At the moment, however, Ackster's greatest interest in the beast ahead of him wasn't its material worth. It was how it would help him train his skills and feed his rumbling stomach.
Ackster managed to sneak close enough to get a decent look at his sparring partner-to-be. And while he didn't know the specific type of beast, it looked strong. He briefly considered looking for a more suitable target since he couldn't tell how much stronger the bull-like beast was than him.
He shook his head slightly to clear it of any hesitation. He hadn't had any trouble tossing his life into the air before. Why was he doubting himself now? He would make. There was no other option or alternative.
With that, he stopped hiding.
The skills he was going to aim for with this bull as his opponent were Fortify and Iron Wall. Neither of them were ambush or sneak-attack skills. He had just been careful with his approach so he could get a proper look at the beast before making a decision. In the first place, he wasn't even sure he had succeeded with that, so there was no need to lurk around like a coward.
He stood up straight and started walking toward the bull, his every moment rustling the waist-high grass.
The bull looked in his direction as soon as Ackster stopped hiding, which confirmed Ackster's guess that the bull had already spotted him. The bull turned its horned head in his direction and stared him down.
Ackster felt like the bull was smiling as it tilted its head forward slightly and angled its flat-tipped horns toward him. Unlike the sharp, pointy tips of most horns that he was familiar with, the bull's horns looked like a pair of battering rams. They probably wouldn't gut him or tear him apart the same way an ordinary pair of horns would. But if the bull were as strong as it looked and felt and rammed into him with those, Ackster probably wouldn't be far from turning into mashed potatoes.
Unfortunately, even if he wanted to avoid the bull's horned charge, Ackster didn't have the luxury.
He could train Fortify in other ways as well since it was a more active overall burst of reinforcement of his entire body that focused on upping the effects of his Strength and Fortitude. It was just that since it did a lot to strengthen his body's defenses, trying to acquire it by defending was more efficient.
Iron Wall, on the other hand, could only be acquired by defending, more specifically, by acting like an Iron Wall.
Iron Wall was the opposite of charge skills and turned the user into an immovable iron wall. With the skill, Ackster would become stronger and tankier as long as he remained in place. He would also have an easier time blocking or stopping charges and attacks. It came with the downside of being useless if he moved forward or lost his balance. But the positives more than made up for it.
Iron Wall would add another card Ackster could use in his battles, and he wouldn't be stuck with charging headfirst into battle to try and gain the advantage. He could instead let his opponents charge into him and, as if they had hit an iron wall, injure themselves.
Naturally, the best way to acquire Iron Wall would be to try and do the same as what the skill would do without actually having the skill.
So, Ackster dug his feet into the ground, one leg behind his body, propping it up like a support pillar. He leaned forward slightly and put his hands up like a wrestler as he braced for the bull.
The bull snorted and scraped its hoof against the ground twice before moving forward. The beast's hulking body accelerated with surprising speed and quickly crossed the distance between it and Ackster.
Ackster's eyes narrowed, and he could feel Keen Senses sharpening his sight and helping him see through the darkness and keep track of the bull's movements. Battlesight didn't activate, but he didn't need it to predict what was going to happen in only a matter of seconds.
Ackster didn't blink, but even if he had, he would still have been able to track the bull's charge through the tremors spreading through the ground and up his feet.
The bull lowered its head slightly to adjust its horns and line them up with Ackster's torso.
'Shit.'
The closer the bull got, the more vividly Ackster could sense its strength. He realized he might be in over his depth. But Clear Mind and Iron Will helped him keep his head cool and focused on what was in front of him, and he tensed his body to brace for impact. His toes stretched and clawed into the grassy ground to increase his grip. His leg muscles bulged and stretched the pants he wore under the training equipment taut.
He took a shallow breath and turned his torso and abdomen into a solid block of stone that would hopefully remain unmovable and unbending even in the face of the bull's charge. He adjusted his hands and positioned them so they would receive the bull's horns like a pair of baseball mitts. Except, instead of catching a pair of baseballs, he was catching a pair of cannonballs.
Ackster's eyes were wide open as he stared down the bull in desperate stubbornness. He didn't dare blink now that he was on the verge of collision.
Eventually, there was no longer any ground left for the bull to cross, and Ackster could see its wet and hairy nose flare as, with one last push of strength, it blasted into him.
The flat horns hit Ackster's palms like a pair of freight trains, and he couldn't even try to resist as his arms were pushed back before the bull's horns crashed into his shoulders and sent him flying backward like a ragdoll.
The world turned into a kaleidoscope of grass, bull, stars, and the moons. But only for a few seconds before Ackster crashed into the ground and tumbled around. If he didn't want to get dirt and grass in his eyes, he had to close them, so everything went black until he felt his body stop moving.