"Shit, I'm dead!" Locke swore.
The monster lunged at him. In an instant, it had crossed the entire raft and reached right in front of him.
Locke could almost feel its rotten breath against his face in that split second.
Without thinking twice, he launched his body to the side to dodge.
He rolled across the rocking boards till he made it to a halt.
Looking back, he could see the Frogling rushing in for another strike.
"Not this time, bastard!"
Locke held the hook in his hand before himself, and the monster swung at him with its jagged claw.
Locke could only watch as the claw bypassed his attempt at defence. The claw was coming right at his face. Luckily, he moved his head just in time. The claw went right past his face, nicking it slightly in the process.
As he retreated, a small trail of blood ran down his cheek.
The rain roared in the sky like a chorus.
Locke and the frogling stood face to face once again.
"This guy just won't let me go", he whispered silently
Locke's mind was racing, trying to find a way out of this situation.
On the other hand, the Frogling, having seemingly understood what he was saying, made an almost human-like smirk, as if knowing that its prey had nowhere to go.
Before he could think any more, the frogling lunged at him viscously. Locke instinctively held up his piece of wood to defend himself, but just as the Frogling was halfway there, it suddenly opened its mouth again, and a sudden red blur exited from it and wrapped around his leg, pulling him towards the beast.
'A tongue?!'
"Shit! How many moves does this guy have?", Locke cursed as he was dragged towards its open jaws.
Locke's brain worked overtime, thinking of ways to escape
"Damn Frog!!"
If he couldn't break free, there was only one other option.
Attack!
A flash of madness passed through his eyes as Locke raised the hook in his hand and swung it down towards the tongue wrapped around his leg.
The rocking of the waves against the raft and the constant movement due to the Frogling made it hard to aim accurately. But, luckily, his strike managed to pierce the tongue directly.
He watched as thick red blood squirted out of the open wound. The Frogling screeched out in pain.
It had never expected his prey to cause it so much pain.
[3 damage to Inferior Frogling]
This time, Locke saw the damage notification pop up.
He immediately tugged with his leg, and the tongue loosened, allowing him to escape.
Retreating once more, Locke now noticed a glowing red bar above the Froglings' head.
[Inferior Frogling Health: 20/25]
Looking at the bar, it was evident that it represented the vitality of the Frogling.
The Frogling was standing in place, stunned from the pain it had been subjected to.
Calming himself down, Locke suddenly felt himself having a terrifying thought; he looked at the Frogling.
'I can kill it!'
The thought stunned him. Just seconds ago, he had been planning to jump off the boat to escape somehow and now... he was thinking of killing this monster?
Looking at the Frogling, who was still standing in silence, its protruding eyes were unfocused and misty.
He realised that if he delayed any longer, it would give the Frogling time to recover.
"It's now or never!" he hissed as he ran forward.
Time seemed to slow down as he reached in front of the monster, which was still reeling from the pain.
Locke held the hook in his right hand and swung at the Frogling's head. Just as it was about to make contact, the Frogling suddenly raised its head. On its face, it had a creepy smile as blood dripped down from its injured mouth. Its eyes suddenly snapped forward to look at him.
'Shit, it's a trap!'
Locke watched as the Frogling's thin arm swiftly struck towards him.
In that split second, Locke decided that if he wanted to survive, he needed to kill this monster in front of him; there was no room for hesitation.
Instead of retreating, he rushed forward, raising his hook and swinging low.
Chi~
Blood squirted out of the extended cut drawn across the Frogling's chest. Locke's hand was painted red from the carnage.
As he swung around again, he pressed his advantage. Looking at the Frogling's outstretched arm, he reached out to hold it. He kicked the Frogling and held onto its hand. A flash of viciousness passed through his mind as he twisted the arm in his hand.
He felt the snapping of bones. The Frogling immediately screeched loudly as Locke also retreated.
"You feel that, don't you!" Locke smiled, seeing his attack successful.
Locke could see the Frogling's eyes turn red from the pain.
[3 damage to Inferior Frogling]
[2 damage to Inferior Frogling]
No longer caring for its injuries, the Frogling once again dashed towards him, releasing a loud, tearing screech.
Locke felt disoriented, hearing the screech, a ringing noise filled his eardrums.
But he had no time to think about it as the monster was soon about to strike.
Looking at its bright red eyes, he felt it was better to retreat for the moment.
But before he could carry out his plan, the Frogling's working hand had already been thrown towards him, and he immediately dodged to the side.
Chi~
To his horror, Locke looked down to see the Frogling's other arm, which he had broken, lodged in his shoulder.
He could feel the warm blood falling onto his skin and the delayed pain coming from the nerves in his shoulder.
His eyes clouded with the tears of enduring pain.
[You have taken 5 damage from Inferior Frogling]
[You are affected by bleeding]
Looking at the Frogling again, he could see that same infuriating smile plastered on his face.
'Shit, ' that was the last thought he had before anger surged through his soul.
"This bastard thinks he can kill me, heh". Locke sneered.
'I still have so much to live for!'
ignoring the pain in his shoulder, Locke raised his hand to grab the Frogling's wrist again. It tried to resist, but Locke was faster.
He took the hook into his hand and placed it at the joint on its elbow. He could feel the resistance as he tried to pull.
Locke put all his strength into his right hand; gradually, he could feel the elbow bending.
Chi~
With a last tug, the Frogling's entire arm was ripped off its socket, and the lifeless arm flew through the air until it fell to the roaring waves.
[3 damage to Inferior Frogling]
The Frogling could only watch in horror as its arm was torn off.
Looking at the blood that was bathing his already blood-soaked hand, Locke could feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins.
He suppressed the urge to vomit coming from his stomach, raising his hook once again, he slashed it against the Frogling's top-right eye.
Chi~
[3 damage to Inferior Frogling]
[Inferior Frogling has entered a critical state]
Locke looked at the Frogling, kneeling on the floor, clutching at its empty eye socket and letting out low screeches.
He almost felt a touch of sympathy... almost.
Kicking the Frogling down, Locke jumped on top of it, straddling it while stopping it from recovering.
He held his bloodied hook above his head, resolving himself, and finally, he brought it down against the monster.
[3 damage to Inferior Frogling]
[2 damage to Inferior Frogling]
[3 damage to Inferior Frogling]
Sigh~
Locke finally took a breather. He looked at the Frogling, whose limbs were twitching; it was still not dead.
[Inferior Frogling Health: 1/25]
Even though he had beaten it into this state, Locke was still not resolved to kill another living being.
He would probably throw its body into the ocean; whether it could survive depended only on fate.
Just as he was about to walk away, he heard a soft sound below him
Chi~
[You have taken 1 damage from Inferior Frogling]
The nearly dead Frogling had actually lifted its head to bite down on his exposed leg.
"Damn, even when I was gonna show you mercy", Locke shouted, this time with no hesitation in his voice.
Looking at the Frogling, he realised that if their roles were switched in this situation, it would have ruthlessly mauled him as well. Having come to this point, there was no reluctance in his mind.
He freed his leg and raised it again before smashing it against the Frogling's skull.
Thunder roared in the distance as his first opponent in this world was slain.
[2 damage to Inferior Frogling]
Locke watched as the once living beast lost its life, its body reduced to a pile of blood and flesh.
The pouring rain had almost wiped away the traces of battle on the raft.
Feeling the toll of his injuries, Locke felt his vision black out. He stumbled to the ground and lay on his back, feeling the pain in his body.
Beneath him in the darkness of the chaotic sea, beasts and various otherworldly powers stirred, biding their time until their ascent to the surface.