Unknown to the hunters, a pair of watchful eyes was observing the scene from the canopy of a lush tree just two hundred and fifty meters away.
'Should I ask for help?' Sam thought.
'No,' he quickly decided, shaking his head. 'I need to figure out their motives first. I have to know why they are really here.'
With cold, sharp eyes, he stared intensely at the event unfolding before him.
...
The man who had been instructing the group finished spreading the last few drops of the small bottle before swiftly scaling a nearby tree.
The mood in the clearing, which had initially been light and confident, grew heavy and oppressive—a shift Sam could tangibly feel even from a distance.
His vigilant eyes scanned the tranquil ground with deep alertness.
Whoosh!
A dark golden blur flashed through the brush, coming to a sudden halt at the exact spot where the drops had been spread.
'A mutated leopard!'
From his inherited memories, Sam understood that the group held the upper hand. They knew their target, they had lured it perfectly, and it was right in front of them.
But the real issue remained: did they actually have enough raw power to defeat it?
Clang! Clang!
One sharp weapon after another struck the mutated leopard's body. However, the blades simply bounced off its tough hide, leaving only faint, superficial white marks.
The barrage of attacks immediately snapped the leopard out of its intoxicated daze. But it was too late. One of the burly men lunged forward, clenching his right fist as a layer of bizarre, purple-black patterns spread rapidly up his arm.
'Is this a runic ability?'
This was the first time Sam was witnessing a real, live-action battle involving a runic warrior. His heart hammered in his chest, filled with a mix of excitement and hope.
Bang!
A frightening force exploded outward. The shockwave engulfed the surroundings, kicking up a massive cloud of dust that blinded the area.
Howl!
The mutated leopard roared in pain.
Hum—
Suddenly, a bizarre, invisible vibrating wave rippled through the air.
Pu!
Blood violently spurted from the mouth of the burly man who had just held the upper hand, his body staggering backward.
'A spirit attack!'
Sam quickly deduced what had happened. A spirit attack was notoriously the most difficult type of offensive to guard against. Now, he was incredibly curious to see what the hunters' next move would be.
Refusing to give the beast breathing room, another burly man rushed in. Clenching his right fist, he activated his own runic ability and launched a counterattack.
Bang!
His glowing fist cracked through the air, but the leopard possessed terrifying agility. It sprinted to the side, narrowly dodging the lethal blow.
All traces of its previous intoxication had vanished, leaving only cold, scarlet vertical pupils glaring murderously at the men.
Swish!
The remaining burly men fanned out, surrounding the beast, leaving only the boss watching from above.
"We have to end this quickly!" one of them shouted. They all knew that prolonging a noisy fight in the wilderness would only attract more unwanted monsters—a fatal mistake.
With cold, synchronized precision, they threw out a massive, heavy-duty net.
Swish!
Mustering all its strength, the leopard leaped into the air to escape. But before it could clear the trap's range, one of the burly men threw himself into its path, grappling it.
He held desperately onto its thick foreleg, his own face just an inch away from the leopard's snapping, bloodthirsty maw.
"Hurry up! I can't hold it much longer!" he roared.
The net dropped uselessly to the ground beside them.
'I can handle it!'
Sam's mind raced. He knew that an average human in this world had a maximum Strength attribute of 1. With his stats sitting at 2, his doubled physical strength could actually turn the tide.
If he didn't act, the beast would kill the grappled man, and the formation would collapse.
He knew this was the time to prove his worth. Without overthinking it, he dropped from the branches and sprinted toward the clearing.
"I'm coming to help!"
All the burly men's eyes snapped toward Sam's direction. They were shocked for a split second before the struggling beast forced their attention back.
"A kid? What the hell are you doing out here, kid?" one of them yelled.
"Enjoying my vacation!" Sam shouted back, his legs pumping as he quickly closed the distance.
"Kid, grab that net!"
Taking a deep breath, Sam scooped up the middle portion of the heavy mesh. It was incredibly dense, but it wasn't enough to strain his enhanced muscles—not after surviving the nightmare that had brought him to this world.
Flexing his hands, he assessed the chaotic scene. One burly man was still locked in a desperate grapple near the front, while two others were frantically trying to pull the beast's hind legs to keep it off balance.
Dropping the net for a fraction of a second, Sam lunged and grabbed the leopard's thick tail with both hands in an iron grip.
"When I count to three, let go of the leopard!" Sam instructed.
The men shot him a look of pure disbelief, but Sam just nodded firmly.
"One!" "Two!" "Three!"
As the countdown ended, the men released their grips. Utilizing every ounce of his 2-point Strength, Sam planted his feet, twisted his hips, and spun with explosive force.
The massive, mutated leopard was completely lifted off its feet, levitating in midair as Sam swung it by its tail.
"Now! Cover its head with the net!" Sam roared at the top of his lungs.
The burly men didn't waste the golden opportunity. They scrambled forward, grabbing the edges of the net to completely enclose the disoriented mutated leopard.
But as Sam swung the beast, his eyes suddenly widened. A terrifying realization dawned on him—the cooldown of the leopard's spirit attack could wear off at any second!
Reacting purely on instinct, Sam shifted his momentum. Instead of just holding the beast suspended, he viciously slammed the mutated leopard down into the hard earth.
Then, he hoisted it up and slammed it onto the other side. Left, right, left, right—he mindlessly battered the creature against the ground, refusing to give it even a fraction of a second to focus its spirit energy.
"What are you doing, kid?!" the burly men shouted, completely bewildered by the sudden, brutal display of raw strength.
Sam ignored them. He kept swinging, the world narrowing down to the sheer physical exertion of the task.
At that moment, the boss finally dropped down from his perch in the trees. "Don't stop him! He's incapacitating the beast so it can't activate its spirit attack!"
The burly men's eyes sparkled with realization.
Blood began to paint the dirt, but Sam ignored the gruesome sight. He kept going, slamming the beast over and over until he was absolutely convinced the leopard was out cold.
Finally, the tail slipped from his bloody grip. Sam collapsed to his knees, utterly breathless.
His whole body felt as though it had just been run through a meat grinder. Even the massive surge of adrenaline couldn't wash away the agonizing pain; his dried wounds from his earlier transmigration had violently torn open, smearing his arms with fresh blood.
And yet, he felt exhilarated.
The sheer satisfaction of defeating the apex predator was so immense that he momentarily forgot about his wretched physical condition.
"Kid! Are you alright?"