Chapter 253: Mirage Vs Black Panther Moon appeared inside the gate. The beast standing before him was a large panther crouched on all fours, its slim body covered in fur so dark it seemed to absorb light. Two crimson orbs adorned its sockets, tracking every micro-movement that Moon initiated. The panther released a low, rumbling growl that echoed through the space, slowly approaching the human challenger standing approximately one hundred feet away. Unlike the Bellywig, this beast was more cautious of Moon. Moon remained calm, unbothered by the beast approaching him like a predator stalking prey. His posture was relaxed, showing none of the fear or tension others would display when facing an S-rank threat alone. Moon’s eyes locked directly with the panther’s burning red gaze. In an instant, the standoff shattered. The panther exploded into action, its slim but muscular body launching forward with such tremendous speed that it became almost a blur of motion. The distance between them collapsed at an alarming rate. Moon’s lips curved into a slight smirk. Instead of preparing a defensive spell or dodging, he summoned Mirage from his Beast Taming Space. The white, glorious horse appeared beside Moon, his magnificent mane flowing as he spotted the charging threat. The panther immediately halted its sprint upon spotting a new threat. The new target—a horse that radiated its own dangerous presence—had changed its plans entirely. "Mirage, do you want to flex your muscles?" Moon asked, offering his companion a choice rather than issuing a command. Mirage neighed sharply in an enthusiastic response, striking the stone floor with one powerful hoof before charging toward the panther with equally terrifying speed. Moon smiled at the enthusiasm, but did not stop him. ’Mirage is nearly S-rank himself now after his recent evolution,’ Moon thought as he watched the two beasts close on each other. ’Letting him fight opponents that are stronger will provide combat experience that will accelerate his development and make him even more formidable in the future.’ The collision was spectacular. Mirage’s fin-like tail struck like a third limb with surprising versatility. The tail lashed out with the cutting power of a bladed weapon, slicing through the panther’s hide and drawing first blood in their battle. The panther roared in fury, as its felt its skin open up from the surprising attack. Mirage’s kicks were equally devastating, each powerful strike from his hooves sending the panther stumbling backward several feet whenever the attacks landed cleanly. But the panther itself wasn’t an easy opponent by any means. Its incredible speed and nimble, flexible body allowed it to dodge many of Mirage’s strikes entirely. When it did land counterattacks, the panther’s claws raked across Mirage’s body, drawing blood and creating injuries that accumulated over the course of the battle. Moon watched the exchange for approximately ten minutes, analyzing both of their fighting styles, assessing Mirage’s performance, whilst also understanding the panther’s strong points. Finally, he decided to intervene. Mirage was losing the battle, that much was clear from the mounting injuries and gradually slowing movements. But the margin wasn’t large, he wasn’t being completely dominated. The white horse was holding his own against an S-rank beast, even if he couldn’t quite achieve victory. With more experience or perhaps one more evolutionary advancement, he could potentially match this level of threat. "Alright, that’s enough, Mirage," Moon called out firmly. "You’ve done well. You can rest now and recover in my Taming Space." Mirage neighed in protest, his competitive spirit clearly wanting to continue the fight despite his growing injuries and exhaustion. Mirage had pride, and was determine to prove himself. But Moon shook his head, "Don’t worry, we have plenty more beasts to fight before we leave this place. You need to be in top condition for those upcoming battles, not waste your energy finishing this one." Mirage finally succumbed to Moon’s reasoning, and accepted his command, returning to the Beast Taming Space where the restoring properties would begin healing his wounds immediately. ’Oh? My mana is decreasing...the restoring properties of the pocket space isn’t free, it takes my mana. Interesting.’ Moon thought before trying to stop his mana, and it worked. ’I have the ability to turn on the healing effect or not...that’s cool.’ Moon then activated the healing effect of his [Beastmaster] skill once more. The mana taken out was negligible at best, and he had no trouble of keeping it on. Moon then turned his full attention to the panther, which now bore light to moderate injuries from its clash with Mirage. Scratches and cuts filled its previously perfect dark fur, and one of its legs showed slight favoring, clearly injured. The panther stared back at Moon with malevolent crimson eyes, trying to read his next move, to determine what this strange human would do now. Lightning began crackling around Moon’s left hand, blue-white streaks dancing across his fingers with increasing speed and intensity. Simultaneously, [Ignite] began forming above his staff in his right hand, crimson flames coalescing. Moon assessed the wounded panther and decided it wasn’t worth the mana that [Lightning Raiju] would require. The beast was already injured by Mirage’s previous attacks. More importantly, he had studied its fighting style for ten full minutes. He understood how the panther would move, where it preferred to dodge, what attack patterns it favored. Meanwhile, the panther had no such advantages against him, it had never seen Moon fight. He could handle this with a few well-executed combination strikes instead. The panther growled low in its throat, sensing the building energy radiating from Moon, its muscles tensing as it prepared to dodge or counterattack whatever came next. Moon’s smile widened with anticipation. ’Time to finish this quickly and move on to the next target.’ But before Moon could release his prepared lightning attack, the panther suddenly began moving aggressively, not towards him, but laterally around the cavern space, using its speed to create unpredictable angles. Moon’s eyebrows rose, ’It’s making itself harder to hit by constantly changing position and distance.’ With two spells fully formed and ready to release, Moon began walking forward, slowly reducing the available space the panther could use to maneuver. His advance forced the beast into an increasingly confined area, limiting its evasive options. His two spells remained charged and ready, waiting for the perfect moment to unleash them— ZAP! The lightning bolt left Moon’s left hand when he judged the timing was good, the lightning flashing across the distance—but it failed to connect. The panther had kicked a nearby boulder—roughly the size of a large dog—directly into the lightning’s path. The spell struck the stone instead, giving the panther enough time to move away from its path. Moon’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. ’It’s actively using nearby objects as shields. It didn’t employ that tactic at all during its fight with Mirage.’ Moon immediately released [Ignite], sending the fireball streaking through the air, not aimed directly at the panther for a killing blow, but positioned to cut off one of its primary escape routes and further reduce its maneuvering space. The flames exploded against the cavern floor, creating a wall of crackling, burning fire that blocked off an entire section of the chamber. The panther snarled at Moon, finding its options increasingly limited. ’It used a boulder as a shield. That means it’s aware of the loose rocks scattered around the cavern and knows their locations. It will likely try the same tactic again if I force another exchange.’ Moon began channeling more lightning in his left hand, making the buildup obvious and threatening to the panther. He advanced again, driving the panther toward a section of the cavern where several car-sized boulders were clustered together. The panther’s red eyes tracked the gathering lightning, its legs ready to explode at once. Moon released the lightning bolt. As predicted, the panther immediately pivoted toward the nearest boulder, its powerful hind leg cocking back to kick the stone into the lightning’s path just as it had done successfully moments before. The instant before the panther’s paw made contact with the boulder, Moon thrust his staff toward the ground. A sharp stone spike erupted from the boulder’s surface, emerging exactly where the panther’s striking paw was about to land. The panther couldn’t stop its committed kick. And, the paw drove deep onto the spike, impaling itself through flesh and between bones. ROAR! The panther’s shriek of agony echoed through the cavern. It tried desperately to pull free, but the spike had penetrated too deeply, effectively pinned in place for a few precious seconds. At that exact moment, with the panther immobilized and vulnerable, Moon released [Ignite]. The fireball struck the beast in a direct attack. BOOM! The explosion consumed the panther entirely, flames washing over its trapped body mercilessly. The beast’s fur was set on fire immediately, the fire spreading rapidly across its body as it screamed in agony. The panther thrashed violently for several seconds, but that didn’t last long as Moon released a lightning strike that paralyzed its movements. Then it collapsed, the broken stone spike still embedded deep in its pawn, and its body smoking. Silence returned to the cavern, broken only by the crackling of dying flames. [You have killed the level 25 S-Rank Panthora] [You have gained 1,600 Lives.] Moon approached the corpse, dismissing the earth spike so he could store the body properly. Although the beast had tried its best, it had no chance against Moon. It never did. He stored the corpse in his ring, securing the valuable core, then turned toward where the exit gate should manifest. [Kill Fifty level 25 creatures classified at S-Rank power level alone. 6/50]