Beast Brawler's Flex

Castor smiled happily.

If there was anyone to see him, they would surely take him for a madman. The beasts of this Island were known for their ferocity and immense power. For anyone else, this kind of encounter would spell a certain and likely a painful demise.

But there was no one around to judge him. Only Castor was stupid enough to enter this forest, barehanded at that.

The beast attacked. It leaped right at the former slave, stretching its arms out to kill it on the spot.

Anyone sensible would attempt to dodge. Step to the side to make the attack miss or maybe try to retreat to the back to escape from the monster's reach.

Castor, on the other hand, only turned his smile even wider and took a step forward. His move was so rapid that both of his hands flew to the back.

This was the one move that the beast didn't expect. With its arms pushed as far ahead as it could, its claws could no longer reach Castor's body.

He entered the beast's blindspot.

The monster pried its jaws open, attempting to compensate with its teeth for the blunder.

'That's right,' Castor thought, excitement flashing in his eyes. He then pulled his right hand forward, bringing his fist right towards the monster's jaw.

A human fist against the jaw of a monster that could annihilate a small town all on its own. The result of the clash appeared to be obvious before it even happened.

'Surprise,' Castor smiled wildly, unable to contain his excitement any longer. And then, just as his fist was about to be bitten off, he raised its aim just a few inches higher.

"UMHP?!?!?"

Castor struck the best right in its nose.

For humans, that would be a devastating but not lethal attack. But for a monster, this kind of damage was an entirely different thing.

For a monster that relied more on its smell than on its hearing or seeing, the nose was one of the most sensitive parts. And right now, with the combined momentum of his fists and the lunge of the monster itself, Castor crushed it down!

All the thoughts of attacking the easy prey instantly vanished from the monster's brain. Right now, it could only feel the massive pain and the darkness of a complete lack of smells around it.

Unable to react, the best simply crashed into Castor's torso. But instead of resisting the force, the former slave simply bent his knees, allowing the monster to slide through his chest, its momentum carrying it ahead.

A moment later, the beast finally crashed into the ground, raising its paws towards its damaged nose as it whimpered pathetically.

'Not yet,' Castor thought, sense of reason returning to his eyes. To make the best use of his attack, he sent a kick towards the spine of the beast.

Once again, if someone were to observe the fight, they would be dumbfounded.

Why attack the monster's back? Just like with horses, it's one of its strongest points of defense! Why not go for the neck, which was a far more fragile point?

The beast instantly stopped its whimpers, twisting its body and reaching with its sharp teeth for Castor's leg. It was still in the world of pain, but it now recognized the man as a real opponent.

A wolf will bite off its own leg if it's trapped. This saying showcased the power of will that most of the predators had and that only a few humans throughout history could achieve.

The best ignored its pain and retaliated...

Only to put its neck right in the path of Castor's attack!

'Just die already,' the young man thought, cracking the monster's spine with his kick.

If the best stood as it was, he would likely break his leg against its sturdy back. Only thanks to the beast retaliating did Castor's attack end up hurting his opponent instead of the former slave himself.

Yet, even this powerful kick wasn't enough to end the beast.

It was one of the highest predators on the Island, living a lofty life and eating all that didn't escape from the reach of its pawns. Outside of the selected group of the other kings of the Island, this feline-like monster had no equals on the Island.

Yet, after just two of Castor's attacks, it was effectively pacified. Still not dead, but no longer able to fight.

'Just how weak can this body be,' Castor lamented his own lack of strength as he calmly approached the whimpering monster.

His earlier judgment proved to be correct, just like the experience of an animal brawler indicated.

'Well, I will be getting stronger in just a moment,' Castor thought, raising his leg and stomping hard on the side of the monster's skull.

In his current situation, there was no room for mercy. No room for animal lovers. Right now, it was a kill or be killed sort of situation.

Soon, the skull of the beast cracked apart, its broken parts penetrating the beast's brain.

It managed to live for a few moments later with its sheer willpower before finally succumbing to its lethal injuries.

"It was way harder than it should be," Castor muttered, his eyes once again regaining the light of excitement. "Well, it's a good thing on its own," he added in a hushed voice, placing his hand down on the monster's corpse.

'The offering of the deceased,' he incanted in his thoughts, bringing forth one of the simplest yet most powerful spells that he knew.

It was this exact spell that was the baseline for his curse attached to every last one of Castor's reincarnations.

And the second he dared to utter those forbidden words, his hand started to melt. As it turned back into the formation that his body was reformed from, the beast's corpse itself started to melt as well.

Soon, Castor's entire body turned hazy, as if every contour and shape of it was blurred. For the next minute, the fluids that the beast's corpse turned into continued to infuse itself into Castor's shapeless form.

For a minute, he was a being that no one would dare to call human. And then, he reverted to his human form.

Just like that.

'A bit of its strength went into my muscles,' Castor thought, analyzing the state of his reformed body. Once again, he managed to regain a bit of his old power. Yet, with how only a tiny part of the monster's strength turned into a physical power of his, he couldn't help but get even more excited than he was before.

'With this, I can unlock two more barriers!' he thought, almost failing to stop himself from jumping in joy. 'Even three if I stretched it... but my brain won't be able to handle three unlocks anyway,' he thought, raising his hand to the side of his head and scratching it.

"The question now is..." he muttered, resting his back against one of the many trees nearby.

"Which powers and memories should I unlock?"