The jobo growled in frustration when its opener failed to connect, but it didn’t let up or back off.

It had lost its momentum, and leap wouldn’t be as effective up close or without the sun at its back. But the beast still outweighed Edge by a good two hundred pounds. It was capable of far more than just rending with its talons.

It turned to face him and came rushing right in, using that springing stride to devour the ground with every step. Is it going to bite? Hit me with its tail? No, it’s going to…

That was all the time for thought that he had before the beast was in front of him. It ducked down low and planted both feet to gather its strength. Then it unleashed a tremendous uppercut, using its good arm to transfer the force like a rocket taking flight.

If the blow had connected cleanly, it would have clipped his chin, knocking him out if not breaking his neck. But Edge had realized what was happening in the nick of time, throwing his body back as the jobo’s fist came soaring up.

Instead of a direct hit, the powerful punch grazed his ribs, bruising the shit out of them in passing before flying past the tip of his nose. That could have ended me in a single blow, he realized. And it wasn’t even using a skill.

If the beast had two good arms, it would have finished him then and there, clocking him with a straight jab hard enough to crack his skull. Let alone the carnage it could have wrought with combination strike.

But it couldn’t follow up quite as fast with just one paw, giving Edge a chance to counter. After stepping away, he leaned back in, taking aim as he closed the distance. He lashed out with his knife, slashing the moment that the beast’s fist went whizzing through the air in front of his face.

The speed and power behind the motion multiplied as mana surged into his arm, reducing the knife to a streaking blur. The weapon struck true, slicing the jobo diagonally across its flank and onto its chest. The ridiculously sharp blade parted skin with ease and bit deep into the muscle below.

The jobo screamed and hopped out of reach, hairless body glistening as blood ran down its side. But it darted right back in before Edge knew what was happening. The beast banked hard and went whirling around, pivoting on one foot after landing in front of him. It transferred the momentum into a roundhouse attack with its tail as the weapon.

Although he had known this might happen, he couldn’t get out of the way in time. The whiplike appendage caught him square in the chest. The impact sent him flying and cracked several ribs, knocking the wind out of him in the process.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

Battered inside and out, electric pain blossomed across his body. Edge was momentarily stunned and couldn’t move. But he had turned on regeneration at the start of the fight, and the skill went to work without needing to be told. Mana flowed out of his core and seeped into his savaged tissue, mending his sundered bones and erasing his bruises.

The jobo had clearly expected him to stay down after taking such a heavy hit. It was sitting there, enjoying its victory, staring at him in savage satisfaction. The beast looked utterly shocked when Edge rose to his feet, dusted himself off, and resumed his fighting stance with a crack of his neck.

Truth be told, he was nearly as surprised himself.

He had already gotten used to the idea that regeneration could heal wounds that would normally cripple or kill him. But he hadn’t realized how much faster the skill could delete the damage he received, thanks to his recent investments in amplification.

The beast gave him a long, lingering look, unnerved by his unnatural vitality. For a moment, its confidence wavered. But it must have decided that it was just a fluke, because it screamed again and came charging back in.

This marked the beginning of a brutal exchange. The jobo had five living weapons. Two taloned feet, one fist, a heavy tail, and a nasty bite. Any of them could take Edge out of the fight.

He only had his knife, his skills, and his wits to work with. But he had the advantage of having studied his opponent ahead of time.

He was familiar with the beast’s physiology and its various tells. The motion of its shoulder preceding a punch. The twist of its hips when it lashed out with its tail. The fact that it couldn’t raise its talons high enough to thrust, only slash when coming down from above.

The kicks, on the other hand, were a real problem.

Although the beast could only kick backwards, they were insanely quick and hit like a sledgehammer. Even a glancing blow was enough to break bones. A direct hit could shatter his limbs or crush his ribcage. Regeneration could handle cuts and bruises, even mend fractured bones, but it couldn’t heal smashed organs.

He put everything that he had into dodging its feet and its teeth, accepting that he was going to take some hits from its fist and tail in exchange. Over the next breathless minute, Edge racked up a painful collection of wounds, landing another pair of slashes along the way.

Before cycling-up his core and evolving to stage-one, he would have been running low on mana by this point. So tired that he could barely move. But his upgraded reservoir was still half full, and his reactor was burning bright. His body had enough stamina to push on, and he was perceptive enough to see the jobo’s attacks coming.

By now, the beast had begun moving more slowly, as exhaustion and blood loss caught up to it. But it wasn’t going down without a fight. It was prepared to bet it all on one last barrage. End the conflict before it ran out of steam.

Edge hadn’t revealed his most powerful skills, and he was ready to use them now. Catch the creature by surprise and then bring it down. The moment he decided that it was time to go all in, something strange happened.

He could sense mana congealing in the jobo’s core. Not fueling its skills but serving some other purpose. It all became clear a few seconds later. The beast sent its tail whipping around in a high arc, leaving him scrambling to get out of the way. But the move was just a feint.

After knocking him off balance, it darted in low and got right in his face, lashing out with a lightning-fast jab. A muscular fist powered by a skill that Edge had never seen before.