Chapter 45: Chapter45-Rest in peace

The dense jungle was alive with the sounds of the night: the rustling of leaves, the distant calls of nocturnal creatures, and the pounding of hooves. A pack of creatures with two horns, resembling goats, tore through the underbrush at full speed. Their eyes were wide with terror, and their breaths came in frantic, labored gasps. From behind them, a man's voice rang out, clear and commanding despite the chaos. "Hey, you guys, stop running and let me kill you peacefully!" I was that man, sprinting through the jungle, my breath heavy, and my heart racing. I had come into the jungle at night, even though I had work in the office tomorrow. My goal was simple: hunt down as many monsters as I could, quickly and efficiently. But now, I found myself in a frustrating chase. The moonlight filtered through the thick canopy, casting creepy shadows on the forest floor. The air smelled of earth and plants, and the ground was uneven with roots and fallen leaves. The creatures ahead of me, these horned goat-like monsters, were my targets. They were clearly scared, running through the trees to get away. I used my appraisal skill, and a virtual screen popped up in front of me, showing their details. **Blaze Horn Goats** - **Height**: 4.2 feet - **Weight**: 220 pounds - **Strength**: Strong ramming ability, fire-resistant fur and, Unity Roar... - **Weakness**: Vulnerable to water-based attacks, sensitive eyes and, weak legs - **Critical Body Parts**: Eyes, underbelly - **Rank**: Lesser-Rank Monster - **Probability**: There's a 98% chance of winning against these monsters. 98 percent... If only I had my daggers with me, these guys would be dead by now. I believe I could easily kill them with my dagger-throwing ability, which is much more accurate when I throw them than using this gun. I quickly looked at the information, then pulled out my gun and aimed carefully. With a loud crack, I fired, but the bullet missed to hit any one of the goats. "Darn it, missed it again!" I cursed under my breath, annoyed at how bad I was with the gun. "Today of all days," I muttered, shaking my head. I hadn't brought any daggers with me, thinking a gun would be the fastest way to kill these monsters. Yeah, why? Because I gave my daggers to Allen and told him to take them to the blacksmith guild for sharpening. With all the training and monster hunting, they had lost their edge. I also didn't have any other types of weapons in my inventory because all the weapons I obtained from completing quests, I gave to Allen. I instructed him to auction them on my Barternet platform. But I believe it was the right decision because all those weapons were practically useless to me compared to a gun and a dagger. I might have received some swords and other items, but I can't recall them now. Now, struggling to hit my targets, I realized how careless that was. The gun, which I thought would be my best asset, was actually a hindrance. I had been running through the jungle for five hours, my body aching and my patience running out. During that time, I encountered many lesser-ranked monsters but not a single common rank monster. This was because I was hunting very close to the human domain where there were already multiple cameras and guards stationed around. Now coming back to lesser rank monsters, when I say many, I mean literally hundreds of monsters... Despite my efforts, I had only managed to kill about fifty of them. It's all because of my beginner skills with guns... I have to admit, shooting accurately with a gun is much harder than it appears in movies... I remembered the flock of sparrows I had seen earlier and how I missed almost all of them due to my inexperience with the gun... Breathing heavily, I continued the pursuit, the jungle seeming to close in around me. After a few more minutes of relentless running, I managed to position myself for a clear shot. With steady hands, I aimed carefully and fired. The bullet found its mark. "Yes, finally!" One of the goats took the hit in its vulnerable underbelly, collapsing instantly with a pained bleat. The other goat staggered, its hind leg wounded from earlier. It struggled to rise, determination for survival gleaming in its wild eyes. I approached cautiously, knowing that even injured, these creatures could still pose a minimal threat. As I neared, the goat with the leg injury managed to stand, fixing its horns towards me. In a desperate charge, it lunged forward, driven by clear survival instinct. Reacting swiftly, I fired another shot. The bullet tore through the air, finding its mark in the goat's stomach. A gruesome hole appeared, and a torrent of blood spilled out, staining the jungle floor and, some on my shoes... The goat collapsed with a final, feeble gasp, its eyes losing their fierce glint. The jungle fell silent again, except for the rustling leaves and distant calls of creatures. I stood there, catching my breath, adrenaline still coursing through my veins. Seriously... That guy believed his horn could rival my gun. Anyway, let's check his friend. I looked at the other goat, barely clinging to life, blood pooling around its wounded underbelly. Gripping my gun tightly, I aimed towards it and calmly said, "Goodbye." With a sharp crack, another bullet tore through the air, striking the goat squarely in the stomach. Another gruesome hole opened up, and blood gushed out in a macabre fountain. Despite the mortal wound, the goat continued to twitch weakly, its eyes wide with pain and defiance. "Wow," I muttered under my breath, staring at the struggling creature. "You're the first monster today who hasn't gone down easy." The goat met my gaze for a brief moment, then turned its head to the night sky and let out a feeble roar, a last act of defiance against its impending fate. Annoyed by the prolonged struggle, I quickly adjusted my aim and fired another shot. This time, the bullet found its mark in the goat's head. There was a final twitch, and then it lay still, its roar abruptly cut short. "So annoying," I muttered, shaking my head at the stubbornness of the creature. As the jungle fell silent once more, I glanced at my surroundings. Ok, so all clear... And then checked my watch. It displayed 4:00 a.m. I don't have much time left... I contemplated opening the character profile to assess my progress, but before I could, a noise caught my attention. Hmm, what was that sound? Swiftly, I focused on my surroundings, senses heightened. Suddenly, a goat leaped out from a bush, aiming for my back. Expected... Reacting quickly, I sidestepped just in time. As the goat rushed past me, I turned swiftly and fired in its direction, hoping not to miss. Luckily... The bullet hit the goat's neck, ending its attack instantly with a final, desperate gurgle. I sighed. Phew, that was close... He almost got me there... I scanned my surroundings again and muttered, "You guys can stop hiding, I know you're all here." Suddenly, blaze horn goats began to emerge from every direction around me. Their agitation was clear, likely provoked by the deaths of their kind. Instead of feeling panicked or scared, I was actually quite pleased. Why? Because this was all part of my plan. Earlier, I had observed that one of their strengths was their unity in roars or in other words their "Unity Roar". I speculated that these might be a roar skill that could call them all together. Skill names and their effects can differ, so there was a risk, but I chose to test my theory anyway. After killing the first goat, I waited patiently for the second one to roar. When it didn't and was barely alive, staring at me, I shot it again in the same injured spot, increasing- no, doubling its pain until it finally cried out, summoning its companions. Now, in the current situation, I glanced in every direction with one thought on my mind: more monsters meant more Essences, which meant faster leveling up. Without hesitation, I opened my inventory and grabbed another gun. With a gun in each hand, I shouted, "What are you waiting for? Let's go!" I began shooting randomly in all directions, spinning around like a wheel. After half an hour of shooting and, killing, I panted heavily, my clothes soaked in bloodboth mine and the creatures'. Dead blaze horn goats littered the ground: some with holes on stomach, others headless or blind. The air reeked of blood's metallic tang and gunpowder's acrid stench. Moonlight seeped through the thick canopy, casting eerie shadows on the scene of carnage. In every direction, there was nothing but silence. Despite feeling exhausted and heavy-limbed, I remained standing amidst the aftermath, adrenaline still surging through me. I glanced from one fallen goat to the next, assessing the toll of the intense battle. "You put up a good fight, all of you. Rest in peace..." And every few seconds, I hurriedly gathered as many bodies as I could, planning to sell them on Barternet or to the hunters' guild in the future. After that, I checked my body and assessed my condition. One broken finger... Two broken toes... One dislocated arm, and some internal injuries... Well, that's less than I expected. I quickly took out a Platinum-ranked healing potion and drank it down. Within a minute or two, I was back to my previous good health. But there was still a problem... I held my nose and muttered, "Why do they always smell so bad?" My clothes were a mess, though they weren't pristine when I entered the jungle for the hunt. I had kept a reasonable distance to avoid getting their smelly blood on me, but I still ended up with some stains. Thankfully, it wasn't enough to make me reek. But this fight ruined everything. Leave it... Then, with a single thought, I opened my character profile, and a virtual screen appeared in front of me. (Congratulations, Host, Monster Core (Lesser) has been added to your inventory!) (Congratulations, Host, Healing portion (Bronze) has been added to your inventory!) (Congratulations, Host, Monster Essence of Gerbil has been added to your Character Profile!) (Congratulations, Host, Monster Core (Lesser) has been added to your inventory!) (Congratulations, Host, Healing portion (Bronze) has been added to your inventory ... And with that, I received numerous messages indicating that I had killed a total of 22 Blaze Horn goats, which meant I would receive 22 Essences. Let's check my total progress now. Name: Michael Frostburne Race: Human Current rank: Iron. Progression to Gold rank: 46% (1150/2500 essences). Attributes:- (0/1) [Power]: Iron. [Speed]: Iron. [Spirit]: Iron. [Recovery]: Iron. Hmm, that's great. At this pace, I'll level up in just a few days.