The beast began its charge, tearing through equipment and tables as if they were nothing more than pebbles. Its large root-like appendages rose off its back, flailing around it wildly.

  Leo dashed to his left in order to draw the charge away from Ashley. He noticed that, for its level, it wasn’t all that fast. It looked more powerful, likely strength based. He decided to put his two free stat points into Agility just to give himself an extra boost.

  With how large this beast was he would need some environmental factors in order to dodge around. He needed to make sure that Ashley had a good line of sight towards him too in order to give him shields. It was a lot to think about, but he was focused. He had to be.

  The Alpha was upon him in moments, attempting to slice him apart. Its claws extended far out from its front paws like knives. They ripped through the air with force enough to slice him into pieces should the strike land.

  Leo was able to see the attacks and dodge them with relative safety. He struck out at the arms with his Mana Strikes, trying to build his damage stacks. The strikes didn’t feel like they did much damage, the toughness of the beast proving quite something. Almost like striking metallic flesh. Iron Repetition would have to be what kept his damage high enough to penetrate it—as long as he didn’t get hit.

  The melee continued for a few more trades, Leo dodging and the alpha slicing nothing. More counterstrikes against it landed with slightly more effect than the last. He could feel the strength coming through more and more in every blow. It threw the beast off its rhythm as Leo got into his.

  Its massive jaws came from above in a similar way that the lab maniac had just died from. Leo fired an Ice Spike upwards just as he kicked off a nearby table. The spike ripped a chunk out of the inside of its mouth—a light frost spreading inside it.

  The jaws kept snapping as he dodged back and forth, trying his best to conserve his stamina.

  The beast took a wild swing, claws embedding themselves in the floor. Leo instantly dashed in. Spinning into a kick that hit the arm of the beast on its joint. Its body crumpled slightly from the hit, but a moment later the head of it was smashed directly into Leo’s body.

  A glowing shield came up just in time to keep him from breaking a few ribs. Even with such a poor attack, it was extremely deadly.

  This thing must have double my strength at least… Leo thought as he stood from his tumble.

  The Mawroot abomination began leaping towards him in an attempt to overwhelm his speed. Leo slid under tables, took cover behind large vats that were cleaved in half without effort—anything he could do try and evade, hoping for an opening.

  Suddenly, it seemed to realise that this was a pointless endeavour and changed tactics.

  It slammed its paws into the floor. Rushing from the ground were serpent like roots that flowed out and started to whip into Leo. The tendrils were barbed and deadly, easily slicing through what was left of his armour and his skin. Ashley did her best to shield him from the worst looking attacks but even with her, his health was dropping.

  Building up his Iron Repetition stacks felt like it was the right thing to do but how could he? The beast had started using undodgeable ranged attacks, he’d have to rely on something else. Try to hit it in a weak spot somehow.

  He just didn’t have the tools to do so.

  His stamina and health were dropping quickly, having to dodge so often and taking glancing blows. He decided to retreat back as far as he could and hoped that the beast wouldn’t be able to reach from there.

  The monster roared in frustration, pulling its paws from the ground. The roots slid up its arms and retracted back into the body of the beast as it charged forward once again.

  Fuck, man. This thing doesn’t let up! Leo complained inwardly.

  Somehow, he needed to gain an advantage. At this rate he would just be worn down and die. His strikes just weren’t doing enough damage to penetrate the armoured, muscled hide of the beast. Even with the full 40% damage increase, he couldn’t help but feel like it would barely make a dent.

  He fired a few Ice Spikes at the beast when he got distance to test, but the attacks simply crashed into its hide without much of a scratch. It did react to them with anger but that could mean it was just getting pissed off.

  Leo dashed back into close range with the beast, trying to stay on its flank as he battered Mana Strike infused punches into its side. The damage just felt so negligible, and without any kind of penetrating power, and no boss health bar, Leo was starting to lose confidence.

  The beast grew further enraged the more it was hit until it raised up on its hind legs with a roar, its size now towering above Leo, and stomped. The roots grew from its legs and snaked around Leo’s in an instant, completely catching him off guard.

  Leo struggled against the roots that swarmed up and tried to entrap him, throwing wild punches and trying to rip them off as his body steamed with the effort. Ashley’s shields could do nothing to halt the ensnaring roots from controlling him.

  The Alpha stomped forward towards Leo, slow and menacing. It was still on its hind legs as it growled angrily, rot and saliva dripping from its maw. Leo was on his back, the roots completely entrapping his limbs. He could only stare in panicked horror as it approached.

  The beast's foot came down on Leo’s torso with slow but deliberate force. To her credit, Ashley’s shield flowed up as strong as possible between Leo and the foot of the beast just in time. The shield was instantly cracked and destroyed as Leo felt his body get crushed so hard into the ground that he could barely breathe. Barely scream.

  Leo’s limbs became available as the beast stopped trying to constrict him. He tried to push the foot off of him as it was crushing him, trying to summon all the power he had. It wasn’t enough. The foot crushed harder and harder as shouts of panic and alarm were slowly drowned out. Time felt slowed as his fate became almost certain.

  Was this how he was going to die? Slowly crushed to death by a dungeon monster only a few days after the tutorial began?

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Lose his life like so many others had done so far. Not live up to the potential of his many Essences and all the potential skills he was so desperate to learn and play around with.

  His sister would probably be okay, she was tough and smarter than he was. He’d never see her again, but what could he do?

  It was too strong.

  He got overconfident by going so far in a dungeon where the maximum party was 5. They should have just sat in the entrance until the time where they could exit was available like Ashley suggested. Too late for hindsight or regrets.

  Too late for anything..

  “Is this all you amount to?” A deep, resonating voice spoke to him from within.

  It was the voice from his dreams, the eyes that lay within the storm. The voice was disappointed, laced with pity and disinterest.

  When did he start feeling so pitiful?

  He let people like Henry walk all over him, taunt him, torture him. He took verbal beatings and shaming from almost everyone he worked with, returning only a smile.

  He was pathetic… that’s all he could think as life was squeezed out of him, consciousness fading.

  Some Hero he was, about to let Ashley die after he was crushed. Was this really all he amounted to?

  “No.”

  Leo’s voice resonated out of him as mana surged through his body from his core, the unruly storm within coming under his control for the briefest of moments as his mana and the storm came together in harmony.

  The Alpha’s foot was blasted backwards, releasing its crushing pressure and allowing him to breathe, albeit with less ease.

  The roots were disintegrated, the pressure of his mana proving too great for them to stand up to it.

  The air grew heavy as Leo slowly got to his feet, hunched over in pain but eyes fully locked on the beast. The beast reeled back in shock, as if something so small could somehow stand up to it. The ant that it was crushing under its foot felt as tall as a mountain.

  It was no longer the predator here.

  His body was emanating such intense power, the mana within him was controlled with much more ease. The power from his storm was overwhelming, but Leo could tell that it was fleeting, his health still decreasing.

  The beast tried to attack him in panic as the fear it felt grew under Leo’s presence. Leo easily sidestepped it as it overextended.

  Leo pushed mana into his fist as Mana Strikes activated, it didn’t feel like enough. He felt he could push more into it and be more efficient. The way he had been using the skill before felt so crude and wasteful.

  The System agreed.

  Mana Strikes (Common)

  Upgraded to

  Refined Mana Strikes (Uncommon)

  Leo’s fist connected with the beast's hide, infused with the newly upgraded skill. Mana surged through his fist, penetrating past the beast's hide and resonating within.

  It roared in fury, its previous panic now replaced with killing intent.

  He launched six more strikes the same way in a flurry of jabs, building up damage before the beast retaliated.

  Its ravenous jaws swung around and attempted to bite down, teeth cracking together. Leo responded with a spinning kick that was also infused. Pushing Fuel the Fire into it as an added bonus.

  His heel connected with its head and he could see the beast’s eyes glaze over for a moment from the impact. Needless to say, its attempt at biting him came up short, hitting the ground and skidding along it.

  Leo hunched over, breathing heavily. He wanted so desperately to stop. His body felt like it was about to fall to pieces.

  But he couldn’t stop.

  The creature wasn’t done, so neither could he be.

  Dizzy, yet still conscious, and with an ear shattering roar that made Leo wince, it dug its feet into the ground. Root-like tendrils surged out once again, converging on Leo as he approached.

  With a grunt of effort, he leaped over the snake-like vines. Using his momentum, his feet landed on the alpha’s head. He almost lost his balance, but before he did, his hands gripped the head of the monster tight. His legs swung up towards his chin, then he snapped them down with all his strength.

  The movement did two things at once: Leo was sent upwards several metres with the momentum of the kick, and the beast’s head was sent into the cold broken floor of the lab.

  Body stabilised, Leo started to prepare his most devastating attack yet. Mana gathered in his arm, a loud hum beginning to emanate. Steam rose from his body, skin red with how much heat was gathered in his arm.

  His fist glowed a bright white as his body strained to control all of the power built up into one fist. The Powerful Haymaker was charged.

  The beast reared its head up, toothy maw ready to snap him in two as Leo descended. A spike of ice hit the beast directly in its eye, causing it to wince and turn its head.

  Then the strike connected, a colossal strike infused with all he had, swung with reckless abandon. The alpha could not bear it. It was sent prone, carried by Leo’s fist.

  All the bones in his arms shattered from the impact, as he screamed out in pain. The damage from it hadn’t stopped his Iron Repetition stacks however, so he swung his other fist again and again into the brain of the beast that was becoming more exposed.

  Roots on its back tried to strike him in wild desperate swings but Ashley was on point, blocking any that hit him. Even if they had come, he would not have stopped.

  *Slam*

  He just kept on punching.

  *Slam*

  Even after the notification appeared he did not stop.

  *Crunch*

  “Leo! Stop!” The words were like a whisper on the wind compared to the thumping pressure in his head, the overwhelming feeling of bloodlust.

  His fist was a ruined mess, shards of bone pushing through torn skin. Blood flew everywhere. What was his, and what was the beast’s he couldn’t tell at this point. He didn’t care.

  His body was ripping itself apart with the strain, there wasn’t a single part of him that wasn’t in unending agony. His eyes blurred, his consciousness began to fade before he wrenched himself back and struck down again.

  He’d burned through his mana long ago. His stamina too. What pushed him now was pure force of will, something deep within him urging him forward.

  Ashley placed her arms around him trying to keep him from attacking. The pain was excruciating, and he barely noticed her. Then a drip landed on his arm, it was warm, another followed.

  He managed to tear his eyes away from the beast to see Ashley’s distraught and upset visage. Like a switch had flipped, he regained control of his senses and was bombarded by pain. A gurgling cry of agony was wrenched from his throat as his breath began faltering.

  Darkness started to take hold.

  The last thing Leo felt was warmth.

  Not pain. Not fear.

  Just Ashley’s arms around him, and the knowledge that even after losing himself to the storm, he hadn't been lost.