Thud!!
A body crashed violently into the trunk of a massive jungle tree, the impact shaking loose a shower of leaves from the canopy above. The figure slid down the rough bark and dropped onto one knee, breathing hard as the damp soil pressed against his palm.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Damon wiped it away with the back of his hand, glancing up through strands of hair that had fallen across his face.
"Can't I just peacefully get into a breach…" he muttered in irritation.
Before he could finish the thought—
He rolled sharply to the side.
The ground exploded where he had been sitting as a full tree trunk slammed down with terrifying force.
The massive trunk had been ripped straight out of the ground and hurled like a spear.
A deep, booming voice followed.
"Get up, human! Get up an' fight!"
The accent was thick and heavily rolled, the unmistakable growl of a beastman echoing through the trees.
Damon rose smoothly to his feet, dusting off his hands as his golden eyes locked onto the figure standing across the clearing.
The beastman was enormous.
His body was built like a walking fortress of muscle, broad shoulders and thick arms covered in coarse dark fur. His jaw was heavy and tusked like a wild boar's, and his bare chest rose and fell with excited breaths as he cracked his knuckles loudly.
Damon didn't answer.
Instead—
He dashed forward.
The distance between them vanished instantly.
Their fists collided with a loud crack as Damon's punch met the beastman's incoming strike head-on. The shock of the clash sent dust rippling across the ground beneath their feet.
The beastman grinned.
But Damon had already moved.
As the beastman followed up with another heavy swing aimed at his head, Damon slipped slightly to the side, his body turning just enough for the attack to slice harmlessly past his shoulder. In the same motion, Damon stepped inside the beastman's guard and drove a sharp elbow strike into the creature's ribs.
The beastman grunted.
Damon pivoted on his heel and launched a rapid low kick into the back of the beastman's knee, disrupting his balance before finishing the sequence with a short palm strike to the chest.
The force of the blow sent the beastman sliding backward several meters before his heels dug into the soil.
He collapsed briefly onto one knee.
Damon stood upright again, flexing his fingers.
"What do you want?" he asked calmly.
The beastman lifted his head slowly.
Then grinned.
Without answering, he suddenly burst forward again like a charging beast.
Damon's eyes sharpened.
Their fists collided again, the sound of bone striking muscle echoing through the clearing as they traded blows at close range.
The beastman fought with pure instinct.
Every strike came with explosive force, his movements raw and primal like a wild animal tearing through prey. His punches carried brutal power, forcing Damon to shift constantly to avoid taking a direct hit.
Damon, however, fought differently.
His movements were precise.
Controlled.
Each step flowed into the next with calculated efficiency—boxing footwork guiding his position, quick jabs creating openings, sharp kicks targeting joints and weak points as he redirected the beastman's strength against him.
Their clash intensified.
The beastman laughed loudly even as the fight continued.
"Haha! Nothin'!" he roared as he swung another heavy punch.
His voice rumbled with excitement.
"Ah just wanna see who Khaira's so interested in fightin'!"
Damon ducked beneath the punch, countering with a rapid two-hit combination that struck the beastman's torso before stepping back to avoid the follow-up swing.
The beastman charged again.
Damon met him head-on.
Their fists collided once more in a violent exchange of strikes.
Then—
Both of them landed simultaneous blows.
The impact forced them apart.
Each of them slid backward across the forest floor, boots digging into the soil as they were pushed nearly ten steps apart from the force of the clash.
For a brief moment after the clash, both fighters stood still, their breathing steady but heavy as the tension in the clearing tightened once more.
Then the beastman straightened.
A wide, savage grin spread across his face as he rolled his shoulders.
"Good," he growled approvingly. "Yer not weak."
The air around him suddenly shifted.
A faint tremor ran through the ground beneath his feet as the beastman's muscles visibly tightened. Dark lines of glowing energy began spreading beneath the fur of his arms and shoulders, pulsing like veins of molten metal beneath his skin.
The beastman's body expanded slightly as raw strength surged through him.
"Time ta stop playin'," he said with a low chuckle.
His fists clenched.
The mana around him gathered like pressure before a storm.
"Titanblood Resonance — Ironhide Awakening."
A dull metallic sheen spread across his forearms and shoulders as the resonance fully manifested, reinforcing his already monstrous physique with dense layers of hardened mana.
Damon's eyes narrowed immediately.
The beastman moved.
Not just faster—
Heavier.
His first punch came crashing forward like a falling boulder.
Damon barely managed to twist aside in time, but even the shockwave of the strike blasted against his side, forcing him to stumble backward.
Before he could recover, the beastman was already on him again.
The next blow slammed into Damon's guard with brutal force, the reinforced fist smashing through his defense and driving him several steps back across the dirt.
Damon countered with a sharp elbow strike aimed at the beastman's jaw.
The blow landed cleanly.
But the beastman barely flinched.
He laughed.
A brutal backhand caught Damon across the ribs and sent him skidding across the ground.
Damon rolled immediately to avoid the next attack, but the beastman's foot crashed down beside him like a hammer, shaking the earth beneath him.
Damon pushed himself up again, launching a rapid series of strikes—two punches, a knee, and a spinning kick aimed at the beastman's neck.
Under normal circumstances, the sequence would have been devastating.
Now—
It barely slowed him down.
The beastman absorbed the blows like a walking wall.
Then his massive hand shot forward.
His fingers clamped around Damon's throat.
The grip tightened instantly as he lifted Damon straight off the ground.
Damon's feet left the earth as the beastman held him up with terrifying ease.
"Hah!" the beastman laughed loudly.
"Still standin', huh?"
Then he hurled Damon away.
Damon's body flew across the clearing like a thrown spear, crashing through branches and leaves before disappearing into the jungle beyond.
The beastman turned his head slowly, watching where Damon had landed.
He began walking toward the spot where the human should have crashed.
But when he reached the area—
There was no one there.
Only broken branches swaying gently in the air.
Damon ran with uneven, stumbling steps as his body forced itself forward through the jungle. His posture had lowered instinctively, shoulders slightly hunched as he pushed past branches and thick vines while trying to create as much distance as possible between himself and the beastman behind him.
Every step sent waves of pain through his body.
The earlier clash had left its mark.
Blood trailed faintly along one side of his face, and dark stains had begun spreading across the torn fabric of his academy coat. His breathing had become rough and uneven, each inhale burning in his chest as the forest blurred slightly at the edges of his vision.
Finally, his strength gave way.
Damon staggered forward between two thick trees and collapsed onto the ground.
He caught himself on all fours, his hands digging into the soil as his body shook violently. A harsh cough tore from his throat and a mouthful of blood splattered onto the dirt beneath him.
For several seconds he simply remained there, trembling.
His muscles spasmed from exhaustion as pain throbbed through his ribs and shoulders.
Then his fist clenched.
With a sudden burst of frustration, Damon slammed it into the ground.
"DAMN IT!"
The shout echoed weakly through the trees.
Pain shot through his arm from the impact and he grunted, his teeth grinding together as his body tried to recover.
Damn it…
His breathing remained ragged.
How much longer…
How much longer do I have to keep running?
Before he could gather his strength again—
A strange sound reached his ears.
"Grukk… grukkk…"
Damon's head slowly lifted.
Through the trees ahead, a creature emerged from the undergrowth.
It was another monster.
Its body looked like a twisted mixture of animals—something with the hunched shape of a hyena, the elongated limbs of an ape, and a horned skull that resembled a goat's. Thick patches of rough hide covered its body as it crawled forward with slow, predatory steps.
Its glowing eyes locked onto Damon immediately.
Damon's chest rose and fell heavily as he stared back at it.
Then—
He started laughing.
"Heh… hehheh…"
The laugh was quiet at first, rough from the blood still clinging to his throat.
"Ha…"
The monster suddenly lunged.
Its body shot forward toward him with a guttural screech.
But Damon moved too.
Even in his battered state, his body reacted instantly.
As the creature closed in, Damon twisted his hips and drove his leg outward in a sharp sweeping motion. The sudden kick knocked the monster sideways, sending its body crashing down beside him instead of on top of him.
Before the creature could recover—
Damon grabbed it.
He pulled the monster into a tight clutch hold, locking one arm around its neck while both of them rolled onto the ground together. His legs wrapped around its torso, trapping it beneath him as he tightened the choke and pinned the creature in place.
The monster thrashed violently beneath him, claws digging into the soil as it struggled to break free.
Damon ignored it.
His breathing came in harsh bursts as he reached blindly across the ground with his free hand.
His fingers closed around a stone.
Then he raised it.
And brought it down.
CRACK.
The rock smashed into the monster's skull.
Damon struck again.
And again.
And again.
"Aaaahhh!"
Each blow landed harder than the last as the sound of bone and stone colliding echoed through the small clearing.
"HAH!"
Another strike.
"AAHhhhh!"
Another.
With every hit he screamed, pouring all the frustration and pain burning inside his chest into the attack.
SMASH!.
SMASH!!
SMASH!!!
The monster's movements grew weaker beneath him.
But Damon didn't stop.
Even after the creature had stopped fighting, the stone kept rising and falling as his arm moved like a machine.
Finally—
The monster's body dissolved.
Green spheres of light burst outward and drifted into the air before flowing toward his Manacron.
Damon dropped the stone.
He rolled onto his back beside where the creature had been, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he stared up through the leaves above him.
Then he began laughing again.
A breathless, exhausted sound as he struggled to fill his lungs with air.
Then—
A voice suddenly echoed across the entire forest.
"Heheheheahahhihhhhi…!"
The manic laughter rolled through the jungle like a ripple, bouncing between trees and cliffs as if the forest itself had begun laughing.
"Since two hours have already passed," the voice continued with theatrical delight, "you all must have gathered some points by now!"
A faint pause followed.
"So we have decided to make all your rankings public!"
Damon's wrist vibrated faintly as the device activated.
But Valerian's voice wasn't finished yet.
"Hhehehhahaha!"
His tone grew even more mischievous.
"Hunt the rankers… and steal their points!"
The laughter echoed again through the jungle.
"Hehehehhahahaha!"