Morning of the 6th day came and he quickly checked his wounds. His abdomen was okay but his arm was still swollen so he decided to spend the morning and afternoon setting up a perimeter. He didn't do it yesterday which was dangerous, but he wasn't in good shape to move around too much.
He worked a bit leisurely as he thought of a new plan for attacking these 2nd Ring monsters. Most of them would have active skills like the Merebear and he had no way to deal with that until he knew what the skill was.
They were much stronger, faster, and smarter than the 1st Ring monsters he faced. Those were a walk in the park for him but now he had to put some work in or he would die early.
He liked used the terrain to his advantage since he could easily swing up into the trees with his weapon so maybe it was good to set up an ambush similar to the one he used for 1st Ring monsters.
He thought about it for a while as he continued working. At noonish, he ate before making his way back to the river where he fought the Merebear.
When he got there, he could already see the corpse was just a mess of blood and bones. Whatever creature or creatures came here picked it clean however this gave him a place to start looking for his next prey.
There were two sets of footprints he found. One going west and the other going north deeper into the forest. He decided to start west since he was more likely to run into 3rd Rings the more north he went.
He followed the footprints of what looked like a feline beast before he came to a cliff wall. There was a cave the bloody footprints led inside but this was not good for Alex. Enclosed spaces would not work for his chain weapon very well which mostly used his momentum to deal high damage to his enemies.
He thought for a bit before deciding on an easy plan. He smirked as he went back into the forest and gathered up leaves and dried sticks and put them in the storage ring. He then went back to the cliff and looked around for big rocks he was able to move around before bringing them closer to the mouth of the cave.
It took a while with his still tender arm but nothing had happened luckily.
He was careful about activity inside but nothing had shown itself and nothing produced an aura of any kind. He set up the big stones in front of the cave to block it and let just enough room for himself to get through.
He then set up the twigs and started a fire with the flint he had. He then put in the regular leaves with a few dried ones mixed in to keep the fire going and get some smoke in the air. He added a few bigger sticks and a part of a fallen tree near the fire before closing up the cave with more stones. He went around and found a few more big ones just for good measure before calling it a day.
After that, he went back to base and relaxed to heal, and slept the night away. During the night one of his bells went off slowly waking him from his slumber. He moved slowly and silently not to draw attention as he looked in the direction of the bell.
With his superhuman senses, he was able to see a huge 2-meter tall, 4-meter-long ox-like monster. He narrowed his eyes as it slowly approached below his main base area. He knew this ox was called a Rock Bull. It looked more like an ox to him with its really long and wide horns but that's what it was called.
The monster moved slowly and the ground shook as it passed by.
This was a monster that was on his kill list, unfortunately, it was one of the strongest defense-wise. He probably wouldn't be able to use his Kusarigama effectively and would have to engage it in a brawl.
This wasn't good since its defense was so tough and it liked to throw its weight around. Not to mention the sharp horns that could easily impale him. It wasn't a good idea to fight at night with such low visibility, but his prey was right in front of his face.
He hesitated for a bit before taking action. Although it was a gamble, this monster was slow and could be considered a punching bag as long as Alex stayed on his toes.
He silently climbed down the tree and stayed out of sight as he watched the Rock Bull go by. Although it was dark, his heightened senses made it easier to see in the dark so he was able to make out the wiry brown fur that was concentrated mostly around its neck. Its too thick long horns came out about a meter and a half before shooting up for another meter.
With every step of its 6 hooves, the ground shook and left a small indent into the ground. The amount of muscle this monster had was enormous and its health stat was definitely up there as well. Its stamina was just its downfall.
It moved so slowly because it just didn't have enough stamina to move any faster without getting tired quickly. Alex thought about using his chain to trip it but hesitated to use it like that. This thing definitely weighed several tons at least and he was afraid of his chain weapon breaking before he could even bring it down.
Its dark beady eyes focused forward as it breathed out with big huffs. It almost looked like dirt and stones came out of its nostrils as it marched forward and Alex thought about where he was first going to strike.
Although attacking the face was his best bet, that was also the most dangerous since it could charge him or swing its sword-like horns. Alex then decided on the next best place with a nod before moving.
The monster moved slowly as it ran over another bell trap which hid the sound of Alex's movements in the silent night. He quickly got close to the right side of the beast before sliding in between its legs on his knees.
With a flesh-tearing sound caused by his claw bracers, he dragged the sharp claws across the belly of the beast. He barely got passed the 4 hind legs as the Rock Bull raised itself up and roared in pain. Alex barely did any damage, only leaving 4 long lesions across its belly only about an inch deep.
He hadn't even broken through its incredibly tough skin but didn't mind it. He only hoped to draw attention to himself. The Rock Bull came back down on the ground with a huge crash, kicking up chunks of dirt and leaving a crater of about 5 meters in diameter.
The sound of the stomp also served to hide the clinging of chain links as Alex swung on his blade end of the chain and quickly circled himself back towards the beast. The sickle end was tied to the base of the trunk of a tree nearby and the chain began to wrap around the front legs of the Bull.
Noticing Alex come towards it, the bull readied its horns and shook its head in anger. It snorted more dirt out of its nose but didn't charge. Its low stamina made it learn to fight like a slow-moving fortress and wait for its enemies to wear itself down before attacking.
Plus Alex was moving too fast for it to catch him with a charge anyways. The bull barely felt the metal against its tough woolen skin as Alex swung himself around the bull and made it back to where he was before.
Using his momentum, he quickly threw the blade end of the Kusarigama at another tree leaving the chain taut as he quickly rushed over to the butt of the bull with his claws retracted. The bull saw this and quickly swung its horns, turning its head unnaturally like an owl which surprised Alex.
He reacted and managed to barely dodge after getting sliced through his back but he continued on. Instead of going in for a stab, he put his hands out and gave the bull a hard shove with all the strength he could muster.
The bull tipped its butt end slightly and would have recovered, if not for the chain that held its front legs in place and not giving it time to balance itself. With a strange growlish moo, the bull went down, its butt to the side and its front legs stretched in front of it.
The chain served its purpose as it snapped away from the legs of the bull and both ends and the blade end came out of the tree. He gambled with the fact that the bull most likely wouldn't charge as long as it saw it was slower than himself. With his plan working, Alex quickly went over to the bull while running on its back and approached its head.
His claws were out now and he planned to stab it in the eye, but the bull once again surprised him. Just as he was about to hit the eye, he suddenly felt it clang against something hard.
The eye of the bull suddenly turned gray and popped out slightly as the gray color spread all over its face. The gray color took on a rough texture and its head literally became a rock! The gray color seemed to infect its entire head as it climbed up its horns which were now coming straight at Alex from above.
With no chance to dodge, Alex gritted his teeth and retracted the claws of his left hand as the right horn came down on him. He met it was a punch that exploded the air.
*BOOOMMMM!!!*
Their surroundings blew violently from the aftermath as Alex was sent flying into a tree hard. His upper body hit the tree and he unnaturally bent before spinning away to the ground hard.
His blacked out for a second before struggling to get up. He felt that several ribs broke and he couldn't feel his left hand. Looking towards it, he saw the front of the gauntlet was caved in unnaturally so he could only imagine how bad his hand was.
Blood seeped out of his gauntlet but he ignored it and forced himself up. He spat blood on the ground and gritted his red teeth in pain. He held his side as he looked at the bull that struggled to get up.
Apparently, his plan of knocking it down was very effective. It may have a strong body, but its legs were having a hard time getting it back to its feet. Its front legs wobbled before giving out but the bull never stopped trying.
Alex could also see that the horn he struck had been broken off and blood came out of it. The stone skin that the bull had also crumbled around that area ripping the skin off with it. It seemed this strong stone skin skill had a backlash of making its skin crumble just like a rock.
The bull growl-moo'd in pain as it tried to get up again so Alex went back over to it as fast as he could with his good arm over his ribs.
"Why is it always my left arm?" He chuckled in pain. Every time he got seriously injured, it always ended up being his left arm. He hoped it didn't become a reoccurring theme otherwise he may never be able to use it again.
He got to the bull and put an arm against it before standing up straight and taking out the claws of his right gauntlet. He then began stabbing its back, pushing it deep into its muscles making it roar in pain.
Although it could turn its head unnaturally, it wasn't able to reach Alex who was hiding far down its back. It could only try to use its fuzzy tail to swat him but it didn't hurt much at all. He still dodged it as much as possible as he continued to deal damage to its backside.
Eventually, he heard a crunch and he smiled. He hit something hard inside it and it was probably bone. With that done, he moved to its head now that its movement was stalled completely.
He didn't want to meet its horn head-on again but it was very hard to get anywhere close to it with it thrashing its head. Backing up and thinking for a moment, he went back and grabbed his Kusarigama before going in front of its face, just far enough from it that its horns couldn't reach him.
The bull glared at him with red eyes but it was nothing but a sitting bull now. Alex was also pretty pissed with this monster since its horns were almost as strong as a 3rd Ring! It had also destroyed his gauntlet and hand, and it would also be extremely difficult for him to reset his bones properly.
He gritted his teeth as he swung his Kusarigama around him strangely and then began to pelt the beast in front of him with attacks. Most of them clanged against the rock or were blocked by its horns, but eventually cracks started to form and get bigger with each strike.
Rocky skin broke off revealing the bright red muscles on its face making for a grotesque sight. Alex even managed to blind its right eye before pausing.
Just as he was ready to end this, he felt mortal danger behind him and quickly spun around and punched out with his right fist, claws out, as the figure of a bipedal beast came into view.
The beast grinned in the dark of the night revealing its sharp canines and human-like eyes.