Free Web NovelChapter 20: Chapter 20: The Cave of the Gore-Boar
The cave reeked of blood, wet stone, and rotting meat.
Cold water dripped slowly from the ceiling, and thick shadows cloaked most of the lower abyss. The only light came from the glowing barrier behind the iron grate.
Lina stumbled backward, her breathing uneven as she stared at the giant cage deeper inside the cavern. Something massive moved within the darkness.
Metal chains rattled heavily.
Then the creature stepped forward.
A gore boar. The beast was enormous.
Its body looked like a walking mountain of muscle and bone. Thick black plates covered its shoulders and back like armor, while pale tusks curved from its mouth like sharpened blades. Green liquid slowly dripped from the tusks onto the stone floor, burning small holes wherever it landed.
Acid.
The monster snorted heavily, and hot breath poured from its nostrils like smoke.
Lina’s legs nearly gave out beneath her.
"T-That thing is Rank C..." she whispered weakly.
Even Marcus looked slightly uncomfortable standing near it.
His cousin smirked coldly from behind the barrier.
"Very smart," the older student said. "You should feel honored. That monster cost a fortune."
One of the hired noble students laughed.
"She’ll die before it even gets close."
Lina immediately clutched her bag tightly. Inside, Qhuin remained perfectly still.
His crimson eyes narrowed slowly as he observed the gore boar’s large, heavily armored body, which surely had poor turning speed.
The throat joints beneath the lower jaw were exposed during movement.
’So it is killable. Unfortunately, it is still annoying.
Marcus crossed his arms while staring through the barrier.
"Once the boar tears her apart, we tell the instructors she got lost in the fog."
His cousin nodded calmly.
"The ravine eats weak students every year."
Lina backed away another step.
"N-No... please..."
Her voice shook badly now.
The Gore-Boar suddenly slammed its tusks against the cage bars.
BOOOOM!!
The entire cavern trembled, Lina flinched hard.
Qhuin’s ears twitched sharply, he felt fear, real fear not just from Lina, but also for himself.
’I’m scared?? Me!!. Impossible he questioned himself
But he knows that he was because for the first time since his rebirth, he truly did not know if he could win.
Marcus crossed his arms while staring through the barrier.
"Once the boar tears her apart, we tell the instructors she got lost in the fog."
His cousin nodded calmly.
"The ravine eats weak students every year."
Lina backed away another step.
"N-No... please..." her voice now shook badly.
The Gore-Boar suddenly slammed its tusks against the cage bars.
BOOOOM!!
The entire cavern trembled, and Lina flinched hard.
Qhuin’s ears twitched sharply; he felt fear, real fear—not just from Lina but also for himself.
’I’m scared?? Me!!" He questioned himself.
But he knew he was because, for the first time since his rebirth, he truly did not know if he could win.
The boar was far above his current level.
Outside of Combat Mode, this rabbit’s body remained weak, and the pressure of the beast rank affected him.
Marcus’s cousin slowly pulled a heavy lever beside the cage.
CLANK.
The cage door unlocked.
A low growl rumbled through the cavern. The Gore-Boar stepped out slowly, and stone cracked beneath its weight.
Lina’s face went completely pale.
The monster lowered its head.
Then charged.
BOOOOM!!
The cave floor exploded beneath its hooves as the giant beast rushed toward her like a living battering ram.
Lina froze completely, her mind went blank—the pressure from the massive beast charging at her made her unable to move.
Qhuin’s instincts screamed. freewebnovёl.ƈom
The System reacted instantly.
A crimson warning screen exploded across his vision.
[System Warning: Host Contractor in Mortal Peril.]
[Temporary Authorization Granted.]
[Skill Activated: Combat Mode.]
[Timer: 01:00]
The world suddenly slowed.
Crimson mana erupted from Qhuin’s small rabbit body like smoke bursting from burning paper.
Lina gasped in shock.
The fluffy white rabbit in her arms exploded into black and red shadows.
His fluffy white fur darkened in seconds; the soft snow-like coat became sleeker and rougher, streaked with thin crimson lines pulsing faintly like veins beneath his skin. His body stretched taller and leaner, losing the round, harmless shape of a pet rabbit.
His hind legs became longer and packed with tight muscles built for explosive speed. Sharp crimson claws slid from his paws, scraping sparks against the stone floor.
The biggest change was his eyes.
The cute, round rabbit eyes were gone.
In their place burned two narrow crimson slits glowing deep within the darkness covering his face—more like the gaze of something ancient staring out from the abyss.
Black smoke wrapped around his body like a living cloak, drifting behind him whenever he moved. His long ears remained upright, but the tips had turned dark red, twitching slightly as they tracked every heartbeat in the cave.
Even his teeth had changed.
When he opened his mouth slightly, thin vampire fangs glimmered beneath the crimson mist.
He still looked like a hare,
But no normal creature would mistake him for prey again.
Marcus’s smirk disappeared instantly.
"What the hell—"
BOOOOM!!
The Gore-Boar crashed directly into the stone wall where Lina had been standing moments earlier.
The transformed Qhuin moved so fast he looked like a flicker of red light in the darkness.
Lina collapsed onto the ground in shock, her eyes trembling as she stared at him.
Qhuin landed several meters away silently.
Even he froze for half a second.
This feeling, he felt powerful; his muscles felt light, making him fast.
The Combat Mode was revealing the true physical form of his Blood-Seeker Hare evolution, hidden beneath the system’s forced cute disguise.
’Finally,’ Qhuin’s mouth curled slightly.
No fluff. No stupid twitching nose or soft paws.
’Much better.’
The Gore-Boar turned toward him with an angry roar, acid dripping from its tusks onto the floor.
Qhuin’s smile faded as he crouched low.
’Still dare to act arrogant before this great one!’ he thought.
Then he vanished.
BOOM!!
A shockwave exploded behind him as he accelerated forward.
Marcus’s cousin’s eyes widened.
"He disappeared?!"
The transformed hare appeared beside the boar instantly, and his claws slashed across one of its legs.
Blood sprayed.
The Gore-Boar roared painfully before swinging its massive tusks sideways.
Qhuin leapt upward.
The acidic tusks barely missed his body by inches.
He flipped through the air before landing directly onto the creature’s armored back.
The boar thrashed violently.
Qhuin’s claws dug deep into the gaps between its bone plates.
[Blood Predator Activated.]
The world sharpened instantly.
He could hear the blood pumping through the beast’s arteries, see the weak points beneath the muscle, and the beast’s heartbeat.
’Found you.’
Qhuin lunged downward.
His claws tore into the thick flesh beneath the creature’s jaw.
Blood exploded across the cave floor.
The Gore-Boar screamed.
A deep, horrible sound.
Qhuin ripped through the throat tendons before sinking his fangs into the wound.
Hot mana-rich blood flooded his mouth instantly.
The System devoured it.
[Blood Energy Gained: +148]
The Gore-Boar slammed itself against the cave walls desperately, trying to throw him off.
Stone shattered everywhere, but Qhuin held on.
His glowing red eyes burned inside the darkness while black smoke poured from his body.
The monster’s movements became sluggish and weaker.
Its legs started shaking.
Then—
BOOOOM!!
The massive creature crashed onto the cave floor.
Lifeless.
Silence filled the abyss.
Blood spread slowly across the stone beneath the giant corpse.
Qhuin stood on top of the Gore-Boar’s back while dark crimson mana drifted around his body like smoke.
The transformed hare looked terrifying beneath the dim cave light.
Marcus’s cousin stumbled backward unconsciously.
The hired thugs looked completely frozen.
Even Marcus had gone pale.
Qhuin slowly turned his glowing eyes toward them.
The cave suddenly felt much colder.
Then a system timer flashed across his vision.
[Combat Mode Remaining: 00:15]
Fifteen seconds left.
