Savage Charge

Early the next morning.

Rain arrived at the clearing deep in the woods outside Mill Town, where he often practiced Freezing Ray.

Today, though, he was there to test the second Spell-Like Ability he had just mastered—Savage Charge Lv. 1.

"Fifteen meters?"

Rain stopped and studied a tree not far ahead, its trunk about as thick as a bowl.

He felt as though he had practiced the ability hundreds, even thousands, of times. With a single thought, he could instantly tell whether he was close enough to charge.

As soon as the thought of using Savage Charge stirred, his body settled naturally into position—

Feet apart, one forward and one back, knees bent and waist lowered. His left shoulder dipped slightly, his powerful deltoid faced straight ahead, and his left elbow lifted a little.

Whoosh!

The next instant, Rain drove his toes hard into the ground and burst into a sprint, charging at the target like a roaring boar.

Bang!!

A gray blur shot along a straight path. Rain's left shoulder slammed into the bowl-thick tree, snapping the trunk in two with a sharp crack.

"Hiss..."

Rain winced and rubbed his left shoulder with his right hand.

"That recoil was pretty nasty."

"Force really does work both ways."

"Looks like I'll need a custom Charging Iron Shoulder Guard."

Rain had gained Thick Hide Lv. 2, a passive bloodline ability from the Boarfolk Warrior. But he was still human. He didn't have a Boarfolk's thick bristles and tough hide.

Slamming his bare shoulder into something hard was bound to hurt.

And if his target had spikes or some other sharp protrusion, metal Shoulder Armor designed for charging would be all the more useful.

Ideally, the Shoulder Guard would have a sharp point that could punch deep into the target on impact.

"Huh. Savage Charge drains not just stamina, but a little mental energy too."

Rain paid close attention to his condition. He felt slightly tired, both physically and mentally.

Something came back to him, and he looked at the footprints he had just left on the ground—a clear, straight line.

"If I remember right, the Boarfolk Warrior charged along a curved path."

Rain chose a tree so thick it would take one person to wrap their arms around it, then began testing the ability over and over.

Ten minutes later.

"Huff... huff..."

After roughly ten tests, Rain's left shoulder was red. He kept rubbing it as he gulped down air.

Looking at the footprints on the ground—some straight, others curving left or right—Rain smiled.

His tests had given him three conclusions.

First, with his current mental energy and stamina, and with the Boarfolk Warrior bloodline bolstering him, he could use Savage Charge about twelve times. Factoring in the other exertion of a fight, that number would drop to no more than six.

If he also used Freezing Ray, Rain thought it best to limit Savage Charge to around three uses per battle.

That was only for now, of course.

Second, he could adjust his steps slightly during Savage Charge to get around obstacles, but a turn of twenty or thirty degrees was about his limit.

He couldn't stand behind a rock and weave around it in an S-shaped path to charge a target on the other side.

Even so, that made the new ability far more useful.

Finally, he found that his shoulder was best suited to delivering the blow. He could also charge with a shield, though the impact was a little weaker.

Then again, that might be because he had only just mastered Savage Charge.

Perhaps its power would improve as he grew more familiar with it.

Rain even had an instinctive sense that he could use his head to ram a target.

For safety's sake, though, he hadn't tried it.

"But I'm charging into trees right now, not monsters. Humanoids and beasts alike will fight back."

"If I use Savage Charge and my opponent attacks my head, I'll be in trouble."

"The Boarfolk had sharp tusks, bristles like steel needles on their heads, and exceptionally hard skulls. Together, they worked almost like spiked helmets."

The more Rain thought about it, the clearer it became: as a human using Savage Charge in a real fight, he needed more than a Shoulder Guard. He needed better protection for his head.

"A standard Nasal Helmet doesn't offer much protection. It leaves too many gaps."

The first thing that came to mind was the Nasal Helmet popular among adventurers. Made of iron with a soft leather lining, it had a distinctive strip of metal two fingers wide down the center.

The strip extended over the bridge of the nose, protecting it well. That was how the helmet got its name.

But to Rain, it still left too much of the face exposed.

An enemy could easily strike those exposed areas at close range.

"A Pig-Snout Helmet?" After a moment's thought, another helmet came to mind.

"Now that offers solid protection!"

As its name suggested, the Pig-Snout Helmet had a conical projection over the mouth, with a cluster of breathing holes on one side.

Rain had once glimpsed an improved version in a weapon shop. Its pointed snout had been replaced by a smoother curve.

The rest of the helmet was fully enclosed in iron. Like the Nasal Helmet, it had a rounded top and a soft leather lining.

"Too bad the Pig-Snout Helmet still doesn't have a horn for ramming."

"If I want horns, should I go with a Bull-Horn Helmet?" Rain frowned as he considered it.

"A Bull-Horn Helmet would be the best choice for getting the most out of Savage Charge, but it offers less protection."

Half an hour later.

Back in Mill Town, Rain entered the Weapon and Armor Shop for the first time.

The blacksmith's shop made and sold common weapons, but for finer weapons or more intricate armor, a dedicated Weapon and Armor Shop was naturally the better choice.

Rain hadn't bought anything there before because he couldn't afford to, not because he hadn't wanted to.

This time was different.

The Boarfolk quest had just earned Rain the "huge sum" of fifty silver coins.

For Rain, who had originally been a farmer, it was a huge sum indeed.

Even a skilled farmer earned only about twenty silver coins after a year of hard work—less than two a month on average. After daily expenses, saving even one silver coin was difficult.

What Rain had earned from this single adventure equaled two and a half years of a farmer's labor, assuming the farmer spent nothing at all.