The steel vanguard blade sank deep into the back of the Iron-Tusk Boar’s neck, cutting right through the thick leather and separating its spine.

CRUNCH.

The massive creature didn’t even have the chance to unleash a second squeal.

Its legs instantly buckled beneath its three-ton frame, and it crashed heavily into the dirt, kicking up a small cloud of dust.

[Target Defeated. Level 6 Enemy Cleared.]

[Experience Gained: 120 / 600]

Asher pulled his blade out with a wet slide, wiping the dark red fluid on the high grass.

He didn’t waste a single second.

He pointed his left palm at the gray carcass as the faint purple mist of its soul began to drift upward.

"Activate talent: Extraction," Asher commanded.

The massive holographic slot machine materialized over the boar’s body, its heavy iron reels spinning with a loud, rhythmic clicking noise.

[Current Viewers: 3,450]

The chat section was flying by so fast it looked like vertical blue static.

The viewers on Earth were losing their minds over the fact that he had literally acted like a human brick wall against a charging monster.

[User_Tim99]: DID I JUST WATCH A NAKED MAN NO-SELL A TRUCK CHARGE?!

[LootGoblin]: The sound! Did you hear that metallic clang? His skin didn’t even scratch!

[NoobSlayer]: Ironhide passive is completely broken. This isn’t a vanguard build, this is a literal cheat code.

[MinMax_Andy]: Look at the damage calculation. 5 points of damage out of 240 HP. That means the boar’s charge didn’t even pass his baseline defense threshold. He can literally pull the whole map without dying.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

The golden slot machine reels slowed to a halt, stopping on a rare green icon shaped like a thick shield.

[Rare Pull Success!]

[Extracted Variant Attribute from Iron-Tusk Boar: +3 Vitality (Permanent)]

[Integrating attribute into host soul...]

A warm, heavy sensation spread through Asher’s core, settling deep into his bones.

He checked his character sheet. His Vitality attribute jumped from 15 to 18, pushing his maximum health pool even higher.

[HP: 240 / 240 → 264 / 264]

"More health, more density," Asher muttered, a sharp grin forming on his face.

"At this rate, by the time I reach Level 10, even a boss won’t be able to leave a scratch."

He looked down at the physical remains of the boar. Unlike the cave mutants, the boar didn’t dissolve completely.

A glowing blue icon appeared over its skin, indicating it could be harvested for the quest.

He leaned down, using the tip of his steel sword to cleanly separate the tough, bristled leather from the meat.

[Item Obtained: Iron-Tusk Boar Hide x1]

[Quest Progress: 1 / 10]

"One down, nine to go," Asher said aloud, looking up into the blue lens of his camera drone.

"Let’s speed this up. Gideon and his squad are probably running through their mana potions trying to down their first one."

Using [Shadow Perception], Asher tracked the heavy hoof prints through the grove.

He didn’t just look for individual tracks; he looked for areas where the grass was heavily trampled.

Within ten minutes, he located a small clearing near a shallow riverbed where three Iron-Tusk Boars were drinking water.

Instead of sneaking up on them or using [Feline Agility] to hide his footsteps, Asher walked straight out into the open, dragging his steel sword along the rocks to create a loud, grating noise.

SCRRRRITCH.

All three boars immediately whipped their heads around, their small red eyes flashing with instant aggression.

They let out synchronized, angry snorts, stomping their heavy hooves into the mud before charging at him together from three different angles.

[NoobSlayer]: WHOA! Three at once? Streamer is getting cocky!

[GamerGuyX]: He’s pulling the whole camp! Use a skill, man!

[MinMax_Andy]: It’s fine. With his current defense multiplier, pulling multiple targets actually increases his farming efficiency. He can let them hit him, trigger the stagger rebound, and clear them in a single horizontal sweep.

Asher waited until the three charging beasts were only five feet away.

Just as their ivory tusks were about to collide with his body, he stepped slightly to the left, lining them up so their heavy frames crowded into one another.

BANG! BANG! CRASH!

The three boars slammed into Asher and each other, a chaotic mess of iron bristles and heavy bone.

The metallic clanging sound was deafening.

Asher felt the heavy pressure against his legs and ribs, but his feet stayed glued to the dirt.

Three red numbers floated above his head.

[HP: 264 → 259 → 254 → 249]

All three monsters stumbled back, their heads shaking violently from the rebound effect of his [Ironhide] passive.

They were completely dazed, their physical defense values dropping into the negative. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Asher didn’t hesitate.

He stepped into the center of the dazed pack, swinging his steel vanguard sword in a massive, horizontal circle.

The blade caught the bright sunlight, cutting through the air with a clean, lethal arc.

SLASH. SLASH.

[TARGET ELIMINATED.]

His steel blade sliced cleanly through the soft throat armor of the first two boars, killing them instantly.

The third boar tried to turn and run, but Asher brought his sword down in a heavy vertical strike, splitting its skull down the middle.

[Three Targets Defeated. Experience Gained: 360 / 600]

[Current Experience: 480 / 600]

"Three more extractions," Asher said, his left hand glowing with a golden light as he pointed at the triple pools of purple mist.

"Let’s see if we can hit the jackpot again."

The three slot machines dropped down simultaneously, turning the riverbed into a flashing digital casino.

The chat was moving too fast to read, the viewers spamming coin and gacha emotes as the reels spun wildly.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

[Common Pull: +1 Strength]

[Common Pull: +1 Agility]

[Common Pull: +1 Strength]

"No rare skills this time, but three permanent stat points are nothing to complain about," Asher said, feeling his muscles grow even tighter.

His Strength was now at 19, and his Agility was at 18.

He knelt down, quickly harvesting the three hides and tossing them into his virtual quest log.

[Quest Progress: 4 / 10]

As he finished skinning the last boar, a loud explosion of magical fire echoed from the forest across the riverbed.

A thick plume of black smoke rose above the trees, followed by the distant, angry shouts of players.

"Sounds like our friends from the Iron Vanguard guild are having a rough time," Asher smiled, looking toward the smoke.

"Let’s go see how their bet is going."