Clyde didn’t seem particularly bothered by Korman’s sudden transformation. He had sparred with him dozens of times before. Although, his opponent did demonstrate a couple new mutations than he used to use.

They were fundamentally the same as his old ones though. They only differed in their effectiveness. ‘He must have hunted some new creatures…’ Clyde thought as he danced with the malformed human.

Clyde possessed a hefty range advantage with his broadsword. Ordinarily it was a shorter weapon than most others. The reason he held the advantage was in the fact that Korman chose to fight without a weapon at all due to the fact it would hinder his transformation.

‘I guess I had better test out his new capabilities!’ Clyde thoughtfully swung his sword, probing at Korman’s old weak spots. Not that he had ‘weak spots’ but comparatively, they were not nearly as secure.

Korman swung his leg towards Clyde’s side. It didn’t manage to cut clean through, but it inflicted damage. ‘Maybe I’m a little too confident?’ He scolded himself for allowing the attack to hit. He didn’t anticipate this improved leg mutation to be so sharp.

A hefty stream of blood flowed from Clyde’s left hip. ‘I better actually finish this soon. I wish I had Syllis’ ability to cool her wounds…’ He found himself being envious of her a lot lately, in addition to thinking about her in other ways…

Clyde spun, leaving an afterimage and providing the space to compose himself. He shook his head a couple of times. ‘Come on Clyde.’

He turned, pivoting on his right foot, he threw a horizontal slash. Korman deflected with his defensive arms. ‘They are much more durable than his last mutation.’

Clyde grabbed onto Korman’s arm. The mutated beast tried to shake him away, each step causing the earth to quake below the both of them.

“You know Korman.” Clyde spoke awkwardly as he maneuvered around the disheveled man’s body. “We really have to find a solution to just grappling around you.”

“I have one.” Korman spoke assertively as several dozen sharp spines began to grow from his back. “I don’t particularly like to use it. Does a great deal to kill my sanity, but I have to when I go against grapplers like you.” He sounded fed up.

“Well, sorry.” Clyde shrugged, examining the man’s back.

Korman typically wore loose clothing that enabled his various limbs to expand to a larger size. However, these new mutations of his didn’t care for his careful planning. They were larger and more powerful. Too large to fit within the confines of the loose clothing, they tore it at the seams. Even his spikes tore through the back. If one didn’t know better than they might have assumed him to have been tortured with some quite gruesome methods.

‘Korman doesn’t like to ruin good clothing. He must really want this win.’ Clyde looked towards Korman and opened his mouth. “Korman, no matter how much you want this win. I want it more, and I will take it.” He spoke enthusiastically.

‘Maybe I don’t even want it anymore. No, I need it… If I can’t even win against someone like Korman, then how am I to face Anahita? Will I forever be at her mercy? No, I need to get onto equal footing. Only then can we…’

Clyde kneeled down and caked some dirt into his bloodied wounds. ‘Ah, that burns like hell!’ He cursed, while acknowledging the necessity of it.

Korman let out a large roar, his vocal cords were augmented in some capacity causing the scream to sound animalistic. It was like an animal wore the skin of a human instead of the other way around.

‘As usual, his corruption is targeting his humanity…’ Clyde let out a sigh. He couldn’t imagine having his ‘god’ target his humanity. The loss of your sense of self wasn’t an entertaining thought.

Clyde pitied Korman slightly. Korman could never quite stand up to him or Aura. The noble was indeed in the upper echelon of kindred, at least within Asanoch. Although this was the case, and it was still very impressive to be a kindred at all at such a young age. Korman still didn’t match up to Clyde or Aura, certainly not Anahita. And despite the fact they didn’t fight yet, it was mostly certain he would lose against Syllis as well.

‘As for him…’ Clyde didn’t even want to imagine Ansel sparring with Korman. Ansel’s bond was horrific, even more terrifying than Aura’s, and that was a high bar.

Korman growled as he lunged for the comparatively small Clyde. It was likely that he wouldn’t be able to speak until whatever mutation was affecting his vocals was reversed.

‘Come get me Korman!’ Clyde mused within. The scene of him battling the grand monster was comical.

Clyde jumped and rolled several savage slashes of Korman’s monstrous claws. Although he hadn’t been hit by them, Clyde was certain that they would be devastating. Even one hit would most likely spell the end of the spar.

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Luckily, Korman wasn’t very used to this mutation so his attacks were archaic at best. Although, even if he had been used to them, it likely wouldn’t make a difference. Clyde was agile, even more so because of his bond. His mobility was the greatest physical enhancement his bond attributed to him.

Several more slashes were thrown forward as Clyde circled the beast. He attempted to cut slices into Korman’s back as he moved to no avail. His new mutations had enhanced the entirety of his being.

With Korman’s increase in power, defense, as well as speed. He was assuredly a force to be reckoned with. Whether this newfound strength would be enough to stand side by side with the rest of Asanoch’s genius was anyone’s guess. However, whether it put him there with them or not, it undoubtedly closed the gap.

Clyde set several afterimages in hopes of confusing Korman. The transformed human moved carefully. Slowly, he turned to look for where the true Clyde was. After a few seconds of being unable to discern, Korman grew paranoid.

Korman transformed further. All of his clothes tore apart as fur enveloped his body. His chest grew leaps and bounds, along with his lung capacity. He could run several hundred meters without so much as breaking a sweat. A round black nose replaced his own along with similar features to replace his original chiseled characteristics.

‘Woah…’ Clyde remarked, watching the bizarre situation unfold in front of him. ‘A bear?’ He tilted his head slightly.

He had somewhat expected Korman to transform into some horrific creature, straight out of a nightmare. A bear wasn’t quite what he had in mind. ‘I mean, even a heasen would have been slightly more threatening…’

The bear threw itself at Clyde, its hulking flesh flew like a firestorm wasp.

Clyde stood still, waiting for the monster to reach him. Once it was close enough, he held his sword forward, hoping for it to pierce right through this tough hide. He readied himself to jump right before the bear landed. He would place feet against the bear and use the sword as a sort of icepick.

‘Crap, it was never going to be that easy was it…’ With the sword slightly lodged within the fur, Clyde made his way up the side of the bear.

Both of its titanic arms swung towards its own body. They were ready to mash Clyde in between them and the bear’s sturdy sternum. He let go of his sword, grabbing onto a lower tuft of fur.

Clyde looked up at the animal as the entire area shook. It was as though the beast was rallying by striking at its chest. He had to be careful so as to not fall from the bear. ‘It’s amazing…’ He was slightly awestruck by the sheer size of the bear up close. In this form, Korman must have been a dozen meters tall.

He caught his serrated wooden sword as it fell from the bear’s hardly wounded chest.

Clyde held it in his mouth as he swung around the side of the bear. It was imperative to move clear of his chest. The further that Clyde was from Korman’s arms the better. ‘Are they paws maybe…’ He gave it some serious thought for a few moments as he continued.

As he moved out of range of his arms, Korman roared again. The same spiky thorns as before erupted from his back, causing his own blood to seep from the tips of them.

‘This guy… This thorn mutation doesn’t know how to act without Korman’s native body. Surely this is too far for a spar? But no one has ever grown within their own comfort.’

Clyde grabbed one of the thorns as they came out. ‘Guess I’m lucky to bring gloves.’ He carefully placed the bottoms of his boots on the tips of lower thorns to prevent him from swaying into one of the sharp protrusions.

Eventually, Clyde reached the bear’s back. He took in the incredible view for a moment before sprinting up towards Korman’s nape. Where the back met the neck was a weak spot for most creatures, surely this gargantuan bear wasn’t an exception.

Feeling the pattering of Clyde’s hefty boots on his back, Korman rose, he attempted to shake the man off. Using the thorns again wasn’t an option, he’d already lost a considerable amount of blood and any more could cause some of his mutations to reverse.

‘Woah.’ Clyde wavered slightly, his vision doubled slightly as he climbed higher up, unwilling to be thrown off of the hulking giant.

Korman wanted to roll over, squishing the tiny noble that ascended his back. Unfortunately, the logistics weren’t quite in his favor. The dozens of spikes that had been erected from his sides and lower back would snap causing further damage to him, potentially lethal damage. Well, lethal if not for Edward.

After being shaken down a few times, Clyde finally reached the top of his titanic opponent. A sense of serenity overtook him as he plunged his sword into the thick hide of this monstrous bear.

Korman roared in pain before slowly returning to his typical, less horrific form. Clyde fought with his legs as he struggled to maintain balance atop the top of the rapidly shrinking figure below him. The thought of dropping a dozen meters wasn’t very pleasant.

The boy reverted to his normal size, although he was still covered in fur to hide any indecent exposure. After all, his clothes were ripped to shreds and left for the servants to clean up.

This odd combination of man and beast gave Clyde a thought. ‘I wonder if he’ll kill a werewolf sometime soon. A werewolf mutation would fit him.’

Korman approached the spectator seats with a look of disdain. Although, he didn’t seem to harbor any ill intent towards Clyde. Rather, he bore disdain for himself. Even after all of his hard work, he was no match for Clyde. And that meant he was no match for the others as well.

“You did great, Korman.” Aura greeted him coldly once he met her emerald eyes. Apparently she still had quite a bit of contemplating left over from her own spar.

Beside her, a rugged nymph with snow white skin and wavy cerulean hair. Her seafoam eyes bore into the animalistic man. “Combining your thorns with the transformation ended up ruining you by the end of that fight.” She criticized Korman before handing him a pair of clothing.

“Thank you.” Korman took the clothing from her and put it on before dismissing his fur. Then, he looked for Aura. However, she was already running to Clyde.

He looked down dejectedly before a voice spoke.

“Syllis, I would like you to accompany me to my study please. There’s something I would like to discuss with you.” Clark spoke courteously.

She stood silently for a few moments before nodding and following the man back into the manor. The others then followed before opting to instead head towards the banquet hall.