How to survive as a beggar count

Chapter 6

Even while lying down, the boar’s height was just under 2 meters.

From the tip of its tail to the top of its head, it was at least 3 meters long.

I quickly checked the length of the dagger I brought. Even with the handle, it was only about the length of my forearm.

With this, even if I stabbed it a hundred times, I’d barely scratch its skin.

‘Ugh…’

I lowered my body further and muffled my movements.

The horned boar, still on high alert, seemed to think the area was safe and began eagerly munching on the fruits scattered around.

While I could clearly see the back of its neck, I wasn’t sure if my short dagger could deal with it.

This was the meat I’d been searching for.

But if I became too distracted by eating and didn’t pay attention to my surroundings, I could end up dead.

‘Should I come back later…?’

“Purrk?”

Just as I was considering retreating…

The boar, which had been focused on eating, suddenly stopped moving.

“Huff, huff!”

It stopped eating and started sniffing the air, looking around. Eventually, it lifted its head.

I froze, holding my breath, and our eyes met.

“Ck-rrrk!”

As if it had spotted me, the boar let out a threatening roar.

‘…Dammit.’

Nothing ever goes according to plan.

I had erased all signs of my presence perfectly. The problem was my body.

Years of drinking more alcohol than water had probably left me with the scent of it still lingering.

‘It can’t be helped. I’ll just pretend to leave and get out of here…’

“Purrk! Purrk!”

Suddenly, the boar made strange movements.

I had thought it would flee because it was so cautious. But instead, it just stood still, staring at me.

“Purrk! Purrk!”

It made an unsettling sound, as if taunting me.

“Could it be…?”

The boar wasn’t speaking human language, but I could feel it.

It was looking at me like I was just a helpless traveler who had climbed a tree to avoid other wild animals, not a hunter out to catch it.

“Ha.”

To think I’d be disrespected by a wild animal. It was humiliating.

“Grrk! Grrk!”

The boar stomped the ground a few times before tilting its head up toward the tree I was sitting in. Then, it rammed its head into the base of the tree with all its might.

Thud!

“Wah!”

Even though the tree was large enough that my arms couldn’t fully wrap around it, the boar’s head caused it to shake violently.

It thought I was its prey, not just a human, but a rare treat compared to the sweet fruits it usually ate.

The boar wasn’t very smart, even for its size. No matter how big it was, it couldn’t uproot the tree I was perched in.

If I could hold out for half a day, it would likely give up and leave.

But—

To just run away after being treated like this? My pride wouldn’t allow it.

I thought back to my past as Lee Jin-soo.

In my former life, I had defeated a massive behemoth with a single sword.

It wasn’t a metaphor.

The thing was so massive I first mistook it for a mountain.

The way I took it down was simple.

The vital spot.

No matter how huge it was, the body’s core wasn’t proportional to its size.

By plunging my sword deep into its chest and destroying its heart, the beast collapsed with a single blow.

“Grrrk!”

The horned boar in front of me wasn’t that different.

It was large, but compared to the behemoth, it was more like a mosquito.

If I could pierce its vital spot with the dagger, it would fall with one strike.

“Grrr…”

‘If I tolerate this humiliation, I’ll be an idiot.’

I focused my mana into the hand gripping the dagger.

“Ugh…”

The pain in my lungs made it hard to concentrate.

I wanted to draw my Orior Sword, but that was impossible. The Orior Sword could only be used after reaching swordsmanship rank 4.

However, I could at least mimic something similar.

I had used even stronger skills in the past.

The little bit of mana I had gathered caused the blade to flicker faintly.

With my current meager mana, this was my limit.

But this was enough to slightly increase the piercing power.

It was still a bit lacking to penetrate the boar’s heart with this.

Then, my target became its neck.

Fortunately, since it had already slammed its head into the tree, it was much easier to aim for that spot.

I aimed the dagger at the spot and jumped down.

Die!

Screech!

With the added weight of the tall tree, the blade struck the boar.

Thud!

“Quu-ick!”

It hit. But—

“Quu-ick!”

“Huh?”

Unfortunately, I didn’t sever its windpipe. The boar’s body lifted into the air, and I felt a rush of dizziness.

Crash!

With a loud noise, my body was thrown to the ground, rolling.

I managed to curl up at the last second to reduce the impact, avoiding any broken bones.

However, the ligaments in my left shoulder seemed to stretch, causing excruciating pain.

“Ugh…!”

“Quu-ick!”

The attack hadn’t missed, though. The boar was bleeding from the large wound on its neck.

But the real problem was the dagger.

In my right hand, only the handle of Althea’s dagger remained, the blade broken off.

“Dammit…”

Had I overexerted myself? A burning pain ran through my muscles.

And all of this… for just one horned boar? To risk my life like this for a single boar?

“Gruuuk…”

The boar, still with the dagger lodged in its neck, began moving again. Blood was spurting from the wound.

Its gaze was different now. No longer that of a prey animal, but the steely gaze of a fighter.

It dug its hooves into the ground, lowering its horns in my direction.

Thud…

If I took that attack, it would be the end. The boar’s horns would impale me, and I’d die.

It, too, would eventually die from the wounds, but it didn’t matter. I’d be dead either way.

I had no weapon, and I didn’t have the rank to deal a real blow.

A blow from a rank 1 magic user couldn’t sever its windpipe.

“Heh…”

In the face of this dire crisis, I couldn’t help but laugh.

How long had it been since I fought so desperately?

It was nothing like the months I spent starving to death, unable to do anything.

Compared to that, this was better. At least I wasn’t dying without being able to fight back.

“Come at me, you pig!”

“Gruuuk!”

The boar charged at me.

It looked exhausted, and I could see it putting all its remaining strength into its charge.

Crash!

I didn’t try to dodge its attack but took it head-on.

“Ugh!”

The heavy impact made my body rise slightly, but I held onto the boar’s horns, resisting with all my strength.

Even so, my calculations were right.

I was able to withstand it.

My hands were covered in a mix of its blood and mine.

The boar was far more resilient than I expected. To be alive and still moving after losing so much blood was incredible.

“Quu-ick! Quu-ick!”

The boar shook its head violently, trying to dislodge me. If I fell off, I’d be crushed in its jaws.

“Ugh!”

I wasn’t about to give in without a fight. I squeezed every bit of strength I had, clinging to the horns.

Then, I shoved my hand into the boar’s mouth. If I couldn’t pierce its skin, I’d attack from the inside.

Soft flesh filled my hand. I then cast a spell.

It was a basic spell, something a rank 1 mage could use.

A thin, thread-like arrow made of fire.

Fire Bolt!

Mana gathered around my right hand, and I felt a warm energy.

At first glance, it didn’t seem like it would be enough to take down a massive boar. Against its thick hide, the fire would barely scorch the surface.

But if I pierced its flesh and released the magic inside?

It would heat up its innards, cooking them from the inside.

I released the Fire Bolt inside the boar’s mouth.

Sizzl-sss!

“Ugh…”

My hand felt as though it was burning, but I gritted my teeth and endured it.

If I was taking damage like this, the boar was probably getting even worse damage.

“Quu-ick!”

Sizz…

A delicious scent of grilled meat rose from the boar’s mouth.

That smell made me put in even more effort. Once I killed this thing, I’d be able to eat.

A mountain of pork belly!

Sizz!

“…Quu-ick!”

“Just die already!”

It would have been great if the boar had just handed over the pork belly.

Instead, it struggled even harder to shake me off, putting up a final desperate fight.

Boom!

I heard a sound as if something had exploded. At the same time, my mana was depleted.

Could it be… that I’m really going to die like this? It’s not like I’m dying fighting some great enemy.

Just a horned boar? That’s over the top!

Thud!

“…Huh?”

Dark red blood exploded from the boar’s nose and mouth.

Fortunately, the boar collapsed and finally stopped moving.

I almost died without even getting to taste the meat.

Ha!

As soon as the tension left my body, all my strength drained away.

Lying on the ground, I quickly checked my condition.

My right hand was broken, and my muscles were stretched to the point I couldn’t move. A few of my ribs were cracked, but nothing fatal.

It hurt like hell, but I wasn’t going to die from it.

Haa…

A flash of light.

At that moment, my left hand shimmered.

[Your rank has changed. Would you like to check?]

When I opened my left hand, a prompt appeared. Struggling to look at it with my trembling hand, I saw that my rank had changed.

[Name: Ian Impera]
Rank: 2 (Magic), 1 (Swordsmanship)

“Heh… At least I managed to raise them by 1…”

Thanks to the recent hunt, both my magic and swordsmanship ranks had gone up by 1.

It wasn’t because of the artifact effect, since Althea’s dagger had broken.

I’d gone through so much trouble, and yet, I only increased by 1. I guess rank 3 was the threshold for most people.

“Hehe… but this is still something. I’m grateful to have gained anything from a single hunt.”

I looked at the horned boar’s body.

It was massive, almost the size of a compact car. That meant no matter how much I ate, it wouldn’t run out anytime soon.

“Heh heh!”

Meat.

A literal mountain of meat!

“Heh… Hee… I’ll rest… first…”

I was completely drained, probably from overexertion. As darkness began to take over, I fell into an unconscious sleep.

***

Sizzle…

It was a sweet dream.

The smell of meat roasting filled the air. The meat was piled up like a mountain, and it seemed like no matter how much I ate, it wouldn’t decrease.

“Hehe…”

I wished my companions could taste this, but I pushed that thought aside and took a big bite of the meat.

Crunch!

“Hmm?”

But this didn’t taste like meat. It had a strange, earthy flavor. Was I chewing dirt?

‘How did I get this meat…?’

I had longed for meat since starving to death, and even now, after entering Ian’s body, I craved it so much.

But I couldn’t just ignore it because it didn’t taste good.

Crunch… Crunch…

What kind of bizarre dream was this?

“Mmm…”

After struggling to force the food down, I suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu and opened my eyes.

What I saw was me, stuffing my mouth with dirt.

“…Ugh! Ugh!”

Here I was, an aristocrat, sitting there eating dirt.

“You’re alive, huh.”

At that moment, I heard a voice from nearby, making me gag.

“Huh?”

The voice came from a man sitting on a tree stump.

A man with messy black hair, dressed in a tattered cloth, gave me a casual glance before turning away, clearly losing interest.

‘Wait… that outfit?’

It was the guy I had seen at the tavern before. The one who showed mercy to Blank, an unusual person in this world.

‘Did he follow me here?’

He couldn’t have known the details of my petition, but it seemed he had overheard some drunkards blabbering about it, just like I had.

But why? There was something suspicious about him.

Though he was hiding under a tattered cloth, I could see the gleam of armor beneath it.

A full plate mail shining in silver.

There was only one type of person who would be walking around dressed like that.

‘A wandering knight.’

A knight who roams without a master.

Given that the continental war ended a long time ago, these kinds of people were rare to see.

The boar probably just came here to find some food during its wandering journey.

“……”

I cautiously watched the man’s movements.

Though he was a wandering knight, he was still a knight.

At the very least, he must have a swordsmanship rank of 4 to earn the title of a knight.

I had just leveled up, but there was no way I could compare to him. Besides, I was on the verge of collapsing with the slightest touch.

Furthermore, the tree stump he was sitting on—the spot where a large tree had just recently been rooted.

‘Could it be…?’

Behind him, there was a neatly cut-down tree.

The cut was clean and smooth.

It was a cut that couldn’t have been made without a single swift strike.