The wildcat creature moved like the wind. It attacked his shoulder just a moment ago, but now it had already attached itself back to a tree.
If he did not know any better, he would have thought it was another creature that attacked him.
Viktor had to grit his teeth to resist the pain. As he stood next to a tree while watching his back, he gripped his knife tightly, ready for the lynx's next attack.
Unfortunately, the trick he previously used against the mutated bees would not work on this creature. Unless there was something like an avalanche, this kind of creature would not let its prey out of its sight.
Viktor tried to assess the situation, but no matter how hard he thought, with the creature's overwhelming battle power and the condition he was in, he could not think of any other solution apart from using his [All Might] skill.
What was in his mind was what would come after he used the skill.
Using the skill was undoubtedly the best solution for the time being, but he was sure that after the skill duration ends, there would be another 3-hour cooldown. With him being deep in this dense forest far from his companions, the situation he would have to face at that time would be unimaginable.
With that in mind, Viktor needed to make the fight swift.
If he wanted to survive the drawback period, he had to make sure not to make any sound to avoid attracting other creatures. Moreover, he had to keep in mind not to get injured too much so he would be able to make it escape during his drawback.
For that, he needed to be decisive.
His first task was not to let the cat slowly kill him bit by bit. The previous attack proved that he would not be able to match it in terms of agility, so he needed to taunt his opponent for a direct fight if he wanted to have a chance of winning.
Viktor braved himself out of his trembling hand and looked directly at the wildcat creature's eyes.
"Here, kitty! Bad kitty! Come here, kitty!"
As if the creature could understand him, it hopped to the nearest tree and swiftly jumped down.
[All Might]
At that moment, a glowing symbol flashed in his mind with a message.
[You have received 27 points in strength.]
[Duration: 3 minutes]
[Strength - 17 (44)]
[Agility - 36]
[Endurance - 28]
[Battle Power - 27(36)]
With the sudden surge of power, Viktor's aim was not to stab the creature with his dagger. Instead, he jumped and tackle with his body, American football style toward the jumping creature.
Bamm!!!
It felt like he got hit by a car at full speed, but with his newfound strength, Viktor won the first match.
The creature roared as it got tackled to the ground.
This was exactly what Viktor had in mind. Although his head was still spinning and his entire body was still full of pain from the crash, he could not let this opportunity go.
Viktor jumped down at the fallen creature. Without wasting a second, he pinned it down wrestling style, grabbed its neck tight with his free hand, and used his other hand to repeatedly stab the mutated lynx with the dagger.
As the creature roared in pain, it used all its strength to resist. The lynx tried to fling Viktor away, but seeing that it was not working, the creature ferociously moved its head to try to bite him instead.
Fortunately, although the creature had higher battle power, it appeared that Viktor won in terms of raw strength.
Bam!!
The creature's struggle bore fruit as its paw hit Viktor's face hard and its claws scratched his cheek quite deeply. Even so, Viktor resisted and did not budge. He kept piercing the dagger to its side while holding it as tightly as he could.
"Stay down!! Just Die!!"
The creature resisted much more fiercely trying to force Viktor to roll to the ground, but Viktor tightened his grip even more and put more strength into stabbing the creature.
It was the longest 30 seconds of his life. Viktor did not stop until the mutated lynx's movements weakened and finally stopped completely. He warily watched until he was sure that the ferocious monster was truly dead.
It took him another few seconds before Viktor finally let go of his grip. As relief washed over him, his energy left his body.
He lied down beside the dead monster, panting from the fatigue and pain.
From the corner of his eye, he saw the orb come out of the dead lynx's body. Unlike the orbs he had seen so far, this orb was yellowish.
As the orb entered his chest, multiple messages came to his mind.
[You have received the spirit energy of mutated lynx - level 42.]
[You have received two points of strength.]
[You have received two points of agility.]
[You have received two points of spirit force.]
[You have reached a breakthrough into a new realm.]
[Mortal realm - peak stage]
[You have received 10 status points that can be freely distributed!]
The notifications were certainly music to his ears, but he did not have the energy to celebrate nor was it time to.
The skill's drawback was coming in less than a minute, and with how much ruckus the creature made when it tried to get rid of him, Viktor knew that he should not wait around idly in this place.
He decisively put all of his free status points into his agility, instantly boosting it to 48 points, and quickly ran as close as he could get to safety.
Bleeding and in pain, he ran through the snow however just dozens of steps, his injuries already taking a toll on his body.
[The duration of the Divine Art All Might has run out.]
When the notification of his drawback came, he felt as if his body was quickly shutting down. He tried to keep running, but his consciousness was already beginning to slip.
"Djinn… I can't walk anymore... watch… the."
Unable to finish his words, Viktor passed out in the middle of the snowy forest.