The sudden death of their companion threw the remaining Deep Forest Boars into a frenzy. Their wild black eyes bled crimson, and enraged squeals shook the air — in the blink of an eye, three of the largest among them had lowered their gleaming tusks and were barreling straight at Jhin.
So they can still take a full-power hit from me.
Jhin had a rough measure of this monster pack's defensive rating now — and honestly, it was impressive. A full-powered punch from him back in the main world would hit a person the way a fist meets a water-filled balloon: instant, catastrophic rupture. Against a Deep Forest Boar, all it managed was to turn the organs inside to pulp, while the exterior remained completely unmarked.
I'm nowhere near strong enough for this world.
Jhin stamped down hard with his right foot and launched himself skyward, clearing all three charging boars in a single leap. Meanwhile, Pecorine — weapon in hand — was actually outpacing him on kill efficiency.
With Kokkoro's acceleration magic enhancing her, Pecorine danced through the Deep Forest Boar herd, her razor-edged greatsword a fluid, lethal blur.
She moved with nimble, practiced footwork, twisting her body to slip past the massive, razor-sharp tusks. The sword hilt spun in her palm, reversing her grip — and then the blade swept sideways in layered, precise strokes: through the brown, leathery hide, through the pale layer of fat beneath, through the firm, pink-grained muscle below that.
The blade tip found its mark with surgical precision — a heart the size of a small engine, pumping blood — and drove straight through it.
Kill secured, Pecorine immediately disengaged and stepped back.
Kokkoro's acceleration magic is something else.
After a brief moment of silent admiration, she locked onto her next target and launched herself forward in a burst of speed.
"Slap!"
Jhin seized the Deep Forest Boar's massive tusks with both hands, his boots carving two long furrows into the earth as he braked against its momentum.
All around the two of them, the ground was littered with boar carcasses — no visible wounds on any of them, their stubby legs still twitching in dying spasms. Every single one had been killed the same way: Jhin's fist hammering straight through to the organs.
The boar currently facing him was the largest of the entire herd — clearly the pack leader.
Jhin ignored the hot, rancid breath blasting from its dark nostrils and grinned.
"Big fella — you've actually got some kick to you."
"HROOAAR~"
The Deep Forest Boar bellowed in furious indignation and redoubled the force bearing down on Jhin's hands.
Jhin did enjoy the purity of a raw strength contest — but he wasn't stubborn enough to drag it out when his stomach was growling and all he wanted was a mountain of grilled meat.
With a quiet laugh, he yanked sharply backward with both hands, then immediately reversed, driving the tusks down with his full weight.
In one fluid pull-and-press, the boar pitched forward like a motorcycle slamming the front brake at full speed — skull and tusks driving into the earth, hindquarters launching into the air.
Jhin released the tusks and sprang skyward. He drew in a deep breath, chest swelling, fists pulled back to his hips — and [Substitute: The World] materialized at his back.
"ORA ORA ORA ORA!" A blood-boiling battle cry tore from his throat.
Fist-shadows dense as falling rain hammered down on the Deep Forest Boar's back — a rapid-fire string of muffled concussive blasts punching through the hide one after another.
The gory, split-open mess he'd half-expected never came. This boar — a minor elite by the look of it — died the same as the rest: every internal organ reduced to pulp. Jhin landed cleanly on solid ground, breathing only marginally harder than before.
Up in the canopy, the Cat-eared Figure had watched every second of the battle with cold, focused eyes.
"Damn it — that guy is actually this strong. No good. I need to push these monsters further."
Purple light poured from the tip of a magic wand and rained down on the remaining Deep Forest Boars. Their bodies expanded violently — three, four times their original size in an instant. The ones that had seemed like mere juveniles moments ago now stood as tall as a two-story building, their entire bodies radiating ominous black miasma.
Empowered, the monstrous creatures charged at Jhin and Pecorine with savage, earth-shaking force.
Pecorine had been about to dodge — but her legs buckled beneath her, and cold sweat broke across her forehead.
Oh no.
The equipment she wore granted her strength far beyond any ordinary person's — but it came with a cost. In combat, it burned through her energy at a ferocious rate. Once that energy was spent, she would collapse into a temporary state of total exhaustion. It was the reason she ate so voraciously — though, in fairness, she'd always had a bottomless appetite to begin with.
Pecorine had walked into this fight on barely half a stomach. She hadn't explained her situation to Jhin or Kokkoro. Her original plan had been a quick ambush — take down one or two boars and run. But she'd gotten swept up alongside Jhin, and the hard limit on her combat endurance had completely slipped her mind.
"Miss Pecorine, get clear!" Kokkoro was too far away to reach her. All she could do was sprint toward her while shouting.
I want to get clear too — but there's nothing left in my body.
Pecorine watched the gleaming tusks grow closer and closer, and a wry, helpless smile crossed her face.
Getting hit like this, completely defenseless — even with my equipment I'm going to come out of it badly hurt. I just hope it won't hurt too much...
She closed her eyes in quiet resignation. She'd come a long way from the girl who'd burst into tears at the first hint of pain — she could endure a fair amount now.
The moment Kokkoro cried out, Jhin had already spotted Pecorine in danger. He sprinted toward her without hesitation — but his speed alone wasn't quite enough to close the gap in time.
Up in the tree, the Cat-eared Figure had apparently never heard of the concept of popping champagne at halftime. Jhin's raw speed might not have been enough — but he still had time-stop.
"The World!"
In a world drained to shades of grey and white, Jhin pulled Pecorine into his arms. He committed every last ounce of strength to a single punch, driving his fist directly into the Deep Forest Boar's skull. The significantly denser, tougher resistance made him frown. Holding Pecorine close, he leapt clear, putting a wide stretch of ground between them and the herd — and then snapped his fingers.
"Snap!"
"Time resumes."
The Deep Forest Boar — its brain rattled by the blow — went completely limp. It crashed to the earth like a collapsing hillside, its enormous body blocking the charge of the pack thundering in behind it.
"That was close." Jhin's easy, unhurried tone slowly eased the fear gripping Pecorine. She opened her eyes — and found herself resting, inexplicably, safely, in his arms.
"...Huh? Jhin?"
Jhin had been about to say something teasing — when a flicker of silver light on the back of his right hand caught his eye. He raised it and stared: an ornate, sword-shaped tattoo was glowing.
There was no mistaking it. The Void Genome was reacting. Pecorine was a compatible target from whom the Void could be drawn.
Without a moment's hesitation, Jhin extended his hand toward the soft, pudding-like bounce of her chest.
Up in the tree, the Cat-eared Figure watched Jhin rescue the girl and immediately proceed to grope her — and the fury that surged through her was a physical thing. She spat out a string of curses seething with contempt:
"Scum! Pervert! Enemy of women everywhere!"
____
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