We both ran toward Goro from both sides. One of us was bound to hit him. Before we could reach him. He went after me and grabbed my face with his damaged arm. His body was hot. The longer he hold me the more painful it was. Once again I was pinned down to the ground. Skyge tried to help me but he was too focused on me. Goro grabbed his tail and threw him at the wall.

[ Eric ]

“Don’t forget about me!” I shouted as I began choking him with my arms.

It looked like it worked but it was almost as if I was hugging a metal bar in the middle of the hot summer day. Out of nowhere, he leaned forward and with full force, I flew over him still holding him in a way. While in the air he hit me with his knee in the back. If not for my training I think he would break my spine.

[ Eric ]

“Are you trying to make me cripple?!”

Goro gave out a loud roar and it didn’t sound like a kid’s voice. It really was a beast. His strength wasn’t normal but right now it’s like I’m fighting a bear with a speed of a cheetah. By ranking Tae is stronger than him. What kind of monster had you become my friend?

[ Eric ]

“Looks like I need to get a lot stronger!”

This time I was the first one to attack. He avoided my attack and went straight for the counter but this time I was ready. I grabbed his fist and with the momentum he got I pulled him down and hit him with the knee right in the face. Without giving him time to recover I headbutted him. Still having a grip on his damaged arm I was pulling him toward me and punching his face. Right now he was the punching bag. Once again I surprised the whole crowd. In the meantime, I gave a chance for Skyge to recover.

For a second I thought that I knocked him down. He was going to fall to the ground. It was my victory. At least I thought. While falling he woke up and punched me from the side. Both of us were on our knees trying to get over the pain. He was the first to stand up. But I was the first one to speak.

[ Eric ]

“That trick was more like a prey than predator, kid.”

[ Goro ]

“SHUT UP!!!” He shouted as he punched me in the face.

I slid on the ground with my injured back. I was wondering if I’ll be able to walk after that. Skyge wanted to attack him but he got scared once Goro looked at him. His aura made of steam grew bigger. Even I felt that right now he is dangerous. At the same time, I felt something interesting inside me. I had to test it.

[ Eric ]

“Would you look at that?” I looked at my hands which looked almost like the paws of a wolf with longer claws. “You’re not the only beast here.”

[ Goro ]

“What are you doing? What kind of monkey trick is that.”

[ Eric ]

“I’m no longer some kind of monkey. Right now… It’s a fight between two predators.”

We both were worn out. While I take a few heavy attacks he was hit ten more times in less than a minute. Compared to this kid I was more used to the exchange of blows. He probably only had a one-sided fight this whole time. In this whole fight, he was the one attacking but I’ll need to change that. I attacked him with my claws. He had his guard up blocking the slashes with his gloves. The gloves finally broke, revealing his skin to my attacks. Finally, I left a bigger mark than just a nosebleed. I scratched his arms and made a shallow wound on his chest.

I had to back away for a bit to catch a break. I can’t fight like that the whole time. I need some time to rest and recover. While backing away I noticed something worrying. The wound on his chest was no longer bleeding. It looked like his blood already hardened and even his skin recovered a bit. Whatever that was it made his aura a bit smaller.

I jumped on him once again trying to make as much damage as I can. This time he wasn’t blocking my attacks. He was slapping my hands and moving them away. He might have lost a bit of strength but it didn’t make him slow down. The longer we fought the faster I got. Something was changing in me. Once again I jumped away and noticed something weird about my arms. Their shape changed a bit. Unconsciously I changed my muscles to achieve higher speed. Now I had to check that theory. He was ready for my attack but he didn’t expect me to dash at him with that kind of speed. With that advantage I landed a good kick on him, sending him into the air. I was hoping to hit him once more while he was falling but he avoided my attack mid-air. He landed like a cat on all four limbs. I might have got stronger and faster but he still has his animal-like instincts.