The air inside the Wolf-Fang House was a harsh mix of cured leather, damp earth, and the metallic tang of old, dried blood. It wasn't a welcoming space; it was a fortress of functionality, marking the severe border between the human village and the wild, unpredictable expanse of the Dark Forest.
Kyle pulled the heavy, multi-pocketed carrier sling over his shoulders. His muscles were already tight, not from exertion, but from the low-level systemic stress of knowing he was completely outmatched.
He checked his mental screen one last time.
[Kyle—Mid Novice]
[Dickies in Stock: 24]
"Shit," he muttered under his breath. The cheapest next upgrade was 30 Dickies and right now he was back to poverty again and was effectively running on fumes, forced to rely on his starting stats for the biggest physical test of his new life. He had improved them by one minor level but still they were not enough for the Dark Forest.
His only true weapons were his F- Intelligence and his oddly high C- Charm.
Kyle soon reached the new team he was supposed to join.
" Lia Littlebust ", the Mid-Beginner leader, stood near a table with her team: Jor, Bor, Kai, and Mara. They all wore the grim, serious faces of people who faced death daily.
When Kyle approached, Jor, the axe-man, didn't even try to hide his disdain. "So, the Softblade is still among us. Did you come to collect your paycheck?"
Kyle offered a polite, level-headed response, letting the C- Charm smooth the edges of his words. "I came to do the job, Jor. I'm a Mid-Novice rank now. I won't be a burden to this team."
Lia turned, her short stature contradicted by the immense presence she projected. Her eyes, sharp and dark, raked over his average build, focusing on his exposed skin, looking for any sign of weakness.
"Mid-Novice is still nothing in the Jagged Creek, Kyle," she stated, her voice devoid of warmth.
"We are hunting Mutated Beasts today. They are not pigs you can stab easily in the core. They are hard-bodied, smart, and designed to kill humans"
" Also, your job is to carry the meat. If you slow us down, I will cut the line and leave you."
Kyle met her gaze evenly. "Understood, Commander. My job is to observe, adapt, and carry. I'll stick to the plan."
"See that you do," Lia concluded, turning her back dismissively. "We move out. We need two Boars. No mistakes."
…..
The forest has become a punishing gauntlet for Kyle. He was trying to cling to the team's pace, forcing his G Endurance to ignore the burn in his legs. Only, His G+ Agility was his saving grace, allowing him to weave through the tangled, low-lying roots and brush that plagued the path.
The hunters moved with a desperate urgency. There was no casual chatting; every movement was economic, every glance was a security check. Kyle, concentrating intensely, used his F- Intelligence to process every sound and shift in the foliage, trying to justify his presence.
They tracked the creature for nearly two hours, deep into the forest's heart, until Lia abruptly slammed a fist down, calling an immediate halt.
"Smell that?" she whispered, her short frame coiled low to the ground. "It's fresh blood and it's probably Big… And close."
"It's the Boar, Commander," Jor whispered back, his hand tightening on the haft of his heavy axe. "But it smells… different. Too strong."
"Mutated Fauna learn," Lia repeated, her eyes blazing with focus. "This one is bigger and tougher. Alright!... We stick to the standard formation."
" We will pin it down, and I will take the head. Kyle, you get behind that thick rock and do not move. Just watch and learn and If the fight spills, just run."
Soon after searching and following the tracks.
They found the creature in a small clearing—a Mutated Boar that dwarfed its Low-Beginner rank. Its hide was not just thick, and it was layered, like ceramic plate armor, and it reeked of ozone, indicating a new, dangerous mutation. Vents along its spine and nostrils pulsed with immense heat.
Lia and others didn't wait for it to notice and launched forward… for a swift attack on Lia's signal.
Jor, relying on brute force, slammed his axe down on the creature's flank.
CRASH!!
The result…. was horrifying.
The axe head bounced off the chitinous hide, and the heavy wooden haft shattered in Jor's hands, sending splinters flying. Jor staggered back, holding useless stubs of wood.
"Impossible!" Jor roared, his face pale with shock.
The Boar, angered, lunged at Jor, its razor-sharp tusk catching his shoulder before he could fully retreat. Jor screamed, collapsing as dark blood bloomed rapidly on his tunic.
Mara loosed three arrows in a frenzied volley, aiming for the creature's face. The arrows struck the Mutated Boar's thick, armored skull and snapped instantly with the tips disintegrating against the chitin.
Lia, driven by fury, launched herself forward. She was a whirlwind of speed, but her power was hitting a wall. She struck the Boar's neck with her obsidian blade, pushing with all her Mid-Beginner might. The blade bit, but only scraped, leaving a white chalk-mark on the black hide.
"It's too thick!" Lia screamed, frustration and terror etching deep lines on her face. Her small body shook with the futile effort. The beast ignored her and swung its enormous head toward the fallen Jor, preparing for the kill.
Kyle, who was basically plastered behind a mossy boulder, felt his blood run cold watching the fight. He realized that his G-rank body was useless in this fight. The sheer kinetic energy of the Boar would pulp him. Jor was seconds from being butchered, and Lia was exhausted.
He forced his mind to focus using his Intelligence: F- Rank.
Analyze. Analyze. Analyze Quickly…. Where is the flaw? Where is its Weak Point?
He ignored the blood and the screaming instead he fully focused on the creature itself. The steam. The heat. The immense internal pressure. It wasn't just armor; it was an organism struggling to contain its own power.
He had to move now.
Kyle shoved himself out from behind the boulder, utterly exposed. His appearance provided a micro-second of distraction, just enough for the Boar to pause its fatal strike on Jor and flick its gaze toward the new, smaller threat? Insect? Huh?
Kyle fixed his eyes on Lia. She was already beaten, her chest heaving, obsidian blade poised uselessly. He focused on his C- Charm in one singular, authoritative command and shouted!
"Lia!" Kyle yelled, the sound cutting through the air with the power of unquestionable, divine revelation. "Don't hit the armor! Use the pressure! The nostrils! Drive it straight into the pressure point!"
His voice, somehow imbued with absolute confidence, overrode her fear and her tactical paralysis. Lia's eyes flashed from Kyle to the Boar's face, where the massive nostrils pulsed with superheated breath. They were the only unarmored, wet gaps in the creature's defense.
Without hesitation, Lia trusted the voice. With a primal roar of effort, she lunged low, dodging a sweeping tusk, and drove her obsidian blade not at the throat, but straight up, into the thick, dark cartilage of the right nostril.
The blade plunged home.
The creature's death was instantaneous and spectacularly violent.
The pressure point, now pierced, failed catastrophically. The Mutated Boar didn't just die—it exploded. The tissue and blood vessels inside the massive skull, superheated by the creature's internal furnace, blew out in a sickening geyser.
A thunderous spray of black, viscous blood, bone fragments, and steaming viscera erupted from the wound, coating Lia, the ground, and the surrounding trees in a gruesome curtain of organic gore. The Boar's legs buckled, and its massive body collapsed with a shuddering, earth-shaking thud, its massive head a ruined, bloody mess.
The silence that followed was absolute… broken only by the dripping sound of blood cooling on the leaves.
Lia stood stock-still, her small body completely drenched in the creature's boiling, black blood, her face a mask of shock, rage, and sudden, intense relief.
At that moment, the familiar, mocking 'DING!' sounded in Kyle's mind.
[System Notification]
< Hunt - Quest 1: Assist in Boar Hunt >
Description: Utilize your non-sexual skills to ensure the successful acquisition of tribal resources.
Status: Completed
Reward: 20 Dickies
...…
"Huh?...What is this? Am I dreaming??... Did my system just give me a quest reward for something non-sexual?" Kyle was…..Wll Dumbfounded and shocked.
' Hahaha! Finally, a non-sexual quest, huh? Maybe the god who sent you here realized I need more than just a big dick to survive '
Kyle wanted to shout "Hell Yea!!" but time and place were not opt for that…
"Anyways I have 44 dickies now that's good enough…will think about this later."
Lia finally moved. She walked over to the corpse, yanked her blade free, and then walked directly to Kyle. She was covered head-to-toe in black gore, looking like a terrifying, blood-soaked demon.
She didn't speak. She just slammed her obsidian-stained hand onto Kyle's shoulder, the touch firm and unforgettable.
"You saved Jor," she said, her voice rough, her eyes finally meeting his—and for the first time, the coldness was gone, replaced by a raw, profound respect. "And you secured the food. Your 'observation' is worth more than Jor's axe. Keep it up and…"
She pointed to the mangled, bloody carcass. "Pack it. Quickly otherwise the smell will attract the real monsters."
She turned, her small, blood-soaked figure radiating immense, dangerous competence. Jor, clutching his wounded shoulder, looked at Kyle with a new deference.
Kyle knew he had survived the first test. He had proven his intellect could match a Mid-Beginner's power. He was no longer a deadweight and that was enough for now.
>>>>>>>>>>>
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