He heard the statue slide down behind him and close off the exit.

“⎅⟒⎎⟒⏃⏁ ⏁⊑⟒ ⏚⍜⏃⍀ ⏁⍜ ⏚⟒ ⏃⌰⌰⍜⍙⟒⎅ ⏁⍜ ⟒⌖⟟⏁.”

Kade’s eyes darted about the room to see if there was any hint of what the voice wanted him to do. Unfortunately, there couldn’t be a barer room in existence.

“System, what did the voice say?” Kade finally felt it was necessary to understand, since the room gave him no clue of what he needed to do.

The language is unknown.

He honestly did not expect that. He was about to resort to poking at the wall with the [Soulrend] when the room shook slightly.

Kade’s ears twitched when he heard something to his right.

A hidden door slid up to reveal a large silhouette that was waiting impatiently to be let in. It was on all fours, and once it took a step forward, he saw its features.

Kade wasn’t sure where the karnathis found a boar, but they apparently didn’t find it satisfactory for being completely organic. Instead of normal skin, this boar had a thick, stone-plated hide and sharp, metallic tusks.

Combining that with its massive size meant this beast of a monster could easily snap him in two if he was careless.

He could feel that the boar was more than a match for him. With his health already depleted from having to re-create the [Soulrend], he had to be extremely diligent in avoiding all contact with it.

Still, Kade could feel the smile on his lips. He was beaming at finally finding a worthy challenge that would conveniently take him to the next [Arcana Level] if he succeeded.

The very first thing he would test was the effectiveness of his [Soulrend]. He would plan how to deal with the boar depending on what happened during the test.

Kade saw the hidden door close as the boar backed away slightly. It wasn’t retreating. The fierce look in its eyes suggested it was doing the opposite.

He gripped his [Soulrend] when the boar’s snorts echoed across the chamber, its breath somehow visible in the warm air as it pawed at the ground. Its muscular frame rippled under its thick skin when it lowered its front.

With the bellowing roar, the boar lunged forward, its feet pounding the stone floor as he charged at him like a one-beast stampede.

Kade’s eyes sharpened as he waited for the perfect moment to act. It was less than five feet away when he moved.

He lunged forward to meet the boar in the middle and drove his [Soulrend] with all the force he could muster. There was a flash of purple that blocked the blade of his [Soulrend] from making contact, but he was ready for that.

Kade shifted slightly to give himself more room while avoiding the boar’s momentum and brought down the shaft of his [Soulrend] right on top of its neck.

He frowned when there was another flash of purple before quickly jumping back several steps to put as much distance as possible between him and the boar.

That was the same color as the miasma and the veins that were in the hallway. It seemed like all use of weapons, whether sharp or blunt, was blocked. He could test it again by using [Armor Break], but it wasn’t worth the risk of depleting his limited [MP].

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Kade stored his [Soulrend] and clenched his fists. He had nothing against getting his hands dirty.

He rolled his shoulders and gave a mocking smile to the boar.

The boar grunted, its already fierce eyes intensifying until he noticed a familiar purple sheen. It barreled forward again, and this time Kade was caught by surprise.

It accelerated to a speed that he did not expect. He could barely avoid the metal tusks, but he was still rammed into with a force that sent him flying across the chamber and slamming into the wall.

Kade crashed to the floor and gasped as the wind was knocked out of his lungs. Still, he forced himself to stand back up before he became target practice for the boar.

He was glad his first contact with the boar didn’t take away much of his health. The only thing that was severely wounded was his pride.

From the start, Kade had assigned an imaginary set of attributes to the boar. The highest were [Constitution] and [Strength]. [Speed] was lower than his own.

That was wrong. The boar had hidden its actual speed. It was about the same as his, maybe even a little higher.

A hog outsmarted me.

Kade narrowed his eyes in anger. “Try that again.”

There was no chance the boar could’ve understood him, but just like before, when he taunted a monster for his own self-satisfaction, it worked.

The boar snorted angrily and charged again. This time, Kade met it head-on.

He darted to the side at the last possible moment, twisting his body and slamming his elbow into the side of the beast’s head. The heavy impact clearly disoriented the boar; even its thick skull couldn’t prevent that.

The boar let out a pained grunt for the first time.

Kade was just happy that the purple light didn’t reappear. He finally had a confirmed way to damage it.

He didn’t stop.

Kade followed the elbow with a quick knee to its exposed jaw and felt its bone give slightly under the pressure. The boar reeled back, trying to slice him with its metal tusks as it attempted a retreat.

He didn’t allow it.

Free Points: 1.5—>0

Speed: 16—>17.5

Kade pounced, using the additional quickness he now possessed. The slight addition might seem like nothing, but it was enough for him to catch the boar completely by surprise.

He slammed his fist in the exact spot where his elbow had damaged the side of his head. This time with [Armor Break]. The boar squealed in pain, feeling the blow reverberating through his body and severely damaging its skull.

Kade took advantage of its sluggishness and sidestepped, dodging a slow tusk swipe, and leaped onto his back before it could run. The stone plates that acted as its skin was perfect for getting a fantastic grip.

He held on to its spine as it bucked violently in an effort to try to shake him off. He didn’t allow it to distract him from his focus.

Kade targeted the spot on his head that had already received multiple blows. He drove his fists into that exact area with precision, feeling the bone completely give after just the second punch.

He had gotten in well over ten punches by the time he finally lost his grip after the boar made a particularly violent move by trying to body-slam him while he was on his back.

Kade kicked away and grinned when the boar did more damage to itself by landing on his back and slamming its already broken face onto the stone floor.

Purple blood seeped from its broken skull as it struggled back onto its feet. Its breathing was labored, and he doubted if it could still see out of the side he had targeted repeatedly.

Still, after all that, the boar looked ready to continue fighting.

Kade respected that. “You’re a tough one. I don’t know if this is in your nature or if it’s forced, but you put up a great fight.”

He felt a little stupid saying words that the boar couldn’t understand, but he felt like he had to give it some sign of acknowledgment before it died.

The boar let out another roar, more out of rage than strength. It would be its last. The boar knew it, and Kade knew it.

It charged once more, but this time, it was slower. Weaker.

The damage Kade did to the boar’s head had severely handicapped it.

He still took it seriously.

Kade ducked under its tusks, darting to the side of the boar he had been targeting all this time, and launched himself.

The boar’s head injury was utterly exposed, and it had no chance to retreat or reposition itself.

Kade drove his knee into the side of the boar’s head and heard a sharp crack. He felt something break.

The boar collapsed, its legs buckling immediately. It took its last breath on the floor and turned into a white powder.

Kade looked at his bruised hands and smiled. Getting into fights all the time as a teenager worked out.

The interface appeared to break his moment of satisfaction, and surprisingly, the hidden door opened again.