Chapter 7 The Black Panther

• Some minutes later, both friends were finally dropped in a mountainous region. As soon as they landed, Clark observed their surroundings as he slowly nodded in satisfaction.
• “I prefer this man. At least, I can see far and have more obstacles to take cover,” he told his friend, who was also observing the area.
• “Clark, I want us to come out on top, this competition. Let’s find a place to camp, as our defensive fortress before advancing”. Leo said in a soft tone, as he turned to look at his friend.
• Clark simply grunted in reply, as they quickly found a cliff with enough cover to keep them from the prying eyes of the exobeasts. They dropped their bags, prepared, and went outside to set up a defensive perimeter.
• Clark decided to naturally wield the sniper, as he was better than his friend in marksmanship. Or better still, Leo was just bad with accuracy hence the drunken hands' nickname. They quickly set their makeshift perimeter up, without any further delay.
• After settling down, Leo decided to go down and search for any exobeast nearby. They had no intention to laze around. Clark warned him to not leave the range of the sniper rifle before he left.
• “Unfortunately, the bullets for the sniper are limited, so we’ll have to limit its use”, Clark lamented, as his friend quickly disappeared from his sight. Exobeasts are not your everyday beasts, so it was only natural that it took time to find one.
• As Leo searched, he found an augmented snake and a cat. He conveniently killed them both for meat as he kept them in a designated spot, to retrieve them when going back. Not long after he killed the cat, he was beginning to get distracted before he heard loud thudding sounds coming from his front.
• He decisively retreated, as he remembered that exobeasts had a highly sensitive sense of smell. He was not sure if he encountered an exobeast, but it was still better to be cautious.
• “There’s a high chance that it’s coming for the cat, following the scent of its blood if it is an exobeast. Shit, I can’t take on an exobeast alone,” he worriedly thought.
• As he thought in distress, Clark arranged himself to get a good shot angle as he already saw the animal. It was a ferocious-looking black panther. It quickly reached where his friend kept the cat and immediately bit down, wolfing down the fresh meat.
• He kept his aim on it, as he allowed his friend to stealthily retreat to their little fortress. After Leo was near, he hid behind a rock while quickly making a sign with his hand for the operation to begin.
• Boom!! Clark initiated the battle, as a bullet quickly left the rifle. The bullet arrived at its destination in less than 2 seconds, accurately destroying the big cat’s left eye. It hissed in pain as it glared up with its other eye in rage, while blood flowed down.
• He conveniently released another bullet, as it quickly flew off. He slightly expected to just get its other eye but was not too surprised as the panther shifted its head with extreme speed. The bullet scraped past its skin. Blood came from the shallow wound, as it finally charged forward in rage.
• Its speed was above his expectations. Combined with the rocky hills on the way, he could hardly see it. He still shot at it despite this; another bullet finally connected to its leg. It staggered a bit, but still bolted forward despite the pain it must be in.
• On seeing this, he quickly made some calculations as he left the sniper rifle behind. He rushed forward a little to the front of where his friend hid brandishing his dual automatic laser pistols.
• Due to the extreme speed, it was moving at, the panther was so near now that it directly faced him. He fearlessly unleashed hell on it, as the pistols sprayed red laser fire on its thick hide. It avoided being hit on its head, but the laser beams still sprayed at its hardened back flesh, inflicting shallow injuries on it.
• The big cat dived forward, baring its fangs at him. He already predicted this reaction, as he fell backward while still shooting at it. It suddenly clawed at his hands with increased speed, as it realized that it couldn’t get to him due to the momentum it was moving with.
• He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his hands as blood flowed freely from his hands. He dropped the pistol from that hand due to the pain. He forced the scream trying to escape from his mouth back, as he quickly got up.
• Fortunately, somebody got his back as Leo quickly leaped at the falling panther.
• With his sword in his right hand, one dagger on his left, he landed on the panther as he stabbed its neck with his sword. Steadying himself with the sword, he tried stabbing its head with the dagger repeatedly.
• Unfortunately for him, this panther was far more resilient to damage and intelligent than he thought. It moved and struggled hard despite the pain, as he was thrown off its back.
• He was caught off guard, as he bashed his head against a rock. It seemed the big cat finally recognized their strength as it suddenly hesitated on if to retreat.
• Its innate bloodthirstiness quickly overwhelmed its intelligence after hesitating for only 3 seconds. Despite all the pains it felt and the blood gushing from its neck. The panther persevered and tried to finish its opponent off with a bite to his neck, as it saw him dizzy.
• Luckily, Clark already recovered as he quickly unsheathed his sword slashing at it. The panther noticed as it jumped forward dodging the sword strike.
• It immediately turned around growling. He expected it’s turning around as he threw a dagger at it, trying to get its other eye.
• The black panther realized late, but instinct kicked in as it reflexively clawed with its front limbs. It succeeded at its motive as the dagger’s trajectory was altered, only slicing its face.
• Blood sprayed down, almost covering its whole head. It finally realized that its life was threatened as it bolted away at full speed, blurring Clark’s vision.
• Instead of being sad about his prey escaping, Clark felt relieved as he suddenly discovered that his back was drenched with sweat. He finally remembered his friend, as he ran to him and helped him up.
• Leo was bleeding from his head as his partner helped him to the tent they made.
• Clark tied his friend’s head with his shirt, as he told him to rest. Leo could finally relax his tense nerves, as he slept almost immediately due to tiredness.
• “Hmmm,” he sighed as he suddenly felt weak after recalling the fight. “Jesus, just our first encounter and we almost died”, he exclaimed trepidatiously.
• He silently encouraged himself as he lied down to rest; “you can do this Clark; I will later remember these experiences and smile one day. I hope so”. It sounded weird, but it was an impressive source of motivation to him.