As for the last dog, Tim just decided to take his time with it. There were six hours left until the quest timer ran out, so he wasn't particularly in a hurry. He just focused on injuring the beast by using his claws and the aspect of sharpness, trying to make the beast bleed out. It was no heroic strategy, but this was his reality now. He could either choose practicality of death. For him, it was a hard pill to swallow, but just when he was begining to change his mindset and try to work towards a better future, death could hardly be an acceptable setback.

He feigned weakness, standing still with a slightly bent posture as if he were about to faint. The dog would not let this opportunity pass by, and it lept towards Tim, aiming fo finish this exchange and lick its wounds somewhere.

Without hesitation, Tim used the aspect of deceleration and threw a perfectly straight uppercut that was directed towards the skies. The claws pierced through the dog's throat while it was midair, it's muscular throat completely torn, blood leaking out. Tim could not bear the weight of this creature just with his left hand, so he too went tumbling down with the impaled beast.

[ Congratulations, you have killed the Level 8 Brown Hound ]

[ Congratulations, you have reached level 8! ]

The familiar warmth enveloped Tim, and a few moments later he was back to peak condition, thankfully including his wrecked arm. The dog's carcass had already evaporated, the loot deposited into his inventory. Well, if you could call animal body parts loot.

Tim decided to put 3 points into agility for the qualitative change that took place at 30 points, and the rest into constitution. Some trepidation was creeping in, because there was barely any distance left to the final location. What sort of chimera had the system got in store for him?

At the very least, he had the use of all his limbs back. At least for now, he reminded himself.

"Oh well, if there's one thing that I can be sure of, it's that I look pretty fucking terrifying right now. Even Dad would run the other way if he saw me" he said, while inspecting his gear. A sharp claw that appeared to be the color red naturally, from all the blood and viscera it had coated itself in, worn on his left hand. On his right, a rapier that appeared as if someone had forged a needle out of crystals and wished to use it as a makeshift weapon, gleaming as the light of the sun shone upon it.

[ Quest Updated ]

[ Survive one blow from the Level 9 elite <???> for quest completion. Reward: Event Title ]

[ Kill the beast for additional awards ]

" Ahhhh, elite, of course You really want to send the best out to kill me, huh. Well, an elite creature isn't necessarily way stronger, they just seem to have higher intelligence. That ambush before was no joke, had the beast attacked from my right or front, it would hardly be a threat" he resignedly stated.

There was no need for further hesitation. Time was left on the clock, sure. But, Tim felt that there was no point in waiting, it was only delaying the inevitable. The longer he waited, the more uncertaintity would seep in. He had to face the challenge head on, with confidence in the abilities he had eke'd out at the border of life and death in this hellish trial.

He kept walking towards the destination at a steady pace, with firm, measured steps exuding a certain charisma he had never possessed before. It did not matter how strong the beast was, he had walked this far fighting behemoths far beyond his capabilities.

He had come to a realization, that the strength the system was trying to instill in him was not related to things like levels or daos.

To be strong was to have a will, a resolve, that would allow one to face insurmountable odds without breaking under the pressure. It was easy to put in words, but when one is seconds away from being erased out of existence, the first thought that comes to the mind is not of fighting back. Fear, despondency, resignation and regret strike at the heart, making one's determination waiver. What if you miss? What if the power in the strike is not enough to kill the beast? What about your family, if you die who will take care of them?

Good or evil, virtuous or demonic, saint or murderer does not matter in the face of death, it strikes all the same. At that juncture, your true face will be revealed for the world to see, the strength of your anchors tested. What anchors your existence to the rest of the world, what fuels your desire to live? Why can you not allow yourself to fall here, what ambitions burn so deeply in your heart? Do you have the grit to fight back, even in the face of certain death, even in a situation where you see no possiblity of survival?

After the system had rewarded him with the disdain skill, he had begun to understand how it worked.

Tim himself was confused, where such an intense desire for life came from. Even before losing her, he never had this kind of resolve, to trudge on regardless of the horrors he had to face.

Something in him had changed, but he wasn't sure what. Where was the self loathing, the doubt, the despair? Why did he use his blade with such confidence and determination?

What did it truly mean, to love someone?

Till death do us part, is what is sworn in the marriage vows. But does your obligation to love and cherish end there? Do you simply stop caring about them, their hopes, dreams and ambitions that they shared with you when they were alive? Is it that simple, a complete severance of obligations and emotions because one no longer exists? Is love such a fickle emotion?

No.

To love someone, and have that love reciprocated...... Is to love yourself.

Tim would have never allowed him to slip up like this if she was still alive. He would have never allowed himself to show such a miserable, hate filled side of him, bitter and jealous at others, taking out his anger at those who were blameless. Now that she was gone, did not mean that he was absolved of his responsibilities, the weight of her hopes, dreams and ambitions were now something that rested on his shoulders.

He would not get crushed under the weight of that burden, he would not allow himself to simply fade into nothingness, alone and full of regret. For, it was not what she would've wanted. That was reason enough. 

" I am quite intrigued now, the resolve of this terrifying monster or the obsession of a 23 year old lonely, half-crazed man who likes talking to himself....... Which will come out on top? "