Path to Transcendence

Chapter 373: Ironblood Boar

Julius looked around, trying to find the remaining monsters. He hadn’t gotten a notification about it ending quite yet and was curious about whether or not he had completed the objective. He didn’t see any goblins nearby but made sure to extend the range of [Absolute Spatial Perception] to get a better view.

However, when he finally sensed something, he didn’t know whether to laugh or be confused. There was indeed one last goblin alive. This one appeared to be much larger than the other goblins and was presumably the leader he was supposed to take care of.

What was shocking was that this goblin was in the process of running away. Its pale green body was dashing toward the more densely covered forest. He didn’t know if it was scared after seeing all of its underlings razed to the ground. But it must have decided that running away was a better fate than fighting Julius.

However, he wasn’t about to just let it leave without saying goodbye, and quickly went after it with a liberal use of kinetic energy to boost his speed. He probably could have used [Void Step], but the costly technique would be a waste of mana. Mana, that would be a very valuable resource later on.

He leaped over some logs and bushes along his way. The goblin didn’t even seem aware that Julius was almost right on top of it. It merely continued running as fast as it could. Unfortunately, it didn’t do much good, and Julius was right on top of it. He didn’t waste any time and smashed his fist down on the leader’s head.

There was some resistance from whatever defensive skill protected the goblin, but all he needed to do was use his aura to degrade the barrier’s integrity and shatter it. With no more protection, his fist slammed into the now unprotected skull.

He dusted himself down and glanced at the notification he got.

Congratulations, First Floor Cleared. You will be transported to the second floor automatically in ten minutes or if you would like to immediately head to the second floor, just say “Next Floor” out loud.

Julius was tempted to just head immediately to the next floor, but he reminded himself that regenerating whatever mana he used might come in handy later. Therefore, he stayed patient and waited until his mana regenerated.

While he did that, he went back to the area where the dead goblins were. His discs of sharpened mana were still embedded in the bodies or laid on the ground. Not seeing a reason to waste this mana, he quickly took control of them and molded them into some pieces of armor.

He decided only to use gauntlets for the time being. He didn’t know what the next floor challenge would be, but wanted to be prepared.

It didn’t take the full ten minutes for Julius to recover his mana, and once he was capped off, he finally said aloud, “Next floor.” Finding himself getting transported once more.

This time, he found himself in a similar environment. It was a large glade in the middle of a forest. He could hear the sounds of a nearby stream and chirps of wildlife all around him. It was already quite a bit more lively than the last floor.

He read the new notification that explained what he would have to do.

Second Floor Clear Condition: Defeat the Ironblood Boar.

Unlike the previous floor, it would seem that he would only need to beat a single opponent. He was curious if this was something that was done intentionally. Was the rift purposefully testing the participants on their combat ability? For example, was the last floor a test to see how well they would fare when fighting a large group of weaker opponents? Would that mean this floor was testing them on how they would perform against a stronger solo opponent?

He shrugged his shoulders. That seemed the most plausible explanation, but he wasn’t the creator of the rift, so he would never know for certain. The only thing he could really do was finish this without expending too much energy.

He hadn’t quite seen the Ironblood Boar as of yet. The glade was huge, and it would seem he would need to look around first. Not seeing a reason to waste any time, he went off searching for the boar.

Along his little adventure through this floor, he came across several monsters who were Tier 2 and Tier 3. However, unlike what he had been expecting, they didn’t decide to attack him. They seemed more curious than anything else. Their lack of aggression didn’t match up with his own experiences. There were usually at least a couple of monsters who wished to attack him when they spotted a tasty human in their sights.

One particular bird was brave enough to fly pretty close to him. It was only about the size of his fist, but he could tell that it was Tier 3. It hovered a few feet in front of him and eventually landed on his shoulder, gently prodding his face with its beak.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The creature seemed very fascinated with his black hair and started to play with it, without fear of Julius. Not seeing a reason to disturb it, he continued on his way and searched for the boar, now accompanied by a new friend as well.

It took longer than he had thought it might. But after around ten minutes of not finding anything, he ended up just following the stream. He thought that it would make sense if this boar wanted to stay near fresh water.

He didn’t know if this was the right move since he was in a rift, and sometimes logic didn’t always work in such a place. However, he was thankful when he finally sensed what he believed to be exactly what he was looking for.

Up ahead, lying in the sun was a large boar with a deep, blood-red coat covering it. Julius was somewhat surprised at the beastʼs immense size. He had been expecting something large, at least larger than a typical boar might be, but this thing was huge. It was the size of an SUV.

He knew that this thing was stronger than the goblins, but considering it was the second floor, he did not have that many hopes of it being strong. However, he was glad that he was wrong.

This boar was definitely a powerful Tier 3. Its aura had the distinctive power of Concepts and thrummed with heaviness. His heart started beating a little faster in anticipation.

The size was impressive, but he believed the monsterʼs most dangerous aspect was its large tusks. These things were almost half the size of the beast and were glowing with a dark silver hue. He didn’t know what kind of skill or Concept was infused with them, but he was certain that these things were its main weapon.

The little birdie who had been relaxing on his shoulder this entire time suddenly froze when it spotted the boar. Then, without even a goodbye, it flapped its wings and disappeared in a soft woosh of air.

The little bugger was wicked fast and he was barely able to track it as it went to hide up in the treetops. It would appear that it had no intention of being near this boar.

Julius didn’t have that option, which is why he immediately went over to the boar without a care in the world. He didn’t bother trying to hide his presence either. He wanted this monster to know that he was there.

Although he was trying to get through this floor without wasting his mana, he wasn’t going to deprive himself of all the fun. He still needed to work on his kinetic energy and he believed this might be a good chance to do so.

The boar didn’t even seem to notice him as he got close. It was still sleeping away in the sunlight without a care in the world.

Julius even slammed his gauntlets together to get the monster’s attention. Thankfully, the loud boom and the burst of mana finally got the monster’s attention.

Kind of.

It opened its eyelids and stared at Julius with an annoyed glint in its eyes. Julius just smiled and waved at the boar. However, to his disappointment, the boar didn’t do anything. It merely closed its eyes again and went back to napping.

In disbelief, Julius frowned and stood still. He had just been dismissed. He was supposed to beat this thing, but the boar had no intention of fighting him.

Not enjoying being ignored, Julius marched over to the big beast, and despite getting close to it, nothing happened. It continued to ignore him like he wasn’t a threat. Only when Julius started to poke the thing in its thick, fatty shoulder did it open its eyes again.

This time, it seemed more confused than annoyed, as if Juliusʼs appearance in front of it was not within its expectations. However, it would seem that Julius poking it made it a little angry, because it sent out a wave of mana toward him.

The mana washed right over Julius without so much as ruffling his hair, something that seemed to intrigue the monster if its attentive gaze was anything to go by.

“Do I have your attention now?” Julius asked the monster with a challenging glare. He didn’t actually think it could understand him, but speaking aloud made him feel good, so he didn’t care.

The boar narrowed its eyes and then swung its head at Julius in a sudden burst of speed. He barely managed to step back in time and avoid its tusks. Julius tsked and wagged his finger at the boar. This seemed to only further enrage it, and the boar quickly got to its legs.

Smiling now that he had finally managed to get the monster to engage with him, he got ready. However, he scrunched his nose as he watched the boar charge toward him with alarming speed. He dodged in time because he sensed the large amount of mana being channeled into its legs.

Still, there should be no way a Tier 3 that size is able to move that fast. Before he had any time to think about it deeper, he found himself having to dodge another charge. This time, he was more prepared and was able to siphon some of its kinetic energy.

There was way too much for him to siphon in such a short time, but the amount he got just from that single charge was enormous. If he had been hit by that, he might have actually gotten hurt.

The boar kept on charging him, not taking the time to recharge or catch its breath. Julius was forced to avoid it once more, but this time, as it came to a stop, he used the stolen kinetic energy to blast himself right where the boar was and slammed his palm into the side of its head.

The monster managed to get up one of its tusks in time to block the strike and even though he had pumped a lot of kinetic energy through his palm, it easily dissipated the impact. He had even been enforcing his body with [Pyrokinetic Embodiment of Ruin], which meant the power behind the blow was enormous.

The fact that it was able to deal with it so easily was impressive. He grinned as he dodged the swipe of the boar and used his feet to kick its snout. Despite hitting right on the nose with a lot of power, it barely flinched.

He smiled as he realized that this might be more fun than he thought and slammed his fists together as he met the boar in another clash.