"Cough..."
"Cough... Cough..."
Dust filled my lungs, drying my throat.
"Huh..."
"I'm... alive?"
There was no blood.
No broken bones.
I slowly looked up.
The Cavetroll stood there, staring down at me.
A smug grin spread across its ugly face.
"Grrk... Grrk... Grrk..."
I couldn't understand its language.
Yet somehow...
I remembered the chief's son.
"Die, you filthy insect."
"You're trashier than trash."
So...
Even this monster thought I was pathetic.
But that wasn't what mattered.
How had I survived?
The third form...
It had protected me.
I knew it was a defensive stance.
But not to this extent.
There had to be something more.
I stared at my arms.
They were still covered by a faint green glow.
"Mana..."
Then I looked inside my Force Space.
Something was there.
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Not a rock.
Not a weapon.
Just...
Something.
I stretched my palm toward the empty ground.
"Come out."
BLAGSHH!!
A violent shockwave erupted from my hand.
Dust exploded into the air.
"Cough... Cough..."
I stared at the empty ground.
"What... did I just release?"
There was nothing.
No object.
Only...
Force.
My eyes widened.
"The fire..."
"The boulders..."
"Don't tell me..."
"I can store impact?"
That third stance...
It hadn't blocked the attack.
It had absorbed it.
I immediately tested my theory.
Taking the first stance, I focused on the nearby boulder.
I gathered mana.
Then punched.
BAM!!
The entire boulder exploded into fragments.
For a moment...
I simply stared.
Then laughter burst out of me.
"Hahaha!"
"So that's how it works!"
I looked into my Force Space again.
The strange energy inside had noticeably decreased.
"So it gets consumed..."
A grin slowly spread across my face.
"Payback time."
I drank Miracle Water, restoring my mana and strength.
Then I charged.
"C'mon, you ugly bastard!"
The Cavetroll roared and swung its club with all its might.
I shifted into the third stance.
BOOM!
The impact launched me backward.
Again.
I ran back.
Another swing.
Third stance.
Another impact.
Again.
And again.
Each devastating blow filled my Force Space with more stored impact.
Only when I was satisfied...
...did I change tactics.
This time, I slipped past its club.
Stepped into its side.
First stance.
BAM!!
My fist slammed into the Cavetroll's ribs.
The stored impact exploded on contact.
The giant's massive body was thrown sideways.
Before it could recover...
I jumped.
Second stance.
Using the weight of my falling body, I drove my fist straight into its knee.
BOOOOM!!
"GRAAAAHHH!"
The Cavetroll screamed in agony.
Its leg buckled beneath it.
Desperate, it swung its club again.
Third stance.
I absorbed the impact.
Again.
And again.
The battle slowly changed.
Every strike the Cavetroll landed only made me stronger.
Every punch I threw became more devastating than the last.
Little by little...
The giant began to crumble.
Its rocky body cracked.
Its movements slowed.
Finally...
It dropped to one knee.
Its stone club slipped from its hand.
Its head hung low.
Panting.
Defeated.
I walked toward it.
"It's time to say goodbye."
I gathered every last drop of mana into my fist.
Then emptied every ounce of stored impact from my Force Space.
The green glow around my arm intensified.
I pulled my fist back.
Then drove it forward with everything I had.
"Exploding Rock Fist!"
BOOOOOOM!!
The Cavetroll's head exploded into countless fragments.
Its enormous body remained kneeling for a brief moment.
Then...
It collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Silence returned to the cavern.
For the first time since I fell into this place...
I had won.