Combat

The Apes ran straight toward the large young man, one clambering up the incline leading to the elevated Earth that he was standing upon, whilst one went in from the pool, swimming through it before climbing up the ledge by themselves.

Ryuu quickly swung at the Ape coming up from the slope, forcing it to recoil. Ryuu then followed up, keeping the momentum of his swing, slamming the blade of his hatchet straight into the skull of the Ape climbing up the ledge to get to him.

The other Ape took the opportunity to strike, swiping at Ryuu, causing a small gash to form on his arm. Ryuu recoiled, attempting to dislodge the hatchet with one hand while kicking his current assailant away with a kick, slamming his foot directly into their solar plexus. Ryuu launched his arm into the air as he felt a prick against his skin coming from the hand holding the hatchet, noticing that the creature, before it had died, attempted to grab his arm in an attempt to remove the sharp object from its skull.

Through being startled, he managed to remove his weapon, turning back toward the remaining Ape. They lunged forward, attempting to stab Ryuu, who stepped back in time, bringing the cleaver down onto their arm, following up with a left hook to the head, causing them to stumble into the pool of water below.

Ryuu cursed under her breath, clutching his fist. Before now, he hadn't ever properly tried punching one of these creatures before, feeling as if he struck stone like he did the day he first got his powers. Of course, it didn't hurt as much as it did then, but regardless, he forgot for a moment that these were "magical" creatures, and not actual, real Apes.

Various other Apes had begun to run in, straight from the tunnel, seemingly hearing the commotion from afar.

Ryuu slicked his hand across his blade, smoothening out any dents or bends that would've appeared from repeated use. Ryuu fended off against the creatures that clambered over to him, desperately swiping at the Apes, scaring them off, one after the other, sometimes cutting off fingers, creating large gashes in their hides.

One of their greatest warriors, the Apes of Black, seemed anxious, commanding their men with a look of desperation, moving aside as one of the larger monsters squeezed their way through the pipe, stumbling over to the ledge by themselves.

Ryuu sliced down onto the beast as it simply set one arm out, catching the blade with its flesh, pushing forward into Ryuu.

Ryuu tightened his jaw, setting his feet against the Ape's torso, almost climbing up against it, pressing against the wall behind him. His legs slip, launching his head forward into the creature's skull, an audible crack being heard across the entire cave as it stumbled back, nose broken, teeth hanging loose from the gums of its mouth.

Ryuu charged into the creature, plummeting into the pool of water below, the beast's head smashing against a corner of the stone well where the water was contained. It screeched helplessly as Ryuu, in that moment, knowing he had to force himself into a higher form of desperation, became just like them. A beast, a monster in human form, savagely beating the creature with the hatchet still clutched in his palm, which was reddened by the extended use of this haphazard weapon.

The creature's face was rendered into a pulpy red mess, Ryuu growling all wild, almost frothing at the mouth.

The creatures were shocked, but the one with Black Fur stood in quiet determination, brandishing its blade. With a crack, the blade is removed from the beast's flesh. He straightened his back. The weakest of the lot ran, now afraid of Ryuu... or... they found it better that they had left, fearing that if they were there, they'd get in the way instead.

Ryuu's head was slightly punctured, blood trailing down from his forehead, dripping down his nose, down to his lips. Ryuu groaned, attempting to wipe the blood away from his face.

"Come on... come on you fuckin' bastard." His fingers tighten around the grip of his hatchet.

Quick successive strikes pummel Ryuu all at once, barely able to react in time as he threw up his guard, the knicks appearing across his body, creating small wounds on his arms. With Tempering, one arm rocketed to the side, batting its weapon away as it had almost dug into his side, eliciting an ear-ringing metal cracking sound.

A violent grunt exited Ryuu's throat as he sliced across the Black-Haired Ape's face, barely missing, creating a shrill whistling sound through the air.

The beast's feet grabbed the hem of his shirt, spinning across Ryuu's body, causing him to stumble sideways. Ryuu slowed his body down, adding weight to himself to prevent himself from falling over, launching his upper body into the ground, causing the creature's back to crash into the stone floor. The creature responded with gurgling grunt, Ryuu using his weight to toss the Ape to the side, stumbling over himself and falling onto his ass as it slid away from him, stumbling back onto it's feet.

Ryuu used Tempering to fold the blade inward, straightening it into a long spike in his grip, almost as long as his forearm. Heating something this rapidly exhausted Ryuu, but he had to think fast, creating a weapon to adapt to the situation. "Come on! Come the fuck on!" Ryuu screamed in desperation, trying his hardest to motivate himself to continue, his body screaming for help, pain firing across all of his muscles.

One strike! Ryuu, like a blur, shot forward right when the beast shot forward as well. Ryuu ducked under its fist, slicing the artery right under their armpit, drifting across the ground, almost slamming against the wall behind him as he caught himself.

The beast, of course, didn't die, but was bleeding profusely from the newly formed wound Ryuu had created. With labored, raspy breaths, he propped himself against the wall, using all of his energy to pull off that move.

The creature sighed, placing their weapon in their armpit, staunching the wound. The creature licked its lips, changing its stance.

Ryuu, arms going limp as he slowly rose, straightening his back. He threw the knife into his hand before chucking it into the monster's chest.

[You have defeated various monsters of exceptional strength compared to yours! Congratulations! You will receive a reward for your efforts.]

A pause.

[You can choose one of four rewards, those are: A Revolutionary Talent, a Common Familiar, an Oath Talent, and a Revolutionary Weapon.]

Four cards appeared in front of Ryuu, all sharing different color combinations along with symbols used to distinguish each card from one another, outside of the unique color combinations that are placed upon their backs. They all flip without Ryuu's influence, showing what each card has to offer.

The cards signifying the "Revolutionary" rank had a Reddish, almost Maroon color to them, Common was a stark white, while the Oath had a blue color to it.

[Revolutionary Talent: Conditioned. You recover faster than usual, and your stamina increases significantly, almost appearing superhuman in speed.]

[Common Familiar: Leaf Dragon. It propels itself with an odd ballooning mechanism at the base of its body. It can use the air it builds up to rocket itself through the air, and its sharp beak can pierce even the hardest of flesh, but it, in turn, is fragile enough to be torn asunder with ease.]

[Oath Talent: You have proven yourself worthy and determined enough that the potential from taking an Oath could lead you to greater heights! Take the Oath of Family, and no matter what, you must follow the whims of your Oath, an Oath to protect your family no matter what. To put yourself through hell to see it through, so that your family remains protected. In turn, you will get a Boon, a Boon that could grant you greater strength!]

Ryuu read the card, a sigh escaping his lips, eyes narrowing. "What the hell...?"

Ryuu looked at the last card.

[Revolutionary Weapon: Curved Blackblade. A blade made of an unknown black ore of exceptional weight, in the right hands, can be malleable, allowing for the user to adapt swiftly in a variety of situations. It is not easy to wield this weapon, but one would be greatly rewarded once they had fully grasped the true strength of this weapon.]

"Most of these are insane... what am I even supposed to choose?"

Ryuu swallowed, scanning the cards. He sat down, taking a moment to rest, panning over the cards once again, shifting them with his fingers.

After a long moment of deliberation, Ryuu had made his choice.