Okay, Rey, don't fuck this up, because if you do, we won't get another chance. Demon Rey reminded him.

  It was a simple do-or-die situation. So, basically, it was like any other situation he'd been in, ever since he landed in this god forsaken place. The only difference was that he was up against someone who was three ranks higher than him. And if he knew anything about these tigers, it's that they made the ones back home look like depressed house cats with anxiety.

  As soon as the fight had begun, Aearbon vanished. Only Rey's years of fighting experience and his ballooned-up Dexterity saved him. He ducked to the side and got his side raked by the huge tigerman's claws.

  [+1 Perception]

  Rey flinched, but it was nothing but a scratch. Had he stayed where he was, his soul would be awaiting the return of his real body. Since an army of vengeful tigermen stood in his way, he would be going the mindless route pretty soon.

  He was getting to his feet when the humanoid feline returned. Its speed was uncanny, but then he didn't know about Rey's tricks. He threw him aside with Repulsion. Well, 'threw' was a stretch of the word. Aearbon was shot away, but he still landed on all fours, digging his claws into the cracked earth, to keep him stable.

  He growled with the feral growl that made one's hair stand on the back of their necks when facing a murder kitty. So, just a regular Tuesday for most people. The tigerman came at Rey again, but this time, instead of throwing him away, Rey pressed the silver orb in his scythe and activated Gravity's Kiss.

  Aearbon was thrown off balance as he was flung towards Rey. As soon as Aearbon was close, Rey jumped aside and swung his scythe, hoping to leave a nice, long cut along the extra-large Baaghror's side. However, the said Baaghror had other plans, namely, he didn't want to be cut by Rey's scythe, which was sad, because he figured he would've looked nice with a scar or two. It would've really sold the 'do not approach, will kill you' vibe Aearbon was going for.

  Aearbon had twisted in the air and swiped at Rey's scythe and thrown it off course, and quite literally saved his hide. He twisted in the air and landed as dextrously as any gymnast Rey had seen back on earth, which, given his size, was a feat in and of itself.

  The tiger dropped on all fours and roared so loud that it would've made even the bravest of knights piss their pants. It was a good thing Rey wasn't a brave knight, and that his pants were covered in fur, or they would've seen the growing dark spot on his crotch that, strangely, felt warm.

  Aearbon stepped forward, one slow step at a time, and Rey couldn't figure out how to deal with this thing. For he couldn't figure out what he was trying to do. Then Rey blinked, and the tigerman was gone again.

  Rey snapped his head from side to side. It wasn't as if he was moving super fast. There was no dust blowing in the wind, nor was he leaving any footprints. The only thing that he heard was that infernal growling that would make grown men piss their pants, and since he fit that category, he was not immune to its side effects.

  The other tigermen watched in stoic silence, not even giving Rey a clue as to where their leader was. He was sure his heart was one jump scare away from hitting Alt+F4.

  Was Rey usually this scared when fighting stronger opponents that he couldn't see? Did he always have near-heart attacks in situations like these, or did he regret taking up the tigerman's challenge? The answer to all these questions was an unequivocal yes.

  "Mr. Invisible Tiger, sir, if you're wondering if I've shit my pants yet, then I can confirm that they are a solid mustard color," Rey said.

  The growling intensified, but then Rey noticed the first footprint. Rey didn't let his opponent know that he had seen it. He kept his gaze moving in circles, always keeping that spot in his peripheral vision. Then a few moments later, he saw another, and resisted the urge to smile.

  Aearbon was moving in circles around him, but getting closer. Now that he knew where his opponent was, Rey wasn't so scared anymore. If the tiger wouldn't show itself, Rey would make him.

  "You know the tigers in my world are almost extinct," Rey stated calmly.

  That broke the stoic expressions of just about the rest of the Baaghrors. And just like that, Aearbon had his first misstep. Rey's comment must've caught him off guard, so he stepped a little too hard and left another footprint.

  The fucker really is trying to hunt me.

  "It's true," Rey went on. "We hunted them all to near extinction. Last I heard, there are only about two thousand left alive in the wild."

  The first one cracked. "Wild? What do you mean—in the wild?"

  "Oh, did I forget to mention that the tigers in my world are nothing but animals. Sure, they have the same faces, fur, and stripes as you, and they are apex predators, but they still live in jungles and forests. We liked their furs so much that we hunted them down, skinned them, and used their fur as rugs."

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Now, the dam cracked.

  There were lots of roaring and growling along with jeering and snarling. Basically, every noise an enraged tiger makes when it's deciding what part of you to eat first.

  "Lies!" shouted one.

  "Humans are no better than demons," cried another.

  "Humans hunt tigers, what a pathetic lie."

  Then one tiger roared the loudest. It was Thacsar, the one Aearbon had declared as his successor. "Silence! You're interrupting the hunt."

  "Oh, did I mention that our tigers are still beasts that walk on all fours and can't even talk. They literally piss on trees to mark their territory. Maybe your ancestors did that. Wait, isn't your boss tip-toeing on all fours pretending to be one with his ancestral spirit, when he's just scared that I'll make a rug out of him."

  First, he had just cracked the dam. Now it was gushing forth, white-hot, liquid…fury.

  They were full-out screaming insults at Rey and his entire clan. By their logic, he should've found this infuriating, but he could barely hold himself together. They were giving away where their dear leader was, because they kept stealing glances at where Rey suspected him to be.

  Before the leader changed positions, Rey charged Aearbon. A roar thundered and silenced everyone. It came from the spot that Rey was aiming for. He was sure it was Aearbon. Then, at the last moment, he activated Repulsion, and though he saw nothing, it felt like he was pushing on something. A moment later, something gave, and the tigerman behind Aearbon crashed to the ground on his own.

  Rey didn't give him a moment's respite. He used Attraction and pulled him towards him, as he ran for the invisible tiger. He jumped in the air and brought down his scythe in an overhead arc.

  [+1 Perception]

  His scythe pierced flesh as blood splurted out from an invisible wound. Rey quickly shot the massive tigerman into the ground with Repulsion, but not fast enough. The Baagror's claws raked his right leg bloody. It wasn't a deep wound, but it was enough that made it difficult to put weight on his leg.

  "Oh, you fucking striped motherfucker." That was not taken lightly.

  [+1 Endurance]

  Some of them were ready to break their boss's command and jump Rey right then and there.

  Though Rey didn't come out of that skirmish unscathed, he did ensure that Aearbon's invisibility was null and void. The blood from his wound dribbled down his body, clearly marking where the massive demon-like Tiger was.

  Aearbon dropped his invisibility skill, which was most definitely a highly evolved form of the Camouflage skill. Rey was quite familiar with that skill, and it didn't provide nearly enough invisibility as this Weretiger had shown.

  Unfortunately, Rey had missed any vital organs and had only hit his shoulder. More specifically, his scythe had injured him right where his arm connected to his shoulder. If Rey had been even slightly more to the left, he might have hit a major artery.

  "What gave me away?" Aearbon asked.

  "Your people did," Rey replied. "I know you guys are all about respect, so consider me your mortal enemy, because all I do is disrespect."

  Aearbon's people didn't dare meet his eyes. Whenever his gaze wandered over to them, they found something fascinating to look at on the ground.

  "Now, can we do this"? Rey said. "Both of us are losing blood. I would hate for the spectators to lose on a good blood letting because we wasted too long talking."

  Aearbon nodded and dashed for Rey, like he knew he would. So, Rey dashed in the opposite direction. Since there wasn't much space, he quickly pivoted and ran in a perpendicular direction, followed by another swift turn, so that finally they were coming at each other.

  From a speed perspective, the tiger was faster than him, but not by much, though still enough that he would eventually overtake him. But where Rey lacked in speed, he more than made up for it in battle experience.

  Rey had taken Aearbon by surprise with his quick turns. He readied his weapon and swung at his head. If it connected, it would take off his head, and Rey would no doubt earn another rank, but the tiger didn't want to part with his head so easily.

  He ducked and rolled forward and fell right into Rey's trap. In his other hand, he was holding one of his daggers, which he shot at the tiger with Repulsion. The dagger pierced Aearbon's side and, with all the movement of the roll, ripped it open quite nicely.

  To his credit, he didn't cry out as he yanked the bloody dagger out.

  Rey activated Gravity's Kiss and dragged the bleeding tigerman back to him. The dagger fell from his grip as the pain of the rough handling hit him. He was dead; even his friends knew that. They all had sad faces as they knew Rey was about to finish him off.

  Rey noticed something that gave him pause. Something that was there but given that he was fighting a death match with an invisible tiger, slipped his notice.

  The souls of the tigers that he had killed had fully manifested and must've been for some time now, as their owners had shown up to reclaim them, and they hadn't come alone. They had brought with them a hefty amount of demons, along with what looked to be most of the demons residing in Terga.

  Honorable Aearbon, instead of taking advantage of Rey's distractedness, looked at what Rey was looking at.

  "How can you call yourselves apex predators when you missed that?" Rey pointed to the big group of demons descending on them.

  He quickly surveyed the situation and realized there was only one way he could get out of it alive. He would have to give up on a shit ton of experience. He could always get more experience if he lived.

  He searched his satchel and found what he was looking for—a Healing potion.

  He would need to buy more since he had two more remaining. He quickly drank a swig and splashed some on his clawed-out leg. His injuries sealed up rather quickly, though it left nice, long scars on his leg.

  Aearbon's crew had forgotten all about Rey as they turned to face the oncoming horde. Rey turned to his opponent, who was struggling to keep his ribs from poking out of his body.

  "Aearbon, listen, and don't fucking talk," Rey said. "I know that without you, your friends are cooked or, in this case, digested. So, let's put a pause to our death match—"

  "There is no honor in—"

  "To shit with your honor!" Rey snapped. "I'm more worried about saving myself, and maybe you can save your friends in the process. So, I'm making a change in our terms."

  Rey poured the rest of the healing potion on the tigerman's wounds. He could've poured it down his throat, but then he didn't want to stick his hand anywhere near those fangs. Aearbon's wounds started to close almost immediately.

  "What are you—"

  Rey cut him off again. "Since I spared your life and healed your wounds, you owe me. You can repay me for sparing your life by clearing out all those demons while I make my swift escape. And for healing your wounds, there will be no repercussions from you, or your own, for all those that I killed. Understood? Good."

  With that, Rey picked up his dagger from the ground and ran in the opposite direction of the demons, and the bewildered tigerman, who was too stunned to speak.