Zion landed in a pit filled with large monsters that resembled lions. Their claws were long, the size of swords, and they were so sharp that they tore through rock like butter. Their fur, while soft-looking from a distance, was actually quills, like a porcupine. Its jaw had rows of teeth, and it opened from all angles to gulp down its prey in one go. And its main was completely made of green fire.
’Shit! Shit fuckety fuck! I’m gonna fucking die! That demon!’
[Calm down and let’s assess the situation]
’Tessa, are you mad? There’s nothing to assess! Dragons have a hard time in this place, and you expect me to just waltz in here and kill every monster in sight? You’re insane! I’ll literally fucking die. ’
[Take a moment and feel the mana coming off the beast. My energy reading scanners aren’t picking up a monster that exceeds the Transscendent Stage. While fighting them may be difficult, it’s not impossible.]
’Fuck. Are you able to communicate with my family back home?’
’Tell them that I’m okay and relay my conversation with Lilith to them. In the meantime, let’s try not to kill ourselves.’
"I’ll fight with you, master! Side by side!"
"Yeah, thanks, Aryah. Let’s do this."
"I should not have done that! Oh god!" Zion ducked just in time as a massive paw with razor-sharp claws almost tore his head off.
He had angered the pride of monster lions, and they were now after him. He attacked them with confidence, not holding anything back as Aryah aided him from the side.
The result? A pack of angry lions, chasing them around the land, trying to eat their heads off.
Thankfully, their attacks did damage one lion, albeit barely. Enough to leave a mark, not enough to harm the lion, but more than enough to anger it.
"This is a dream! A very, very bad dream! I’m not in a Rank-11 fracture! Ohmmmmm! Ohmmm! Ohm-OH MY FUCKING GOD!"
Zion used everything he could to protect himself as one of the massive paws came crashing down on him, knocking him away hundreds of feet. He flew through the air, spinning like a toy as he healed from his injuries, only to gain some more as he crashed back down onto the ground.
He acted quickly, dodging out of the way before one of the lions had the chance to bite off his head.
Aryah restrained the beast, trapping it in place. She was actually strong enough to take on a Mystic Cultivator, but because of the negative mana in the monster world, her power was weakened.
"Hurry!" She shouted with strain.
Zion took out the sword of forms, changing it into a spear. He charged it up with every last drop of his power and chucked it as hard as he could into the lion’s eye.
The spear tore right through its eye, lodging itself into the lion’s brain, then exiting through the back of its head.
The sword returned, and Zion was already spent. Tired from running and using all his power to kill only one monster lion.
A green beam of fire rained down on Zion, and he used his spear as a shield to block the flames, spinning it at high speeds.
"Eat on this ugly!" Aryah chucked an elemental spear into the lion’s gaping jaw, ignoring the flames it had to power through. It hit the back of its throat and proceeded to blow up, and blood rained from the sky for a few seconds.
"Two down, 13 to 38 more to go, depending on how many lions are in this pride. We’re so fucked."
Twelve hours. That’s how long it took Zion to kill the lions. Unfortunately for him, he had to fight 38 lions, and it was not an easy battle.
During his battles, he truly learned how far his regeneration could go. Arms were lost, legs were bitten off. His lower body was sliced in half, his upper body was burned to a crips. His head was severed, his body was crushed, and throughout all of that, he regenerated from everything.
Since Aryah didn’t have a physical form outside of Zion, being able to touch her because they were bonded, she was only harmed by the magical attacks, which still caused her harm as well.
They fought with their lives on the line as if there was no tomorrow. Zion used every trick in the book he could. Tessa also helped out with information and the nano-tech suit, which made things a bit easier.
Still, Zion had to do all he could to win. He led them into lava, exploiting the soft spots on their bodies, including their balls if they had any. He made them fight other monsters, but quickly learned that in this area, they were the Apex Predators, so that didn’t help him at all.
Finally, after twelve painful hours, Zoin finally managed to kill all 38 Lions and found a cave to rest in and properly heal his body, especially his mind.
His clothes were riddled with claw and blood marks. He had gone through a few pairs of clothing already and was on the verge of losing even more.
"Fuck, I’m so stressed. Thank god these are monsters and not people. I definitely wouldn’t win against a person at this strength level. Ughhh, I’m tired!" Zion dropped to the ground and closed his eyes to sleep.
[No time to rest. You should cultivate now.]
"ARGHH! Fuck! What was that for?!"
[You’re weak! Weaker than a fly! Don’t waste this chance to get stronger, especially during such a critical moment in your life. It’s either do or die, and I don’t want you to die, so DO!]
"You’re right. Okay, I’ll start."
[Aryah, you should join in as well. As a spirit, you can adapt better than he can, and your strength will be crucial to his survival.]
"Yes! I won’t let you down! I’ll protect you, master!" She sat down and started absorbing the negative mana in the air.
"Heh, thanks." Zion closed his eyes and did the same.