So as it turns out, there ain't shit in the western part of the forest either. I expected to be assailed by wolves or grizzly boars in this area, but two hours in and nothing. I came out here to hunt, but all I've been doing is walking around like a dumb ass. Then as if one cue, I hear growling in the bushes next to me. I ready my sword and wait for the creature to expose itself to me. To my surprise it's not a wolf that comes out.

Porkupine (Level: 75) (Rare)

What steps out of the bushes is a fat little beast the size of a dog, but it resembles a fat farm pig in shape with the tail of a porcupine. It's also covered in pointy, brown, glistening, quills everywhere but its face and underside. The face looks exactly like that of a pig, a hog to be exact, as two horns are protruding from its snout. The ugly bugger let out something between a squeeze and a growl before spinning around rapidly while flicking its tail.

I jump behind the nearest tree just in time for some of those quills to go whistling past and hit the twiglings, killing one and wounding two more. The twiglings didn't like that, as they instantly let out a collective war screech and charge the porkupine. They run past the tree and collectively jump on the creature, attempting to bury it in a dog pile of bodies and claws. The problem being that the moment the first one touches the creature it dies instantly from the damage caused by impaling itself on the quills. It's not even body shots that are killing, some of them are taking one quill through the claw when they swing and dying outright to that.

"Back up, back to me!" I order.

The twiglings thankfully obey, but the damage is already done. A little over half my twiglings lay dead on or around the creature. The porkupine itself is bucking and kicking in an attempt to throw off the three corpses stuck on its quills. After a few moments of this it stops, lets out a snort, then stomps and gets a really constipated look on its face.

Ha, it's mad because it can't get rid of the twigling corpses. This will be an easy kill. I start running towards the porkupine hoping to just stab it in the head repeatedly to finish this quickly. Of course it's never that easy, when I’m about five feet from the ugly thing it finishes its little constipation standoff. It rears up on its hind legs then stomps down on the ground hard. Suddenly the quills covering its body explode out in every direction.

I barely get my hands up in front of my face in time to save my eyes from becoming pincushions like the rest of my body. The leather armor I’m wearing also takes a lot of the quills but not all of them. The quills hit everywhere that isn't covered by armor, and it hurts like hell. I fall back on my ass screaming in pain, and immediately I start trying to smack away the quills. That turns out to be a mistake because while most of the quills did not penetrate very far into my skin and were easily knocked away, some of them went deep enough that simply smacking them just caused more pain at the failed removal.

This shit fucking hurts, what’s my health at?

Health: 252/650 (1089)

Mana: 4026/2598 (4026)

Stamina: 1023/663 (1023)

God damn it, I’m going to kill this oversized quill throwing twat! I stand up and start healing myself. It's slow given how many holes I have in me, and the quills still stuck in. I look over at the now naked porkupine. It seems to be having a seizure, just standing in place while twitching violently. Then out of its bare skin pops a new quill, then another, and another.

Oh hell no! I stop pulling quills and pick my sword back up then rush the beast. Every passing second more and more quills pop out as its coat of deadly spikes starts to quickly cover the majority of its body. Before it can finish I run up to it and jam my sword into an opening in the quills as hard as I can. The beast lets out a squeal before turning on the spot, swinging its tail. I jump just in time to avoid getting impaled through the legs. Unfortunately my sword slipped out of it when it started its turn, but on the plus side it seems to have stopped regenerating quills in favor of attacking me.

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As it finishes its three sixty spin, my feet hit the ground, so I lunge forward and stab at another opening in the quill armor. It squeals again and jumps away from my strike. As I recover from making the strike the thing snorts again while drawing its front right foot across the ground. I barely have enough time to throw myself out of the way as it suddenly charges and jumps into the air, throwing itself at me back first in an attempt to slam into me with its quills out. Unfortunately, I land on some of the quills still stuck in me, causing pain to shoot through me as they are pushed deeper. The porkupine sails past me and smacks into a tree, bouncing off and rolling along the ground some.

Health: 193/650 (1089)

Mana: 3127/2598 (4026)

Stamina: 995/663 (1023)

I stand back up and face it once more just in time for it to recover and telegraph another charge with a snort and a stomp. This time I'm ready, and as it begins its charge I step to the side. It misses me again, but not by much as it goes whizzing past and flies through some bushes. With the moment of peace its over shot has granted me I cast shield on myself and use my free hand to start yanking as many left over quills out as I can. They aren't barbed or anything but it still hurts a little as I quickly yank them out.

I've got about half the quills out when a sound from the bushes gets my attention and I bring my guard back up. Out pops the porkupine again looking angry as all hell. I see it wind up its tail like it wants to throw again so I jump behind a tree. This time several almost simultaneous thunks echo out as the quills strike the tree, but none penetrate. I poke my head out and the damn thing immediately winds up to take another shot, so I duck back behind the tree again. After that I poke my head out again and it takes a third shot. Alright enough of this.

"Kill it!" I shout to the twiglings while pointing at the porkupine.

The remaining few charge the beast as I duck behind the tree again to avoid yet another salvo of quills. A collective screech rings out as the twiglings thunder towards their target, and promptly commit suicide on it. I wasn't expecting them to do much, but they provide the opening I need to move. The porkupine squeals and spins around to face the twiglings as the first one makes contact with it. In that moment I break from my cover and run towards the porkupine as it swings its tail and takes out the remaining twiglings, coming face to face with me in the process. I immediately stab it once again in an unquilled spot, causing it to let out a high pitch squeal and jump back again.

It immediately motions and snorts like it wants to charge again. This time I'm ready as it leaps at me. I dodge out of the way just enough to avoid it, then give chase as it said through the air. After a second in the air it smashes into a tree and rolls down. This time however it stops rolling belly up. Before it can right itself I run up to it and deliver a slash to its exposed belly. It squeals in pain and flails about trying to flip itself back over. I manage to deliver a second slash before it rights itself. It spins around to face me and In doing so exposes its face to the third slash I was moving to deliver. The blade cuts through its left eye before going through its snout and chipping one of its tusks.

It flinches squealing in pain, but instead of jumping back it charges me instead. It's head collides with my right shim and knocks my leg out from under me but does no damage thanks to the shield spell. I barely manage to avoid impaling myself on the creature by shoving my sword into the ground and pushing myself to the side. Now on the ground the creature has the advantage, one it presses by immediately backing up then charging me, trying to gore me on its tusks. In response I point the sword out in front of me and pray it holds.

The creature doesn't stop, instead running head first into the sword and impaling itself as the sword runs along the top of its snout up between its eyes and into its brain. It twitches a few times before I jam the sword side to side in an impromptu lobotomy, finally causing it to collapse and die.

Defeated: Porkupine (Level: 75) (Rare)

+412 EXP

I sit up and take a moment, breathing still a bit heavy from the exertion of the fight. God damn, that thing almost had me. I knew the twiglings wouldn't be much help but I didn't think they would drop that fast. Just another friendly reminder that everything out here is dangerous as shit if you aren't ready for it. Maybe I should stay in my domain after all. As I push myself up off the ground two people start taking next to me.

"See, told you it would win, where's my silver?"

"Damn, I thought the porkupine would done it in. I'll pay you when we get back home. Now, do ya think the lord would want it?"

I look to my left to see two very well equipped men by a tree, apparently having watched a good portion of my battle with the porkupine. I don't take in much of their looks though, because I bolt the moment their statuses register in my head.

Breton (Human, Level 103 Tracker)

Travis (Elf, Level 120 Monster Slayer)

"Yea, hey it's running! Use the bola on it!"

I look over my shoulder just in time to hear a thunk and see a glowing bola flying at me.