Soldier

Chapter 23: Soldier

The following day, Jake entered the wolf boss's arena with different equipment.

It was the one he had made through his newest crafting skill, which was completed by his survival skills—tailoring. 

He used the wolf's hide and fur for this set, becoming the humanoid version of the wolf boss, as Jake draped himself from head to toe in the monster's rigid and heavy skin.

[You're wearing the wolf boss' set, The White Wolf Hunter, personally crafted by you.]

[Your defenses have been increased by 50%]

The leather armor set, tailored for his endeavors on the tutorial island, significantly increased Jake's defenses against physical attacks. 

That said, it'd impact Jake's incoming battle in more ways than one. 

Firstly, it was set crafted from the wolf boss' kin so the monster would notice that Jake wasn't here for the first time. 

From that point, it could go either way—the boss could go on the rampage or be more cautious about Jake.

Jake prayed for the latter to come to pass.

Another flaw was that the leather armor set was too warm and heavy for the tutorial forest. Jake didn't even bother putting it on before coming close to the boss' nest, as not only would he lose more stamina than during the battle, but he would also exhaust himself and strain his muscles just from treading through the forest.

It didn't matter that Jake's strength stat was higher than a normal human's—the wolf boss' hide was that formidable. That also introduced yet another problem: the armor limited Jake's shooting forms.

Jake solved the issue with clever cuts around the joints on his arms and torso so that the armor would be available in the soldier form, in which he often shot forward and diagonally.

That was more or less it.

Jake, therefore, had arrived in The White Wolf Hunter Set, sporting the presence of the man who had killed thousands of wolves, becoming one of them.

'Let's do it…' Jake entered the soldier stance, his feet close to each other and his back straight. He straightened himself like a perfect machine meant to execute anyone in sight.

He drew the bowstring and released the arrow with three fingers release, beginning the battle with the heaviest critical strike he'd ever inflicted in his player history.

[-221 HP!]

The wolf's frame, vital points, and movements were so familiar that Jake was confident he could deal a more critical strike to him. The first arrow must have pierced through the brain and skull and scratched the boss's brain for the critical strike to be this much!

He didn't change his form or spot and released arrows as fast as possible.

Meanwhile, the boss noticed his enemy's presence—the human in wolf skin. His blood boiled, and killing instinct filled every corner of his flesh and soul, triggering the feral side he wasn't aware of. 

He seemed to have grown in size a little!

The familiar roar swept through the boss' arena.

What Jake knew to be a slice of an invisible roar had become an avalanche of fury as the ground had been yanked up by the clearly visible howl that appeared in the form of the silver wind. 

Its blades hacked at Jake's armor, tearing off fur and flesh. The durability points of his entire set fell quickly.

Jake, however, remained rooted to the ground, his form not crushed. His rigid stance aside, the armor had fulfilled its job of protecting and facilitating him, as the roar was the physical attack that saved him from the damage and the stun crowd control, so he was keen on going for more arrow releases.

It wasn't easy.

In fact, it was impossible.

The wolf boss didn't have that peculiar lag or momentary break after howling at his opponent with his only skill.

Leaping forward, the monster zoomed at Jake and bridged the distance in one breath! His paw swept through the ground, hitting Jake from the side like a hammer! 

Jake flew in a familiar parabola, but the heavy armor now became his obstacle as he heavily rolled on the ground without any means to effortlessly stop the spinning, let alone return to his soldier form.

His vision spiraled.

When it stopped, another heavy blow collapsed onto him, caving in his armor into his flesh. Blood rushed to his mouth like a fountain, forcing him to spit a mouthful of it.

Catching breath was difficult, too.

But Jake didn't let anything affect him and his path. He stubbornly tried to get to his feet.

It was, however, the boss who picked him up as his jaw shut on Jake's torso. Sharp blades sank into the armor and Jake's flesh, taking away more than half of his health points.

Jake could only stare ahead while feeling significantly appeased by the system pangs of pain. He also understood where the battle was heading, which hurt him more than anything else.

The boss did what Jake had expected him to.

Once his teeth sank deeper into his foe, the boss arched his head back, bringing the human fool closer to the nest's ceiling, which would have gathered everyone's attention had anyone else been here.

He shook his head left and right, causing fireworks of blood and arrows to fly away in every direction. Jake's limbs and head lifelessly dangled as he had accepted his defeat.

His blood splashed like the stain of a loser, and his arrows broke without much resistance.

Jake's bones cracked and twisted, breaking him in every direction before his soul disappeared from the body.

[You have died.]

[You can respawn in an hour.]

[It's your first death. If you ever get troubled by it, consider contacting your local psychiatrist. Stay safe and healthy!]

Jake was now in the black room, where he could safely log out and rest after his first failure.

In the meanwhile, the boss chewed on his corpse, howling to no end.

His roars reached everyone in the forest, lowering the heads of other wolves into utmost obedience, while the rest of the kinds of monsters simply scoffed at him, ready to accept the challenge should the wolf boss become ballsy enough to challenge them.

On that day, the soldier lost.