A First Quest (5)

Chapter 13: A First Quest (5)

[The Forest Wolf Boss Lv. 5 HP: 274/500 MP: 20/100]

[Archer Lv. 4 HP: 43/160 MP: 160/160]

'I'm done with one more blow! I must think more while fighting!' Jake reminded himself while entering the soldier stance, his feet close to each other, his back straight, and his entire form rigid and rooted to the ground. 'I've been blown away enough to shoot two arrows in the soldier form!'

Following that thought, Jake drew his strongest anchor point and released two powerful arrows. There was no critical strike, but they were good enough to do more than average damage.

The boss's health points fell down to two hundred. At the same time, the boss leaped forward.

Jake hadn't paid any attention to the game system, however. He instantly threw one of his feet forward, buckled his knees, and raised his other heel up—the joker form. His eyes were on the rushing boss.

Three more arrows had been sent forward. Their speed faster, the damage was much weaker, but it was enough to take away the monster's fifty points. 

He squeezed his mind and adapted to his circumstances.

'He's going for a bite!' Jake warned himself. 

The boss hadn't extended his paw yet, which he should have done by now if his intention was the paw attack. If that was the case, then what else the boss could use? His tail? Jake doubted that, as it meant the boss would have to turn around. 

Though there was a chance he could elongate it with his mana.

Jake, however, paid a risk and bet on the boss going for a bite.

Which was exactly what the boss wanted. His opponent was low and even bled. Feral instincts articulated to him that the final blow should be done with his teeth, which he would use to savor the player's flesh and blood.

The prospect of finishing off the human between his teeth and raising the corpse to the world to witness his feat suited the boss's book so much that he couldn't have gone for anything other than the bite.

Alas, his opponent had the read on it.

The boss's teeth chewed on air as Jake leaped backward. His adaptation told him to go for the extreme, to which Jake responded with all his heart. He threw his bow behind and launched his upper body back with his leather quiver still slung on his shoulder!

A few arrows slipped off it as he flipped behind. When Jake's legs touched the ground, he repeated that as fast as he could, flipping like his life depended on it.

'SOLDIER!' Jake straightened his back into his form once he took his bow off the ground and nocked his arrow. He forgot to breathe as he knew he couldn't waste this precious distance between himself and the boss that he had earned with this reckless move!

Only one arrow zoomed in as the boss reacted fast. It did forty damage.

Jake's reaction time matched that of the feral monster as he jumped away without even going for the joker form. In this case, it was important to quickly switch the boss' line of rash as Jake didn't want his arrows to be broken by his paws. 

Not even thinking of attacking, Jake ran around the boss' arena like a player who had stepped over his boundaries and now regretted fighting the boss whose level was higher, running around to find a silver lining in those circumstances—quite a typical MMO experience.

Jake, however, wasn't looking for any lucky chance.

Though he may have risked way too much since the boss' paws had nearly scratched him, and his running around could have turned his mild bleeding into severe one, he had a clear goal in mind.

Soon, he rolled on the ground, which cost him his arrows on the quiver. Ignoring that loss, he picked up an arrow off the ground that had fallen off when he did his first flip and nocked it on his bow.

Since he rolled, his forms weren't available. He was on the ground, and going up to fold into either would have only cost him precious seconds. Still, that was what Jake had envisioned, and he was ready for it since it was the plan he boldly decided to follow.

With one knee digging into the ground, Jake mimicked his master's form. He'd seen Ingrid shoot arrows in this way three times, but he studied her as much as he could and even asked a few questions about it.

'Because I am shooting from the unfamiliar angle and form, my arrow has a ninety percent chance of missing… so I will just miss then!' Jake lined his line of sight with the boss' head and aimed beside the wolf's left temple.

He let his arrow go.

Just like Ingrid had told him, the form so foreign to him cost him his accuracy.

But… the arrow bent to the right side, hitting the wolf's eye.

[You have done a severe critical strike!]

[-146 HP!]

[You have killed The Forest Wolf Boss Lv. 5!]

The boss froze before crumpling, his towering form dropping like a heavy boulder.

Jake gazed silently for a few seconds before the wave of excitement washed over him.

He clenched his bow's handle while the other hand's fingers dug into his palm!

He screamed, "Let's go!"

The first boss has been claimed!