System Notification:

  Shikavas has evolved into Elder Dracorex!

  Theme: Ancient power awakened.

  Description: The Lizard Emperor sheds its fleshly form to become a towering, semi-draconic overlord. Covered in obsidian scales laced with gold veins, its eyes glow with the wisdom of centuries.

  System Explanation:

  The Elder Dracorex is no ordinary beast—it's an ancient force, a terrifying evolution that blends the might of dragons with the ruthless cunning of an apex predator. The obsidian scales are not just armor; they are an indestructible shield, forged through the ages, while the gold veins pulse with untapped power that could reshape the battlefield. Its eyes, glowing with the wisdom of countless years, hold the experience of battles fought, kingdoms risen and fallen. Beware, this isn't just a Lizardman anymore—this is a creature born of legend, a force of nature itself!

  As Shikavas' form twisted and surged with new power, the air around him crackled. His body grew taller, his scales gleaming like obsidian veined with gold, his eyes glowing with an ancient, otherworldly wisdom. Yet, despite this transformation into an Elder Dracorex, Ryo's expression remained casual, almost bored.

  Ryo shrugged. "Well, that was a glow-up... from a lizard to a punching bag."

  The system, ever the sarcastic commentator, couldn’t help but agree, its tone dripping with amusement.

  System: "Oh, absolutely. He went from threatening Lizardman to... well, a glorified punching bag. I’d say he’s just a few hits away from entering ‘fragile vase’ territory. Should we send him a memo about the 'dangerous creature' status?"

  Ryo chuckled as he cracked his knuckles. "Guess he didn’t read the manual for evolving. He's practically begging for a workout."

  Shikavas, now towering and semi-draconic, let out a deafening roar, but it sounded less menacing and more like an expression of frustration. His pride was shattered by the overwhelming barrage of hits he'd endured.

  System: "Let’s be real—at this rate, Shikavas might just evolve into 'Target Practice Expert.' Who knew being a dragon overlord involved so much cardio?"

  Ryo, unfazed, took a step forward, his grin widening. “Alright, let’s keep this going,” he said, ready to give the now-draconic lizard a few more rounds of "training."

  It was clear: Shikavas, in his new form, was far from the formidable beast he hoped to be—he was simply Ryo’s next training dummy. The system chuckled again, agreeing wholeheartedly.

  System (teasing): "What a turn of events. From 'Emperor' to 'target practice.' Someone's getting an upgrade… but not in the way they hoped."

  Shikavas, now towering and semi-draconic, raised both of his massive hands to the sky. Golden flames began to gather in his palms, growing brighter, swirling faster, until they became a massive ball of concentrated heat and power. The air around him distorted as the flames crackled, the force of it threatening to incinerate everything in its path. With a deafening roar, Shikavas hurled the flaming sphere towards Ryo, bellowing, "Disintegrate, human!"

  Ryo, unfazed, cocked an eyebrow. "No thanks," he muttered as he stepped forward. With a single fluid motion, he pulled back his fist, gathering all his strength. In a flash, his fist collided with the center of the golden flame ball, punching clean through it. The flames spiraled out in all directions, but Ryo's punch had left a gaping hole in the attack. He followed up by delivering a crushing blow directly to Shikavas' stomach.

  The force of the punch sent Shikavas reeling, but to Ryo’s surprise, the wound began to slowly heal as golden energy flowed across it. Shikavas grinned, a sinister glint in his glowing eyes. "You think you can defeat me so easily?" he sneered, his voice dripping with confidence.

  Before Shikavas could react further, Ryo vanished in a burst of speed, reappearing in front of the Lizard Emperor. His fists moved in a blur, a barrage of punches landing with brutal precision. A hook to the side of Shikavas' face made his head snap back. An uppercut struck with perfect timing, hitting the liver with a sickening thud. Shikavas winced, but before he could recover, Ryo followed with another relentless uppercut, this time to his jaw, the sound of bone cracking echoing through the air.

  Ryo didn’t stop there. With a swift series of blows, he hammered away at Shikavas' stomach, each punch landing with a force that rattled the creature's very core. The ground beneath them seemed to tremble with each hit, and the air itself seemed to crackle in response to the sheer power of Ryo’s attacks.

  Shikavas staggered back, his chest heaving as he tried to recover, but Ryo was already on him again, not giving the Elder Dracorex even a moment to breathe. "Getting tired yet?" Ryo asked, a smirk playing on his lips as he prepared for the next round of blows. The Lizard Emperor, now visibly strained and battered, was clearly beginning to lose ground.

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  Ryo’s fist flew forward, landing a devastating straight punch square on the Elder Dracorex’s face. The impact was so powerful that Shikavas’ head snapped back, his body momentarily stunned. But Ryo wasn’t about to let up. With a grim determination in his eyes, he followed up immediately, his fist coming down in a vicious arc, aimed directly at Shikavas’ face.

  As his fist descended, Ryo muttered one word, his voice cold and resolute. "Ailinór."

  In that instant, a burst of flames erupted from Ryo's fist, engulfing Shikavas’ face in an inferno of searing heat. The flames danced with a ferocity that seemed to crackle with the raw power of the punch itself. Shikavas screamed in agony, his scales glowing and warping under the intense heat, but there was no escape. The flames intensified, forcing Shikavas’ body to the ground in a thunderous crash.

  The earth trembled as the Elder Dracorex fell, his once-proud form now smoldering and broken. Smoke billowed from his charred face as he struggled to rise, but the fight had been taken out of him. The ground beneath them cracked, and the force of Ryo’s final blow left an imprint of devastation in its wake.

  Ryo stood over him, breathing heavily, his fist still crackling with the residual heat of the flames. He looked down at the defeated Shikavas, his voice low and filled with finality. “Stay down. This is where it ends.”

  With that, the once-mighty Elder Dracorex, now reduced to nothing more than a smoldering heap, lay defeated at Ryo's feet. The battle was over.

  Just as Ryo thought the battle was over, a sudden shift in the air caught his attention. A thousand water and flame spears materialized out of nowhere, swirling ominously around Shikavas. They shot toward him in a deadly barrage, each one infused with the combined power of water and fire, ready to impale him.

  But Ryo was unphased. He yawned casually, as if this were just another day at the office. His body blurred as he dodged each spear with effortless grace. Each strike missed by mere inches, the sound of air splitting as he danced around the attack, his movements fluid and precise.

  The spears continued to rain down, but Ryo barely even broke a sweat. With each dodge, his confidence grew. He was like a shadow, slipping through the storm of attacks as if they didn’t exist. His eyes barely even flickered toward the oncoming barrage; it was as if he were bored.

  Meanwhile, Shikavas, though battered and burnt, slowly began to rise from the ground. His wounds were regenerating, the cracks in his obsidian scales slowly knitting themselves together. His eyes, now glowing with a fierce rage, locked onto Ryo as he stood tall once more.

  "You're persistent, I'll give you that," Ryo muttered under his breath, dodging yet another spear with a lazy side-step. "But it's getting old."

  Shikavas growled, his voice low and guttural as he roared in frustration. "You... won't... win."

  Ryo just smirked. "I already have."

  With that, he twisted his body and lunged forward, leaving the chaos of water and flame spears behind. He closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye, ready to finish what he started.

  Ryo launched himself forward with a powerful knee aimed at Shikavas' jaw, but the elder lizard, despite his massive size and slow regeneration, managed to react. In a split second, he swung his massive clawed hand up to block the attack, the force of the collision sending a shockwave through the air.

  But Ryo, ever the mocker, effortlessly sidestepped the incoming counterattack, almost as if he were bored. He gave a lazy shrug, his smile widening into a cocky grin.

  "Really? Is that the best you've got?" Ryo teased, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Come on, I thought I'd get at least a little challenge."

  The system, ever eager to jump in with a comment, had to add its two cents: "Ryo dodges effortlessly, much like a cat avoiding a bath. Shikavas: 0. Ryo: 100."

  Ryo couldn’t help but chuckle at the system's remark. He twirled on his heel, still watching Shikavas struggle to keep up.

  "Seriously, you should try a new tactic. This one's getting old." He said, still casually dodging Shikavas' heavy strikes as if they were nothing more than flies buzzing around him.

  Shikavas screeched in frustration, clearly losing his temper. But Ryo? He was just having fun at this point.

  Ryo twisted his body mid-air, delivering a backspin kick straight into Shikavas' ribs. The force of the impact sent the Elder Dracorex flying across the ground, crashing into the rubble of the battlefield. But Ryo wasn’t about to give him a moment to recover.

  With a smirk, Ryo vanished from his spot, reappearing behind Shikavas in a blur of speed. Without wasting any time, he unleashed a flurry of kicks, each one landing with precision. He struck Shikavas from all angles—first a kick to the side, sending the massive lizard tumbling, then another to his chest, followed by a rapid-fire series of kicks aimed at Shikavas’ face, body, and ribs.

  The lizard-like creature was launched back and forth like a soccer ball, helplessly tossed in every direction as Ryo effortlessly controlled the tempo of the fight.

  Each kick was like a targeted strike, with Ryo perfectly timing the blows and using his immense speed to keep Shikavas off balance.

  The system, of course, couldn't resist commenting: "Ryo turns Shikavas into a ragdoll. Who knew this battle would include some kickball as a side event?"

  Ryo, dodging an incoming water attack from Shikavas' furious retaliation, grinned. "You really need to stop giving me free passes like this." He dropped to the ground, eyes narrowing as he watched the Elder Dracorex struggle to regain his bearings, preparing for the next round.

  Ryo chuckled as he backflipped into the air, his feet connecting with Shikavas' jaw with a resounding crack. The force of the blow sent the Elder Dracorex flying backward once more, his massive body skidding across the battlefield like a ragdoll.

  In a desperate attempt, Shikavas released a torrent of water from his mouth, unleashing a massive water cannon toward Ryo. But Ryo, with a casual smirk, twisted in mid-air and effortlessly dodged the blast, landing with perfect grace on the ground. His posture was calm, almost serene, despite the chaos of the battle.

  "Playtime's over," he said, his voice steady as his eyes locked onto the reeling Elder Dracorex. "Let's finish this with style."

  With a flourish, Ryo took a deep breath, his confidence radiating from him as he raised his hands into a fighting stance. "In the end, even the most powerful of monsters must learn... not every battle is theirs to win."

  The tension in the air was thick as Shikavas struggled to get back to his feet, his body battered and broken from the relentless barrage of attacks. But Ryo knew this was it—the end was near.

  With a final, swift movement, Ryo lunged forward, ready to deliver the finishing blow to the Elder Dracorex. The arena fell silent in anticipation, awaiting the inevitable conclusion of this epic showdown.