As the sun rained its first rays on the grasses of the clearing, Damian decided it was the right time to get up.
Upon his feet, Damian did some yoga out of habit, though he did all the poses in a hurry. Skipping some steps, Damian finished his yoga earlier than normal and opened his inventory.
Taking the E-grade sword out of the inventory, he started slashing it in the air. He had barely gotten any sleep last night from the excitement of today's hunt. One of the main factors in it was the sword, the real sword he was going to use to kill monsters.
'Let's check our progress.' Damian stored the sword back in his inventory, opening his status. He wanted to keep track of his growth.
>----
[ Level: 2 ]
[ Expression: 30/50 ]
[ Stats: 0 ]
[ Class: (???) Monster King ‹1›]
>----
.
.
[ Spirit: 3 ]
>----
'Not bad.' Nodding in satisfaction, Damian thanked the leader Wild Rat, who gave 15 experiences and 1.5 spirits alone.
Next, it was time to check Brave's progress...
>----
[ Name: Brave ]
[ Race: Thunder rodent (Hybrid) ]
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[ Evolution stage: 1 ]
[ Grade: C- (Upgradable) ]
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[ Level: 2 ]
[ Experience: 30/50 ]
.
.
[ For next evolution:- ]
[ Level: 1/10 ]
[ Souls: 3/100 ]
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.
>----
Her growth was the same as his, and Damian was proud of her. Thinking of her, Damian turned back only to spot her cuddled up, fast asleep.
'It's such a big day, and she is fast asleep without a worry in the world.' Shaking his head in amusement, Damian decided to wake her up.
"Brave get up!" Shaking the lazy rat, Damian woke her up. Passing a piece of fruit bread to her, he stuffed the other in his mouth.
'Let's go south this time.' Damian had made plans the last night, one of them being to start clearing the forest in a circle. If he travelled 300 metres to the east, he would do the same in all directions.
"Let's just hope I find a target soon." Gulping the bread down with water, Damian set out with Brave.
.
.
.
.
Surprisingly, it didn't take Damian long to find his first prey of the day. He had just walked around 100 metres from the clearing when he started hearing squeaks. Following it, he was now in front of two Wild rats.
'Ok Damian, you can do this.' Looking at the two rats in their battel mode, Damian took a deep breath, calming his racing heart.
This time, Damian had decided to fight head-on. He couldn't use traps to kill monsters forever; he needed levels, skills, equipment, and companions, and to get all of these, he had to learn to fight and to kill.
Looking to his right side at the Brave who also had her white hairs standing like needles glaring at the wild rats, Damian felt more confident. At the same time, he thought back to her first transformation, which was something entirely different. Thankfully, he didn't want it, at least not now.
*Squeeeeeak!*
As the Wild rats squeaked at a high pitch trying to scare their enemy, Damian knew that the fight was about to break out.
"Alright Brave, you handle the one on the right, I will handle the one on the left." Holding the sword tightly in both his hands, Damian sprang into action, followed by Brave and the Wild rats.
As Damian ran towards the Wild rat about 4 metres away from him, he imagined the collision. However, the expected collision of his sword and the rat's body didn't take place as an unexpected factor, Brave, ran past him attacking the rat.
Surprised by the unexpected factor, Damian stood still, thinking about his next course of action, which was a big mistake.
Making full use of its distracted enemy, the rat to the right launched on Damian, biting his left foot in its jaw.
"Ahh!"
A scream escaped Damian's mouth when he felt the sudden pain in his foot. Panicked, Damian started slashing the sword at the rat's body.
But soon Damian realised how difficult the 'slashed his sword down' he read about in web novels was in reality.
If he slashed the sword straight down on the rat's body, it only managed to penetrate some centimetres before coming to a halt. If he slashed sideways, the sword slid through the hairs on its body, only allowing him to scratch its skin.
The increased force of bite with each slash and cut was making it difficult for Damian to focus
"Ahhhhh!"
Feeling his muscles tearing apart, another scream escaped Damian's mouth. When she heard her master's scream, Brave fighting the wild rat looked at him, and the moment she did...
*Squeeeeeak!*
Letting out a high-pitched squeak, she bit the nape of the Wild rat, pushing it away. She ran to her master's rescue.
'Stab! That's right, stab!' Grunting in pain, Damian suddenly remembered one of the basic moves of swords. Using both his hands to hold the sword, Damian lifted it to his shoulder level, just when he was about to bring it down.
Out of nowhere, Brave jumped on top of the rat, biting its neck.
"Ahhhhh!"
Another scream escaped Damian's mouth when he felt the force of the bite increasing, trying to rip his muscles out.
"GET OFF IT!" Before Brave could under the meaning of her master's word...
*Squeeeeeak!*
A squeak was heard as the second Wild rat, recovering from Brave's push, ran to Damian.
'Damn it! Damn it! Damn it all!' Damian cursed in his mind at the crazy situation. He was starting to get angry.
Turning his upper body right, Damian used all his weight to stab the sword down. The wild rat, unknown to the danger above, reached closer to Damian, opening its mouth wide for a bite.
*Shiiing! Crackk!*
Tearing the air apart, Damian's sword passed straight through the neck of the rat, breaking the bone that attached its head to the body as it passed through, impaling it on the ground.
With the death of one rat was followed another as the jaws holding Damian's leg loosened and...
*Squeeeeeak!*
Letting out a painful yelp, the first rat tried to shake off the Brave biting its neck, but to no avail. The rat's attempts started slowing down, coming to a halt.
Only after she was sure that her master's attacker was dead did Brave move her jaw away from its neck, looking for her master. Damian lay on the ground, one hand trying to hold the blood flowing from his leg while the other held the sword impaling the dead rat on the ground.
As Damian's eyes looked at another dead rat under Brave, Damian moved toward it. Taking the sword out of the ground, Damian pushed Brave away.
"Ahhhhhh!"
Damian screamed as he repeatedly stabbed the sword into the dead rat's body. His scream this time wasn't the one filled with pain, it was filled with anger as well. Anger at himself for giving the Brave with low intelligence such an order. Anger at the excitement, he couldn't hold back.
As blood splashed over his face and hands, Damian continued to stab the dead body, which was no longer recognisable.
*Huff! Huff! Huff!*
Only after the body had turned into meat paste did Damian stop. Panting heavily, he fell to the ground. Not minding the pool of blood under him, he opened his inventory, taking the green health potion out of it. 'I had thought of saving it till the last fight of the day, but...'
*Squeak!*
Brave had a troubled face as she looked at her master. Damian examined her once-white hairs, which were now covered in mud and blood.
"Don't worry, it's not your fault. Your master was just... stupid." Chuckling to himself, Damian gritted his teeth at the pain and gulped the potion down.
Feeling the familiar calming effect taking place, Damian looked at the morning sky.
'This isn't how an Isekai protagonist is supposed to fight his first battle.' The more Damian looked back at his actions, the more dissatisfied he grew with himself
'Aren't the transmitted protagonists supposed to have a thrilling first fight? They either overpower the enemy or use whatever strength they have in an effective way to kill the enemy.' As Damian thought of the protagonists of novels in situations like his, he couldn't help but compare himself to them.
'And here I am almost on my death bed from a fight that could have ended so easily.' The more Damian thought, the more stupid he looked to himself.
*Squeak!*
Looking at the worried face of Brave, Damian caught her in his arm, hugging her tiny body.
"Don't worry, your master may have acted stupid, but he knows for a fact that one is considered a true loser when they accept their loss. " Patting Brave's hairs, which though covered in blood and dirt hadn't lost their smoothness and shine, Damian continued...
"Those who learn from their mistakes are the true winners." Moving his eyes to the left, Damian read the system messages he had received.
«You have learnt 'Basic Swordsmanship'.»
«Mastery of Basic Swordsmanship: 2.3%»
«You have killed a Wild rat!»
«5 experience...»
"We have a long way to go." Taking a deep breath, Damian got back on his feet, picking up the sword covered in blood.
"Let's aim for level 2 by the end of the day." Looking back at Brave with a smile, Damian continued, "This time without any injuries."