, closing the gap in a single leap. Its claws came down again, aiming to crush me into the ground.

  Move!

  I sidestepped at the last second, just barely avoiding death. The obsidian cracked under the impact, molten veins spreading through the ground like lightning. I had no way to kill this thing. Not with fists. Not with speed alone.

  I needed an edge.

  I glanced around, searching. The Wastes stretched out endlessly—jagged spires of black rock, rivers of molten glass, and skeletal remains of things that didn’t belong. Then I saw it.

  A rusted, half-buried blade.

  It jutted out of the ground like a tombstone, its edge dulled by time, but it was a weapon. I broke into a sprint, my body reacting before my mind could fully process it. The beast howled behind me, closing in fast.

  Ten feet.

  Five.

  I dove

  [Corrupted Relic Acquired: Forgotten Fang]

  [Warning: Weapon Integrity at 12%. Risk of Breakage High.]

  Not the best news.

  Steel met flesh.

  A sickening crack

  The monster staggered back, a distorted shriek ripping from its throat. Its molten veins pulsed violently, its body shaking—then it lunged forward again,

  I barely had time to react before it was on me.

  Its jaw unhinged. A blast of searing heat

  I raised the sword instinctively—

  And then everything exploded.