"Well, would you look at that..." One of the two men, the taller one, said.

His eyes fell on the hide in front of Arthur, and his lips twisted into something that wasn’t quite a smile.

"All the way up here, and we find a couple of leeches fattening themselves on our hunting grounds, huh?"

John tilted his head, the grip around his spear tightening.

"Your hunting grounds?" he asked.

"That’s right," the second man snapped. "We’ve been sweeping this slope since yesterday. Anything that spawns here belongs to us. That means the boars and anything they drop, buddy."

Arthur’s eyes narrowed. He tried to keep his expression even, but the looks of arrogance and shamelessness on the two men’s faces were simply unbelievable. He couldn’t believe he was actually meeting a pair of lowlife wannabe gangsters like this.

"And here I thought items belonged to whoever killed the monster," Arthur said sarcastically.

John didn’t speak, but as he straightened his back, his blue eyes settled on the two men as well.

The taller man’s smirk widened, but there was no humor in it. He just looked at Arthur and shook his head as he continued,

"You’re new. So it makes sense you wouldn’t know about it. It’s alright. Just hand over the loot, and we’ll let you walk back down the mountain in one piece. How does that sound?"

The edge of John’s lips curved into something between a sneer and a grin. Without taking his eyes off the two men, he muttered under his breath,

"Can’t believe this is actually happening. A bunch of garbage threatening me... It’s been so long, too!"

The taller hunter’s smirk faltered.

"Garbage, huh?" He shook his head, his tone dripping with disappointment.

"Kids these days really have no respect..." His eyes cut to his companion, and then, without another word, they both jumped forward.

Both men came at once!

The taller one moved toward Arthur, his spear flashing forward in a vicious thrust, while the shorter one stabbed low at John.

But Arthur wasn’t caught off guard. He’d been prepared for this.

His [Goblin’s Fang] moved up to meet the incoming strike as he traced the man’s eyes.

This guy had been aiming for his head!

Tooth scraped against tooth as Arthur turned the spear aside, close enough that he actually felt the rush of cold air against his cheek.

The man seemed genuinely surprised his ambush had failed, but he actually pressed on without missing a beat.

A second thrust and then a third followed, his spear moving with incredible speed from one angle to the next.

Arthur’s arms vibrated with each impact as he hurriedly blocked the attacks and tried to open up the distance.

But truth be told, it wasn’t easy!

His opponent was actually strong. Putting aside how his attacks sent Arthur reeling a few steps back, just the man’s speed alone was leagues above Arthur’s.

If not for his reaction time, Arthur was sure he’d probably have been skewered in those first couple of exchanges.

"Hahaha! You’re so damn slow, kid. And to think I almost let you walk away!" the man jeered as he attacked, his grin widening.

Arthur’s eyes narrowed as he knocked aside another spear thrust that scraped across his [Goblin’s Fang], sending sparks flying the moment it struck the rock behind him.

Just half a second! That’s all he needed to gather up his mana and fire a [Water Arrow] at the man, but in a fight like this, even this much was impossible to find.

Luckily, he had invested all his free stat points in strength and agility so he could actually keep up with this guy, even if just barely.

On the other side, John fought like a madman, his spear crashing down mercilessly. His opponent grunted under the weight of each of his blows, his voice cracking as he suddenly yelled,

"Dammit, Nick! I need some help with this monster!"

"Hold on!" the taller man shouted, his eyes never leaving Arthur.

"I’ll finish this kid off soon enough. Just wait a bit."

Arthur could feel his heart rate picking up, as sweat pooled around his forehead. Time seemed to slow down around him as he blocked spear thrust after spear thrust.

The tall man’s arrogant expression gave way to impatience... and finally, Arthur found the opening he’d been looking for!

The man thrust forward, his spear just grazing the edge of Arthur’s chestpiece and driving into the rock wall behind him. The tip seemed lodged there for half a second, as if caught in its own momentum.

But that was all the time Arthur needed.

He knew the man was too fast; catching him off guard with a strike from the [Goblin’s Fang] was out of the question. The chestpiece would also turn aside any blow to the body, and there was no way he’d land a hit on a vital spot like the head or neck before the man reacted.

So instead of pulling away, Arthur stepped forward, his left hand stretching out and pressing flat against the man’s chest. He could feel the rough texture of the [Scrap-Leather Chestpiece] under his palm.

Finally, his lips curled into a mad grin. "Game over!"