No Break

[Bing!!!]

[Daily quest now available]

[Trophy hunter]

•Get your first beast kill.

—Rewards—

-Basic feral beast - 20 exp

-Inter-feral beast - 50 exp.

"What?!. A beast hunt?"Klaus asked himself as already he knew he wouldn't be getting any reply. The new development was a shock to him for multiple reasons.

" I'm starting to think the difficulty of these quests keep jumping by a million folds. How am I supposed to hunt down a beast!!!" Klaus thought panicking in his mind. For all he knew, he was being sent on a suicide mission.

He had never hunted down a beast before and to be even more clear, he hadn't actually seen one that was alive before. Only the core crystals of beasts were brought back from a hunt.

On rare cases would a hunter bring the entire thing back. It was stated that some people eat beasts but this was only a rumour to most people. No harm had been reported to have come to anyone from eating beasts. And at the same time, no one had actually been seen eating one publicly.

Thinking about everything, he realized just how dire his situation was. There was one thing ringing out in his head and that was to quit. Shove aside the entire quest and pretend like he had no task to complete. But then a certain thought crossed his mind.

He remembered what happened the previous day when he attempted to dump a quest. Now he knew not to even think about it. But at the same time, he knew unlike the rest of the quest, going out by that time was likely to turn out to be a suicide mission if truly he was out for beasts.

"I'll just wait till day time. I'm sure I'd have thought of something by then" Klaus thought to himself and went on to lay back down on his bed to sleep.

What didn't feel like a long night at all ended shortly after. He woke up seeing the quest hanging in front of him. And he knew then his day was off to a difficult start. He set off to get prepared for the usual daily routine but then a disturbing message appeared.

*Bing*

[You are low on energy]

[EP - 0]

[Consume energy now!!]

"Okay, so things are getting interesting. You don't need to tell me that one. I know I'm hungry" Klaus murmured to himself as he got up from his bed. It turned out, his energy points which was used to replenish his HP relied on the actual energy he derived for himself. Which meant, if he ate something, the energy points would go up.

On getting to level two, a number of things had changed and one of them happened to be the energy points that was now associated with his HP. He had skipped a whole day's meal which explained why his energy point read zero. Fixing this to him wasn't a difficult task by any means at all. He just needed to get ready and go downstairs. If it was the same mother he knew he had, then he was sure she would have made him something considering he had nothing to eat the previous day.

His prediction came into fruition and as he had his fill, he checked up on the system profile once again and his guess about the energy points being associated with actual energy and his HP was spot on.

....

[Host's profile]

-Name: Klaus Dean Jackson.

-Level - 2

-[250 Exp needed to level up]

•Exp status - [0%]

-Nether Gene - Shadow

-HP - 100

-Ep - 100

-Race: ???

-Class: ???

Stat attributes.

-Strength - 14

-Agility - 9

-Speed - 9

- Durability - 8

- Perception - 10

...

Just as he thought. The Ep was back at it's full scale and he was feeling filled up. In a way, he was starting to understand how things worked. And while he wished he could go straight to completing the day's quest, there was just one hurdle he had to skip past, training.

His dad for a long period of time was the first to arrive at the dojo before him. He had simply just walked by when he met him eating and not said a word. Klaus already being in his white training kit with a white taped fist was all prepared. And immediately after having his fill, he moved down to the dojo where to his surprise, he didn't meet his father there. So he decided to check the room they had their training in the previous day. And as he hoped with all the good in him that his father wouldn't be there, he met the door wide open and awaiting him.

"Here we go again" Klaus said inwardly on entering the dark room and closing the door behind him. And just like the previous day, he learnt there would be no light and they'd simply be fighting in the dark.

"You did particularly well yesterday. And if you had noticed, that was your first session in the new stage" Mr Zen said loudly from the opposite end of the room.

"Yes!!" Klaus answered as cultured. But then paused mid thought to ask himself.

"I did well? "...

"Now, yesterday the aim of the training was to see how fit you are for this stage. Today, that remains the aim. I'm going to show you that the advantage of the battle will not always be in your favour. So many obstacles will present themselves but it's left to you to do what you have to do. Show me you are ready.." Mr Zen said and once again he had disappeared into the shadows. Klaus seeing how it happened was in awe as it looked masterfully done.

But even he had no time to be waiting around. He knew how things could get just standing around.

Immediately too, Klaus stepped back into the shadows and began to blend in well with it even as he was on white. This was because of the knowledge passed down from the system to him. Now he knew just what to do and how to do it. The skill in action now was known as the GHOST WALK. The skill not only allowed a person if mastered well to blend in with their surroundings, but just as the name implied, one is able to be just as much of a ghost as they wanted, as the technique primarily teaches footwork. The act of deadly stealth accompanied with incredible speed was all this entailed.

This was how Mr Zen was able to stay invisible and basically elusive. It was a good way to sneak up on one's target and go for a quick kill. But the lesson at hand wasn't aiming to teach that. Instead, Mr Zen's goal was the opposite. Teaching Klaus how to stay protected when HE was the target.

Klaus knew from experience that matching his dad's quickness was going to be a painful joke if he tried. So he settled for the one thing he knew he excelled well at. Getting hit by his dad. And this was for a reason.

And as always, since the onset of this new routine, his dad was the one coming for him. He normally was the one who went on the attack.

But that was on the old category, THE WAY OF THE FIST, which he had learnt and mastered to some degree himself. Meaning he had a bit of confidence then. But this was unfamiliar territory for him. He was basically standing on the ropes for this one. As uncomfortable as he could possibly be.

He couldn't exactly see the old man, but he did sense him drawing closer. And the longer he remained in the darkness, the more his vision adjusted, so he believed.

*Poooshhhh...!!*

He saw an arm approaching him with speed. But thankfully, his perception stats were now improved and he was able to tell to some extent just how fast it was moving. Ducking just at the right time, he avoided a fist he thought would have decapitated him if he had fooled around.

"What the!!!.. What's wrong with this man?!!" Klaus questioned in his mind in an angry and confused tone. But there was no room for any form of respite as an attack came in suddenly again.

This time it was a kick and before Klaus could even move, he was kicked directly in the stomach and instantly he felt like he was going to purge out everything he had eaten a while ago.

[-15 HP]

"No kidding!!" He thought on seeing the notification. His insides were hurting bad. He felt like he was kicked in the soul but that pain turned out to be nothing as much as the words that came from his dad next.

"You are weak!!!..pathetic!!!...."

"Up!!!!"

Mr Zen commanded as he burst through the shadows heading towards Klaus. Klaus sensing the danger rolled out of the way and what he heard next made his eyes nearly pop out of their sockets.

*Bang!!*

"What was that?. Was that what he aimed to hit me with?" Klaus thought to himself unsure of what was happening. Suddenly he was getting an unfamiliar tingle. His hair raised up and his skin pore tightened. His heartbeat was at its highest and worst of all, the one thing he didn't need at that time crept in, fear.

He was scared for his life now as it felt like his father was hunting him down. His senses were telling him to run for his life and he obeyed without a question. He blasted off his feet and began to run not knowing exactly where he was going.

"So this is it?. This is all you can come up with?. Have I not thought you anything?!!!!.Years of teaching you and you settle for a foolish and cowardly decision!!! . " Mr Zen's voice was heard and this time it wasn't a puzzle to figure out in any way that he was livid.

Out of no where, he was right in front of Klaus. It didn't take a second as klaus was smashed on the chest with an open palm strike.

*Kiaaaak!!!*

His reaction time just couldn't match what his father was bringing to the table. Immediately, he was sent tumbling back to the ground. He coughed and gasped for air. His lungs felt like a house had collapsed on it.

[-10 HP]

But even in the midst of all the torture, something was rising in him. His fist began to quiver and what followed next was his heart rate spiking up to an incredible degree. One he felt was about to smash through his chest. Now he was incredibly overwhelmed with anger. How it came about he didn't know but he was beyond livid at this point. His instincts were now directing him to one direction, where his father stood. His body quivered with new life as he got back to his feet and faced the direction his father struck from.

"I'm am not weak!!" Klaus said and dashed at his father. Then as he got close, he jumped to the air and spun sending his left heel directly to his father's face. Mr Zen remained unmoving and as Klaus's heel smashed into his face, he remained completely unfazed and grabbed Klaus's legs by the heel and flung him aside.

Klaus landed hard on one of the platforms in the room that held weapons and his back told the tale as he was in incredible amount of pain.

[-5 HP]

"Weak!!!"

Mr Zen said again as he came dashing towards Klaus. But now Klaus could somehow see better and as he saw his father approach with speed and purpose, all that came from him was a smile.

But not just any smile, a wicked smile at that. His heart thumped louder and louder. And at the very last moment when his father swung a fist down at him, he moved out of the way.

Holding in his hand was the chain weapon that fell on the ground as he was sent smashing into the squarish platform that held weapons beside him. Not wasting any time, he wrapped it around his father's fist, and then quickly moving around he tied it around to his father's back, he tied it around his neck and pulled hard on it. The chain had a small and round handle to it that looked like the hilt of a sword at both ends of the link.

In the process of holding it tightly and drawing on it to apply pressure, Klaus heard a clicking sound and when he looked, he could see a blade sticking out from the end of the handle.

"Do it!!!"

Mr Zen commanded as he stood not struggling at all. Klaus may have not realized it, but his father put no effort in getting out of his hold. It was almost like Mr Zen was waiting to see how it would end.

"Do it!!!!"

Mr Zen shouted even louder this time. And every time he gave the order, Klaus's hands vibrated even more. His heart thumped louder and he grinned down on his teeth. His entire body was shaking now as he had his father wrapped with chains around the neck and fist.

With Klaus hesitating, Mr Zen unravelled himself in matter of seconds from the chain hold and dragged the chain causing Klaus to be pulled towards him with minimal difficulty. Then he followed it up with a spinning back fist that Klaus saw and tried to block with his hands. This was ineffective as it basically bursted through his guard and Mr Zen's fist eventually smashed into his jaw.

*paw!!*

Klaus fell on the ground and laid there unmoving as every ounce of energy was removed with that very strike from his father.

[- 20 HP]

Mr Zen bent down again and looked Klaus in the eye who just laid facing the ceiling.

"Never..ever!! Hesistate to take the life of the one who is trying to take yours" Mr Zen said and turned to the exit.

"Get stronger.." He said as he approached the exit not looking at Klaus even for one second.

"Training is over" he finally said as he faded out of sight.