Furious, with all his nimble movement, the monster pawed the ground, foam hanging from its mouth. Its legs were thick as logs, but the beast moved with terrifying speed for something so huge.
Nolan looked at the monster with confused eyes as he found blood dripping from a cut above its eye. He was oblivious at first, but soon he realized this must have happened when blocking its first attack.
Hair stood on their ends as he noticed a subtle but obvious change happening to the beast. In a matter of seconds, he had realized that the monster had changed... and for no good reason as well.
Its movements grew faster and more unpredictable.
It let out frequent deep, rumbling grunts, and its muscles seemed to swell with strength.
'Is it because of the blood...' Finally, Nolan caught on to the cause as well.
The injuries were triggering something inside of it, and that something was rage. Soon it came again—tusks first, wild and savage. It discarded caution in exchange for strength, not that it needed it in the first place.
Having tested its strength, Nolan calculated its trajectory and didn't try to block the charge. Instead, he sidestepped, but barely, as the wind of its tusks grazed his arm.
Using the momentum to his advantage, he turned it into a spin. A single command, and his blade began lengthening and then narrowing.
The metal hummed as it formed into a spear.
Gripping the spear, Nolan didn't try to stab deep and instead went for a quick jab at the hind leg as the beast passed.
Rooooaarrr!
It roared and stumbled on the ground.
Seeing this, Nolan relaxed for half a second, but it cost him greatly as the monster twisted its body far too fast and kicked.
He could only see for a brief second before the hoof slammed right into his side.
The force lifted his body from the ground. A blur of sky and mushroom trees spun above him, then boom—he crashed through a few stems before coming to a stop.
Suddenly, everything went quiet... the world forgot to breathe, and so did Nolan.
Then it filled with noise as his ears rang. Blood filled his mouth as something burned inside his veins.
Spit!
Throwing a mouthful of it, Nolan wiped the blood from his lip. His hands were trembling, but somehow his muscles didn't feel weak.
In fact, they were tightening beyond his control. It wasn't uncomfortable either. Strength thrummed beneath his skin as his fingers flexed, almost eagerly to let it all out.
Nolan looked down at himself—his shirt was torn, soaked in red. There were numerous wounds around his body, and he was bleeding, too much in fact.
And yet... something stirred inside him.
That Ember of his wasn't an ordinary weapon. No, it liked this and wanted to taste blood more than anything else. The spear in his grip glowed ever so faintly red, empowering him due to his wounds.
Against the law of nature, with the loss of blood, his strength wasn't draining; instead, it was building.
Snort!!
Suddenly, the sound of something snorting reached his ear. The monster was pacing the clearing, searching for him.
Looking at it with side eyes, Nolan stayed crouched.
His body ached like hell. He could feel the energy stored from the last hit coiling right inside his chest, humming low like a storm ready to break free at any moment.
Not now... he muttered.
Nolan understood he would only get one chance, and he had to make the most of it. There was no option to fight stupid. Not with this behemoth of a beast, at least.
Grunt!!
The monster grunted as it found its prey, then started moving toward him. This time, slower—it almost looked cautious now.
And why wouldn't that be the case when it had seen him survive hits no prey had the right to?
Yet, its rage didn't let it back off, as it continued moving forward.
'Good... come to your death, bastard...' Nolan gripped the spear tighter. His breaths were becoming slower.
The monster increased its speed, and so did Nolan.
With all the strength he could muster, Nolan darted out, just far enough to be seen, but not at the boar, as he ran around it. Circling fast, weaving between long myceliums and fallen mushroom logs.
The beast snorted, then charged at him, keeping its tusks low and deadly.
He led it between two strong mushroom trees. Close, narrow, too tight for something that size to move freely. It followed anyway.
At the last second, Nolan jumped, using one stem as a springboard and leaping over it. The monster barreled between the mushrooms, too big to dodge at the last second.
Soon scraping against the stem, it slowed. Given a few more seconds, the monster would have broken free... but stopping it wasn't his plan either.
It was slowing it down, and that was achieved.
Landing behind it, Nolan spun his spear with both hands and threw it—not at the beast's thick hide, but at its exposed back leg. In an instant, the blade sank deep.
The boar let out a beastly howl filled with half pain, half fury. Suddenly, it turned around. Blood sprayed from its limb, but it didn't care. It charged blindly at its prey.
'Perfect...'
This time Nolan didn't dodge; instead, he ran at it as well.
Looking at this seemingly suicidal action, the beast roared in delight and increased its speed.
They soon met, and just before impact, Nolan dropped low, letting the tusks sail over him. His hand grabbed the spear, ripped it free from its leg, and slammed it into the ground like a lever, tripping the boar.
Its front legs buckled as the monster crashed forward, too fast to stop. Dirt flew in his mouth as a tusk shattered against the rock.
"Stupid bastard…" Spitting blood, Nolan was already moving toward it.
Putting the spear on his shoulder, he ran and stopped two meters before the monster. He moved the spear in an arc like a whip, aiming at the monster. He let it all go at once.
All the stored energy due to [Rebound]—still burning in his chest—erupted like a volcano. All at once.
Booooommmm!
An invisible shockwave burst from the spear's tip, blasting right through its hide, bone, and muscle. Its whole body jerked as it was being lifted slightly by the force.
It screamed loud and long once before twitching and collapsing on the ground. After twitching once more, it went still.
Soon, something whispered in his ears,
[You have killed a Blooming Primor, Grallith.]