Chapter 9: First Kill

Focusing back on his path in front of him, his mind raced for what he should do. From what he could hear it seemed like just this single boar was chasing him, but it was huge. Looking at the trees whizzing by him as he leaped over roots and dodged under branches all the while still holding his spear he hoped maybe the boar would get tired and give up. After almost five minutes of straight running, he finally had given up the idea of getting away as the boar had not gone away but had actually gained on him.

Deciding he had to fight this boar before he got tired out and it caught him, Rosario started looking for a good spot to make his stand. After a couple more minutes of running while searching Rosario saw a massive tree trunk ahead of him with roots that came a few feet off the ground and were almost a foot in diameter. As he slightly changed his path to begin heading towards the tree he began looking for the best spot to fight the boar. Seeing a small crevice created between two thick roots he thought that he might be able to make the boar charge into the tight spot behind him and get wedged allowing him to kill it.

As he got closer to the tree Rosario purposely started slowing down enough that the boar, who at this point had been chasing him at a constant clip, noticed and thought its enemy had finally tired out. With renewed vigor the boar sped up with a burst of energy ready to end the chase. Rosario kept an eye on the and steered both of them towards the tight wedge made by the roots.

Running in between the roots Rosario flipped his spear in his hands so the blade was facing the boar behind him. As he got to the tightest spot of the roots he jammed the butt end of his spear to wedge it between the ground and tree and angled the tip right at chest level of the boar.

Unable to slow its charging momentum the boar ran right onto the sharp tip of the spear impaling itself and having its momentum carry it up the spear towards Rosario. Rosario for his part realized too late how stupid of an idea this was and had thrown himself backwards once the spear had made contact. Hearing a loud squealing and thrashing in front of him Rosario opened his eyes and saw that the 3-inch wings on the end of the spear shaft had prevented the boar from moving further up the spear and impaling him with its tusks. The boar was thrashing but couldn't move much as the roots only gave it a couple inches on either side and the wedged spear didn't allow it to move forward.

Rosarios eyes met the black beady eyes of the boar and he stared at it until its thrashing finally stopped and it slumped to the ground breathing heavily. Rosario didn't move until he watched as the boar took its last breath. As it breathed its last he heard a slight ding in his head and saw the ellipsis start flashing again. Opening the screen, he read the new messages.

[Killed: Brown Boar. Evo 0, Level 3]

[Congratulations Denizen you have made your first kill. You will not receive essence automatically you need to carve out the essence stone created when the animal died, and part of its soul was left behind. Once you have the essence stone you can absorb the essence inside to fill your level or store it away to use as currency later.]

Looking at the massive boar in front of him Rosario let out a loud sigh. 'Of course, it wouldn't be easy, if I don't automatically get the essence that means that if I am in the middle of a battle or bigger fight with others I can't "power up" mid-battle unless I already have other essence stones on me.'

Standing up he walked over and grabbed the spear still lodged in the boar and thought about it going into his necklace. The spear disappeared from the boars' body allowing blood to begin gushing from the open wound. Spending a little time moving the boar onto its side in the tight confines he took out his skinning knife and began working on the underbelly removing the hide from the boar.

It took about an hour and a half for him to finish skinning the boar and then he started cutting it into chunks removing the organs and such as he went. It was not the prettiest butcher job, and the hide was in terrible condition but eventually all that was left was the boar's head. Knowing he wouldn't eat anything from the head all Rosario was interested in was checking in the head for the essence crystal. Using his bare hands, he ripped out what was left of the spine and meat surrounding it and started digging through the mush of the brain. Finally, after feeling around for a few minutes, he felt his fingertips brush against something solid that felt jagged like a rock. Curling his hand around the object he pulled his hand back out from the skull. In his hand was a pale white rock that looked like a chunk of marble.

Opening his screens after his ellipsis flashing he read the new message.

[Essence Stone: Evo 0, level 3]

[Congratulations on obtaining your first essence stone. Would you like to absorb the essence in the stone?]

[Yes/No]

"Yes"

Rosario watched curiously as the stone in his hand turned into dust particles and swept towards his forehead, seamlessly merging into his body. Not feeling anything different he opened his status screen.

[Name: Rosario ???

Title: Temporary Noble

Race: Milky Way Human

Evo 0

Level 0 (15/100)

Abyssal Body I

Mana: 0

Constitution: 33

Strength: 32

Agility: 33

Dexterity: 30

Mind Capacity: 20

Mind Processing: 21

Passive Abilities: Abyssal Body, Child of the Abyss ]

Everything looked the same except by his level instead of 0/100 there was now 15/100. Thinking back to how big the boar was and how powerful it was he glanced at the only 15 points of essence and wanted to cry. He knew he had gotten lucky in luring the boar into the cramped space between roots of this massive tree, had he fought it in the open he wasn't so sure about his victory. Taking a deep breath and calming down Rosario took out his water skin and used it to clean his hands and forearms of the boar's blood.