The chapter may seem a little harsh, so you can skip it!
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The next morning, I left the cave as usual and had breakfast. After that, I did a little warm-up, or to be more precise, light jogging and jumping on the rocks. I'm not sure why I'm doing this, but it's just a habit! As soon as I finished, Shion's voice came from behind me,
"Sir, since you've finished warming up, let's start the exam. I've just brought your sparring partner. But I want to say that you are forbidden to rely on your illusions!" she said, pointing at the giant tiger! "He should be about your equal in strength."
With that, she released the pressure that had been holding him back and jumped onto the nearest rock!
This tiger was probably twice as big as me, with a bright scarlet coat and black stripes on it. In his mouth were huge, in my opinion, fangs of incredible sharpness, it seemed that they could bite through my yearling, like a twig!
This beast let out a low, deep growl that made the leaves on the trees tremble. After that, he slowly began to move towards me, his huge paws noiselessly stepping on the ground, despite his size. He was faster than he looked. I felt the air thicken around him as the beast released a wave of pure spiritual energy. At great speed, the tiger ran towards me, swinging a huge paw with razor-sharp claws!
"Too close!" flashed through my mind. While I was using my instincts and speed, which I had practiced for years under Shion's supervision, I dodged the blow.
I evaded the first few punches by rolling with incredible speed. I also felt an incredibly hot energy start to cover the tiger, only to see his body start to burst into flames the next second, making it even more difficult to get close to him!
I had little choice but to dodge and attack from afar. So I decided that I would rely on my speed and endurance. I started maneuvering between the rocks while simultaneously accumulating energy to use a mini bomb because I wasn't sure if my fire would be able to affect this tiger!
I began waiting for the right moment, the moment of weakness, or when he would be sure that he would come out victorious and weaken his attention! After a while, when I was already worried that I couldn't wait, this moment came!
We found ourselves in a place that was almost completely surrounded by rocks. I pretended to be tired and exhausted. It was partly true. He was strong, and a couple of his punches had landed, leaving an unpleasant burning sensation on my body. But I didn't heal myself on purpose. I let the wounds stay, let them bleed, let them become visible evidence of my struggle. It was part of my plan!
He was standing in front of me, breathing heavily, but there was a sense of satisfaction in him. His gaze, previously full of cold calculation, now burned with a different fire. The fire of triumph. It was at that moment that I saw victory in his gaze.
The tiger began to think that he had emerged victorious from the battle. That he'd cornered me in this stone trap, and now he could feast on my magnificent carcass. His mouth stretched into in what looked like a grin, revealing sharp teeth. He saw me as prey, as a trophy that was about to end up in his clutches.
I let out a soft moan that I hoped sounded convincing enough. His gaze became even more confident, he took a step forward, and his body tensed in anticipation. He was so engrossed in his illusion of victory that he did not notice how I began to gather energy in my mouth to deliver a single, but fatal blow! He was so close to making his last mistake!
As soon as he got close enough and opened his fanged mouth to finish me off, I launched my attack! I shot a bomb right inside his mouth, which exploded with a loud sound, sending him flying several meters away from me. His body jerked, and several sharp, bloody fangs fell out of his mouth like shards of broken glass. He roared in pain and rage, but that roar no longer sounded so terrifying. On the contrary, it was filled with pain and fear.
At that moment, I stopped pretending, and used my full powers to heal myself, and began to move towards him in order to complete this exam. As I walked, I accumulated spiritual energy in my claws to cut off his head.
And that's exactly what I did as soon as I got to him! I swiftly swung my left paw, which glowed with my sharp claws filled with energy, intending to immediately bring them down on his neck and separate his head from his body! As a result, a black spiritual ring slowly formed from his body, but it did not attract my attention. This experience had become too exhausting for me.
After that, I slowly sank to the ground, from the strain and the first murder I committed. Yes, it was killing a beast, but it still takes me some time to get used to the fact that this is my world, and in order to survive I will have to fight and kill! But I believe that one day I will become stronger, which will allow me not to be afraid of anything and live my life to my heart's content!
"Well done, Mr. Senko, I think you should rest!"