The humanoid tortoise, its woody limbs planted firmly on the pristine marble floor, watched with a mixture of amusement and disdain as Rex, his face contorted from pain, slowly began his retreat. Each step reigniting the pain he had taken from the creatures assault.
The creature stood as Rex's struggle stroked it's ego.
Hummph! Hummph! The guttural sounds of the humanoid tortoise laughter echoed through the hall, its amusement growing with each agonizing movement of the young man.
Rex, his body filled with throbbing pain, dragged himself towards the entrance of the hall, slowly and steadily, he had a scheme simming and cooking. A reward for the creatures surgical back kick. He was now a far cry from the confident young man who had entered the ruin. Now, he was a wounded animal, desperately trying to escape the clutches of this abhorent creature, but it would not be so for long.
With each labored step, the distance between Rex and the exit slowly shrank, the odds were stacked against him. He was wounded, his health almost depleted, and seemingly did not have the ability to really harm his opponent. The short bout had laid bare to him to how much his capabilities were lacking in completing the class quest, he had accepted. Assaulting him with the hellish difficulty of the decision he had made.
Cosmic Ascendance, unlike most of the already existing traditional games. Was stingy in features available to players. To be able to view details of enemies, you need to have knowledge of the foe. Which right now he did not, this made it so that he had no idea of the humanoid tortoise's level or even it's true name.
According to the information he had, if he were to slay it though, his interface would be updated with the information of the slain foes and some information that relates to it. Will be updated on his interface.
He took a deep breath, the pain momentarily intensifying, and forced himself to focus. The fight was not over. Not yet.
- - -
Thump!! Thump!!
The Humanoid Tortoise began a slow strut towards its prey "Rex". It steps slow and intentional, aimed at eliciting the most desperation it could from it's hunt. Rex for a moment, paused his torturous walk, to scan the action of it's foe.
The steps of the Humanoid Tortoise seemed to lack any urgency, and so did it's face. Rex seeing that the distance he had created between he and the creature, remained unchallenged, due to the creatures nonchalant attitude towards him, resumed his painful stagger towards his goal.
- - -
It had been several minutes, since Rex received the back kick from the Humanoid Tortoise. The Humanoid Tortoise was still following him with a slow prance. It seemed that the creature was more interested in watching its prey's struggle, than ending its prey.
Rex noticed the familiar grey rock: Specimen No 1, lying undisturbed on the floor, Alerting him to the fact that he was now close to the trap he had survived earlier.
THE SKEWER
Once again Rex felt his heart pounding loudly in his chest. He was mere moments from deciding his fate. As Rex drew closer to the familiar path, he noticed the dark slits in the wall, alerting him to the fact that he was almost at his goal.
Slowly, Rex dragged his battered body to the slit. As he got closer to the dark slit's that housed the sharp prongs of the skewer. His heartbeat quickened. He did not know how close he could get to the Skewer before it's mechanism were triggered, trusting in his instincts that had helped him survive several peril since he began the ruins conquest. He slowly edged closer to the trap.
As Rex got within few inches of the skewer, he felt an imminent threat from the Dormant trap. With careful movements he turned around to face his adversary, the abhorrent creature that was relishing his plight. The distasteful monstrosity that had wrecked his body with a kick.
Rex brought up his fist, poising himself into his combat stance. The movement brought back pain to areas he had no idea could elicit pain. As the pain assaulted his mind, he steadied his breathing as he stared down the creature that was hunting him.
The Humanoid tortoise was momentarily stunned by the action of it's prey. It looked on with stunned silence as the weak prey assumed a provocative stance. It wondered what could be this creatures motivation. It had assumed the mind of the creature was lost in despair. Seeing it bring up its fist in defiance irritated it.
Badum!!! Badum!!!
The Humanoid tortoise with a quickened pace dashed towards Rex, it's annoyance evident in it's step. It movement announcing it's intention, the complete destruction of Rex.
As Rex kept his eyes, soul and mind locked on the creature, as in the next few moments, his dreams and aspirations of gaining power and strength from Cosmic Ascendance would either have ended or have survived this trial. He once again fell into a similar sync, just like the one he had experienced earlier. He felt all the actions of the rapidly approaching creature, becoming more and more vividly clear to Him.
With each drum of the creatures foot as it rapidly approached Rex, Rex's mind became clearer, more calmer, more in tune with it's movement.
He was gambling with his future, something so unlike him. He always preferred having a perfect control over his fate.
He have heard to let go of that after the kick awoke him to the reality, of how weak he was. He had come to accept the harsh reality of his weakness, accepted it and honed it into a weapon.
Employing his wit instead of his strength in this battle
As the creature got within melee range, Rex noticed the slight tension of it's right hand as it moved into a striking pose.
Rex brought up his two hands upto his face, bringing them together to form a block, His gamble was set, it had gone exactly how he wanted, the creature was sending a punch to his face.
The fist of the Humanoid tortoise, carrying the momentum of it's short dash was rapidly approaching the block, Rex had brought up to protect his face. At that moment, Rex could feel his heartbeat and his breathing seemingly becoming drawn. As the punch of the creature continued on it's set path.
Just as the punch was about to make contact with Rex's face. He made a backward leap, while still maintaining his block. His gamble was no longer based on luck as the luck part had already successfully played it's path.
Now it was a matter of cold hard calculations.
Dum!!
The fist made contact with Rex's block. Delivering only a fraction of it's intended might. As Rex's backward jump, an evasive manuveur that put him out of the punch's intended impact, drastically reduced the force of the punch.
Even though Rex had drastically reduced the power of the punch, with his evasive manuveur, the fraction of it's might that had connected with his block, still sent him flying backwards. This combined with his feet's that were not on the floor when the punch landed, sent him shuttling past the skewer.
As Rex flew backward, his HP popped up displaying the latest result of the damage he had received.
HP 1/10 /DMG -2/
He had not sustained any bleed damage.
A smile slowly crept unto Rex's face as he flew back. His gamble was successfull. For a moment Rex forgot his pain as he stared at his adversary.
The Humanoid tortoise body fell forward following the momentum it had put into it's punch that had not fully connected.
"SPLURT!!!!"
The Humanoid tortoise was speared through by the skewer.
"Hahaha!!!"
Rex's laughter exploded through the hall as fatigue madly assaulted the whole of his body.
His first scheme in Cosmic Ascendance had succeeded
As he stared at the creature that was now slowly disintegrating as a greenish orb fell forward
" LEVEL 14 NEO LIFE TORTOISE SLAIN"
" 70XP OBTAINED: UPGRADED TO LEVEL 3"
A series of notification, popped up on his POV
Rex could barely read through the new notifications as his eyes slowly shut.
He slept off, lying on the moss filled floor of the passage way.
The series of high tension activities had thoroughly exhausted his being.