The boar charged again. Eli could feel its desperation from the way its steps faltered.

He breathed out and emptied his mind.

Once more, he moved aside and let it barrel past at just the last fraction of a second. The tusks tore through his sleeve, and the boar’s head swung left to follow him.

Its head kept turning. Like a dance, Eli matched its rotation step for step, his feet moving on instinct while his sword arm coiled back and ready.

He watched the plates at the base of the neck with unbreakable focus. They shifted, scuffing against each other as the head swung further, and then they pulled apart, just like before.

But this time, Eli was right there.

[Maid’s Intuition] surged through his arms and into his grip like a current. His senses locked onto the gap, and only that gap. Every ounce of hesitation burned away, and his muscles moved with clarity and precision. He had felt that click of perfect alignment only once before, back when he plunged his sword into the Frostfang Alpha’s throat.

Eli drove the blade into the gap.

The sword sank through flesh with almost no resistance, plunging deep into its organs in one go. The edge struck bone, and the impact jolted up through his entire arm.

The Mossback’s legs locked mid-charge. Its whole body went rigid, and the low grunt twisted into a sloshing wheeze. It stumbled forward one step, then another, dragging Eli with it until he ripped the blade free.

The boar collapsed face-first into the dirt and slid to a halt, carving a trench through the clearing floor. Its bark plates rattled postmortem for a few seconds before silence took over.

Eli stood there, sword dripping with blood, his chest heaving. His ribs hurt with every breath, his arms trembled due to the constant impact, his hip had swollen to a noticeable size under his trousers, and his thigh pulsed where the kick had caught him.

It was just an F-Rank monster, but...

’I killed it... I killed it! I actually killed it! An F-Rank monster as a Level 2!’

He looked down at the Mossback. Then, the familiar notifications came through.

[Lv. 5 Mossback (1★) slain.]

[Mossback Core (F) obtained.]

[Mossy Bark (Common) obtained.]

[+25 EXP]

[Maid’s Intuition (S) has reached Level 2!]

[You have received a new quest.]

He waved them off for now.

From across the clearing, he heard Juli hop off her rock.

"Took you long enough!"

Eli let out a laugh that hurt every single one of his ribs.

It was a shame he didn’t get any bonus stats this time like he had after the Frostfang hunt, even though he was bruised and aching all over.

Eli didn’t know how the system counted the natural stat increase. Then again, since it was natural progression, there was no need for excessive concern.

’To hell with the system!’

Juli approached with a smile, but her eyes held a hint of concern.

"You keep surprising me. You got roughed up, but I didn’t actually expect you to take down a Mossback that fast!"

He snorted.

"Told you I have more talent than you. I’ll surpass you soon."

"Keep dreaming!"

Juli crouched beside the Mossback’s corpse and poked at the bark.

"You know, during our second year, Harmon tried to solo one of these to show off in front of the instructor. He lasted like ten seconds before it sat on him — literally, it SAT on him! Like, full body, just plopped right on top! He was screaming and wheezing so loud the entire squad thought he was dying!"

Eli huffed a small laugh.

"You keep bringing up Harmon."

"Because that guy is just really goofy! Wonder what he’s doing now."

Juli stood up and dusted off her knees.

"Anyway, you should take a break. You look rough."

"Yeah, in a minute."

Eli pulled up the notification he had waved off earlier and tapped on the quest.

╭────-·ˋˏ-༻𖤓༺-ˎˊ·-────╮

[Hunt Quest: Mossbacks]

Shed your mortal shell and become a Hero. But first, trash mobs are essential for early growth.

[Objective]: Eliminate 10 Mossbacks (1/10)

[Reward]:

Random [Rare] Material

1x [Ability Enhance]

╰────-·ˋˏ-༻𖤓༺-ˎˊ·-────╯

’Oh wow! Pretty solid for just ten pigs. A Rare material...’

These materials were essential for crafting weapons and artifacts in HOTA. Players could combine cores, monster parts, and other rare materials to forge everything from basic swords to endgame relics.

It was one of the most addictive systems in the entire game, thanks to its dedicated mode where players had to find recipes and complete challenges to craft a single item.

But Eli’s system had yet to give him anything resembling a crafting menu.

’Where the hell is my crafting tab?’

He could think of a few accessories he could craft from the materials he had collected, and they would help him immensely.

’Although I would have to explain where I got them...’

Maybe the system would unlock crafting at a certain level, or maybe it required a specific quest trigger. In HOTA, crafting was available immediately after you completed the tutorial, so maybe Eli had to finish the Prologue first.

He sighed and closed the window.

’Fine! I’ll just keep hoarding like a goblin, you shitty system!’

Eli stretched his arms, and his shoulders popped loud enough for Juli to wince.

"Gross."

"Shut up. You do it all the time."

He rolled his shoulders and turned to Juli.

"Alright. Let’s hunt for some more."

Juli’s eyes widened.

"Right now!? You’re all banged up! Can you even move properly?"

Eli swung the sword a couple of times to test his grip.

"See? I’m fine."

Juli marched over and jabbed a finger straight to his bruised hip.

"Ow! What the hell!?"

"Fine, huh?"

Eli gently rubbed his hip.

"That’s because you poked it!"

"And what do you think the next Mossback is gonna do? Politely avoid the bruise because you’re handicapped?"

She jabbed his ribs next.

"Agh! Stop that!"

"Does this hurt?" 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"Yes!"

"And this?"

She reached for his thigh.

Eli swatted her hand away in time and stumbled back, raising his sword between them like a shield.

"Juli! I swear to god, if you touch me one more time, I’ll—"

Juli flicked the flat of his blade aside with fingers and lightly shoved him square in his chest. His battered legs gave out instantly, and he landed on the grass with a thud.

"You rest! Then you can go play hero."

Eli stared up at her, mouth still open.

’...Haaa. Fine! You win.’