The Guardian Stone Hound let out a loud howl that pierced Kenny’s ears. The sudden assault on his hearing caused Kenny to raise both hands to cover his ear from the ear shattering sound while also causing him to close his eyes. After the howling had finished, Kenny slowly opened his eyes to see the giant dog already reaching attacking distance.

Kenny swiftly dropped to his back almost slamming the back of his head against the floor. As he laid there flat on his back, he watched as the giant dog sailed over him. After the body had fully flew over him, Kenny quickly scrambled to his feet and readied himself.

He swiftly jumped to his left in time to dodge another swipe of the monster’s sharp looking claws. Kenny then jumped forward to throw a left punch at the side of the creature’s face, however, as the Guardian Stone Hound swiveled its head around its jaws were already open and ready to chomp down. Kenny quickly stopped his attack right as he saw this and instead spun around to heel kick the creature on the other side of its face.

The attack landed, however, pain erupted up from the point of contact making Kenny let out a slew of curses as he brought his foot back and tried to move away from the creature. Due to the pain he was feeling his attempt to move away looked more like he was between limping and hopping as he tried to shake off the pain he was feeling.

He wasn’t sure why, but when he kicked the monster, it had felt like the skin of the creature had hardened right after he landed the blow. The hardness of the creature’s skin had felt he had kicked a boulder. This confused him because he could have sworn he felt regular flesh a millisecond before feeling like he kicked a brick wall.

After a couple of seconds passed the pain started to lessen allowing him to move normally again. He was glad that he was able to start moving fine again, even if he still felt pain slightly pulsing from his heel. However, at the exact moment it did he felt a powerful force from a pair of paws suddenly thrust him forward causing him to fly and slam to the ground. He was lucky he turn his face in time, allowing him to hit his cheek and the side of his face inside of his nose and forehead.

A sharp pain bloomed across the side of his face making him believe he shattered his cheekbone. Even though the pain made his eyes water, he still had the mind to roll away. He did so just in time as the Guardian Stone Hound landed where he was once laying. He rolled as fast as he could and pushed himself back to his feet to face the monster. Once again the hound was upon him.

Kenny jumped to the left and turned his body in time to throw a punch at its ribcage. As his fist connected with its skin he felt soft skin for a brief moment before feeling solid stone again. He quickly moved his hand back and waved it around to try and erase or even ease the pain as much as he could while moving around trying to dodge each swipe and bite.

Kenny tried to punch and kick the monster in a one, two combination. He didn’t feel any soft skin when he attacked back-to-back this time though. The creature’s stone-like body was present the entire time. This was starting to piss Kenny off more than he wanted to admit. Each attack felt like he was doing more damage to himself rather than the monster he was fighting. Because he felt that his irritation was getting higher and higher and it felt like he wasn’t getting anywhere with this creature. He needed to know if he was doing damage because if he wasn’t then he was just wasting precious stamina and time.

As he tried to see if there were any signs of him doing any damage to the creature, Kenny had missed the creature pivoting its body around to mule kick him in the stomach with its hind legs. The force of the attack not only knocked the wind out of him, but it also knocked him off his feet and sent him flying backwards. The strength put into the kick was powerful enough that he ended up on the other side of the room, back colliding into the wall.

After sliding down and landing on his rear, Kenny let out a chunky cough before trying to suck in as much air as he could to replenish what he had lost. However, as he did this, he saw the hound crouch down and got ready to leap once more at him.

Kenny scrambled as fast as he could to get out of the way right in time as the hound headbutted the stone wall behind him. As Kenny rolled as far away and quickly as he could, he heard a painful whimper escape the hound’s mouth upon impact. After feeling he had gotten far enough away, Kenny got to his feet and turned to face the monster. When he looked at it, he noticed something weird. The Guardian Stone Hound looked staggered.

The way its legs struggled to stay straight as it tried to walk was confusing. When it dropped to the ground not once or twice, but three times, Kenny understood what had happened. The monster had hit its head hard enough to cause disorientation. However, seeing this just made him even more confused. After hitting the monster on the head a few times and feeling that its head was as hard as a rock, seeing it stagger about after headbutting the wall just made no sense at all.

Seeing that he had a moment to breath, Kenny took this moment to think about what he noticed about this monster. He believed there was some key to winning this fight if he could figure out what its secret was.

Besides the confusion of feeling soft skin before slamming his fist or heel into stone skin, he noticed this creature wasn’t as fast as the others in the area. It might be because the Guardian Stone Hound’s Stat Talent was Strength instead of Agility, but since this monster was a level higher than he was he believed it would still be faster. It didn’t look like that was the case. That was good for him though.

Since the monster didn’t have an advantage in speed, he would be able to not worry about having to race around or rush having to…Kenny let out a gasp as he watched the hound bend its legs and push off of the ground and suddenly fly at him with tremendous speed. Subconsciously, Kenny activated the ability in his Spring Step Bracelet allowing him to jump quickly enough to dodge the sudden attack.

As Kenny landed, he stared at the monster with disbelief. This monster wasn’t moving faster than he was when it ran about, but that sudden burst in its leap concerned him. From what he was starting to understand, Agility helped increase the speed of a person or creature’s movements. Whether it was their legs or arms, Agility helped move them faster. However, from constant fights with the Grey Haired Colony Rats and the Feral Felines, Agility didn’t help with how fast they leapt at their target.

This hound had a Stat Talent in Strength instead of Agility. If what he was seeing and started to believe, maybe strength was more than what he originally thought. How hard he hit something and how much weight he was able to pick up and carry, that’s what he believed Strength revolved around. However, after seeing this sudden burst of speed when it leapt…maybe Strength also revolved more around a person’s or creature’s muscles. More importantly in this instance, it revolved around the explosive power of the hound’s leg muscles when it pushed off the ground and leapt towards him.

The strength needed to be able to do that reminded him of his Spring Step Bracelet. When he used it to leap forward, he felt his leg muscles tighten up right before launching himself. Almost like a spring that was pushed down hard enough before releasing it and letting all the tension give an extra boost. If this were the case then the more Strength one had the faster, harder, and longer a person or creature could leap. Because the Strength put behind the leap gave them that extra push.

Another thought occurred to him as he thought about it. If this monster’s powerful and fast leaping was anything like the Spring Step Bracelet, then it was using a lot of Stamina. He wasn’t sure how good this hound’s Stamina was, but all that leaping around must have been draining it. The fact behind this theory was that last leap.

When the Guardian Stone Hound leapt at him this time, it wasn’t as far as the other times. It had gotten closer before it charged up its leap. He believed that all that leaping around to either attack, pin, or even get closer to him was starting to wear it down. That was good. That’s one thing figured out. Now about the stone-like skin.

When he attacked the monster, he felt a bit of soft fur and skin before it suddenly became as hard as a rock. However, when it tried and failed to attack him and instead it headbutted the wall, it had made a painful whimper. Almost like its hard head wasn’t truly as hard as stone as he was led to believe. Maybe it was an ability?

A light bulb suddenly clicked as he came to that. If it was an ability, then there was a trick to it. Maybe it hardened its skin for a certain amount of time? Did it consume Mana or Stamina? If it consumed Stamina, then the creature either had a huge Stamina Pool or it was excellent in managing its Stamina. If it was Mana, it consumed though then he would have to try and drain its Mana on top of its Stamina in order to win this battle. Either way it still meant an arduous battle was upon him.

Kenny felt his breathing finally level out enough for him to be able to move without feeling any pain. The pain in his fists and feet had finally dulled as well making him able to move without worry. The Guardian Stone Hound though…it was still staggering a bit. Not as bad as it was when Kenny decided to catch his breath, but it had turned itself around while trying to move before falling to the ground.

As Kenny started to race towards it, the hound slowly got back to its feet and shook its head to clear it. As it turned around to find Kenny, it didn’t expect him to already be within striking distance. It took a powerful right hook to the side of the face and let out a surprised yelp before taking a left knee to the jaw.

Kenny was shocked when his right hook and knee connected. He didn’t feel the stone-like skin. Instead his fist and knee felt soft fur and skin. His third strike to the top of the monster’s head, however, was met with the familiar feeling of striking a rock. As Kenny brought his hand back to wave the pain away, he heard an angry growl coming from the hound as it focused its baleful stare on him.

Kenny felt the malice dripping from its gaze, but steeled himself. He needed to figure out how long this stone skin armor, the name he had given it in his mind, lasted for as well as when it could reapply it. Gritting his teeth, Kenny went back in to strike at the creature. As he stepped in and went to throw a punch, the Guardian Stone Hound swiftly snapped at his hand, clenching down hard. Kenny let out a loud pain filled scream as he felt the jaws latch down.

He was trying to make his mind understand that the damage wasn’t as bad as what he was led to believe, but as he tried to free his entire hand from the monster’s mouth he saw something that made his blood freeze. A thin line of crimson liquid dripped from the hound’s lower jaw and dripped. It landed on the cobblestone floor, staining it.

Blood. His blood. He was actually bleeding. Sure he had bled before during the fight against the Grey Haired Colony Nest due to the amount of creatures he had to take on, but this was different. That had been the result of strike upon strike, bite upon bite from a group of those creatures. This time…it was from one monster. One monster that had clamped its sharp teeth into his wrist and forearm.

Panic suddenly rose within him. His thoughts were now on flight mode as he swung his free hand as hard as he could wildly to get the other free. He didn’t care that his wild fist was met with hard stone skin. He kept going and going. Even after the stone skin had softened. He wanted to break free. The pain of the sharp teeth slowly digging into his flesh causing even more blood to trickle out made him start to grow fearful. Fearful that this could be it.

Fear. That word suddenly made Kenny stop his wild and reckless attempt to free his hand. The word brought a memory back to his mind helping him focus more on the situation instead of possibly getting his hand ripped off due to poor decision making.

The memory was from his earlier years when his father was training him. He was explaining to him that in every fight there would always be a certain amount of fear growing inside of you. The fear could be of anything. Breaking a bone, getting hurt so bad you have to go to the hospital, hurting others so bad they have to go to the hospital, getting killed, killing another, etcetera. It was okay to be afraid, to have that feeling growing inside you. What wasn’t okay was letting that fear control or overwhelm you.

By allowing fear to control your movements or actions in a fight meant you were acting sporadically, wildly. Harmful or even deadly mistakes were made that way. Mistakes you could never reverse or change no matter how hard you wish or try. If you allow yourself to be overtaken by the feeling of fear, then it was over before it even began. You have to calm yourself, assess what the fear is caused by so you can counter it. Only through a strong mind and will, can you make it through even the scariest of fights.

    Kenny winced as he felt the pain of the monster’s teeth tighten even more. He looked at the blood that was trickling out of the creature’s mouth. His fear stemmed from seeing the blood. He had grown complacent thinking his Endurance was enough to handle the worst of attacks. He was wrong.

He hadn’t fought against a Strength Stat Talent monster till now. The creatures before weren’t focused on power and damage. They were focused on hit and run attacks as well as quick strikes that the strength behind them was nothing compared to what he was facing now. His Health Pool attested to this. This one bite was enough to almost bring him to half health and was still dropping with each tightening of its jaws.

Now that he acknowledged the source of his fear, he needed to create a solution. Kenny tried kicking the beast as he moved the arm of the trapped hand. The Guardian Stone Hound dropped all of its weight and dug its sharp claws into the cobblestone making sure it couldn’t move. At the same time the skin hardened causing his free hand to hurt even more after making contact.

Kenny clenched down the scream he wanted to let out and settled with a hiss through his teeth. As he tried to think of another strategy, something strange happened. A screen had appeared for a few seconds before quickly disappearing. He wasn’t sure what he had read, but he did catch some of the words.

What he caught were Forcefully expunging poison, but everything after that was missed due to a combination of pain erupting up his arm as the teeth suddenly released their hold on him, let out a confused growl while shaking its head around, and started to stumble around.

Kenny wasn’t entirely sure what had happened until he thought about the three words he remembered seeing. Forcefully expunging poison. Thinking about those three words as he rubbed the area where the hound had locked his jaws on made him think about what it entailed. The only thing he could link it to was his Poison Constitution ability.

 Ever since he had gotten that one percent in his storage, he had been asked after certain periods of time if he wanted to expunge it. He kept saying no since he believed the amount of poison wasn’t going to be a lot coming out nor enough to get a good idea on how and where it would. It looked like he got an answer to one of those questions thanks to the Guardian Stone Hound’s sudden behavior. The poison he had stored was expunged from the hand that was stuck inside the creature’s mouth.

Even though Kenny viewed the one percent as something small, the reaction the Guardian Hound gave showed a different impression. It was acting like it was heavily dosed with the poison he expunged and that it was highly effective. This reaction made Kenny want to ponder more on it, but he knew he shouldn’t waste the opportunity he was just granted.

Kenny quickly sprinted for the hound. When he got within a certain distance he leaped with everything he had and pulled his right fist back. The hound slowly turned around, still shaking its head like it was trying to shake away any sleepiness it had. That feeling never went away even after the leaping hammer punch that came down onto the top of its skull. The sudden knee to the side of its face took it by surprise next, making the Guardian Stone Hound try to activate its Stone Skin.

However, when it tried to harden its skin, nothing happened. It couldn’t process why its ability wasn’t working. The only thing running through its mind was the strange liquid now coursing throughout its body that made it feel extremely weird and the sudden barrage of attacks it was feeling slamming into its current soft body.

Another thing it was starting to think about was how angry it was getting. Angry that it couldn’t properly defend itself. Angry at this sudden change in developments. It was winning. It was slowly tearing its enemy’s limb off and was getting closer and closer to its sweet, delectable treat. But now…Now it was feeling like a punching bag. A punching bag that was slowly starting to weaken. It wouldn’t stand for this. It couldn’t.

As a last-ditch effort to reclaim the momentum it once had, the Guardian Stone Hound let out an ear-piercing roar that caused its target to stop attack and defend its own hearing from rupturing. After howling for a long moment, the hound swiftly looked around for its prey.

With red-filled eyes it found Kenny. He wasn’t too far away from him. The amount of distance he was from him was doable to reach while also landing a powerful attack strong enough to knock its opponent down and finish him off.

The creature fully turned its body enough to angle itself in the right direction. It then bent all four of its legs, feeling the muscles in them tightening like a coil being pressed down. When it felt that all the power it could put into this leap had reached its limit, it sprang.

As it sprang across the distance getting closer to its marked prey, it noticed it suddenly leap out of the way almost as fast as it had when it leaped. Its eyes followed the direction the target had moved to and processed that its leap was not fast enough and it would need to try one last time with the amount of Stamina it had left.

However, what it did not see was where its target was originally standing. For if it did, then it would have taken measures to try and protect itself before crashing the side of its head and neck first into the wall, sending a critical amount of damage throughout its body, causing it to drop to the ground and let out one final gasp of air.