Is it Wrong to Copy Abilities in Apocalypse?

It wasn't like this question never crossed Alex's mind; he just didn't want to believe that was the case.

If he believed that was the case, then it would mean a single thing that she was trying to say something that the system didn't allow her to.

And if she was still trying to make Alex notice whatever she was doing, then it meant she was trying to help him.

Now, why would she want to help Alex?

Alex didn't want to believe that it was out of good intentions; his cautiousness wouldn't let him believe that, but there was nothing else he could make out of this situation.

But then, another question arose: what was she trying to tell him?

What did she want?

"Grrrr…"

Just as Alex was about to move away from this area while pondering those questions, a growl was heard, causing his body to stiffen.

His eyes quaked as he felt the power behind that growl.

The growl wasn't a faraway growl; its owner was right in front of him; Alex could feel two bloodthirsty and hungry eyes staring at him.

He didn't move; he stood still, his eyes, however, slowly and cautiously raised up to look ahead, and he finally saw it.

A beast that almost reached his shoulder, standing right there—10 meters away from him, between two clusters of bushes—staring at him as drool dropped from the corner of its large mouth.

It was a quadruped beast with earthly brown fur. It looked just like a lion, but it didn't have the mane like one, and neither was its tail long like a lion's, but there was one glaring feature of it that caused Alex's body to tense.

Its razor-sharp canine teeth were approximately 20 centimeters long, almost equal to the length of his dagger, and strong enough to penetrate even the hardest of steel.

The beast was crouching on the ground, seemingly ready to jump as Alex, and the moment Alex's eyes met its, it did just that.

"ROAARR!"

With a fierce roar, the beast lunged at Alex with its mouth wide open, aiming to crush and puncture Alex's neck with just one bite.

'Shit!'

After a long time, Alex felt panic.

In the mere second, he looked into the beast's eyes, he already had the status window of the beast, but even before he could look at it, the beast already had its wide mouth with two long canine teeth right next to his head.

It was as if the beast wanted to crush Alex's skull and neck in one go, not wanting to leave any chance for him to survive.

Although Alex wasn't as quick as the beast, he was still able to move, especially with the sense of urgency he felt the moment he saw the beast.

*Woosh*

Alex hurriedly lowered his head, shielding it with his arms, but the beast was faster, and although it missed the head, it still slashed its claw at Alex.

*Slash*

"Ghhh!"

Alex did a quick roll on the ground, moving away from the spot he was standing at, but he couldn't avoid the slash of the beast's claw, causing him to grit his teeth in pain.

He didn't dwell on the pain for long as he stood up with a swift movement, his body tense.

*Grip*

He gripped his dagger and stared intensely at the beast in front of him, and the beast matched his gaze with raw ferocity.

"Grrrr…"

The beast growled as it started moving around Alex with slow and deliberate steps, as if teasing Alex, but Alex's eyes remained determined as he kept his gaze focused on the beast while also looking at the beast's information.

[[Name: Unnamed Smilodon.

Race: Smilodon.

Title: --

Stats:

→ Strength – Level 6 (Tier 1)

→ Defense – Level 6 (Tier 1)

→ Agility – Level 7 (Tier 1)

→ Stamina – Level 7 (Tier 1)

→ Mana – Level 6 (Tier 1)

Skills:

- Predatory Roar (Uncommon): A primal roar that could stun any weak-willed creature in their place, making them easy prey.

- Fang Crush (Uncommon): With its immensely powerful jaw, the beast can crush anything as long as it's between its jaws. There is a chance of armor penetration with this skill.

- Agility Boost (Uncommon): The beast is known for its agility, and due to its innate high speed, it gains a momentary boost in its agility once in a while; the chances of it being activated are, however, minimal.

]]

Alex's eyes widened even if they were just a bit.

'It's a level 5+ beast…'

His face turned solemn.

He did want to fight a level 5+ beast, but not like this...

The pain of the 1 or 2 centimeters deep claw mark on his back—the same claw mark that was caused by the smildon a second ago—was the last of his concern right now.

The main problem right now was that he couldn't even follow the beast's movements.

The last attack was a simple and straight leap, so it was easy for him to guess the trajectory, but the next wasn't going to be that easy; Alex was sure of it.

*Tremble*

His body shivered as the pain of the deep gash on his back was still there, and no matter how much he tried to ignore it, the sting he felt from the claw mark wasn't going to make things easy for him.

But he gritted his teeth and stared at the beast that was now staring at him, seemingly getting ready to attack again.

Alex's eyes scanned the surroundings, and suddenly, something clicked in his mind.

'Do I have another option right now?'

The AI tried to warn Alex about something, but Alex cut it off with grim words.

For now, Alex was at a visible disadvantage.

If he had even one aspect better than the beast, then he would've used it, but he didn't; he was lower than the beast in every single stat.

He couldn't even use the wind's whisper here, as the beast was way too fast for him to aim at it, as for his other abilities...

*Grit*

He gritted his teeth, staring right at the beast, observing even the smallest of movements it did.

Right now, Alex was at the highest sensitivity.

He could vividly feel the air brushing against his skin; the sound of the leaves rustling was clear in his ears as well, but the thing that was loudest for him was...

*Badump**Badump*...

The heartbeats that were drumming against his ribcage and the rushing of the blood in his veins.

*Swoosh*

All of that, however, paused the moment he saw the beast move.

Unlike last time, the beast didn't jump right at him; this time, it started to circle him at a very high speed—a speed that Alex couldn't follow.

But just as Alex thought of something...

*Slash*

"Arghh!"

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