The Blood Mountain Tiger
The Blood Mountain Tiger's location was always fixed.
A massive cave deep within the forest.
If you used the sun's position to set your direction properly, there was no chance of getting lost.
After passing through the coniferous trees rising from the ground, a towering cliff came into view.
Below it sat an enormous cave.
This was the Blood Mountain Tiger's lair.
“Bingo.”
I smiled faintly as I approached the cave.
The cave was shrouded in complete darkness.
As I drew closer, a pair of red eyes flashed from within the shadows.
“Grrrr!”
A thunderous roar.
It wasn't a 'skill' like the Wolf King Serin's, but the predatory killing intent packed into that roar still sent a jolt through my entire body.
My hairs stood on end.
A single bead of sweat trickled down my spine.
A single tiger emerged lazily from the cave.
Its massive body reminded me of a Jeep vehicle.
Its fangs and claws radiated a chilling sharpness, and the vivid red stripes running across its fur evoked the image of fresh blood.
The Blood Mountain Tiger.
The ruler of the forest had revealed itself.
Eagle's Eye activated.
The opponent is overwhelmingly stronger than you.
My entire field of vision was dyed red.
Even though I had raised my stats through Devour, I still fell far short of the Blood Mountain Tiger.
I grinned.
I already knew the tiger was stronger than me.
This monster was on a completely different level from boss monsters like the Wolf King Serin, the Deep Slime, or the Talon Flame.
Overwhelming specs.
And a wide variety of attack patterns.
Let your guard down for even a single moment, and you'd die.
I swallowed hard.
This was it.
The feeling of walking on thin ice.
This spine-chilling tension was exactly the sensation that made me feel truly alive.
Before my regression.
Whenever I stood on the battlefield, I always had to maintain just the right amount of tension.
Facing the Blood Mountain Tiger brought those memories flooding back.
A deep smile spread across my lips.
The Blood Mountain Tiger swept its red eyes over my entire body, left to right.
“What time do you think it is, sleeping like a log in a cave?”
“Look at this beast acting all cocky.”
I raised my right hand and beckoned with my fingers.
“Come at me. Stop pretending to be some relaxed powerhouse.”
The Blood Mountain Tiger charged straight at me, radiating thick killing intent.
Did I poke the bear a little too hard?
The sheer speed reminded me of the Talon Flame’s charge, but the raw power was even greater.
It felt like a dump truck flooring the accelerator and barreling straight toward me.
No.
Considering this thing’s physical abilities, getting hit by a dump truck might actually be safer.
When the distance between us closed to ten meters, the Blood Mountain Tiger kicked off the ground.
It flew toward me in a wide arc.
A front paw as thick as a log hurtled toward my head.
If I took that head-on, everything above my shoulders would vanish without a trace.
I bent forward at the waist.
The paw, swung diagonally, grazed past my back.
This isn’t the end.
I extended my right leg diagonally and twisted my body’s axis to the right.
Whoosh!
The sound of rushing wind deafened my ears.
The Blood Mountain Tiger immediately followed up with its left paw.
The front paw that missed me by a hair’s breadth shook the air and rattled my eardrums.
The tiger’s belly was now completely exposed.
Thanks to dodging the charge with minimal movement, I had spotted its weakness.
Not yet.
Instead of attacking, I twisted my body once more.
Crack!
The Blood Mountain Tiger’s tail, which had been behind it, whipped downward like a lash and slammed into the ground.
It had originally been aimed at me, but I had predicted all three attacks and evaded them by the narrowest margin.
Ratatat— Stone fragments struck by the tail scattered in every direction.
Thorn Carapace
My endurance stat had increased, but there was no need to take hits with my bare body.
The thorns sprouting around the carapace scraped against the Blood Mountain Tiger’s skin.
Its hide was tough and resilient.
There was a tearing sound, but the scratched area only turned slightly red. No real damage was done.
It was nothing more than a faint graze.
“You’re the one who charged first, idiot.”
At this point, I had a decent grasp of the Blood Mountain Tiger’s specs.
Its strength, agility, and reaction speed.
I would have to risk my life, but it wasn’t an opponent I couldn’t defeat.
Agile Hind Legs
I immediately kicked off the ground and created distance.
The Blood Mountain Tiger came charging after me in a frenzy.
Fierce Charge
The Blood Mountain Tiger’s entire body turned crimson.
It should have had a brief delay after its previous charge, but it overcame it with the skill.
“Escape? Why would I do something boring like that?”
I activated Agile Hind Legs in rapid succession.
My thighs swelled as if they would burst.
Using it twice in a row made my overworked muscles scream, but I endured it.
A red trail chased after me.
The Blood Mountain Tiger stuck close while maintaining its skill.
The moment my feet touched the ground.
The red trail that had wrapped around the tiger’s body also faded away.
The range of Fierce Charge was one hundred meters.
Right after using it, there was a penalty where the tiger’s movements slowed due to intense stamina consumption.
That was exactly what I had been aiming for.
Thanks for moving exactly as predicted.
The Blood Mountain Tiger’s movements had noticeably dulled.
Sharp Claws
Monstrous Strength
Slash!
My blue-glowing claws tore wildly through its hide.
With three hundred percent amplified strength, I ripped into the Blood Mountain Tiger’s foreleg.
“KRRRRAAAAH!”
A scream filled with agony.
A long gash was carved into the tiger’s forearm.
Crunch. My claws caught on bone.
If I applied more force here, I could completely sever the foreleg, but—
I’d die if I got greedy.
I didn’t push my luck and retreated.
The left paw swung a beat too late.
The sound of air being torn apart vibrated my eardrums once again.
If that had hit me, the fight would have ended in a single blow.
Thick killing intent flooded the Blood Mountain Tiger’s eyes.
“What? Did that hurt a little?”
Already making that face? I’m just getting started.
It’s going to hurt a lot more from now on, so hold back those tears.
* * *
There’s an old saying about pulling the whiskers of a sleeping tiger.
Wait, was it a lion instead of a tiger?
Anyway, I was learning firsthand that the words of the ancient sages were never wrong.
“Grrrrr!”
The Blood Mountain Tiger’s paw grazed past my hair.
It had only brushed me, yet my skull rang slightly.
The overwhelming difference in specs!
I had wounded one of its forelegs early in the fight, but I was the one being pushed back.
“Stop calling me that already.”
The killing intent covering the Blood Mountain Tiger’s eyes grew even thicker.
Hey, when you say it with both eyes blazing like that, it just makes me want to run even more.
Boom—! The number of furrows gouged into the ground kept increasing.
All the Blood Mountain Tiger’s doing.
The power behind its claws was so immense that even boulders shattered under them.
If I let my guard down for even a second, it wouldn’t be the rocks or ground getting torn apart—it would be my own body.
Energy Bolt
The blue orb that formed in my palm shot forward.
Thud. The Energy Bolt failed to tear through the Blood Mountain Tiger’s thick hide and only managed to slightly scorch its surface.
I need to keep my distance until the bastard shows an opening.
The Blood Mountain Tiger wasn’t as simple as the Wolf King Serin or the Deep Slime.
Every movement was mixed with feints and killing blows, as if it had trained in martial arts.
Its physical abilities were also far superior to mine. If I clumsily tried to exploit a gap, I’d get counterattacked instead.
In that sense, the Mana Deer’s Energy Bolt was the perfect skill for maintaining a safe distance while harassing the opponent.
“Grrr! Grrrr!”
The Blood Mountain Tiger roared with fierce rage.
Its right foreleg was injured, so it was limping slightly, but it still charged with terrifying momentum.
The speed was so fast that if I hadn’t been carefully watching the movement of its leg muscles, I would have been hit with no time to dodge.
Thorn Carapace continuously carved shallow wounds into the charging tiger’s skin.
It wasn’t intentional—its speed was simply so great that it kept throwing itself onto the thorns.
Sharp Claws
Right after it swung its front paw wide, I slipped past and carved a long wound into its flank.
“Krrraaah!”
The Blood Mountain Tiger twisted its massive body.
At the same time, the tail behind it drew a parabola and slammed into my abdomen.
Thorn Carapace durability has decreased by 63%.
The deeply dented carapace.
It seemed the carapace alone couldn’t fully absorb the force behind the tail strike. I was sent flying twenty meters backward.
“Ugh!”
A groan forced its way past my lips.
It hurt like hell.
Even with Thorn Carapace active, getting hit by that tail made it hard to breathe.
An attack that shaved off more than half the carapace’s durability.
This was the first time I’d taken such a shock since the tutorial stage.
“Khh… Haa…”
I kept panting as I tried to steady my breathing.
Both feet are planted on the ground. Blessing of the Earth Mother Goddess is activated.
Wounds and expended stamina are recovering rapidly.
The Blessing of the Earth Mother Goddess quickly stabilized my ragged breathing.
As expected of a divine blessing!
“KRRRAAAAH!”
By the time the Blood Mountain Tiger charged again, my breathing had returned to normal.
My abdomen was still sore, but it didn’t hinder my movements at all.
I threw my body to the side by a hair’s breadth, dodging the tiger’s charge.
Energy Bolt
I charged the orb with mana for two full seconds before firing it.
Shuuuak!
The Energy Bolt dug into the wound I had created earlier.
Smoke rose from the long, torn gash.
This time, it actually had an effect.
“KAUUU!”
The Blood Mountain Tiger let out a pained scream.
Its excellent defense and magic resistance only applied to its hide.
It was worth going all out to create that long wound.
This battle will be won through persistence.
I swallowed hard.
The fight with the Blood Mountain Tiger continued for dozens of minutes after that.
As the battle dragged on, the number of wounds carved into its body steadily increased.
The Blood Mountain Tiger wasn’t just taking hits either.
Carapace durability has been completely exhausted.
The durability had been drastically reduced.
Even though it had only been lightly grazed by the tiger’s claw, the impact area was covered in countless cracks.
As expected, it never let me relax for even a moment.
Through the shattered carapace, the claw tore into my flesh.
Splurt— Wounds appeared on my shoulder, forearm, and torso.
They were sharp cuts, as if sliced by a blade.
I endured the pain and continued exchanging blows with the Blood Mountain Tiger.
“Grrrr…”
About an hour after the battle began, the Blood Mountain Tiger was panting with clear signs of exhaustion.
Its fur was soaked in blood.
Red liquid kept flowing from the wounds created by Sharp Claws and Energy Bolt.
On the other hand, my condition was relatively fine.
Aside from being drenched in sweat, that is.
Most of the wounds the Blood Mountain Tiger had inflicted had healed thanks to the Blessing of the Earth Mother Goddess.
It was also thanks to Carapace protecting me as much as possible that I had avoided any fatal injuries.
I guess I won’t end up like I did before my regression.
After fighting for over an hour, my concentration was starting to run dry.
Before my regression, I could fight for days on end without issue.
It seemed this part couldn’t be overcome with mental strength alone.
“Why are you struggling to talk? Just rest now.”
The staggering Blood Mountain Tiger.
It looked like it no longer had the strength to charge.
I overcharged mana into Energy Bolt.
The blue orb swelled to its maximum size.
I aimed the tip directly at the crown of the Blood Mountain Tiger’s head and released it.