Venerable Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Cruel Reality

Read chapter 18 of Venerable by Jade_White on NovelPedia.

Crack. The giant monkey's heavy punch landed directly on Dustin's left arm. The force of the impact was overwhelming. His arm completely broke under the massive weight. The limb immediately dropped and hung uselessly at his side, held together only by the skin like a piece of cloth hanging loosely on a clothes hanger. Dustin let out a sharp and loud cry that filled the dungeon. A blinding, fiery pain erupted in his left hand and rushed rapidly through every other part of his body. His vision flashed pure white for a second. The beast did not stop at just that single hit. It roared and kept attacking relentlessly. Even though Dustin's left arm was completely broken and he was almost ready to cry out in absolute agony, his survival instincts took over. He forced his heavy legs to move and dodged the wild, heavy swings. He could not even move his left hand now. The intense pain assaulted him every single time he shifted his body even a fraction of an inch. His balance was completely thrown off by the dead weight hanging from his shoulder. Dustin looked at the massive monkey in front of him while backing away. The beast was also covered in many deep cuts. Blood did not stop flowing from its terrible wounds, staining its golden fur dark red. It was huffing loudly just like him, its chest heaving with every ragged breath. The monster was clearly in too much pain as well. At this exact moment, Dustin felt a sudden wave of intense, boiling anger. He gritted his teeth so hard. He refused to die here. He rushed directly toward the monkey. He did not care that his left arm was completely useless. He ignored the fact that his shoulder was hurting with every single step he took. Swoosh. Slash. He ducked under a clumsy hook and drove his right dagger deep into the monkey's side. The beast howled and swung blindly, but Dustin was already moving away. After a few more brutal rounds of fighting, the giant monkey had lost way too much blood. Its heavy eyelids started to close. Its massive arms were trembling under their own weight. Yet, it still continued fighting anyway. It was driven entirely by its raw, primal will to survive. But reality is very cruel. Just wanting something or having a strong desire to live does not bring salvation. A person or a beast must have the actual strength to get it. As time passed, the movements of the monkey became more and more stiff and incredibly slow. Dustin kept cutting the beast again and again. He darted in, sliced the thick flesh, and stepped back out of reach. He repeated this brutal process until the giant monkey finally died and collapsed heavily onto the stone floor. Even after the monkey died, Dustin kept cutting it. He could not control his boiling anger. He was furious at the beast, but he was also furious at himself for slipping on a stupid rock and nearly getting killed. He raised his leg and started stomping its face with his feet. Thud. Squelch. Thud. He stomped over and over again until his breathing grew completely ragged. DING. This sudden, sharp sound made Dustin finally stop his violent actions. He stepped back from the ruined corpse and looked at the floating blue screen. [ Killed an Evolved Species ] [ Reward: 70 points ] Dustin did not even bother to read the rest of the message. He quickly swiped this screen away and opened the shop section. He immediately switched over to the Starter Shop tab with his trembling right hand. DING. [ STARTER SHOP ] [ Basic Healing Potion ] [ Description: Can cure any basic injury quickly, but ineffective on any fatal injuries or poisons. ] [ Cost: 200 points ] [ Basic Poison ] [ Description: Can kill any lower-level species below Level 30 in just a few minutes to several hours. Effects may vary based on the species' stats. May be ineffective on anything higher. ] [ Cost: 500 points ] [ Normal Sword ] [ Description: A normal sword made of steel. No special effects or buffs. ] [ Cost: 150 points ] [ Ignis-Edge (Level 1) ] [ Description: A normal steel swo