Hunters: The Prequel - Chapter 252

Mane dashed towards Dan with his arms tucked in. The veins on his arms throbbed as Mane prepared his muscles for a devastating attack. His legs moved speedily, and he covered a lot of ground quickly. Dan watched Mane’s approach with an approving smile. But within that smile, was a tinge of seriousness. Although he looked laid back, Mane didn’t leave any openings to be exploited. Finally, Mane reached Dan. He took a deep breath and prepared to unleash a strong punch.

*Whoo*

Dan jumped backwards in retreat as Mane exhaled. But the punch he was expecting never came. Mane who looked like he was about to put all his energy into his fists, kept them tucked in, and dashed to Dan’s side.

“I see,” Dan mumbled to himself when he finally understood what was going on. Mane had a good head for battles. Dan wondered if the boy had received some sought of training before he lost his memory, since there was no other explanation for his strange and eccentric moves. If he hadn’t, then he was truly a genius. Of course Mane had been training since he was 6, but Dan didn’t know that; and Mane wasn’t going to tell him.

Mane delivered a left hook straight at Dan’s ribcage once his target was within reach.

*Bam*

Dan skidded across the courtyard grounds and stopped after travelling an entire meter. He had a dumbfounded look on his face as he looked at Mane. Although at the last minute he had blocked Mane’s strike with his right forearm, he could feel a little pain.

“I thought speed was his strong suit,” Dan thought as he tried to create a bit more distance between himself and Mane. Most of the time, Mane never got the chance to get a punch in. Dan usually dodged or redirected the attacks with his palm, so he never faced them head on; and Mane’s sweeping kick wasn’t enough to judge his strength either. After all, the kick was meant to knock one off balance, it didn’t focus on force, but on the proper technique.

However, blocking Mane’s punch just now was different. Although Dan wasn’t hurt, he couldn’t overlook the fact that Mane was stronger than he thought.

“If it’s at this level, he wouldn’t have a problem defending himself from a Middle Class Magical Beast,” Dan thought to himself as he warded off another of Mane’s attacks. This time he was careful to slap Mane’s wrist and redirect the force behind the boy’s punches, rather than meet them head on.

Dan was sure that Mane would have no problem defending himself from the assault of a Middle Class Magical Beast, as long as the beast wasn’t strength oriented like the Rage Bull. However, defending himself against them was different from being able to go on the offensive. Mane might be able to fight off a Middle Class Magical Beast and escape, but he wasn’t capable of posing a threat to them just yet. That would require a lot more training.

*Bang*

Dan was shaken from his thoughts by a left hook to his shoulder. “I can’t afford to think about anything else,” he mumbled bitterly and finally pushed his entire concentration onto the fight.

Left Hooks

Right Hooks

Left Jabs

Right Jabs

Uppercuts

Hook Kicks

Heel Kicks

Crescent Kicks

Calf Kicks

Spinning Heel Kicks

Dan endured the barrage of attacks that came his way and found it hard to mount a counter. His forehead was filled with sweat as he endured the storm of punches and kicks Mane unleashed. They were performed exquisitely, and timed perfectly. They weren’t too fancy, neither were they inappropriate; but they did the job just fine. The endless barrage of attacks allowed Dan to understand just how high Mane’s stamina stats were. Although he didn’t have the ability to see another’s status like Mane, he could tell from the flurry of attacks that Mane’s stamina might very well be his strongest physical attribute.

As he struggled to hold Mane off, he looked into his eyes. Those sea-blue eyes were serene, they didn’t show any sign of anxiousness or impatience at the sight of countless attacks being fended off. Even though every move was strong and filled with power, his breathing was calm and quiet, it wasn’t in any way rugged. His golden hair swayed with every action he took. Its dazzling color seemed to hold the rays of the sun and redirect them at Dan.

“This cannot go on,” Dan sighed and finally conceded. He accepted Mane’s superiority in this duel, and used his legs.

*Bam*

Mane smiled faintly seeing the object that stood in his way. His attempt at another sweeping kick was blocked by a large pillar. This stable pillar was so strong that Mane who attempted to swat it down, could fell his bones creak in opposition. This pillar was Dan’s leg.

“You used it,” Mane smirked.

“Indeed,” Dan laughed. “Now I won’t hold back,” the large Mystic Path Warrior grinned and held his hands together. A ferocious hammer blow came striking down, with Mane’s leg as its target. The blow was strong, and Mane could feel the wind biting at his leg. Although hammer blows were slower than the regular punch, Dan’s agility stats made the blow look as swift as a fleeting shadow, and his high strength stats were enough for Mane to remember not to take it head on.

*Boom*

“He’s definitely a beast,” Hildegarde mumbled from the rooftop as she gazed at the small hole that Dan’s attack had created. Although she sounded concerned about Mane, her swinging feet showed that she was anything but anxious.

Mane nodded in response to Hildegarde’s words. Looking at the fist sized hole that wasn’t there before, he marveled at the fact that such power was attained by an individual who had no elemental affinity, and in a planet without Edict or Chaos.

“Don’t lose your focus” Dan disappeared from his position and reappeared right in front of Mane. Mane could hardly see him approach, and when he noticed Dan, the man was already close to him. A gigantic fist came smashing down. Its goal was Mane’s shoulder. When it looked like Mane wouldn’t be able to avoid it, and Dan would have to stop himself, Mane strangely turned to the side and avoided the blow. The surprised Dan lost his focus for a second, and Mane didn’t lose that opening. The young boy delivered a perfectly poised left hook to Dan’s temple.

*Bang*

Dan’s head was forcefully turned to the side, and a bit of saliva was expelled unconsciously, yet he didn’t take a single step away from his position. Like a mountain that could weather any storm or hail, he remained as he was. Mane quickly followed up with an uppercut, as he sought to regain dominance over this bout, and forced Dan to admire the beautiful blue skies.

*Bang*

But once again, like a mighty tree, Dan remained where he was. He wasn’t moved by the powerful blow, neither did he suffer any injuries. It seemed that when he said he was going all out, he wasn’t joking. Mane ignored the surprise he felt, and delivered a spinning heel kick to Dan.

*Bang*

Instead of Dan, the one who flew back was Mane. He flipped midair and landed elegantly onto the wall of the courtyard. He frowned as he looked at the bruise on his heel. At the last minute, just before his foot was about to connect with Dan’s head, the older man tilted his head back slightly. However, instead of dodging the attack completely, the crazy man put strength into his neck muscles and faced it head on – literally. Mane’s bruise was from the head-butt. Normally that decision wasn’t the right one, but Dan’s insane physical attributes made everything seem like the right decision.

“Excellent” Dan laughed and stroked his beard. He tied his hair with a ribbon and dashed towards Mane. He had a crazy smile on his face as he approached the wall with amazing speed. His fingers curled into claws, and sought out the handsome boy who sought refuge on the walls.

*Voosh*

The air split apart as Dan’s claw attack missed Mane. Mane jumped over the wall, and landed behind Dan, and then quickly somersaulted forward. A large fist descended upon the ground where Mane stood only a second ago, indicating that his decision to flee was the right one.

*Boom*

Mane didn’t turn to look at the new hole in the courtyard. He rushed towards the center of the compound. But no sooner had he escaped Dan, did he feel the harsh wind growling at his back, burning his clothes and scratching his skin. He quickly ducked on instinct. Five fingers that had been curled into claws swiped past him in rage.

*Whoosh*

Sharp wind whistled right above his head, and past him. Mane maintained his ducking position and applied strength to his legs. He leaped backwards, headfirst, and rammed ferociously into Dan’s abdomen.

*Bam*

Dan only moved slightly, but was largely unperturbed. However, Mane expected this, and the young teenager wrapped his arms around the surprised Dan and power-bombed him into the ground.

*Boom*

Mane lifted Dan off the ground, and smashed him into the ground again.

*Boom*

Like a heavy hammer striking a tiled floor, the ground broke apart, and several cracks spread across the floor. Mane lifted Dan one last time. Spinning around to gain some momentum, he launched the sorry figure of his guardian into the wall.

*Boom*

Dan crashed into the wall in a thunderous noise. The power behind the throw wasn’t insignificant, and although Dan was already up and smiling, Hildegarde didn’t doubt that that throw would have been bone breaking for the lesser man. From what she saw, if they possessed the same physical stats, Mane would have dominated Dan effortlessly. Feeling the joy of Mane’s battle eager soul, she concluded that his integration was somewhere along 30% now! It was amazing! A few minutes of sparring produced a 9% increase in soul-body integration! It was a grand harvest. What scared Hildegarde was that at 30%, Mane’s battle awareness could match Dan’s, and even exceed it! She couldn’t help but wonder what would happen when he attains 100% integration.

“Hahaha. Genius!” Dan laughed uproariously as he dusted the dirt off his clothes. There were several cracks on the part of the wall he crushed into, and the clothes that weren’t even scratched by the Rage Bull, were torn in several areas.

“Shall we continue,” feeling the galloping increase in his integration level, Mane was very eager to continue with their duel. However, Dan shook his head and his words brought Mane endless disappointment, “We cannot. It’s unfortunate, but we have to put out spar on hold. The noise has attracted some of the villagers over.”

Dan gestured to the wooden door once he was done speaking. A few seconds later, Mane heard several hurried footsteps behind the door. It seemed that their spar had alerted their neighbors, who came rushing to see if nothing was wrong.

“Even if you wouldn’t go out, you’d eventually meet them,” Dan smirked when he noticed Mane’s awkwardness.

“Come, let’s meet the villagers,” Dan gave him a pat on the back and walked towards the door. Mane smiled wryly, but he followed the older man. Hildegarde flew off the roof and onto his shoulder. She laughed at his ‘out of sorts’ expression and said, “You couldn’t run away in the end, pretty boy.”