Skill Hunter -Kill Monsters, Acquire Skills, Ascend to the Highest Rank!

The earth shook. A huge shadow loomed in between the trees. All the other boarmen had been piglets compared to this monstrosity. His form rippled with muscle. His serrated tusks thrust feet from his trembling jowls. Bristles jutted up from his face, and his beady eyes were shot with blood. His nose was wrinkled in rage.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Those bloodshot black eyes landed on Ike, and the boar let out a long, slow huff. Somehow, all its pent-up rage echoed in that huff. It pawed the earth with one of its legs, then spread its stance. It held a great axe three times as large as the ones the smaller boarmen had in one hand, as if it weighed nothing. Letting out a low, menacing grumble, it charged toward Ike.

"I've been waiting for this. Ha! Until now, I was wondering how anyone could die in this trial! But if it escalates this quickly, I can still dream of growing stronger!" Ike charged to meet it, sword at the ready.

The giant boarman huffed. Steam blew from his nose. He hefted his greataxe and swung.

A blast of wind, streaked with green mana, rushed at Ike. As the slash blew through the trees, it severed them. Enormous pines and maples crashed down all around him, their thick trunks tumbling wildly. The green slash rushed ahead of them, closing in on Ike's neck.

Ike gathered energy on his blade and slashed upward. The energy burst out. It smacked into the slash. The two energies fought for a moment, Ike's purple battling the green, but then the green slash broke through. It charged toward Ike once more.

This close, Ike had not time to try another clash. He raised his sword, taking the blow on the blade. The slash of energy felt every bit as heavy as the boarman's greataxe would. Ike was forced back, his feet sliding in the earth.

But I'm not beaten. Laughing, he finished his blow, breaking the green energy into pieces. It was heavy, but not insurmountable. Enough that he felt his body strain, but not so great he couldn't overcome it. He still didn't need to activate Storm Clad, let alone fight seriously.

Ike lifted his hand and beckoned the boarman on. "Come on. Show me what you really can do."

The boar roared. It stomped its hoof and charged.

Ike raised his sword in anticipation, a grin on his face. He was antagonizing the boar deliberately. At this level, he could easily defeat the boar. But that wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to get stronger. And that meant drawing out the boar's full strength, so he could meet him with his own. He wouldn't get stronger cutting down foes thoughtlessly. He would, though, if he could fight them toe to toe.

Some mages might disdain what Ike was doing. After all, even if he lowered his strength and fought them evenly, he wouldn't raise his Rank any higher than slaughtering them wholesale. But that wasn't Ike's purpose. Battle experience mattered just as much as Rank, when it came down to it. He'd been fighting nonstop since he'd left his city, more or less, and he'd been able to consistently punch above his Rank. So even if these fights wouldn't push his Rank upward, they'd still let him grow stronger. At the end of the day, he needed to destroy Lord Brightbriar and all his puppets. If he only relied on his Rank to crush the other man, he'd lose everything that mattered. It would take too long to reach Rank 5, and stand on even footing with Lord Brightbriar. By that time, the man might have conquered the entire region and transformed everything to puppets. Any victory Ike could pull after that would be hollow. Therefore, he had to grow stronger as quickly as he could, whether that was Rank or battle strength. Hopefully it would be enough to counter Lord Brightbriar before the madman succeeded at replacing everyone with puppets.

Or whatever his goal is. No matter what, though, I don't want him to win.

Ike charged to meet the boar. The two of them clashed. Sparks flew, green on the boar's side and purple on Ike's. Their blades blurred. The boar was strong enough to give Ike pause and make his arms tremble. Every blow struck with weight befitting of the boar's stature and bulging muscles.

Ike unleashed a powerful strike and jumped back, giving himself some room. The boar watched him as well. The two of them circled one another, pacing around the clearing the boar had cut, watching one another for weakness. He's strong, and his endurance is incredible. If I kept up that melee without activating Storm Clad, I might have ended up in danger. Ike raised his brows, making a note of that. His style was speed. Everything was about moving fast, faster than the opponent. Striking faster. Escaping faster. Closing faster. But in prioritizing speed, he'd deprioritized strength… and more importantly, stamina.

I need to build up more endurance. His dash and instant power output were good, but if he fought a prolonged battle against an equal opponent, he'd be the one in trouble. With Storm Clad, he had enough strength to get by. But without stamina, he'd face danger in any drawn-out battle. It was too obvious of a weak point not to strengthen. Something too easy for others to catch and draw out. But this, this marathon of a battle with waves upon waves of enemies… this was exactly what he needed to hone his stamina.

Without a word, Ike and the boarman darted at one another again. This time, Ike didn't escape when he felt himself wearing down. He kept pushing, fighting on through the exhaustion. Right now, he was only using the bare minimum of mana. This was a battle of brute strength between him and the boar. Fancy techniques, strengthening skills—they needed none of that. Both of them recognized the brute strength of the other, and acknowledged their full power. As someone who fought with techniques and skills, Ike had inadvertently been slacking on training his body. And this was just the opportunity he needed.

Silver was right. Without a skill, you really do learn more. When you rely on skills, it's easy to neglect the basics. If I want to grow stronger, I need to throw away my reliance on skills. They're important, but they aren't everything. To be able to draw out the full power of my skills, I need a good foundation.

Despite Ike's best efforts to hold back, he still landed hit after hit on the boar. His River-Splitting Sword outclassed the boar's axe skills. As Ike grew stronger, the difference in their techniques became more and more apparent. At last, he stepped back. The boar stood there, bleeding and exhausted, barely able to raise its axe.

"You were a fine opponent. Thank you." With that, Ike darted in for the last time. He took the boar's head. The boar stood there for another moment, then fell to its knees.

"Ike! You done over there?" Wisp called.

Ike looked up. He wiped his brow. "Yeah, why?"

"Got a whole regiment of those guys closing in on the castle!"

Ike blinked. "A whole regiment?"

"Yeah, come on. Quit wasting your time!"

Ike chuckled under his breath. He ran toward Wisp, already activating Storm Clad. As much as he wanted to battle each of them to the death on his physical strength only, he wasn't willing to lose the entire trial to do so. There will be stronger enemies later, he placated himself, and charged in.