[You are scratched by the dust cat, but you barely feel the pain. In return, you nearly hit the dust cat, and you continue to put pressure on it. The cat hisses and jumps back.

You close the distance and continue to punch at it, swinging with relentless energy.]

Lem’s simulated self was desperate.

He knew that he was slowly bleeding out, and every motion made his injuries worse. At the same time, if he did not calm down the energy within him, he would explode.

He began to take wild swings at the dust cat.

Branches snagged against his arms.

Every time, it would leap away easily, running up nearby trees and leaping from branch to branch.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

He noticed that he had relieved some of the pressure coming from inside of him, but the wound on his side had also begun to squirt blood.

Lem’s simulated self continued to make his attacks more and more wild.

Thwack!-Thwack!-Thwack!-Thwack!

The dust cat began to retreat to higher branches, hissing, before it charged at him again.

[You miss again, as the cat runs up a tree. You think that the dust cat is on the verge of running away, but you are unwilling to leave a threat behind and you are also trying your hardest to keep from exploding.]

Seconds passed by at an agonizing pace.

Thwack!-Thwack!

Each minute was an eternity.

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Lem noticed that the dust cat was becoming enraged. Its hisses had become incredibly loud, and it had begun to take initiative in the fight.

It leapt forward in blur, dodging punches as it sliced Lem’s body in the side again.

He got cut once, twice, three times.

Unfortunately, he had to continue attacking with the [Nine Bull Fist], hoping that one of his punches would land.

Thwack!-Thwack!

The surrounding forest was splattered with red drops, forcing Lem’s simulated self to watch his footing to avoid stepping in the slick patches, in addition to dodging the trees and branches.

[You continue to miss the dust cat with every swing, and it begins to attack you with more aggression.]

They were locked in a strange dance, man and beast.

One would move forward, the other would move back.

One forward, the other back.

Again, and again, and again.

Suddenly, his fist connected. The vibration force at his knuckles destabilized the fur, skin and muscle colliding with it.

Lem’s simulated self had a momentary realization.

The surface of the cat was a far softer target than he expected.

His hand went straight into it, completely unlike the tyrant sloth, causing a fist-sized deformity in its chest.

CRACK-BANG!

The sound was enormous and the dust cat disappeared before his eyes, as it was punted directly into a tree.

Wet drops of blood splattered against his face, as he was sent flying through the air again in a disorienting whirl, however, his concern remained squarely on alleviating the enormous pressure within him.

Trees were flying by his side in every direction, and he was being flung, twirling, through the air, yet he continued to punch out with the [Nine Bull Fist], not even letting up for a second.

Thwack! Thwack!

He hit the ground and bounced back up.

The forest floor was coated in blood , but he continued to swing his fist.

[After sustaining numerous cuts, you finally manage to land a solid hit on the dust cat. Its body is less durable than that of the tyrant sloth, and its chest is caved in, while you are sent flying in the opposite direction.

You notice that you have lost a large amount of blood, but you cannot stop punching.]

Lem was still reeling from the unexpected outcome of the fight, when he caught sight of a figure moving towards him.

His simulated self noticed the beast a second later.

Not again!