John stood his ground while gazing at Great Boar that was getting closer and closer. He could have run away as soon as he finished ambushing the stag, but he wished to test himself against the Great Boar.
Although the Great Boar was quite dangerous in close combat, its speed was just average, while its agility was quite low. If the man being chased ran in a zig-zag, while putting trees between himself and the Great Boar, he could escape with relative ease.
In John's eyes, the man either didn't know that or was too scared to think straight. Either way, John wouldn't let him die without trying to help.
"Keep running towards me!" John ordered the man.
It would be impossible for him to beat the Great Boar in a direct confrontation. Fortunately, his combat style was focused exactly on the magical beast's main weakness; mobility.
The man kept running until finally, he passed by John, while the Great Boar was coming behind.
John sidestepped away from its path while slashing with both swords towards its hind leg, which wasn't that hard given that the Great Boar was completely focused on the other human.
Although its skin was quite thick, John's attack still managed to cut through it, along with some of its muscles, leaving two bloody gashes.
*Breeeeee!!!* The Great Boar gave another high-pitched cry before stopping its charge.
Even when hit by the other human's knives, it hadn't got hurt, so now it was naturally angry. Ignoring the other human who was now hidden behind a tree, it turned towards John, its black eyes focused on this little human who dared to hurt it.
John stood still, looking back at the Great Boar. His first strike was aimed at the magical beast's leg to lower even more its mobility.
Although slashing at its belly could cause more damage, it still wouldn't be able to kill the Great Boar, and it would take some time until the blood loss and the venom began to affect it.
One single strike from it would be enough to seriously injure John, so he needed a more immediate solution.
"Come on you dumb pig, I'll make pork chops out of you!" John yelled towards the Great Boar.
Although it couldn't understand what he was saying, seeing John yelling towards it angered the Great Boar even more.
*Breeee!!!* With another cry, the Great Boar began its charge, its long tusks pointed at John.
His strategy remained the same, as he couldn't afford to get hit even once. With a roll, John dodged the tusks pointed at him, and once again managed to slash at its legs, though the wounds this time weren't as deep as the first ones.
*Breeee!* The Great Boar cried in pain. It turned a 180 and tried headbutting him, but it was simply too slow compared to the nimble John.
Jumping backward, John got out of the attack range, and the Great Boar simply hit the air.
Taking advantage of the opening, John darted forward while stabbing towards its eye.
Sensing the danger, the Great Boar raised its head, and the two shortswords pierced through its cheek.
John quickly removed the shortswords and once again jumped backward, avoiding the second headbutt and preparing to once again attack...
------
'Damn, that beast bait is quick, the Great Boar hasn't hit him once.' Tom was astounded by what he was seeing.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Hiding behind a tree, he watched as the black boy was able to keep dodging the Great Boar's attacks, while continuously injuring it.
'He is only a level 4 Fighter, how can he be so powerful?'
Tom himself was a level 3 Fighter, but even if he was also at level 4 he wouldn't be able to move like John did.
'At this rate, he may very well kill the Great Boar by himself, and obtain its tusks. It's tusks...' Tom thought about how much silver he could get for those and his eyes began to shine.
'He may not be taking any damage, but he's still having to dodge left and right while keeping attacking. Even if he wins, he will be exhausted, then I doubt he will be able to defend against a sneak attack.'
Silently, he picked up his throwing knives and prepared for the end of the fight.
All the while, neither John, tom or the Great Boar noticed the shadows raising slightly above the ground around the battlefield.
------
"Haaa... Haaa... Haaa..."
John was breathing heavily, beads of sweat running down his face and dripping on the ground.
His shortswords were pointed downwards and dripping with the magical beast's blood. The snake's venom coating having run out long ago.
Similarly, his head was also down, but his eyes were focused on the prey ahead.
That's right, prey. John no longer had any doubt about his victory, as it was just a matter of time now.
The Great Boar was full of slash wounds all over its giant body, with blood dripping out of them.
As if the blood loss wasn't enough, the snake's venom was showing its effects, with the Great Boar losing even more control of its legs and face muscles.
"Haaa... time to end this..." John lightly muttered before raising his head, the shortswords the following suit.
*Guuu...* *Guuu...*
The Great Boar was on its last legs, it knew it didn't have much chance of winning. Even so, it wouldn't give up while it still could fight.
With all the forces it had left, the Great Boar began charging towards John, although it wasn't able to reach even half its normal speed.
John was slightly crouched, waiting to deliver the last blow. He held the shortsword on his right hand, while the other one was back at the sheath.
The Great Boar kept approaching. 10 meters... 7 meters... 5 meters...
When it crossed the 3 meters mark, John finally made his move. Taking impulse, John jumped up towards the back of the Great Boar. With his level 4 Fighter cultivation, he was barely able to make the 2.5 meters jump.
Landing on its back, he used his left hand to hold onto the hairs of the Great Boar while the magical beast tried, to no avail, to throw him off.
Holding the shortsword with a reverse grip, he stabbed down at its neck, causing blood to flow out.
*Breeee!!!*
"Dammit!" John cursed. The stab was aimed at the spinal cord, but with all the shaking, he ended up missing. The wound he just did wouldn't be able to kill it immediately.
Even close to death, the magical beast continued trying to shake him off. Holding onto the shortsword with his right hand, he drew the other shortsword and once again stabbed down, with even more strength. This time, he didn't miss.
*Breeeee....*
The Great Boar gave one last high pitched cry before collapsing to the side. It was dead.
"Haaa... Haaa... Haaa..." John kept breathing heavily.
He had rolled away to avoid getting crushed by the Great Boar's body and was now kneeling on all fours, not even bothering to retrieve his weapons.
"Haha, hahaha." John laughed a bit while looking at the beast's body to his side.
Although exhausted, he was also quite ecstatic.
'That's a Great Boar, and I was able to kill it by myself.'
With this, even if he doesn't manage to find the stag's body, he will still have completed his hunt.
John took a few minutes to take his breath, before finally getting off the ground. He still had to retrieve his shortswords along with the Great Boar's tusks.
*Swish!*
But as soon as he got up, there was the sound of something sharp being thrown towards him.
------
Tom was behind a tree. He had his throwing knives in hand while watching the end of the fight.
He saw the black boy jump on the back of the Great Boar and stab each sword on its neck. In the end, the magical beast died and the black boy rolled to the side.
'C'mon bait, get up!' Tom was anxious. His plan was to attack as soon as the Great Boar died, but now its body was blocking his view.
Right now, Tom could only wait, as he wasn't sure he could kill the black boy in direct combat, even with he being quite tired, neither could he move, as it would alert the black boy to his presence.
The minutes seemed to drag on, and there was still nothing. He was starting to get impatient when finally, there was the sound of movement coming from behind the Great Boar's body.
He could see the black boy getting up from the ground, so he immediately threw one of his knives.
------
The knife was coming fast towards John's chest.
Normally, he could easily dodge such an attack, but he simply wasn't prepared for this, so he didn't dodge well.
He sidestepped to the right a little too late, and the knife pierced through the leather armor and lodged onto his shoulder.
John quickly crouched down behind the Great Boar's body, avoiding the second throwing knife.
"What the hell are you doing!?"