Ackster flicked his hand a couple of times to shake away the pain of punching a solid brick wall with all his might. He thought he had gotten used to pain, especially considering how many times he had punched monsters and beasts on his way to Ilto. But that was apparently false confidence.
However, even if it wasn't as comfortable as he would have liked, Ackster didn't have a choice.
The only way Ackster could attack the rock lizard was by using his body. And since he might accidentally break the bones in his feet if he kicked the stupidly robust overgrown gecko, which would make it difficult for him to avoid getting bit or clawed at, his only real choice was to use his fists, or, at least his upper body. He could use his elbows as well, but getting close enough to do that would make it easier for the rock lizard to take a bite of succulent Ackster meat.
The only one Ackster was willing to share his blood and flesh with like that, at least at the moment – who knew what the future held? – was Mio.
"Mio's a lot cuter than you!"
Ackster took advantage of the slight angle his uppercut had forced onto the rock lizard's head and struck out with his other hand. His fist might have hurt a little after striking the lizard's rock-solid jaw, but it wasn't anything he couldn't endure. He just had to grit his teeth and overwrite the pain with more pain.
Before the rock lizard could react, Ackster punched again and again without caring about the damage to the skin on his fists. He didn't even flinch when he heard a crack loud enough to serve as an alarm.
If his opponent had been anything other than the rock lizard, he might have hoped that it was his opponent. But Ackster knew that the crack had come from him. He had broken a bone, possibly more than one, in one of his hands or wrists.
But since breaking a bone was a lot better than dying, Ackster continued striking the rock lizard's head and forcing its head up and back.
He wanted to continue pressing the attack.
Alas, despite punching hard enough to break his own bones, Ackster's attacks didn't do any real damage. He might have broken off a few of the weaker scales on the rock lizard's lower jaw, but that was it. It was far from enough to prevent the lizard from retaliating.
And if he didn't want to be turned into a pile of meat that had once housed his soul, Ackster had to step back before the rock lizard's front legs could reach him and its claws could show him what a real weaponized body was.
But that wasn't the only thing Ackter could do.
Right when he was about to step back, outside the rock lizard's immediate striking range, he noticed that its other leg was the only thing holding up the entire weight of the rock lizard's heavy body.
The corresponding part of a human's upper body rested on that one rock-clad, muscular leg. It would only be for a moment since the rock lizard's other leg would return to the ground after sweeping out in an attempt to rend apart Ackster. But it would be enough.
Ackster didn't even think.
After seeing a possibility, his impulsive instincts took over, and he leaned back. He bent the leg still attached to the ground just enough to avoid the front leg that aimed for his upper body.
Ackster twisted his body while avoiding the sweep. His toes tensed and dug into the ground as his heel shifted to the side. His ankle followed his heel's movement, and his entire leg began twisting. His hips turned and propelled his kicking leg forward.
The twisting motion continued up his body. He turned his torso to the side and swam through the air with his arms to gather even more force. Then, as his head leaned around and he could freely look at the ground, Ackster's kick completed.
Ackster's leg crashed into the rock lizard's only front leg connecting it to the ground like an axe crashing into a solid oak tree. The area right between Ackster's foot and shin collided with the knee-like joint on the rock lizard's leg.
It was the place with the thickest armor on the leg, but if there was one part Ackster could possibly break, thanks to using all the force his body could muster, it was the joint. He had no hopes of breaking the bone that carried the incredible weight of the rock lizard's armor at all times, even while running at speeds Ackster had only seen on world-class sprinters on Earth.
And trying to kick the leg out from under it when the rock lizard's entire weight kept it pinned to the ground would be just as futile.
But, when there was too large a discrepancy in the quality of the axe and the sturdiness of the wood, only the axe would suffer, at least if its wielder was strong enough.
And in this case, Ackster was just barely strong enough to break both his leg and force the rock lizard's knee to buckle.
A sharp, crumbling pain spread up Ackster's body and lit up his brain as he smashed his ankle into the rock lizard's solid armor.
However, he didn't let himself be distracted by the pain. Ackster clearly noticed how, while his kick hadn't broken the rock lizard's knee, it had still been enough to dislocate or bend it in some weird way.
The beaten leg was incapable of supporting the rock lizard's full weight, and it faltered.
Ackster couldn't celebrate.
The rock lizard's other leg slammed into the ground like a boulder right before it could fall flat.
Ackster didn't even think about his next move. Before he knew it, he was already sitting on the rock lizard's neck.
He didn't even need to compare the damage to his leg and to the rock lizard's leg to know that he had sealed his own opportunity to retreat with that reckless strike.
He didn't care.
Ackster straddled the rock lizard's hard, robust, and impenetrable neck as he leaned down.
He had broken his fists and one foot. Why not continue like that?
He slammed his elbow into the center of the rock lizard's stony forehead with all he had. He didn't pause for a single second before raising it above his head and ramming it down again.
As hard as Ackster's elbow was, it couldn't compete with the mana-filled rock lizard's armor, and it didn't take long before his elbow cracked. After another strike, it shattered almost completely, and a feverish pain blasted into Ackster's brain and almost made him lose his grip on the rock lizard's neck.
But he still held on. He gritted his teeth hard enough to make his gums bleed until he felt most of his vision stop swimming like he was caught in a vortex of darkness.
One of his arms dangled limply by his side. He could shrug his shoulder with it, but not with enormous bouts of pain shooting through it. It was useless now.
But that was only one arm. Ackster still had one left.