The Otaku's Odyssey: Reincarnated with a Grand System

Astrid stared at the hungry beast, wariness buried deep within his eyes.

"Mom! Do you really think this is necessary?" he asked, his voice slightly shaky.

"Yes, of course! Now stop focusing on me—focus on the beast. It will eat you if you're not careful," she replied sternly.

The moment she finished speaking, the beast lunged. It's claws drawn as it headed towards its prey with one purpose in mind, to snack.

Astrid immediately sidestepped, letting the beast charge past him—and oh, the smell. It was horrifying. Tears welled up in his eyes.

He quickly leapt backwards to gain distance, clutching his nose.'What the hell is with that smell?! Does it sleep in sh*t or something?!'

Suddenly, the system window popped up:

<<< Peak-stage Beastling detected >>>

<<< QUEST >>>

<<< Defeat beast without sustaining any injuries >>>

<<< REWARDS >>>

<<< First-tier gift pack >>>

Astrid blinked twice in disbelief.

'What do you mean I have to win without any injuries?' he screamed internally.

<<< Host is surely capable of that, considering his current level. >>>

'I mean, I guess you could say that,' he replied smugly, rubbing his nose with pride.

'Then what about this reward? What's a first-tier gift pack anyway?'

<<< Host should stop asking questions and focus on the fight. >>>

'Wha— Why you!'

He turned back to face the beast, inhaled deeply, and stretched out his arm. A basketball-sized fireball exploded from his palm toward the charging creature.

The beast dodged with a side-jump, but Astrid was already on the move. In a flash, he appeared beside it and unleashed a stream of fire that struck its side.

But it had little effect—only a black scorch mark marred its hide.

The beast responded with a furious swipe. Astrid jumped into the air, narrowly avoiding the blow, and released another stream of fire. This time, it was far more compressed—narrow and sharp. The attack pierced through one of the beast's legs.

With a deafening roar, the beast lunged again. Astrid weaved across the field like an annoying fly, hurling fire attacks in quick succession. Though they failed to break its tough hide, they did manage to seriously irritate it.

The beast grew angrier with each failed lunge, its fury burning deep behind its three ugly eyes.

Astrid dodged another wild strike with a backflip, landing a safe distance away.

'Tough hide, huh? Normal attacks won't work. I need something sharper, more compressed.'

He quickly restructured his attack pattern. Twisting his torso, he pulled his arm back dramatically. A flaming spear formed in his palm, its heat warping the air around it.

With a grunt, he hurled the spear.

It sliced through the air like a missile.

The beast tried to dodge but wasn't fast enough. The spear pierced its side cleanly. It roared in pain, its face contorting in agony.

Before it could react, Astrid was already in front of it again, a large fireball forming in his palm.

"Ahhh! Shut up already! Your breath smells worse than a pile of elephant shit," he muttered before shoving the fireball into its mouth.

BOOM!

The explosion rocked the beast's head backwards, smoke pouring out it's mouth as it bit into the explosion. It shook violently, trying to shake off the pain. It was the kind of pain that made you regret being greedy with hot food.

The beast blinked through the smoke—its prey was gone.

It glanced left. Nothing.

Right. Still nothing.

Then it looked forward.

Astrid stood there, arms folded, grinning. The beast involuntarily shivered.

Without warning, Astrid's fist rocketed forward, slamming squarely into its face. The sheer force sent the beast flying backward, smashing into the barrier and bouncing off with a heavy thud.

It collapsed, wheezing heavily, pain radiating through its skull. That punch felt like a truck had rammed into the beast at the speed of 130 kilometers per hour.

How? How could a mere fly, a weakling, a bottom-feeder of the food chain… possess such power?

That was at least the thoughts that Astrid felt was going throught it's mind with the kind of look it had in its eyes.

It looked up—and Astrid was staring down at it. But the way Astrid looked at it made it seem like he was the predator, and the beast was just another dish.

"Haaah… well, you've suffered enough," Astrid said with a yawn. "Time to put you out of your misery."

A beam of compressed flames shot from his palm, piercing straight through the beast's head.

It slumped.

Dead.

Astrid exhaled slowly, dusting himself off as the system window popped up again:

<<< Quest Completed >>>

<<< Level Up >>>

<<< Gift Pack Awarded >>>

<<< Would host like to open gift pack now? >>>

'Nahhhh! Save it for later. I know this isn't over yet,' Astrid thought with a tired sigh.

"Mom! I've done what you asked. Why's the barrier still up though?"

"You haven't truly done what I asked," she replied, crossing her arms. "I said use magic only. That punch disqualifies you."

Her eyes narrowed. "You're not leaving until you can kill a beast using only magic. No physical attacks allowed."

With that, she waved her hand, creating an opening in the barrier and pulling out another beast from her storage ring—a bird-type monster that flapped its massive wings ominously as it entered the arena. The barrier sealed again.

Astrid groaned as he looked up at the beast circling above him.

'I knew it. She's worse than Dad.'

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