After scouring the forest for nearly five minutes, the party under my supervision finally found their first prey- A lone boar sharpening its tusk against the rough bark of a Yellow wood tree.
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Yellow Tusk Boar
Lv 7
Attack: ★★★☆
Defense: ★★★☆
HP: 850
Skills: Tusk Throw, Stampede
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I had heard a lot about this monster but never had a chance to check its stats. Now that I had seen them, it was even more powerful than what I had assumed.
Three Stars in attack and two and half stars in Defense! Combined with 850 points in HP, its stats were comparable to the Minibosses under Dark Gnoll Dorukh!
Interesting! I wonder how these trainees will deal with the Boars?
I leaned on a Yellowwood tree hidden from plain sight and watched the Party No. 2 arrive near the location of the Boars.
Romero immediately decided to step up and take charge.
"Katsu, Latsu, Aggro the boar and bring it to this clearing." He ordered, pointing to an open space nearby. Then he turned to the Mage and Healer and said," Hide behind the trees while I tank and use your spells as you see fit."
Romero had used just the right amount of firmness in taking charge and his battle plan was sound. He did not try to micromanage and hence it was easy for him to get acceptance from his party members.
They started to execute the plan he envisioned. Katsu and Latsu stealthily approached the Boar near me while the rest of the team got in their positions.
Meanwhile, the boar happily grinded its tusks against the tree, unaware of the approaching threats.
Katsu and Latsu communicated with their eyes and chose a direction. However much they may squabble, they were still twins; Their actions were completely in sync as they attacked the Boar's behind at the same time.
-18
-20
Two damage numbers popped up from the beast's head and the Boar oinked loudly in pain. It turned around to face its attackers and immediately activated its skill, Tusk Throw.
Luckily for the twins they were agile enough to avoid the skill's impact. They led the Boar by the nose and brought it to the designated clearing where their other Party members were hiding.
As soon as the Boar entered the attacking range, Mochi launched the Fire Ball he had prepared a long time ago. The bright orange ball soared through the air and smashed on the Boar's back, exploding with a boom.
- 44
Not only did the Boar lose a significant amount of health, it was also burnt and disoriented. Katsu and Latsu took this chance to inflict even more damage on the beast.
The Yellow tusk Boar roared in anger. Frustrated by his pesky little attackers, the Boar activated its second skill Stampede, to crush the little backstabbers to death once and for all.
At this moment, Romero stepped up. The Tanker stood his ground between the Boar and the rest of the party. He bore the brunt of the Boar's assault with his Ash-Grey shield and armor.
-42
On the very first attack, Romero lost nearly 20% of his health. His defense was not much in the face of monster like the Yellow Tusk Boar but his determination was unwavering.
Romero used his shield to bash the boar every chance he got and ensured the aggro was focused on him. He also stood still and endured every attack the Boar could throw at him. It was only possible because Poh's rare but timely heals ensured his survival.
This stalemate between the Boar and Romero gave the twins the confidence to move closer and harass the boar. They were literally planning to bleed the boar to death with a thousand cuts.
The Boar had had enough. Enraged and injured, the beast unleashed its first skill, Tusk Throw. Romero still did not try to dodge and simply raised his shield to defend against the attack. This was a fatal mistake.
The Yellow Tusk Boar finally found an opportunity to neutralize him. It charged forward, jabbing its sharp tusks into the tanker and throwing him high up into the air.
It then turned towards the Mage and the Healer hiding behind the trees and charged at them with a Stampede. Mochi froze in place as he saw the Boar rush at him with ferocity. Fortunately, Poh had the presence of mind to drag the man out of the way and let the beast's skill go to waste.
The situation overturned so fast that none of the Party members were ready to deal with their new circumstances. The boar only had less than 300 points of health left but none of the members had a solution to finish it off.
Katsu and Latsu had fled as soon as Romero was tossed into the air. They did not dare to get closer and finish what they started, choosing instead to toy with the Boar from afar.
The mage did not want to attack without a meat shield standing in front of him and attract the Boar's attention again . Poh was the calmest out of the bunch but she had no effective way of dealing damage to the boar.
As for the self appointed Party Leader Romero, he had fallen into a heavily injured state after getting jabbed in the ribs by the Boar. Although he had not died yet, he still needed some time to recover from the pain.
Tsk! Tsk! It seemed like this party was hopeless and I had to step in to prevent a party-wipe.
I emerged from my hiding place and activated Rapid Shot, letting loose a volley of arrows at the rampaging boar.
-39
-78 (Crit)
- 84 (Crit)
-41
- 82 (Crit)
Five arrows, three critical hits! It was my lucky day today. The frenzied Boar lost all of its remaining health and collapsed to the ground with a loud thud.
[You have killed a Yellow Tusk Boar. You have received 245 XP.]
This outcome did not surprise me in the slightest and I picked up the loot dropped - Boar Meat and Hide - with nonchalance.