Percy groaned as he twisted his body to an uncomfortable degree to evade one of the white flashes whizzing past his head. He stumbled backward but gained enough foothold to dive to the side as more white flashes shot to his location. He evaded the monsters, jumped up from the ground, and changed back to one of the simple defensive techniques the old man had taught him in the past.
His eyes flicked left and right, studying the small battlefield in detail while cold sweat trickled down his temples. Percy’s throat was parched, but not a single thought was wasted on water. His mind rattled, trying to take in the details of the battlefield and devise a plan to get rid of the Berserk Rabbits.
Six Berserk Rabbits alive, two dead.
Two small interfaces showing the Prosperity he could earn from the Berserk Rabbits confirmed their deaths. He couldn’t use [Consume] on the living. They weren’t his property, after all. That made it much easier to pinpoint the dead and expose monsters faking their deaths.
Unfortunately, it didn’t help him kill the remaining Berserk Rabbits.
Percy didn’t roam near the outskirts of the forest for long before he found the fresh corpse of a monster. A moment later, a small group of eight Berserk Rabbits attacked him. Apparently, that was the usual number for a pack of Berserk Rabbits.
If Percy had encountered the eight Berserk Rabbits yesterday, he would have struggled and despaired. But now? The Percy of today was nothing like the frail youth from yesterday. He was more confident, remembered what he’d learned about the Berserk Rabbits in the Beginner Monstrology, and his body was nothing like it used to be. Percy felt more flexible, stronger, agile, and perceptive.
At this point, Percy wasn’t any slower than the Berserk Rabbits.
It was all to the mana coursing through him and his body finally being on par with the average Mortal-2 Gifted.
I have to thank Leonhard for the food. Of course, Bertha, as well!
This morning, he might have used up most of his mana to illuminate the orb in the Guildhall, but Percy managed to recuperate the used-up mana quickly. In fact, he felt that being filled to the brim with delicious – highly nutritious – food helped him replenish mana much faster. His pores opened up, creating a strong suctioning force to pull the surrounding mana into his body. He wasn’t sure if that was normal, but it felt nice. The mana coursing through him was cooling, calming, and invigorating. It was everything he needed.
Percy smiled, excitement filling his entire body. He’d killed two Berserk Rabbits without sustaining any injuries and evaded the remaining Berserk Rabbits without any issues either. At first, Percy struggled, but their attack pattern remained the same as yesterday. It was exactly the same as mentioned in the Beginner Monstrology!
Since he wasn’t slower than the Berserk Rabbits anymore, Percy could focus on their attack pattern. Dealing with multiple Berserk Rabbits was still troublesome, but he quickly learned that he was more flexible, had a wider range of attack due to his dagger and long arms, and his weight played a much more significant role than expected.
He could leverage his strength much better, being heavier than the Berserk Rabbits, whose weight didn’t even reach three kilograms.
The numerical disadvantage was annoying, but Percy still retained the upper hand throughout the battle.
He saw a gray flash from the corner of his eye and suddenly changed his tactic. The Berserk Rabbits never considered him a predator. They looked at him like he was a helpless prey. Losing two of their colleagues wasn’t even registered in their minds.
The grey Berserk Rabbit shot toward Percy’s neck, ready to rip it apart. However, what it found was a razor-sharp dagger piercing through its abdomen.
Percy clenched the iron dagger tightly as it cut deep into the monster’s abdomen. The monster’s momentum did the rest. A pained squeak was all that remained as the Berserk Rabbit collapsed to the ground, its intestines spilling out of the wide-open wound.
Not yet dead.
He couldn’t finish the Berserk Rabbit as the others charged forward. They didn’t move faster, but the death of their third mate hit them harder than the others. Their attacks grew more reckless and relentless, playing right into Percy’s cards.
He leveraged his weight and momentum to kick the closest Berserk Rabbit with as much force as possible while spinning around to block the pounce of another white Berserk Rabbit.
His empty hand shot forward, his fist smashing into the face of a third Berserk Rabbit. A moment later, he pulled back, readied the iron dagger, and jumped ahead, switching smoothly from defending into attacking.
The Berserk Rabbits didn’t switch their tactic. Instead, they also charged ahead.
Percy managed to pierce a rabbit’s neck, but one of them managed to bite into his leg while another one tore his right lower arm apart. At least, it was trying to.
His skin was tougher than before. It wasn’t tough enough to block the monster from tearing into his flesh, but the pain was unlike yesterday. The mana within him surged toward his arm and leg at will, cooling the wounds right away.
The monsters were busy digging their fangs as deep into Percy’s flesh as possible and didn’t even see the blade coming. He avoided piercing their eyes but sliced deep into their necks and throats. A wave of disgust overwhelmed Percy, but he didn’t think about stopping once. He knew his life would be over if he gave up now. Two more Berserk Rabbits pounced at him.
Since he was already injured, Percy didn’t mind sustaining another injury. He would be fine if he could avoid injuring his vital points. He locked onto one of the two Berserk Rabbits – the other one he’d kicked before. It was slower and thus disregarded as a priority – caught it mid-air and drove his dagger into its side. The Berserk Rabbit squealed and was ready to bite his hand and tear it apart with its tiny claws, but Percy twisted the dagger in the rabbit’s body and tore downward with as much strength as he could muster.
The Berserk Rabbit’s squeal intensified, and it lost itself in the unbearable pain. Percy grasped the Berserk Rabbit tighter than before once the iron dagger left its body and hurled it toward the other – injured – Berserk Rabbit.
A loud crack resounded, but there was only one interface. The other Berserk Rabbit survived…until Percy pounced forward. The iron dagger pierced deep into the last Berserk Rabbit’s back, ending its misery.
Percy didn’t loosen up. He was still tense and looked across the battlefield to study the interfaces.
6x [Berserk Rabbit – Mature – 7 Prosperity]
1x [Berserk Rabbit – Mature – 8 Prosperity]
1x [Berserk Rabbit – Old – 6 Prosperity]
Eight interfaces from eight enemies.
The battle was over.
A heavy sigh escaped Percy’s lips.
“That was…intense.” He murmured, looking down at his bloodied sleeve and pants.
A groan escaped his lips, “These were new…”
The wounds didn’t ache as much as he’d feared, but the reason was fairly obvious. The mana within him swirled around the open wounds, mending them slowly.
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If the wounds had been any worse, that wouldn’t be enough…but the Berserk Rabbits didn’t dig too deep into my flesh. They didn’t damage anything vital.
Percy wasn’t sure how he knew, but he could tell that his mana would be enough to mend the wounds. Not immediately, of course, but he should be fully healed by tomorrow or the day after at the latest.
His mana was slowly used to mend his wound, but Percy wasn’t worried. Mana came to him naturally.
The Berserk Rabbits give me a good amount of Prosperity. If I use [Consume] now, I might have enough to rank up again. Still, I’ll probably have to add my remaining copper coins and [Consume] them. Ranking up sounds quite pleasant. But do I really need to rank up immediately? The Berserk Rabbits can earn me a silver or more. Should I return, sell the Berserk Rabbits, rank up with the money earned from them, and return to continue hunting with renewed strength?
Percy swallowed hard. The eight Berserk Rabbit corpses would fit into his large bag. Carrying them back to Raewood wouldn’t be an issue. But, despite being injured, Percy was unwilling to leave. Something held him back from returning right away. Too late did he sense the tremors in the earth.
The tremors intensified, and Percy tensed up. He heard something from the bushes. It was loud…heavy…
Percy didn’t know what awaited him, but he retreated and took a combat stance. All of a sudden, a giant creature emerged from the thicket, uprooting the surrounding bushes with its shocking momentum.
A roar…no, a resounding grunt reached Percy’s ears.
A mature Hill Hog!
Percy cursed, only to pale when he saw what the Berserk Rabbits had been feasting on inside the bushes until he’d interrupted them. It was a piglet… the Hill Hog’s piglet.
A female Hill Hog. Shit!
Percy knew that there was no time to hesitate. If the Hill Hog were to run from him, Percy would leave it alone, but Hill Hogs were naturally aggressive and overprotective. He’d read about that less than two hours ago.
Running away is not an option. It’s not as nimble, but Hill Hogs are fast, heavy, and highly durable. The females are known for being the most dangerous. Percy recited in his mind.
The females were known for being able to enter a state of endless rage if their piglet were to die before it reached maturity. The biggest problem was that their rage was fixated on a single point. They would lock onto a target and pursue it until the end.
I didn’t kill it! Don’t you dare attack me!
Percy screamed in his mind, hoping that not moving would be enough to prevent the Hill Hog from discovering him. Unfortunately, Percy was the only one left alive. The perpetrators were already dead, but the female Hill Hog was still in fury.
It found Percy, locked onto him and charged straight at him.
Now, it was either him or the monster. One of them had to die.
Percy cursed under his breath but dived to the side, ignoring his wounds. He’d just stopped bleeding, but his injuries tore open again.
The Hill Hog charged past him, its massive body nearly brushing him. A gust of wind splashed into his face, and he imagined what would have happened if the monster had crashed into him.
Not a single bone in my body would remain intact. I would be dead and broken, smashed to a paste.
He shuddered but focused on the battle ahead. The Hill Hog was fast, and its charge was frightening enough to stir the ground around him. However, it had a hard time turning around. Fueled in rage, it flicked its head in Percy’s direction the instant it missed him. Percy could barely see it turn around quickly. However, the ‘quick’ turn wasn’t as quick as Percy expected, and it was accompanied by cracking noises, creating a cacophony of pained grunts and cracks.
Is it breaking its body to turn around faster? Seven Hells!! How mad can you be to destroy your own body like that?
Percy retreated. He walked past the Berserk Rabbit corpses and reached the remnants of the Hill Hog piglet. That enraged the mother, who squealed aloud before charging at Percy.
It is even faster!
Percy’s eyes narrowed to tiny slits, his heart palpated, and his entire being told him to run for his life. To disappear into the forest and escape. However, he knew from the Beginner Monstrology that the Hill Hog would fight him. No matter where he went, it would come for him. The only way to stop it was to kill it.
He stepped to the side ever so slightly, forcing the Hill Hog mother to adjust her trajectory. A moment later, Percy readied his weapon.
He held his breath, watching the huge creature charge at him. Only now did he realize that the Hill Hog was even larger than himself. That was rare for a Common monster. Being as heavy as the Hill Hog was also unusual for a Common Monster. That was also why most rookie adventurers were told to avoid them until they gained enough practical experience in the wilderness.
Unfortunately, Percy wasn’t given that pleasure. His hair stood up to its end, and his body urged him to jump when the Hill Hog was less than ten meters away, but Percy didn’t move. He waited another second before he lowered his body until he jumped toward the Hill Hog’s left side.
In its rage, the Hill Hog mother tried to impale him and trample him to death but Percy was already out of range.
Percy jumped up with a scream and dashed toward the Hill Hog. It tried turning around but couldn't stop its own charge in time, resulting in more cracking noises and pained grunts, all overshadowed by a massive collision.
The Hill Hog smashed into the biggest tree trunk Percy could find quickly. The tree creaked and twisted, taking Percy by surprise, but the Hill Hog wasn’t unscathed either.
Its head is locked!
Percy shouted, switching to the other side when he realized the Hill Hog mother was having difficulty looking straight ahead and to its right. Percy disappeared from the Hill Hog’s sight, fueling the monster with more rage. It wasn’t until a moment later that the monster realized that Percy was still there. Something stung into its neck, though not deep enough to do considerable damage.
Let alone killing the Hill Hog with a single blow; it was barely injured.
Why is your hide so tough?! Aren’t you a Common Monster?
He stabbed the Hill Hog in the neck, but only the tip of his dagger vanished into the neck. For a large creature like a Hill Hog, that was nowhere enough.
I’m too weak! What about ranking up?
A burst of strength would be helpful, but Percy quickly realized that [Consume] didn’t work on the Berserk Rabbit corpses. He was too far. His Ego didn’t trigger.
He considered consuming his leather pouch and the copper coins, but his last Tier rank-up wouldn’t be this cheap. Even consuming the Berserk Rabbits might not give him enough Prosperity to rank up again. It was possible but too uncertain.
Upgrading my rank doesn’t provide more strength instantaneously, either. Well, no. It does, through the increase of mana inside me. But what’s the use of more mana if my body doesn’t have enough nutrients to gain enough strength to pierce the Hill Hog? Even if I gain strength…will it be enough to pierce through the Hill Hog?
Percy used every bit of strength at his disposal to push the dagger deeper into the Hill Hog, but it was to no avail. The Hill Hog squealed and jumped around. It nearly stomped Percy to death if he didn’t pull the dagger out before pulling back. He used the creaking tree trunk to hide while the Hill Hog continued throwing its body around.
Its neck is still locked. Attacking it head-on would be stupid, but it can no longer use its full power. How about piercing its eyes as well? No, I can take advantage of its restricted sight already. If I blind it…What if I pierce the dagger deep enough, though? For that, I won’t be given enough time. The enraged Hill Hog won’t lie down and let me pierce its brain that easily.
Upgrading the dagger’s sharpness would do…but what if it breaks like the pebbles? I can upgrade it again, the thread is still there…but what if it cracks. I cannot defeat the Hill Hog with bare hands.
Too many ideas flashed through his mind, but none sounded pleasant. Most resulted in severe injuries on his side or suicidal actions, which were both things he would much rather avoid if possible.
If it had been two days ago, Percy would be scared shitless and unable to move at the sight of the Hill Hog. Fortunately, the mana coursing through him calmed Percy’s nerves. He wasn’t calm like a sea or unaffected, but it gave his mind enough space to work.
As if his mana sensed his gratefulness, it stirred. It circulated through his arms and legs, mending his wounds. At the same time, something else happened…something Percy had realized before but didn’t comprehend properly.
The mana within me strengthened my body. If that’s the case–...
The Hill Hog mother thrashed around and found Percy staring blankly at his dagger. A glint of determination and unbending resolve flashed through his eyes as he looked up again, but the Hill Hog didn’t care.
It charged ahead with terrifying momentum, ready to squash the murderer of its little piglet!
**
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