Dried Blood

'Its tail is surprisingly vulnerable, but can be coated with ice,' Alex noted. 'Its torso and belly are soft, but my broken knife won't be able to pierce through.'

Alex considered his options as he continuously dodged the spikes of ice, coughing and wheezing uncontrollably due to the disadvantageous position he was now in because of the prolonged battle.

'Is that the only option?' Alex considered striking a spot that would definitely be difficult, but also have the highest chance of success; the head. However, the risk would cause immediate death without a plan of escape.

'The Chimera Cat has thick fur that can cause injuries even with a light brush,' He noted. 'The optimal choice would be to target areas where it can't generate force.'

The cat was covered in fur, which meant reaching its head would be incredibly difficult without receiving countless injuries. However, if he could somehow land on areas that either couldn't generate force, or where limbs couldn't reach, he could successfully minimize the danger and possibility of lethal wounds.

'The problem is the ice, which can coat any part of the cat's body except its head,' Alex narrowed his eyes as he continued to maneuver through the barrage of frozen spikes.

His breath was astronomically heavier than before, while he now had more cramps than the amount of limbs he possessed. He cursed at the weak body he now had, as he was previously accustomed to be able to take on strong foes incomparable to a mere cat.

'I guess I'll have to use them.'

Alex leapt towards the cat's tail, grabbing onto it before screaming out in pain due to the wound he just suffered. The fur had pierced his palm and was draining blood as if it were a vampire. Alex quickly shoved his hand inside his pocket, revealing what seemed to be glowing stones.

'If Stones of Soma didn't have recovery properties because of their capability to directly affect the body, I would have been guaranteed to die.'

Alex stuffed one of the stones down his throat, immediately causing his wound to begin to heal. While that happened, the cat detected his presence and decided to freeze its tail. Alex, noticing that, let go of the tail for a split second before grabbing onto it again. Only, this time, it was covered in a thin layer of ice.

Because it was slippery, Alex pierced the sheet of ice using his broken knife, creating a tiny dent to which his hands could hold on to. As the cat shook its tail, trying to force Alex off, the boy used the momentum to leap upwards, eventually landing on its back.

He suffered countless more injuries, to which he reacted by stuffing another Stone of Soma. The pain was immense, even if the injuries didn't seem to be lethal. Alex felt his insides burning, even though the surrounding atmosphere was as cold as it could be.

It was as if a river of blood had dried on Alex's body. He prevented the loss of limbs by stuffing Stones of Soma into his mouth whenever he was in a dangerous position as he slowly climbed the cat's back.

The cat's howl shook the rocks that the room was made using, causing several pieces of debris to fall to the ground. Alex grit his teeth as he attempted to avoid the boulders that fell from above, carving dents in the layer of ice on the cat's back in order to hold on.

Veins appeared on Alex's forehead as he trudged his way along the wide back of the cat, who seemed to be in distress. Countless spikes of ice, howls of discomfort, debris made up of boulders and rocks, along with layers of ice flew across the room at terrifying speeds.

"I'll be sure to not leave you a complete corpse!" Alex screamed vulgar sentences at the top of his lungs, but the cat could not hear. If it did, its anger would have spurred out of control, but fortunately for Alex, that did not happen.

Alex arrived at the cat's neck as he let out a sigh of exhaustion. He lowered himself a little as he used his broken knife to begin crafting a sharp tool out of the layer of ice on the cat's back. As he finished making the tool, Alex grabbed it in the hand opposite of the one he held the broken knife with.

Holding sharp tools in both hands, Alex did not hesitate before piercing the lower neck of cat, causing it to shake its head violently in pain. Alex grit his teeth but pierced the other tool in the cat's neck, creating a crevice.

As he hung from the cat's neck, Alex released pressure from the broken knife before embedding it a little higher. He then did the same with the sharp tool made of ice, beginning his tiring journey, involving climbing the neck of a big cat.

As ironic as it was, Alex was in a dire position, as he only had two Stones of Soma left. Despite the lizards having granted him four Stones each, he had suffered far too many injuries, causing a rapid intake of Stones.

Plus, Alex hadn't experienced any development in his physique, as the Stones generally focused on injuries as their ultimate priority.

As Alex approached the height where the cat's ears were in arm's reach, he pierced the broken knife into the cat's neck once again. Only, this time, the knife reached deep enough to support Alex's entire body weight of 78 kilograms alone.

Alex utilized the broken knife, resting his body weight before performing a dip-like motion to propel himself upwards and onto the cat's head. Immediately, before the cat could react by violently shaking its head, Alex used both knives to dig into its skin.

The cat released a howl louder than it had ever done before as a large pool of thick, hot blood emerged from the wound. Alex was surprised at the temperature of the blood, and he finally understood how the cat was able to withstand such low temperatures.

Alex trudged forward before practically inhaling a Stone of Soma. Noticing that he only had one left, Alex quickly approached the cat's snout and dug his knife into its right eye. He then did the same to the left before frantically moving around to leave more open wounds.

The purpose was to cause heavy bleeding and cause death without having to decapitate the cat. Alex wanted the cat's death to be painful and slow, which aligned with the fact that there was no way of speeding its death even if he tried.

Having spent too much time wondering about pointless things, Alex did not realize when the cat tilted its head at a steep angle. As Alex realized what had happened, it was too late. He slid off the cat as he fell to the cold, hard floor.

At that moment, the floor seemed like an abyss waiting to swallow his body as Alex fell at terrifying speeds.

'Holy… shit.'