Chapter 69: Mike Vs the Atrixa (I)
Mike Vs the Atrixa (I)
Upon passing through the energy barrier, Mike felt the attention of the Atrixa beast lock on to him, and it slowly got up from its position.
Despite its short legs, it was still taller than Mike by a decent bit.
Saliva dripped from its mouth as it observed him, and Mike felt an intense hunger radiating from it as a sound like sandpaper escaped its throat.
Mike only had time to take a breath before the thing charged at him.
He tensed as he started running Crimson Ladder without hesitation.
’It’s fast.’ He thought as the creature got close and pounced.
He was about to dodge when he was suddenly hit by a powerful feeling from the Atrixa.
It was as though his skin was being pricked by countless needles, and his heart rate rose as a metallic smell filled his nose.
One moment, he was in the cage with the Atrixa, and in the next, he was lying in a pool of blood. His arms were torn off, and his stomach was ripped open, revealing half-eaten entrails.
What had he been thinking? What made him so confident to take on a beast when he can barely fight people at his level? Unlike him, this creature isn’t scared to kill. It doesn’t hesitate or anything like that.
But what about him? Some boy who had gotten lucky with an above-average ability? And he suddenly thinks he can go around fighting murderous beasts?
No, he had this coming. He was in over his head and paid for it. His fate was his own doing. In fact, it would have been less pathetic if he had died back on Klein 4 when he was still powerless. At least, dying that way was less shameful as there truly was nothing he could do.
But this? He walked straight into it. And he deserved the consequences. He deserved to die–
GROWL
Mike rolled out of the way at the last second just as a set of razor-sharp teeth passed over him, nearly biting his head off.
Mike quickly regained his balance and stared at the figure of the Atrixa while panting. His body was covered in sweat and his pupils were blown wide.
’Damnit.’ He cursed inwardly as he stared at the creature which turned to face him.
He’d read that Atrixas had the racial ability to inflict illusions on their targets. However, the effect was quite mild, which is why they were only seen as a threat when in groups. Mike had thought he wouldn’t need to worry too much about it as a result.
’That was NOT mild!’ He screamed internally. Everything had felt so real, and the only reason he managed to snap out of it in time was due to his instincts and perception.
He felt that odd sense of disconnection like he had when he entered Fighter’s.Inc, and when the Atrixa got close, his instincts screamed at him to dodge, which he promptly did.
’If not for that, I’d have lost my head.’ Mike exhaled. By now, his smile was completely gone, and he was now regarding the Atrixa with proper caution.
The creature also seemed to regard him. It wasn’t intelligent, he could tell that much. But it’s clear that the illusion was its trump card, or something of the sort. So seeing that Mike managed to resist it, it probably wasn’t certain what to do.
Hence, both of them were still for a moment, neither choosing to make the first move.
However, maybe due to its hunger or something else, the Atrixa growled and lunged forward again.
Mike tensed as he kept his senses peeled in case of another mental attack, but no such thing came as the Atrixa closed in. In fact, the thing seemed a bit slow–
Mike hopped to the side as a large body barreled past him, missing him by a few inches.
’Damn illusions.’ Mike scoffed.
Without hesitation, Mike clenched his fist and threw a punch, not holding back at all.
The force was substantial as the large body of the Atrixa was pushed away from Mike.
This time, Mike didn’t wait as he charged forward at the Atrixa. His previous attack seemed to have stunned it as it was a bit slow to react to his attack, leaving it open for an attack–
Mike ducked down as the Atrixa tried to bite his head off again, and Mike retaliated with a nasty uppercut that sent the creature reeling, and he spun to kick it in the side of the neck which made it stumble.
Mike landed on all fours before bounding forward.
As he did, though, he suddenly felt pain in the leg he used to kick the Atrixa along with the sensation of a warm liquid trickling down it. It seemed like his attack hadn’t been perfect as the Atrixa countered as he kicked.
Regardless, the pain prevented him from moving as fast as he wanted to, making him slow down–
Mike accelerated as he shoulder-checked the Atrixa before it could properly regain its bearings, sending it backwards again.
There was no pain, nor was there any more blood. Another illusion.
’This is annoying.’ Mike huffed. The sensation felt real, but his instincts let him know that there was no such thing. It was quite literally all in his head.
’Are all Atrixas like this? If so, how is it a low-level creature? Or is this one just unique? It is a variant after all. Perhaps the regeneration isn’t the only abnormal thing about it.’ Mike thought with a frown.
Speaking of, Mike had been keeping track of the attacks he landed. That kick he landed and the shoulder-check had been especially heavy, and Mike felt something deform within the creature with each hit.
But as he looked at it, he realized the creature seemed unharmed, like he hadn’t even hit it.
’Definitely some regeneration.’ Mike thought as he tapped his foot against the ground twice for good measure and charged forward just as the Atrixa did the same.
Just as they got close, the creature suddenly surged forward faster than it had before, catching Mike off guard–
Mike shifted to the side at the last moment and threw out a kick, his shin striking the joint of one of the Atrixa’s forelimbs, making a loud ’crack’ sound out as something gave way inside, making it stumble.
By now, Mike was really getting into the groove as Crimson Ladder was starting to compound properly, making his hits do more and more damage.
Mike charged in for a follow-up, but the Atrixa spun and lashed out with the limb Mike had just hurt, and this time, it wasn’t an illusion.
Mike raised his arm in time to block, but the hit still sent him sliding to the side.
His arm stung a bit, and Mike once more felt a warm liquid drip down. Mike had been head by the sharp claws after all, so it was only natural that his skin was cut through–
He put the sensation out of his mind. His skin was raw red from the hit, but no blood was spilled.
He ducked as the Atrixa tried to bite his torso before rolling away to avoid getting stomped. He bounced back to his feet a moment later and ignored the throbbing pain in his sides that would have made him think he hadn’t gotten out of the last exchange unscathed, and instead, he shot forward and jumped before driving his knee into the side of the Atrixa, and a more audible ’crack’ was heard as the Atrixa’s head was thrown back by the force.
Mike landed and ignored the exaggerated pain in his knee as he got into a stance that was the staple of one of the styles his Martial Arts instructor had given him, and proceeded to execute a devastating combo on the creature almost cleanly despite never having used the style in actual combat.
The Atrixa was beaten around, each hit making it stagger as it was pushed back.
Moreover, Crimson Ladder had raised Mike’s power even more, and by now, his hits were breaking the thick hide of the Atrixa, and bits of dark blue blood were being spilled.
Despite this, though, Mike was barely making any real headway in terms of actually killing the creature.
As the fight progressed, he became aware of just how irritating the regeneration was, as it felt like no matter what he did, it was simply inconsequential, as the thing just healed from any damage he’d inflicted.
Doubt started to creep in. Had he been wrong? Was he in over his head? Even if he was beating it in terms of stats, that didn’t mean he could kill it.
Was there any point in keeping up the fight? Maybe he should just leave. Or better yet, allowing the thing to kill him, so that at least one of them could benefit from this exhange–
"Okay, you’re VERY annoying." Mike growled and drove his elbow into the side of the head just as it tried to counter. It snarled in anger, the first proper sound it had made the entire fight as it was getting frustrated.
’No matter how good its regeneration is, it can’t be perfect. Otherwise, that’d mean it was immortal, and an immortal creature wouldn’t be an available commodity that students could just buy. No, there has to be a limit. Moreover...’ Mike’s eyes narrowed.
Without wasting any more time, his hair fluttered before his aura activated, and the surroundings seemed to quell slightly, as the presence of something at the top of the food chain made itself known.
"Let me see if you can regenerate after I blow your head off."