The Discarded Son's Skill Market
Chapter 30: Another mortal battle

Chapter 30: Another mortal battle

Zaid also looked the other way. If giving up everything those beasts were worth was the price he had to pay to get something so valuable, he would gladly pay it.

However, he realized it wasn’t that easy. He had to fight a Rank D Winged Cat up close, while the two of them tried to find a way to immobilize it with poison so they could force it to enter into the contract.

He had to fight a Rank D!

His level was barely 3; he was among the lowest tiers of Rank F. His stat points were barely noticeable, slowly approaching 25 points.

This Rank D character could be up to 20 levels higher than him. The minimum stat points for it was 115 stat points—for each one!

The difference was just too great.

Did he even stand a chance?

The offer was tempting, but Zaid shook his head. "No..." He wanted to say something to refuse, but suddenly his eyes met the cat’s.

A cold sweat ran down his spine. He couldn’t finish his sentence; he sensed imminent danger and grabbed Scarlett by the hand, pulling her aside.

They both tumbled to the ground. The tree where they had been standing just a moment earlier split in half as powerful, gleaming claws tore through it.

The Winged Cat appeared right where they had been, stepping on the air as if it were solid ground; the tip of its tail was ablaze. And its keen eyesight quickly found its targets.

It had already eaten all the beasts on the other side, including the Rabbits.

There was nothing tying the duo to this place, yet Scarlett stood up and quickly began running to put some distance between her and it. As she ran, she threw a series of glass vials that shattered and covered the surrounding area with a blinding poison.

"We have ten minutes—the poison won’t affect you because you’ve already taken my antidotes!"

Zaid realized she was asking him to fight that cat. "Are you crazy? There’s no way we can win!"

"Escaping is impossible, too. A winged cat’s senses can’t be fooled that easily once it’s locked onto us as targets!" she shouted back at him.

Zaid froze. ’Shit.’ He leaped backward and dodged another attack.

He was forced to look straight ahead. This was going to be dangerous, but... Wasn’t it a good idea to take risks to reap great rewards?

He swallowed his fears and tried to ignore the fact that he was five times weaker than his opponent.

He gripped the dagger tightly and focused on his opponent. As Scarlett had said, even though he could see that the cat had been affected by this blinding poison, he didn’t have that kind of problem.

He could see everything around him clearly; he reached his highest level of concentration since becoming an Awakened One and went to confront the cat.

His first attacks from a blind spot struck the cat on the back, causing it great pain. The precision of the attacks caused the pain to intensify with each blow.

However, it was that pain that the cat used to pinpoint its enemy’s location, and it spun around immediately. Its two front paws burst into flames, as did the tip of its tail, and it sliced through the air before it.

Two blades of fire shot out from its hooves and hurtled toward Zaid’s head.

He wasn’t caught off guard; he managed to defend himself. However, his body was sent flying backward, out of the poisonous fog, until he slammed into a tree; his back cracked with pain.

The cat followed him and managed to escape the poisonous fog, regaining its senses immediately. He stared intently at Zaid before pouncing on him.

However, just at that moment, another vial of poison fell and struck the cat directly. Once again, the poisonous mist spread in all directions, giving Zaid time to jump out of the way.

The cat’s hooves, ablaze with fire, passed right before his eyes; if he hadn’t moved, they would have sliced his head in half.

"How dangerous..." Despite that, he’d managed to dodge it again. Suddenly, he was filled with determination and confidence.

’I can do this!’ he told himself.

He rolled across the floor and attacked the cat’s paws. Then its back, and finally its tail.

"RAWWRRRR!" The cat’s loud, angry growl didn’t scare him.

He kept striking, buying Scarlett enough time to start her attack... The venom didn’t take long to take effect.

She was having a good time, too, but she had to wait a while before she could strike. And when the time was right, basic but powerful poisons struck the cat’s body.

Paralyzing, stinging, stomach-aching, foul-smelling...

The cat was sprayed with a variety of very simple but effective poisons. It never imagined it’d be attacked by a couple of weak lunatics using such horrendous poisons.

Especially the one that causes stomach pain...!

It’d much rather be attacked by a heavenly sword than that!

Zaid saw in the cat’s eyes the chance to deliver a final blow. So he rolled beneath it and swung his dagger to strike at its stomach—the most vulnerable spot: its weakness.

"RAWWWR!" An angry growl echoed at that moment, and suddenly, there was an explosion.

The cat’s body burst into flames!

Its strength increased dramatically, and a suffocating pressure prevented Zaid from breathing or moving.

The cat’s blue eyes turned crimson from the flame burning within them. It wasn’t rage. It was real fire.

Its hind legs managed to land a powerful blow on Zaid; he was sent flying, and blood spurted from his mouth like a fountain. His chest and arms, which he had used to defend himself, were deeply wounded.

His body rolled across the ground. It struck roots and rocks until it crashed into a tree, where it finally came to a stop.

"Ugh..." Blood trickled from his mouth. Several of his bones were broken. Yet determination still shone in his eyes.

His vision, clouded by blood, couldn’t make out the cat clearly, but he did see that burning torch coming toward him. It was fierce. It was deadly...

As he struggled to catch his breath, that burning torch was already upon him.