Alex was at the training field bright and early with Sheila once more to do some one on one training/sparring together with various stone-age weapons. Every time though Alex would get his butt kicked and end up with bruises and cuts all over his body by the time they took a break while Sheila was perfectly fine. Alex was able to deal with Sheila if she allowed him to he could actually put up a decent fight against her but not for long as she would only allow him to get up high for a bit before getting thrown back below in confidence.
Alex was breathing heavily as he was exhausted from the sparring/training session that he had just completed with Sheila.
"You are getting better," She says to him
"Thanks," Alex says after he catches his breath
"Still you will not be useful on a hunt," She goes on
"Oh really? What exactly lead you to that conclusion?" Alex asks getting up
"Your weak-willed and cannot take a life if need be," Sheila answers
"So how do I get stronger then?" Alex asks
"Tomorrow morning I will be leading the new hunters into the outer rim of the forest where we will be practicing for the big hunt in a few weeks and you will be coming along with us to prove your worth"
"Oh really now?" Alex says getting off the ground
"Yes"
"Let's make it more interesting then and see who can get the most kills on the hunt," Alex proposes
"That is unfair to you though"
"Who said you would be going against me? I want it to be me versus the other trainees to see who can get more beasts and animals" Alex proposes
[New Mission received]
[Mission: Hunter Challenge
Kill more beasts and animals than the other hunter trainees during tomorrows trip
Rewards: 900 exp and 3 stat points]
"So what will you get if I lose?" Synthia asks
"How about you help me fight that mystery beast that I found," Alex says
"Alright then, but if you lose you have to do a favor for me," Sheila says
"Sure"
Since both of them agreed to each other's rewards if they won the bet. Now Alex was fine with doing Sheila a favor since he knew that she would not ask for anything crazy from him like fighting a beast that he had no chance of beating. Now, this might seem like Alex was a bit worried that he might lose and this is true because no matter how sure someone is of winning a bet there will always be some part of them that is saying they might lose. Still, Alex was worried about these trainees since Alex has not learned any hunting techniques and has not fought a beast before.
So before then, Alex wanted to gain some experience with them and there was no better time like the present so after letting his tired body rest a bit Alex leaves the training ground and heads into the forest with the same weapons as before. This time Alex goes in the opposite direction than the last time he came into the forest.
Walking in through the outer rim of the forest there are not many animals at first due to it being so so close to the village and the presence of humans being a natural deterrent for regular animals and beasts from going nearby since they would be hunted easily. So Alex has to move a bit deeper to find something to practice hunting.
There were plenty of regular animals like rabbits, birds, and some non-dangerous creatures that Alex can see at a glance. Alex wants to practice with them but before he can even get close enough to them they all scamper away and Alex has to leave to go to another area.
Now if the hunters in the village were here they would be laugh like crazy at Alex's attempts to hunt the animals here. He was not quiet at all as he moved through the brush, he was not looking at the ground to find tracks and rabbit holes that he could trap, heck he was barely trying to be stealthy as he walked through the forest so it was a miracle that he had been able to actually see the animals.
Still, there was one thing that was not scared away by Alex's attempt to hunt. It was a beast.
It was high up in a tree looking down at Alex as he walked around on the ground looking for some animals that had well left the area before he was here.
The beast looked like a large leopard with brown spots and dark-purple fur that made it a night predator with it only coming out in the day when it was desperate or bored out of its mind. This one was a juvenile though as it only the size of a car while at its adulthood it can grow to about the size of a bus which may seem big but amongst other beasts in the universe, it was barely worth mentioning amongst beasts that were about the size of a planet or bigger.
As Alex walked through the forest he was walking under the tree that the beast was in and it seeing this opportunity to attack Alex and potentially kill him jumps down.
Alex as he was about to give up for now with trying to find something to hunt suddenly gets an extreme sense of danger ringing throughout his body and without thinking he dives off to the side just in the nick of time to see that a large leopard-like beast swipe at the location he was just at.
"GROWL!" The beast lets out a frustrated growl seeing that it failed to kill Alex easily
Alex takes out his club which he holds in his left hand while his stone dagger was in the right and getting into a fighting stance.
The leopard runs over to Alex and uses its paw to strike at Alex who dodges the paw since he wary about his injuries and this leopard is something he cannot take lightly since it would be inherently stronger than him.
Alex ducks and taking this opportunity uses the stone dagger and attempts to stab into the leopard's hide with it.
Alex pierces flesh but the wound is non-fatal as he was only able to stab near its shoulder with the opportunity given.
[Stalker Leopard
Lvl: 10
Health: 228/233
Stamina: 300/302
Stats: Strength 102, Endurance 132, Luck -1, Intelligence 19, Charisma 19, Mysticism 0
Skills: Stealth]
Surprised by this information Alex is caught off guard and is struck by the paw of the Leopard and is flung away and strikes a tree. Alex coughs out some blood from the impact as a prompt appears in front of him showing his health.
Health: 50/65
'15 points...' Alex thinks to himself as he sees his health lowered by 15
'I can take two more hits before dying' Alex thinks as he quickly rolls out of the way seeing that the leopard was not going to let him rest for a bit
'I could run away...'
That thought crosses Alex's mind but he quickly dismisses the thought as he knows that he cannot just run away whenever something he cannot beat then how else can he improve and get stronger to complete his life quest. This was not going to happen so Alex was going to kill this stupid beast or die trying.
The leopard runs at Alex who also runs at the leopard with his weapons in hand he swings his club at the leopard before they reached each other and he stops to make the leopard who was about to swing at Alex miss while he goes in to hits its head. Seeing this the leopard actually catches the club in its mouth and holding it firmly between its sharp teeth while using its paw to backhand slap Alex's torso.
Health: 43/65
The damage was significantly less but Alex can feel the bones in his chest break again as the force behind the paw was nothing to laugh about as it almost sent Alex flying away like last time. Alex had to hold on for his dear life which only caused his body to fling back slightly but he still had his left hand holding firmly onto the handle of the club.
Alex without wasting any time stabs his stone dagger into the left eye of the Leopard intending to penetrate its brain, effectively killing it. Still, Alex is not able to put enough force behind the blade and only succeeds in blinding the beast as it lets out a yelp in pain and agony as it smacks Alex away and crushes the club in its mouth.
Alex tumbles away from the strike and lands on the ground not too far away.
Health: 20/65
Alex's health was low but he knew that he could kill the beast no that it was wounded he could deal with it as it had developed a blind spot on its left side. Alex gets up to see that the leopard was using its paw to try and get the dagger out of its eye as blood gushes out of the wound in a small torrent.
The smell made Alex queazy but he knew that now was not the time as the leopard could take him down it he showed an opening so Alex looks towards the ground to find something to use.
"Growl!" The leopard lets out as it focuses its attention back at Alex seeing that he is still alive
It had come to realize that Alex was the cause of its misery and pain so it runs at Alex seeing he had no weapons on hand but he happened to just find a small branch and fist-sized rock that he can use against the leopard as it jumps at Alex with its claws aimed at him wanting to take his life.
Alex seeing what is happening places the rock in his inventory while grabbing the branch with both hands and holding it out in a desperate attempt to block the leopard. They both collide with the leopard's paws hitting the branch and Alex using his strength with a burst of adrenaline to move his hands up and out of the way effectively moving the leopard's paws and keeping him safe. Or so he thought as the leopard bites Alex's shoulder causing him to scream in pain for the first time since the fight.
As the leopard tasted blood it also tasted victory as Alex's health fell rapidly as the Leopard continued to bite him in the shoulder.
Health: 15/65
Health: 6/65
Desperation kicked in and Alex takes out the rock that he placed in his inventory before using that to hit the stone dagger still in the leopard's eye driving it forward and into its brain effectively killing the beast.
Before it dies it growls in pain as it lets go of Alex's shoulder before falling on top of him and drenching him in blood from the open wound.
[Stalker Leopard Killed +5,893 exp]
-----------------------------------
Alex has leveled up!
Int +7
End +6
Str and Cha +5
Mys +2
Alex has gained 2 stat points
-----------------------------------
Alex has leveled up!
Int +7
End +6
Str and Cha +5
Mys +2
Alex has gained 2 stat points
-----------------------------------
Alex has leveled up!
Int +7
End +6
Str and Cha +5
Mys +2
Alex has gained 2 stat points
-----------------------------------
The notifications ring out showing Alex's gains from the fight allowing him to see the benefits he reaped as he attempts to lift the leopard off of him with one arm. Eventually, Alex can get out from underneath the beast but he was exhausted and bleeding from his shoulder with the blood mixing in with the leopards. Seeing his current state Alex prioritizes first aid to his shoulder to stop the wound so that he does not die of blood loss anytime soon.
Prying the stone dagger from the leopard's skull Alex begins by finding some leaves that will act as bandages for the wound just to stop the bleeding of his arm. Thankfully Alex was in the outer area of the forest because if he were near the inner area he would probably be attacked by some more beasts that were attracted by the smell of blood and in his weakened state, he would probably be dead before he could run. After a few minutes, Alex had bandaged his arm and had successfully stopped the bleeding.
As a teacher, Alex was taught basic first aid which he had to remember in case anything happened on campus with a student or something else so he knew how to handle some minor wounds like the bite on his shoulder. However, Alex still lost some blood so his health was still low after the leveling up.
Health: 38/112
With that taken care of Alex attempts to drag the Leopard back to the village as a sort of trophy for his first kill and also to rub it in Sheila's face later.