A few days after Ellie and Emmett took their test, Ian was left alone to do as he pleased.
Ellie had left early in the morning to go hang out with her friends, while Emmett went out with Zoey. And Kevin got held up by something, what that thing is, he wouldn't say.
With most of the people he'd be around, not available, he decided to go hunting for sport and dinner.
With the village they lived in at the edge of the kingdom, it wouldn't be difficult to find wildlife to hunt.
Ian had to walk a few miles before he left the village grounds, but once he did he started to spot some animals.
Around the area where the village was established, there weren't too many dangerous creatures. The highest rank creatures that were in the woods were silver rank. Most of these higher-ranked ones were far deeper in the woods so not many people would venture out there.
Ian had difficulty hunting creatures since he couldn't use his power. Without his power, he had to use different methods to hunt. He'd use mostly ambush tactics while hunting
Ian also spent a good amount of time studying all the different creatures that could be found in the area. With the knowledge he had gained, Ian is now able to strike them in their weak point or in the neck.
He had only been hunting for three years and when he first started he had a lot of trouble. He had yet to become a copper rank so with no powers to use his dad taught him all the basics of ambush hunting.
One day while he was hunting with a few others he was going to kill a pretty powerful null-rank boar. The boar had brown fur and was the size of a wolf. Its tusks were a foot long and could easily go through wood.
He had been stocking it for a few weeks to learn its habits but on this day when he planned to kill it, he saw that something was wrong.
When he found the boar again he saw that it was in the middle of becoming a copper-ranked creature. The boar was laying down, focusing on its level-up. The veins under its skin were bulging and you could see the energy flowing into its core.
When something starts the process of becoming a copper it can't be stopped. Most people and creatures focus while leveling up so they can have a higher lifeforce score when finished.
Ian didn't want the boar to become too strong if it leveled up so he couldn't wait any longer and had to strike now.
Ian jumped out of the bushes he was hiding in and rushed towards the boar. He pulled out a dagger that his dad gave him, ready to strike the creature in its neck.
The boar opened its eyes, breaking its concentration, and quickly dodged the attack. Now with the boar aware of his presence, Ian had to change his plan of attack.
The creature was still leveling up and he knew that the longer the fight went on the stronger the boar would become.
It charged at Ian with all of its might. Its eyes were filled with anger that was aimed at the man who interrupted its concentration.
Ian could not fight it one on one since he didn't know any fighting techniques. However, since he was good at sneak attacks that meant he was fast and precise when attacking.
The boar was running straight at him but thankfully Ian was fast enough to dodge the charge. While stepping to the side, Ian slashed at the side of the creature. He left a small cut on the creature's hide
The boar became more enraged by this and quickly turned around to charge at Ian once more. Ian was easily able to dodge this attack as well and slashed at the boar again.
Ian kept doing this for almost half an hour. He was starting to get tired but the boar was angry and filled with energy. Ian had left multiple cuts on the creature which left it looking bloodied
Once the boar was done leveling up though, it would be able to slow if not stop the bleeding from the wounds. The cuts on its body, though many, were not deep at all. This kept the boar from bleeding out.
Ian's slashing attacks weren't as good as his stab attacks so he knew that he wasn't doing enough damage to it. The next time the boar ran toward him he decided not to dodge the attack.
The two of them were staring at each other waiting for one to strike first. However, the boar was impatient and charged at Ian one last time.
Instead of waiting for the boar to reach him, Ian rushed toward it too. The two of their gazes did not break. They stared intently at each other as they ran toward one another.
The boar had its tusk facing forward, ready to pierce through him. Ian however, held his blade backward while charging. His face was serious and focused.
When the two of them were only a few meters away from each other, Ian jumped into the air. The boar slowed to watch as he went through the air. Ian eventually landed on the back of the creature and grabbed onto its fur.
The boar started running around wildly to try and get Ian off its back.
Ian held on tight to the boar and rode it like a bull. He clutched the handle of his dagger and stabbed the creature in its right eye.
As soon as this happened the creature let out a loud squeal before falling to the ground. When the boar fell down, Ian was sent flying off its back.
It took a moment for Ian to get back up but when he did he ran over to where the boar lay down. He began to check the boar to see if it was dead.
But by some miracle, the boar was still breathing but it was no longer moving. Its breaths were long and slow, and it's one good eye was closed.
Ian kept a watch on the creature since he didn't want to risk being attacked by it while trying to get his dagger back.
As Ian watched the creature carefully he noticed that it had finished leveling up. The boar's veins were no longer bulging and its core stopped glowing. This made him even warier of the situation.
Ian had brought a second dagger with him just in case he lost or broke the first one. He pulled out his other weapon and made his way slowly toward the fallen creature.
He was walking from its blind eye side to make sure that it couldn't see him. His guard was up the entire time but once he reached the boar he relaxed a bit.
The creature's breathing was slowing down more. Ian placed his ear on the side of the boar to listen for its heartbeat. Its heart was slow as well. The beast was dying.
Ian walked in front of the beast to see its face. The boar opened its eye and gave him a look of sadness and defeat.
Ian felt bad but he knew that if he didn't beat it, then he would have been killed. He also knew why the creature was dying.
Since the boar was in the process of becoming a copper, its body was filled with loads of energy. Due to this, it could continue on fighting even with all of its injuries. However, once he finished and became one, its body tired out and gave in to the damage it had taken.
Not wanting to let the boar suffer any longer he grabbed a hold of his second blade and prepared himself. He listened to its breath one last time before plunging his dagger into the boar's neck, ending its life.
Ian had never tried to kill a copper-ranked creature before since they were usually many times stronger than him. But now he had, even if it wasn't a copper when he started to fight it.
With the creature now dead, Ian removed both of his blades and began to skin it. He was going to sell its hide and keep the rest for food. Once he was done skinning it, he then chose to cut it into pieces so it would be easier to carry in his bag.