Chapter Twenty Three: Patience is also a strength

I realized something after fighting with all those monsters. It’s obvious that my experience level rises after defeating each monster, but something else was involved as well—something deeper. That is my abilities. Before I was capable of defeating the spider, my skin was weak to physical attacks. But after I defeated it, my skin toughened, protecting me against blows just like the spider’s own armored hide.
I then made a hypothesis based on that. In games from my world, dropped items are used to strengthen one’s self and equipment. What if the first stone I picked was absorbed by my body? And by doing that, I became able to defend against physical attacks just like the monster that dropped it.
It clearly makes a lot of sense.
The second evidence was my jumping power. I’m now able to leap frightening distances, both vertically and horizontally, with only the slightest movement. While fighting the two gazelles at the same time earlier, I constantly ran away from them. I realized my new ability when they closed in on me. I thought they were going to gore me, so I jumped. With that leap, I covered ten meters in a single bound—but ended up crashing face-first into a tree. I wasn’t expecting that to happen.
This means that the horns and stones from the gazelle yesterday, which mysteriously vanished, were actually absorbed into my body.
And from all that, I arrived at a conclusion: the first dropped item from each monster gets absorbed by my body. After that, I can kill as many as I want and the items won’t disappear. Simply because I already have their abilities.
The skin toughness came from the spider. The incredible jump came from the gazelle. Then what about the gazelle’s horns that got absorbed? Maybe I’ll have horns growing on my head? I don’t want that!!
“Shooo!” A swift sound cut through the air past my right ear.
“Huh…?” What happened?
When I touched my ear with my left hand, I felt something wet.
“What’s this? Is it raining?”
I looked at my fingers. They were smeared with red. Blood. Did it rain blood? Or was this coming from my… ear?
Bad-ump! Bad-ump!
“I’m such a fool!!” I roared, leaping wildly between two trees with my uncontrolled newfound strength.
I zoned out for a moment. How could I forget the kangaroo was preparing its attack right in front of me!?
This all happened because I was busy thinking about the new abilities I had acquired. After defeating the five monsters and making contact with the kangaroo, I spaced out when it was right in front of me—standing like an idiot, daydreaming about what ability I would gain from absorbing the gazelle’s horns.
“Now you’ve made me angry!! Forget about the gazelle horn—I’m taking whatever you have!!!”
But that proved impossible. In seconds after I charged at the kangaroo with my sword, the blade was slapped from my grip and clattered to the ground. Blood trickled into my eyes. My vision blurred.
What the hell…?
When I attacked the monster, it moved like a professional world-class boxer. It weaved effortlessly, dodging every swing I threw. Then it countered with lightning jabs to my face—pistons of raw force, one after another. Using both fists, it pummeled me mercilessly, each gap in my defense punished with a storm of blows. A single movement from it delivered ten punches.
Blinded, battered, I released my grip on the sword. It hit the ground, and I couldn’t even stoop to pick it up. Then its right fist slammed into my gut, knocking the air out of me. I bent down in agony—only for an uppercut to rocket me half a meter into the air. I hit the dirt, flat, and darkness swallowed me.
When I came to, the monster leaned against a tree with its arms crossed, calm and composed, just like a boxer returning to his corner.
It was waiting for me to rise.
How can this be? My body had been hardened after I absorbed the spider’s stone. Could it all have been just my imagination? Or was the difference in our levels simply too vast?
But I refused to believe that. I staggered up. The kangaroo stepped in, its footwork sharp and graceful, and knocked me down again. Over and over, no matter how many times I rose, the same result followed.
“Baam!!” After the twentieth knockout, I sprawled on the ground, broken.
“I give up!” I croaked. “Why shouldn’t I? Am I some kind of movie protagonist?”
Satisfied, the monster turned its back on me and hopped away. Pitied me.
I lay there for thirty minutes before my swollen face returned to normal. The moment I could stand, I bolted toward the barrier.
“Like hell I’m going to wait for you to come back!!”
I ran past the melted ground, into the gazelle fields swarming with beasts. One of them leapt high, horns aimed at my chest.
“Move away!!” I roared, lowering my head and bracing for impact.
“Clack!!” A sharp crack rang out.
“…!!” My eyes widened in shock.
The gazelle was engulfed in flames, its horns shattered into fragments.
“This is…” My heart raced. Had I found a new weapon?
One by one, I headbutted them into oblivion. Each shattered horn ignited in hellfire, killing them instantly.
“Amazing!!” So I wasn’t wrong—my body really does absorb their abilities!
By the time darkness fell, I had gathered their drops and returned to the spot where I hid my earlier finds.
The horns were enormous, nearly twenty centimeters across each, coiled like deadly sculptures. I stuffed twelve into each arm and crammed the stones into my pockets and shirt, bulging like I had swallowed a barrel.
When I reached the spider zone, I found more than usual crawling about.
“Damn you… I don’t have time for this.”
They blocked the way, spread across the field, huge trees hemming me in. With no safe path, I held my loot tight and jumped again and again, bounding past them until I escaped their reach.
At last, I crossed the barrier, a heavy sense of triumph weighing on me as much as the horns. Mission complete.
“If only that kangaroo didn’t bully me to no end… Just you wait, I’ll get you tomorrow!!” I yelled toward the forest.
Back in my room, I stashed the loot under my bed. Stones, horns—everything for Leila. One day, I’d free her with the mountain of treasures I gathered.
Too tired for a bath, I wolfed down some food and collapsed into sleep. Tomorrow, I would kill that kangaroo.
It’s now been five days since I made Leila cry. Not that I’m in any position to remember that right now!
“Why the hell can’t I land a single hit on this kangaroo!!!??”
It was becoming impossible for me to fight this monster with my sword. Its dodging ability was beyond that of even an elite professional boxer.
I tried fighting it yesterday as well. My face swelled grotesquely from all the punches I had received. The only mercy was that, whenever I was knocked out, it never finished me off. Before coming here, I always made sure to defeat plenty of the weaker monsters. From yesterday to now, I had slain more than thirty. But no matter what I tried, I just couldn’t hit this kangaroo with my sword. Yesterday, it achieved a flawless victory against me.
But not today. Today I fight.
And so I decided. If I can’t hit it with my sword, then I have no choice but to fight fire with fire. I will use my fists.
After it knocked me out again and leaned against a tree, waiting as always, I stood up. This time, no sword in my hand. Instead, I bounced lightly on my feet. I copied its movements—its careful legwork, its poised stance.
My left leg slid in front of my right. Being right-handed, this would maximize the momentum of my punches. Slowly, I began throwing jabs. One after another, my fists snapped through the air. Each jab grew faster, sharper.
Seeing this, the kangaroo responded in kind.
The trees around us seemed to form a natural ring. Four meters of open square ground enclosed by towering trunks. The sand beneath our feet was soft, like an arena floor.
Strange, yes—but I’d seen stranger things already. If the monster before me was a boxer, then surely it had conjured this ring itself.
I weaved just like it did. Step by step, the distance between us closed.
“Shoo! Shoo!” Its punches sliced past me, sharp as daggers. Yet they weren’t as fast as before. For the first time, I felt as though it was teaching me. Testing me.
My abnormal stamina carried me further than any normal man could endure. Knockdown after knockdown, I rose again. Today, determination anchored me. I swore to land even a single hit.
Every monster I had fought before proved impossible the first time. Yet, once I grasped their movements, they fell. This kangaroo would be no different.
Two hours passed since I let go of my sword. The sun was dipping, painting the trees in orange fire. Around now was when I usually met Leila. About 5pm.
Sweat drenched me. My arms burned. But I dodged its punches now—dodged them cleanly.
Yet still, I could not strike it.
I refused to quit. If there was no referee here, then there was no bell to save either of us. This was a fight to the end.
I waited. Its right fist came at my mouth, sharp and certain. At the last second, I caught it with my left hand. I yanked hard, pulling it toward me. Its balance faltered, its head following the tug.
My right fist was clenched and waiting, but I didn’t use it. Instead, I thrust my head back, then rammed it forward.
Crack!!
The collision thundered through the ring.
“KIII!!” it screamed, its forehead split open.
“I… I did it!!” I bellowed.
Pain shot through my skull, but the surge of strength flooding me was intoxicating.
Staggering back with its eyes clenched shut, the kangaroo tried to recover. I didn’t let the chance slip. With another mighty leap, I crashed forward, slamming my head into its skull again.
“KIIIII!!!” It howled, louder this time, its body flailing backward and collapsing under the force.
This was my moment. My sword lay only a few meters away. I glanced at it, knowing this was the perfect chance to finish the fight.
But before I could act, the kangaroo rose again.
Something about it had changed.
Its pouch had torn wide open. But instead of flesh, there was only darkness. A black abyss gaped from its belly. From that pit, long serrated teeth sprouted outward like a second mouth.
“KAAM!! KAAM!!” The jagged maw snapped furiously, chewing at the empty air.
So this is your true form?
I clenched my fists. Logically, I thought, a mouth on its belly couldn’t hurt me unless I put my hand in it. Its body wasn’t protruded enough to reach me otherwise.
But I was wrong.
The kangaroo’s movements turned savage. Rough. Frenzied. It left more openings, and I punished them with solid punches across its jaw. I landed four in a row and thought victory was near.
Then I caught a blur of movement.
Something lashed upward from its belly. I jumped back instinctively. Sand sprayed beneath my feet as I soared meters away.
The blur wasn’t its leg.
It was the mouth.
The horrific maw stretched outward like a massive snake tethered to its body. Its fangs clattered with a chilling “Clack Clack,” biting the air with unnatural hunger.
Now this—this was what a true monster looked like.
It lunged at me from a distance, its mouth whipping through the air. I could no longer close in. My only option was the sword.
I dashed, the maw snapping behind me, and dove for the blade. Snatching it up, I spun to face the abomination.
The kangaroo stood still at the far edge of the ring, its long mouth writhing toward me like a serpent. Every slash of my sword cut into the flesh, but each time it regenerated instantly, snapping again, hungrier than before.
It wasn’t after me.
It was after my sword. Trying to devour it.
I gritted my teeth. I couldn’t allow this. If I lost the blade, I was finished.
Meanwhile, I realized the truth—the monster was buying time. While I fended off its serpent-mouth, the main body was healing its wounds.
I had to end this. Now.
I made my decision. I would defeat this monster even if I had to lose every limb in the process.
The next time the mouth lunged, I raised my right arm high, baiting it. It came fast, jaws wide, aiming to rip off my arm.
But I was ready.
At the last instant, I shifted my blade and slashed low, carving deep into the length of the mouth just beneath its teeth.
“SKRRRAAK!!”
The appendage tore free, crashing to the ground in a heap of blood and fur.
“KIII!!” The kangaroo shrieked in agony, clutching at itself.
Now!
I bounded forward in a zigzag, never giving its eyes a chance to follow my trajectory. In a blink, I was before it.
My sword arced high above my head, then swung down with all the force I could muster.
The kangaroo raised its arms to block. Perfect. That’s exactly what I wanted.
Midair, I twisted my grip. The blade shifted horizontally, slipping past its guard. With a sickening shhhhkk, the steel sank deep beneath its neck.
In the same motion, momentum carried the blade through both its wrists.
Its head toppled, rolling across the dirt. Its arms followed.
Then, in silence, the body collapsed.
The fur, the flesh, the monstrous pouch-mouth—all of it dissolved into flame, leaving only one item. A pair of red gloves.
I knew instantly what to do. I picked them up, and light flared from my hands. The gloves dissolved, merging with me.
A thrill coursed through me. Would I gain its boxing skill? Its agility? I clenched my fists, trembling with anticipation.
As the last ember faded, another item fell. A stone—same size as the others, but lighter, less dark. The moment I touched it, it too dissolved into me.
“Phew!!!” I staggered, wiping sweat from my face. “I don’t think I’ve ever fought this hard before.”
It was a sweet victory. My victory.
The next day, I repeated my usual hunt. The loot from yesterday stacked high: 24 spider stones, 14 gazelle stones, 14 pairs of horns. As for the kangaroo, today its drops would be mine. They wouldn’t vanish like before.
I reached its area and found a single kangaroo resting under a tree. Without hesitation, I lunged, my sword swinging for its neck.
It ducked and landed an uppercut on my chin.
But unlike yesterday, I dropped my sword immediately. My fists blurred faster than its. My boxing skills now surpassed the monster’s. Before its pouch could open, it was already down.
I defeated two more with ease. Confidence swelled in me. Too much confidence.
Deeper I wandered into the forest.
That’s when the air changed.
The atmosphere grew heavy, suffocating. The towering trees gave way to an endless field of flowers. And there… I felt it.
A familiar aura.
I turned toward it. A blinding light erupted, followed by a deafening explosion.
BOOOOOM!!
The ground quaked. Heat scorched my skin. Smoke and dust devoured the sky.
Just centimeters from me, a massive crater yawned open, stretching endlessly into the distance.
My head turned slowly, stiff as a machine. The trail of destruction went on and on—until it slammed into the capital’s barrier itself.
Everything in its path—over a kilometer—was annihilated.
Flap. Flap.
Wings.
I looked up.
Hovering above me, wings spread wide, was a nightmare. Its long drill-like horn gleamed, aimed straight at me.
“Nooooo!!!!” I screamed, leaping wildly, bounding away as fast as my legs could carry me.
It was the Winged Freezer.
By some miracle, I escaped with my life. Stumbling through the barrier, I turned back.
The forest behind me was gone. Burned, blackened, nothing but ruin stretched for miles.
“I’ve had enough of this… I’m going back to the town!!”