"Rahhh!" I roared, bringing out all my strength and jumped to the side, barely dodging the palm again.
But this time, the stones broken from its palm hit me in my side. Fortunately, its trajectory was slightly outwards. So, after hitting me, punching a hole through my shirt and tearing the layer of flesh, it flew away.
The pain was intense, but I didn't pay it any attention even as my clenched teeth made cracking sounds and the capillaries in my eyes seemed to burst, filling my vision with blood.
Instead… I jumped.
The desperation helped me burst forth with way more force than I was capable of, though it made my calf muscles spasmed.
I grabbed onto the fur on its left shoulders, then grabbed the bone spikes.
Shua!
Ignoring its palm coming to swat me away, I swung myself around it, releasing the bone spike before grabbing tightly onto the fur on the back of its neck.
Crack!
Its palm landed on its bone spike that cracked.
Roar!
The beast roared in rage, shaking violently to throw me off.
But I held on with my dear life while letting go of the breath I had been holding back.
Earlier, I had noticed that its hands, especially the biceps, were too thick. So, it shouldn't be able to reach its back.
Seeing my life flash before my eyes, I took the risk, and fortunately, it indeed couldn't reach back.
I was safe… but not for long.
I looked around, trying to locate its weakness, any weakness that I could somehow take advantage of.
A moment later, my bloodied eyes flashed.
"…There."
I noticed a gap between its thick fur and bone plating near its neck.
Unfortunately, I had lost my stone at some point…
My gaze shifted to the cracked spike on its shoulder.
Taking a deep breath, I shifted my body weight towards its shoulder, then released one hand, grabbed the bone spike and pulled.
Snap!
The spike, barely connected to its bone plating, snapped.
As the beast roared, I gripped the sharp bone spike properly, gathered every ounce of strength in my body and stabbed it into the gap between fur and bone plating.
ROAR!
Even though I barely managed to penetrate its thick skin, the beast let out a furious roar, nearly bursting my eardrums.
Then, suddenly, it suddenly began rushing backwards.
"FUC–!" I roared as it slammed its back into the cavern wall.
BOOM!
My already injured back was completely lacerated. Before I could feel the pain, I was squeezed with so much force that I felt I was going to pop like a water balloon.
I couldn't breathe.
My vision had gone white.
And I was losing consciousness.
'No! Not yet!' I roared inwardly to stimulate my mind.
I knew… If I lost consciousness now, I wasn't going to wake up ever again.
Right then, the beast pulled away from the wall, perhaps to see if I was splattered across the wall or maybe in preparation for another collision.
I took a sharp, short breath to fill my lungs with some oxygen, then tightened my grip around the bone spike and began stabbing with all my might.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
However, I wasn't able to deal any damage.
With every hit, I could feel myself becoming weaker, the last burst of strength fading.
At the same time, I could see the beast was about to slam against the wall again. This time, I might not be as lucky and would end up being crushed into a paste.
"…Damn it…" I roared in frustration, helplessness and… fear.
—
[Viewer 'AshenQueen': He is too weak.]
[Viewer 'IronColossus': Can't even pierce its skin.]
—
"Then help me."
I growled.
"Do something, you useless fuckers!"
Immediately after I cursed, my heart fell.
If there were chances of them taking pity on me and helping me, they had definitely plummeted to zero now.
…or Not.
[A High-Tier Viewer Has Sent a Gift.]
Everything seemed to freeze.
My eyes widened, my dying hoping flaring back to life
[You have received: Skill – "Piercing Strike" (1 Use)]
Instantly, I could feel that the bone spike in my hand had become a lethal weapon.
Roar!
The Cave Guardian roared, stepped backwards, about to slam me again.
But I acted before it could.
Raised my hand, tightened my grip and… struck, not the gap, but the lower part of its skull.
It was a gamble.
There was no guarantee it would die from the strike in the gap between its fur and the bone plating.
To kill it, I might have to stab it deeply a few times at the very least, but not only the skill I was granted was a single-use item, I could tell I wouldn't be able to make the second strike even if the beast didn't slam me into the wall and just stood there without doing anything.
So, I had no choice but to gamble and hope the skill this higher being gave me would be enough to pierce through the beast skull.
—
[Piercing Strike Activated]
—
SHHHHK!
The bone spike… pierced into its skull like a hot knife into butter.
Shua!
The Cave Guardian froze in place.
Ra–!
After letting out a weak roar…
Thud!
It became limp and collapsed.
I fell with it and rolled away from it a few moments later.
My breathing was a string of broken gasps and my vision was hazy, but there was a wide smile on his face.
"I… survived." I declared.
Despite my serious condition, the crippling pain constantly shooting through me, I was feeling amazing.
How could I not when I had looked death into face, not one but several times in such a short amount of time and came out alive?
How electrifying, though dreadful, was it?
—
[Stream Ended]
[Peak Viewers: 9]
[Total Gifts Received: 1]
—
The screen flickered.
[Broadcast Evaluation: Excellent]
[Viewer Satisfaction: High]
[Performance Grade: A]
—
"Haha. Those bastards… So my suffering was very amusing… cough, cough… to them." I laughed weakly.
At this moment, the screen flickered again.
[Beginner Mission Completed.]
[Rewards Granted]
→ Basic Healing Potion ×1
→ Stream Points ×100
'Ni…ce.' I thought and... lost consciousness.