Mike vs The Chieftain III

When the chieftain had used its attack, Mike hadn't simply blocked it with his aura. Instead, he briefly used Primal Authority to create a zone around himself that negated most of the damage, which was how he'd come out alive.

That said, he'd have survived had he used his bare body to tank it, just that it would take a lot longer to regenerate.

And he might have lost consciousness, but let's not stress about the little details.

Anyway, Mike had come to a conclusion, and that is that if he decided to unleash his Primal Authority at any point, the fight would end. He simply hadn't done so because he actually wanted to enjoy the fight. What fun was there in finishing things quickly?

Well, he also wasn't sure if the chieftain had some way to resist the skill, but the more they fought, the more he began to doubt its ability to resist Primal Authority.

This put Mike in a bit of a funny predicament.

On one hand, the fact that his skill wasn't so easily resisted was a thing of joy. He'd told himself that it was probably the most potent card he had under his belt which also wasn't a brand new ability, and the more situations came up for its use, the more that belief was solidified.

But on the other hand, things would become lame if all it took was using his Authority to scare the trap out of whoever, or whatever, he was fighting.

That's why he hadn't used the skill up until now. He wanted to see everything the chieftain had to offer...

'Oh?' Mike suddenly stopped walking and raised a brow.

The chieftain, which looked like it was in a dire situation after failing to land what seemed to be its trump card, stood to its full height and gave a full-body stretch.

Mike watched curiously as it did so. The way it moved made it seem like it was... warming up?

Then, out of nowhere, Mike felt the fur on his body start to stand on end.

'That's... new.' He thought. His instincts had different ways of showing him danger, but this was the first time he'd...bristled at something.

From that alone, he knew that he should take what was about to come far more serio–

SHATTER

Mike felt virtually every bone in his arms get reduced to dust

'... Wha...?' His mind was practically filled with static.

Forget reacting, the only reason he'd raised his arms was out of impulse, a feeling of such intense danger that his body moved before his brain could even process the feeling.

Moreover, his Haven Ring was gone. It had to have taken some of the damage, right? Otherwise, his arms would probably not be attached to his body right...

And now, he was in the air, arms destroyed. His back ached too. Had he crashed through a tree? Multiple maybe?

Suddenly, he felt a tingle, right on his temple.

A massive fist was already in front of his face.

When had it gotten there? When had it moved? What sort of absurdity was this???

There was no time to think. Heck, Mike didn't even have time to call the ship in orbit to retrieve him.

He was helpless.

The fist met his face, and everything went black.

***

"Well, isn't that just fun?"

"Look at you. Out cold. Again."

"I'd say you picked a bad fight. Bit off more than you could chew? Not that it matters. You don't think. You never do. You just charge in and hope for the best."

"Heh. I thought I'd finally get the chance to show my face. But noooo. You just had to survive. Cockroach would be a more fitting name for you."

"..."

"I wonder if you'll remember this. Probably not. You never remember the important stuff."

"Sigh."

"Get up, Mike. I'm not babysitting you, you bastard."

***

All around the zone the students were allowed to operate, everyone was busy.

Whether it was hunting monsters, accumulating points, planning, scheming, and so on, everyone had something to do. The only exception would be those who were resting after an intense battle, those who had to leave the competition early... or those who had died.

So no one expected... something, to happen suddenly.

The forest, full of sounds, went quiet.

The leaves stopped swaying.

The wind stopped howling.

The distant howls quietened.

Creatures crouched in the burrows.

The students felt it too. A sudden weight in the base of their chests that they couldn't explain, but the unease was palpable.

"... Lady Beatrice, there is an... anomaly." In the ship, one of the handlers spoke with a strange expression.

"Hm?" Curious, Beatrice looked over, and the handler continued as they pulled up a hologram.

"It's an... I want to say energy spike, but our sensors aren't quite sure what it is." Hearing this, Beatrice frowned.

"From what spot?" The handler hesitated.

"... We aren't sure. It's coming from where the students are, but we can't pinpoint it either. We just know it's there..." This made Beatrice frown more.

'... Just what is happening down there?' She resisted the urge to curse. First, it was the Titanic Corpse Flower, now there was this?

And no one knew what it was apparently.

"Ready all the teleporters in case of anything." She said decisively. Joseph be damned. If whatever this was proved to be something the students couldn't handle, she was pulling them out.

Back on Naraka, in the Greenback Gorilla Territory.

The scene was one of utter devastation.

The truth was, the chieftain was quite special among his kin.

While the stories about him ripping out of his mother were an exaggeration, he was indeed quite large at birth.

He was stronger, faster, and more durable than his peers. But that wasn't all.

Greenback Gorillas were known for their ability to manipulate nature and life energy. It was an ability that, while rare, appeared among them enough to be known as their staple.

It's how they managed to gain a solid foothold in a place as cruel as Naraka.

But the chieftain, he was different.

He couldn't just manipulate nature and life energy.

He could transform it.

That's how he managed to perform that attack from before, and it's how he managed to blitz Mike so thoroughly.

He took his own vital energy and transformed it, causing his speed and power to increase so explosively that it wasn't even funny.

It went from getting suppressed by Mike to utterly outscaling him in mere moments.

That's what truly made the chieftain so fearsome.

Granted, such an ability wasn't something he couldn't use lightly. Not only was it incredibly difficult, but it was also insanely risky, and a mistake could cause a similar reaction to what was needed for that last attack it had used on Mike.

Moreover, if he wasn't careful, he could burn too much vital energy and

Still, the results were evident, and it's why the chieftain was as powerful as he was within that region of Naraka.

Add all of this to his skills, physique, and battle experience, and he made for quite a fearsome foe.

He knew this as well, and he had his fair share of life and death battles. The skulls he wore on his shoulders were from foes that almost took his life.

He knew what it was like to face death. To be put in a situation where the smallest mistake meant you were walking out alive. He'd been in plenty situations like that, and they were nothing new.

And yet...

As he stared at the one before him, he couldn't help but feel a deep, intense sense of dread.

That final punch should have killed him. Even if it didn't destroy his head completely, the resulting forces should have done irreparable damage to his skull and brain.

He should be dead.

But that wasn't the case.

Instead, Mike's body was slowly rising. He wasn't pushing himself to his feet, mind you. No, he was slowly levitating, with his arms, legs, and head sagging as though his torso was being dragged upwards by an invisible force.

But that wasn't what truly concerned the chieftain.

What did, was the white energy swirling around Mike's body.

It was completely different from his aura. And unlike his aura which, while wild, had been controlled, this was different.

It felt old.

It felt deep.

It felt... primal.

GROWL

A low, deep growl came from Mike. It was so animalistic that it was hard to believe that it came from him. And yet, the truth was so.

The chieftain couldn't wait any longer.

He burned more of his vital energy and shot forward, faster than ever before.

One didn't need to have special instincts to know that letting Mike complete whatever he was doing was a BAD idea, and the chieftain wasn't keen on finding out what it was.

But as his axe swung in a wide arc, ready to cleave Mike's head off, it froze.

And not just the axe... everything froze.

The chieftain, the falling leaves, the dust in the air, the billowing wind, the trembling ground, even sound.

Everything just stopped.

Not because time ceased. No, time still progressed normally.

No... It was because or terror. Terror so deep that even the laws of motion ceased their activity.

Then, Mike's eyes, which had been closed due to healing, opened.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.