Chapter 141: Fighting Rex
With a few hand signals from Nauja, Jack crept towards a fern. Brock hid in the faraway canopy, ready to assist when and if he could. The barbarian herself climbed on a tree branch. She would start shooting the t-rex from afar to weaken it, and then Jack would ambush it as it approached. That was the extent of their plan. After that, they would improvise and hope to survive.
Jack crouched between the ferns, letting the ancient plant caress his skin. The wind slipped through the trees, calm and peaceful, unaware or uncaring of the violence about to ensue. The soil crunched softly under his boots, framing the intermittent animal cries that reached his ears.
The t-rex was a majestic creature. It awoke in Jack a childish wonder that only magic had matched so far. He had seen so much about this beast, read so much, studied and theorized on it.
He expected a hint of hesitation at the thought of hunting it. Some unwillingness, a subtle feeling of desecration, like a child about to fight their hero. But he felt none of that. His wonder and fond memories manifested as an intense desire to fight. He yearned to test his might against this majestic beast, to face it in combat. It was a sort of self-realization, along with the implicit understanding that combat was a mutually respectful experience, not manic slaughter.
Despite himself, he grinned.
An arrow was loosed between the trees. Its shaft was three fingers thick and long like Jacks arm, especially devised for use against large creatures. It flew through the branches, heading for the tyrannosauruss head so straight and unerringly that it simply couldnt miss.
It slipped into one of the dinosaurs eyes.
The bowstrings twang reached Jack right then. It was a crisp, deep sound, like an iron whip striking a mountain. It spoke of tremendous strength.
The jungle went quiet. The t-rex only then realized what had happened, filling the silence with a deep, pained, furious roar. It turned towards their direction and charged.
It was an apex predator. When a surprise attack occurred, it didnt think to run, only to fight back.
Jack watched the dinosaur crash through the trees as it made for him. Its two legs moved in long leaps, shaking the ground with each stomp. He saw its mouth, large enough to eat him whole and filled with long, sharp teeth. Saw its hulking body barrel forward. Saw it grow larger and larger as it approached, heading almost straight towards Jack, though he was hidden.
Jacks world sharpened. All unnecessary thoughts and considerations fell away, leaving only the charging dinosaur, his allies, and the terrain. The entirety of his mind focused on combat. His body shivered in anticipation, mouth drew into a grinning snarl, fingers dug into his palm.
His being was fully aligned on the hunt.
The t-rex was far away, but it closed the distance in the blink of an eye. It wasnt just a large dinosaur. It was a peak E-Grade beast, enhanced by System, magic, or the Dao. Its physical capabilities were miles beyond its Earth equivalent.
But so was Jack.
A large foot stomped on the earth before his fern, imprinting it with a deep claw print. Jack jumped out. He flew into the air, right into the t-rexs path, right in front of its chest. He was like a fly.
But he stung.
Still mid-air, as the large chest barrelled towards him, he reared a fist back, stretching his entire body. Purple light glowed. The world lost a hint of color, the dinosaurs roars lessened subtly. Jacks fist became the focal point, drawing the worlds essence inside it until it shone brilliantly like a meteor about to fall.
He shot it forth.
The t-rex hadnt noticed him before. It had no time to stop or turn. It fell into Jack, who used its momentum to drive his fist deep into its innards.
The explosion rocked the jungle. Jacks fist broke through smooth skin and scales, meeting a bone and snapping it. The t-rex roared in response to the blinding light and booming sound. Its body couldnt stop, however, and it crashed into Jack, sending him flying away like a ragdoll. His back smashed into a tree. All air was pushed out of his chest. He gasped silently, seeing stars as he slid down the bark.
A moment later, he recovered. His torso was in pain. His right fist sported cracked knuckles, having unleashed its strongest Meteor Punch yet. But he remained combative.
His eyes flicked to the t-rex. Besides the arrow stuck in its eye, it now sported a deep wound at the center of its chest. Blood flowed out, and Jack could even spot the edge of a bone digging into the flesh underneath. Its gait was unsteady now, every step clearly bringing it pain.
Unfortunately, the t-rex was a large, System-enhanced beast. There was still plenty of fight inside it.
It was already charging towards Jack. When his eyes cleared, it was almost before him.
He rolled to the side, hearing a massive maw uproot the tree hed been leaning against. It barely missed him. He turned and pivoted, not sparing the time to even look back. A massive foot smashed the ground where he used to lie.
The tail got him. It whipped from the side and crashed into his chest, sending him flying again. Thankfully, he had been close to the t-rex, so he only got hit by the part near its base, which couldnt gather too much momentum.
He still felt the impact like a massive sledgehammer. His ribcage groaned, and his entire body was bent backward like a bow. When he slammed into a tree back-first, he bounced off to fall on the soil. By a herculean effort of will, he landed on his feet, stumbling but standing. He couldnt afford to fall prone again.
The t-rex was upon him instantly, a massive maelstrom of incredible strength. Even the weakest of hits threatened to maim him, and Jacks greatest attack had only managed to injure the beast, not kill it. It was at the peak of the E-Grade, and he was only at the early stage. No matter how overpowered he was, there was a limit to his strength.
Now, even surviving was a tall task.
An arrow drilled into the t-rexs head from behind, but its thick skull stopped it short. The beast ignored the arrow and lunged for Jack. He crouched, ready to defend.
The jaws came first again. Despite its size, the t-rex was fast, its movements a blur. He barely managed to jump aside and dodge the snapping teeth. Then, expecting another attack, he ghost-stepped another few feet to the side. The massive tail whipped through the air where he used to standa debilitating strike, if it hit.
He kept moving. If he stayed still, he was dead. The sky darkened as a foot fell on him. He ghost-stepped again, using the Systems power to ignore the limitations of space, then turned and rolled. His boots dug into the soil, he felt gravel slide against his shoulder and ribs. The world was dirt before he saw trees again.
He more felt than saw the next attack coming. He ghost-stepped, using the skill for the third time, sensing the air shudder where the jaws snapped shut around his previous position. He heard the twang of a bowstring and an arrow meeting flesh, but he couldnt see it. He was too slow. The t-rex was rotating through attacks faster than he could react. His dodges took more time than its attacks.
His only saving grace was that the tyrannosaurus was a beast, and its attack pattern somewhat predictable.
A shadow on the ground was all the indication he had. He jumped to the side, unable to even breathe. The ground shook next to his head. He fell flat against it, letting the tail sail inches over him, then pushed against the dirt with all of his strength to fly aside. When no attack came to his previous position, he ghost-stepped blindly. Again, no attack had come.
It came the moment his skill ended. The t-rex kicked at him. Its clawed foot met Jacks ribs, digging under him and shooting him upward with tremendous force. He barely even realized what had happened before he smashed into the canopy, breaking through three branches, then starting to fall back down.
The pain was everywhere, but he was too deep into battle to feel it. He managed to orient himself, catching a glimpse of a massive maw rushing up to get him. He ghost-stepped away. Activating the skill mid-air took a lot out of him. He felt stitches in his ribs, his breath coming short.
He stumbled onto the ground, white stars swimming in his vision. He caught another glimpse of the dinosaurs massive body. Its hide was peppered with arrows now, three of them sticking out of its head. A few were lodged deeper than others. Not only was the t-rex attacking him frantically, it was also moving its body to make Naujas aiming harder.
Its multiple wounds had to have an influence. An arrow was embedded in its eye. Its chest showed broken bones. And it still had the power to hunt Jack at such speed.
This cant go on, Jack realized. Ill die first.
The tail swiped at him. He jumped over it, sailing towards the t-rexs chest. Its head whipped around to bite at him. He ghost-stepped, again in mid-air, sensing the energy leave his body. He felt wrung out, empty, utterly exhausted.
Thankfully, survival was one hell of a motive.
He appeared on the dinosaurs back. He instantly fell on it and hugged its huge neck just as an arrow pierced the skin a few inches over his head. The t-rex growled and shook like a bull. Jack sensed the muscles below him tighten like steel cords, felt the power hidden in the dinosaurs body. Challenging it was a fools errand.
It shook, moving fast in all directions. Jack held on for dear life, his fingers digging into its skin. He was almost dislodged several times, but he grasped the dinosaur with all his strength. His jaw was clenched tightly to avoid biting his tongue. The t-rexs skin was hard and rough, scratching his chest as he held on tight. Its movements were erratic, unreadable, full of rage and desperation.
Arrows rained. Jack heard them pierce all around him, but Nauja wasnt aiming too close to him to avoid accidents. Unfortunately, he was clinging on to a vital area, but he couldnt move now. She would just have to find a way. Jack placed all his faith into her, praying she would succeed.
How many arrows does she have? The thought passed through his head, filling him with terror. Her quiver wasnt that large.
Regardless, she kept shooting. Three seconds felt like a lifetime. The t-rex resembled a pincushion by now. Its life was bleeding out from all the wounds, especially the one in its eye. Jack felt it slow down. His grasp was getting numb and weaker. He couldnt hold on too long.
The t-rex finally accepted that the archer was the priority. It stopped shaking and charged in the direction from where the arrows came, carrying Jack along as an unwilling passenger.
He was riding a dinosaur. If he wasnt dying, he would be elated.
The t-rex smashed head-first into a tree, breaking it down. Jack couldnt see, but he felt the arrows stop coming. The dinosaur kept going, smashing into trees in quick succession, leveling this part of the forest, but Nauja must have been dodging, because he didnt hear her pained cries, nor did the t-rexs efforts abate.
It slowed down further. There was a delay in its muscles now, Jack could sense it under him. They moved laboriously, like pulling heavy weights instead of the limitless strength they used to exude. It was probably dyingbut would it fall in time?
Finally came a great boom. The t-rex smashed into a tree thicker than most, still cracking it but not with ease. Its entire body shook from the impact, and Jack was dislodged, sent flying back-first into the falling canopy. Naujas scream came from somewhere under him.
His gaze scanned the ground below, spotting Nauja dancing under the t-rexs body. Its jaws couldnt reach her there, but its legs could. She was faster than Jack, yes, but not as fast as the dinosaur. She could barely dodge. Her death was a matter of time.
Pain came from all around Jacks body, but it was numb, distant. Riding the t-rex had allowed him to catch his breath, summon the last dregs of his energy. He knew he had to act. Even as the canopy tumbled away from the fight, Jack pressed his feet against a branchs side and kicked against it so hard that it snapped.
He flew straight as if untethered by gravity. He came at the dinosaur from the side and above. His fist gathered energy, shining purple, sucking in the world. Just as the t-rex noticed him and turned to look, Jack roared in its face, then fell on it like a meteor, fist-first.
His middle knuckle met the back of the arrow embedded in the t-rexs eye. The explosion splintered the wood, pushing the arrowtip even deeper inside. The t-rexs face erupted in a shower of blood and brain matter, and it opened its mouth to make a chilling sound that was neither a roar nor a cry.
The explosion also arrested Jacks momentum, letting him fall straight down. He landed on his feet, almost dropping to his knees. Nauja was right behind him, face pale, eyes grim, and half-kneeling on the ground. The t-rex, somehow still alive, raised its head and released a final death rattle.
Then, it collapsed. Right on them.
Its body was large. Nauja inched away, but Jacks feet werent working properly. He remained there, rooted. The t-rex wouldnt kill him if it fell on him, but it wouldnt be pleasant, either.
You have the power, a force inside him utteredthe Dao Root of Power. Use it. Achieve dominance.
Jack snarled. His fist shone purple again, glowing as he crouched and shot it upward, enhanced by his new Dao Root as well, made unstoppable and dominating. A fierce uppercut connected into the falling t-rexs chest. The explosion threw Jack on his butt, and his knuckle bones cracked, but the massive body was flung back and swung to the other side like a pendulum. Without the t-rex consciously controlling its strength, its weight wasnt too great.
It landed on its back with a crash, then tumbled to the side and remained still, unmoving. A pool of gore slowly formed under its head, and smaller ones around its body.
The tyrannosaurus rex was dead.
Level up! You have reached Level 65.
Level up! You have reached Level 66.
Level up! You have reached Level 67.
Level up! You have reached Level 68.
Level up! You have reached Level 69.
Through his exhaustion, one thought occurred to Jack. Huh. Nice.
He quickly invested everything in Physical, feeling some strength return to his body. He could have waited a bit, but he didnt want to be vulnerable in the jungle.
Next to him, Nauja sat on the ground, panting, but her face was covered in a ruddy glow. Jack lay on his back.
In hindsight, he said, panting himself, this was stupid.
Told you, she replied. Father went crazy.
But we won. It wasnt even my toughest battle.
Thats stupid. If you keep going like that, youll die. She glanced at him from her sitting position. A small smile played on her lips. Dont die.
He chuckled. Ill try. You fought well.
You too. I didnt expect you to survive.
But you still sent me out to fight it. Thanks.
No problem.
Brock came then, falling from a branch right next to Jack, making concerned monkey sounds, with some guilt mixed in. Im fine, Jack reassured him. And dont worry about it. If push really came to shove, I know youd save me.
That was more consolation than truth, but Brock seemed happy to hear it. Jack smiled, then willed the quest interface open.
Barbarian Ring Quest:
So, what now? he asked, eyeing the stony sky above. Since part of the canopy had collapsed, he had a view.
Now, we get the hell out of here, Nauja said. The battle was heard for miles around. Any delvers will be rushing here, and the scavengers of the forest as well. We arent fit to face either of them.
I could handle a scavenger.
Allosauruses are scavengers, Jack. Think you could take one of them now?
He thought back to the beast shed slain the first time they met. Even as a juvenile, it was nine feet tall. Lets get out of here.
Thats what I thought. Half a minute of rest and were going.
Got it.
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