Chapter 18: Demon Dogs

He spent the next few minutes gathering all the cores from the heads of the monsters. Their bodies also sold for a pretty good amount and could be used for meat. He simply needed to find a way to cook them properly.

When he was done gathering them up, he realized that he did not have a bag to carry them at all.

"I was really not prepared for this at all. I just walked my ass in and expected things to make sense."

He pulled up the system screen and, without a thought, he bought a big backpack that would be able to carry everything. He also managed to get some waterproof bags that he could stuff the meat in and not have it drip out.

When he was done, he swung the backpack over his back and looked at the forest. That was the next location, the place that he needed to go next and check out what was there.

He took a single step forward when suddenly a rabbit leaped out of the forest with its teeth bared and eager to bite into Leon. Its teeth penetrated the shirt, but when they made contact with the bodysuit, they were stopped immediately. Leon swung his hand and threw it into the air, and then he followed up with a slash that cleaved it clean in half.

He watched as the body hit the floor and then smiled.

"That’s what you get for trying to kill me," he said while cleaning the body and getting the core as well.

[.....]

The forest gave off a different air when compared to what was outside. It made one feel like someone was constantly watching their every move as they walked through the forest.

Leon did not like that. It made him uncomfortable and constantly on guard, which he also did not like one bit, but he could not escape it. It was all around the forest.

"This place feels like something will leap at me at any given time and attack. Tch, I hate that."

He had not even walked a few steps after saying that when a bush shook. He immediately turned and pointed his sword at it.

A rabbit leaped out, but it did not attack like the rest. It collapsed to the ground and died. He immediately saw a massive gash on the side of the rabbit. Claws had dug deep into its body. It was clear that something stronger had chased it and had taken it down.

"Shit, something is there," Leon muttered, knowing that some monster was there. Not long after, it lunged out. It was a dog with short hair, deep red eyes, and razor-sharp teeth. Its body was so thin that its bones showed.

Leon saw it and immediately knew what it was because he had once read an encyclopedia on known monsters. It was a demon dog, one of the stronger monsters that could be in an F-ranked gate.

The dog wasted no time and attacked. Its bite came down fast. Leon stepped back and evaded the attack, but then he tripped and hit the floor. He looked up, and the dog was headed his way again. He raised his leg and kicked the dog in the mouth.

He bought himself enough time to get up and get ready, and as the dog rushed at him, he swung for the kill. He expected that the blade would go right through the dog, but somehow, the dog stopped and dodged the attack cleanly, and then it attacked through the opening. There was no way Leon could dodge as those teeth sank into his arm.

’It dodged my attack. How the hell is that even possible? That should not be possible.’

The armour stopped the attack. Leon wasted no time and stabbed down. His sword penetrated the neck of the dog, and it collapsed to the floor, dead.

He pulled the blade out and looked at the body of the dog.

"It dodged my attack. An F-ranked monster read my attack. Am I really that shit? Tch." He clicked his tongue and started ripping open the head of the dog to get the core.

Suddenly, a sharp scream filled his ears, the scream of a lady. Leon looked up, picked up his sword, and got up. It sounded like someone was really in danger.

"Should I really even go there? I don’t know who that is, and it might be a trap." He wondered if he should be bothered enough to head over there and help. After a few seconds of thinking, he heaved a sigh of relief and jogged in that direction.

When he got close, he heard another scream. He saw the scene. A tree had attacked a party of two, a man and a lady, using extended branches to wrap around them and lift them off the ground. At the same time, multiple demon dogs were around the tree, barking and trying to get them.

Leon was about to head in to help when he noticed that the dude was without pants. His lower half was exposed and showing as he was swung around by the tree.

"Why the hell is he butt naked?" he asked, but there was no one there to answer the question. He gritted his teeth and rushed out with his sword in his hands.

"Hey, filthy mutts, this way," he yelled as he ran.