Elazul landed on the planet and immediately noticed the difference in gravity. He moved his arms and jumped a bit, trying to gauge how it compared to the spaceship.

"The gravity here feels lighter," Elazul thought.

After getting used to the new gravity, Elazul started walking toward a gigantic hole on the planet's surface. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how big the creature he was supposed to bait might be, but judging by the size of this hole, it had to be enormous.

As he got closer, Elazul couldn't help but think about the pants and sandals he was wearing. These were items from Earth’s society, specifically Japanese, which was odd considering how unlikely it was for anything outside of Earth to adopt Earth’s culture.

"Or maybe they have similar attire and culture because the universe might be much bigger than anyone on Earth ever anticipated," Elazul mused.

He was still pondering what kind of civilization could produce the same kind of clothing as Earth. He even recalled a conspiracy theory suggesting that humans might not have evolved on Earth but were placed there to populate the planet because, according to the theory's creator, human evolutionary traits didn’t perfectly match the planet's conditions.

Elazul reached the edge of the hole and looked down, greeted by pitch-black darkness, like staring into the center of a black hole.

He looked around for a good place to climb down but found nothing. Amid his confusion, he suddenly heard Grorax’s voice in his head.

"Watch out, human kid!"

Elazul looked up toward the Skull Chomper spaceship and saw a rocket flying from it. The rocket arced across the sky and plunged directly into the center of the hole.

"Here they come, kid!" Grorax said with a laugh through their telepathic connection.

BOOOMMMM

KOAAAAKKK!!!! KOAAKK! KOAAKK! KOOAAKK!

As soon as the rocket exploded inside the hole, hundreds of thousands of voices echoed from within. They sounded like a massive flock of crows converging to feast on a carcass.

"What have you done?!" Elazul yelled angrily at the spaceship.

"We're tight on schedule, kid! I just wanted to get the job done quicker. Ahahahahaha!"

Elazul looked back at the hole and saw a horde of terrifying beasts. Their size was comparable to two short cars stacked together. Their heads were locked in a C-shape, protected by a hard exoskeleton. They had twelve spider-like legs, also covered in an exoskeleton.

In simple terms, they were like spiders without stomachs but with necks and sculpted faces.

"That pirate bastard really wants me dead!" Elazul thought as he started to run from the horde of beasts.

The horde of Core Eaters spread out from the hole, running in random directions to find whoever disturbed their peace. Most found nothing suspicious and kept running, but several spotted Elazul and began chasing him. A few of the beasts looked up and noticed the Skull Chomper above.

KOAAKKK! KO-KO-KO-KOAAKK!!!

One of the creatures made a strange noise, and soon another type of Core Eater started climbing out of the hole. This one had a more flexible neck and a bigger mouth compared to the others.

"Kid! Let’s fly away for now to avoid getting shot down by that shooter," Grorax said to his crew in the cockpit.

The new type of creature tried to shoot at the Skull Chomper, but their attack range was too short to reach the spaceship.

The Skull Chomper quickly ascended, making itself even harder to hit from the ground. Meanwhile, Elazul, still running from the horde of beasts, heard the spaceship fly away and felt his heart sink.

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"I'm not a bait anymore! I'm a snack!" he shouted angrily.

Elazul then turned around and prepared himself. He didn’t want to die uselessly. If he had to die today, he would go down fighting like a warrior of old.

"COME GET ME, YOU OVERGROWN BUGS!"

KOOAAKKK!!

Elazul charged at the horde of beasts, fearless but sweating profusely as if he had just stepped out of a bath. He wound up his punch and sent his fist flying toward the nearest Core Eater, hitting it squarely on its armored face.

PANG!

His fist landed perfectly, and the Core Eater's face quickly crumbled into pieces. Elazul looked at his fist with both surprise and delight. At least now he had a way to defend himself.

"Come at me, stiff head!" Elazul said with a taunting gesture.

He charged at the creatures again, punching them left and right. Some managed to survive his blows, stumbling back before retreating, while a few were killed on the spot, their heads or bodies shattered.

Elazul started to get carried away as the fight seemed almost too easy. It was at that moment one of the Core Eaters decided to attack from a different angle, silently moving in to strike Elazul from behind. Caught off guard, Elazul was surprised when a pair of sharp bug legs jabbed at his back, trying to stab him.

Luckily, his skin was tough enough to avoid being punctured by the creature’s sharp legs. Unfortunately, Elazul wasn’t strong enough to stay on his feet and quickly fell face-first to the ground.

The other Core Eaters wasted no time, seizing the opportunity to swarm Elazul, stabbing at him as fast and as often as they could, despite being unable to pierce his skin.

"Ughhhh! They’re heavy!"

Elazul tried to slip away from the mob, but the creatures gave him no chance, relentlessly pounding him despite the cramped space. At that moment, Elazul heard a voice in his head, reminding him of an unused advantage.

"ELAZUL! USE THE TITAN FIST!"

Elazul suddenly remembered that he had a weapon to defend himself—the pair of bracelets. Struggling beneath the weight of the Core Eaters, he quickly called out the weapon’s name.

"TITAN FIST!"

.....

Nothing happened.

Elazul now had a new emotion to add to his impending doom: embarrassment. He felt like he’d just done something stupid and quickly started hating Lizard for making him do it.

"Oh, you humans, so idiotic! I said think of it getting activated, not shout like a crying baby!" Lizard yelled via telepathy.

Elazul tried to calm himself and focused on activating the bracelet, not really sure how it would work but still tried to give it a mental command.

'Titan Fist, activate,' Elazul called out in his mind.

With an explosion of gold and silver energy, a gigantic hand appeared above Elazul's own hand and blasted away the Core Eaters that had been swarming him. Slowly, Elazul stood up, amazed by the glowing magical hand. He moved his hand, and the magic hand followed his movements with perfect precision.

'Magic is amazing.'

Armed with this powerful new weapon, Elazul's spirit soared, and he was ready for another round. With the Titan Fist activated, no creature could survive his punches. Each strike claimed a life or more, sending the beasts flying in pieces.

"Hahaha! Thank you, Lizard, for such a wonderful weapon!" Elazul shouted excitedly, no longer hating Lizard as he punched three Core Eaters at once.

*****

Elazul kept fighting for half an hour, significantly reducing the number of Core Eaters in the horde. This decrease triggered a panic among the Core Eaters, prompting a unique creature to emerge from the hole.

"That's the one! You have to capture that one, kid!" Grorax said telepathically from his spaceship above.

Elazul didn’t respond, still upset about Grorax abandoning him down here without any support. Instead, he focused on the new, unique Core Eater and began thinking about how to capture it.

This unique Core Eater was larger than the others. Its legs were covered in sharp spikes, and its neck was protected by rows of segmented natural armor. It could move its head freely and bared its sharp mouth toward Elazul, clearly intending to kill him as quickly as possible.

The unique Core Eater charged with haste, its wild, ferocious eyes locked on Elazul, radiating pure hatred and bloodlust that seemed to freeze him in place.

'Ugh, this is bad!'

Elazul tried to put some distance between himself and the new creature, but his legs failed him. Fear had gripped his heart, weakening his body and making his movements slow and sluggish. In no time, the creature reached Elazul and quickly raised its spiked leg to stab him.

'Move! Move! Move!'

Elazul pushed his mind and heart as hard as he could and managed to dodge the spiked leg at the last moment. The creature showed no surprise and continued stabbing at him, trying to pierce more holes in his body, forcing him to push his weakened body to move as fast as possible.

Panting heavily from fatigue, Elazul managed to stand up and began planning his next move. His Titan Fist was still active, and he wanted to use it to deliver one decisive strike.

'Let's try to imitate Kirix's move.'

The unique creature charged at Elazul again, but this time, Elazul kept his composure and prepared his move. As the creature closed in, ready to impale him, Elazul swiftly moved underneath it and delivered a powerful uppercut to its head.

"EAT THIS AND DIE, BUG!"

"STOP!! THAT'S OUR PRODUCT, YOU MORON!" Grorax's voice roared in Elazul's mind, stunning him for half a second.

The unique creature quickly backed away from Elazul, eyeing him warily. Meanwhile, Elazul was too busy arguing with Grorax, frustrated that the interruption had let the creature escape.

"That was my only chance, dammit!" Elazul roared telepathically.

"And that’s my product! If you’re on my crew, you have to follow my orders! And my order is to capture the damn beast, not kill it!" Grorax shot back, equally angry.

They continued to bicker while Elazul dodged the creature’s attacks. Elazul only put half of his focus on dodging but still kept a close watch on the unique Core Eater’s movements, calculating his next moves and looking for an opening.

"No more interruptions, you soft face!" Elazul shouted angrily.

"And remember, you’re supposed to capture, not kill, human trash!" Grorax responded with equal fury.

Elazul refocused his mind, renewing his determination to face the unique creature. The creature seemed even more wary of Elazul now as if realizing that he was not just some ordinary small prey.

"Okay, round two! Come at me!" Elazul said as he charged forward.

Feeling cornered by Elazul’s determined charge, the unique Core Eater released an enraged roar and charged forward to meet him head-on. Its movements, which had been straightforward and predictable some moments ago, suddenly became more agile and calculated. The creature began to weave from side to side, almost as if it had somehow learned the intricacies of footwork techniques.

Elazul, however, remained unfazed by the creature’s newfound agility. He recalled the footwork techniques he had painstakingly learned long ago during his days as a trainee. He mirrored the creature’s movements with practiced precision, gradually closing the distance between them until the Core Eater was well within his striking range.

"Eat this!" Elazul shouted, his voice full of conviction as he threw a powerful punch aimed directly at the creature's neck. In a swift and unexpected move, the creature dodged at the last split second, narrowly avoiding the blow. It immediately attempted a counterattack, thrusting its sharp, pointed legs toward Elazul in a vicious stab.

But Elazul was prepared for this. Anticipating the creature's counter, he quickly adjusted his stance, using his balanced footwork to nimbly evade the incoming attack just before it could reach him. His quick reflexes and disciplined technique allowed him to maintain his composure, ready for the next exchange.