Chapter 4

Ethan stood on his tired legs, wheezing from his shortness of breath and his heart pounding out of exhaustion, his arms trembled as he clenched his fists and tenses his muscles.Before him, the majestic lion lets out a thunderous roar, its eyes fixed on its prey. The air was thick with tension as the two face off.

With a staggering movement , Ethan dashed forward at the beast with immaculate speed. The lion, taken aback by the sudden, drastic offensive its prey took. It regained composure and swung its claws wildly at Ethan, who was closing the distance between them.

 It was a very close call as Ethan had gathered momentum and only narrowly escaped the slash attack by a few inches, the claws tearing at his patient's gown as he weaved the attack . He jumped back ,to regroup and try to strategize.

"That was a close one", he said in-between labored breaths. He was feeling the fatigue and pain from his wounds starting to intensify. He suddenly felt a sharp stinging sensation on his chest. 

His hand went to the area of the pain and on contact with it, he felt the stinging increase. The lion's slash had made contact but just little, nothing fatal thankfully. 

Whilst distracted by the wound the lion had silently been prowling towards him and was close enough ready to pounce on him before he noticed it. Ethan managed to swerve out of the way at the last minute and tumble across the floor to the side before regaining his footing. 

With every sudden movement he made he felt the pain intensify and he gritted his teeth. He had to do something quick. 

[Host is injured -1 HP]

[Hp 4\70]

His health was draining fast. He needed to find a way to end this fast if he wanted to win it this round once and for all. And it seemed that his feline friend was getting impatient too. He felt his chest wound again and took his stance again.

 He didn't really know any martial arts but he used to watch a lot of videos about them and learned a thing or two in the fights he got in in school. 

The beast lunged at him Again in another attempt to overpower him. But this time Ethan had had enough of running. With one powerful full swing he swung his average sized fist and hit the lion in the side of the face with a jab, redirecting the lion that was still in its pounce midair. 

It flew to the side and landed on its side, it tried to stand up but lost its footing on the first try. Ethan was baffled by his own strength. He stared at his fist with a look of shock and surprise on his face. He knew he added a lot of points into his strength but he didn't expect it to make this much of a difference.

While he was caught in his nostalgia, the lion recovered from the hit, and in retaliation swang at him with its massive claws. Ethan was quick to react and put up his guard but he was still sent flying. He crashed against the wall again. The dust cleared and it seemed the attack had dealt him less damage than it would have.

[3 points added to durability]

[Durability 3+3=6]

"That was a close call," he sighed in relief. When he took the hit and was thrown in the air, he quickly added the rest of his points to his durability.

"Now let's end this", he ran towards the lion, the lion was ready to attack but suddenly he changed his direction and ran towards the back of the cave. The beast, at first confused, hesitated but then followed in pursuit. 

Ethan suddenly turned around to face the lion and he flung the piece of rock he had grabbed from the rubble with his newfound strength and it landed directly under the lion's eye. This disoriented the creature and it stumbled towards Ethan before it lost balance and tumbled to the ground letting out a pained groan.

Seeing this opportunity, Ethan dashed towards the fallen mass and with a bold and daring move, he grasped the lion's mane, his fingers digging deep into the thick fur. The lion's eyes flash with anger, its jaws wide open, revealing the full set of its razor sharp teeth as it snarls in anger.

 It tossed around and managed to get back on its feet but the young man's arms bulged with effort as he struggled to hold on. The lion jumped and slammed itself on the ground trying to get Ethan, who hung on to its mane like a flea on its back but Ethan held on.

In the midst of all the lion's attempts to forcefully dismount Ethan on its back, Ethan propped himself up and sat on its back like a rider on its horse. 

He used the strength of his thighs to squeeze the lion's sides holding him firmly in place, then he released his hands on the lion's mane and then put the hands together, interlocking his fingers and gathering his strength and with one swift movement, he slammed the lion on the head. 

The impact was so powerful, the sound echoed through the cave. The lion roared in pain and swiped its claws wildly in the air trying to reach Ethan on its back, it raged and rampaged, hitting itself against the wall and slamming itself on the ground. Ethan was losing his grip at first but he held on tightly.

The battle rages on, the two combatants locked in a fierce and primal struggle, . The young man's muscles ripple beneath his skin, his face set in a fierce grimace, as he fights for dominance. The lion's roars echo through the air, its claws swiping and managing to get Ethan a few scratches.

[Host is injured -1HP]

[Hp 3\70]

[-1HP]

[Hp 2\70]

Seeing this message Ethan knew if he didn't do anything now, it would be over for him. He closed his eyes as he took a deep breath and then rose up, and put his hands once more and let out a mighty battle cry and in a stunning display of strength,he slammed down hard on the lion's skull. It was the finishing blow, Ethan felt the beast's skull cave in. 

The beast let out an ear deafening roar that made the whole cave shake and threatened to collapse it. It was so strong it made Ethan's ears bleed. Finally, the echo of the roar subsided and the Nemean lion went limp and fell over. And Ethan received a message.

[You have slain the Nemean lion]

And out of exhaustion and fatigue, Ethan let out a victorious, triumphant roar of his own that was almost as loud as the lion's that strained his vocals and drai

ned the last of his strength. Then he slumped beside his kill.