Unexpected rescue operation (part 1)

"AH! Watch out! This is vicious ivy - it is not only thorny but poisonous too!"

Kaipo reached out his hand to stop Zorey, who wanted to shove a curtain of leafy stalks hanging down from the branches of dying trees that were blocking their way.

"I know~ An old lady in our village whose pharmacist taught other kids and me about dangerous plants."

Zorey looked over his shoulder at his friend with a smile.

"Let's move around it then, or let this guy move them!"

"...scree..."

The young necromancer called out, pointing at the large Zombie rat carrying a few dwarf lesser rat corpses by his side that let out a weak squeak – the monster could not muster anything more as its throat was crushed from Zorey preparing the raw material necessary for creating it.

"No, but even though she said that she always had a bracelet made from it. She said it levels up her lesser poison resistance."

"...!"

The black-haired boy waved his hand dismissively and explained his point having Kaipo's eyes widen.

"I mean... having some kind of poison resistance skill is always a good thing – but is it really time for it now that we are hunting? You don't have your HP full, and we don't know what we will encounter before going back!"

The greenish-blond-haired boy hesitated but was clearly taking the role of the party leader very seriously and didn't want the young priest of death to try to bite more than he could chew.

"Hmm? No, but since I learned that I have been doing the same back then, and as a result, I do have the lesser position resistance skill? Since we found the vicious ivy, I want to use it to level it up, not to gain it."

Zorey tilted his head and laughed while grabbing the thorny stalk and tugging on it, judging whether he would be able to simply pull it off the branch.

"You...! Uhh...! Of course, you have the resistance skill already..."

Kaipo flinched in shock before breathing out in exasperation and shaking his head.

"Why did you say it like that?" *khrrsh*

The black-haired boy managed to tear off one vine and moved to the side as it was falling before furrowing his brows and asking the other boy.

"Nothing. Nothing... it's just that you have a Challenger title; you apparently have a staff proficiency skill because you saw a traveling performer do some tricks and decided you must copy him to impress the girl you like; you were a sparing partner for a kid that got a brawler class so you had an easier time gaining the unarmed combat Skill, and now it turns out that you copied what your local apothecary did to gain the lesser position resistance skill. You cannot tell me that this is normal! No one does things like that!"

Kaipo groaned, recounting some things he had learned about Zorey as they were hunting monsters together the past few hours.

"They do, though? Well, maybe it's not that common for city folks, but out there in the boonies, you have to make the best of your situation." *khrrsh*

The young priest of death wasn't really bothered by his friend's complaint and simply pulled down another vine.

"Hmph!"

As the greenish-blond-haired boy looked away and pouted, displaying his grumpiness, Zorey picked up the first one and coiled it around his forearm all the way to his palm, going as far as partially covering his fingers too.

"...what in the...?"

When he began to do the same for the other arm, the young necromancer tried to check if he properly saw how angry he was but ended up being stunned himself.

"Zorey! Those aren't bracelets! You will start taking damage if you hit something like that!"

Kaipo stomped his foot and declared, pointing out at the thorny vines.

"Counterpoint – it will also poison AND damage our opponents more."

The black-haired boy smirked smugly, raising his fists.

"I can share my Status Window if you don't believe me – it added adds +2 to my ATK, but it still counts as unarmed!"

"You... haaaaaaaa.... fine. You are older and more experienced than me, so you know better. But

still...!"

He declared confidently, making his greenish-blond-haired friend let out an exhausted sigh.

"...waaaaaah...!"

"!!!"

"...!"

Then, someone's voice was carried over to them, making both boys flinch and turn in that direction.

Zorey looked at Kaipo, and he glanced over at his Zombie rat before returning the gaze and nodding silently.

The two of them stepped off their path and hurried over towards the person calling and ending on one side of a small stream – finding them wasn't difficult at all – if anything, they were running towards them.

"Mommy! Papa!"

A very small orange-haired girl was running will all her might carrying an oversized backpack and crying while fleeing from a large canine-type monster.

"Your little Beli will respawn like you soon! Too soon! I will not be able to respawn as your daughter again! Beli is sorry for not fulfilling Papa's dream... UGHYA...!" *THUMP*

*CHOMP*

The orange-haired girl continued to bawl her eyes out while moving her short legs the fastest she could, but since that wasn't the best combination, she ended up tripping and nose-diving into the mossy ground – ending up extremely lucky as the monster following her chose that moment to leap and bite her, ending up locking its jaws on thin air right where her neck was a second prior.

"Uh...! Ah...! Mommyyyyy! Papa!"

"GRRRRR!"

The tiny girl with a face dirtied with soil sat up as tears kept streaming down her face, only to start crying even more when she ended up face-to-face with a furiously growling monster.

"OI!"

"...!" "...?!"

Before the drooling creature managed to take a full step towards the fallen girl, Zorey shouted, getting the attention of both as he leaped over the stream, winding up for a strike.

*WHAM*

"Grrrrr!"

The black-haired boy hit the ground as the monster jumped away, still growling – although not as meaningly as before, as it lost its gusto when someone new joined in.

[Race: Stone fang dog

Rank: F

Level: 9

HP: 80 MP: 5

ATK: 35 MAT: 5

DEF: 10 MDF: 9

SPD: 27 LUC: 13

Skills: (Low-level Appraisal skill necessary for viewing)]

Despite the hesitation, the stats it boasted were nothing to scoff at – technically speaking, it was still something that a strong F rank adventurer – or rather adventurers - could attempt to beat, but it was an incomparably stronger opponent than the rodent-type monsters Zorey and Kaipo was aiming for.

...not to mention that it was only one level away from actually evolving, and it showed – the Zombie dog – like the one giving Zorey a hard time - which was an undead version of the same type of monster, could not hold a candle to it...

"GRRRRAUGH!"

The initial hesitation passed, and the monster snarled and leaped at Zorey, bearing its fangs.

"!!!"

With SPD being over twice what Zorey had, the monster reached the black-haired boy in no time.

*CRUNCH*

The only thing that the young priest of death managed to do was raise one arm to at least protect his head and had the Stone fang dog lock its jaws on his forearm, feeling the chill as his vision gained a blood-red outline confirming the critical condition.

"ZOREY!"

Kaipo screamed in panic, struggling to take out the fire wand that got stuck in his pocket.

"TSSSS!"

The adrenaline began rushing through Zorey's veins as his dulled senses sharpened again, and he spat through his teeth, barely managing to keep standing still as the monster's hind legs touched the ground.

"Grahough...?!"

"...heh~!"

When that happened, the ferocious monster let out a shocked yelp, and Zorey's face twisted in a grin as he raised his head and glared at it.

"How do you like them thorns...?"

*WHAM* *WHAM* *WHAM* *WHAM* *WHAM* *WHAM* *WHAM*

Zorey scoffed with sweat literally pouring down his forehead as he began relentlessly punching at the Stone Fang dog's white stomach, barely breaking through its DEF with the combination of the black-haired boy's ATK, unarmed combat skill, and the bonus given by the vicious ivy wraps.

******

"GRAUUUGH...!"

The punches themselves weren't doing that much damage – but the lesser poison that they applied was in a different manner – the monster could feel the percentage damage drain its HP with every single heartbeat, and considering its heart rate, it wasn't something that could be ignored.

At the same time, the monster could sense that the human it was facing should not be able to hold out... the HP could be lost to the poison and could be recovered by devouring the human flesh, so it just needed to kill the one in front of him.

"GRRRRRR!"

The monster's fighting spirit stopped faltering, and it was back in attack mode – its mouth might have been damaged by the thorns, but the human was also unable to escape.

While the human's only means of attack could not finish the fight at once, it had not only fangs but claws too!"

The creature snarled, swiping its front baw right at the black-haired human's face and...!

*chomp*

"Graugh?!"

The human's eyes were burning with a rather disturbing light as he jolted his head to the side, dodging the attack, but instead of being satisfied with it, he actually opened his mouth and bit back, prompting the Stone fang dog's shocked yelp, as despite encountering humans a few times it never saw any of them actually use their dull teeth as weapons.