"Monster Essence? What's that?" I muttered, puzzled by the term.
I glanced at the other rewards listed and then mentally thought about my inventory. Suddenly, a screen appeared in front of me, displaying two options in a square box. The first one was labeled "Cores," and I realized it must refer to monster cores.
Curious, I clicked on the "Cores" box, and a new screen appeared with "Gerbil's Core" written in a square box.
Without hesitation, I clicked on it, and a mini-portal materialized before me. It reminded me of the portals from movies.
Carefully, I reached out and placed my hand on it, retrieving a small, bloody-colored crystal.
"This must be that little guy's core," I muttered, examining the crystal.
It was red and about the size of my finger.
After a brief moment of examining, I returned the crystal to the mini-portal and closed the inventory screen.
Back on the main inventory page, I noticed the healing portion listed.
"A healing potion, exactly what I need right now. With this, I can be sure that my wound will heal quickly."
I remarked to myself. I was about to click on the healing portion square box when suddenly, a loud roar echoed from behind me.
Startled, I whipped around to see a massive figure looming behind me, emitting steam. My eyes widened in disbelief.
"Is that... guy can even be called a boar?"
I saw the creature, similar to a boar but little bigger than boar's size with two imposing horns, I muttered,"It looks more like a rhino but with some features of a boar."
Wait!
While talking suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.
It never crossed my mind as I was in confusing situation but...
How can I see it clearly?
In my previous world, I literally couldn't see any object or being within the radius of 200 meters without the help of my glasses.
And, currently, the distance between us was maybe 150 metres which made a doubt in my head...
"Have my eyesight repaired itself after arriving in this world or something?"
When I spoke those words, the creature roared again catchting my immediate attention and then began charging at me.
Fuck, it is coming at me...
I cursed under my breath, realizing I had wasted precious seconds by overthinking.
Damn, This isn't the time to be lost in thought!
The creature was closing in much faster than I expected.
Every heavy step shook the ground as the boar-like beast charged at me, its sharp horns flashing in the light.
I scanned my surroundings in a panic, eyes flicking between the trees.
There were no rocks or bushes to hide behind—just towering trees that seemed to stretch into the sky.
Like skyscrapers...
Then, to my right, I spotted one—a sturdy tree, smaller than the rest but tall enough to give me a chance.
It stood about fifty feet shorter than the massive ones surrounding it, which looked like towering skyscrapers.
Without hesitating, I made my decision.
"I've got to climb that," I muttered, sprinting toward the tree with everything I had.
It was my only option—big, but easier to climb than the others.
There was no time to second-guess.
The boar was closing in...
I reached the tree, gasping for air, and jumped, grabbing onto the lowest branch with both hands.
My arms strained as I tried to pull myself up.
The rough bark scratched my palms, but I gritted my teeth and used all my strength to keep climbing.
My legs kicked frantically, scraping against the trunk as I struggled to push myself higher.
I wasn't great at climbing trees, but with adrenaline pumping through me, I was doing whatever I could to survive.
My heart pounded so hard it drowned out everything else.
Clutching the branch tightly with my left hand, I pushed off with my right foot, just enough to reach higher and grab another branch with my right hand.
My muscles burned, but I pulled myself up a few more feet.
Sweat dripped down my forehead and stung my eyes, but I didn't stop.
All I could focus on was climbing higher—getting out of the creature's reach.
Just as I reached for another branch, the tree suddenly shook violently.
I almost lost my grip.
"Shit!" I gasped, hanging on with my left hand while my right arm flailed in mid-air.
It felt like the whole tree was being rocked by an earthquake.
My body jerked sideways, and my feet slipped completely off the trunk.
I was left dangling, barely holding on with one hand.
The bark scraped against my skin, but I ignored the pain and held on tight, desperate.
I glanced down and saw the beast below, slamming its horns into the tree with full force.
Each hit sent powerful tremors through the trunk, shaking the branches wildly.
It wasn't giving up, crashing into the tree over and over, determined to knock me down.
'No way am I falling!'
I thought, gritting my teeth.
I summoned every bit of strength left in me, reaching back up with my right hand to grab the bark again.
My feet scrambled for a foothold, and with one last effort, I pulled myself up to the next branch.
I was breathing heavily, every muscle burning from the exertion.
My arms felt like they were on fire, but I kept climbing, forcing myself to move faster.
Another impact from the boar sent the tree shaking again, but this time I was ready for it.
My legs wrapped tightly around the branch beneath me, helping me hold steady.
"Come on, come on," I muttered to myself, as I reached for the next branch, climbing higher, desperately trying to get out of the creature's reach.
The tree was swaying violently from the boar's assault, but I had to trust that it would hold.
I couldn't afford to stop now or...
Let's not think about the consequences right now...
Another slam shook the tree, but I was gripping tighter, more prepared for the aftershock this time.
'Damn this thing doesn't know when to quit...'
The boar wasn't giving up, and neither was I.
After climbing a little higher, I found a sturdy branch and quickly settled on it, gripping tightly for balance.
Below, the boar kept ramming into the tree, refusing to give up.
"Yeah... this should hold," I muttered, feeling some relief wash over me.
Why?
Because even though the boar was shaking the tree with every hit, it wasn't causing any serious damage.
From up here, I could see its attacks barely left a scratch on the lower trunk—just a few scuffs, nothing major.
This tree was a Taxus, one of the strongest from my old world, also known as Ironwood.
Its wood was said to be one and a half times stronger than iron.
There was no way the boar could knock it down, no matter how hard it tried.
Even though the tree trembled with each hit, I was safe for now.
I clung to the branch, waiting for the boar to tire out and leave.
***
But...
Ten minutes passed, and the beast was still at it, relentlessly ramming the tree.
'How does it have so much energy?'
I wondered, growing more frustrated.
'Are its horns made of steel or something? Why isn't it hurt by now?'
These thoughts circled in my mind as the boar continued its assault.
Its determination to get to me was maddening.
Still, despite my frustration, I wasn't about to make a dumb move.
I had no weapon and no plan.
There was no way I'd go down there to fight it.
Fucking no way...
***
Another ten minutes passed, and the boar was still down there, relentlessly ramming the tree.
But this time...
"45..."
"46..."
"47..."
Instead of getting frustrated, I began counting how many times it hit the tree, just to pass the time.
But soon enough, I got bored.
"Gruuh~"
That's when I felt my stomach growling.
"Huhhh..."
I sighed...
It was no wonder I was hungry.
I hadn't eaten anything since I got here.
I hadn't even had dinner.
The last time I ate was around 3 p.m., meaning I've gone almost 10 hours without food.
No surprise I'm starving.
Then...
I glanced at a strange fruit hanging from a nearby branch.
It was red like an apple, but covered in sharp spines, almost like a cactus.
I hesitated for two reasons.
First, the spines looked painful, and I didn't want to hurt myself. Second, I had never seen a fruit like this before. It didn't exist in my old world, so I had no idea if it was safe to eat. It seemed risky.
As I stared at the fruit, an idea crossed my mind.
Carefully, I reached out, plucked one, making sure not to prick myself, and without a second thought, threw it down, aiming at the boar.
It hit the boar's skin and, got struck at the spinal cord of boar thanks to the sharp spines of the fruit as after that the boar roared at rage...
And, then begin hitting the tree more powerfully making more huge tremors.
But that hardly mattered to me given that my one hand and, both legs were frimly gripped to the branch of the tree...
"Yes, it can feel pain... that's amazing, so why not..."
I muttered, grinning like a madman who had just come up with a crazy idea.
***
"So, it finally died," I said, my voice thick with exhaustion.
My right hand throbbed from all the fruit-throwing.
I glanced down at the ground, where the four-foot creature lay.
It was bleeding from several wounds, especially on its back, where countless sharp, red spined fruits had hit.
My plan was to use those spines to hurt the beast and drive it away.
After a few minutes of throwing fruits, I noticed it wasn't backing down; it kept slamming into the tree.
So, I aimed for its back, throwing more and more fruits.
I managed to injure it a bit with my first five hits, so I kept going.
Finally, after about 10 to 15 minutes, it collapsed to the ground with a thud.
But I hesitated to climb down; I hadn't received the kill notification yet.
Then, as I scanned the area, a sudden message popped up in front of me, startling me:
(You have defeated [Savant Rhino].)
(Defeat lesser-ranked monsters 2/12.)
(Congratulations, Host! Monster Core (Lesser) has been added to your inventory!)
(Congratulations, Host! Healing Potion (Bronze) has been added to your inventory!)
(Congratulations, Host! Monster Essence of Rhino has been added to your Character Profile!)
'Alright, that confirms he died."
I expected this outcome.
It was bound to happen.
Just that it took long...
I have to admit, he was pretty stubborn, which is why he ended up dying. If he hadn't been so determined, he could have easily survived my attacks by running away.
But anyway, whatever at the end I survived the threat atleast.
After thinking about the rhino for a few seconds, I opened my character interface.
Michael ????
Race: Human.
Current rank: Normal
Progression to Bronze rank: 2% (2/100 essences).
Attributes:-
[Power]: Normal.
[Speed]: Normal.
[Spirit]: Normal.
[Recovery]: Normal.
Free attributes points:- (0/1)
Human Racial Abilities...
As I scanned my character interface, a particular detail caught my eye. Instead of showing 0/100 Essences, it now displayed 2/100 Essences. Surprised by the change, I decided to investigate further.
Curious, I clicked on the Essences section, and an information window appeared:
**Number of monster essences needed to ascend to the next rank.**
I touched my chin thoughtfully and muttered, "So, it's like a requirement needed to progress to some kind of level-up. Will I become stronger with each level-up?"
I nodded to myself, considering the possibilities. 'Hmm, that might be the case. Usually, in video games, a character becomes stronger with each level-up.'
So basically, every time I kill a monster, I'll get a Monster essence that will help me level up.
Now that I think about it, that would be so awesome.
As I pondered this, my gaze fell on the [Spirit] icon. Not knowing what it meant, I decided to click on it. Immediately, another info window appeared:
**[Spirit]: A measure of your willpower and resilience. Increasing your Spirit attribute enhances your resistance to willpower attacks and improves your mental strength.**
Reading this, I nodded in understanding. "So, Spirit affects my willpower. That's good to know."
As I processed this new information, I couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
If I could level up and grow stronger, I could handle tougher monsters and survive longer in this dangerous world.
The thought of becoming more powerful, of mastering new abilities, filled me with a renewed sense of purpose.
Closing the info windows, I felt a newfound determination.
"Alright, let's see what other surprises this system has in store for me," I muttered, ready to explore more of my character interface and uncover its secrets.