[Sumatran Rhinoceros][Lv.10]

[Smallest species of rhinoceros. It has two horns with the larger one at the front. Its hide is reddish-brown with a short body and stubby leg. Be wary of the force of its charge as even a slight tackle will break bones.]

‘I don’t think this is the smallest,’ Leo thought. Seeing it for himself, the rhino stood taller than Leo who was at five feet ten. Its massive bulky body spread to the sides, intimidating the two men with its sheer size. Its loud breath bounced over the corridor as if it was the prelude of bad news.

“Think you can handle it?” Leo asked.

“You never know until you try,” Ken answered with a smirk. It was a ballsy reply for someone who was about to go against a rhino.

Their eyes never left at the rhino, who also stared back at them. Its ungulate hoof scraped the dusty floor, a sign it was readied for a charge.

Behind them, Paola was on her knees with her head still muddled. She was covered in dust from top to bottom, yet her mind focused on only one thing. “Julia!” she shouted. Her voice alone battled against the scraping noises of the rhino and as her voice reached the flapping ears of the rhino, it triggered something.

The rhino bellowed and charged. Its heads slammed against the walls a few times, crumbling the surface as it paved a path towards the duo.

Ken braced himself for impact, putting his shield up in front. He was like a spartan with his sword resting on the edge of his chair buckler.

Yet Leo wasn’t as confident as the short man. Against that velocity timed with the massive weight, he doubted they could stop the charging rhino. He glanced back and saw the two unconscious Colombians. Paola was already gone, leaping over the counter, heading towards the examination room to secure her younger sister. “Hold it down,” he shouted at Ken. Leo rushed on his feet, pulling Alvaro and Chichi from the rubbles. He grabbed them by the waist and leaped over the counter. As soon as he did it, he heard a loud thud. A quick look behind and he saw Ken flying in the air. The vanguard crashed against the wall and dropped on the floor, with blood trickling at the corner of his lips.

Ken struggled to get up as his hand wiped off the blood. His eyes were still alive, with no intention of giving up. Then a white light engulfed him, healing his wounds. He gave a thumbs up at Leo, who was behind the counter and focused back at the rhino. “Come on,” he shouted, slamming his sword against the chair buckler. Provoking the living tank with his gut and battle cry.

Leo quickly grabbed the Colombians back in his arms and brought them to the examination room. Paola was carrying Julia in her arms as she was prepped and readied to leave.

“Wait, where are you going?” Leo asked with a frown.

“I’m leaving,” Paola said. “I can’t let Julia be in danger.”

“Then what about these two?” Leo glanced at the two unconscious people hanging in his arms. “Aren’t they your people?”

“I can’t risk it for Julia,” Paola answered.

“Then what? Out there is better for a little girl?” Leo tried to knock some sense at the emotionally driven archer. “Unless you’re confident to protect her while fighting all those beasts out there, then be my guest.” Leo put down Chichi and Alvaro on the empty beds. Then he turned back to Paola. “But let me tell you this, they are more scarier things than beasts out there and you know well what humans would do in a situation like this. Not all of them are friendly like us,” he gave a warning and went off to aid his friend.

Meanwhile, Ken dodged to the side, and the rhino rammed straight through the wall, making another hole in the clinic. Ken took a peek outside and the rhino was making a U-turn. He smirked. If it was in the zoo it might be cute, but out here that was a sign for another charge. The man with the DIY buckler jumped out of the hole and stared at the rhino with an eager gaze.

“I thought I was going to show off my new skill in front of Leo, but I guess I can’t complain of how the situation turns out,” Ken said. Both of his fists clenched tight as he uttered two words in a low tone, “Iron Body.” A shining tint of metal glossed over his skin as the new skill came to effect. Ken smiled and took a few steps closer towards the incoming rhino. The slow steps turned to a jog then gradually turned into a run. It was a charging contest between man and beast. And as his gladius glowed in radiant yellow, both of them clashed.

Ken endured the collision as his feet were still planted on the ground, yet the charge of the rhino was not something simple. His feet were dragged on the ground, pushed by the overwhelming force behind the charge. And Ken only had five seconds before he finally lost his ground. At the same time, his gladius motioned into a stab. His feet were lifted off the ground hurled by the horns of the rhino, yet the pointed edge of his gladius found its mark. Metal met eyeball and the rhino bellowed in pain.

‘Got you!’ Ken thought. His grip slipped from the gladius as his whole body was floating in the air. Down below the rhino was going mad, stomping the earth with its head shaking around. Trying to get off the thing that blinded its left eye.

Ken was about to fall behind the rhino. And being kicked by it would be disastrous. But out of nowhere, he felt a force tackling him in mid-air as he then crashed into a shrub. He cursed as the landing was far from being painless. Yet, standing up, he saw a familiar face.

“Dude, you almost die,” Leo said, smiling.

“And that’s on you,” Ken replied. “What took you so long?”

“Let’s talk about that later,” Leo pointed at the rampaging rhino that was now grinding its horns at the dirt ground. “We got a rhino to kill.”

The duo stepped out of the shrubs and into the clearing close to the clinic. The rhino was still oblivious to their presence as its left eye was blinded by a sword sticking in its bloody eye socket.

“So how are we doing this?” Ken asked.

“You distract it, and I’ll do something about your sword,” Leo said.

“Good enough for me,” Ken said. He then bolted down the clearing and stood a few meters away from the agitated rhino. “Oi,” he called, waving his hands at the rhino. Pulling its attention.

The Sumatran rhino got up on its feet, glaring at the man who blinded it. Its nostrils flared as it remembered who did this to it. The ground shook as it stomped its front legs. A guttural bellow soon followed after the show of intimidation. Then it charged.

“Here we go again,” Ken braced himself for the second time. And as the rhino came closer, something at the corner of Ken’s vision entered like a blur.

It was Leo. His agility was enhanced by his buffing spell, and his speed was unlike before. Just a few quick steps on the ground and he lunged at the blindside of the rhino. Leo grabbed the handle of the gladius as his feet found the head of the ungulate. He raised his bat and tried to hammer the sword by the pommel. But the rhino started to thrash its head around.

Leo held on to the sword as his body rocked back and forth. It reminded him of the time he rode a mechanical rodeo bull back in college. A fun night of laughter and hot wings, yet, this was a whole other experience. His life was on the line here, and then he felt it. The gladius went loose from his unintentional pull, and his balance went off. The momentum of pulling coupled with the force by the rhino flung him in the air, a few meters off the ground. He turned his body in mid-air and by chance, he landed on his feet. Bending his knees to a degree as his strengthened joints cushioned the fall.

His eyes found the rhino rampaging even fiercer with blood spraying from its bloody eye socket. The viscous crimson fluid settled on the ground, dyeing the ground in dark red. He narrowed his eyes as he could have ended it. But the rhino proved to be a troublesome opponent. Then he found the sight of Ken waving his hand at him. Leo knew what it meant and threw the gladius back at its owner.

The ancient roman sword twirled in the air before spiking right through the ground. It was close to Ken as if Leo had aimed it precisely that close to his friend. The sole warrior rushed and grabbed the handle of his most precious sword. He unearthed it as the gleam of the gladius greeted its owner. Once again, the figure of Leo entered the far end of Ken’s sight. The strategy turned to an all-out brawl, and nothing was more satisfying than facing his enemy head-on. Ken joined in as Leo took the first strike.

The blunt end of Leo’s bat struck right at the bloody eye socket. Blood squirted over his face yet his eyes kept open. He bashed in a few more hits before the rhino started slugging its horn at the unseen enemy. Leo retreated a few steps and kept his sight on the motion of the target.

The rhino faced Leo straight on and saw the perpetrator that dared hit its wound. It bellowed at Leo and yet before it could charge, a yellow glow of a gladius came right from its left side. Ken crept up on the rhino and took advantage of Leo distracting its attention. The pointed end of his gladius found its intended target. Ken drove every strength he had, pushing the blade into the thick neck of the rhino. It pierced through the thick hide and Ken uttered a single word that carved a smile on his face.

“Whirlwind,” Ken said.

The yellow glow of the sword extended until it pierced the other side. The sword aura reached its intended length and soon, Ken twisted his body into a vertical spin. He kicked off the ground and the blade went up. Slicing the upper half of the rhino’s neck. It was clean-cut, yet, it wasn’t the end. He counter-rotated his body, and the spin changed direction. The yellow aura fell like a guillotine, cutting what was left of the neck like salami.

A head dropped on the ground followed by a loud thud of a massive body. Blood gushed out of the headless neck and the rhino finally met its death.

Ken stared at his kill while panting for his breath. That stunt he pulled cost a lot of his stamina and his HP. Going against the whirlwind’s motion was not an easy thing to do.

“Shit, I could have used the free point from the rhino,” Leo said. It was a pity that his trait only activated if he took the last hit. But seeing what popped up in front of him was enough to make him smile.

[You have reached level 10]

[5 stat points have been given]

[Class bonus stats distributed: Intellect +2, Spirit +1]

[You have received 2 Skill Points.]

“I don’t think I was really needed here,” Leo said, walking closer to the dead rhino. He eyed at the severed head of the rhino.

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Ken said. “If it wasn’t for you my ribs would have been shattered into pieces by now.”

Both of them glanced back at the dead rhino, thinking back on how they defeated it. “It’s really hard to kill it,” Leo said.

“True,” Ken had to agree. “For now, that is.”

“You killed it?” a voice came from the hole on the wall. Paola stepped out and stared with her jaw dropped. Her bow was readied in her hand, yet the fight had already ended.

“Look who decided to show up,” Ken said, scoffing at the Latina archer. Paola didn't respond to the comment. She just stood there like a statue, staring at the body of the dead rhino. Then she looked up at Leo.

“How did you kill it?” she asked. Her voice shook. For her, a wild beast that could tear a hole in the wall was not something easy to take down not without modern weaponry.

Leo couldn't help but chuckle. “See? What did I tell you? Fighting together is a lot better than fighting alone. Not unless you’re OP that is,” Leo said.

“OP?” she asked as the strange acronym was foreign to her ears.

“Let’s get back inside first,” Leo said. “I still need to see how Alvaro and Chichi are doing.”

The three of them returned to the shambled-looking clinic. Holes were everywhere on the walls and everything was a mess. Leo found himself in the examination room and after using Small Heal on Alvaro and Chichi, he deemed them safe from dying. They probably hit their head when the rhino rammed over the wall. So for now they just needed some rest.

He went out to the corridor and found his friend standing by the first hole the rhino made.

“Done being the doctor?” Ken asked with a few meanings behind his words.

Leo nodded and stood opposite to Ken. His eyes looked up and the sky dyed with orange. “Night is coming,” he said.

“Yea,” Ken replied with a weak tone, unlike his usual self. His eyes gazed afar as he fell deep into his thought.

“You good, bro?” Leo asked.

“It will get dark soon,” Ken glanced at Leo. “I better secure the holes. It won’t be pretty if some beasts sneak up on us in the middle of the night.”

Ken left before Leo could say a few more words. Yet the man was right. Leo went around the clinic and find things to plug the hole in the sidewall. While Ken handled the hole near the main entrance. After a while, he decently barred the hole with a stack of bookshelves from the doctor’s room. It wouldn’t stop another rhino, but it was better than nothing.

He slumped down the dusty floor and leaned on the wall. His thought opened the Skill Archive and he scanned for new spells. Scrolling down the huge list, he was still clueless on what to choose. ‘Two offensive spells would enhance my overall attacking ability, but I won’t be as versatile in terms of spell varieties. And I don’t even know the details of these offensive spells, so gambling at two at the get-go is quite a waste,’ Leo thought.

The list went on and on as he scanned for more suitable spells. He sighed after going on for a while. “Huh, tonight is going to be a long night,” he said.

Night fell, and Leo made his choices.

“Let’s see whether these spells would work or not.”