NOVEL NEXT Chapter 4: First Kill
The rabbit charged again, a blur of fangs and claws.
This time, Arthur sidestepped, narrowly avoiding its fangs as he brought his sword down in a swift arc.
The wooden blade cracked against the rabbit's side, sending it skidding a few feet back.
-5 HP
"Gurr." The rabbit growled in pain.
The rabbit shook itself, crimson eyes glaring at him with newfound fury. It was as if the creature had only grown angrier from the hit.
"Come on, then!" Arthur shouted, trying to rile it up further.
He adjusted his stance, knees bent, ready for whatever it was planning on doing next.
The rabbit suddenly crouched, muscles tensing as it coiled up, preparing for something big.
Arthur's eyes widened. "Damn it, he is actually pulling a power-up mid-fight, and I can't do anything about it," he muttered, quickly taking a defensive stance, but the rabbit was faster than he anticipated.
In a split second, it launched itself forward, its fangs aimed straight at his arm.
Arthur twisted his body, barely dodging its fangs, but the rabbit managed to scrape its claws across his shoulder.
-3 HP
He hissed in pain, feeling the warm trickle of blood seeping through his shirt.
"Damn it!" he growled, gritting his teeth as he took a step back to reassess.
"Alright, you want a fight to the death? You got one!" Arthur took a deep breath, steadying his heartbeat and blocking out the pain.
He noticed a rhythm to the rabbit's attacks, a slight pause before each lunge.
"Timing is key here." He thought as he watched every step of the rabbit.
Just as the rabbit readied itself to attack again, Arthur braced himself.
It leapt, claws extended.
This time, he was ready. In one swift motion, he sidestepped and swung his sword with all his strength.
The wooden blade struck the creature right on its exposed flank, landing a solid hit that knocked it off balance.
-7 HP
The rabbit tumbled to the ground, struggling to right itself. Seeing his chance, Arthur didn't hesitate.
He dashed forward, raising his weapon high and bringing it down on the rabbit's head with a loud crack.
The creature let out a shrill squeal as it thrashed in pain. Still, it wasn't done yet.
With a final burst of energy, the rabbit pushed itself up, blood dripping from its injuries, but its eyes still burned with a relentless fury.
Arthur, breathing heavily, held his stance, refusing to let it intimidate him. His entire body was buzzing with the thrill of the fight, his own bloodlust ignited by the creature's tenacity.
"You're one tough rabbit, I'll give you that," he said, wiping sweat from his brow. "But this ends now."
The rabbit lunged one last time, and Arthur responded in kind, his sword meeting the creature's charge head-on.
The impact of the blow reverberated through his arms as he pushed forward, channelling every ounce of his remaining strength into the strike.
With a final, desperate shriek, the rabbit fell silent, its body lying still on the forest floor.
[You have slain a Corroded Rabbit.]
Loot dropped on the floor next to the rabbit, but Arthur ignored it for now.
Arthur let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, feeling the exhaustion set in.
He glanced down at his trembling hands, still gripping the wooden sword tightly, his knuckles white.
"Not bad for a beginner," he muttered, managing a weary smile.
A faint sound drew his attention.
He looked over to see Neko, still lounging on a tree stump, licking its paws and gazing at him with an unreadable expression.
"You… didn't help at all, you know that?" Arthur called out, shaking his head in disbelief. The cat simply blinked, unbothered, before returning to cleaning itself.
"Unbelievable." He couldn't help but laugh, his adrenaline slowly fading.
"Alright, then," he said, rolling his shoulders and sheathing his weapon. "This is only the beginning, I will continue to become stronger."
Looking at the loot on the floor, he showed a shocked expression.
A common item, isn't that meant to be pretty rare for a village?
[Stone Sword (Common) has been dropped]
Picking it up, he threw the wooden sword in his hand and spat at it.
"Puti!"
"Useless sword."
He stored the new sword in his inventory and rested for a while to wait for his health points to rise up to max again.
As he left combat mode, his health points started recovering rapidly.
After his health recovered he got up and headed for the next prey, his thoughts were focused on what he could have done better in the fight.
After some more searching, he found another rabbit.
"Lock in." He commanded himself, as his eyes scanned every motion of the rabbit.
He remained motionless, as he watched the rabbit like a predator.
As the rabbit got closer, Arthur stabbed his sword forward.
The rabbit had a sharp instinct. Although it was in close range, it still managed to avoid the lethal stab albeit not fully.
The sword penetrated the side of the rabbit leaving a huge hole, near its kidney.
-25HP
"That's a critical hit!" Arthur got excited, as he sprung forward finishing off the injured rabbit.
[You have slain a Corroded Rabbit.]
[Backpack (Common) has been dropped]
[Backpack (Common): Able to hold 5 items inside.]
"Another common item?" Arthur questioned before his gaze darted towards the lazy cat in front of him.
"This talent is gonna make....rich." Arthur grinned at the thought of dropping the best loot in the game.
"Time to farm."
Thirty minutes later...
[Ding!]
[You have levelled up to Level 2]
[All attribute points will be increased by 1]
[You have gained 1 free attribute point and 1 Skill Point]
It took him a very long to find more solo monsters, most of them were in groups like the Beatles, so Arthur did not dare attack them without any skill.
"I need to get a magical skill, I'm wasting my potential by using physical damage." he sighed, as he realised that he is probably much behind talents that have offensive capabilities.
"Why can I not command this damn cat, it's quite strong for a level 1." He thought as he glanced back at the cat.