The Wild Hogs in Ironthorn Forest are robust animals that have adapted to their rugged habitat.
The Wild Hogs are known for their voracious eating habits, devouring almost anything they come across. Even the sharp, thorn-covered vines of the ironthorn bush, from which the forest derives its name, are no match for their relentless hunger. These animals were capable of digesting even the most formidable natural defenses.
The Wild Hogs are also highly territorial and fiercely protective of their territory. When confronted by predators or perceived threats, they react with incredible temper, charging into battle with astonishing speed and aggression. Their iron-like hides provide formidable protection in such confrontations.
The Wild Hogs can also envelop their entire bodies with elemental magic, effectively transforming themselves into living weapons.
The Wild Hogs have very good noses, so Sai was forced to literally take a mud bath to make sure the Wild Hogs didn’t pick up his smell.
The Wild Hogs didn’t spot or even smell Sai's approach.
Sai was crouching in a bush spying on the group of Wild Hogs. He counted seven Wild Hogs, each animal was level 15.
His earlier strategy of using poison carrots was modified to poison potatoes.
“Now this is going to be the tricky part,” Sai got the potato and prepared to throw it.
There was a chance that the Wild Hogs would think that the flying potato was an attack. Then they will charge toward Sai’s hiding spot.
Sai would have to run away if it happens. He had no intention of directly fighting with a group of Wild Hogs who held both a numerical advantage were all higher level then he was and a willingness to recreate the chilling scene from ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ were a person was eaten by pigs.
Sai cautiously tossed the poison potato near the group of Wild Hogs.
The hogs noticed the potato and were startled, they backed off from the potato.
Luckily they didn’t charge at Sai in his hiding spot.
With his first throw not immediately causing the pigs to attack, Sai continued to throw the rest of the poison potato toward the Wild Hogs.
The pigs didn't dive into the potatoes right away. Instead, they cautiously approached the vegetable, giving it curious sniffs and tentative licks. It wasn't until one of them finally decided to take the plunge, gingerly placing the potato into its mouth, that the feast truly began. The sound of chewing and the sight of pigs happily swallowing soon spread throughout the group, and in no time, all of them were enthusiastically chowing down on the potatoes, their tails wagging in the air with delight.
All the potatoes were finished and Sai started to worry that he might not have put enough poison into the potato. He saw no effects on the Wild Hogs, even though they ate multiple potatoes.
Sai was left waiting in the bush observing the hogs. After a few minutes passed he witnessed one of the Wild Hogs collapse on the ground. Then another two Wild Hogs fell forward on the ground. Until the entire group of Wild Hogs were on the ground.
A ring sound alerted him. 'Level up!'
'Level up!'
'Level up!'
Sai shoulders untensed. “That worked. I’m so glad that worked.”
With three level ups, Sai was now level 15. He gained 9 points and he moved them all into Agility.
Sai new updated Blessing Window.
Level 15 Title Hero Agility 30 Durability 176 Mana 3 Mind 3 Strength 9 Remaining Points 0 Gift Sour Apples
Slither then advised. “You still need to kill the rest of the hogs. The poison hasn’t completely killed all of them.”
Three out of the seven Wild Hogs were still alive. All the Wild Hogs were lying unmoving from the ground.
“Yeah,” Sai moved out from the bushes. His Greedy Jar providing green poison, he was able to transform the poison into a spear.
Sai got his spear ready to thrust at the nearest alive Wild Hog.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Sai swiftly withdrew as large spikes descended, piercing everything in the vicinity. The Wild Hogs were killed by the spikes, and the one that didn't hit its intended target became firmly embedded in the earth.
"Who just attacked me!?" Sai gazed skyward, his eyes scanning the trees in an attempt to discover the source of the attack. He spotted a dark silhouette darting swiftly among the trees, disturbing the leaves as it moved.
Large spikes were hurled at Sai. He skillfully dodged the assault. Sai identified the spikes as originating from the Ironthorn bush, although they now appeared even darker and possessed deadlier, sharper tips. Sai would easily recognize the weapon, afterall he was crawling through them all day.
Slither leaped out of Sai's pocket and transformed into a massive, luminescent snake, resembling the size of an anaconda. "Those primates are ambushing us," Slither warned.
Slither moved fast and climbed the tree to launch an attack on the enemy.
“Oo oo oo ah ah!” The enemy fought the luminescent snake back with a black spike.
“Chimpanzee?” Sai muttered, taking a better look.
The enemies were much larger than normal chimpanzees, their face was covered in red marking resembling tattoos. They also had armor on the top half of their body.
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Whoosh! Whoosh!
Sai instinctively dashed forward, narrowly avoiding a barrage of sharpened spikes that whizzed through the air above him. He watched as the deadly projectiles embedded themselves in the ground with a sickening thud.
Sai knew he couldn't keep dodging the spikes forever. He had to find a way to confront the enemy and end this menace.
In a split second, he swiftly decided to sprint towards the nearest Ironthorn bush. Reaching the Ironthorn bush, he rolled into the bush, using it as a cover. The enraged screeches of the chimpanzee reverberated through the air above. Concealed by the Ironthorn bush, Sai carefully devised his next course of action.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Spikes were hitting the Ironthorn bush but were diverted by the sharp thorns.
“Oo oo oo ah ah!” The large chimpanzee jumped into the clearing drumming his chest. The primate continues to jump and screech.
Sai could clearly see the enemy he was facing. A level 20 chimpanzee.
Sai still had his poison made spear clenched in his hand, he summoned every ounce of his strength to hurl it towards the primate.
The large chimpanzee knocked the spear from the air with its own spike.
SCREEEECH.
A deafening shockwave of sound, so powerful that it caused the very air to tremble, emanated from the chimpanzee. It struck Sai with such force that his eardrums throbbed in excruciating pain.
The chimpanzee sprinted through the open space on all fours at an astonishing pace, charging towards Sai. In response, Sai quickly rose to his feet and assumed a boxing stance.
Sai unleashed a lightning-quick punch, but the large chimpanzee evaded it effortlessly by leaping over the incoming blow.
The primate brandished his spike and thrust the spike to pierce Sai's forehead.
Snap.
The spike broke on impact. Sai was knocked back deeper into the Ironthrown bush.
Sai could feel the sharp needles poke his entire body. He realized the Ironthrown bush wasn’t strong enough to hurt him and neither could the primate’s spikes. “You can’t hurt me!”
SCREEEECH.
The chimpanzee unleashed a deafening shockwave, causing Sai's ears to ring as he rose to his feet.
Once on his feet, Sai sprinted towards the chimpanzee and launched a rapid jab.
The chimpanzee swiftly evaded the jab with high agility.
Undeterred, Sai unleashed a barrage of lightning-fast punches at the primate.
The chimpanzee skillfully dodged each punch, mocking Sai with a series of expressive facial gestures while making chimp sounds, “Oo oo oo ah ah ah!”
The chimpanzee resorted to a tactic by flinging dirt at Sai's face, causing him to instinctively shut his eyes and shield his face with his arm. "This guy is fighting dirty!"
The primate seized Sai's legs and hurled him towards a nearby tree.
Thud.
With a resounding thud, Sai collided with the tree before rebounding and landing on the ground. He exclaimed in frustration, "Give me a chance to land a hit at least!"
It was like swatting a fly, the chimpanzee was so fast and nimble that his punches couldn’t touch him.
Sai summoned poison from his Greedy Jar and created eight needles. He launched the poison needle at the primate.
Swift as a bird, the chimpanzee charged at the venomous needles.
In a rapid maneuver, the chimpanzee leaped into the air, contorting its body to slip through the narrow gaps between the incoming needles. It closed the distance to Sai and delivered a powerful slap to his face.
Crunch.
“OOOOO!” The primate cried out in shock.
Sai’s face was fine. However the chimpanzee's hand was broken by the slap.
Without hesitation, Sai launched a relentless flurry of punches.
The chimpanzee skillfully evaded each of Sai's attacks at the very last moment. It then swiftly leaps backward.
Sai summoned more needles in pursuit of the wounded chimpanzee.
The needles found their mark, striking the primate. However, Sai soon recognized his mistake as the needles hit the chimpanzee's protective armor.
The wounded chimpanzee leaped into a nearby tree and disappeared deeper into the foliage ,vanishing from Sai's view.
Sai maintained his vigilance, ready for the impending counterattack.
But as he remained poised for the next strike, it never materialized, leaving him waiting in suspense.
A luminescent snake dropped from the sky. “They're retreated,” Slither says, reverted back to his small snake form.
Sai decided to sit on the ground. He started to rub his ears, “Who were they?”
“No good thiefs,” Slither said. “They will wait until we weaken our prey and then take the kills. Those primates will use anything they can get their hands on to win.”
Sai nodded his head. The chimpanzees were dangerous because of their resourcefulness. Throughout the battle, he couldn’t land a single hit.
Rustle! Rustle!
A Land Dragon was walking out of the bushes.
The Land Dragon was 15 feet long and at least 4 feet tall, with a very slender body and long legs. It flapped its frills which was disk-like, similar to a frilled lizard. It has bluish and green scales.
It moved slowly toward the Wild Hog's dead body. When it was close enough, it started to eat the carcass.
Sai turned to Slither and asked, “Shouldn’t we do something? He is taking my prey?”
Slither shook his head. “I don’t want to fight against a Land Dragon. Their Apex predators. It is better that we leave it alone to enjoy its meal.”
Sai frowned. “Will we lose? He's a level 5 Land Dragon.”
Slither thought for a moment, “There is a very high possibility of me dying. Lets not poke a literal dragon.”
Hrraaa!
The Land Dragon made a warning sound as it stood tall with his frills fully extended. It looked like it was trying to appear larger than it originally was.
Slither shook his head. “Let's go, I don’t want to stay in this weather anymore.”
“Alright...”
----
Sai and Slither were back to the Fairy Community.
Sai was happy.
Sai was clean from mud and dirt from the hunt. He laid content on a blanket and sighed in relief.
Slither curled up next to Sai, “Do you have any other abilities other than your poison?”
Sai thought for a moment, “I am very hard to kill.” He then pounded his chest.
Slither then said, “Have you ever tried building a house with terrible materials? It's like trying to weave a web with broken threads and dried-up sap. You can't create something strong and sturdy if you start with rubbish, you know.”
“Uh, Slither, what are you talking about? Building a house with bad materials?”
“Exactly! And that's the problem. It's time you faced a harsh truth, your current skills are inadequate to battle the higher level magic beasts lurking in these woods. If you seek to contend with them, you need to fortify your abilities."
“How exactly am I going to do that? Practice?”
“A whole lot of practice. Until you attain the mastery title, or, at the very least, until you can say you are proficient at a skill,” Slither explained. “Hunting Magic Beasts at level 16 or higher with your current skill level is very dangerous and risky. Most of those at such levels won't be susceptible to your tactics. The War Hogs and rabbits were easy targets compared to the ones at higher level. Magic Beast will grow more intelligent and cunning as they level up.”
“Okay got it. Got it. A lot of practice to beef myself up against the higher echelon of Magic Beasts,” Sai said. “I am curious though. What kind of animals am I going to be hunting next anyway?”
“The Ironthorn Forest is really big. We got bears roaming around attacking every creature that walks in its path. We got like three different kinds of bears. This is seriously important, we have Black Bears, Grizzly Bears and Short-Faced Bears. Also their meat is very pungent and they taste terrible.”
“The trees are infested with chimpanzees! Those chimpanzees love to sneak attack and ambush. They would commit war crimes if it means they would win. However, their brains are delicious.”
“At night it is the most dangerous time. Their tigers are roaming around looking for a meal. A pack of direwolves trying to hunt animals and people down. I dream about eating them, alas they are very dangerous to hunt.”
“The most dangerous though are the hawks! They killed my brother! He was simply going about his business when he was seized by those bird’s razor-sharp talons. He vanished without a trace. These hawks are swift, agile, and can maneuver through the forest without sacrificing their speed.”
“Also the Sasquatch, that creature is super elusive.”
“Sasquatch?” Sai said in surprise.
“Yes, Sasquatch, it can snap your neck without you noticing.”
“I want to see this Sasquatch,” Sai admitted
“Didn’t you hear anything I said? You don't have enough skill to take on a stronger threat. So what should you do?” Slither asked.
Sai sighed and said, “Get stronger and then go hunt.”
“Get stronger and then go hunt,” Slither said back as he nodded his scaly head. “Also the stags! They're particular everywhere! They taste really good though, never fight them in the fall, they're super aggressive in the fall season. However they do taste good.”
Slither continues to tell Sai all the dangerous magic beasts in the Ironthron Forest.