Chaos ensued as a third party in the form of an old man charged into the fray, taking out deer and wolves one after another. By looking at the current state of things, it seemed that there was about 40 or 50ish animals, with about even numbers on both sides.
By the time he got into the fight, about half was taken out with the deer side winning. This was definitely because of the big guy that was still throwing around wolves left and right by whipping its head around unnaturally.
Leon kept a careful eye on the Giant Deer, analyzing it as he continued to kill indiscriminately. The head whipping was most likely some sort of skill, that allowed the creature's head to bend further than normal and allow it to use its antlers more versatilely.
It was no longer limited by its neck's range of movement and on top of that, its antlers were much stronger than normal. Even when its antlers were stuck in a tree, it somehow found a way to rip them out by tearing away bark with force.
It was on another level than the other creatures around it.
Most of these deer and wolves were still level 1 or 2, having barely made it by while a good number were also level 3 or 4, with very few being higher than that.
Leon had managed to kill a wolf that was level 5, earning himself a nice fat chunk of exp but the fight was also much tougher. He couldn't kill it in one shot, the same with the level 3s and 4s. The higher level animals were quicker, smarter, and tougher.
The wolf even managed to scratch his armor, bringing its durability down a little but not causing any damage to his health.
The stat boosts they earned from leveling up really showed since even when he aimed and struck vital points, it wasn't enough to kill them instantly. They often held on for at least one more hit before dying.
With his knowledge of the system, he knew there were hidden stats. His current amount of access to that knowledge didn't mention what they were, but he knew they were there and he could take a guess. One of them was probably similar to willpower, which is sometimes seen in video games or fantasy novels where characters can overcome normal physical limitations through their soul or something similar.
He felt he was on the right track but he had no way of knowing for sure and just continued to fight as he finally struck down the level 5 wolf after a half dozen hits. He wasn't able to hit only vital areas, as the wolf was fast and quite smart compared to its companions.
It had backed up several times as Leon went in for hits and dodged a few as well. It was definitely an intelligent creature and he noticed that this wolf didn't have red eyes, unlike the rest of them.
Was the absence of red eyes in animals a sign of intelligence? He could only make conjectures since he was unable to see the animals' stats.
Once the intelligent wolf was dead, the Giant Deer 'roared,' causing the other deer to call out as well. Leon narrowed his eyes as he continued killing, wondering what was happening to the deer.
As if they were in a trance, they began to work together, dog piling the remaining wolves and killing them quickly. Their sudden change in behavior was surprising and Leon immediately thought that it was the work of another skill.
When in doubt, blame the system.
Once the rest of the wolves were dead, the deer started charging toward him as the Giant Deer stood tall in the back like a king watching its subjects fight for it.
While the deer had red eyes, it still had a good amount of intelligence so now Leon wasn't so sure. It did seem like it was going berserk earlier, but it was also able to make some rational thought.
He couldn't wander in his thoughts for long as several deer charged at him from all sides. Taking the chance before they surrounded him, he charged at the deer that began to swarm from behind.
Since he had come that way, there were only a few stragglers which were too out of his way to get. He brandished his bone knives in front of him, slashing at their necks and stabbing them in the temple or aiming for their eyes.
He unconsciously used a new skill he didn't have time to read as he broke through the circle and made a strategic retreat. He didn't go his full speed, taking advantage of their distance to get them together in a tight group and causing them to trip over each other as they couldn't all see the bodies of their brethren and enemies hidden in the snow.
Animals were still animals in the end and he was able to kill them relatively safely. By now he was huffing and puffing, since even though he had a monstrous speed stat, his other stats were low. He was running out of stamina and wanted to finish them all, but he could tell that the Giant Deer wouldn't let him do as he pleased.
The creature was already huffing out steam and stomping the snow in agitation since its plan to swarm him wasn't working. Leon continued to kill more deer while conserving as much stamina as possible.
When he ran out of bodies to use as speed bumps, he started weaving through the trees and getting the deer's antlers caught up in low hanging branches. He was able to catch his breath for a moment but it wasn't for long, as the Giant Deer finally entered the fray after it had enough.
Charging like a bull, the Giant Deer held its head down as it rammed into the trees. Another loud *boom!* echoed through the area while the trees it hit were ripped out of the ground and knocked into trees behind it.
Through a chain reaction, the trees began to lean on one another and take each other down. With his natural barrier failing due to this sudden power, Leon had to take action. Taking the initiative, he wove between the falling trees as he put one of his bone knives back in his inventory and unsheathed the short sword behind him.
{ Steel Short Sword's Attack has increased slightly for the next 10 seconds }
A system message popped up as the sword sword in his right hand glowed slightly. Leon could feel power emanating from it and even though it probably didn't power up much, it was very much welcomed.
The Giant Deer looked surprised, as it probably didn't expect its prey to come charging at it. However it didn't change anything, as it was still going to kill the old man in the end. Whipping its head around, the Giant Deer threw its antlers towards Leon as the latter narrowed his eyes while his senses heightened.
In that moment, the antlers seemed to move slower or his eyes processed the information quicker as his overpowered Eyes of Heimdall took effect. His eyes turned golden with several unknown, miniature magical circles appearing within his pupils as they darted around the deer's body rapidly.
He could see how the Giant Deer moved frame by frame, where its muscles were most likely contracting or relaxing next as with the potential trajectory of the antlers that crept closer to him. All was clear at what he had to do while to the rest of the world, it seemed as if this old man sped up out of nowhere.
The short sword he held glowed a bit brighter than before as an arc of light followed it and its wielder through the mass of boney weapons.
"GRAAAAA!!!" The Giant Deer screamed in pain as not only was half of its canopy of bone sliced through instantly, but also a large, deep laceration appeared on the side of its body. Its somewhat primitive mind whirled as it tried to understand what just happened but was unable to figure it out.
The end of its antler was now red hot, burning and giving off a funky smell. That was the least of its worries as its belly was assaulted by searing heat and blood ran down its majestic coat. On top of that, its natural weapon now felt very lopsided and was hard to hold up as well as before.
While the Giant Deer worried, Leon struggled to catch his breath as he clutched his chest.
In that short moment before, an arc of light came out of his short sword that followed him as he used his full speed with the power of the Cloak of Concealment to weave through the branches of bone carefully, chopping them off like a knife through butter before he found himself right next to the beast's abdomen.
As he had swung down before, his momentum wasn't quite the right direction so he used his full speed, as well as straining his muscles to the max, to once again spin himself like a top, sideways, to shred through the Deer's abdomen.
The speed of his previous moments still caused him to move forward away from the Giant deer, but he wasn't able to stop himself well, crashing into the snow as he was spinning.
The wind was easily knocked out of him and he felt like he might have broken a rib or two on impact. To say it was kind of pathetic that his first real damage was caused by himself, was an understatement.
Then again, what he did was quite impossible for someone of his current rank. While the mass killing he had done before shot him up in level, it wasn't enough to cover the gap between him and this Giant Deer.
How much must that Giant Deer have had to kill to end up like that? It could potentially be over 100 kills if they were all level 1s but he wasn't sure how much exp the deer would need to grow that much and in such a short time.
Leon was clearly out matched yet steam blew out of the bright smile that was plastered beneath his bushy beard. The adrenaline was pumping violently, putting him on cloud nine as he began to chuckle in between breaths. Even as a bit of blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth, the smile plastered to his face never left.
This was the thrill of the Hunt.
*ding!*
*ding!*
*ding!*
*ding!*
*ding!*
A bunch of messages echoed in his mind but he tuned them out as the glow on his blade dimmed due to the stat boost diminishing and walked toward the Giant Deer still flailing about.
When Leon's foot crunched the snow, the Giant Deer snapped its head towards him, huffing and puffing violently again while the old man pointed the tip of his sword in its direction.
The old man grinned evilly as his eyes glowed gold again.
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