Chapter 9 - Reckless Rush
I'm sorry.
“This is awful!!”
In a corner of the first beginner area—the [Plains of the Horizon]. As a Fool Boar exploded with a pathetic shriek of “Pigeh,” I slammed my straight sword into the ground and spewed a torrent of abuse.
Why? Because these boars, true to their name, had only one attack method: a straight-line charge. However, their STR and VIT seemed to be set rather high. Even if I landed a counter with my great axe, they’d barely survive, and if I took a direct hit from their charge, my paper-thin defenses meant I was, of course, one-shotted.
So, fighting them came down to two options: either take them out with an ambush, or dodge their initial charge and finish them with a rush from behind… The problem was, the moment I landed a single hit from behind, they would sprint off in a random direction. And if I dodged their charge, they wouldn't even notice and would just keep running off into the distance. It was less of a battle and more of a game of tag.
The result was that each kill took a long time, yet the experience gained was the same as, or even less than, the slow-moving mushrooms from yesterday. Why was I getting less experience than from an enemy in the very first tutorial stage? My frustration was mounting.
“Should I change hunting grounds…? No, I can't enter the next area until I beat the area boss…”
And the only enemy that appeared in this area was this one type of idiot. First the [Goblin Mushroom] hell in the mushroom forest, and now this. Weren't there too few enemy types, even for the early game? If I didn't know for a fact that this game, three years after its release, still reigned supreme over all others, this simplistic design would make me worry about its future.
In that case, should I just ignore the small fry and challenge the boss? I looked around, but…
“It’s a plain as far as the eye can see, and yet there’s no sign of anything that looks like a boss.”
True to its name, the [Plains of the Horizon] was just a vast, flat expanse with no obstacles. I could literally see all the way to the horizon, but all that met my eyes were idiot boars. There was no sign of anything huge or different-looking that might be a boss.
In fact, the area was so ridiculously vast that my sense of distance was starting to get warped. I could even see the Fool Boars in the far distance as tiny specks. What kind of rendering technology was this? I was completely baffled.
“Well then, I guess…”
I was still low-level, but I was already fairly confident in the agility I'd invested my points into. I don't have time to deal with these idiots! I’ll just run from one end of this area to the other!!
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“You stupid bastardsaaaaaaaaah!!!”
I sprinted at full speed, letting out a scream. The cloud of dust rising behind me, like something out of a gag manga, wasn’t from me, but from a massive herd of Fool Boars that had swelled to several dozen strong.
After deciding to ignore the Fool Boars, I had started running across the plains—but for some reason, every time I ran past one of these idiot boars, it would mysteriously link, turn aggressive, and start chasing me.
At first, I was nonchalant, thinking it was just another way they could react. But as the sound of footsteps behind me grew into a thunderous roar that shook the ground, I realized I could no longer afford to ignore them.
Fortunately, the herd seemed to have stopped growing after a certain point… but whether it grew any larger or not, the two words “instant death” that awaited me if I got trampled remained unchanged.
I’d learned this when I got one-shotted in my failed counter-attack attempt. As I’d suspected, the death penalty waiver was limited to the tutorial stage, the “Mushroom Forest.” I lost a hefty chunk of accumulated experience, so I really wanted to avoid getting run over.
To add insult to injury, it came with a ridiculously long status-down debuff that lasted eight hours in real time, or twelve hours in virtual time. A ten percent penalty wasn’t a big deal at my current low level, but for a max-level player, that would be a weakening equivalent to 10 levels. I had a feeling this would get tougher later on.
Now, my AGI stat was apparently higher than theirs, so there was no sign of them catching up… but unfortunately, even a virtual body that doesn’t experience physical fatigue can’t move indefinitely.
Continuing an over-the-top performance like my current full-out sprint would deplete a hidden parameter, stamina, which wasn't displayed as a number. If that happened, I’d be forced into a fatigue animation, and if I couldn't create enough distance by then, I was guaranteed to become mince-meat.
“Dammit, I’m starting to get really pissed off…!”
I’d been running for quite some time with this herd of boars in tow, but there was still no sign of a boss, or even a change in scenery. The pigs that weren't joining the herd, munching on grass or berries, just gave me an uninterested glance as I sprinted past, which only added to my irritation.
The massive herd behind me was letting out a cacophony of squeals—pigyaa, pugyo—as if to mock me. “Pugyaaaaaa”—SHUT UP!!!
“Alright, let’s do this, you damn pigs!! It’s slaughtering time, you bastards!!”
With 《Quick Change》, which I could activate even from a bare-handed state, I summoned the [Iron Straight Sword]. Subjugating my full-throttle AGI with my DEX, I executed an instantaneous 180-degree turn. With a furious war cry, I lunged at the lead boar, which had been maintaining a distance of about five meters.
Using the momentum from slamming my sword into its snout, I kicked the squealing beast hard in the side of its head, throwing my body sideways. Narrowly avoiding being trampled by the herd, I broke out in a cold sweat and immediately circled around to their rear.
If these idiots had simply kept running off into the distance like idiots, it would have been simple. But it seemed the entire herd had completely targeted me. The Fool Boars, having lost sight of me from the front, slammed into each other as they screeched to a halt—
“Large weapons are meant for throwing!!”
My great axe boomerang, making its first appearance since yesterday, slammed into the several boars at the rear. It seemed the Fool Boars had a different density and weight than the dried-out Mush-things. The axe didn't plow through the entire herd, losing momentum and falling after taking out five or six of them.
But the result was more than enough. Switching back to my straight sword with another 《Quick Change》, I charged into the herd and swiftly cut down the dying pigs. Ignoring the numerous death effects obscuring my vision, I dashed sideways at full speed—just as I expected, the Fool Boars that had finished turning burst through the glowing lights, coming at me like something out of a bullet-hell game.
The herd, which had been a single giant projectile, had now switched tactics to a swarm of homing missiles. But the trajectory of each individual boar was still foolishly straightforward. The sheer number required some caution, but dodging something that couldn't make sharp turns and was slower than me was easy.
“That's what I call a telegraphed charge! Thanks for the heads-up!!”
A head-on counter was just suicide, but a sideways strike as we passed each other was no problem. I slammed my straight sword into the sides of the Fool Boars as they rushed me one after another. I felt like I was playing some kind of rhythm game, but unfortunately, the only thing echoing around me was the grating squeal of pigs, not music.
After dealing with most of the charges, I turned again, letting the next wave of pigs that had already changed direction pass me by, and then smacked the asses of those who had lost their balance.
“That’s about it! Reflect on your actions and come back when you’re ready, you pigs!!”
If Sora saw me now, she would probably be appalled again. Unaware of this, I, who tended to get completely carried away in the heat of battle, let out a triumphant laugh.
Although I was a glass cannon, the herd of Fool Boars was, in the end, just a mob of cannon fodder with only one attack. Powerless against the enraged berserker, the herd of idiot boars was swiftly decimated.