The first wave came with a blend of fury and strategy. The five Howlers moved differently from the Stalkers. They climbed the trees and used it to their advantage.

They were leaner, faster, built for speed and coordination. Their fur bristled as they leapt from branch to branch, their movements smooth and eerily synchronized. Their growls weren't mindless… they were signals.

One barked short and sharp, and two split wide to flank. Another gave a long howl, and the three in the trees adjusted their approach, circling above.

Jayden tilted his head back, his massive chest rising with a slow inhale. His sharp ears picked up every pad of their claws on bark, every scrape of branches. "So… wolves that think they're soldiers." He smirked. "Cute."

Then the first struck.

A Howler burst from the underbrush, snapping at his ankle to distract. At the same moment, another lunged from behind, jaws wide for his hamstring. Jayden moved fast despite his size.. he lifted his leg just enough, letting the first one swipe air, then snapped his heel down mid-lunge.

CRUNCH.

The wolf's skull caved under the impact, its head flattening into the dirt. Before he could pivot, the one behind him latched onto his hamstring, fangs sinking in. Pain flared like fire.

Jayden gritted his teeth, grabbed the beast by its tail, and with a grunt of rage, swung it upward like a hammer. It smashed into a tree trunk, ribs cracking, before sliding lifelessly down the bark.

He had no time to breathe.

Three came at once, from above. They dropped from branches like black meteors, claws glinting. Jayden raised his forearms just in time, blocking one with his massive arm, but the other two raked his shoulders and chest. His skin tore open, warm blood pouring down.

Snarling, he grabbed one mid-air by the throat, squeezed until he felt cartilage crush, and hurled its lifeless body into its packmate. They tumbled across the dirt in a heap of broken limbs.

The last one from the trio landed clean, its claws dug into Jayden's upper arm, teeth sinking into his forearm. Blood sprayed.

Jayden roared, his massive arm bulging as he flexed hard. The wolf's jaw snapped under the sheer force, its head crushed between his forearm and bicep. He ripped its limp body off and threw it aside like garbage.

"Four down." His breath steamed in the cold night, golden eyes blazing.

The last howler circled, its eyes fixed on Jayden. Then it darted left, moving faster than before. Jayden tried to catch it but the howler was faster... It sank its fangs deep into his calf, teeth grinding against bone.

Jayden grunted, pain exploding up his leg. He staggered, almost dropping to one knee. The wolf thrashed, refusing to let go.

Jayden's face twisted. "Fine. Have it your way."

Then he bent down, seized the wolf's hind legs, and pulled. Hard.

SHHHKKK!

The sound was horrific… flesh tearing, bone splitting. With one brutal rip, Jayden tore the beast in two. Blood drenched his arms and sprayed across the dirt like rain. He tossed the twitching halves aside, chest heaving, his massive body soaked in gore.

The Howlers lay broken around him, the clearing reeking of iron and wet fur.

Jayden straightened, wiped his face with his forearm, leaving a smear of red across his jaw.

The remaining beasts shifted uneasily, their heavy tails dragging across the dirt. But they wouldn't give up. It was too late for that.

Luna's voice finally broke the silence in his head. [Jayden… your pulse. It's climbing. If you keep this pace, you'll burn through your stamina before the fight's over]

Jayden smirked through the blood. "Then I'll just end it faster." he said, eyes fixed on the tremor gators.

They thundered forward, the earth trembling beneath their armored bulk.

The ground shook as the Tremor Gators charged, tails whipping, armored hides gleaming with a dull, earthen sheen. They were huge, each one longer than a truck, jaws like a guillotine, their sheer weight making the clearing tremble with every step.

Jayden stood his ground. His golden eyes narrowed, chest heaving from the fight with the Howlers, blood dripping from gashes across his arms and legs.

His Earth Smasher form was already a monster, but the Gators were different. Their scales were thick, their skulls like stone. His brute force alone might not be enough.

"Alright… let's make this fair," he muttered under his breath.

Then he crouched, and pressed both massive hands flat against the cold dirt.

The earth responded instantly.

SHRRRRK!

His skin darkened, roughened, becoming the same hue and texture as the ground beneath him. Cracks spidered across his arms and shoulders as if stone were forming under his flesh. His muscles bulged even more, cords of stone-like ridges layering over them. His veins pulsed a molten orange glow as the ground's essence bled into him.

A guttural growl rumbled from his chest. In seconds, his entire upper body was sheathed in jagged earth-armor plates, thick and brutal. His forearms were massive stone gauntlets, fingers ending in claws like carved obsidian.

His chest looked like it had been sculpted from granite, ridged and unbreakable. Even his face had taken on a sharper, harsher edge… part man, part living statue.

He rose, towering over the field, the ground cracking beneath his heavier steps.

The Tremor Gators paused and hesitated for just a fraction of a second, but it was enough to stop them.

Jayden bared his teeth in a savage grin. "Let's see how your shells hold up to mine."

The first Gator lunged, maw wide, snapping for his torso. Jayden didn't dodge. He slammed his gauntleted fist upward into its lower jaw. The impact was like a cannon shot…

CRACK!

The beast's skull snapped back violently, teeth shattering, its body lifting clean off the ground from the sheer force before it crashed onto its back, legs flailing.

Jayden roared and pounced, both fists raised. He brought them down hammer-style into its chest.

BOOOOM!

The earth split under the impact, the Gator's ribcage caving in with a wet crunch. Blood spurted from its throat as it writhed, then went still.

One down.

The second and third came from his flanks. Jayden spun on his heel, his stone-armored fist backhanding one across the snout so hard its head whipped sideways, jaw snapping out of joint. The other sank its teeth into his arm, but this time, instead of flesh, its fangs scraped against solid rock. Sparks flew.

Jayden snarled. "Die," He grabbed its lower jaw with one hand, upper jaw with the other, and ripped.

The gator's head split in two, torn clean apart down the middle. Gore splattered across his chest and face as he tossed the twitching halves aside like trash.

The backhanded Gator staggered back, dazed, but Jayden wasn't done. He charged forward, shoulder-slamming it with so much force its armored body launched through a tree. The trunk splintered, collapsing in a rain of branches as the beast's body crumpled beneath. Dead.

Three down.

The remaining three gators bellowed and moved in a coordinated fashion. Two came head-on, jaws snapping, while the last one circled behind, tails whipping like spiked clubs.

Jayden crouched low, slammed both fists into the ground, and pulled.

The dirt and rock around his body rose, layering onto his armor, thickening into a jagged second shell. Spikes formed along his shoulders, forearms, and even down his spine. His silhouette doubled in mass… he looked less like a man now and more like a living siege engine.

The frontal Gator lunged for his throat. Jayden met it with both arms wide, catching its jaws mid-snap. Its teeth scraped and sparked against his stone gauntlets as he forced the beast's mouth open wider and wider. His muscles bulged, veins glowing molten, until—

CRRRAAAACK!

The gator's skull snapped at once. Its head flopped limply as he hurled the corpse aside, making the ground quake.

The last two struck next. Their tails whipped like whips, each blow strong enough to split stone. Jayden raised his arm to block…

THWACK!

One tail struck, sending shards of his outer armor flying, the impact reverberating through his bones. He grunted, staggered.

Another tail lashed across his back, cutting a shallow gouge even through the rock plates. Another slammed into his ribs, knocking him sideways.

Jayden spat blood, eyes blazing. Then he lunged forward with insane speed and grabbed the nearest Gator's tail mid-swing, dug his stone claws into its scales, and yanked it upward.

The beast roared, dragged helplessly as Jayden spun in a circle, swinging the massive reptile like a flail.

He smashed it into the other Gator with brutal force.

BOOOOM!

Both beasts collided, bones cracking, blood spraying. Jayden didn't stop… he swung again,

CRASH!

And again,

CRUNCH!

And again… until their bodies were little more than pulped meat and scale fragments.

Jayden let go of the beast, its corpse collapsing with a dull THUD. Six Tremor Gators. All dead.

The system screen flashed in his vision, notifying him of the tons of exp he had farmed.

The clearing was a graveyard of broken, mangled corpses, the scent of blood and stone dust hanging thick in the air.

Jayden's chest heaved. His stone armor was cracked in places, blood leaking from cuts beneath, but his grin was feral. He had defeated so many beasts on his own, it was exciting.

Luna's voice whispered, her tone mixed awe and concern. [You're pushing your limits, Jayden… but gods, that was brutal]

Jayden spat to the side, rolling his shoulders, spikes shedding fragments of dust. "Indeed. But I'm not done yet. Who's next?" he said, glancing about the clearing.

But it was silent, peaceful, devoid of any living creature besides him… and a single razorback.

It was the last beast standing. Alive. Quivering in fear like a lizard in front of a crocodile.

Jayden's grin widened. "What do we have here?"