Daily Rewards! Transmigrating into a novel as a side-character!

The lion pressed on without mercy, following up with a devastating bite aimed at my head. I ducked and rolled to the side, feeling the creature's jaws snap shut where I had been standing just moments before.

My Stone Armor absorbed a glancing blow from its rear claws as I repositioned, the magical protection preventing what would have been crippling wounds.

This beast was every bit as dangerous as I had imagined. Its combination of raw power, supernatural speed, and combat intelligence made it a nearly perfect killing machine.

The Golden mane circled around me with its killing intent oozing out, looking for openings in my defence.

Drawing upon my Blood Control skills in ways I had never attempted before.

First, I manipulated my own blood flow to create localized pressure points throughout my body. By concentrating enhanced blood in specific muscle groups just before impact. In theory, I could temporarily increase my striking power beyond even my current level. When the lion lunged again, I channelled concentrated blood into my sword arm and delivered a devastating counterattack that managed to pierce its golden hide.

Whoosh! SLASH!

The beast roared in pain and anger, golden blood seeping from the wound I had created. But I wasn't finished with my innovative approach.

I extended my Blood Control to manipulate the lion's own blood through the wound I had inflicted. The technique was incredibly difficult, controlling foreign blood required far more concentration and mana than manipulating my own, but I managed to disrupt the circulation around the injury, preventing it from healing as quickly as it normally would.

The Goldenmane's eyes widened in surprise and fury as it realized what I was doing. No ordinary opponent had ever been able to affect its internal systems in such a manner.

When the creature attempted another paralyzing roar,

ROAR!!

I was ready. I had prepared a concentrated burst of enhanced blood to flood my eardrums at the precise moment of the attack, temporarily deafening myself but somewhat countering the stunning effect.

A smirk formed on my face as I felt my the stun affect, but it was a diluted one. I was able to immediately break off the stun.

The lion's confusion at my immunity gave me an opening to land another significant strike.

I began using my Blood Control to create temporary blood weapons that served as extensions of my natural reach. Whilst the weapons didn't do much damage to the golden mane, it was still able to pester him and stop him from dealing any damage or even getting close enough to do so.

When my blood weapons ran out, the beast managed to get close and land a glancing blow despite my defences, I immediately used Blood Control to clot the wounds and redirect circulation away from damaged areas. This prevented blood loss from weakening me while allowing me to continue fighting at full capacity.

The damage it delt me did not come without a price, I had also countered his attack, landing a strong strike on his hide, once again drawing blood from it and using that blood to further enhance myself.

The Goldenmane was clearly frustrated by my hit-and-run tactics. Every time it adapted to one of my techniques, I would implement a new use of Blood Control that caught it off-guard.

As our battle intensified, I realized that victory would come eventually if everything went well. The lion's strength and experience were formidable, but they weren't enough, clearly this golden mane wasn't an adult, but most likely a prepubescent.

The fight continued with the both of us dealing damage and circling around each other in order to predict the next attack.

Eventually, the Golden mane's fury reached a boiling point as more of its precious golden blood seeped from multiple wounds, each drop being absorbed and converted into additional strength for me. The creature's eyes blazed with rage as it witnessed me growing stronger while it grew weaker.

I wasn't surprised by its fury. To be left in this cage, powerless, is punishment enough—but to lose a fight when prey dares to come close must be unbearable. The beast was born to rule the hunt, yet it was being hunted. The lion's eyes burned with something more than hunger; outrage, humiliation, and anger. This animal wasn't just upset, it was wounded in its pride, and that wound was far more dangerous than any set of claws.

The lion's massive frame trembled. Its golden mane seemed to ignite with internal fire as magical energy began building within its core. This was no longer a hunt, this had become a desperate battle for survival.

The Golden mane reared back on its hind legs, gathering power for what was clearly intended to be a devastating move that wanted nothing other than claiming my life. Energy coursed through its muscular frame, concentrating in its claws until they glowed like miniature suns. The very air around the creature began to shimmer with heat distortion.

With a thunderous roar that shook dust from the stone ceiling, the lion launched itself forward in a massive leap that covered the entire breadth of the circular chamber.

WHOOSH!

Its blazing claws extended toward me like golden spears, each one trailing fire and carrying enough force to shatter solid rock.

The attack came with such overwhelming speed and power that even my enhanced reflexes barely registered the movement. This wasn't just a physical assault, the golden mane had channelled a lot of its remaining mana reserves into a single, all-or-nothing strike that could obliterate some of the weaker transcendent beings in one blow.

Time seemed to slow as the burning claws descended toward my position. I could feel the intense heat washing over me, see the determination and fury in those golden eyes, sense the concentrated death approaching with unstoppable momentum.

At the precise moment of impact, I activated my ultimate defence.

"Null Strike."

The familiar sphere of absolute negation erupted around me, the Golden mane's devastating solar-powered attack, all that concentrated fury, magical energy, and lethal intent clashed with it.