Yoichi glanced at Kenji, "Hey, I need maximum power, bud! Upgrade my arms a little more!" he exclaimed, explicitly asking for an additional power-up.

"Skreek!" the little dragon replied, nodding its horned head. It narrowed its eyes and stood motionless on the branch, focusing on strengthening its tamer. ​​

Shioko stepped aside, aware that one of her most powerful attacks did not affect that wild demon, surrounded by who knows what arcane magic.

The young tamer took her place, taking the usual boxer position and focusing on the enemy. The giant boar demon's head popped up between two trees in front of him and was wrapped in healing gas.

Clenching his fists, Yoichi let Kenji's power flow through the veins of his arms. The creation of the dragon flame took too much time and concentration, and he had none of those. Behind him, once again, his companions depended on his decisions.

In a short time, after waking up as a farmer, Yoichi had abandoned the farm and reached the capital, rescued a Princess and joined a guild of tamers. To do all this, he had never used any weapon, apart from the dagger given to him by Takamori Sada.

Thanks to the upgrades of his unique Oracle, his bare hands were the only weapons he needed. Clutching his big fingers on the palms, the black scales grew more than usual, growing several millimetres.

As little Kenji struggled to fulfil its tamer's request, on the fingertips, small, thick black nails popped up. They remotely looked like the claws of a Komodo dragon or some other big reptile.

The Yoroichi shook its head and the rest of its body, cleaning its large armoured body from the sludge attached to his fur. The big demon tank began to lift pieces of mud-mixed ground with its hoof, just as the wild Ichiro did before charging Yoichi.

He leaned slightly on his knees, placing both his arms in front of his chest. Nobu's light illuminated the cramped combat area, and the moment of truth was coming. Would his only fists destroy the boar demon's armor? Would that allow him to earn enough time to enter the dungeon?

After yet another guttural verse coming from the large boar nose, the Yoroichi began to charge forward, totally ignoring the layer of mud under the hooves.

Few strides were enough to reach the young tamer, who, unlike his usual fighting style, this time did not try to dodge the blow.

Against all expectations, Yoichi's upgraded arm was stretched forward, and a mighty fist hit the metal plate on the wild demon's forehead.

*boom* - an explosion-like noise echoed through the trees, shaking the leaves and branches of vegetation and unleashing a shockwave.

"Aaargh!" Yoichi yelled when his robust knuckles slammed against the rusty iron that protected the boar's head: the vibration of the blow was transmitted to his arm and then back, forcing his body to stand still so as not to lose balance.

His feet crawled through the black mud for a few inches, stopping the enemy's charge and blocking its fury. "Oh, fuck!" Shioko gasped, who, for the first time, showed genuine amazement.

Before her eyes and Enatsu's, Yoichi's fist stunned the huge boar demon, hitting it on its forehead hard skull. Any other warrior's arm would have broken under the bulk of that giant, capable of uprooting trees with stunning ease.

When the shockwave triggered by the impact dispersed into the air, the wild demon shook its head, trying to recover from the stunning. Yoichi loaded another punch without lifting his knuckles resting on the iron plate, bringing his left arm back.

*boom*crash* - A second powerful shot, slightly less violent than the first one, hit the same spot next to the placed hand, helpful in aiming the target. The Yoroichi's hard armour broke into two parts, unhooking from its coat and falling to the ground.

The black mud devoured the two rusty fragments, letting them sink into it, while Yoichi pulled both hands off the boar's forehead. Stunned by the two consecutive blows, the swine demon's front legs began to vacillate.

"What the hell are you standing there for?! Give me a hand!" Yoichi suddenly yelled, drawing the attention of his companions. Shioko and Enatsu, enchanted by that incredible scene, woke up from the trance.

Without wasting any more time, the archer pulled out a light arrow and began to load it onto the bow. The arrow grew abruptly, reaching the same size as the one that had pierced the enemy's body.

Meanwhile, Enatsu stood still, watching the black mud. His lips moved slightly as if he were whispering incomprehensible words.

"What are you waiting for? Your friend needs help, you dumbass!" Shioko exclaimed, making the most of the remaining strength of her arm. Three of her fingers were stretched on the bow rope, keeping the light arrow still in place.

"I'm trying... I need more time!" the merchant stammered, resting his hand on the tree trunk next to him. Once again, his gaze remained pointed towards the ground.

Yoichi listened to the words of his guildmates and looked again at the boar demon, whose head swung like a pendulum. Its ragged little breaths had become more profound as if his punches had scrambled something in its huge armoured head.

The metal plates that wrapped it, suffering those heavy blows, had acted as an echo chamber, increasing the stunning duration.

Enatsu's words reached his companion's ears. Yoichi realized that his merchant friend had something in mind and figured that the only way to buy him some time was to keep hitting the boar, preventing it from moving from the mud.

"Shioko, wait for my signal!" the young tamer ordered, clenching his fists and moving both arms away from the enemy's forehead. The elbow of his right arm was moved backwards, accumulating all the physical energy of his body.

The feeling of cold caused by the mud that enveloped his ankles ran throughout his body, causing a slight stiffening of the leg muscles.