Chapter 23: Combat Test 2

Chapter 23 - Combat Test 2 Staring at the creature in front of him, fully illuminated by the lighting of the room, Kieran almost lost all the hope he had in passing the test.

The creature in front of him just happened to be the one he had spent over two hours dissecting earlier today, a Girith.

The fact that he had dissected one meant he knew some of their properties like their anatomy and possible weak spots. The head chef had also talked extensively about them during those two hours.

But, the issue was that all the head chef did was sing praises and share his thoughts about how the Giriths were one of the apex species on the planet. They had no weak spots. Their amour covered every part of their body and it didn't impair their movement one bit.

What others thought to be a scale amour was actually their fur. Having adapted to the extreme climate and survival conditions of the planet, establishing themselves as one of the apex lifeforms on the planet, the Giriths had managed to make their fur has hard as amour at will.

Giving them the protection of an amour and the flexibility of having plain fur.

This was one of the reasons they were a scarce commodity, because they were hard to kill! This was also the reason the head chef the head chef very excited.

Most times, when the camp had rare kills like the one they brought in, they usually took them apart and made them into weapons or sell them whole to the demanding market. Having one come into the kitchen like it did today was a very rare occurrence.

Whoever was responsible for killing the huge Girith he had seen with one slash, possessed a level of skill Kieran knew he currently didn't possess.

Knowledge of this only made this test seem like a joke. He was a very cautious person, but couldn't back out now.

There was no indication that he could be saved if he was considered ton have failed the test. This was a living being unlike the droids from earlier, he had no choice but to fight.

'It isn't as big as the one from earlier'

Kieran thought observing the Girith that was still staring at him.

This one was very small, compared to the one he saw in the cold room earlier. It was just as tall as a regular horse, but the savage aura of a wild beast could clearly be felt from it along with its reddened eyes devoid of any sort of intelligence.

'The old man said they were a peaceful and intelligent beast species. This doesn't look intelligent. It looks like it's been doing drugs, some hard shit at that.'

This was all Kieran managed to think of before the Girith decided it had waited enough and it was time to have a meal, as it suddenly rushed forward to hit Kieran with its head.

Trying the best he could to dodge the sudden attack, Kieran felt something brush faintly past his side before landing harshly on the ground

"Cough!"

Holding his side which throbbed in pain, he wondered,

'What the hell was that? Its fast!'

That was the closest he had been to death since the sandstorm which still sent shivers down his spine anytime he thought about it.

Just then, when he felt something brush against his side, he felt like his life had flashed right in front of him.

His goals, his plans, his anger, regret. None of that mattered if he didn't survive. Right now, all that mattered was coming out of this ordeal alive.

Tightening his grip on the scythe in his hand, Kieran rushed out towards the Girith that had its head down, preparing for its next charge, ignoring the pain from his side.

Dashing to the side mid sprint, Kieran managed to avoid being hit by the Girith. He had barely seen it move, but that was all he needed, swinging the scythe in his hand with all the force he could muster.

CLANG!

The sound of two metals hitting each other resounded as the weapon almost flew out of his hand.

'This is going to be tough'

"Ahh! He's an idiot. Swinging the scythe around like a bat will do you no good. It needs technique."

The instructor muttered with slight disappointment that quickly faded watching Kieran's next move.

'I can't use this like a bat'

Kieran thought, having also realized his mistake.

The Girith rushed out for the third time, catching him off guard, but he managed to block it with the long body of the scythe which was strong enough to bear the Girith which had pushed him to the wall before backing off to prepare for another sprint.

BAM!

Rolling to the side the moment it backed off, he managed to escape having his head smashed to bits.

'It's faster than before, but it can only break out in straight sprints. It's not like the rest of its kind. It basically a wild animal.'

Having fought just like a wild animal until now, Kieran understood how it felt and how reckless that fighting style was.

'I need to use my head'

Calming his tense nerves and studying the path the Girith had taken as it broke into another sprint, Kieran tensed his legs and waited until the last moment before dodging to the side, placing the scythe in the path of its legs.

Feeling the tug of the weapon, Kieran pulled back as best he could. The scythe he had picked was one that had a sharp tip with its blade on the inside, like a sickle.

As crazy as it seemed, one of the jobs his dad always took and had also taken him along was a field job for one of the few farmers in Crane city.

So, he just happened to be familiar with the sickle, he could be even said to be talented with it.

Looking at the Girith which had paused temporally, he noticed the gash on the led he had slashed.

'I was right!'

Thought Kieran as he now saw a way to come out alive.

According to the head chef, Giriths like this had yet to reach their maturity and weren't as good in controlling their fur like the fully-grown ones.

The crazed state this Girith was in, only served to worsen that ability giving Kieran a chance at coming out on top.

In its crazed state, Kieran noticed that it was only capable of hardening its fur on some specific parts like its head.

'I need to reduce its speed.'

Kieran concluded thinking all this in a split second

The Girith, ignoring its injury, burst into another mad sprint and Kieran repeated his actions, slightly injuring another leg.

Kieran repeated this process several times with his life on the line each time, a single misstep could result in his skull being smashed into bits.

After what felt like hours, the Girith had finally began to slow down, fatigue and its injuries starting to weigh on it.

Feeling that it was getting weaker, the Girith paused in its tracks, staring at Kieran. The wild aura around it and the savagery in its eyes increasing in folds.

It took a deep stance, preparing for a final shot.

At this point, Kieran was already numb to any external stimulation. He could feel it too. If he got this last attack wrong, he would die here, this realization brought his mind to a new level of stillness, his face at the coldest it had ever been.

'No way I'm going to die here.'

"Haaa"

BANG! BANG!!

He let out a breath full of steam before he and the Girith broke into a mad burst, leaving dents on the metal floor of the room.

With his mind completely empty in this last dash, he moved solely based on instinct.

Moving his upper body to the side along with his left leg at the last moment, Kieran ignored the feeling of his right foot being crushed by the hooves of the Girith.

Coming dangerously close to the Girith that was about to move past him, he placed the curved blade of the scythe on its neck with his hand close to the base to provide more force and better grip.

Stomping hardly on the ground with his left leg, he pulled upwards with all his strength, bringing the Girith to a furious halt as it struggled to escape.

'It's not enough'

Kieran thought.

This wasn't enough to slice though its tough amour and cut off its head. Still not letting go, Kieran pumped in more force to the scythe, the veins on his hands bulging.

KEIIIIIII!!!!

For the first time in the fight, the Girith had let out a cry of pain as the scythe slowly started to slice through its thick neck amour.

'It's still not enough'

Kieran thought again, as he let go of the feeling he had been suppressing since he set his eyes on the Girith.

Instantly, his eyes reddened as an overwhelming feeling of savagery came over him. An intense urge to tear the world around him apart, it was worse than the anger he had been containing since his parents died.

"ARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!"

Struggling not to lose himself, Kieran channelled all that rage and feeling into the scythe, screaming at the top of his lungs, his eyes snaked with read veins looking like they were about to pop.

KKKEEEEIIIIIIKKKK!!!!

A louder cry of pain could be heard from the Girith this time as its head was finally sliced off, its dark blue blood spraying like a fountain on Kieran whose body collapsed along with the Girith's.

He had fainted.

"What just happened?!"

Back in the dark space the instructor muttered to himself, dumbstruck and utterly unable to comprehend what he had just witnessed.