Nouma suddenly experiences a change in air pattern within his vicinity. He immediately rushes towards the source of disturbance. He finds a person being chased by a Chungus.

"What is this creature? I've never seen something like this before. Relax, it's just another wild creature. I've handled them before, this one won't be any different. What should you do in such a situation? First, save the Numan."

Nouma closes the distance between him and Chungus as he navigates using the trees. He lands on the ground for a small amount of time and grabs the person, safely carrying the person on a tree far away from danger. Nouma is not sure whether he should attack the creature. He doesn't want unnecessary trouble, but he can't tell whether Chungus is hostile or not.

"I can't tell whether the creature will cause further harm. Should I attack or retreat?"

Flashbacks

"Whenever you run into a creature, there are two possibilities:
1. The creature has panicked and is attacking you only to protect itself. Such creatures calm down after a while. They start to act normal once their surroundings are calm again.
2. The creature attacks to hunt. In such cases, your decision making will be challenged. If you are even a fraction of a second late, it might cost you someone's life."

"I am not sure about it's nature. I can't take a risk at this point. I must defeat it here, no matter what!"

"This is just like other creatures. First, check the speed of the creature. Move around as fast as you can Nouma. Use your agility to its absolute limit. Use the techniques that you've learned so far. If it can't keep up, this will be over quickly!"

Nouma moves at his top speed around the Chungus. He is constantly changing directions using the trees to his advantage. Whenever he takes off from a tree, his foot leaves behind a dent in the tree. He is looking at its eyes during the whole process.

The entire time, Chungus hasn't broken eye contact with Nouma. It has been keeping up with Nouma's movements without breaking a sweat.

"What is this tenacity that I feel from this creature? It's no good, it can follow my movements, so I can't win against this creature with just my speed. I will have to use force. However, it has a strong base. It is oozing with confidence and hasn't even moved a bit. It's almost as if it is boasting it's aura and challenging me to attack it." 

Chungus is still keeping up with Nouma's movements despite Nouma pushing himself to his limits.

"Dislodging it's feet won't be easy. I have to aim for it's upper body. A place which doesn't have a strong base. That is why, I'll go for the arm!"

Nouma reaches a tree that is nearest to the left arm of Chungus. He uses every ounce of strength in his leg to propel himself. He zooms in with his maximum speed and punches Chungus with his full power. 

THUD

The combination of extraordinary speed and power from Nouma's punch causes a sonic boom. The surrounding air vibrates for a moment and some nearby trees also fall off. The area turns dusty. The vibrations go through its body and cause cracks on the ground. Nouma immediately backs off and climbs a tree.

The numan Nouma rescued is in awe, "What is this speed? What is this power? I can't see a single thing! That loud sound, did I actually hear that? I thought my ear would explode from it!"

Steadily, the dust clears. Nouma desperately hopes that the attack knocked it down. However, the Chungus is unfazed. Ot took the attack like a tank. The combination of speed and brute force only managed to put a slight scratch on it.

Nouma starts sweating in panic, "I am pretty sure I put everything in that punch. I didn't hold back, did I? What should I do? How do I even face such a thing? Do I use Fento? No, that's not an option. There is another numan here."

Nouma remembers Oji's words, "Don't use Fento until extremely necessary."

"That's right. I don't know who that Numan is and I can't reveal my techniques to someone I've never met. I'm not thinking rationally. Why can't I stay calm?"

Flashbacks

"If there is a case when your strength and speed fail, use your brain. The one thing that separates Numans from other creatures is the ability to think and evolve. Just because an opponent has overpowered you doesn't mean that they have won. You can always outwit the opponent by staying calm and observing your surroundings carefully. A single move can change the outcome of a situation"

"Think Nouma! You are missing something. Break down the situation, one piece at a time. It's skin is very hard. It is some kind of unbreakable metal. There is no way I can power through that."

The Chungus suddenly starts to charge towards Nouma. 
"Huh? It started to move?"

Nouma tries to maintain a safe distance by hopping from one tree to another. However, Chungus is keeping up with Nouma's speed.

"No time to think! Even though it's skin is hard, it moves so fast. Wait, this doesn't add up. It's movements must be slow, but even with that hard body it is able to keep up with me. Think! Think! How can this happen? How do we move? What makes someone flexible and fast? The joints! It can't move this fast if it has the same hard skin near its joints."

Nouma takes a closer look at Chungus as he searches for an opening, "There it is! I can see it, behind the knees. If I can't defeat it without Fento, I'll have to immobilize it and hope for the best! That's all I can do in this situation."

Nouma charges towards Chungus. However, it is fast enough to keep up with Nouma's movements. Nouma knows that a head-on attack won't work on it.

Nouma yells loudly, "You are fast. With that skin and backed with enough force, you surely can pack a punch. You surpass me when it comes to both strength and speed. But I have something that you don't, I can think and evolve with each passing moment!"

Nouma charges up his punch as if he is going to hit Chungus in the stomach. The Chungus immediately reacts by covering it's stomach with both hands.

Nouma smirks, "Just when you thought I was going to target your stomach, a FEEEIIINNNTT!"
Nouma pulls back his punch in the very last moment. He moves past the Chungus and immediately raises his right leg for a chop.

He yells, "Have my leg!" as he chops the back of the knee of the right foot of Chungus. It loses its balance and falls on its knees. Nouma is in a very good position to land another chop right now. But, the Chungus suddenly uses it's left arm to punch Nouma.

"As if I didn't see that coming you dumb creature."

He uses his right arm to divert the trajectory of the punch by deflecting it, but it still leaves a bruise on Nouma's arm. He follows up by wrapping his right leg around its neck and using his left leg to hit the other knee, the leg leaving behind several after images. 

All of this happens within a second of Nouma's charge.

The skin near the knee of the Chungus crumbles. The Chungus can't move and is down on it's knees.

Nouma confidently speaks pointing at Chungus as he breathes heavily, "Just as I interpreted. The skin near the joints is not that hard. This is my first victory and you are my first prey."

Meanwhile, the numan has been listening to all the explosive blows, "Wh-what just happened. All I saw is this man charging towards Chungus and in the very next moment, the Chungus was down. Everything that happened was hazy. This man is amazing. I have never seen someone take down a Chungus before. He also seems to be smart."

The numan notices that Nouma is still talking with Chungus explaining what he just did.

"But, why is he speaking with the Chungus like it understands everything he says? Even when he charged in, he yelled something at Chungus! He just looks like a retard while he is doing that!"

Nouma approaches the numan, "Now that I have defeated this monster, I need to know who is the person it was chasing. Who is that numan?"

He speaks with a sharp and loud voice while maintaining some disrance since he can't see the numan's face, "Show yourself. If you are here to cause trouble, we better settle this here. If you want to fig-" 

The numan shows herself. She has long pink hair and an average height.

"Wait! She is a woman! I said so many bad things without realizing. Thank god that old man isn't here or he would have surely killed me!"

Nouma continues, "Umm, Sorry! I said so much without thinking."

She replies, "It's fine. No need to apologize. In fact, I thank you for saving my life! Sorry for causing you trouble."

Nouma thinks to himself, "How to reply to a 'Thank You'? No one has ever said that to me. Do I just say welcome? No, no. That would be way too generic and formal. Quick! Don't waste time!"

"You're welcome."

Yup, I totally blew it!

"What are you doing here during this time anyways? And what is your name?" asks Nouma.

"My name is Rita Freins."

Nouma offers a handshake, "I'm Nouma Ginoum."

Rita replies as she shakes Nouma's hand, "I was heading towards Eclipso because I had some goods to be shipped to NorkYew. I was sleeping when I ran into the Chungus."

What is a Chungus? Must be the name of that creature I suppose.

"The creatures in this area cannot fly and don't have the intellect to climb trees. It was only logical to sleep on a tree. Keep that in mind next time."

Rita thinks to herself, "Is he trying to act smart?"

Rita puts up a surprised face, "Oh, I didn't know that. That's a handy thing to know."

Nouma continues as he scratches his head, "By the way, if you are heading to Eclipso, I think we should go together. Having said that, I think I'm lost. I completely forgot to keep the directions in check during that encounter."

Rita thinks to herself, "So he is actually dumb. Eclipso is in the West direction from here. He can just wait for sunrise and then he will know which direction is East and figure out the remaining directions! I think I overestimated his logical capabilities. But, having him around will surely ensure my safety."

"Lucky for you, I am an aspiring navigator. If you have me, you will never get lost. We can move together."

"Oh! Thank you very much! That's convenient. Angel! You are an angel sent from the heavens to guide me in my journey! It really is destiny that we met."

How lame can he be?

"Consider that I'm returning the favour. No need to thank me! Is your arm fine?"

Nouma replies with a smile, "It's all good!"

TO BE CONTINUED

CHARACTER INTRODUCTIONS #2

Rita Freins
Present Age: 19 years.
Appearance: Pink hair, blue eyeballs. 
Aspiring Navigator.
Height - 172 cm.

NOTEARTH GALLERY #1