Solomon stared at the boar that was charging toward him like a freight train. Obviously, any kind of contest of strength was going to end in tragedy. His spear didn't offer enough reach to poke at the boss from a safe distance. He also had serious doubts about its ability to hurt the thing. Especially considering the wellspring of HP the system must have granted such an enormous monster.

Solomon let his spear drop to the ground. It would only slow him down. He clenched his fist, waiting for the right moment.

The boar was a little more than a body's length away when he acted. Solomon charged forward and to the side, activating the dash ability as he did.

The world blurred around him for a moment and the boss missed him by about the length of his arm. It was close enough that he got a good whiff of the scent clinging to the massive animal, an earthy mix of mud and blood. Then it was past him, ponderously slowing down as it prepared to change directions.

Solomon decided to take advantage of the opportunity to test the waters. He used the dash ability once more, charging straight at the boar's back. At the same time, he drew his hatchet and raised it high overhead. As soon as he could, he brought it down, using the system-granted power-attack ability as he did so.

The hatchet bit through the boar's skin, but that was about it. It was an inch or two deep when it stopped dead.

Solomon kept a strong grip on the hatchet. When the boss screamed in rage and wheeled around, he managed to keep hold of his weapon as it tore free. He didn't wait around to see if the shallow wound would accomplish anything, instead activating the dash ability again and taking some distance from the boar. He wound up next to one of the columns, half the arena between him and the boss monster.

Solomon's physical abilities were relatively cheap. They only cost five MP for each activation. Even so, with his total MP pool of fifty, he had burned through almost half of his total in the first exchange with the boar. In exchange, he had some blood on his hatchet, but that was about it.

Well, he'd also gotten the boar properly pissed off. An enraged roar reminded him of that, and drew his attention just as the boar came charging at him once more.

Solomon took a step to the side, placing himself directly in front of the pillar. He obviously wasn't strong enough to fight the boar directly. Even if it stood still and let him hack away at it, he would take forever to kill it. His bomb might help, but considering the boar's sheer size he was loathe to rely on it. He'd rather see if he could use the environment to his advantage.

He waited until the absolute last second before diving out of the way. He didn't activate any system ability, trusting to the strength in his legs. The boar swiped at him as it went by. He could almost feel the breeze as its tusk passed over his back. He hit the ground, tucked, rolled, and popped back to his feet with surprising agility.

Solomon couldn't take any time to appreciate his improved dexterity, though, as the sound of an enormous crash had washed over him while he was still on the ground. He turned around just in time to see the last few pieces of the column fall to the ground.

The boss, meanwhile, shook its head, then turned back to Solomon. It didn't seem like it had enjoyed crashing through the column, but it was far from seriously harmed. It leaned its head back and roared, then took several measured steps toward Solomon. He took a few steps back, but still found the boar closing in on him.

The boar lowered its head and swung its tusk. Solomon got his shield in place to absorb the hit, but he was still lifted off his feet and tossed backwards. He landed on his stomach with a jarring thud and turned his head around to find that the boss had stepped forward and reared up on its hind legs, looking to trample him.

Solomon rolled to the side. The ground beneath him shuddered as the boar's foot smashed down, missing him by a hair. Solomon got his hand underneath him and charged forward as he got to his feet. He used the system's dash ability twice, intent on getting as far from the boss as he could.

When he came to a stop, he looked over his shoulder to find the boss watching him with contempt. Solomon's heavy breathing was just another sign of how badly he was outmatched.

The soothing feel of HP healing washed over him, focused on his shoulder and ribs. He hadn't even noticed when he'd been injured. A quarter of his HP was gone. Not that HP would be able to do much for him if the boss got in a solid hit.

The boar was stalking towards him now. He would have liked to trick it into crashing through more columns or even into the wall in the hope of whittling down its HP, but it seemed that the boss didn't suffer from the same all-encompassing rage that had caused so many of the smaller boars to charge straight to their deaths.

Watching the boar come closer, it began to sink in. Solomon was out of his league. He was out of his league, and he was going to die. Unless he could pull off a miracle. The boss of the dungeon was too big, too strong, and not nearly dumb enough for him to defeat.

He needed to land a single, decisive blow. The bomb hanging from his belt weighed heavily in Solomon's thoughts.

The boss came closer, still taking its time. If it wasn't going to smash its head into something and daze itself, then Solomon was going to have to create his own opportunity. The only pattern he'd noticed to the boar's behavior was that it roared to express its displeasure whenever he did something to piss it off.

All right then.

Solomon drew back his hatchet and waited. The boar took a step closer. Another. Finally it was close enough and he whipped his arm forward, aiming to throw the hatchet at its eye.

The boar ducked its head. His aim had been off anyways, the hatchet not weighted for throwing to begin with. That wasn't the point. Solomon had activated his dash ability and charged forward even as the hatchet glanced off the boar's forehead.

The boar leaned its head back and roared at the sky. The angle was going to be awkward, but he was committed. He leaped into the air, drawing the bomb from his belt as he left the ground.

The boar was lowering its head when he crashed into it, wedging his shield in between its teeth to hold its mouth open. He lit the fuse of the bomb with an act of will and threw it into the gap.

The fuse would take four or five seconds. One second had gone by so far.

The boar whipped its head back and forth. He felt a snap in his elbow and screamed as he dangled from the end of the shield.

Two seconds.

He grit his teeth and forced himself to bring his empty hand over to the shield. He used his molding ability to slice through the straps holding him in place as the boar snapped its head once more, sending him flying through the air.

Three seconds.

He felt more than heard another snap as he hit the ground, screaming once more as he tumbled over his newly aggravated injuries. He ended up flat on his stomach, facing towards a dungeon boss that had spat out his shield and lowered its head, clearly prepared to end him.

Four seconds.