"Don't let it escape!"

Fifteen minutes had passed since Viktor decided to search around the place for more of the mutated animals. Now that he had finally found a mutated rabbit, the creature strangely decided to run instead. This naturally angered him to no end.

From the corner of his eyes, Viktor noticed that Boris was aiming his AK47 towards the rabbit, his point finger already on the trigger. Therefore, he quickly shouted before Boris could pull the trigger. "Not the gun, you idiot! Are you trying to court death?!"

As they ran through the forest chasing after the mutated rabbit, the snow that blanketed the ground seemed to become thicker. Not only was the rabbit awfully fast compared to a human, the full moon that started to hide beneath thick clouds made the already dark forest become even more menacing and gloomy.

Wading through thick snow was difficult, and thus, their speed was reduced. However, they were still trained soldiers at their core, so this much difficulty was kind of second nature to them.

The crazy night made no one notice that Viktor, the son of the Romanov known as a pampered partygoer who had never seen hard work, was able to move and react as nimbly as people from the ex-Russian special forces, the Spetsnaz.

"Boris! Stop! Forget about it, we will never be able to catch it." said Viktor after they went on to a wild goose with the mutated rabbit for several good minutes. Even though it was a pity that they weren't able to catch it, he knew they had no time to waste.

Remembering the time, Viktor quickly checked the quest in his mind. His expression turned anxious as he saw the remaining time. He had wasted too much time.

[You have 59 minutes left]

There was less than an hour left, hence Viktor decided to head back towards the bunker. In his heart, he had a faint hope that Captain Patroski would bring good news.

However, as the two walked through the dark woods toward where the bunker was, all of a sudden Viktor's ears caught the sound of a cracking branch.

"What's that?!" On instinct, Viktor turned towards the source of the noise while also brandishing his knife.

"There is something here, Master!"

"Of course, Boris! Good call!" Viktor said sarcastically while rolling his eyes, wondering to himself as to how someone like this was able to enter the special forces. If he had to guess, some sort of bribery must have been involved there.

Snap!

A branch fell from a tree not far from the two of them, causing Viktor to quickly glance up towards the tree. It took his eyes a second to lock onto the culprit, albeit barely.

"What is this now? A mutated monkey?!" said Viktor as he saw an indistinct shadow on the tree.

Whatever the creature was, the two could safely conclude that it was extremely agile, as it jumped from one tree to another and allowed neither Viktor or Boris to see it. From the way the trees shook and snowy branches fell in the dark, the creature was most likely pretty big in size.

The situation was unfavorable, and at this point, it could go bad pretty quickly.

Viktor pulled Boris by the back of his shirt and told him to stand behind.

"You watch my back, Boris!"

"Yes master, and you will watch mine."

"Of course Boris, of course."

Under his breath, Viktor chuckled a little, the glint of his smile covered by the darkness all around them. If the monster did decide to charge at him and endanger his life, he could use his newfound speed to ensure Boris took the hit for him. That would certainly be an excellent backup strategy.

All of a sudden, there was a loud sound of a falling branch about 10 meters in front of Viktor. His eyes darted around to observe, but there was nothing. However, he could feel a slight movement on his back, right in front of Boris. Something was charging from behind him.

Boris raised his knife, trying to counter the monster's charge, however a slight glance was enough to prompt Viktor to pull the former down to the ground. Right as their head touched the soil, the creature's body flew past both of them.

It was then that the two of them clearly saw the monster. The creature looked humanoid, with a red flaying skin, and it was as big as a normal adult human. But instead of walking, it crawled close to the ground with four limbs.

The monster really resembled the black creature that killed him before, and that fact did not escape Viktor 's notice. It had a pair of bloody red eyes and a jaw that could unhinge itself just like a snake. All in all, it looked like a twisted creature from a particular American zombie movie.

The red creature crawled sideways and circled them, trying to find the right moment to attack. It definitely had some form of intelligence. This would be a troublesome battle.

"Young master, you run! I will hold this monster!"

Even though a bit stupid in the head, this Boris was a good bodyguard. Moreover, he was not wrong to tell Viktor to run.

From the speed the monster showed before, it was evident that it was at least on par with him. Viktor also hadn't seen how strong it actually was, hence, he decided to stand behind Boris.

"We are going to die,! Protect me!"

In response to the order, Boris decided to put away his AK47 and raised both his hands in front of his chest, with a knife in his right hand ready to defend his master and fight the monster.

"Way to go Boris!" Viktor thought while hiding behind him.

It was as if the monster could see what letting go of the gun meant, it quickly seized the chance to charge in. However, when it was close, a mere meter away from them, Viktor pulled out his Desert Eagle and shot the gun from underneath Boris's arm.

BANG!!

The magnum bullet hit the monster's head accurately. Caught off guard, the monster quickly fell and writhed in pain on the ground as a sticky, black-ish smelly substance leaked from its wound.

Viktor calmly approached the creature, stood on top of it, and aimed the gun at its head

BANG!! 𝐛𝐞𝐝𝗻𝐨𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝐜𝐨𝗺

"Double Tap!"

Even in the dark, Viktor was able to see Boris's confused expression with the knife still held up. It was clear, he was wondering why his master decided to use a gun instead.

Of course, Viktor wanted to make as little noise as he could, but on the other hand, he didn't like the look of the monster for a bit as he didn't want to risk himself by testing its power further.

The monster finally stopped writhing as the black substance that seemed to be its blood pooled on the ground. A moment later, another orb rose from the fallen creature, entered Viktor's chest, and with it, a notification appeared.

[You have received the spirit energy of stage two undead - level 10]

[You have received 3 points in endurance]

[You have received 5 points of spirit force]

[Strength - 12 ]

[Agility - 16 ]

[Endurance - 17]

[Battle power - 15]

[Spirit force - 10]

[You have reached a breakthrough into a new realm]

[Mortal realm - middle stage]

[You received 10 status points that you can freely distribute!]

"Blyat!" Viktor stared at the lines of notification in front of him, obviously elated by the outcome.

"Now this is really dope, thank you!"