BANG! BANG! BANG!
At that moment, three Arrowanas shot out of the water.
They reached the chameleon and buried themselves in it.
Once more, the chameleon exploded with spears, but the spears were much smaller than before.
'It's running low on Ether,' Kyle realized.
The chameleon jumped towards one of the walls, but the Arrowanas made its body spin, and the added kinetic force changed its trajectory.
Kyle kept chasing.
BOOOM!
The chameleon hit the wall, head first, but that didn't injure it in any way.
The hardness of rock for beings of their level was like Styrofoam to normal humans.
The chameleon quickly managed to recover and turned around.
That's when it saw that Kyle was just ten meters away.
In a panic, it rapidly launched its tongue.
BANG!
Kyle used Boost to move to the side.
He couldn't react fast enough to the chameleon's attacks.
But this time, he didn't react.
He acted.
Kyle's experience had told him that the chameleon would definitely launch an attack as soon as it saw him, making its actions extremely predictable.
In essence, Kyle had been reacting to something that would happen in the future.
The tongue barely missed.
BANG!
Kyle used another Boost to move himself towards the tongue.
Next, he used his soul to grab onto it.
Finally, he ran on the tongue, towards the chameleon.
CRKSH!
Kyle's feet received some tiny holes as small metal spikes appeared on the tongue.
Yet, he just kept running, stepping onto more spikes.
His gamble was that the chameleon wouldn't have enough Ether anymore to summon actual spears.
And he had gambled correctly.
Kyle reached the chameleon's head, his hammer ready.
At this moment, Kyle stood on top of his enemy's tongue, looking them deeply into the eyes.
The chameleon was barely a meter away from him.
Time seemed to stop for the two opponents.
The chameleon was fully focused on Kyle.
It had to kill him, no matter what!
Kyle tightened the grip on his hammer.
Then…
He jumped to the side.
The chameleon couldn't comprehend what had happened.
BOOOOOM!
That was when its own tongue shot through its forehead!
The chameleon's tongue always launched a follow-up attack if the first attack missed, and this time hadn't been different.
Usually, the chameleon was smart enough to not injure itself with this attack, but right now, it was panicked and desperate.
It had just focused on Kyle.
Because of that, it didn't even think about where it was launching its tongue.
The sharp point at the end of its tongue broke its hide, flesh, and skull, burying deep into its brain.
Its body started to convulse.
Kyle arrived above the chameleon and used all of his Ether on his hammer.
BOOOOOM!
The pick rammed into the chameleon's head, breaking through its skull and destroying the remainder of its brain.
One last time, the chameleon's body seized.
And then, it fell lifelessly towards the lake below.
An army of Arrowanas arrived shortly after, piercing the body until it became unrecognizable.
Meanwhile, Kyle landed on the wall and looked down.
For some time, he watched the feeding frenzy happening inside the underground lake.
The lake used to be silent, but it wasn't anymore.
After almost an entire minute, the lake became silent once more.
Now, there was only Kyle left, standing on the wall, alone.
His enemy's body had already vanished without a trace, eaten by the Arrowanas.
Yet, he just kept watching.
Silence.
Kyle wasn't sure what he was thinking about.
He knew that he was thinking, but he didn't know what he was thinking about.
He just felt a sort of… feeling.
It was strange.
For a while, he just felt the feeling.
What was it?
It felt… strong.
He felt like… he was strong.
The fight had been terrifying and dangerous.
The last time he had had such a difficult fight was against that white Ore Fiend that had swallowed the Inheritance Crystal.
And yet…
It didn't feel that dangerous.
Somehow, Kyle felt like he was in control.
'When I've seen that thing for the first time, I felt like I couldn't possibly win,' he thought. 'It was so powerful and imposing. Its tongue was so incredibly fast.'
'How could I even injure something like that?'
'How could I even react to its speed?'
'What would happen to my body if it just touched me?'
'And yet… I feel like it wasn't that difficult.'
'Its instincts were simple and primitive. It didn't attack me in any intelligent manner.'
'It just launched its stupid and simple attacks.'
After some time, Kyle sat down on the wall.
"Boss, was this a true battle?" he asked.
"It was," Theodor said.
Kyle furrowed his brows. "Then, why doesn't it feel like it?"
"Do you feel like it wasn't difficult? Do you feel like you were in control the entire time?" Theodor asked.
Kyle was a bit surprised that Theodor hit the nail on the head.
He nodded.
"That is normal, " Theodor said. "After most true battles, you feel like you've been in control the entire time."
"It's an illusion, or more precisely, a mistake."
"Mistake?" Kyle asked.
"The experience and Momentum you gain after such a desperate battle is beyond valuable. You don't realize how much your power has grown in the past minutes."
"Right now, you are evaluating your opponent's past power from the viewpoint of your current power."
"When an experienced craftsman looks at the basics of their craft, they see them as simple. They just have to do this and that."
"Yet, an apprentice will find these things to be beyond complex."
"You have gained so much experience in this single battle that your past enemy doesn't even seem that dangerous anymore."
"Tell me, do you feel like you could win against the enemy if you fought again?" Theodor asked.
Kyle furrowed his brows.
Then, he nodded. "Yes, I feel quite confident."
"Did you feel confident before the fight?" Theodor asked.
"Definitely not," Kyle answered. "I felt like I was about to commit suicide."
"This is the power of your Momentum," Theodor said. "You have gained confidence."
"You are no longer a journeyman on the path to power."
"You have become powerful."
"You are now a veteran."
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