Level Up!

"Mochi, Icy Wind, quick!"

Romero yelled as he saw the Yellow Tusk Boar prepare for another Tusk Throw. His HP bar was flashing yellow, bordering on orange and just one more critical hit could end his life. 

He had to dodge this upcoming attack at any cost and he needed all the help he could get to turn the odds in his favor. Thankfully, Mochi answered his call. 

A freezing gust of wind passed by his side and surrounded the Boar. Despite its thick hide, the beast shivered and its body stiffened, slowing down its movements. 

This allowed Romero to avoid most of the impact in the nick of time. He had taken my advice to heart and shown remarkable improvements. He was starting to behave more and more like a Tanker and less like a Meat Shield. 

His growth was mainly hindered by the lack of stat points in his Agility Stat but it could be easily solved as long as he leveled up once and invested all of his unused points in Agility.

It seemed he would not have to wait for long to level up. 

The Boar only had 200 points left in its health bar and the twins were rapidly approaching from its behind to take advantage of its compromised mobility. 

They activated their skills Bleeding Slice and Back Stab at the last moment as their daggers pierced through the thick hide, creating two more wounds in addition to dozens of others.

They were still playing it safe but they had started to show some proactivity. They were more willing to engage the Boar in close combat but only if they had a safety net in the form of Romero or someone else. 

It was not much but I had to admit it was at least the start of a gradual transformation. Who knew what the future had in store for them?

Poh the Healer was as impeccable with her heals as ever. Her timing and calculations simply could not be faulted and I was most impressed by her in this Party. However, she was so good that I had no way to find out if she could improve further and how long she would take to adapt to new changes.

Then there was the Mage, Mochi. He worried me. After my reprimand, he had given up all his initiative and obediently waited for Romero to call the shots. 

Yes, he executed the orders with precision but his game play felt unnatural; as if a mindless robot was playing instead of a human. Still, I could not complain as his coordination with the party members had increased several fold. 

"Fire Ball!" 

Romero shouted as the Boar's HP fell below the 100 points. He wanted to end the battle with a bang. Katsu and Latsu also activated their skills and attacked one last time during the few seconds Mochi took to cast the spell and retreated quickly. 

Their retreat was just in time as a huge ball of fire made a parabola through the air and landed on the Boar's back. 

Boom! 

The explosion generated hot air waves which buffeted the players standing within the radius of 3 meters, giving them a small preview of what might've happened to the target at the center. 

Before they could get a glimpse of the Boar, the trainees received notification of the successful kill.

[Your party has successfully killed a Yellow Tusk Boar. You have received 136 Exp.]

The abundant experience received, despite being in a party, more than made up for the difficulty of killing the mini boss like monster. 

Subsequently, a white light flashed on Romero and Latsu, increasing their level by 1. Now they were the highest level players in the Grandeur Guild, thanks to the plentiful experience from the Boar. 

"3 minutes 57 seconds." I walked over and announced the time the party had taken to kill the Yellow Tusk Boar. The faces of the resting Party No.2 Members fell as the time was still far from their target of 60 seconds. 

I shook my head with a smile as the target set by Stivi was unrealistically high. The trainee Parties would have to reach Lv 8 or upgrade their weapons to White-Wood Grade before they met the DPS requirements to empty the Boar's 850 HP under a minute.

I turned around and let the trainees rest. Even though they were the best that Village 89 had to offer, their game timers were still 7 hours or less. They needed this much deserved break after fighting 4 Yellow Tusk Boars in a row. 

Also, while they rested, I could work on increasing my level. 

Seeing them fight had made my hands itch for battle. I was just one monster-kill away from level up. Hence, when Romero and Latsu had leveled up, I had felt like I was being overtaken by the new one's. 

So, I decided to go out while they rested and find that last Yellow Tusk Boar I needed to kill to level up. 

Venturing deeper into the map, my eyes scanned the surroundings for any signs of my next prey. It didn't take long before I spotted first prey. A massive Yellow Tusk Boar, snorting and pawing the forest floor in an open pasture. 

My eyes lit up as I took in the surrounding environment. 

The open pasture was enclosed by dense forest trees. This meant the trees could help me block the boar's sight while providing me a clear shot at the beast.

I could not have found a more favorable terrain. 

Notching an arrow on the bow, I drew my bowstring, taking a careful aim at the Boar. With a steady hand, I released the arrow, watching it sail through the air with a soft whoosh.

Groink! The Boar yelped in pain as a red -84(Crit) emerged from its head. My arrow had struck the Boar's soft behind, a vital spot I was aiming for and triggered a critical hit.

This was not luck but my skill. If I could not even hit the weak point of a target standing still tens of meters away, then I would've needed to reconsider whether to become an Archer. 

The Boar let out a roar of pain, and its furious gaze searched the woods to find the attacker. Its gaze finally landed on the tree I was hiding behind. 

Thump! Thump! 

My heart thudded loudly with excitement as its gaze lingered on the tree but fortunately, it quickly moved away. A sigh of relief escaped my lips when I realized that the Boar had not discovered me.

After futilely searching for a few seconds, the boar gave up on searching for the attacker and changed places. It was still in the clearing while I had a clear shot from behind the trees. 

-92 (Crit)

Another Critical hit and I received the same response from the Boar. It tried to search but I hid well and the game continued. 

I had almost reduced its health to just 500 points when the Boar finally detected me. I stepped on a twig as I was shooting an arrow and the crack resounded through the silent forest alerting the boar. 

It tried to dodge the arrow but it still struck its hind limb, affecting its movement speed. Our eyes met and the Boar snorted an angry huff. Then, it charged towards me with a furious determination.

I stepped back quickly, avoiding the Boar's thunderous charge as it slammed into a nearby tree, its tusks gouging into the bark. While it struggled to free its tusks, I unleashed arrows like there was no tomorrow, aiming for its vulnerable spots. 

Luckily, my arrows found their mark.

-84 (Crit)

-49

-86 (Crit)

The Boar's health dwindled rapidly, and it staggered under the barrage of arrows. But the Beast wasn't finished yet. It turned to face me, determined to bring me to my grave.

It was the same pattern as before, and I was ready to exploit it. I tried to roll out of the way but stumbled upon a thick root of the tree I was sheltered behind. 

This mistake cost me as the Boar's left tusk jabbed my abdomen and the beast flung me into the tree.

-34

-13

I lost 47 HP in an instant and it was with the Black-Stone Grade set on! Had I not been wearing that set, I could only imagine the damage I would suffer. 

What was truly fatal was that I had lost my momentum and I was forced on the defensive. 

The Boar activated its second skill, Stampede. It flattened the ground, grass and numerous dead branches in its way as it rushed towards me with ferocity. 

Without enough time to shoot, I threw an arrow at its feet. It was distracted for a split second, and that was all the time I needed to jump out of the way of its charge. 

When the beast passed by me harmlessly and slammed into the tree, I activated the skill, Counter and pierced an arrow in my hand into its smelly chrysanthemum. 

-336 (Crit)

A huge damage figure popped up from its head and took away every last point of its HP. The Boar let out a deafening howl of agony and crumpled to the forest floor, lifeless.

[You have killed a Yellow Tusk Boar. You have received 245 XP.]

A wave of satisfaction washed over me as the experience points flowed in. I was enveloped in a radiant white light as my level increased from Lv 5 to Lv 6.