Reality is far more straightforward and cruel than the game world especially in the midst of battle.
There are no so-called HP bars in reality. Every strike lands as a bloody, terrifying wound.
Fortunately, Junze in this life is a Taotie.
Regarding such scenes, although he felt a slight psychological discomfort, it didn't truly affect him.
"Yah!"
A Hilichurl holding a torch charged forward without hesitation, unleashing a flurry of attacks at Junze.
Hilichurl-version Diluc!
Clearly, the previous attack had not frightened this valiant Hilichurl in the slightest.
It led several other Hilichurls rushing toward Junze.
But now that Junze had roughly grasped his own strength, he wasn't panicking at all.
"A mere Diluc!"
Controlling his ice claw, Junze moved beside the Abyss Mage he had frozen earlier.
The giant claw grabbed the Abyss Mage, frozen into a sphere.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Junze bounced the frozen mage like a basketball.
Each time the ice sphere rebounded and struck his ice claw, the freezing effect intensified.
There was no way the Abyss Mage could break free.
"Let's see you blow bubbles now!"
Junze absolutely hated the Hydro Abyss Mage's bubble skill.
"Off you go!"
Seeing the Hilichurls closing in, Junze hurled the massive ice ball straight at them.
Boom!
The huge frozen sphere, combined with overwhelming throwing force, smashed through the Hilichurls like bowling pins, sending them flying.
"Aaaah!"
The Hilichurls cried out in pain.
Junze didn't pause for even a moment he rushed forward.
The claw shifted into a fist. A straight punch.
BOOM!
Like thunder cracking.
The ice sphere and Hilichurls were driven into the cliff face by Junze's punch.
Crack!
The ice shattered.
All the Hilichurls and the Abyss Mage collapsed onto the ground, motionless breath gone.
Battle over.
"That was pretty easy."
Junze said, looking at the scene before him.
But the next second, the claw on his right hand dissipated.
[Attribute: Body of Taotie]'s golden glow faded and dimmed.
"Ugh!"
The instant the power dispersed, Junze suddenly felt weak all over, nearly dropping to his knees.
Grrr—
His stomach growled louder than during the battle.
"So hungry."
Junze's face fell. "I just finished breakfast not long ago. Why am I hungry again?"
"Was that fight really that draining?!"
Indeed, the Taotie body possessed power far exceeding ordinary gods but correspondingly, acquiring that power required vast amounts of food as fuel.
Clutching his stomach, Junze wailed, "Am I going to have to eat while fighting in the future?"
He imagined it: a graceful young swordsman battling elegantly with a three-foot blade in one hand… and a giant greasy drumstick in the other, mouth smeared with oil.
The mental image made Junze cover his face.
"But seriously… I'm starving. Even hungrier than before."
Junze sensed something wrong with his body.
His gaze drifted, almost involuntarily, toward the fallen Hilichurls and Abyss Mage.
His golden eyes grew brighter.
[Attribute: Devour] flared with black-gold light.
Gradually, dense black mist began seeping from his body.
The mist coalesced into a Taotie the size of a lion.
Only now did Junze truly use this attribute for the first time.
"They… look delicious."
Junze slowly approached the Abyss Mage, eyes glinting.
"Chomp!"
Junze opened his mouth and bit at the air.
At the same moment, the shadow-Taotie opened its jaws and bit down.
The next instant, Junze felt his hunger ease slightly.
And the Abyss Mage before him vanished completely.
It had been devoured by the massive black shadow behind him.
"Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!"
One bite, two bites, three…
The Hilichurls also disappeared.
Junze felt fullness.
And the enormous shadow behind him grew even larger after consuming the monsters.
Standing still after his feast, Junze's golden pupils returned to normal.
"Uh… I think I just ate something pretty outrageous."
For a moment, both Junze and the shadow Taotie behind him looked equally blank and adorable.
The shadow Taotie was the manifestation of Junze's power it could devour anything to replenish and strengthen him.
"I knew Taotie eat everything, but…"
Junze felt a headache coming on. This indiscriminate appetite was rather troublesome.
But due to Taotie instinct, it was unavoidable.
If Master ever saw this, who knew what she'd think.
He raised his hand black mist still coiled around his fingertips.
"Well, at least I can eat through this. If I had to chew things with a child's body, that'd be terrifying."
The image of himself with a blood-smeared mouth made Junze shudder.
He'd definitely be treated as some kind of monster.
Though… a Taotie probably counted as that category anyway.
Junze withdrew all the black mist.
"So this training task was basically sending me out to forage."
Looking at the battlefield nothing left but scattered stones Junze sighed, "I really do cherish my food."
He could clearly feel his body was much stronger than before.
If he fought the same battle again, he definitely wouldn't experience that weakness.
[Task Complete]
[Rewards Distributed]
[Preparing to exit mission area]
The system notification sounded.
Junze nodded, preparing to leave.
This mission had improved him quite a lot.