Surviving The Beast World With My 'Sassy' System

Chapter 86: Mirek’s Trial: Bloody Fight

When Mirek’s vision cleared, he found himself standing at the edge of a barren landscape.

The ground stretched outward in uneven layers of hardened rock, broken into jagged plateaus that rose and fell without pattern. There was no vegetation, no water, no sign of life. Above him, the sun burned relentlessly, its light harsh and direct, pressing down on the land without mercy.

Heat radiated from every surface.

Mirek scanned his surroundings, his eyes moving across the empty expanse.

"Lavayla."

He called out but there was no response.

"Vai."

His voice carried forward but did not travel far. The air felt thick, heavy, as though it absorbed sound instead of carrying it.

His gaze hardened.

He stepped forward, placing his foot onto the scorched rock. The surface was hot, but he did not stop. When nothing changed, he took another step, then another, his pace gradually increasing as he moved deeper into the wasteland.

He continued calling their names, his voice growing louder with each attempt.

As time passed, the heat intensified.

It did not feel like ordinary heat. It pressed against his skin and forced its way inward, seeping into muscle and bone. Every breath he took scraped down his throat, dry and rough as if the air itself had been stripped of moisture.

Mirek’s expression tightened slightly.

Under normal circumstances, a beastman’s body would endure extreme conditions without difficulty. Their blood ran strong, their skin resilient, capable of withstanding both freezing winds and scorching summers.

However, this felt different, like a forge stoked to white heat as it invaded his body, filled his lungs, settled in his chest, and spread through him with each breath.

Five hours passed.

Mirek continued moving forward, his steps steady despite the growing strain. Sweat rolled down his body, only to vanish almost instantly against the heated air. The ground beneath his feet grew hotter with each passing moment.

The thick pads on his soles, once durable enough to walk across jagged terrain without injury, began to react.

A faint hiss followed each step.

When he lifted his foot, the rock beneath showed a brief dark imprint where moisture had touched it before disappearing. The skin along his soles tightened, reddened, and began to swell.

Pain followed, starting as a dull pressure, then intensifying with every step he took.

Still, Mirek did not slow down.

His breathing grew heavier, his chest expanding and contracting with controlled effort as he forced air into his lungs despite the burning sensation it caused.

His vision wavered slightly.

The distant horizon blurred, shifting under the rising heat.

He lowered his gaze briefly, looking at his arms. His veins stood out beneath his skin, thick and prominent, pulsing as his body worked double-time to regulate the rising temperature within him.

"Lavayla!" His voice came out rough, his throat dry and strained. "Vai!"

The sound disappeared almost immediately, swallowed by the oppressive stillness.

Mirek stopped.

His chest rose and fell with each breath as he stood in place, his body tense but controlled. He looked down at his hands. The skin had turned a deep red, heat sinking past the surface and pressing into the muscle beneath.

If this continued, even his improved physique from his recent cultivation would fail.

He clenched his jaw, forcing the thought aside.

Then he moved again.

Step by step, he pushed forward, ignoring the sharp sting beneath his feet and the growing strain in his body.

Time passed.

Eventually, something appeared.

At first, it was only a distortion in the distance, a shape breaking the flat, hazy horizon. As Mirek moved closer, the outline grew clearer, separating into multiple forms.

His eyes narrowed.

They were beasts, each one stood on four powerful limbs, their bodies large and heavily built. They resembled bears in structure, but their bodies were devoid of fur. Instead, their skin was thick and dark, stretched tightly over dense muscle. It had a rough, hardened texture, like the surrounding stone.

Their heads were broad, their jaws wide, lined with blunt, crushing teeth. Their eyes locked onto him the moment he came into view.

There were five of them.

Their presence pressed against him even before they moved. A raw, feral hostility radiated from their bodies, thick and suffocating.

They wanted to kill.

Mirek’s stance shifted slightly, his feet planting firmly against the heated ground despite the pain.

The first beast moved.

It lowered its body and pushed off with its hind legs, launching forward. Its weight carried it across the distance quickly, its front limb lifting as it prepared to strike.

Mirek moved the instant it entered his range.

He bent backward, his upper body arching as the beast’s claw swept through the space where his head had been. The force of the swing cut through the air above him.

As his body lowered, he drove energy into his right arm, tightening his muscles.

As the beast’s chest passed over him, he snapped his fist upward in a soaring undercut. His knuckles connected solidly with the underside of its ribcage, the force of the blow jolting through the creature’s massive frame.

The impact sent a dull thud through the air, and the beast’s body hit the ground with a loud bang, dragging across the floor.

He didn’t wait for it to stand back up. He pushed off the ground with his feet, shifting his body to the side as the second beast closed in.

Its massive clawed paw whistled toward the side of his head, but he stepped inside the arc of the swing, closing the distance so the strike passed harmlessly behind his neck. He lowered his shoulder and rammed it into the creature’s foreleg, the collision of bone and muscle forcing the limb to buckle and sending the beast stumbling toward the hot earth.

Before he could follow through, a third predator lunged from his blind side. Its jaws snapped open, aiming a lethal bite at his exposed ribs.

Mirek twisted his torso at the last possible moment, throwing his left forearm up to catch the blow. The beast’s teeth clamped down on his arm with bone-crushing pressure. He gritted his teeth, tensing his hardened muscles to prevent the fangs from sinking into the marrow. With his free right hand, he grabbed the beast by its upper jaw and shoved upward with everything he had while simultaneously yanking his trapped arm downward. The opposing force strained the creature’s jaw hinge until it let out a pained hiss, allowing Mirek to rip his arm free.

A fourth beast charged while he was still resetting his stance.

He shifted his footing, ignoring the searing pain in his feet, and drove a direct kick into the creature’s front knee joint. His heel connected with a sickening crack, the limb snapping backward under the beast’s own weight.

As the predator collapsed forward, Mirek stepped in and brought his elbow down like a hammer onto the crown of its skull. The impact drove the creature’s snout into the dirt, leaving it dazed and gasping.

Just as he prepared to finish it, a heavy force slammed into his side. The fifth beast had approached in total silence, using the chaos to launch a broadside tackle. The impact sent Mirek sprawling across the heated rock, the friction tearing at his skin. He twisted mid-air, avoiding a landing on his spine and instead catching himself on one knee.

The ground burned like an iron griddle against his flesh, but he pushed off instantly, rolling back to his feet before the pack could swarm him.

The beasts regrouped, forming a loose circle around him. Their movements were slower now, more deliberate, as they recognized the lethality of the man standing before them. Mirek straightened his back, his breathing heavy but controlled. Blood ran in thin rivulets down his bitten forearm, the red liquid sizzling as it hit the scorched stone. The heat continued to press against him from all directions, an invisible enemy just as dangerous as the predators circling him, but his gaze remained focused on their next movement.

The beasts lowered their bodies in unison, their limbs spreading for traction against the heated rock. Their eyes remained locked on him, their breathing heavy, their muscles coiling in preparation.

Then they attacked, all at once.

Mirek did not flinch. He stayed low, his fingers curling inward as energy surged through his arms. The muscles along his forearms tightened, veins standing out sharply as his nails lengthened and hardened, transforming into curved, obsidian-like claws that gleamed under the harsh sun.

The first beast lunged straight for his chest, its jaws opening wide. Mirek stepped forward into its path, closing the distance before it could fully extend its strike. His right arm drove forward in a straight line, his claws plunging into the thick hide beneath its jaw. The tips tore through the hardened skin with force, sinking into flesh.

He dragged his arm sideways.

The claws ripped across the creature’s throat, tearing muscle and opening a deep gash. Blood burst outward in a heavy spray as the beast tumbled past him, dead before its body hit the ground.