Chef in the Apocalypse

Seeing the aftermath of the explosion up close, the remaining Draconic Panthers grew anxious, flying around in a panic. Jayce had already culled their numbers to almost half, with only 11 remaining, three of which looked to be powerful enough to put up a decent fight.

Now that he had the advantage, Jayce felt his tensed body relax a bit, yet he still remained vigilant. He had seen this scenario happen many times in the past where a person lets down their guard mid-fight, only to pay the ultimate price.

Therefore, without waiting for the flying Panthers to act, he began to gather mana in his hands once more. Jayce’s eyes focused on the initial 2 Adult Panthers who looked like they were in charge, it was likely that they would not let him complete his skill.

And he was right, they threw themselves at him with reckless abandon, charging as if their lives depended on it. Jayce had decided to not use his skill Exploding Fireball for this very reason. If he were to initiate the skill, he would be left exposed until it finished channeling.

This was why mages were not supposed to be on the front line. If they were not allowed to completely cast their skills, then they would suffer a backlash, putting them in a bad state. Therefore, Jayce’s decision to channel mana instead of his skill, was a brilliant one.

A sly smile crept onto his face as he watched the approaching Adult Panthers, gauging their speed and point of impact. When they were just a few meters away, he easily dispersed the mana that had been accumulating on his palms and summoned his Bloodfang Dagger.

With impressive flexibility, Jayce ducked under the huge open maw of the first Panther, dodging it by a hair’s breadth. Then he struck upwards with all of his might, piercing its chest with deadly accuracy. The dagger’s sharp edge sliced open the soft underbelly like a knife through butter, spilling out the warm entrails.

Unfortunately, Jayce was in such a position that he could not completely avoid the aftermath of his deadly knife-skills. Having to endure the slimy and warm sensation of being battered with the blood and innards that had fallen from the now-dying Panther.

The huge body of the first Adult Panther shielded Jayce from the sight of the other charging monster, giving him an amazing opportunity to use Master of Stealth. Being cognizant of the battlefield was one of Jayce’s specialties, so he made the most of his situation, blending into the shadows.

Despite being covered in the warm blood and innards of the previous Panther, it was difficult to detect him during this ability. This was in large part due to the smell of burnt flesh and wood, as a result of his Exploding fastball earlier.

The other Panther suffered much the same fate as the first beast Jayce had slain in the tunnels, receiving a 6x multiplier attack to the skull. After once again being showered with blood and brain matter, Jayce began to get annoyed that his new tier 4 chef’s equipment was getting so dirty.

Summoning a tea towel from his Inventory, he wiped his blood drenched face, allowing him to see a little clearer. He preferred to wipe off the blood before it dried, after all, he wasn’t sure when the next opportunity to shower would be.

"Ah, that’s better." He said with a sigh of relief, before drawing his attention to the remaining Panthers.

There were now only 9 Draconic Panthers left, which he believed would be the weaker women and children. He only assumed so, due to the size and unbridled fear which was showing on their horrified faces.

With the morale broken, Jayce was no longer afraid of an aerial battle. It would be much more efficient to take them down with his quick speed, especially now that he had taken out their strongest members.

"This won’t take long." He said, wiping his Bloodfang Dagger with the tea towel.

Jayce leapt into the air and landed on one of the natural bridges which fanned out from the central pillar. He barely touched the ground before kicking off with immense strength, catapulting him towards the largest of the remaining Panthers and leaving cracks in the natural bridge.

The ensuing fight couldn’t even be called as such, it would be more apt to label it as a simple butchering. Jayce’s extraordinary speed and power, coupled with the dangerously low morale of the Draconic Panthers had made the fight extremely one-sided.

After about 5 minutes, the remaining Panthers had all been slain, leaving Jayce standing on one of the natural bridges. Despite the life or death struggle he had just been in, there were no signs of exhaustion on his face. However that would not be the case for long.

[Time remaining 04:37 minutes]

Jayce let out a sigh. It looked like he was going to have to stay in the Panther Den for the next 24 hours while his body was exhausted. While it was likely that his stats were high enough to survive on the outside even if they were halved, he did not want to take unnecessary risks.

There was also the Lianna situation. Merely thinking about her name made him frown, if he was honest with himself, he did not want to see her again for a while. Unfortunately, she was a great asset to his party and was instrumental in keeping everyone alive and in good shape.

He shook his head, pushing those thoughts to the side for now. Jayce quickly decided to clean up the area, collecting any drops along the way. He placed the dead bodies in a corner of the cavern, before looking for a decent place to rest. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

[Time remaining 01:34 minutes]

A whistle rang out through the cavern, causing Jayce to quickly turn around to the source. "Wow, I didn’t think you’d be able to survive. Very impressive."

Jayce gritted his teeth, seeing the woman floating in the air in front of him.

"Lianna."