"SH#T! Definitely unnecessary!"
Aiden began sprinting, and the chase began. He ran towards the trees which a beast was occupying, spooking it.
'Hold up, don't come here!' The beast couldn't get out of the way before it was sliced in two by Aiden. Its buddies nearby saw this and shot off before the teen could reunite them with their fallen comrade.
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[You defeated a Catus Hyena!]
You received a Catus Hyena Fang x 1
You received a Catus Hyena Pelt x 1
\\\
Aiden saw the bar underneath his level increase by around 15%.
'These small fries give too little for me to run after them. I have to find a stronger one and pray [Moment of Truth] works.' If any other awakened knew what Aiden was thinking, they would be frothing from the mouth in contempt. A broken skill like [Moment of Truth] would make any of them envious, much less the rest of his skills.
His skills' sheer versatility and efficiency would draw in many faction leaders to either draw him in or force him under their wing. However, that's a problem for another day.
The Catus Hyena he killed was notorious for being easy to kill, alone. They usually ran in packs and were as crafty as foxes, with many rookies losing their lives to ambushes.
He was lucky or unlucky to be fighting a top character of the forest that kept the rest at bay.
Aiden rolled to the side as the earth he once occupied ruptured with earth spikes. He wasted no time continuing his pursuit of EXP as he injured one beast before dodging another earth spike that killed the unfortunate thing, making Aiden suck his teeth in annoyance.
"We're stealing kills now?! That's screwed up, man!" The Stone Boar didn't know what he was trying to do, but it didn't want to find out.
'Most of the beasts are already hiding away because of it, and now it is stopping me from getting some exp from the other beasts.' Aiden thought in defeat.
The sound of destruction came from his left, pulling his attention. What he saw nearly overwhelmed his [Sage] skill.
The Stone Boar was too large to enter the forest, so it took the more aggressive route. It charged at the trees before curling like an armadillo and rolling over the trees with ease.
Aiden cursed at the sudden development and dodged to the side just as the armadillo copycat ran through where he used to be. He looked at the destruction in shock before looking where the boar stopped.
It came out of its armadillo roll and stood in place. It started to sway slightly but shook its head to remove the dizziness it got from the skill it had just used.
Sparkles could almost be seen in Aiden's eyes as his plan had gotten easier from this new development. The question is if it will do it again.
Thankfully, this lack of attention from the Stone Boar led to some beasts taking their chance at the prize, which was good because Aiden was counting on it.
Three Catus Hyenas, the ones from earlier, took their chance. They ran in unity and showed why they were known as the most cunning pack animals in the forest.
The hyenas began to blur in Aiden's vision, making it hard for him to track their movements.
'What's with this blur? They're not going too fast, and I haven't lost enough blood for my vision to be affected. So what is it? Wait, this place is like a fantasy film. What was it? Illusions!'
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[Blur] - Common
A skill used to disrupt a target's perception of the user.
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Aiden didn't have anything against illusions, so there was only one thing he could come up with for the moment. Ignoring his wounds, he took a defensive stance and closed his eyes—time for his new skill to shine.
[Third Eye]
Aiden saw his surroundings in a black and white wireframe layout, and an orange aura replaced the hyenas. He was like those blind swordsmen from the movies.
He quickly grew severe as the first of them came from behind. The second came from the side, while the third went up into one of the surrounding trees.
Aiden couldn't help praising the ingenuity of these beasts as he would've been blindsided if it wasn't for his recently acquired skill. However, he did have the skill, so their plan was about to go sideways.
Within a second, both hyenas on the ground were close enough to pounce on Aiden believing he had accepted his fate. However, they bit nothing but air as he had jumped into the air, spinning, but he had underestimated them again.
Aiden was counting on the one in the trees attacking him, but he didn't count on the second hyena using the first as a springboard to attack him. Once again, he was faced with their pincer attack and in the air on top of that.
The calm look on Aiden's face never left and
No matter how much momentum he put into the spin, Aiden wouldn't be able to take them both out, but that didn't mean he couldn't fend them off. Using the butt of his staff, he jabbed the second wolf in the head, pushing him back down.
Aiden used this to push himself toward the above hyena. The passing wind roared in his ears as, with a thrust of his blade, the hyena's life was cut short with a blade through the head.
\\\
[You defeated a Catus Hyena!]
You received a Catus Hyena Fang x 2
You received a Catus Hyena Claw x 1
\\\
Not wanting to be caught with his blade stuck, the teen grunted as he put all his strength into pushing the hyena's corpse under him and kicked it to the ground off the blade.
As Aiden landed on the ground, he kept up the momentum. He rushed at the hyena, still reeling from his jab.
With his eyes still closed, a grunt and a slash later, the hyena's head rolled across the ground.
\\\
[You defeated a Catus Hyena!]
You received a Catus Hyena Fang x 1
You received a Catus Hyena Claw x 3
\\\
[You leveled up!]
\\\
A breath of relief came from Aiden as his wound melded and healed. His exhaustion was replaced by adrenaline, making him feel quite comfortable.
The last hyena gave a low growl before taking off into the forest.
Aiden did not follow as it retreated into the midst of other beasts. With his [Third Eye], he could see numerous beasts waiting for him. The sheer bloodlust from that direction covered the area in a crimson fog. But he felt another emotion underneath the fog.
Fear.
And Aiden knew it wasn't because of him.
Unfortunately, the source of their fear had regained its bearings and had turned its attention back to him. The boar-shaped earthquake reared itself onto its hind legs before smashing its hooves into the ground with a thundering smash. The earth quaked with enough strength to almost put Aiden to his knees from vertigo.
'Seriously?! The amount of ingenuity this boar has could put those hyenas to shame. This guy is the definition of a boss!' Aiden couldn't help admiring the boar.
All the beasts surrounding the area watched as the dark-clothed human fell and howled in anticipation. The Stone Boar's creativity and strength had earned this area its territory and the resident's respect. They receive protection from outside predators, and the Stone Boar is left alone except for the occasional fight for the position.
While Aiden heard the howling made at his expense, he wasn't put down by it all. This brought back his time in competitive martial arts.
Aiden had as many fans as he had haters. Nothing to do with him, per se. It was just how calm he was most of the time. It became a literal competition to see which fighter could make him lose his cool.
The fighters just thought the teen was mocking them, even though he kept saying he wasn't. No one listened, so he just let it be.
Aiden shook himself out of his thoughts.
'I've been stuck in my head a lot recently. I wonder if this world has any therapists.' Aiden thought curiously. The howls died down, and tension rose like a rising tide. The wind blew, and the small makeshift clearing from the Stone Boar's earlier roll was deathly silent.
In sync, the Stone Boar and Aiden began circling each other. To the audience, the wait felt long and nerve-wracking. After a short minute, the boar's patience must've run short as it beelined towards the teen.
Curly hair shifted in and out of Aiden's vision as the giant beast barreled toward him. He was filled with nervousness and excitement. His expression changed into a feral smirk for the first time since the start of the fight.
The gap between the two shortened quickly. The Stone Boar pulled a spin maneuver and swung his spiked tail with total momentum.
Aiden zeroed in on incoming tail and changed tactics as well. Instead of dodging and leaving himself open for more spikes, he brought Moon Blade over his head and brought it down on the tail.
[Weight Control]
A loud collision shook the clearing. Aiden's arms flung back while the Stone Boar's tail was deflected with a sizeable chunk missing.
'The amount of force behind that attack was insane! I would've been meat paste on the ground if I were a regular person.' His arms were noticeably shaking from the exchange.
If Aiden hadn't been flung back as far as he did, he would've been left wide open for another attack.
Aiden couldn't take many more hits from the monstrously strong boar. Said boar was already ready to charge again, but it didn't know it was falling into the curly head teen's plan.
The energy spent on all the earth spikes from before brought the Stone Boar's energy levels low enough for it to become cautious about using its spirit engravings. This refers to the patterns covering most spirit beasts in this world.
Each spirit beast has spirit engravings according to its species and race with the occasional deviation: the more complex the engraving, the more powerful and versatile the abilities granted by the markings.
The Stone Boar's spirit engravings were in the upper tier of the forest in terms of complexity, further proved by its intellect and abilities. The Pyro Hog from before only had the basic engraving of its kind resulting in less power and generic skills.
However, engravings are not set for life. As a spirit beast grows, the engravings grow along with them. There are other cases where engravings mutate under extreme conditions.
In a few moments, these conditions will be met.
Instead of confronting the Stone Boar head-on, Aiden turned and ran into the forest with the boar hot on his tail. He knew the boar could maneuver through the woods without destroying the trees, but its large size made it difficult to chase small and fast prey, in this case, Aiden.
The teen wasn't escaping despite what he was doing. There was no way he would get far without being attacked by other beasts, as the only thing stopping him from being overrun by them was the Stone Boar behind him.
Aiden knew this place ran on the laws of the jungle. Only the strongest survived.
So, he had to set himself as the strongest. While Aiden wasn't the strongest, he had the intelligence and wits to shorten the gap.
Taking out the boss was the fastest way to place himself on top.
The Stone Boar stopped at the tree line, and its spirit engravings lit up with the ground beginning to shake. But everything stopped as the sound of slicing meat, and chewing was heard.
The boar's eyes zeroed in on the culprit and to say it became livid was an understatement. What it saw made all its exposed hair stand on end, and its eyes turned bloodshot.
Under its trembling gaze, Aiden was standing with Moon Blade against a tree, and a large slab of meat was stabbed into the tree by a large tooth.
These words fell on deaf ears as the Stone Boar took in a full sniff of the air. Its entire body began to shake as the surrounding area trembled like a volcano was beginning to erupt.
The meat that Aiden stabbed onto the tree was from the Flame Hog. Its mate.
ROAR!!! The entire forest heard and felt the boiling rage of the Stone Boar. Cracks began to appear throughout the forest. The ground rose and fell over the place, turning the site into a disaster area.
The tremors nearly sent Aiden to the floor again. Trees were uprooted and sent to the ground, crushing several beasts. Almost all the beasts started to evacuate the area with haste.
The Stone Boar's armor began to expand and cover its entire body. The spikes flattened into razor-sharp plates capable of shredding through anything in its path.
The spirit engravings shift and contort while giving off a dark gold light. They moved like shadows across its body. The engravings formed an extensive network of lines and runes.
Its tusks grew more prominent, with spikes emerging, looking similar to its tail. The tail and its spikes grew as well, looking comparable to a chain mace.
Shock and awe appeared on Aiden's face as he faced the now larger and more deadly Stone Boar. He quickly put the meat back in his inventory and got into his stance with Moon Blade.
"That backfired. Well, it was a pretty bold play, to begin with. But it should run out of steam soon, right?"
His answer was a charging Stone Boar ready to rip him to shreds.