Explosions erupted throughout the forest at random intervals, ripping apart trees and stirring up dust as the ground was shattered in their wake. Mike and the creature moved through the forest at dizzying speeds, the two of them exchanging numerous blows every second as both sides tried to take out the other. Mike created a Haven Ring and blocked one of the many limbs the creature had before trying to counter, only to have his attack blocked by the tail of the creature. He dodged to the side as one of the arms smashed down and destroyed the ground. He unleashed a Primal Rend on said arm, but the damage was, shockingly, not worth writing home about as it barely got through the tough hide of the creature. ’This thing...’ Mike jumped away as the creature brought down the rest of its limbs and caused even more destruction. ’...Is very annoying.’ He thought as his lip curled. He rushed in and tried to use his martial arts, but he quickly fell into the same issue he’d been facing since the fight started. The creature had no technique. It had no specialized training or conditioning to make its movements follow any sort of rhyme, which, as opposed to Mike, seemed quite bad. However, it didn’t need to learn martial arts. As he dashed in, his used Predator’s Foresight and Primal Awareness to get a read on the creature and anticipate its movements. He was successful. And it changed nothing. The issue with the creature was that despite its apparent lack of martial prowess, its physique was simply too abnormal. The six arms allowed it to defend from all sides effectively. Moreover, the numerous eyes on its head weren’t for show, and with them, it could track Mike’s position from virtually any angle, making it have no blindspots. In terms of strength, Mike could match it, but he only had two limbs while it had six, and that’s not including the tail. Its speed wasn’t anything to scoff at, either. Mike’s reaction time was good enough, but those powerful legs were simply devastating. The size difference was also an issue. Sure, Mike could match its strength, but even if he hit it, his fist would only cover a small part of its body. Meanwhile, the fists of the creature were easily half hissize, so getting hit directly did NOT feel nice. Mike barely managed to duck down as the eyes of the creature glowed, and a wave of force in the shape of a cone suddenly erupted from the creature and shredded everything in its path for over a mile. That particular ability was also extremely annoying. It wasn’t overly complex, but the sheer power behind it was staggering. His HUD was pretty much screaming at him due to the damage his armor was taking, but he couldn’t be arsed to address it as his attention was fixed on his opponent. ... That said, it’s not like the creature was having an easy time pinning Mike down, either. After he recovered from the first relentless assault, Mike had dedicated a lot of his attention to dodging. And while getting past the creature’s defenses seemed to be a fruitless endeavor, avoiding its attacks was a lot more manageable. As such, the two of them had entered a very unsteady stalemate. Both of them couldn’t hit each other, with Mike being unable to break through its defenses, and the creature unable to land a proper hit on Mike. Despite this, the destruction the wrought to their surroundings was simply obscene. They weren’t harming each other... yet, but the environment was suffering. If Alice, Mike’s teacher, was here, she would probably scream his head off about energy control and management. He couldn’t think about that, though, as he was determined to take down his opponent, but was finding little progress. There was also the possibility of simply wearing down the creature. He was more than confident in his stamina, and he was sure he could outlast the thing. Issue was, he still wanted to go and find Kris, and stalling would get in the way of that. Lastly, Mike... wasn’t in the best state of mind. The sudden notification and his body acting up before he got jumped set him off armored than normal, so his emotions weren’t exactly stable. So in terms of thinking logically, he was faltering. Which made what happened next unsurprising. Frustrated, Mike dashed in and tried to release two Primal Rends with both arms, but his instincts suddenly screamed at him, and he forced himself to jumped backwards. However, the creature suddenly stretched its limbs at him, and his feeling of danger only grew as it’s eyes glowed again, but instead of the obscene force blasting forward, Mike’s suddenly felt his momentum stop like he’d been grabbed by some unseen hand. Then, he started to fly forward against his will. ’Shit!’ He tried to resist, but there was no way for him to fight against the energy he couldn’t see. He looked forward and saw that the creature had pulled back all its fist, the muscles bulging as terrifying power built within them. Gritting his teeth, Mike decided that he could only take the attack head on! He too clenched his fists, and as soon as they got close, both of them threw out punches. There were several explosions, and a moment later, Mike could be seen flying through the forest like a ragdoll. Pain exploded throughout his body as he’d been hit multiple times during that exchange, the strength of the creature in that moment far surpassing anything it had shown thus far. He tried to cough, but felt a sharp pain come from his chest, and blood was what came out of his mouth instead, and he vaguely heard his helmet telling him that his lungs had sustained critical damage. His body hit the ground and rolled, stirring up dust. His armor was blown through in numerous areas, and blood dripped from his forehead down his face. When he stopped rolling, he was on his back staring up at the night sky. The pain was exquisite. Every part of his body felt like it was constantly getting crushed despite him having taken no more damage, and he briefly realized what happened. Alice had explained that it was possible to inject some of your energy into an opponent to cause even more damage to them, and this sort of damage was both more painful and harder to get rid of. ’That’s probably what it did...’ He thought as his vision blurred slightly before refocusing. However, with that pain came clarity. ’What am I doing?’ He grimaced. In an instant, he ran the fight through his head and spotted several dumb mistakes he’d made up until now. ’A fighter can be strong, but none of that matters if they have a weak mentality. If a fighter’s mind is weak, then even if one is weaker than them physically, it’s not too hard to figure out a way to defeat them.’ That’s what Mike’s martial arts teacher bad said. ’I still have some ways to go.’ He sighed and sat up, almost unhurriedly. The first thing he did was activate his second ability, Vitalis Core. Immediately, all his wounds, both internal and external, started to heal at an extreme speed. It would only take a few seconds for him to heal completely. However, there was no way the creature would simply let that happen. In a moment, it was upon him, its large arms descending like punishment from the heavens. The following explosion shook the ground for miles and created a massive crater. But when it pulled its fists back, instead of seeing a bloodied mess, it only saw rock. "Fuu~." Mike, who had appeared a few dozen meters away, exhaled as he stretched. The creature straightened and turned to him, but he paid it little mind as he seemed to be warming up, his injuries healing in real time. Moreover, his eyes were closed. ’I forgot how I usually fight.’ He hummed as he reopened his eyes, but where there had been frustration and anger, there was now a confident sharpness within them. ’I learn from whoever, or whatever, I fight, and I adapt.’ He entered a stance as he began running Crimson Ladder again. That last attack had been enough to break his rhythm and forcefully deactivate the skill. ’Moreover, I have far more methods at my disposal and I was just neglecting them. No more of that.’ He smashed his fists together and said softly. The source of thɪs content is 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⟡𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⟡𝘯𝘦𝘵 "Maximum output." Instantly, his aura erupted as all his stats received a flat increase at 50%. But he wasn’t done. ’Partial Transformation.’ His body suddenly increased in height as his muscles grew. His armor made way for a fluffy white tail that sprouted from his tailbone and two white wolf ears on top of his head. Strength filled his body as he slowly lowered himself to the ground, almost on all fours, looking like a wolf ready to pounce. "Round 2." He growled, and shot forward.