Chapter 25

Maybe a few days had already passed since I was captured. And now, the number of captured monsters had drastically decreased. Though I guess that should be normal considering the fact that we were forced to fight every single day. The only silver lining here was that the ape type monsters never forgot to give us food after surviving a match. Well, you could also say that they were also benefiting here because of the entertainment(?) we were providing for them. But for me, I highly doubt that entertainment was their only goal. For now, I still had no idea why, but surely, there was a catch.

Anyway, on the second day of that match, the fights became more intense since the match has turned into a battle between two monsters of different species. From the looks of it, the first day was just the elimination round. Probably, these Banobos always forced two monsters of the same species to fight in the first match in order to make the most of that species’ potential. Though, for me, I fought another Glydon on the second day. But since I already fought one, it has become much easier to defeat it.

Well, it wasn’t as if I didn’t get anything from all that fighting. After all, because of that, I had now reached level 24. And if I keep this up, maybe I will be able to evolve before I meet the leader of these ape type monsters.

For now, though, the Hackclaw from before was fighting the bison type monster called Winset. And yes, surprisingly, the Hackclaw managed to survive this long and it was in fact doing great. But unlike the Hackclaw I defeated before, there was something different about this one. Yes, sure. This monster was certainly a lot stronger than the one I fought before. In particular, I noticed that the monster instinct seemed to be a lot sharper now. Honestly, I didn't know how or why, but from what I could tell, this change began after the monster killed its own kind. And then, as the monster continued to fight, it was becoming much more savage and crueler. It was as if something possessed the monster. Seriously, I was even starting to feel some pity for the monster that the Hackclaw was fighting now.

Inside the ring, the Winset was desperately fighting the Hackclaw. But to be perfectly honest, it seemed to me that the Hackclaw was just playing around with the Winset. And even though it was honestly a bad match up, the Hackclaw was still certainly over doing it.

Dude. Just kill the poor thing already. I complained internally.

At the center of the ring, the bloodied Winset was standing still while gazing furiously at the Hackclaw who wasn’t even taking a battle stance. Basically, the Hackclaw was saying that the Winset wasn’t even worth being cautious about.

Finally looking like it had run out of patience, the Winset pointed its huge horn forward and charged straight into the Hackclaw. But as if mocking the efforts of the Winset, the Hackclaw easily avoided that attack while simultaneously hacking away at the Winset’s flesh.

Following where the slash has come from, the Winset immediately turned its head to the side, probably hoping to catch the Hackclaw by surprise. Unfortunately, the Hackclaw has already retreated a few distances away before the Winset had even noticed.

Actually, this scene had already repeated itself for a couple of times now. And every single time, it played out in the same exact way. The Winset would charge towards the Hackclaw. The Hackclaw would dodge with elegance, proceed to slash the Winset’s flesh, and then without even trying to inflict a fatal wound, it would retreat. That process repeated itself over and over again, and as a result, the Winset was now a walking pile of bloody mess.

Of course, you could say that the Winset’s fighting style was just dumb. But if you asked me, the Winset’s charge attack wasn’t a push over either. After all, that charge attack was fast and precise. In fact, that charge attack was so fast I could probably compare it to the speed of the Glydon that I defeated. And that wasn’t all. Because for some unknown reason, the Winset was also somehow capable of completely ignoring all of its momentum and just completely stopping its charge if it needed to. Unfortunately, even with all of that ability and power at its disposal, the Hackclaw still managed to outmatch the Winset in battle.

If I had to guess the reason why the Winset couldn’t touch the Hackclaw, I would say it probably had something to do with the combined instinct and reaction time of the Hackclaw. Most likely, the Hackclaw’s instinct was so sharp to the point that it could predict an incoming attack a second earlier before it was released. Combine that with its already fast and now enhanced reaction time, then you got a monster that seemed impossible to touch.

Hmm… If I am put in that same situation… Well, I can probably counter it with that?

While I was trying to come up with a strategy to use against the Hackclaw, my thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the cheers of the spectating apes. Curious, I look into the ring only to see an unexpected development.

Inside the ring, the Winset and the Hackclaw were somehow battling it out using their brute strength. To put it simply, the Hackclaw’s scythe-like arms were locked into the Winset’s horn and the two monsters were trying to push back the other. Looking at the two monsters, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the sport Sumo Wrestling because that was what those two were technically doing.

Honestly, I had no idea how their fight ended up like this. Besides, based on how the battle played out earlier, I was quite certain that it was pretty much impossible for the Winset to land a blow against the Hackclaw. But seeing this situation, it was clear that the Winset somehow managed to catch up with the Hackclaw. Unless…

Wait… Don’t tell me, the Hackclaw deliberately let the Winset land a blow?

It was the most logical explanation for this situation. Most likely, the Hackclaw did it in order to completely crush the Winset’s spirit… Or not. Well, looking at the behavior of the Hackclaw, the monster was only doing this in order to further humiliate the Winset.

What a nasty opponent… I sighed.

Based on the look in the Winset’s eyes, it seemed like it also understood the intention of the Hackclaw. Seriously, the Winset’s eyes were burning with rage. Though, I couldn’t really blame the Winset for being that enraged. I mean, seriously, that Hackclaw had been toying with the Winset since the very beginning of the match. So, by all means, it would be weird if the Winset didn’t even feel any anger from all that humiliation.

Like I said… Just kill the poor thing already… I sincerely asked.

A few seconds later, the Winset was starting to get pushed back by the Hackclaw. Normally, that should be impossible considering the fact that the Winset specialized in bulldozing its opponent with brute strength. But in this case, all the damage that had accumulated on the body of the Winset played a big role in weakening it. Not to mention, the Winset’s wounds also bled nonstop from the get go so it probably lost a lot of blood by now. Seriously though, if this was the intention of the Hackclaw from the very beginning, then that was one heck of a nasty strategy.

Finally, the Hackclaw completely pushed back the weakened Winset. With its strength gone, the Winset’s only way of fighting back vanished and it fell down on its knees. From the looks of it, the Winset’s had already lost all of its fighting spirit. The way it was now, the Winset was only waiting for the Hackclaw to end its wretched life.

As if it was just having a casual stroll, the Hackclaw walked towards the kneeling Winset and circled around it. While the Hackclaw was circling around the Winset, its head was slightly tilted to the side. From the way it moves, it was as if the Hackclaw was appraising a mysterious object it had just found.

Then, as if it was experimenting on something, the Hackclaw slash the flesh of the kneeling Winset. After that, it proceeded to circle around the Winset stopping only from time to time in order to hack at the Winset’s flesh. The Hackclaw repeated that process over and over again while also increasing the speed in which it encircled the Winset. Worse of all, the Hackclaw was also increasing the speed of its slash attack along with it. As a result, the area in which the Winset was kneeling eventually became drenched in blood.

And just like that, the Winset breathed its last. Honestly, even I was repulsed by how the Hackclaw ended the Winset’s life. Of course, it wasn’t as if I would go out of my way to avenge the Winset. After all, in this place, the strong always preyed on the weak and there were even times when I killed monsters that weren’t even able to put up a fight. But for me, I always did that for the sake of survival. And of course, I also didn’t go out of my way to torture a monster until it dies. That was why seeing how the Hackclaw did things like that; I couldn’t help but be disgusted by how cruel it was. At this rate, I felt as if it was the same feeling that I got from the Cerberus and the Hellhounds.

I wonder if there is some connection there?

It was then that my thoughts were interrupted by a Banobo that lifted me up and placed me inside the ring.