Lunar Legacy: Rise Of The Beastlord

The training hall was silent. 

Jayden and Carl stood at the center of the sparring ring, facing each other like two apex predators preparing for battle. The tension in the air was suffocating. 

Carl smirked, rolling his shoulders. "You sure about this, Starrk? You might've gotten lucky against my guys, but I'm not them." 

Jayden didn't respond. He simply raised his fists, his stance perfect... solid yet fluid, calculated yet instinctive. His eyes locked onto Carl's, unwavering. 

Master Jin exhaled. "Alright. The same rules apply," he muttered

He glanced at both fighters. "Ready?" 

Carl cracked his knuckles. "Born ready." 

Jayden remained silent. His eyes were like that of a predator watching its prey. 

"Fight!" he declared

Carl moved first. 

His footwork was fast, sharper than Jayden expected. He dashed forward and threw a sharp jab, testing Jayden's reaction speed. 

Jayden tilted his head slightly, dodging with minimal effort. 

Carl followed up with a low sweep kick, trying to break Jayden's balance. 

Jayden jumped over it effortlessly, regaining his stance quickly

The crowd murmured in awe. 

Carl clicked his tongue. "He's fast... Too fast," he frowned

Jayden countered instantly... A quick step forward, followed by a fierce elbow strike aimed at Carl's ribs.

Carl barely managed to block, but the force sent him sliding back. His arms trembled from the impact. 

Tasha's eyes widened. "That wasn't normal..." she muttered

Jessica swallowed. "He's stronger than before, has his abilities developed?" she pondered

Carl's smirk faltered slightly, but he recovered fast. "Alright. Let's get serious," he rushed forward again, throwing a series of rapid punches and kicks. 

Jayden blocked, dodged, and deflected each one perfectly, his movements calm and precise.

Then, when Carl overextended on a punch, Jayden seized his chance. He swerved and delivered a sudden counter-hook.. clean, controlled, and devastating. 

CRACK!

Carl stumbled back, his lip split open. 

The class gasped.

Carl wiped the blood from his lip, his smirk twitching. "Heh. Not bad." 

But Jayden saw it. The moment of hesitation in Carl's stance. The frustration in his eyes. This was the perfect time to unleash a finishing move.

Jayden stepped forward, he studied Carl's movement within a second. And then, he attacked. A rapid three-hit combo:

- Left jab to the chest to disrupt balance

- Sharp elbow to the ribs to weaken guard

- Devastating kick to the leg to force a fall

Carl barely dodged the last kick, but his breath was ragged. The first two hits had dealt a lot of damage.

Jayden was winning. The class was stunned. 

Carl gritted his teeth. "No. Not again," he muttered, refusing to be humiliated by Jayden.

He refused to lose. He refused to be humiliated again. His status was at stake, if he lost this match, his social life was as good as fucked.

His mind raced. 

"I need to do something, quickly," he pondered inwardly, thinking of all the possible ways to win. But at this point, there was only one. Play dirty.

After a while of contemplation, a smirk formed across his lips. He had made up his mind, he was going to cheat.

Carl pretended to stumble, making it look like he was losing balance. 

Jayden, seeing an opportunity to finish the match, moved in for the final blow. 

That's when Carl struck low.

A hidden strike aimed directly at Jayden's ribs, just above the kidney. The kill jab

An illegal move. One that every student knew not to ever attempt to use against a fellow student during a simple spar.

Tasha and Jessica gasped. They knew what Carl was up to, but it was too late.

The strike connected... a cheap shot, but a brutal one. 

Jayden's eyes widened in shock, he staggered, his body tensing from the unexpected impact. 

Carl smirked. "Gotcha,"

But then... Jayden looked up.

His golden eyes flashed with something primal... Something dangerous.

Carl's smirk vanished.

...

For the first time since the fight began, Jayden staggered. Carl's strike had landed, his fist slamming into Jayden's ribs just above the kidney. A low blow, something no real martial artist would use in a fair fight. 

The class collectively gasped. Even Master Jin's usual expression faltered slightly at the blatant foul play. 

But Carl didn't care. He had landed a clean hit, and that meant victory was his. Right?

That's when he looked up, and met Jayden's gaze. A cold chill crawled up Carl's spine, but he quickly shook it off. Afterall, Jayden had taken a fatal blow. He should drop down any second now

But Jayden wasn't wincing. He wasn't even reacting like a normal person should. That technique would usually put the victim in great pain, prior to the deep crack it will cause in the rib.

But Jayden didn't care about the pain, he just stood there, body rigid, breathing slow but deep... too deep.

His heart was pounding in his chest, echoing across the silent room like a war drum. 

Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

And then, it came. The system notification

[Heart Rate: 110 Bpm]

Carl's smirk twitched, but he wasn't intimidated. "What's wrong, Starrk? Did that..."

He paused, seeing Jayden's eyes. They were golden-yellow, glowing ever so faintly, like the eerie light of a predator lurking in the darkness. 

Carl's body locked up. "What... the hell... was that?" his mind raced

Something primal and ancient licked at the edges of Carl's mind. A voice, not his own, whispering warnings from the deepest part of his survival instincts. 

DANGER.

Carl couldn't move. For the first time in his life— he felt real fear. And he had no idea why.

[120 Bpm]

A notification popped up again, but Jayden was too angry to see it. His breathing grew heavier. His pupils dilated, and a deep bloodlust began to seep into the air like a slow-spreading wildfire. 

[130 Bpm]

Another notified appeared, hinting that he had exceeded the given heartbeat mark. But nothing was happening, there was no seizure or discomfort the system claimed he would have.

Jayden was fine, and his rib was already starting to heal. But then everything changed... he changed.

His fingers twitched, then, for a brief moment... They sharpened.

His nails stretched, elongating into something closer to claws. His teeth sharpened and his face contorted slightly, giving him the appearance of something... less human.

His skin prickled. His muscles tightened. The rage inside him, the uncontrollable, fury, was bubbling up from a place deep inside.. something he had never felt before. 

All he could hear was: Rip him apart. Crush him. Devour.

His vision blurred. His ears rang. The world narrowed into a single, animalistic urge... Kill.

Carl's heart was beating like hell, he had seen Jayden's face, his claws, his bloodlust. And his gaze were fixed solely on him, he felt like Jayden could pounce on him at any moment, and rip him apart.

He wanted to utter something, but it got stuck in his throat. He was too scared to speak, to move, or even blink.

Jayden's appearance had gone unnoticed by the other students because they were too focused on Carl's frightened face, it looked so comical.

They laughed and joked to themselves while Carl was standing before death itself.

CLAP!

But then a loud clap shattered the moment. 

"Enough!" Master Jin's booming voice echoed through the training hall. 

In a blink, the air shifted, like a thread had been cut. 

Jayden froze, his entire body locking up. He immediately snapped out of his bloodlust trance.

The yellow glow in his eyes flickered and then vanished. The fangs disappeared and his face became normal again.

His hands clenched into fists, shaking slightly before returning to normal. 

Carl was finally able to move... And breathe, he stumbled backward, looking like he had seen a ghost. 

He didn't even realize he had moved away on instinct, his body recoiling from Jayden like a wounded animal. 

Master Jin stepped between them his gaze sharp. "Carl," he called out with a frown. He also clearly hadn't seen Jayden's switch in appearance.

Carl blinked, trying to compose himself. "Y-Yeah?" 

"You deliberately broke the rules. An illegal strike," Master Jin said coldly. "You will receive disciplinary action for this misconduct,"

Carl's mind was spinning, he was still in shock. "Uhm... O... Okay," he muttered, staring at Jayden in fear and confusion. One second, he looked like an animal, and the next, he looked human again.

"Am I seeing things?" he asked himself, wondering if what he saw earlier was real. Or maybe he was just going mad.

Jayden, meanwhile, stood eerily quiet. His heartbeat had slowed, but his mind still burned with lingering rage. 

Master Jin turned to him. "Jayden, are you injured?" 

Jayden slowly unclenched his fists. His ribs had been completely healed. "No." 

Master Jin studied him for a moment before nodding. "Then this match is over. Since Carl cheated, I declare Jayden the winner," he announced

The tension finally broke. Students exhaled, whispering among themselves. 

-"Huh? Carl lost? But how?"

-"Wow, this wasn't what I expected at all. I can't believe Carl's cheated. How repulsive,"

-"Jayden rocks! He's my new idol,"

-"Wait, why does Carl look so terrified? Is he scared of Jayden?"

The students muttered to one another, first taking in the results of the match, before hailing Jayden. They cheered and applauded him, while making sure to throw insults at Carl.

Carl, on the other hand didn't care about any of that. He was slowly losing his mind. It was now clear to him that no one else had seen Jayden's face, which made him question his sanity even more.

But he quickly composed himself, he forced a smirk, hiding the way his hands trembled. He had lost the match, but still had some adoring fans, including his lackeys.

They approached Carl and all showed concern towards him, hailing and chanting his name even though he lost. This comforted him a little, giving him a piece of his mental stability back.

But then he looked at Jayden again, and his stomach twisted.

Jayden wasn't celebrating. He wasn't even reacting. 

He was just standing there, staring at nothing in particular. Cold. Silent. Watching. 

And for the first time in Carl's life, he knew he had messed up.

The lackeys watched in stunned silence. No one had ever seen Carl actually look intimidated before.