At the end of the day, there wasn’t much else James could do besides charge in. He had no particular stealth skill, nor was his Talent useful for long-range attacks. Fighting hand to hand was all he was good for at the moment, and though the monstrous squirrels looked to have wickedly sharp claws at the end of their paws, he was pretty sure they’d still feel it if he kicked them in the head.
The moment he left the safe zone and entered the base of the hill, the sentinel that had been lazily keeping an eye on him went berserk. The reddish fur that covered it took on an ominous glow - signifying an active skill being used - and it charged down the tree with a screech.
Having steeled his heart, James was still beset by a moment of hesitation at the sight. With a grunt, he pushed it aside, focusing on the swiftly approaching enemy.
Once the squirrel was halfway down the tree trunk, it jumped off, its claws extended to skewer him in one hit. James called upon his Talent, manifesting his Willpower into reality. His limbs flooded with strength, becoming more resilient, stronger and faster.
He met the squirrel’s claws with his fist, his eyes clear and unafraid. If he got defeated by a measly sentinel now, he’d have to give up entirely, which was unacceptable.
Fueled by his resolve, his fist easily overpowered the creature, hitting it in the chest with the power of a strongman. For all its unnatural robustness, it must have felt it because it let out a pained whimper as it rolled on the ground, barely able to stand back up.
The dissonance between this fight and his desperate one against the rat was great, and the thought of having grown so much in such a short amount of time made James grin widely.
Stop it. Now is not the time to get lost in self congratulations. I need to kill this thing soon before it can call more of its kind.
With swift strides, James approached the limping creature that was still shaking off the blow. Not allowing it the chance to recover, he kicked its head with all his might, earning a wet crunch as its skull was fractured beyond help.
Not wanting it to suffer needlessly, for all that it was an unnatural monster, James quickly stomped down again, ending its life. At the edge of his vision, deliberately placed so as to not distract, he saw a blue window pop up, claiming that he had killed a [Mutated Red Squirrel - Runt], which granted him [+5 EXP].
It was not enough to push him to the next level, though he could feel that fighting a few more would, so James put it out of his mind. More importantly, he had defeated his third monster, earning not even a scratch.
The squirrel had evidently been much weaker than the rats, given its status as the runt of the litter who had been relegated to the outskirts of their little realm.
On the other hand, his first two enemies had been well-fed and within the parameters of what an adult [Mutated Sewer Rat] from the Monster Encyclopedia should be. It made it clear that he couldn’t lower his guard simply because he had an easy win.
I need to keep my head in the game. Its screech might not have called anything, but it must have alerted them that something is here.
He gave one last look at the squirrel’s body, having decided before not to stop and collect his victim’s mana stone unless he was entirely safe. It would be a pity to get ambushed simply because he had gotten greedy.
Pushing further into the forested hill, James quickly located his next opponents. A couple of squirrels, looking quite a bit larger than the runt, were chittering at each other, lazily eating nuts.
Having to fight multiple opponents by himself was what he considered his greatest problem in solo diving, but it wasn’t something he had an answer to. His Talent didn’t allow for the taming of a monster, nor for him to call upon elementals to fight for him. He had no team and likely wouldn’t for a while. This all meant that his strategizing had been done with that limitation in mind. Thus, he set about creating the conditions necessary for his win.
The one advantage he had over the average Awakener with a Warrior Talent, as far as James was aware, was the versatility afforded by Thakinesis. It empowered him physically, which would likely remain his main mode of attack for a long time. But more than that, it granted him a sense of where all sentient life was - and not just the general bloodlust sensing unlocked after the second Awakening by Warriors.
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His Thakinetic Awareness was his most significant advantage, and he had spent a long time trying to find a way of using it beyond the obvious. Had he also had a stealth skill, he could have gone for rogue tactics, but he had all the grace of a bull in a fine china shop.
So he had to think simpler. He had never held a firearm in his life, and using one on his first dungeon dive was a good way of killing himself. Archery required too much time to develop into something useful. That left good, old-fashioned rock throwing.
Using the fact that the two squirrels couldn’t see him from their position, James positioned himself so that only foliage stood between them. Grabbing a rock from the ground, he tossed it in his hand a couple of times, willing himself to remember all the hours he spent playing baseball so he could make his grandpa happy by taking up a hobby.
With his new sixth sense fully locked in on the position of his victims, James charged his limbs with Willpower and took a stance.
His right leg shifted back, his left forward. He clenched his abs, adding torque and tension to the motion. Then, in an explosive movement, he unleashed all the stored energy, launching the stone at incredible speeds.
It shredded the foliage as if it wasn’t even there, hitting the closest squirrel in the chest with a powerful ‘thump’, launching it from the tree and into the distance.
The second monster didn’t spend much time flabbergasted, screeching angrily at the fate of its companion and jumping toward the projectile's origin.
There, James lay waiting. As soon as he felt it closing in, he started running. That decision was repaid when the squirrel released an almost comical sound of surprise as it was beset by a very determined human.
James’ foot folded the beast in half, shooting it toward a solid trunk, where it smashed painfully. Not letting it have the time to right itself, he was on top of it, wailing powerful punches until its chest caved in.
Only then did he allow himself to stop, standing up with a sigh and walking to where he could still feel the flickering presence of the one he had hit with the stone.
It glared hatefully, red fur matted with blood and claws weakly trying to reach him, to rip into his flesh and at least leave a sign. James didn’t allow it, using his Willpower to empower his limbs again and crush it once and for all.
Though he wanted to immediately push forward, one look at his status showing his MP at 3 told James that he needed to take a moment to recover. So he grabbed the two mangled corpses, grunting in disgust at the blood on his gloves, and quickly left from where he had come from, remembering to also pick up the runt.
I’m not about to leave any mana stone here for others to loot. No such thing as free money.
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The process of dressing a carcass was a difficult and tedious one, especially since James had no experience with it. He’d have to get used to it soon enough, though, so he didn’t complain beyond grumbling at how mangled the bodies were.
Considering how he had been the one to leave them in such a state, he had no one else to blame.
In the end, little of the bodies could be salvaged, though James still wrapped them up in gauze and put them next to his rucksack so that he could sell them too. The mana stones, on the other hand, were intact. The size of the first one was quite lacking due to the squirrel’s runt nature. The other two, however, were bigger and should fetch more money than he had ever made in a single day. Mana stones, after all, were always in high demand. They powered protections of public and private buildings alike, as well as artifacts, which were becoming a common sight even in normal households.
I could stop here. I should stop here. I achieved all my goals. I’m now certain that, with the proper precautions, I can run dungeons by myself. I have proven that monsters do not scare me. If I go back in, I could get seriously injured.
The problem was that James had wanted to not only prove that his Talent and mettle were sufficient, but deep within, he held a yearning to become stronger. And the three squirrels he killed were insufficient to get him even to level 3.
“Just one more should be enough. I’ll deal with one, and if I find more, I’ll ignore them and run away.” Even as he was saying it, James knew it was horseshit. The tremor of fear and hesitation in his limbs had been replaced with one of excitement. Fighting the squirrels had felt good, and he couldn’t deny it.
After being stuck in a limbo for so long and having experienced a traumatic night, mixed with losing contact with his crush who possibly hated him, James had found something he was apparently good at.
With a huff, he dropped the three mana stones in his backpack, carefully hid it again, and marched back into the thicket.
It took only a couple of minutes to find another squirrel, this time a bigger, meaner variant, whose muscle made it resemble a pitbull more than any rodent.
It was also more intelligent than its companions. It sniffed the air curiously before honing in on his presence. Where the previous ones had screeched, this one roared, falling on all fours and charging at where James was hiding behind a rock, its fur taking on an unnatural color.
Not wanting to be open to attacks should his throw fail, James just lightly tossed the rock he had picked up. Then he crouched down, coiling his muscles in preparation for an explosive strike.
When the squirrel jumped over the rock, claws extended and fur glowing a blood red, James pounced, his gloved fist burying itself into the beast’s stomach, sending it flying away.
He repeated his earlier tactics and ran to it, not wanting to allow it any respite. This time, however, the squirrel was not half-dead, but rather it righted itself swiftly.
With another bloodthirsty sound, it launched forward, paws digging deep into the soft loam. When it got to James, they clashed, Willpower enhanced fists against red-glowing claws.
Ignoring the damage he was taking, he focused on the beast, his mind locked in on finally crushing it once and for all.
He stopped only when his fist met the ground, having carved through the thing.
James had time to feel horrified for just a moment before vomit rose up, and he was forced to hunch over, spewing his stomach’s contents over his dead opponent.
He took a moment to breathe, surprised at just how much he had been affected by the fight. The ease with which he had dealt with the previous squirrels had fooled him, he realized. Real fights were messy affairs, and he’d have to get used to it soon.
He looked at his vest, where furrows deep enough to damage the reinforced kevlar had been made, and at the three bloody scratches on his arms. Luckily, they seemed shallow enough, but losing himself like that was not a repeatable tactic.
Sitting on the moss beside the mess, he glanced to the side, where a softly glowing notification told him he had finally reached level 3.