Fearing the Wild Boar's Brutal Charge, Wu Shaochen circled the creature under several towering trees. After a tense moment, the boar, realizing it couldn't catch the tiny human in front of it, halted and scraped its hooves across the ground. With a sudden burst of speed, it charged directly at Wu Shaochen.
Remaining alert, Wu Shaochen swiftly sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the boar's attack.
"That was close…" Wu Shaochen exhaled, but he knew the challenge wasn't insurmountable. The boar's skill had a noticeable wind-up, marked by its hooves scraping the earth—so long as he wasn't directly in its path, and his speed was adequate, dodging was relatively easy. If the skill didn't come with a wind-up, dealing with such high damage, mobility, and stun would have been far more troublesome.
The boar, after missing, quickly skidded to a halt, pausing for about a second before turning to chase Wu Shaochen again.
Thoughtfully stroking his chin, Wu Shaochen's eyes gleamed with a sudden idea. He continued leading the boar in circles, dodging its skill with ease. During its brief pause, he took advantage of the moment to strike a quick blow to its rear and darted away. By the time the boar turned around, Wu Shaochen had already created a safe distance of two body lengths.
"Perfect," Wu Shaochen murmured. This strategy would ensure that the boar couldn't heal during its poison effect. Each time he inflicted poison, the timer would refresh, and there was no need to worry about the boar suddenly using its skill while he was preparing a finishing blow.
Minutes later, the boar's health was dangerously low, and victory was within reach. Suddenly, another wild boar sprang from the bushes and charged at Wu Shaochen without hesitation.
"Damn it, really?" Wu Shaochen cursed, narrowly dodging the new boar. He had expected this—there were bound to be more boars in the area—but it was frustrating all the same. Creatures that actively sought him out were a constant nuisance.
He furrowed his brow. He should have backed off by now. With two boars, each one attack could spell his doom. Yet, seeing that the first boar was almost dead with just one more strike, Wu Shaochen couldn't bear to leave.
Licking his lips, Wu Shaochen fixed his gaze on the two boars trailing him. "Let's see how well I can dance on the edge of a knife." His talent suggested that such dangerous maneuvers would become more frequent, and he might as well grow accustomed to them now.
With two boars following closely, there was no room to strike just yet—one wrong move, and he'd be gored from both sides. Wu Shaochen could only wait for the right opportunity.
Suddenly, the nearly dead boar scraped its hooves and charged again. Calmly, Wu Shaochen dodged to the side, preparing to strike. But in that moment, the second boar used its skill. Wu Shaochen had no choice but to retreat once more.
"These damn boars actually know how to coordinate," Wu Shaochen grumbled. He could see that the poison on the first boar was almost gone—if he didn't act soon, its health would start regenerating.
Sizing up the two boars as they moved in unison, Wu Shaochen carefully calculated his next move. "My Agility is 13, while the boars' Agility is 11. My attack speed is 1% faster, meaning I'll strike both boars within 0.01 seconds. I won't be able to create enough distance for a clean hit, but if I hold off on attacking and dodge when they try to strike, then counterattack afterward… That could work, though I'll have to move faster than I think."
He suddenly had an epiphany. "What if I don't create distance? If I sidestep the full-health boar and get close to the wounded one, I can avoid the healthy boar's attack, take a blow from the injured one, then retaliate and run. As long as I only take one hit, I should be able to endure."
Without further hesitation, Wu Shaochen slowly inched closer to the two boars, his heart racing. It was one thing to plan this out, but executing it with precision was another matter entirely. A single misstep could lead to his death.
As he closed the gap, the boars' fangs gleamed and their charging speed quickened. "Now!" With a swift sidestep, Wu Shaochen positioned himself next to the injured boar. The creature's tusks jabbed into him as the healthy boar's attack missed.
Quickly, Wu Shaochen swung his sword, then dashed away. By the time the boars regrouped, he had managed to put a considerable distance between them.
"Whew… that was close… This game… it's like playing with my heart at the edge of a cliff, but the level of skill required is exhilarating. I'll need to practice more and get used to this game's mechanics."
From this point, Wu Shaochen only needed to wait for the poisoned boar to slowly succumb to its injuries, as long as he avoided getting hit by both of them at once.
Sure enough, the boar finally collapsed, and another system notification echoed through his mind.
*Ding* – "You have slain the [Wild Boar], earning 20 experience points. As the monster is 5 levels above you, you also gain 10 additional experience points."
*Ding* – "Talent feature triggered. Poison damage increased by 1 point."
"Finally, one down," Wu Shaochen sighed, glancing at the boar's body. He spotted not only the copper coins but also a boar tusk.
Quickly dodging the other boar, Wu Shaochen grabbed the copper coins and tusk.
[Tusk] – A material that may be needed by villagers, or sold to the general store for 1 copper coin.
"Just this?" Wu Shaochen muttered, tossing the item into his inventory with a roll of his eyes. The game's economy was brutal—he only had 12 copper coins now, and each monster only dropped two coins at most. Even the rabbits weren't dropping much. The drop rate in *Divine Oracle* was painfully low.
After dispatching the remaining boar, Wu Shaochen moved on, searching for more wild boars to kill, bringing them to the same area to avoid any future surprises. With the improvement in his talent, the boars' speed was noticeably quicker, but by the time he killed the eighth one, the game had generously rewarded him with another piece of equipment.
[Wild Boar Leather Armor]
Quality: Common
Health +40
Physical Defense +2
Requirements: None
Wu Shaochen quickly replaced his cloth armor with the leather armor. His health increased to 110, and his physical defense rose to 9. His chances of survival had just improved.
He pressed on, killing two more wild boars. With each kill, the familiar sensation of leveling up washed over him, and a new system notification followed.
*Ding* – "Congratulations! You have leveled up! Health +20, Mana +10, and you have gained 5 points to distribute as you wish."
Once again, he allocated all his points to Agility. His stats shifted accordingly.
Name: Chén Fēng
Level: 2
Health: 90 + 40 (from equipment)
Mana: 70
Physical Attack: 10 + 2
Magical Attack: 10
Physical Defense: 5 + 4
Magical Defense: 5
Movement Speed: 15 + 3
Experience: 10/500
Strength: 5
Intelligence: 5
Constitution: 5
Root Bone: 5
Spirit: 5
Agility: 15
Skills: Insight (Can view monsters up to 10 levels above)
Talent: *Source of Deadly Poison*: Normal attacks or melee skills apply deadly poison to the target (ranged attacks do not trigger). Deals 16 true damage per second for 60 seconds. The target cannot heal during the poison.
Traits: For every monster killed that is 5 levels above, poison damage increases by 1. For every boss killed at or above your realm level, the poison stacks increase by 1.
Equipment:
[Wooden Sword] (Beginner equipment): Physical Attack +2
[Wild Boar Leather Armor] (Common): Health +40, Physical Defense +2
[Canvas Shoes] (Common): Movement Speed +3, Physical Defense +2