Hunting and Processing
The moment of contact was the most important. It was this brief instance of time, that required an incredible amount of sheer timing, determination, and luck. If I messed up this one singular moment, if I lacked any single one of those important characteristics, then I’d be in for a world of hurt. It seriously wouldn’t be funny.
With that said, nothing bad like that happened.
I landed onto the boar’s back with no trouble. Following behind my decent, the black sword which I strapped onto my back using a makeshift sheath made out of rope hit me behind with a dull thud. The small, miniscule impact almost sent me teetering off of my unsteady footing.
The moment I landed on top of the boar, my knuckles instantly paled, as my hands gripped for dear life onto the Boar’s corse external hide. Its sharp bristles of fur poked and annoyed my skin, but I fought back the rising irritation as I managed to maintain my position.
The boar itself, which still chased Miss Pitiful with exuberant enthusiasm, now slowed, primarily due to the added weight and sudden impact of my arrival.
While it couldn’t see me, it more than likely knew I was here. A pest that currently clung to its back like an annoying mosquito. This was made all the more apparent, the minute its body movement became more erratic.
Instead of the usual straight forward sprint it used to do, the boar squealed loudly as it began zigzagging. Its feet stampeded recklessly throughout the hall, while it tried desperately to shake its body in an attempt to dislodge me off its back.
Unfortunately for it, I was quite persistent. I resisted with all my might as its movements grew more reckless and dangerous.
As I resisted, I could see the floating status panel above its head. It flew through the air, keeping perfect stride with the Boar’s own explosive motion, without a care in the world, unaware of the current situation its owner was currently caught up in.
Lesser Tusk Boar - Level 25
HP: 600/600
As I quietly assessed its status while biting my lip down, I made a slight nod in satisfaction. Its level was within my range, although it did have an abnormally large amount of hp. Rather, it had about the same amount of hp as that Alpha Werewolf I fought, and that thing back then had been level 37 or so. Whittling it down shouldn’t pose too much of a problem for me though, given my current abilities.
My main issue was keeping my grip onto this erratic boar.
Maintaining this type of unsteady hold while it did such crazy motions wouldn’t allow me to last long, so with that in mind, I took a risk, and reached over with my left hand behind me. The brief instance where I had only one hand grasping onto its back, almost sent me flying off, but be it through luck or grit, I stayed atop. In the folds of my pocket, I firmly gripped onto my familiar dagger- Efhermet-’s handle.
“Then-”
With quick, deliberate motion, I stabbed the dagger fiercely into its hide, cutting through both air, fur and fat.
The blade sunk 6 inches deep, while the boar let loose a small squeal that showcased more irritation rather than actual pain.
Using the dagger as support, I managed to stay upright while I slowly scooted forward. With trepid movements, I peered over the boar’s body and in between its two massive horns. Through that small gap, I could see Cher approaching a four way intersection in the hall.
By this point in time, Cher’s speed was slowly going down as her stamina steadily decreased. The erratic panting of hers matched in sync with the sluggish swing of her arms in such a fashion that I can’t help but reiterate - ‘she looks really pitiful right now...’.
If it wasn’t for my sudden interruption, then she would have surely been caught by now.
With that in mind, seeing the intersection, I couldn’t resist as a small smile appeared on my face.
The next part of the plan-my part, was about to begin…
Cher, who had been running nonstop in a straight line all this time, suddenly turned sharply towards the left hall. Her legs wobbled slightly as she almost slipped and face planted, but in the end, she maintained an upright position while continually running down this new route of hers.
From down the left hall, I caught a brief sight of a mess of black hair as it peered out from a slightly opened doorway.
The boar, who by now, also reached the intersection, planned to give chase. It was apparent by its shortened steps that it prepared itself to turn left as well. Before it had the opportunity to do so though, with one hand on the boar’s right horn, and the other onto a dagger that lodged itself near the base of its skull, I yanked with all my might towards the opposite direction.
SQUUUUUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
It squealed as I jiggled the enlodged dagger slightly while I used all my force and combined weight to steer it into one direction.
Either my own strength was lacking, or the Boar’s spindly feet lacked enough dexterity, but its sudden turn didn’t go quite as smoothly.
As its head swerved towards the right, its forward momentum remained. Just as it made the turn, that hunkering body of his which propelled him forward came crashing towards the corner, smashing up rows of locker as well as loosening up the poorly constructed plaster on the walls.
As the beast attempted to regain its footing, it dashed forward (into the right hallway) and crashed into another pair of lockers located on the opposite side of the hall. This reckless set of actions continued indefinitely, zig zagging along the hallway, and crashing continuously against the walls.
The impact from each successive contact made me buckle, and almost dislodged me off of the beast, but nonetheless I continued forward. Repositioning myself, I hugged the beast with my legs as I held a strong grasp onto the boar’s body.
With better traction, I managed to stay firmly in place, even in spite of the monster’s own reckless movements.
Now the goal was to keep the monster moving, and drive it away from the main herd.
After all, that pillar of flame isn’t indefinite. Without Hina’s constant assistance, the fire will last but a moment and afterwards, the possibility that the rest of the herd will give chase exists. It was my job until then to separate this boar from the remainder of the group. Leading it around, I struggled to stir the boar forward.
After several minutes of this rodeo farce, and after I stirred it through several turns along this absurdly large school and into a pre-planned location, my grip slackened as I prepared to dismount the boar.
With a deftly kick downwards, I propelled myself to the side, landing with a roll before I crash- came to stop by the lockers.
Now that its original prey disappeared, the boar squealed aggressively before it came to a running stop after having noticed that the parasite on its back was no more.
It turned its beading red eyes towards me as it kicked the ground. A steam of rancid air came out from that rosy pink snout of his before he flashed his rows of canines in mock derision.
Seeing this display of power, I replied in turn. I rose to my feet, before I grabbed at the black sword behind me. I gripped the sword deftly in one hand, and unsheathed the blade, as I sized the beast up.
Killing it all in one go would be difficult, but not impossible. Rather, if I fought using the same type of dirty tricks I normally fought with, I was confident I would win. But, right now… I didn’t want to do that.
It’s been awhile since I fought an actual monster, so maybe “playing” with it might be a good change of pace…. Well, although I said “playing”, what I really meant was sort of analyzing the way this monster fought.
The way it moves, its attack patterns, the tiny miniscule habits it has, getting to know what type of opponent this monster was would be good experience for me. After all, I doubt this would be the last boar type monster I’d face off against in this new world.
As I played with such idle thoughts, the boar reared its head towards me and dashed forward with the vigor and velocity rivaling a freight train.
I watched it calmly, my face quickly turning indifferent as it drew ever closer. My enhanced vision also affected my Kinetic vision, allowing me to fully grasp the forward motion of the raging Boar.
At the very last second, right when the beast was sure to hit, I jumped side ways, pinning myself against the locker wall in the process. In that short instance, I created a gap of about 4 feet between the monster and I. As I flew away from it, I could see its beady eye focus in on me as it helplessly continued forward before it came to a running stop once more.
It walked around in a full circle before finally facing me again. Its eyes had a certain hostility in them, the same hostile eyes which I grew accustomed to back within the old school building.
I brandished my sword once more, holding it out in front of me in a mock attempt to judge the distance between the boar and myself. Just as I did so, it rocketed forward once more, this time, its head slightly bent downwards as it led with the tip of its ram-like horns.
Like before, I jumped to the side, avoiding a would be fatal blow, which instead of crushing my rib cage, crushed a pair of lockers.
This pattern continued for a while. The boar dashing forward while I simply avoided with a simple side step. By this point, I had understood a lot about the creatures method of attack and its subsequent limitations.
For one, it could only rush forward. While such an attack did hold great amount of power, in truth this was the only thing it could do. Its body type limited it from making any sharp turns, and it seemed to me like it could neither walk backwards properly. There was also one other thing; when it wanted to ram someone with its horns, it would lower its head, temporarily blocking its vision.
Indeed, it was a monster with great rushing speed, and power but with a terrible sense for battle. Its greatest strength lay in its speed, a speed that not many people could react to, but once you take away that advantage...
As the beast recklessly charged forward, I gave it a few light nicks here and there. The intent behind my strikes wasn’t to deal damage, but rather to test the waters. One thing I discovered was that its hide was abnormally thick, and underneath that hide was another layer of fat which acted as a last line of defense.
As such, short bladed weapons like a dagger would do little damage. Even if I could penetrate the blade through its body, the hide and fat combination stopped the blade from going any deeper. As such, I had to rely on the black sword which I wasn’t all that proficient in. Of course, I could always just throw the daggers at its vital spots, like say, the eye or its nose….
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
By the time I felt satisfied with “playing” with it, the boar’s hp had dwindled down to less than half, and due to its numerous efforts at charging towards me, it currently panted heavily, rows of white rancid steam continuously flowed out of its agape jaw.
In contrast, I was left unharmed.
I repositioned myself directly in the middle of the open hallway as I faced of against the boar once more. With the fresh red on my black sword, I raised it deftly like a matador at a bullfight. The boar, despite its growing fatigue, roared fiercely before it dashed forward.
Like all my previous encounters, I followed the boar’s movements with a quick side step. But unlike prior, instead of jumping to the side with 2 feet strides, I remained close with the bore, before I ultimately raised my blade high and-
[Dissect]!
The black blade in my hand whistled forward before it made contact with the Boar’s left front leg. At the exact space where the kneecap formed, my blade cut through sinew, and bone like it was made out of butter.
A moment later, with the upcoming spray of blood, a single leg flew through the air.
The beast squealed in agony before it came to a crash on the floor.
Taking light, and steady steps, I walked around the beast, taking note of its heavy panting and vain attempts at rising again.
I circled around it before I came to a stop at its other front leg. With one swing of my blade and with the activation of my skill, I once again removed its limb. It squealed in agony once more, its vocal orchestra in tone with the deduction of hp in its status window.
I repeated this process with its remaining legs. While cutting off the two front appendages would have been enough, I wanted to take extra precautions. After all, you can never be too careful. By the time it became a legless stump, only about 10 % of its remaining hp remained.
I could have killed it then and there, but instead I slowly waited for it to bleed out. After all, I don’t really want to damage any of the good muscle and meat it had in its main body. Standing just a couple feet away from it, I quietly waited with an imposing stance and an indifferent expression on my face.
Its constant squealing had grown quiet, resulting in only a heavy pant to escape every now and then. While I did wait, it really was taking a while. Even though 10 minutes had passed, it still retained 6% of its hp.
Truly, this was quite a stubborn monster. Even in its final death throes, it was causing me numerous trouble and grief.
Growing bored, I decided to occupy my free time with a bit of “harvesting”.
Well, while I planned to do this after it had finally died, my boredom and impatience slightly tweaked that original intention. With soft and light footsteps I came closer to the beast.
It reacted slightly, but otherwise remained silent. I grabbed the boar’s protruding tusk and examined it closely. The boar tried moving its jaw as I did so, but I reacted by stabbing its cheek with my dagger. Every time it moved, I stabbed its cheek. Eventually, it learned, and thus remained unmoving despite my proximity.
I felt the rough texture of the tusk. It felt hard, yet at the same time hollow. A hollow tooth- was the best way to describe it. I yanked at it timidly, testing its sturdiness. Every time I moved the tusk, the boar’s head would follow. If I yanked it upwards, the boar would tilt its neck up. If I yanked it down, it would tilt its head down, and vise versa. Doing something like this was a bit fun in its own right, but right now I needed to focus.
Removing my mind out from the gutter, I once again properly looked at the tusk. Without a moment’s hesitation I brought [Efhermet] close to the base before I-
SQUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
It roared painfully. It might have been just me, but I could have sworn there were tears in its eyes. Never the less I continued. Ignoring its pained wails, I continued hacking at the tusk with the blade of my dagger. As expected, it wasn’t an easy feat. The boar still moved around recklessly, causing a bit of difficulty in my aim, plus a dagger wasn’t really the ideal tool for severing a tusk.
Fortunately, I found that with the use of [Dissect], I could supplement for the disadvantages given in my current situation. After 5 [Dissect] hacks, the tusk cleanly separated from the boar’s main body. As it parted, the boar let loose its last death cry, dying just as I finished. It seemed as if it's constant thrashing had accelerated the bleeding effect, causing it to die sooner rather than later.
Seeing this spectacle, I simply shrugged nonchalantly before I rose from my spot and took a step backwards. With my hands on my hips, I examined its carcass from afar. After a minute of silently staring, I decided to get on with what I had planned to do from the start.
With this, it was time to properly “harvest”.
While I had no prior knowledge nor experience concerning how to properly process an animal carcass, at the very least, I could try. If worse comes to worse, I can always hunt down another boar.
The first thing I did was separate the skin from its main torso. As I did so, it took quite a bit of effort. Its hide was indeed thick and a lot of elbow grease was put just into finding the right angle which to cut at the skin with.
After a couple minutes, I managed to properly peel away the fur, careful not to damage both the hide and the meat. Currently, aside from the boar’s head, its body was completely hairless, well aside from the occasional rough spot here and there. There was a book about pelts and how to properly clean and manufacture them within the pile of books I brought from the library. I would look at that later, but for now, I set the fur to the side as I got to work on the remainder of the body.
The first thing I did was extract the meat. Following the lines and contours of the muscle, I cut up the beast carefully, making sure to cut up separate pieces like the loin, and hind leg. This took quite a considerable amount of time, but after 20 minutes I managed to get a decent pile going. The finished products we’re put to the side carefully, on top of the hide.
Afterwards, I stepped back to admire my work. Blood had trickled onto my face, making me a fair bit peeved, since I had just recently taken bath, but nonetheless, a sense of pride welled up inside me upon seeing my finished work.
Currently, the boar had a large portion of its bone exposed. To the side, was a whole slew of guts and organs which I did not know what to do with. Despite the mess, I felt somewhat satisfied with my current rate of progress.
Now I just had to wait for the others.
Normally, we planned on meeting up after I successfully led the lead boar away from the others. Judging by the situation, it seemed as if I separated a bit too far.
With nothing to do but simply sit and wait, I decided not to just idle around like this.
I resumed “harvesting” but this time, due to completely different intentions. The first thing I did, was scooping out the boar’s eyeballs using the tip of my dagger. I did this carefully and on a whim, paying particularly close attention to its lifeless iris, and the extending vein that connected the eye to the brain.
Next I separated its tongue. You know, after all beef tongue is considered to be quite a delicacy. Maybe boar tongue will taste the same. With greedy and gluttonous intentions, I set the tongue aside alongside the rest of the meats. Next up was its teeth. From the protruding canines, it was obvious enough that this type of boar was carnivorous. Pulling out the teeth was exceptionally difficult to do, so after I hacked off the remaining tusk, I forgoed the idea, and simply separated its whole jaw.
I continued this series of actions for some time. I payed close attention to its face- playing and separating methodically with its horns, ears, nose, etc.
I don’t know whether it was due to my constant use of [Dissect] in the process, but through my lax actions, I gained a new skill.
New Sub-skill for [Dissect] learned!
Butcher [Active]
With the basics of anatomy as your foundation, you have gained the ability to slaughter and cut up for food.
Skill Type: Regular
Skill Rank: Beginner
Skill Level: 1
Skill Experience: 0%
Effects:
Increased efficiency when processing dead corpses for materials. Materials include but are not limited to: Bone, organ, muscle, fat, and/or skin.
Current Specialization:
Monster: Boar
Animal: Pig, Boar
Human: n/a
Looking closely at the window panel, I knew full well that the [Butcher] skill was a non combative skill, something purely designed for after a battle. On that note, up until this point, I’ve had the vague assumption that learning new skills was something extremely difficult to do. After all, my only skill which I properly learned- Dissect- was something I acquired after slaughtering several dozens of goblins.
This was quite a contrast from how quickly I learned the [Butcher] skill, only taking one corpse for its acquirement. In the end, I simply attributed this to my already existing skill [Dissect]. The two skills were greatly related, and it wouldn’t be a stretch of logic to assume that [Dissect] facilitated in the faster acquirement of [Butcher].
Satisfied with the results, I once again waited patiently for the arrival of the girls. With nothing else to do, I haphazardly used [identify] on all the various body parts which I sloppily processed. Each part registered as a separate item, having a description of something miscellaneous like “The tusk of a Lesser Tusk Boar, C+ Crafting material.” or “The eyeball of a Lesser Tusk Boar, E- Alchemy material”.
No information whether the Boar was actually eatable or not exposed itself. Whether monster meat is poisonous or not, I’ll have to find out through experimentation and trial.
Nothing interesting or noteworthy happened as I continued doing petty identifications.
A few minutes after I identified the last body part, the three girls arrived, all while brandishing several differing expressions.
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Author's Note:If you liked this chapter or story in general, please rate or revie. I appreciate the feedback.