Morning comes, and I go back to the river for a bit to have a good drink.

I also washed myself in the cool river water by jumping into the river and swimming a bit, going against my instincts that went crazy. As expected of a cat who hates water.

After I was done with my bath, I dried myself and quickly went back to the forest. Eager to explore and find out what was in there.

This time I keep looking over my surroundings, worried that another creature might ambush me like that deer yesterday.

Luckily, there is no ambush, and I am free to enter the forest. Slowly, the light dimmed as I fully entered the forest.

I can say that the forest was lively. The sound of birds and bugs filled the air, like background music in some video games.

Every step I take will make the sound of crushed, dry leaves and twigs. Somehow it sounds wrong in my ears, like I am not supposed to be here in the first place.

Is it because, as a lion, I am only the king of the jungle by name? Called King because of some cartoon movies?

Maybe, maybe not. There is no way to find out.

By the way, I continued and kept on exploring the forest for about two days. I find nothing—nothing at all—while I am in the forest.

I cannot even find the birds and bugs that make the sounds in the forest. It is as if they are just background music played from a hidden speaker somewhere above the trees.

GRRRRR!

Oh, wow! What was that?

I heard a growl from behind me. I quickly turned around and saw my cousin!

Well, not a close cousin, but still a cousin?

You know, tiger!

Same big cats? A different habitat?

Well yeah, who am I entertaining for?

Anyway, the tiger appeared to be unhappy. It shows its fangs at me, and somehow I get it. It challenges me to a fight!

A fight to decide who was the biggest and fiercest predator in the forest.

Well, scientists said that tigers were the strongest out of us two. But there are no scientists around, right? And we were not in my home world, so that meant I could be the biggest and fiercest predator.

That's it! I will defeat this big guy and take his throne!

I showed my fangs in response to accepting the challenge. That is the clue for our battle to start.

The tiger quickly ran to me and jumped, trying to smash my head down. My response was to stand up on my back foot and try to smash its stripped face away.

Our paws met, and I could feel it. This tiger is no joke!

We back away from each other. I can feel my paws stinging as my muscles and bones protest my action. Be patient, my body; I need you to work hard for now.

The tiger started to attack once more. This time it didn't do its jump but was going to claw me straight in the face!

I take a few steps back, dodging the claws, then quickly counter with my claws.

Scraattcchh!

My claws manage to hit, but not in the place I want them to. I scratched its front paw, leaving a line of wounds on it. The tiger didn't seem to feel it as it once again came at me and tried to claw me.

We go back and forth, trying to inflict wounds on each other's bodies. I got some, and the tiger also got some. We were both bleeding, but none of it looked fatal.

Grrrrr!

Grrrrr!

We growled at each other, attempting to scare our opponents and make them back away. Unfortunately, none of us want to back down. We somehow agree on one thing: there will only be one left to live from this fight, and I will do my best to make it mine.

This time I started the attack, trying to claw the tiger's face. the tiger took a few steps back to dodge my claws and he was about to jump back at me as a counterattack. This time, however, it is different.

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As the tiger dodges my claws, I quickly follow up with a jump. I pushed the tiger's head with both my claws and tried to pin it down.

Boomm!

I managed to push it down, put the tiger on its back, and slammed my claws on its face. I climbed up to its lying body and tried to follow up by giving it a deep claw wound, but the tiger quickly responded by kicking me in the stomach. Pushing me away and putting some distance between us.

I could see that the tiger was becoming wary as if it had taken me lightly before and finally realized that it was wrong.

With fury in its eyes, the tiger jumped at me with both its claws drawn out, trying to rip my face out.

A realization suddenly dawned on me. Why am I fighting like a beast?

I am human. I was once a human and will be back as a human once again. I appreciate the bravery of the beast, but wisdom is the true weapon of man. I must fight smart and defeat strength with my brain.

As the tiger was about to catch me by my face, I quickly reacted by jumping to the side. Not the one where I have to redirect my body before I jump, no!

This time I just threw my body to the side while maintaining my feet wide to stop my momentum.

The tiger failed to catch me, and now, in a better position, I pounce at the tiger's back and put my claws deep in its back left thighs.

Roaaarr!

The tiger roared in pain, but I didn't care. I ripped the muscles out of its back leg and successfully reduced the tiger's ability to move!

The tiger tried to take some distance. Its ears were drooping down, showing signs of fear.

I am beginning to get used to fighting smart now!

I charge at the tiger once more and go to its left side, taking advantage of its wounded back leg. The tiger tried to resist, but the wound disturbed its focus enough to let me deliver a good claw right to its face.

Raaaarrr!!

Pained and scared, the tiger tried to run by limping away backward. I didn't let it go, and I kept pushing my attack.

Soon the wounds on the tiger started to stack together, and they grew weaker.

I take pride in my wisdom and power, believing that my rival in nature is weak enough to let me end it easily. And that was where you realized that everything could go wrong at any moment when you let it happen.

I feel confident in my victory and slowly approach the weakened tiger, thinking that its wounded body would not be able to give any good resistance.

I pounce at the tiger, trying to push its head down, and finally break its head to kill it. Never in my wildest dream have I ever thought that when the tiger was pushed back to the limit, it would show great wisdom by dodging my attack and biting my left front paw.

The bite was so strong that it almost tore my flesh away. I roared in panic and quickly hit its head with my right paw.

Roaaaaaaaarrrrr!!

The tiger ignores the pain in its head. Its determination was frightening, as it gave everything it had left to bite my legs off. In panic but determined to remain alive, I let the tiger enjoy my paws as I went for my own bite attack.

I bite the tiger right on its neck and give it everything to tear it off!

Rippeeeddd!!

I bite a huge chuck of flesh from the tiger's neck, leaving about three-quarters of its neck to burst and bleed. The tiger quickly fell to its side, its body thrashing wildly in pain.

I waited for a few minutes until the tiger's blood ran out and it died. Meanwhile, I tried to caress my wound. The bite mark on my left front paw is quite terrifying, showing my bones that appeared to be cracked by the tiger's bites.

Luckily, it is now dead. I slowly approached its carcasses and started to eat. ignoring the tough meat and smelly blood, my wound slowly began to heal. unfortunately, my wound was much greater than I thought it was.

After I'm done eating the tiger, yeah, I eat it.

After I was done, I checked on my body and saw that it had barely healed. Some smaller wounds appeared to have healed almost perfectly, but the bigger wound was barely fixed.

As for my front left paw? There are signs of recovery, but not enough to say that it is healed. I even doubt that it will ever be healed.

I tried to limp away from our battleground, in fear of any other animals that were trying to finish me off while I was wounded. I went back to the outer area of the forest, looking for the hole under the tree where I used to rest before.

It takes a great deal of effort to get there, as my front left paw is technically useless right now. The pain was somehow reduced to a manageable level, but I cannot feel my front left paw for now.

After about three and a half days of walking, I finally found the hole under the tree and quickly jumped in. I lay on my right side, trying to find a comfortable position, and put my head down to rest.

I hope there is nothing that follows me back here.

Before I went to sleep, I checked the status screen to see how I fared after the fight.

Mission: reach the first rank and maintain the position for a week!

(Time : 3 days, 11 hours)

Progress : Rank 1/23

Name : Yohan

Race : Lion (Male)

Status : Wounded (Heavy)

Skills :

Challengers Mind

Basic Instincts

Thank you for the reminder, blue transparent screen. I need to know that I am heavily wounded.

On the good side, I am now ranked one on the list. Half of the mission is done.

Now I just need to maintain my position for a few more days, and I will finally finish my mission. What can I get from my three goals?

The screen said that I could ask for anything. It gives me no limits, so I can probably ask to have my wife changed while my child remains. Probably? I hope my wife will never know that I have been thinking about this.

The terms for the wishes were quite unclear. When I begin to think about it, it looks like there are many holes in the advertisement. When will I get my prize? And how will my prize be given to me?

Well, I think it is better to think about it tomorrow when my body is healed.

Finally, I close my eyes and surrender myself to the world of empty dreams.

ZzzzzzzZZZ

*****

Mission: reach the first rank and maintain the position for a week! (Complete!)

Congratulations on completing your first mission!

Please choose one of these paths to continue to the next level!

Humanoid Path

Beast Path

Magical Path

I KNEW IT, YOU SCAMMED BLUE SCREEN ADVERTISEMENT!!