The Beast's Reckoning

"I was right. There's a time gap between when his spikes release and regrow. I can use this as an opportunity." Livio started plucking fruits from the tree.

The bear began climbing the tree Livio was on. Without hesitation, Livio dropped all the fruits he had gathered onto the bear.

"This is it! I'll finish him with this chance!" Livio leaped from the tree, but to his surprise, the bear jumped down as well, dodging the falling fruits effortlessly.

"What?!" At the last moment, Livio managed to grab a branch with his right hand, preventing his fall.

He tried to climb back up and escape to a different location, but he was too late. The bear released its spikes directly toward him.

Livio climbed onto the branch, but suddenly, he couldn't move.

"How...? I thought I dodged it!" His eyes widened as he noticed a spike had pierced his foot.

The bear wasted no time, charging at the tree and climbing it quickly.

"Shit! Please..... just get over with it." Livio watched in horror as the branch beneath him began to shake, unable to bear the weight of the bear.

When the bear reached him, the paralysis effect wore off.

"No.... not again!" Gritting his teeth, he yanked the spike from his foot, the pain searing through him.

But it was too late. The bear sank its teeth into his leg and slammed him against the tree trunk.

"Fuck!" Livio was trapped once again.

The bear didn't let go. Instead, it used Livio as leverage and leaped off the tree.

Livio didn't let go of the spike.

"AHHHHHH!" Livio screamed as he felt his spine shatter and his abdomen rupture from the impact.

His health bar dropped to 10. The bear loomed over him, sniffing his exposed gut.

"Not again, you bastard!" Summoning his remaining strength, Livio drove a spike into the bear's eye.

The bear let out a deafening roar, paralyzed by its own weapon. Seizing the opportunity, Livio stood up and began pummeling the beast like a man possessed.

"Take this! And this! I'm going to punch you into oblivion, you bastard!" He unleashed a relentless barrage of blows, his enhanced legs and arms fueling his assault, venting all his pent-up rage.

Just as he was about to deliver a decisive kick to its neck, the bear suddenly grew new spikes and roared.

The bear's health bar was now at 48. Livio stumbled back, retreating into the trees.

"That bastard.... He didn't release his spikes this time. I have to be careful. I don't have much health left." He sniffed his torn shirt and leaped into the tree branches.

The bear prowled below, scanning the area. It noticed movement above and prepared to strike—only to see leaves cascading down instead. It hesitated.

Then it saw Livio darting between branches too fast to follow. The bear growled in frustration.

"You think you're smart, huh? I'll show you something amazing!" Livio snapped off several branches as he descended, clutching his shirt tightly.

Circling between the trees, he kept the bear at the center.

Suddenly, something lunged at the bear from behind. It whipped around to meet the attack head-on—only to see a large branch flying toward it.

With a swipe of its claw, the bear split the branch in two.

"Got you!" Livio sprang from behind as the bear was distracted.

The bear sniffed the air.

Without hesitation, it released a barrage of spikes in a single direction—straight through Livio.

His shirt tore as the spikes penetrated it.

The bear turned to deliver the finishing blow, only to see a large log wearing Livio's shirt.

Now that the spikes were gone, Livio faced the bear head-on. The bear swiped at him with its right claw; he dodged and retaliated with an enhanced kick to its lower jaw, sending it sliding forward. As the bear struggled to regain balance, Livio closed in, slamming his elbow into its face, followed by a roundhouse kick to its neck.

The impact sent the bear reeling, its health bar dropping to 24.

"It's time. Attack me, you bastard!" Livio moved near a tree and braced himself.

Enraged, the bear charged without a second thought. Just as it lunged, Livio sidestepped, grabbing one of its arms.

At that moment, the spikes on the bear's back started growing again.

Livio slammed the bear into a tree trunk.

"It takes one minute for the spikes to regrow. That one minute is up." The bear was now stuck against the trunk, spikes embedded into the bark, hanging upside down.

Livio stepped back, then sprinted at full speed. The bear struggled, but before it could react, Livio gathered all his Pbv into his wrist and delivered a devastating blow.

The tree shook violently. Neither of them noticed the fruit above, now barely hanging by a thread.

The bear howled in agony, but Livio didn't stop. He rained down strike after strike.

The bear's health dropped to 11. "Time to finish this. Finally."

Livio prepared another punch—but noticed the trunk behind the bear beginning to crack.

"No... no....!"

Mid-swing, he dodged to the side just in time. The bear, in desperation, released its spikes, launching itself forward.

"That idiot. If I'd stayed put, I'd have been crushed." Livio watched as the bear stood, now looking completely unhinged, as if it had nothing left to lose.

"I should put him out of his misery. I've wasted enough time here." Livio stood firm as the bear slowly advanced.

Then, the fruit fell.

It landed eight meters away.

The moment the bear sniffed it, it recoiled in fear.

"What? Why the fuck is he running away?! Is he scared? I don't have time for this. I'll chase him down and—"

BOOM!

The explosion sent Livio crashing into a tree, his health bar plummeting to 1.

A loud ringing filled his ears. The bear stood right in front of him.

Blood dripped onto the ground.

The scene shifted.

A sword had run clean through the bear's neck.

"Sorry to hide it, but I never said I'd fight with my bare hands." The dungeon was suddenly flooded with light as the system congratulated him.

Livio collapsed onto his back, gasping for air.

"I fucking did it... If this is the easiest dungeon, then I have to train like hell."