kscans

Chapter 9 - Reckless Rush

I'm sorry.

---

"This is bad!!"

In a corner of the first beginner area—the [Plains of the Horizon]—I was facing off against a [Fool Boar] that exploded with a pathetic "peegyii" death cry. I had my straight sword stuck in the ground and was spewing out some pretty harsh language.

Why? Because these wild boars, true to their name, seem to have only one attack method: a straight-line charge. But their STR and VIT seem to be set high, because even if I hit them with a great axe counter, they barely survive, and if I take a direct hit from their charge, my paper-thin durability means I naturally get one-shotted.

So, the only two options for fighting them are to either finish them off with a surprise attack or to dodge their initial charge and then chase them down and finish them off with a rush from behind... but the thing is, the moment you hit them from behind, they run off in a completely random direction, and even if you dodge their charge, they don't even notice and just keep running off into the distance, turning the fight into a game of tag.

As a result, it takes a long time to kill one, but the experience points you get are the same as or even less than the slow-moving mushrooms from yesterday. Why is the experience lower than the enemies in the very first tutorial stage? My frustration is just getting worse.

"Should I change hunting grounds...? No, I can't enter the next area without defeating the area boss..."

And the only enemy that appears in this area is these idiots. What with the [Goblin Mushroom] hell in the mushroom forest, isn't the variety of enemies in the early game a bit small? If I didn't know that this game has been the undisputed champion for three years since its launch, I'd be worried about the future with this simple taste.

So, should I just ignore the small fry and challenge the boss? I looked around, but...

"I can see for miles in this plain, but I don't see anything that looks like a boss."

As the name [Plains of the Horizon] suggests, it's a vast, flat plain with no obstacles. So I can literally see all the way to the horizon, but all I see are fool boars, and I don't see any that are huge or look different, like a boss.

And because the area is so ridiculously large, my sense of distance is getting messed up. I can see the fool boars in the far distance as tiny dots, and I have no idea what kind of rendering technology this is.

"Well then..."

I'm still a low-level, but I'm already pretty confident in the agility I've invested points in. I can't be bothered dealing with these idiots one by one! I'll run from one end of the area to the other!!

◇◆◇◆◇

"You idiots!"

I'm running at full speed, letting out a scream. The cloud of dust rising behind me like something out of a gag manga isn't from me, but from a horde of [Fool Boars] that has swelled to several dozen.

After that, I started running through the plains, ignoring the [Fool Boars], but—for some reason, these idiot boars started linking up every time I ran past them, and one after another, they turned aggressive and started chasing me.

At first, I was just thinking, "So that's how they react," and didn't take it seriously, but as the sound of footsteps behind me grew into a deafening roar that shook the ground, I realized I couldn't ignore them anymore.

Fortunately, the horde seems to have stopped growing after a certain number... but whether it grows any more or not, the two words "instant death" that I'll face if I get trampled won't change.

I found out when I died in that failed counter-attack one-shot, but it seems the death penalty exemption was only for the tutorial stage, the "mushroom forest." I lost a good chunk of my accumulated experience points, so I'd really rather not get run over.

And it comes with a status-lowering debuff that lasts for a ridiculously long eight hours in real time, or twelve hours in virtual time. A 10% reduction is not a big deal now at a low level, but for a max-level player, that's a 10-level debuff. I have a feeling it's going to get tough later on.

Now, it seems my AGI is higher, so I'm not in danger of being caught... but unfortunately, even a virtual body that doesn't get physically tired can't move indefinitely.

If I continue to perform at this level, including the full-speed sprint I'm doing now, I'll run out of a hidden parameter, stamina, which isn't displayed as a number. If that happens, I'll be forced into a fatigue animation, and since I can't put enough distance between us right now, that would mean certain mincemeat.

"Damn, I'm getting pissed off...!"

I've been running with these boars in tow for quite some time now, but there's still no sign of a boss, and the scenery hasn't changed at all. The boars that aren't part of the horde are just munching on grass or berries, and they look at me with disinterest as I sprint past, which is also annoying.

The horde behind me is also letting out a series of squeals and grunts, as if to taunt me. It's so annoying! "Pugyaaaah"—Shut up!!!

"Let's do this, you pigs! It's time for the slaughter! Let's go!"

I activated [Quick Change]—which can actually be activated even from a bare-handed state—and summoned my [Iron Straight Sword]. I used my DEX to control my full-throttle AGI and made an instant 180-degree turn. I let out a furious roar and leaped at the lead boar, which was maintaining a distance of about five meters.

I slammed my straight sword into its snout and, with the momentum, kicked it hard in the side, sending my body to the side. I narrowly dodged the horde's stampede, letting out a cold sweat, and got behind the horde.

It would have been easier if the idiots had just run off into the distance like idiots, but it seems the entire horde has completely targeted me. The [Fool Boars], having lost sight of me in front, braked hard, crashing into each other—

"Large weapons are for throwing!"

The great axe boomerang from yesterday hit the last few boars in the line. Unlike the dried-out monster mushrooms, the [Fool Boars] seem to have a different density and weight. It didn't wipe out the entire horde, and the great axe lost momentum and fell after taking out five or six of them.

But the results were more than enough. I switched back to my straight sword with [Quick Change] and charged into the horde, finishing off the near-dead boars in one breath. I ignored the numerous death effects that blocked my vision and dashed sideways at full speed—as expected, the [Fool Boars] that had finished turning around burst through the phosphorescence like something out of a bullet-hell game.

The horde, which had changed its strategy from a giant bullet to a swarm of homing missiles, still had the same ridiculously straightforward trajectory for each individual boar. The sheer number meant I had to be careful, but dodging something that couldn't make sharp turns and was slower than me was easy.

"It's a telegraphed charge! Thanks for calling!"

A frontal counter is just suicide, but a sideways slash as I pass by is no problem. I slammed my straight sword into the sides of the [Fool Boars] that came at me one after another. It felt like I was playing a rhythm game, but unfortunately, the only sound was the annoying squeals of the pigs, not music.

After dealing with most of the charges, I turned around again and dodged the next attack from the boars that had already turned, then smacked the butts of the ones that had lost their balance.

"That's about it! Reflect on your actions and come back when you're stronger, you pigs!"

Completely unaware that I was probably putting on a display that would make Sora recoil in horror again, I, who tend to get carried away and lose my cool when I get into a fight, let out a loud laugh.

Although I was in a one-shot situation in terms of durability, the horde of [Fool Boars] was just a mob of trash with only one attack method. Unable to resist the enraged berserker, the horde of idiot boars was quickly thinned out.