As Leo approached the injured mountain lion for the kill, he felt extremely pumped about how his hunt went.
He had managed to take down such a magnificent beast in under 5 minutes, which seemed to be incredible, however, like a true rookie, he had forgotten that mountain lions often roamed in groups.
From the second that he missed his chance to kill his opponent silently and allowed it to let out an injured roar. Leo was fighting a battle against time, as Ben predicted that it was only going to be a matter of time before its support arrived.
As Leo stood over his conquered prey, pride swelling in his chest, he used his dagger to put it out of its misery, as it's HP finally hit 0.
[ System Notification - Congratulations player 'TheBoss', you have killed a level 103 mountain lion!
For killing a prey more than twice your current level, you have been awarded with extra EXP ]
[ System Notification - Congratulations player 'TheBoss'.
+You have leveled up!
+You have leveled up!
.
.
.
+You have leveled up! ]
Leo leveled up a total of 8 times from hunting the level 103 mountain lion, taking his level from 50 to 58 in the blink of an eye.
Smiling, he looked towards the tree where Ben was hiding behind, hoping to see a face of approval on his master, however, he only saw a face full of worry.
' What's wrong?' he wondered, as only then did he begin to notice the warning signs over his thumping blood.
The forest around him was giving warning signals of growls and snapping branches. His heart, still racing from the thrill of the hunt, plummeted instantly as the reality of his situation dawned on him.
Turning swiftly, Leo saw them—more mountain lions emerging from the shadows, their eyes glinting with predatory interest. There were at least four, each appearing more formidable than the one he had just taken down.
[ Mountain Lion - Level 122 ]
[ Mountain Lion - Level 120 ]
[ Mountain Lion - Level 132 ]
[ Mountain Lion - Level 107 ]
The injured roar of the dead mountain lion had called for support, and now, Leo found himself surrounded by a silent circle of predators, who seemed keen on avenging the fall of their pack member.
The pride he had felt moments ago quickly dissolved into a rush of adrenaline and fear. He realized he had made a rookie mistake; in his eagerness for the hunt, he had come out in the open, putting himself in a position where he was vulnerable to attacks from all sides.
Ben, who had been watching from a distance, ready to intervene if necessary, now hid his presence entirely.
If the situation got tough, he was willing to intervene to save Leo's life, however, for now he wished to see how his student would tackle this perilous situation that he found himself in.
"Grrr….."
The beasts growled as they circled Leo and slowly closed their distance on him, reducing the chances of Leo fleeing every passing second.
Taking a deep breath, Leo steadied his racing heart. He knew he couldn't outrun them, and fighting them head-on was suicide and hence he knew he needed to use his wits to get out of this situation, as his mind became instantly active, trying to think of what to do.
With a quick scan of the area, Leo identified a narrow passage between two large boulders. If he could maneuver one of the lions to follow him there, he might be able to use the terrain to his advantage, limiting how many could attack him at once.
Without another moment's hesitation, Leo pulled out a dagger and hurled it towards the closest mountain lion, provoking it. As it charged, Leo dashed towards the boulders, leading the enraged beast into the trap he had envisioned.
The sounds of the forest faded into the background as Leo focused solely on the beasts around him, moving with a precision and grace where every step he took evaded the lunges of the hungry beasts very closely, just as he trained in reflex training.
The lessons Ben had ingrained in him, the countless hours of practice—it all came down to this moment, a dance on the edge of life and death.
*HUUP*
Leo twisted and turned his body, forcing his muscles to stretch at extreme angles as he tried to slide across the minor gap between the boulders to the other side.
*RAWRRR*
Leo could feel the chasing mountain lions pausing right before the boulder, unlike him they could not squeeze through, as they first looked to climb the boulder, but when they found it to be too high, they tried to circle around it.
Leo, Having successfully slid through to the other side and having gained an extra five to seven seconds, climbed a tree and began jumping from branch to branch as if his life depended on it.
Every step he took, was at the perfect spot, his feet nimble and the sound he made minimal, as a few minutes later he could not longer see the mountain lions on his trail, as he managed to successfully shake them off after a thrilling run away.
" Hahaha, good job" said Ben, who followed all this action closely and shook his head in approval over Leo's skills.
Today, he had displayed the ability to think under pressure, getting out of a perilous situation by relying on nothing but his wits and for Ben that was more important than any talent he showed while training.
One could have all the talent in the world, but without a spine and the ability to translate it to real world skill, that talent was worthless, however, Leo was not only talented in training, but in practical situations as well, bringing immense pride to Ben as a master.
Of Course Ben pointed out the mistakes that he made.
The areas where he could have been better, such as the spots he targeted while throwing his dagger first time and never going in for a manual kill if it could be avoided.
But overall, he was happy with Leo's performance, as he cooked him a nice meal and decided to impart his first core technique to him after lunch.