The man-eating dog stood about 1.5 meters tall, its eyes a deep yellow in color. Its body was covered in light brown fur, with yellow dots scattered across it.
The reason Ryan was unhappy upon seeing the creature was not because it was powerful or because he was afraid of it.
The reason his mood fell was because fighting against a man-eating dog provided him with no benefits.
The man-eating dog was one of the few monsters that was truly worthless, with nothing valuable on its body.
Unlike other monsters, which could be sold for some money after being killed, the man-eating dog was different.
Forget about getting anything valuable from it, even its flesh was inedible.
The flesh of a man-eating dog had a very strong, foul smell that even other monsters refused to eat it, let alone humans. The only thing that could be sold from a man-eating dog was its two canine teeth, each worth five credits.
In simple terms, a man-eating dog was only worth ten credits. As such, fighting against it was not worth the effort.
'Since I have encountered this piece of trash, it seems the affix Man Behind the Taboo is not that omnipotent…' Ryan thought inwardly as he gripped the one-hundred-centimeter-long metal pipe in his right hand.
Ryan wasn't exactly sure about the rank of the man-eating dog before him, but from the speed at which it approached his location, he estimated that it might be at the early stage, or perhaps even the middle stage of Rank One.
Although it was the first time Ryan was facing a monster, and it was even a true Rank One monster rather than an unranked one, he strangely did not feel any fear.
In fact, the same feeling that had emerged from his bloodline surfaced again, and this time it was even stronger than before.
'It seems the word War in my aspect—Infernal War Ape is not just for show…" Ryan mused to himself and without waiting for the man-eating dog to take the initiative, he shot toward it.
The distance of twenty meters was covered in an instant, and without holding back, he smashed the heavy pipe down toward the monster's head.
Woof!
The man-eating dog let out a bark like that of a normal dog, and the fur on its body stood on end. Though it barked like a dog, its reaction was far sharper.
Just before Ryan's attack landed, the monster jumped back, narrowly avoiding the blow.
At the same time, a foul-smelling, brown-colored smoke emitted from its mouth and drifted toward Ryan.
Even before the smoke reached him, Ryan's face couldn't help but change color, and he abandoned his plan to continue attacking.
Jumping back to distance himself from the smoke, he spat onto the ground, his expression as if he had just eaten something utterly disgusting.
'Damn it, now I understand why even monsters don't want to eat this piece of shit…' Ryan cursed inwardly, feeling as if his sense of smell had been completely polluted.
Trying his best not to puke out the meat buns he had eaten for breakfast, Ryan controlled his breathing rhythm and coldly stared at the man-eating dog in the distance.
He bent forward slightly, as if preparing to rush at the monster again, and without the dog noticing, he picked up a small stone from the ground.
Seeing that Ryan seemed to be planning to charge at it once more, the man-eating dog's eyes gleamed with a cold light and before Ryan could make a move, it rushed toward him, saliva sliding down from its open maw.
The moment the man-eating dog took the initiative to charge, Ryan's lips curled into a cold smile, and in the next instant—
Swish!
He threw the stone in his hand toward the dog with all his strength.
Normally, with its reflexes, the man-eating dog could have dodged such a sudden attack with some effort.
But because it was already charging at Ryan, it became extremely difficult for it to maneuver at such close range.
The stone cut through the air like a bullet and struck the man-eating dog's left eye in an instant.
Puchi!
The sound of something soft bursting echoed through the surroundings as the monster's eye exploded, bursting into blood and shredded tissue.
Woooooooof!!!
A howl filled with pain reverberated throughout the Misty Pine Forest and the charging monster's momentum immediately faltered, its body losing balance as it slid across the ground due to its own speed.
The man-eating dog's body thrashed wildly on the ground, its agonized howls echoing all around.
The moment he threw the stone, Ryan had already prepared to seize the opportunity and finish the fight in one decisive move.
Thus, the instant the stone struck the monster, he charged forward without hesitation.
Reaching the man-eating dog, which was still howling in pain, he brought his pipe down heavily toward its head.
Woosh!
The surrounding air was pushed aside by the rapidly descending pipe, and in the next instant, it struck the monster's skull.
Because he had learned the basic fighting techniques from the puppet in the training ground, Ryan's control over his strength was far superior to what he had displayed while fighting the puppets.
Moreover, unlike before when he had been bare-handed, he was now wielding a weapon.
As such, the moment the pipe struck the man-eating dog's head—
Bang!
A loud explosive sound echoed as the monster's head burst like a watermelon, with red and white flesh and brain matter splattering everywhere.
Some of the blood splashed onto Ryan's body, and the foul smell it emitted instantly caused his expression to twist in disgust.
The headless body of the monster twitched for a moment before finally going still.
Ryan let out a sigh of relief upon seeing that the monster was dead, and just as he was about to clean the blood splattered on him—
"Help!"
A loud voice reached his ears, followed by the sound of someone running in his direction.
======
(A/N:Hey guys, if you like the story, please vote with power stones, and if possible, leave a review. It is really helpful for new novels.)