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– Bang! Bang! Bang!

The once quiet plain was now filled with the sounds of collisions.

The source of those collisions stemmed from the Rhino Horn and its Named Monster counterpart.

“Hey, Luna, what’s going on over there? Aren’t they teammates?”

“Well… Named Monsters aren’t seen often, so there’s just not much info…”

The Named Monster of Rhino Horn. For convenience, I’ll call it Iron Horn.

The reason for that name is that it’s darker in color than the regular, slate-gray Rhino Horn.

It was such a dark gray that it could almost be mistaken for iron, and its horns were so dark they could just as easily be called black.

“Nano-machine…?”

A meme from Earth suddenly flashed in my mind.

“What?”

“Nothing, forget it.”

Well, it was a good situation for the monsters that needed to be hunted to be fighting each other, so I decided to set aside my distractions and just watch for a bit.

– Bang! Bang!

“They really are acting as they look.”

“Yeah.”

It seemed that their only weapon was their horns, as they charged headfirst into one another with full power.

“But are herbivorous monsters supposed to be that powerful?”

“…As long as they don’t attack first, they shouldn’t be hostile, so it’s fine.”

Since both were relying on horn charges, the sound alone was ferocious.

If I had been there, I’d feel like my bones would shatter like a game of Jenga.

And before long…

– Bang!

-MooOOOOOOO━━━━━!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“Whoa…!?”

The Iron Horn let out a mighty roar, its eyes turning red for three seconds.

And the follow-up attack was shocking.

– Quang! Crack!

The horn that looked so sturdy it could withstand a Rhino Horn’s hammer was shattered in an instant.

“……!”

Luna beside me had quite the surprised expression, her eyes wide.

The fight between their materials ended in victory for the better material, Iron Horn.

In other words, I didn’t even have to compare which monster’s material was superior myself.

‘Iron Horn’s material is better.’

Shall we begin hunting soon? Just as I opened my mouth to signal Luna…

Iron Horn’s sudden action caused me to blurt out a question instead.

“Hey, Luna. Is my understanding of herbivores wrong?”

“……I’m also quite confused by the situation right now.”

Is it trying to assert its right as the victor?

I had heard that the Rhino Horn was an herbivorous monster, but the black Iron Horn over there was currently munching on the corpse of the Rhino Horn it just killed.

Paying no mind to the surroundings, it seemed to be enjoying itself, and it really looked quite delicious.

“It must be tasty. Should I ask it to leave some for us?”

“……Isn’t that what we’re supposed to hunt now? Are you not nervous?”

“Not really.”

Unfortunately, I was just not the type to feel nervous.

“Do you have a plan for how to catch it?”

“Nope.”

“……?”

Who makes plans for everything they do?

I didn’t want to live that hassle.

My world-famous father once told me,

– Life’s like that because it doesn’t go according to plan!

So I never made plans.

“I’ll handle it. Just wait for a second.”

*

Luke, who had said to wait, strode confidently toward the Iron Horn.

‘What bizarre thing is he going to do this time?’

Luna thought to herself.

Despite Luke’s claim that he couldn’t use magic, he had fought better than those with magical power.

Though his methods were always outrageous, they were consistently effective.

And when he arrived near the Iron Horn…

“Hey there, buddy. Shall we have a chat?”

‘……?’

He was unpredictable.

No one could read his thoughts or predict his actions.

That is why Luke’s appearance matched that description perfectly.

The sky above the sky; saying he was bizarre couldn’t capture the entirety of him.

“I need your horn, can you dig it up for me peacefully?”

I had never seen someone try to communicate with a monster before.

People often asked if beastmen could communicate with monsters or animals, but beastmen were still humans. There’s no way they could communicate with monsters and animals.

Just look at that monster.

It’s already hissing and about to charge at him!

Something was bound to happen soon.

And Luna’s prediction proved accurate.

Iron Horn’s eyes began to glow red again, indicating an attack was imminent.

“Luke!”

Next, the Iron Horn lunged forward, and Luke agilely dodged out of the way.

“Kieeeeeek!!! Domwangcha!!!”

What in the world is he doing? Luke suddenly began running like crazy.

And the force of Iron Horn charging after him was terrifying to behold.

“Lunaaaaaaak!!!!! Heeeelp!!!!!!!!”

Luna pressed her forehead in exasperation, letting out a deep sigh.

With him around, there was hardly a moment to relax.

“Honestly! You’re so reckless!”

Despite her tsundere demeanor, Luna immediately raised her magical power and cast a wind buff on Luke.

“Whoa!?”

Is this the sensation she always felt when they fought?

Even I, focused entirely on strength with each level up, received a boost to agility.

In gaming terms, it was the Haste spell that often gets used by those in need.

‘This feels amazing!’

Luke dashed across the plain towards the direction of the Rhino Horn.

When the Rhino Horn appeared before him, he jumped over it lightly.

Performing a somersault to boot.

That way, the Iron Horn chasing after him would crash into the side of the Rhino Horn.

Normally a gentle herbivorous monster, the Rhino Horn becomes vicious when attacked.

The attacked Rhino Horn would then engage in battle with the Iron Horn.

And then we could sit and watch as they fought nearby.

“Luna, come here for a moment.”

“……Aren’t we still in the middle of battle?”

“Nope, it’s all over.”

Luna seemed to be unsure since she had never experienced this before.

This was a straightforward hunting method that catered to busy people looking for convenience, efficiency, and profit.

It was auto-hunting.

Luke pulled popcorn out of his inventory.

“Want some?”

“When did you bring that…?”

“I bought it before going into the lodging yesterday.”

Is this really the kind of hunting he knew?

Luna felt a sense of despair.

However, there was nothing she could do, so she sat beside Luke.

‘They say watching a fight is the most fun, and it’s true.’

The sight of monsters battling each other resembled a scene from an action movie.

The sounds of crashing and the floor shaking were so impressive, even 4D couldn’t compare.

As a few minutes passed, it became apparent that the fight was nearing its conclusion.

Though it wasn’t much to see, it was quite obvious that Iron Horn had the upper hand.

“Luke, it looks almost over. What are you going to do next?”

If that fight ended, it would be our turn, and Luna was frustrated by how Luke was still munching on his popcorn.

But regardless of that, Luke says,

“Ugh, my throat is dry. I wish I had cola.”

He tossed a piece of popcorn toward the nearby Rhino Horn.

– Thud. Thud.

The popcorn hit the Rhino Horn, and when it showed no reaction, Luke began throwing more.

‘What do you want from it?’

In a world where throwing a coat hanger at someone could be considered murder, even a rational person would get angry if they kept being poked at. No matter how docile the creature was, how could a monster that moves on instinct endure that?

After about ten throws, the Rhino Horn, having taken enough popcorn, lit up with fury, searching for the one who was provoking it.

-MooOOOOOO━━━━━!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“……?”

Needless to say, Luke’s actions went unnoticed by Luna, who was startled by the suddenly enraged Rhino Horn.

Without needing to ponder, it was Luke’s fault.

Even if it’s normal for a slave to suspect their master, Luke’s odd behavior made it hard to ignore.

In most cases, it would be safe to assume whatever happens is Luke’s fault.

That was Luna’s conclusion.

“Luke, did you do something?”

And confirming her suspicions, Luke replied:

“Aggro.”

“……”

As Luke distracted it, the fight between the two came to an end.

Seeing this, Luke immediately redirected the Rhino Horn towards the Iron Horn.

Once again, the Rhino Horn and Iron Horn crashed into each other, and as the fight looked to be wrapping up, Luke would throw popcorn again, repeating the process.

“Ugh, I’m getting bored. Let’s speed things up.”

Suddenly declaring boredom, Luke began throwing popcorn around wildly.

This time, he attracted three monsters without the current fight even finishing, creating a 4-to-1 situation.

Once the bodies of six Rhino Horns had piled up on the ground…

“Whoa. Look at that, Luna. Named Monsters really are strong.”

-MooOo……

The once proud roar had turned into a whimper that sounded like a mouse trying to hide.

Iron Horn had visible bruises all over its body, as if it had been battered by a blunt object, and its once robust and imposing horns now bore small cracks.

‘……Poor thing.’

For the first time in her life, Luna felt pity for a monster seeing such a sight.

“Alright, shall we finish this up?”

All the preparations of hammering in stakes and tying ropes were rendered useless, but it ended up being more convenient, so that was a benefit.

He could retrieve that later to use again.

Brushing off his behind, Luke approached the Iron Horn.

Normally, it would be necessary for it to turn its eyes red and prepare for a charge.

But perhaps it had lost its fighting spirit or been drained from repeated battles, it seemed to be quite calm, like a well-trained puppy.

“See, if you had just listened when I talked, it would have been much better.”

And that’s why I told you not to be reckless, huh?

If it was going to die anyway, why go through the trouble of defying me?

With a rustle, the sound of slicing echoed as his head and body parted.

*

[ Level Up! Check your status! ]

[ Level Up! Check your status! ]

[ Level Up! Check your status! ]

[ Level Up! Check your status! ]

‘Oh wow, crazy, Level 5.’

That’s an unprecedented amount of experience from the monsters I’ve hunted.

“Status! Heehee~♡”

So thrilled, a weird sound escaped my lips.

[ Information ]

Name: Luke

Gender: Male

Age: 20

Magical Power: 0 / 0

Level: 24

[ Skills ]

Inventory (F)

[ Stats ]

Strength: 19

Agility: 10

Intelligence: 0

Stamina: 10

Stat Points: 5

It had been a long time since I last opened my status window.

Feeling the gradual increase in strength was a taste of growth.

The only thing that still bothers me is that my intelligence remains at 0.

It’s as if I’m telling Einstein he’s foolish.

Also, unlike before, the grade below my age had disappeared.

‘Finally, it’s gone.’

It was only logical, given that I had dropped out as soon as I possessed this body.

Chuckling as I loaded my stat points into strength, I was picking up the severed head to toss into my inventory when Luna approached from behind.

“I’ll let the blacksmith know we’re heading back.”

“What do you mean? We’re not done yet.”

“Eh…?”

“We have to kill off all the remaining ones.”

The more good materials, the better, right?

That day, merchants traveling through Jobun Plain reported seeing monster corpses with just the torsos left to the Adventurer’s Guild, sparking an investigation.

 

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