-???’s POV-
For the past hundreds of years, I have outlived my peers and stood at the top of the food chains in this mountain. It is not wrong to classify this I as a legend just like how Fenrir—my distant ancestor has carved his own existence in this world. Never, in my life that I have ever faced any luxurious moment.
Driven by my instinct to hunt, I challenged beasts, ferocious monsters and to the extent of fighting against lesser dragons. I had to suffer defeat, bleeding profusely and have my bones broken to overcome the danger of Hunting. I am, in the end, a Hunter. There was always the possibility of me being hunted.
Yet I struggled and struggled and struggled. Over and over, I have developed my own strength, exerting my wits to kill my prey and destroy my Hunters. Times passed and I became famous in my land and throughout the continent.
I yielded to none. And I was defeated by none who challenged me for times and times again.
At the very end of my devoted Hunting for Power, I possessed no equal and when I noticed I was the last of my own kind. Not even my relatives survived long enough to stand together with me and probably my clan will die… Alongside my legend.
Therefore, I who was blessed with incredulous amount of lifespan, vitality and strength chose to sleep within the darkness of this mountain. This homeland of mine.
And yet—what is this? What is this scent?
It drove me insane. It drove my instinct to Hunt. It drove my desire to Devour. It drove my instinct to Fight. A powerful being… a Warrior has appeared within my territory and I knew nothing regarding this presence even if I searched my memories.
As I tried to open my eyes… I heard light footsteps and a resounding voice.
“…oh, there’s no need to bare your fangs at me. You know who I am right?”
………Hmph…? If it’s not the human who dared to stay within the Forest of Lost Souls. I had expected this but I knew that he brought someone that was strong.
“But… you are correct that there’s someone you can fight against with.”
Ha! Are they your pawn? Whatever you brought has never been a good thing for my domain. And also… what is this scent? Who does this scent belong to? It smells… nostalgic.
“An idiot… is what I could describe her. If you want to wake up and fight her then I will gladly wake you up.”
………hoo…? Now what’s this? Have you ever be so kind that you let me running rampant after trying to challenge me and failing for a big time? Or have you brought unpleasant fools who simply wanted to subdue your knowledge of the forbidden eras?
“Well, who knows? At the very least, That Idiot would not think up such a hard excuse to fight. She’s a fool through and through and she’s definitely a lost cause at this point.”
The footsteps stopped. This time, I heard a knock twice and the darkness was immediately washed over. In front of me was a lone human with long coat and deep blue hair which hid his chilling glares.
“You can try fighting her. But don’t kill her though crippling her should be easy for a monster at your caliber, King of the Mountain.”
Ha! Spoken by the Sage of Truth who claimed the wisdom of the ancient… one who has gone through centuries using forbidden methods!! Interesting game you have there… But if that was so—
“RRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!”
Then allow this King of the Mountain to claim lives and bath in the blood of his opponent once again!!
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I swear, nobody could have expected this kind of encounter. Right after the bloodcurdling howl, the mountain became restless. Hundreds of animals we encountered were running away in fright, monsters quickly hid their bodies and melding into the darkness, and everything became deathly silent.
I and Leon got up when the air trembled like our bones did and we decided to scout the area in gusto. I wished we would encounter nothing but…… I’ve got a baaaadd feeling about it.
“Leon, what do you think that caused the roar?” I asked as we stealthily ran from a shadow of a tree to another, from a branch to another branch.
“Beats me.” He answered as he kicked off a branch of a tree, somersaulting as he landed on a fallen tree bark. “But he’s strong, so…”
Yeah, yeah. I know what you’re thinking you musclehead. Do you really like to bust your guts out, Battle Maniac? I nearly scoffed when I landed on the ground…
And a presence loomed in the darkness ahead of us.
“—!?”
Whether it was due to luck or because of the live combat experience, I decked my body to the right side while kicking Leon at the same time. A sudden flash of silver curved in the spot I was in and the air exploded, blowing me away with terrifying sonic boom!
“What the heck…?!”
I became speechless as we saw witness of… something that planted fear into our bones.
Its fur was silvery-white. However, it had strands of black and there existed deep scars all over its muscular figure. It stood at the height of seven meters or more at most, and it possessed long arms with huge claws as sharp as razors. The head was akin to a wolf, but it signified the ferociousness of a bear and it had only one eye as the other was thoroughly lost. Probably by its past battle to survive in the wilderness.
It was menacing. The air vibrated just by its presence alone. The land trembled as it took a giant stride like a human walking. Compared to us, which looked like ants to it, I could sense the chills like a rabbit glared at by the hungry wolf.
“……!”
Adrenaline suddenly rushed inside me. I took an evasive measure before a lightning speed thrust of claw gouged a chunk of the ground where I was at a moment earlier!! It’s fast! So ridiculously fast and powerful and it created small sonic boom!!
“Oy!?” I heard Leon shouting. Huh, that’s the first time I ever heard of him getting worried.
“Leon, stay back!” I shouted. After all, he should know when the right time to retreat is!
Then I heard a low growl. Damn… looks like it locked on to me but the longer I stared at it, the more I feared the monster in front of me. The word ‘scary’ running around my head and I shuddered as I recognized the features of the beast in one of the Monster Encyclopedia at my home’s library.
A beast known with ridiculous vitality and intelligence. A monster that gained the skill to absorb its Stigma in order to survive. A King that learned rules, is sentient and has been devastating high-ranked Adventurers, veteran soldiers and even demons that it was ranked SSS by all races in term of danger.
“GRRROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRR!!!”
The King of the Mountain – Bravzgaim was right in front of me.
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Another tree was felled with one strike. Even so, the monster still retained his pace to pursue me. No… it’s even faster than before! And it’s terribly scary!! As if a bear could chase someone using a pose of a marathon athlete!!
It was the first time that I didn’t hesitate to turn my back away and it was also the first time that I felt scared of something other than Arika!! This guy’s just plain absurd!! As I ran and ran and ran and ran, I ended up bumping an uprooted root and fell headfirst.
Whether it was unfortunate or not, a wide swing of claw flew above me and I nearly had my head lopped off. The air-tearing sound followed with violent gust of wind struck me. But that meant the monster was very close to me so I rolled away and drew my sword!
A resonance of metal sang. I was suddenly pushed back the moment the blade was brought up in front of me. In fact, I nearly fell down and it took me everything to keep my balances. I looked up and there was it. If I remembered correctly, one which could never be slain even though hundreds of knights were sent to suppress it.
“…how… scary. Did Fei originally fight against this kind of opponent…?” Silently muttering, a flash of memories where his back left my sight was recalled.
I knew that I could not escape the inevitability. I knew that if I escaped, I would discard the last straw for me to chase after him. And if I fail now……
“I would die a dog’s death and break my promise!! I won’t let that pass!!”
Readying a stance, I destroyed the trembling covering my hands. I jumped forward and aimed the blade at Bravzgaim who noticed and was already countering with a thrust of movement.
In a heartbeat, the world slowed down.
Motions were moving in nearly at a snail pace. All the colors turned to black and white. If there was a reference, I could say for sure ‘matrix’ just happened and I was the one who was doing it.
But it wasn’t a skill that I invoked. By inserting a large dose of mana into the nerves of the eyes, my kinetic vision improved dramatically at the exchange of heavy mental tolls and concentration. It also drained my mana by seconds but it was more than enough!
“Haaaaa!!” With a yell, a blinding dark flash flew and reached the monster’s chest. I was certain it had stabbed the heart, but I looked in horror as I could not pull the sword away.
Leaking a growl from the gritted row of sharp fangs, the bear-wolf monster was holding the blade of the sword with a hand. It clearly defended and it moved only at the most critical moment—to pin me down!!?
“RROOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRR!!”
“Fuck!!”
I released the sword from my grips and knelt down. The buzzing sound of air tearing claw seared my hearing and affected my senses of balance for a moment. Then I found the shin of the enemy approaching my head.
There was no other option than to cross my arms and reduced the damage. I was literally thrown away as I received a few cracks the moment my body hammered down back to the earth.
“Gah…! Ghk……!!” Rolling down the grassy forest floor, I coughed blood for a couple of times.
Had I not used my arms, I would have had my skull broken apart….. The oppressive strength and agility of this monster was truly beyond the league of normal monsters… no. It’s probably on par with a Demon General.
I certainly perceived its attacks though only for an instance. I certainly predicted its attack trajectories, but what stunned me was its speedy reaction to threats and its ingenuity to utilize its body to corner me.
Now, I who had no weapon in my wounded hands, was dodging the series of attacks in desperation. Each of its thrust was sent out in the speed equal to wind and it was at incredible accuracy that I couldn’t think for a monster of this size.
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Still, it suddenly stopped using its limbs to attack me. Bravzgaim took a step back which caused me to shudder and retreated at breakneck speed. However, I watched it going on all fours. Don’t tell me—
“ROARRR!!”
Like a bullet, it charged ahead at unimaginable speed. In fact, when using all of its limbs, the speed drastically improved. Throwing my body to the side, I was grazed slightly and the graze was actually accompanied with an impact. Throwing me around in the air like a toy.
“Gaah!!?” My back hit the hard ground squarely like a frog smashed to the wall.
Fu-fuck…! It hurts…!! It’s damn painful!! Just a single graze and I was blown away for dozens of feet away!! How crazy… no! What kind of crazy monster is this?!! I tried to get up but when I looked to the side, there it was.
There, the monster was glaring down at me. There, the lump of murderous intent was preparing its next move. Even so, it didn’t attack.
What was it doing? What did it intend to do? What was it waiting for? Aren’t you going to attack me and toying with me before you devour me?
……wrong. If there was one thing that I could understand having encountered this guy…
“You… you’re not a beast.”
I staggeringly rose up. The damages given to me were quite severe, but my limbs were still intact. And rather than fear… I felt power welling up from inside me. It’s rare that I felt so motivated like this.
“You’re… not a monster either.”
I took out Short-Swords from behind me. They existed as mere kitchen knives for me but they were still made from the Salamander Variant. Ones which definitely possessed incredible sharpness. Also, though I was right-handed, I learned swordsmanship not for show-off.
“Bravzgaim… you’re… A Warrior, aren’t you?”
What responded to me was a curved corner of the lips. The monster was showing immense pressure to the surroundings, holding the truth to my question as an imposing enemy. Still, I held my ground, and I grinned back at the truth which dawned upon me.
“Then let’s start. If it’s a brawl you want, then it’s a brawl you get, son of a bitch!!”
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-Bravzgaim’s POV-
Impressive. Truly a remarkable Warrior!
Despite being showered by deadly attacks. Despite being pressured by my killing intent. Despite being thrown and sinking into the mud… I couldn’t believe that this small human could still rise up to defeat me!
Her attitude in battle was clearly shown as I avoided a sword which desired to steal my vision. I quickly launched a counter jab but she parried it and simply moved forward, slashing at both the outstretched arm including my torso.
Nuu—! This sensation…! As I thought, the tail of the Blade Lizard! No wonder I reflexively dodged and tossed the previous sword she had. Even so—a wound! I who have lived for centuries and defeating contenders without efforts… have been wounded once again!!
My blood is boiling! My spirit as a Hunter is reawakening!! Such excitement! Such a risk for victory!!
“GRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”
Swift as wind, I threw out swings of claws in turn. The human clicked her tongue as she blocked and parried the storm of death. However, I clearly had an advantage in overall strength as well as speed! How long do you think you can endure, eh!?
As if giving up the thought of defending, the girl rotated the Short-Swords in her hands in reverse. With her utmost, she fended my attacks incessantly until an unexpected straight right smashed into her.
The sounds of shattered metal could be heard. The human was thrown away for dozens of feet, going down to all fours and spat out blood. In her hands were the broken hilts of her swords. Yet—she glared at me before she quickly turned away to flee.
“Human! This way!! Hurry!” I heard of another voice and my prey nodded before running to the source of it.
Is she escaping…? No—her will is still present. It’s not wrong to say she wanted to stall for time. I know that she isn’t alone but wherever she goes to, that means something worthwhile to appease my thirst for blood was there too.
How interesting…! A Hunt it is! To corner a prey whose will made certain to bite back stronger than ever created a challenge for all Hunters! Humans have always entertained me the most with their unique evolution! And that is what making this battle exhilarating!!
To battle an equal to the death… To be able to encounter those who possessed the required strength to meet my fist head-on! How long have I waited for this day to arrive!! How many nights, seasons, and years have I sacrificed to search for a worthy opponent!!?
“RRROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!”
It is time… to Hunt!!
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There are several methods to deal with several unique enemies.
A duel which relied on quality, an ambush which relied on numbers, and a frontal confrontation which utilized these two important aspects in the way. But to face a monster which did not only have the Quality but also the Quantity beyond everything the allied has, it became impossible to use systematical plans alone.
First, when fighting against such opponent, time and luck were crucial essences.
Second, physical strength, stamina and concentration were required to withstand decisive counterattacks for a period of time.
The third, which was also as important as the other two—were supplies or reinforcements. Without them, how could one go to battle? Bare naked like a perverted exhibitionist?
Considering how I already lost the opportunity and the luck needed to do ‘A Swift and Decisive First Strike’, I also was burdened by the strains of spells on my body. Today, I wasted quite a number of them so I don’t think I can chant magic for more than three times. I don’t even think I have enough stamina to last even for an hour of running either.
Not only that, the monster tailing me was ridiculously tough, agile and smart. He’s definitely the living definition of one-man army. I should probably praise him and call him ‘Rambo’. However, one thing for sure—
I’m… stuck in a dead end without no way out.
Within the darkness of the night, my overall visibility was halved. It was simply a shred of peace of mind to have the SSS-Class Monster repelling any potential opportunist. But it also proved to be disadvantageous as I could no longer hide and escape. As much as I’d like to leave this mountain, the Decisive Battle could not wait any longer.
No…… that’s wrong. Whoever said that not fleeing is not an option?
Am I so weak that I would turn around and run with tail between my legs? Do I want to run away so badly to disregard my vow? Am I so scared to die that I could only flee?
…………
…perhaps, I am. There’s no way I’m not scared. In fact, I’m quite certain that no living being chose to die willingly. Only some who already have screws loosened in their heads that would do that but I am me.
I’m scared. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to break my promise.
I want to live. I want to see tomorrow. I want to see him again. I want to fulfill my vow and protect his back. I…… I want him to acknowledge me before it is too late.
As I opened my eyes, I could sense a presence looming in. The enemy has arrived. Even after accepting my weaknesses, this body hasn’t stopped trembling. Guess that I’m still too weak.
With a streak of light flying forward, the sound of singing metal could be heard. Soon enough a spinning broken blade fell and stabbed the ground. Its lustrous body bathed by the moonlight above.
What followed after was two streaks of light. Bravzgaim intercepted the flying blades with ease again but the moment he chose to look out for more surprise attacks, his balance crumpled.
He fell to his knees. Not because of the ground sinking as he had expected, but because the nerves of his legs were cutoff almost seamlessly and invisibly. Blood leaked, flesh was exposed.
The smell of rust permeated but it was still manageable for both sides.
"Should I recite it? —I am the bone of my sword."
With a verse of words, another streak of light flashed under the moonlight. Heading to pierce the King's forehead, yet it was quickly caught with the claw. This time, he could clearly see it. He had discovered that which assaulted him like shooting stars, capable enough to reduce his mobility without him noticing.
They were definitely crude. They definitely were inferior compared to the Warriors' of the past Bravzgaim encountered. In fact, imitations can only reach a certain limit as I simply threw the swords like throwing javelins or by imitating Fei’s mana threads. That guy really have many sides in him.
"But whoever said that imitations cannot defeat the original?"
What was around us were swords which were stabbed the grounds. What was around us were bones, fangs and steels which replicated the form of swords and bladed weapons. All according to my imperfect knowledge. All crafted from the fallen to slay the towering obstacles.
Truthfully speaking, I could proudly declare that I have imitated the famous Reality Marble without conceptualizing them using magecraft. Of course, it’s just an image and not the real deal.
But this is it. This is all I have left. In fact, I already planned this situation should the impossible of the impossibility happened. Limiting the options and possibilities were foolish when one were thrown into the wilderness of fantasy. I even argued with Leon before I committed myself to explore the endless paths before me.
So, if there's a one-in-million-chances for me to move freely without restraints, I want the lousy plan to be arranged in case of emergency. Of course, by commanding Leon who couldn’t stay rude and cold when I took him for a bath.
It's actually pretty easy to coerce males using the features of females. But anyway—I think I should stop referencing things or else I would be entitled with ‘Faker’ Title. Not until I say one last thing though.
“Here I come, King of the Mountain. Do you have enough claws at your disposal?”