With a big grin on his face, Doukur started to bullrush me with incredible speed. He swung his club downwards, intent on casting it upon my head.

“Heh! Are you trying to kill me, meathead?!”

I jumped back, feeling the spray of sharp rocks against my skin as the spot I stood at was crushed. I held my arm up, shielding my eyes from the debris. When I looked up, I felt a hard object strike my face. If I had to describe what the impact felt like, it was as if five prime Mike Tyson punched me in the face. I probably would’ve been KO’d if it wasn’t for my durability level. I felt a warm liquid dribbling from my mouth.

Doukur cackled at the sight. “Oh? You ate that punch like a champ! Haw-haw! That is what I like to see.”

“You call that a punch? I didn’t feel it at all,” I taunted, wiping my face.

I reciprocated the favor and launched a punch of my own at the demogres’ stomach, as promised. Though he saw it coming, he made no effort to dodge and simply took the beating. When my fist connected, I was quite shocked. Doukur’s skin was hard. It was like I was throwing a punch at a sandbag filled with rocks!

“I gotta hand it to you, little pup… that hurt-“

While he was jabbering away, I grabbed his arms and pulled him downwards. As I lowered Doukur, I drove a fierce tiger knee to his chin. The demogre’s head shot back from the whiplash.

“And here’s a spin kick from me!”

The ogre was still disoriented from my blow, so I wasted no time and spun around, my outstretched leg hitting him in his midsection. Doukur’s heavy body sunk and was now lying flat on his back.

“And it looks like Doukur’s been taken down! Is he not able to keep up with Isaac?!”

Hmph! It’s not over yet, that much I can tell you. I’m sure my attacks didn’t damage him all that much. Just from exchanging a few blows, I know this dude is built like a tank. He’s the type to take punishment and deliver it two-fold if you weren’t careful enough. I’ve seen enemies like him before in all my time of playing video games. If you aren’t careful, you’ll only wear yourself out and succumb to fatigue and injuries.

Doukur steadily rose from the ground, moving his jaw around. I heard a faint rattling from within him, like the sound of pebbles in a tin can. His mouth suddenly stopped, and he spat out something white.

“That was a good hit there. Looks like you aren’t a little pup after all…” The composed creature rotated his head around, his neck cracking.

“It should be happening soon… I can feel it.”

What the hell is he going on about? What’s happening soon? I should keep my eyes peeled, just in case. Should I just finish this right now? I want to keep having fun with him, though. It’s rare enough that I get to fight someone near my level!

While I was contemplating what I should do, I didn’t notice Doukur was already a few inches from my face.

“Pay attention to the fight, little pup,” Doukur growled.

He swung his weapon at me, but I was able to hold my arms up in a defensive stance the last second. My bones creaked from the impact, but I still held my ground. I launched a kick at his head while holding his club down with my free arm, hoping it had some effect, yet he shook it off and lifted the club. I felt like a human wind chime swaying in the wind as I dangled off the weapon. Doukur delivered a mighty punch at my beloved stomach, causing me to jet across the arena. I landed at the far edge, my head dangling. A blaze of pain embodied my midsection as I gasped for air. A terrible groan escaped from my lips as I lifted my bruised body from the arena floor. I felt the ground tremble as I looked up. Doukur swung his club as he marched in my direction.

“It’s weird. Why do you persist in fighting me bare-handed? In fact, your weapon is also nowhere to be seen. Have you rescinded to defeat already?”

“It’s a simple reason, actually,” I murmured as I slowly rose. “I want to utterly crush you in what you’re best at.”

I squared up against my opponent, my arms close to my sides, fists poised and ready. I infused some mana throughout my body, strengthening myself with [Energy Manipulation] just as I had done before during push-ups and sit-ups.

“Oh really now? Haw-haw! I would like to see you try!”

Doukur tossed his weapon to the side, causing the arena to tremble slightly under its weight. I motioned for him to bring it on, and he happily obliged, sprinting toward me. With a wide swing, Doukur hurled a flurry of precise and heavy blows. My speed was enough to dodge most of them, but he was adapting as the fight went on, landing more blows. Since my body had hardened, I could take even more punishment. With every swing, I counterattacked with a punch of my own. Doukurs’ skin, which used to be as hard as stone, was now velvety soft. Just when I thought I had the upper hand, Doukur did something unexpected. Out of nowhere, Doukur spread his arms wide and enveloped me in a bear hug.

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“The hell?!” I said, wide-eyed. “You tryna squeeze me to death or something?”

I frantically thrashed around, but Doukur never budged because of his immense strength. Even with my body strengthened with [Energy Manipulation], Doukur was just that much stronger than I was.

“Squeezing you to death? Haw-haw! The officials will allow no one to be killed,” Doukur chuckled. He pressed even harder, the veins in his arms arcing across his skin like tap roots.

“I didn’t want to do this, but you left me no choice,” I gasped.

Both of my hands were still free to use. With a plan in mind, I imagined myself holding a long icicle. Under my will, the air around my palms cooled, and the water vapor surrounding us was now freezing. With every breath that escaped from my lips, a cold fog was released.

Doukur looked around, confused. “Why is it cold suddenly?”

I felt something solid in my hands, and I knew they were ready. After storing more mana in my makeshift weapons, I stabbed both of his arms with the icicles. Doukur wailed as blood spurted from his wounds. The demogre released me from his crushing grip.

“Ice? How did mere ice pierce my skin?” Doukur scowled.

“It’s because I made it that way, obviously!”

Doukur shifted his gaze from his wounds, and he felt the air around him stir as a fist was thrust in his direction. I put as much mana and strength as I could muster into an uppercut straight into his jaw. The force was enough to send him soaring a few meters into the sky and crashing into the arena. He lay sprawled out like a drunkard who had too many to drink and passed out in an abandoned alleyway.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I massaged my knuckles. “That took a bit out of me. Good thing I trained my mana for moments like these…”

Nevar addressed the booming crowd with a high-pitched squeal. “Isaac sent the 400-pound Doukur flying with a frightening punch!

That’s great and all, but why do I feel like I haven’t won yet every time I stare at Doukur? What he said earlier is still pricking at the back of my mind like it was an important piece of information…

I turned to the bird-head guy. “Hey, announcer guy. Do I win or not?”

Nevar cleared his throat while glancing at the motionless body. “Since Doukur has yet to move- due to a knockout, Isaac is the winn-“

A noise akin to steam being released from a kettle pierced my ears. The direction it came from was right behind me. And in that direction was Doukur…

“The oaf is still awake?!” I gulped.

I spun round and there was Doukur, standing up, eyes closed. A white cloud similar to steam billowed out of his hanging mouth. His gray body then began to glimmer, and a powerful wave of mana surged from the demogre, like an unstoppable force. Goosebumps appeared on my arms as I shielded myself from the newfound energy.

“C-Could it be?” The announcer gasped.

“What is it? What’s happening?!”

I directed my questions to Nevar, yet he simply ignored my words. My instincts were screaming at me to stop whatever Doukur was doing at all costs, yet a small part of me was whispering to me to let it happen. Convincing me that this is what I wanted all along.

“Is he transforming?” I muttered. That was all that came to mind when witnessing the out-pour of mana around him, and I felt it strengthening him. If that was the case, then there’s no way I can interrupt this if I get to fight him at his strongest! Defeating him would make it all the more thrilling!

A primal roar erupted from Doukur’s mouth. Everyone in the stadium had to clasp their hands over their ears from the noise. The shouting ceased a few moments later, and then silence. I slowly opened my eyes, and what I saw had me stunned. Doukur was now taller than ever before, standing at a staggering seven feet tall. Instead of his skin color being all gray, there’s now a mix of red. He sported two white horns on his head, and when he opened his eyes, his pupils were now a crimson red.

“Ha…. It has finally happened.” His voice was now smooth instead of crude sounding, yet powerful at the same time. “I’ve reached the pinnacle of my species…”

The pinnacle of demogres? So, he evolved like a Pokémon. You learn something new every day. These people can evolve right in front of your face!

Doukur flexed his muscles, moving his new body around. After strolling around for a bit, he tilted his neck upwards and extended a fist to the sky.

“Oh? So that’s how they do it,” Doukur whispered.

“Hey, you done admiring your new body yet? We haven’t finished fighting, ya know?” I said dryly. At the sound of my voice, he averted his gaze from the sky and locked eyes with me.

“Hehe. Thank you for waiting. I had to enjoy the moment of my evolution.”

Nevar wasted no time and faced the audience. “Ladies and gentlemen! What you have seen here was the advancement of the demogre species. Doukur is now a chieftain demogre!”

Doukur took one step forward at the end of Nevar’s lecture. What happened next was all a blur. In under a second, Doukur closed the distance between us with just one step. The sight of Doukur’s loincloth billowing with each of his rapid strides was all I could make out from my lower vantage point. Without a second thought, I went for a jab…

“…!”

Pain wracked my whole body as a quick knee to the gut made me fall to my knees. I gasped for air while Doukur clasped both of his hands together and drove both fists onto my back, knocking me straight to the ground. A small hole appeared from under me as the force of impact from Doukur’s absurd strength destroyed the arena. In that instant, I could tell that If I didn’t have my body enhanced with mana, my back would’ve been blown out. And I meant that literally.

Doukur lifted his leg, intending to squeeze me under his foot, but I managed to roll away and gain some distance. The ground underneath his foot shattered once more.

“Holy shit! You’re definitely trying to kill me!” I wheezed, hoisting myself up.

“I know you’re using mana. You wouldn’t have died from that.”

“Yea, you’re right. Mana is saving my ass right now, so I’ll get serious.”

I pulled up the Inventory and spotted the familiar weapon I’d been holding back on using. Reaching out into the thin air, I made a pulling gesture; the sword sliding out of a small dimension. A Torqinite sword shined under the sun’s beaming rays. The crowd marveled at the sword’s crystalline beauty. I pointed the crystal sword at my opponent, who was now carrying his metal club.

“Well then, Doukur. The real battle starts now.”