Chapter 139 : 139-Shitty Bastards

The leaderboard showed: 1) James Wilson: 1800 points 2) Anna Parkour: 1770 points 3) Mira Lapele: 1670 points 4) Zeras Voidman: 1640 points 5) Solos Kamstur: 1630 points James... If he keeps this up, he could easily surpass my expectations and reach over 2500 points in no time. I looked at the clock; it was 11:42 a.m. That meant I had about 18 minutes to take back the top position, which felt nearly impossible—even if I stumbled upon an Easter egg, I might still fall short by at least 10 points compared to James. But I couldn't just throw in the towel... I needed a skill, no matter what. My only chance to climb back to the top was to go on a rampage and use all my abilities. The problem was that my rage skill was nearly impossible to activate since I couldn't force myself to feel angry. That left me with just one skill: my dash. Now, I needed to find a massive horde of monsters and take them down all at once using that skill. But the challenge was... By "massive," I meant a horde at least ten times larger than the last pack of wolves I faced, and I wasn't sure if that was even feasible. Still, I had to give it a try... *** After running for a few minutes, I found myself in an unexpected spot... Damn it. A cliff stood in my way, marking the jungle's dead end. On my way here, I'd only encountered a handful of monsters and two players, both of whom I defeated with little trouble. The last player was tougher because his special ability was similar to mine. Still, I managed to win without using my own ability, thanks to a monster that interrupted our fight, making it easier to finish him off—and then I took care of the monster too. I glanced up at the sky to check the leaderboard on the hologram, only to see something that shocked me. I couldn't believe it... Is this real? How did this even happen? I stood there, completely stunned, losing a whole minute just trying to process it. The leaderboard now read: 1) James Wilson: 2100 points 2) Jack Smith: 2010 points 3) Anna Parkour: 1960 points 4) Allen Smith: 1840 points 5) Sam Smith: 1800 points Those three... The Smith brothers were dominating the leaderboard with a massive number of points. What did they stumble upon? I could understand if they found some loophole and took advantage of it, but this many points? Did they run into a huge horde of monsters or something? That seems like the only way they could've shot into the top five, especially since they weren't even close a few minutes ago. I glanced at the time—11:46 a.m. Fuck, at this rate, I'm going to lose... There's no way I can— Before I could finish the thought, a familiar voice broke through the air. "Yo, look who I've found!" I spun around quickly to see Solos, his bloodied sword in hand, emerging from behind a bush. "You? What do you want now?" I demanded, gripping my daggers tightly, prepared for whatever was coming. Solos smirked, his blood-stained sword resting at his side. "What do you think?" I understood exactly why he was here. For someone like Solos, revenge meant everything. He likely aimed to humiliate me again by defeating me in front of everyone, just like he did last time. I raised both daggers, my eyes narrowing. "I'm not thinking anything." He chuckled darkly. "Of course not. Why would you? You've always been clueless when it comes to things like this. But that's not why I'm here..." Before he could finish, Solos suddenly lunged at me, his sword slicing through the air. He was fast—too fast—but I managed to block his strike aimed at my face with both daggers. The sharp clash of metal rang out as our weapons locked, faces inches apart. "Revenge," Solos growled, his voice filled with hatred. "I want payback for what you did to me. Today, I'll humiliate you again—just like I did a year ago." Knew it... I gritted my teeth. "You think you can—argh!" Fuck, what? Before I could finish, Solos released his sword with one hand and swiftly reached into his magical bag. In a blur, he drew out a knife and plunged it into my stomach. Pain ripped through me. He sneered as he twisted the blade. "I know I can." The pain was nearly overwhelming, but I wasn't about to give up. Gathering all my strength, I drove my knee into his stomach, breaking our locked weapons and sending him stumbling backward. "Ouckkk, you bloody piece of shit!!" He shouted out in anger... "I sucked badly." I staggered away, clutching my stomach as blood poured from the deep wound, soaking my clothes. Desperate, I reached for my health potion, but before I could drink it, Solos laughed and charged again. "You're not getting the chance to drink that!" he shouted. In a matter of seconds, he was right in front of me, his sword aimed for another incoming slash... Ohh, shit! Not again... With no other option, I tossed the bottle aside and blocked his next attack. His sword came down hard on my shoulder, and I barely managed to stop his knife with my other dagger. The pain was intense, but I wasn't going to give in. "I'm not falling for the same trick twice, you bastard!" I yelled through gritted teeth. Solos smirked, pressing the attack. "I didn't expect you to," he said, his voice cold and steady. He suddenly halted his attack and jumped back, creating some distance between us. Seizing the opportunity, I quickly reached for another potion in my pocket and glanced at Solos, who was observing me closely as if I were something valuable. I uncorked the potion and drank it as quickly as I could. Within seconds, I downed the entire bottle and tossed it aside, still aware of Solos's intense gaze. I couldn't figure out what he was up to, so I prepared myself for a sudden attack. For a brief moment, silence hung between us as we remained still, the tension thick in the air. Then I heard a rustling sound coming from a nearby bush. I turned to see a white, stone-like ball rolling slowly toward me. Solos shouted, "Got you, Bloody shit!" Realizing what it was, I instinctively tried to jump out of the way, but then... "Boom!" A loud explosion echoed through the air, followed by a powerful roar. Thick smoke quickly filled the area, turning everything around me a ghostly white. I began to cough, struggling to clear my lungs from the choking cloud. What on earth is happening? That stone... I recognized it. Wasn't it from an Onylitor? Onylitors are monsters that resemble humans, but their bodies are made of stone instead of flesh and blood. Their main attack method involves throwing stones to create a smoke screen that disorients their opponents. When the enemy can't see through the smoke, the Onylitor strikes from an unknown direction, delivering a fatal blow. Yeah, just one blow... According to the encyclopedia, an Onylitor can reach a maximum rank of uncommon, meaning its highest level is peak uncommon. They usually attack with both hands, using their sharp stone limbs to pierce vital areas and take down opponents with ease. But here's the issue... I thought these monsters preferred living in caves because they despise sunlight. The sun's rays can harm them by melting their stone bodies. So why is this Onylitor out in the daylight, acting like it doesn't care about its own health? Wait a second... Suddenly, I remembered something important from the encyclopedia. It mentioned two reasons a monster might come out to hunt its prey. First, when it goes on a rampage because it feels threatened. Second, when its eggs or young are at risk of being taken or destroyed. Which means... No way... Solos must have done one of those things to provoke the monster. The first reason seems unlikely; if its life were in danger, it wouldn't have attacked me with that stone. So, Solas must have done something to threaten its young. Just as that thought crossed my mind, my instincts screamed at me to dodge. I quickly dropped my head just in time to avoid a massive hand swinging toward me from behind. I could sense its presence closing in on me. That jerk... He set all of this up just to eliminate me from the competition without lifting a finger himself. I have to admit, he almost pulled it off—if I hadn't had any skills to fall back on, he likely would have. "Activate dash skill." [Dash skill (Level 3) has been successfully activated!] *** Solos's POV *** "Got you!" I yelled in excitement as the stone shattered, releasing a massive cloud of smoke into the air. In no time, the smoke grew so thick that I could barely see anything around me. "What will you do now, choker?" I smirked and muttered to myself. Just a few minutes before, while hunting a group of Onylitors, I had come across their nest deep inside a cave. There, I found some eggs being guarded by two Onylitors. I quickly took them down and destroyed all the eggs, leaving at least one Onylitor alive. I wanted it to chase me for fun because when someone destroys an Onylitor's eggs, the male will relentlessly pursue them. There's a major advantage to this chase. The Onylitor can track the person who ruined its eggs solely by scent. The destroyed eggs leave a foul smell on the victim's hands. However, if the victim washes their hands in water, the Onylitor won't be able to identify them anymore. Additionally, that scent can be transferred to anyone who touches the victim. Yes, it's definitely possible. Honestly, I shouldn't really call it a hunt; I just wanted to play around with the Onylitor a bit and use it to battle another monster. But when I saw that son of bitch quietly watching the hologram from the corner, I decided it was time to teach him a lesson and make him look foolish. So, I came over and started a fight with him. I deliberately stabbed him in the stomach to provoke him into kicking me away and creating some space between us. Just now, when he kicked me, I used both hands to touch his right knee, leaving my scent on him. I chose the knee because if I had touched him somewhere else, he might have become suspicious. I wanted to avoid raising any alarms. After injuring him, I quickly jumped back to create a safe distance from the smoke. I let him recover and waited for the fun to begin. The game is on, and I can't wait to see how he gets out of this mess. There's no way he can escape the smoke while fighting the monster. That weak little guy has no chance. I remember last year when he couldn't even defeat a common-rank monster and nearly panicked in fear. Even though he's improved a lot this year, he's still weaker than me and always will be. Even if he somehow manages to escape—which I seriously doubt, especially with just over eleven minutes left in the match—I'll make sure to humiliate him with my special skill. Fuck that guy. With all this anger toward him, I'm sure I'll miss the top 5 slots in the hologram today, all because of those three idiots on the leaderboard. I glanced up at the sky to view the leaderboard, which displayed the following rankings: 1) James Wilson: 2200 points 2) Jack Smith: 2150 points 3) Sam Smith: 2090 points 4) Anna Parkour: 2060 points 5) Allen Smith: 2040 points Those shitty guys... How could they possibly pass me on the leaderboard? Those weaker fools... It's got to be pure luck, nothing else. There's no way they could defeat me in a real monster hunter competition... They're not even close to my level. Noone can match me... I'm the strongest of my generation. Sure, there are a few like Anna—that irritating bitch—and James who might come close to my strength, but honestly, I doubt either of them could match me in raw power. Whatever. For now, I'll just enjoy the show in front of me. That shitty bastard over there has no clue what's about to happen. I can't wait to see him get torn apart by that beast once the smoke clears. It should only take another minute. Usually, the smoke from the stone—their life force—dissipates in two or three minutes. But this time... it's lingering longer than usual. Still, it's bound to clear any second now— "Muahhhhhhh!" Out of nowhere, a deafening roar echoed through the smoke, shaking everything around me. My pulse quickened as the thick haze began to lift. With each second, the sound of metal clashing against stone grew louder, filling the air. That fool must be struggling to defend himself against Onlytor's punches... Ugh... only an fucking idiot would think ordinary metal could harm that beast. The only things that can damage Onlytor are steel weapons or heated blades. Everything else is useless. As the smoke gradually cleared, my anticipation only grew stronger. Come on... show me that bruised, defeated face of yours... Show me that face... But after a few more seconds, when the smoke finally cleared enough, I was faced with something I never expected. I stood frozen, eyes wide in disbelief. This... How? What is...