"Hey, this isn't funny at all. I swear I'm going to kill you," Martyn muttered as he wandered through the forest. Minutes had passed since his last encounter with the Leshy.
(There must be a way to hunt that son of a bitch down. Wandering around this forest is no fun at all.) Martyn thought as he used his dagger to cut through the leaves and bushes.
(For now, the best I can do is not fall for his game.) Martyn decided to stop and rest by a tree. "Come out wherever you are."
Attempting to dialogue with the monster, Martyn called out, but the Leshy didn't show itself.
"Well, we'll do it your way then, you bastard." Angrily, Martyn opened his system to see what he could use.
(I still have some stat points left. Let's see what I can spend them on.) Martyn started to analyze the best investment for his stat points.
[You've added 10 stat points to intelligence.]
[INT: 2 > 12]
[Mana: 200 > 1200]
After several minutes of thought, Martyn decided to allocate his stat points to intelligence. After all, skills are used with mana.
"Now I'll be able to fight better. I think it's time to…" Reflexively, Martyn moved his body, pulling out his knife and slashing backward.
Thanks to his increased stats, his body had become more attuned to the environment. "Holy crap, that was close." Martyn, having moved away from the spot, looked at what appeared to be a claw-like branch.
"Looks like someone has come to play. You'll have to do more than that to catch me." Martyn decided to run through the forest, using the claw as a starting point.
(One of the Leshy's weaknesses is that they can't create physical attacks in their illusions. If we take that as a reference, I'm 100% sure he should be nearby.)
As if his suspicions were confirmed, several wooden stakes shot at high speed appeared in front of Martyn.
[Skills:]
[Precise Cut]
Using his knife, Martyn managed to cut all the stakes in half, continuing on his path. He thought to hide behind one of the trees, but the Leshy could control them and use them against him.
As he caught his breath, several wood foxes began to chase Martyn. "Looks like you're desperate." Ready to take them on, Martyn stopped, letting himself be surrounded.
(There are three of them. I can do this, and I have things I wish to try.) His roguish grin was evident. Martyn was confident as he pulled out a weapon seemingly out of nowhere.
[Inventory]
[Saex Dagger: Low level dagger used by the Vikings of Valhalla. It is used to hunt or kill low level enemies.]
[Weapon Rank: D]
(This is a common weapon for hunters, even blessed ones, but for an imp like me, it's quite useful. Plus, it has a special effect.)
[Special effects: Breaks armor level 1.]
[Armor Breaker: This skill allows a percentage chance of invalidating the enemy's armor or defense. Depending on the level, your percentage will be higher.]
[1%]
After confirming all the details of his weapon, Martyn got into a combat stance and prepared to hunt. "This won't stop me, Leshy."
[Skills:]
[Accurate Cut]
In an instant, Martyn approached one of the foxes and slashed it with his dagger. The blow might have been effective, but another fox pushed Martyn, pulling out its sharp stake fangs as it did so.
[VIT: 87/130]
(Shit, I forgot I hadn't healed from the previous fight. I must be more careful.) With more caution, Martyn kept a better distance.
"Grrrrr!" Not satisfied with the last move, one of the foxes lunged at Martyn, but only received a slash from Martyn.
[You have defeated a monster]
[Experience gained: 15 points]
[EXP: 35/100]
"Well, there goes one. You…" Without finishing his sentence, Martyn lunged at the nearest fox. "You'll be next."
[Skills:]
[Precise Cuts]
Martyn's hand waved in several directions, cutting the beast in multiple parts simultaneously. Its companion tried to defend it but was surprised by a perfect slash from Martyn.
"Grrrr!"
A final grunt escaped the fox as it fell to the ground, its head completely severed.
[You have defeated a monster]
[You have defeated a monster]
[Experience gained: 30 points]
[EXP: 65/100]
(I must admit that working in the kitchen pays off. I'm pretty good at chopping.) Proud of himself, Martyn looked at his dagger like a child with a new toy.
"But this isn't over yet." Without wasting a second, Martyn started running toward where the earlier attacks came from.
"Hey, I'll let you out. There's no reason for us to fight."
The echoes from earlier were heard again in the illusive forest. Apparently, the Leshy was willing to let Martyn escape, but Martyn had no such intentions.
Upon hearing such a pitiful offer of escape, Martyn quickened his pace. "Do you think I'm a fool? You say that just because you've run out of mana!"
Martyn shouted while not stopping his pace. Surely, the Leshy had used a lot of mana creating the beasts from before, which is why he could no longer fight.
"Anyway, you're in my territory. You won't be able to…"
The echoes stopped being heard in the distance and began to be heard in front of Martyn, who had found the Leshy.
A body made of wood from the trees, with leaves like hair covering its back. There stood the Leshy, who instantly got up.
"Youuuu!"
The forest spirit rushed at Martyn at full speed, but Martyn wasted no time and did the same.
[Skills:]
[Precise Cuts]
[Active: Breaks armor ]
It only took one exchange for the battle to have a winner. The Leshy had been cut in an instant by Martyn's dagger.
[Congratulations]
[You have defeated a spirit monster]
[Its soul will be stored in Helheim.]
[You have obtained the skill: Analysis].
"A new skill, what's that all about?" Excited, Martyn decided to check the information about his new skill.
[Analysis: By using this ability, you will be able to see the characteristics of opponents, monsters, or objects. The higher the level of the skill, the more information you can get.] - [Mana per use: 200].
"Wow, this is a skill that only a few mages and supports use. Who knew I had it?" With a smile, Martyn decided to look at the other rewards.
[Experience gained: 40 points]
[EXP: 95/100]
As the messages appeared, the forest that had seemed immersive before began to disappear, revealing a large mountain around Martyn.
"Oh, I was on a mountain. That explains how hard it was to get around sometimes." Martyn enjoyed the scenery as he made his way down the mountain.
"I think I should cook something." Feeling somewhat hungry, he decided to take out the body of the spider monster from earlier and start cooking.
Since he didn't have much to use, he grabbed water and used various branches and rocks to make a fire. Several minutes later, he had a purple-colored soup.
"This soup is sold quite a lot in middle-class restaurants in Neo Tyran. Surely, it must taste delicious." With great expectation, Martyn took a sip of the juicy soup.
"Wow, it's really good!" Although cautious at first, Martyn could taste for himself the flavor of a monster.
The taste was somewhat sour like a lemon, but as it dissolved in his mouth, Martyn gradually felt a rather taut flavor.
For some, such a heavy taste would have been difficult to ingest, but for someone like Martyn, who was used to eating poor-quality food, this was a treat.
"Hey, what are you supposed to be doing!" Martyn's moment was interrupted by a voice heard from the right side.
(I'm sure I've heard that voice before…) Intrigued by the shouting, Martyn walked over to see who was responsible.
"Well, well, if it isn't my old friend. Didn't I tell you if I saw you again, I was going to kill you?"
The one responsible for the mayhem was the troubled boy from before, who had the bodies of several wannabes at his feet. "This is no big deal. I just took something I needed."
"No big deal? They're dead." The big burly man was confronting the boy.
Apparently, the guy attacked a group of wannabes, taking their stuff. Everything would have gone perfectly if the other man hadn't figured it out.
"So what? If they were too weak to be hunters, I did them a favor. Hahaha!" Showing no remorse, the boy taunted them, but in between his taunts, a punch was thrown.
"Scumbags like you shouldn't be hunters. I'll have to stop you here." The man's fist was stopped by the boy.
"Great, I was already looking forward to killing you."
After declaring war, the troubled boy kicked the man, pushing him back. He held his snow-white hair and pulled back. Due to the blood on his hands, his hair started to have crimson hints.
(This is a real battle between two aspiring hunters. I should watch.) Martyn decided to walk away, preparing to enjoy the fight.