3. DEATH (2)

"What's this?" He stared at the nostril, his appraisal skill activating.

[Forest Boar]

[HP: 75/75]

A boar. His eyes widened in disbelief. The size of only the nostril was enough to consider it a creature on its own. Suddenly, a picture of the entire creature sketched in his mind, causing him to freeze.

An overwhelming sensation of dread washed over him as his mental image duplicated a giant creature that towered over him, possessing the strength to crush him in an instant.

Beads of sweat began to rapidly form and drip off his face as his breaths quickened, making it seem like he was experiencing a mental breakdown.

"Grawl."

The sound emanated from the creature's mouth, which was still hidden behind the curve. Three other growls followed, confirming that he was utterly screwed.

His quick breaths began to slow down as he tried to formulate an escape plan. As he kept brainstorming, the creatures, who seemed to have grown tired of hiding in the shadows, decided to step out.

"What... what should I do? I need to run. I must run away. I don't wanna die here. I can't die here," his thoughts screamed in his head, repeating themselves in echoes.

The giant boar, just as Mark had imagined, towered over him with its enormous torso, covered in green hair that looked similar to the herb scattered on the ground.

The creature kept trying to sniff out the intruder in its territory, having sensed Mark the moment he entered the flourishing herd field.

It kept moving its nostril, its actions seemingly proving futile as it kept stepping away from Mark.

"What's happening? Can't it see me?" he inquired, his nerves calming a little. Even though he didn't know the reason, he seemed safe.

The other boars remained silent and dormant, as it seemed they only responded to the cry of the one that was out.

With the tension of his situation reduced, he decided to move, planning to sneak his way out of the dangerous situation he had found himself in.

Shifting his weight by an inch to escape, the sound produced—just a pitch higher than that of an exhale—reverberated through the cave.

Suddenly, the hair on top of its nose began to rise as it sensed something. The creature let out a grawl, its mannerism bringing the possibility of it being a chuckle. With a smirk creeping on its face, it turned around, looking directly at Mark.

It had small eyes and depended mostly on its sharp sense of smell with its huge nostrils, yet, its main detection system was the hair on its nostrils, which were very sensitive to vibrations.

The giant creature stared intensely at Mark, pure malice emitting from every inch of its body. Mark, paralyzed by dread, watched as the creature scraped its hooves against the ground, proof of a pending charge.

"I have to move... I need to move..." His thoughts raced, trying their best to get him mobile. But as his chance of escaping narrowed by the second, his rapid breaths began to slow down, coming to a complete halt in a matter of moments.

The creature growled, continuing to unleash a deafening "RAWWW" as it charged toward the still-frozen Mark, who was suffocating from a lack of oxygen.

With a crushing boom, it slammed into the hard tree bark walls of the labyrinth, its attack sending cracks through a few inches from the point of impact.

It moved away, removing its tusks that protruded out of its mouth like spears.

Sniff, sniff. It tried to smell out its prey, sensing that its attack was too solid to have landed.

"Seriously, I'm still alive," Mark muttered as his sight recovered from its blurry state.

He found himself lying beneath the boar, staring at its lower jaw, saliva drooling from its mouth as a result of the crushing impact.

Within those split seconds of him snapping out of his trance, the boar had already sensed his location. Their close proximity allowed it to detect the movement of his lungs expanding and contracting—proof that its prey wasn't dead.

The creature let off another loud "RAW," signaling that it was about to launch its second attack.

"I have to move," Mark thought in that instant, going into a split-second state of brainstorming.

"Fireball!" he exclaimed, his timing coinciding with the boar's as it also readied to finish him. Raising its front limbs, its giant body bore enough weight to end Mark's life in an instant—if not split him in two.

With his hands placed on the ground, his fingertips raised slightly, an explosion erupted from his palm. The force of his skill proved strong enough to push him out of the way.

[HP: 43/50]

[STATUS EFFECT: CRITICAL HIT PENALTY ACTIVE]

[PLAYER WILL FEEL R.L. 100% PAIN]

The flames from the skill caught hold of the creature's hair, igniting it. The flames spread rapidly.

[HP: 70/75]

[STATUS EFFECT: BURN ACTIVATED]

[ENEMY WILL LOSE 1 HP PER SECOND.]

"This is my chance," Mark muttered, holding his hand tightly as he felt the pain of actually being burned.

Ignoring it, he moved, rolling forward and getting back to his feet. With his uninjured hand, he grabbed one of his daggers, dashing toward the boar with all the strength he could muster.

With a battle cry, he struck, pointing his weapon forward and aiming to pierce through the boar.

Stab! His attack went through.

[HP: 60/75]

[STATUS EFFECT ACTIVE: BURN]

"Yes," he muttered.

[WEAPON DURABILITY: 50/60]

Mark's eyes widened in surprise, calculating the timing of his attack. The actual strike caused five damage, with the status effect accumulating the rest. Yet the damage his weapon took was seven.

The creature, feeling a surge of pain in its torso—already frenzied from the flames on its head, slowly eating away at its skin like a parasite—turned around, possessing enough force to throw Mark, causing him to slam into the wall.

[HP: 40/50]

Mark fell to the ground, unable to move his limbs. The only movement he could manage was raising his head, spotting the boar retreating to its corner.

"Now's my chance. I need to run," he screamed internally, both out of relief and dread as he heard the sound of the other boars roaring, a few seconds after the first one entered.