So, I grip the dagger and take a single step forward, as soon as I do the beast notices me. Both the heads go quiet at the same time and turn their attention to me. Being stared at by the two heads is a little unnerving to say the least, even for me.

As the two heads stare at me they both start drooling and when the drool hits the sand it sizzles. It probably means that the saliva is at least partially acidic, so I need to be careful. The beast suddenly starts walking towards me, but there is something wrong with how it moves.

The six legs are not moving in sync, almost like the beast doesn't know how to move properly. My first guess is that the heads are used to controlling a different kind of body. Even if magic can fuse different things together, it can't make it move naturally.

An alligator and a wolf are completely different types of animals with different instincts. Not only do they move completely differently, they fight very differently too. As the beast moves towards me it isn't very balanced and its tails are waving all over the place.

The beast looks like it was probably a lot more dangerous before it was modified. With the way it moves I don't think it will be hard for me to kill it, but I don't let my guard down. Even though it is slow and clumsy, it probably still has a lot of power in its attacks.

If I was fighting it in the water I would be a lot more worried, but on land it shouldn't be too bad. However, I can't kill it too quickly, I don't want to draw too much attention. When the beast gets close to me it shows a burst of speed and both heads try to bite me.

I jump back a couple of feet to dodge the two bites, but I time it so it looks closer than it really is. This is simply to play to the crowd and make the fight look harder for me. If I was being serious I could have already killed the beast when it tried to bite me.

When both heads tried to bite me I could have moved forward and struck a gap between them. That would have ended the fight way too quick though, so I moved backwards instead. Once the bites have missed I move to the left and go down the side of the beast.

As I pass I lightly strike the body with the dagger to see how tough its skin is. To my surprise the dagger easily leaves a fairly deep gash in the beast's side. As soon as the dagger cuts the skin I smell a horribly sweet scent coming from the wound.

The weird smell was unexpected so I move away from the beast instead of continuing my attack. When I look back at the wound I can see that the edges have rolled back exposing the flesh beneath. That flesh is obviously rotting and is the source of the strange smell.

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The beast is rotting from the inside, meaning it is definitely a chimera and a failed one at that. That actually explains a lot, if it wasn't a failed experiment it wouldn't have ended up in an arena. The poor thing is already dying, but whoever made it only cares about the process.

Selling a failure just provides funds for more experiments, research isn't cheap after all. Especially paying to have strong beasts captured alive to experiment on. The only other option would be for the mage to capture them himself, but that would take a lot of time.

Most likely the experiments are being carried out and funded by a group of mages. If possible I would like to find a way to put an end to the experiments, but I doubt I can. If the experiments are supported by the kingdom then they will be protected.

If they aren't supported by the kingdom then they are probably well hidden. Since I don't plan to stick around after the auction I probably won't have a chance to look for them. It is a little worrisome, if they perfect making chimera then the Magic Kingdom will gain a huge amount of power.

However, it would still take them a lot of time to conquer the main continent. Only after that would they be able to threaten the peninsula, so it is only a small worry. I give up thinking about it as the beast finally manages to turn and face me again.

Its movements are really sad, it actually makes me feel sorry for the beast. So much so that I kind of want to give up on dragging out the battle for the crowd's sake. After thinking about it for a second, I decide to kill the beast quickly, just not instantly.

As the beast comes to bite at me again with both heads I crouch and move a little to the left. This lets me dodge the right head completely and as the left head gets close I punch it. My uppercut snaps the jaws closed and forces the head upwards, completely exposing its throat.

My dagger swipes across, specifically hitting the line where the head was attached to the body. A quick roll lets me dodge the gush of rotten blood and other fluids, but not the smell of them. Sometimes having superior senses is a handicap rather than a boon.

Before the beast even realizes what has happened I jump up and over the left head. When my dagger slices across the top of the left head's neck it completes the damage. All that's left holding the left head on is a few strands of rotten muscle, they don't hold on for long.

When the left head falls off the crowd goes nuts, especially those that bet on me. However, the beast's movements actually improve once it is down to just one head. It looks like they used the heads from two wolves, they couldn't work together to control the body.

With only one head in control the movements and speed of the beast almost doubles. It still isn't enough to threaten me, but it makes the fight look a lot more intense. It still only tries to bite me, it can't control the body well enough for any other attacks.

Even if it was ten times faster, such a limited attack pattern would never work on me. I let over a dozen chances for a killing blow pass me by, just to make the fight look closer. Eventually, I dodge a bite and ram the dagger through the wolf's head right between its eyes.

Rank 12 Chimera defeated! 120,000 Exp gained!

The beast freezes, lets out a long sigh, and then collapses to the ground. The crowd goes absolutely wild, even those who lost their bets are cheering at the top of their lungs. When I look up at the owner's box I see him standing at the edge of the box with a look of horror and shock on his face.