The choice wasn’t really a choibsp;

  Trying to go somewhere else iunnels would get me killed, for sure. The explosions were only growing louder. I’d set something off with the wraiths. I just had to hope the giant alligators would stop them.

  That left the tu the end of the water room and the right of it that seemed to lead to a supersized version of the sewers. A whole vast area that seemed to be endlessly covered in a thi of water.

  The problem was that nothing was there.

  Everything was everywhere. There were rats, alligators, horrible meat monstrosities, toad men, and wraiths. The sewers were many things but not desote. A giant, wide, empty area? Unlikely. sidering I never saw any creatures running through there, it really meant only ohing.

  Something down that way was strong.

  I hadn’t noticed it at first, but the closer I had gotten to the wraiths, the less rats I saw. The answer was obvious, it was the same reason almost none were he alligators. Things didn’t go near apex predators if they didn’t have to.

  Caution had been quite literally exploded bato me. I ged at the past. I’d been so carefree, it was amazing I hadn’t died wheing something at power level [15]. Even if it wouldn’t have helped… I could have taken far more time to train up, been far more cautious, been quieter. I’d approached it like I was ready for a fight when I should’ve approached it like a terrified mouse ready to bolt. And ih. Even just bag up a few tuo get a better view of it from afar.

  I’d messed up and now I had to leave.

  I wasn’t even shocked when I saw the same toad man standing there at the entrance of the tunnel. What did bother me was that in the moment before it noticed me, it had been looking dower room tunnels with a worried expression. That put a few different things and pieces in my mind together.

  This was a guard and there was definitely something dangerous down that way.

  He was worried something was going to e this way. Time was more limited than I thought.

  But all of that fell away as its eyes gazed at me. The explosions, the rats, the sewer, the wraiths, my injuries, all of it fell away. I took in its power level.

  [8]

  Still the same.

  The toad man looked shocked to see me and for my part… I was ready.

  This thing had nearly killed me. It had permaly broken my face. My nose hadn’t healed right and breathing was harder now. My froh were broken and I still sometimes cut my lips or tongue on them. It hurt. Everything hurt all the time and I’d gotteo it, but it still hurt.

  And that gut punch… it had been the single most debilitating and shog thing I had ever felt in my life. It had practically khe soul and air out of me all in one go. I limbered up, stretg. There was going to be no ambush. There couldn’t be or I’d have taken it. Idly, I’d hoped I could just sneak by and avoid this fight, but it had been a long time ing.

  I was stronger now. Not as strong as it… but stronger.

  I told myself I’d avoid it but I o know the gap. I had used my Vambrace’s power fun before the fight. I strongly doubted it would make me fident but I o know what I was dealing with.

  The answer had shocked me.

  [6.12]

  I’d shot all the ast normal human. I’d skipped a power level. Or at least, I hadn’t paid any attention to it while I was at it. Utter insanity. I was now around as strong as a human that actually worked out detly. It felt like too mud too little all at once. But given the enviro, my rough health, and even my diet… it was more than I could ask for. A lot more.

  But it would still be impossibly difficult. It was about the equivalent of a fit human versus ohat went to the gym and pou weights every single day. Hell, I had a gut feeling it wasly at the low part of an [8] either.

  “It doesn’t have to be like this you know.” I said. “You could just let me go. I just want out of the sewer.”

  If it uood any of my words, it showed no sign of it. Well, besides an increasingly angry gre. What did it have to be angry about? That it hadn’t killed me st time? I frowned, remembering how it had spit o might not uand my nguage but it most certainly had human intelligenbsp;

  It got into a pose built for power and a part of me… sighed in relief.

  “Thank god. I really wao beat your ass.”

  It rushed me, a fist the size of my head inches away from my face. I moved, letting out a scream as I unched my own fist at his. A toady ixed with a grunt was the only response as it dodged. For a brief moment, both our fists were extended past each other's heads, eyes log.

  It tried to throw a gut pun that moment, a fist ing from my blind spot but I’d been waiting for it. A quick side step and I smashed my elbow across its face. If it was mad before it looked pissed now. I didn’t stop, raining blow after blow into it. It crossed its arms, blog my punches, before surging forth and ign a jab to its face to nd one ay chest.

  My chest creaked but my eyes bzed.

  Punch after punch was exged, blog fotten. Punches like onballs rained down on me. My face, my chest, my stomach, blow after blow after blow smmed into me. My stomach hurt, my arm cried out in agony, my lip cracked and my head felt rattled but I didn’t stop. I pushed, raining just as many blows onto this damn toad! My punches had less effect but they weren’t doing nothing.

  If you want a battle of endurance, I’m not going to lose you bastard!

  With a mighty croak, the toad man threunch aiming to knock me out. But it might as well have been shouted from the rooftops. All power, no teique! I ducked down, feeling the wind bst over my head and came up in a rising uppercut, smming the damn thing in the jaw.

  It stumbled bad I felt a grin stretch ae, blood leaking from the ers of my mouth. Take that you bastard.

  It stared at me, murder in its eyes, a out a loud warcry. It ran in and no longer was I given the luxury of returning blows. Every punch felt just as strong as that oo the gut it had once given me and I didn’t dare let any touch me. I ducked, weaved, and frantically dove out of the way. I couldn’t afford to be hit by these, I khey were to.

  Theoad did something I wasn’t expeg.

  A leg came up, smming into my side like a wreg ball. I grit my teeth as I felt something break and was unched across the water. I frantically got up, narrowly missing a follow up leg drop that nearly saw a webbed heel breaking my head open. The toad was done pying around and I’d severely uimated its leg strength.

  At least one of my ribs was broken and breathing had suddenly bee a pained, awful affair.

  And the fight had only just begun. It uself at me, its feet smming into the ground and practically causing it to fire itself at me like a gun. It leapt, s over my head and I turned up just in time to realize it had one palm out and the other arm was cocked back for a punbsp;

  My eyes widened and I dropped, letting my legs colpse under me, as a fist came withiimeters of breaking my skull. I felt the wind from that punch blow back my hair as the toad man finished his leap. He must’ve been rusty or really pying with me before because suddenly I was having to deal with a monster of movement.

  It pushed down again as soon as it nded a at me, right leg fully sideways and prepared for a bone shattering kick. I didn’t think, there wasn’t time. I simply moved.

  It wasn’t the only ohat could jump.

  The quickest jump of my life narrowly had me dodging the leg, yet before I could even nd, he did, throwing out a kick with the that smmed into my chest. I winced as I felt my sternum nearly crack. This thing was a monster.

  Explosions rippled the chamber as it stared at me, oill extended. I breathed heavy, exhaustion g at me, one rib broken, and a mess of bruises f on the rest of me. In all ways that mattered, I hadn’t won any of that exge. It was simply too fast, to, and too smart. It may look like an a figure toad made real but it was a monster with the mind of a person and far too much power for me.

  But I’d win. I didn’t know how, it may not even be possible, but I was going to figure out a way. Because not doing so meah.

  I took a pained breath, feeling the way my body radiated and cried out to me. Every painful breath, every painful bruise, the beat of my heart, the air out my lungs, the blood pumping in my veins. Soured down and my eyes locked on my target. I o win and I was going to give it all I had to make sure that ossible.

  I ran at him, feeling the water and stoh my feet. The putrid air and the humidity of the water. The squeaks of rats and the roars of alligators and the explosives of the s. I took it all in and breathed it all out. It was only me and him and I was going to win.

  A blow came for my face that I ducked, feeling the air blow past my ear. Another came for me, and I turned, feeling my muscles stretch taunt, pulling me away from the iable. My own punch pushed through, burnt and bck, wounded, ied, but with all the force I could muster anyway. It smmed into the side of its fad it croaked.

  More punches came for me but I didn’t block or take them this time. I stared, my focus going into overtime as I dodged ead every ohey got faster and faster, but I forced myself to go farther. If I could see them, if I could see them! I could dodge them!

  Blow after blow after blow, dodge after dodge after dodge. I felt my bones crack against his face, his head, and his neck. He guarded, I aimed for his chest and sides, he moved, I followed. A rising knee came for me, I thrust one palm dowing it and f myself above him for a split sed. My elbow came down, crag into his fabsp;

  And for the first time, he bled. Purplish blood came out he front of its face, slightly dribbling down. The first sign that it had taken any damage.

  It reacted with rage. The punches were harder to see, almost impossible to dodge. My head was moving so fast that it hurt and trag every kick was nearly an impossible task. I couldn’t see them, the puoo fast. When I felt a knee sm into my gut this time, it felt iable.

  A spinning kick from the toad was the follow up, crag my jaw with its heel and sending me spinning away across the water.

  I struggled to get up. My vision was going dark and I couldn’t breathe. There was no air. I dry heaved and gagged, blood p out my mouth. I was on my hands and knees, palms spyed out, trying to get back up. I turned, sweat clouding my vision as I struggled to pull in a breath. The toad man roag.

  This time, I knew. He wasn’t going to let me leave alive if he caught me.

  Am I… going to die here? After all this? After all this suffering, was this going to be it?

  No.

  I smiled, catg the toad man by surprise before-

  My fist punched into the ground. Again and again and again. A primal roar forced its way out of me as I screamed a my knuckles crack against the stone. As I forced air to e into me faster and faster, breathing faster and faster.

  With a roar I smmed my fists down and forced myself up.

  No more thought. No more worries.

  Only the fight!

  Warix_Viviana