If someone had told Cliff that one day he would witness a fight between a gigantic bear and a large humanoid rat, he would have never believed it. Yet here he was, and the strangest part of all was that he himself, transformed into a bear, was fighting the rabid creature.
Despite being larger than the beast, Cliff struggled, particularly in terms of raw strength. The creature, though smaller, was far stronger. And it was more adaptable—Cliff had barely fought in real combat in this form before.
Over the past three weeks, he had trained with Rakahn and Dahlia, trying to apply the lessons learned from their hunts. They had trained to hunt larger creatures, and Cliff had hoped to adapt to the form of a massive bear. But it hadn't given him the mastery he needed. His size, weight, and even fighting style felt foreign—he felt like a newborn in this body.
Cliff dug his claws into the creature's shoulders, preparing to rip its head off with his massive jaws. But the abomination resisted, swinging its body violently and landing a powerful blow to Cliff's muzzle that nearly caused him to bite his own tongue.
The impact threw Cliff off balance for a moment, giving the creature just enough time to break free of his grip. The beast fell backward and immediately lunged, aiming to gnaw at Cliff's throat.
Even though his transformations allowed him to take damage without affecting his true form, the pain was still there, and this pain felt... different.
Cliff tried to curse, but instead of words, a deep snarl escaped his throat.
"Damn it," he thought in frustration.
He had deliberately chosen to fight in this form because Rakahn had warned him that his sword wasn't sharp enough to kill the "Demon Rat." Apparently, the rat had a solidification skill that made its body as hard as stone. Cliff had figured that if he was going to take it down, he needed to be on its level. While his strategy had worked somewhat, the injuries he had inflicted on its shoulders weren't deep enough to hinder the creature, driven mad by bloodlust.
Cliff staggered backward, catching the beast beneath him. It thrashed wildly, but he tightened his grip, driving his claws deeper into its rough, gray skin.
"You filthy creature!"
The abomination's screams echoed across the battlefield. Cliff, towering above it, shredded its face with violent swipes of his claws. Then, opening his jaws wide, he clamped down on its neck with all his might. But the creature's toughened body resisted his bite.
The taste of acrid blood filled Cliff's mouth as his fangs sank deeper into the beast's bones. The creature bucked violently, but Cliff no longer cared.
"The more it moves, the quicker its neck will be torn apart," he thought, clamping down harder, infusing his bite with enough force to crush bones.
Cliff tried to use his acidic skill, but it wasn't strong enough to melt through the creature's tough skin, so he gave up on that, focusing instead on breaking its bones.
With each passing second, he could feel his fangs sinking deeper.
"It's only a matter of time."
The creature's frantic thrashing began to slow, and then, a sharp snap echoed through the air, stopping the abomination in its tracks.
"Bingo," Cliff thought as he heard the bones crack one by one beneath his bite. Without hesitating, he jerked his head backward, tearing out the beast's throat.
[You killed a variant monster: Demonic Rat]
[You received a Variant Essence Stone]
Cliff flinched as he realized how carried away he had gotten in his rage. When he came back to his senses, the beast lay lifeless at his feet. He reverted back to his human form to retrieve the essence stone, and Dahlia was already there, handing him his sword.
Cliff took it, raised his head to the sky, a smirk spreading across his face. His brown eyes, now tinged with a hint of red, gleamed.
"Ah yes, this is only the beginning."