“Son!” screamed Gro’Bur. Furiously launching arrow after arrow at the elk, my father attempted to close the distance between them. The strong winds and smaller electric jolts kept him at bay, deflecting most of the arrows that came flying. He desperately dodged and weaved, trying his best to reach both of us.

A hand grasped my shoulder roughly, drawing me up to my feet. I watched as the mage spun me around, then threw a mana-infused fist directly into my chest. I watched as the mana structure he sent into my body drilled into it like a worm, seeking out the offending spell and absorbing the charges one at a time. Almost immediately, the electrical spasms lessened, allowing me to take in a deep breath of the burnt air.

"÷%£_+×>&*..!! ^£%×(..!" yelled the mage. Saliva flew around as he gestured at the elk wildly to draw my attention. Sadly I couldn't understand a single word, and the man's spittle was wasted.

Struggling to re-catch my stalled breath, I watched as Gro'Bur retained the monster's attention. Lacking my magical talents, the tough goblin was doing pretty well all things considered. Though he hadn't been caught yet by the elk's quick cast magic, he had hardly advanced further than a meter or two.

Pongo lay on her side, almost as still as a log. I could smell burnt meat as parts of her body looked cooked. It seemed she had taken the brunt of the spell instead. Her eyes glazed over and though she was still breathing, I knew that her wounds needed immediate attention. The poor girl had fought with us with barely anything to gain; she deserved a feast, and the main course had already been decided on.

Gripping my own sword tightly, I lunged at the creature's rear. With as much momentum as I could carry, I brought my blade right on its neck. It spun just in time, catching the bone on its antler. Small cracks appeared on the ivory surface, but I was too preoccupied to care. In my attempt to free it, one of my hands found its way onto the antler.

A violent gust of wind launched itself at me, threatening to throw me off. In my desperation, I threw a bite straight onto the elk’s unguarded face. I must have bit something vital, because the next second it screeched in pain and shook me off in a clear frenzy. What I guessed to be blood dripped down my face, but I couldn’t tell.

A single arrow pierced the air; the last in my father’s quiver. More luck than skill, the arrow found purchase this time, piercing through where my previous attack had already hit. It sank into the elks thick flesh, drawing an almost human-like scream that sent chills down my back.

“Avenge best pig!” screamed Gro’Bur. He discarded his now useless bow, scampering forward and leaping onto the already terrified elk like a wolf. Together, the two of us tried to tear at the creature’s deceptively tough hide with our nails and our teeth. An electrical discharge burst to life around it, an attempt to throw us off, but I had learnt a thing or two from the mage.

The amount of mana I had left within me wasn't much coming from the water, but it was enough to cram it into a similarly shaped structure and set it loose. This time, instead of my own body, I watched as the mana wurm burrowed into what looked like the elk’s bloodstream, but was probably something like a circuit for mana.

Lightning sputtered and flared around it, the spell's failure causing shock and surprise to emanate from the beast. I continued to bite and gnaw on its face, scratching at places that seemed weaker like the throat and the eyes. A powerful gust of wind blew by Gro'Bur right off the elk like a bug off a windshield. He bounced unceremoniously across the river, and my heart beat rapidly as he didn't rise.

Elated at its success, the elk now looked towards controlling the spell around it as further lightning sigils continued to fail. I held on to its antler like an anchor as the winds battered me from multiple directions. Desperate for a way to survive, I forced my mind to think on a solution.

My sword was next to useless against the hardy beast, now that Pongo was out of the fight. I had neither the strength nor speed to deal any worthwhile damage. Till now my most effective attack were my teeth, but as it had worked once before, the creature now wisely elongated its neck, flinging me side to side and not allowing me to latch on to anything vital.

With nothing else left to me as I hung on, I turned to magic, and to my miniscule knowledge of it. The only "spell" I actually knew was the mana wurm. Casting it before stopped mana from connecting to its structure, since it seemed to consume it and break any connections. I wrote that off almost immediately. Even without casting any new spells, the elk was still handing my ass to me on a plate.

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A sudden lurch eventually succeeded in tossing me off, where I fortunately landed in a relatively leafy bush. I crawled to my knees unsteadily, dazed from the fall. Not being swung left and right anymore served me well though, as I could finally think straight. Although from afar, the mana wurm was hardly the only spell I'd witnessed. I remembered the purple flames of the mage, his trio of torpedoes and the hidden spiderweb. I could still roughly remember the shapes each spell had taken, especially the net.

I frantically dashed to the water, gulping down large mouthfuls like a camel. It must have looked absolutely ridiculous, since when I looked up, the elk was giving me a creeped out look. Taking the chance, I continued to lap at the waters but inside I could the mana within my stomach burn intensely. With as much focus as I could provide, I drew out the mana from the waters, building them layer by layer into the structure I remembered seeing.

Like building a sandcastle right next to the sea, every block I painstakingly built up simply melted everytime I looked away. In the span of a few mouthfuls of water, I had already failed five times, the sixth already disolving into nothingness.

The elk had had enough of watching the spectacle however. Weirdo or not, I knew that the elk wouldn't leave till one of us lay dead on the ground. With a disgusted snort it pawed on the soft sand and readied a charge.

The spell was nowhere near ready; the mana stubbornly slipped through my fingers. Unlike the mana wurm from before, it seemed this spell required far further control than I possessed. Thinking of the wurm put pressure on an already intense situation.

How did I cast it before?

The structure for the wurm was significantly easier, barely taking even a thought before I could send it spiraling away. With one more gulp of water, I attempted to replicate my previous thought process. The work was extremely surreal, like studying your own stomach.

With laborious breaths, the elk lowered its remaining antler and dashed towards me. I drew mana out from the water steadily, my stomach burning intensely from undiluted energy.

Memorize. Remember the shape of the structure. There, a rough idea. Looks alot like a trash bin but it'll do. Now cram that bloody mana in. Make sure it stays there. Pretty fast to make to be honest.

Don't look at the deer, just look at your stomach, don't look at the deer. I mentally chanted.

Focus!

The size of the structure was ten times smaller, probably more. Where before it could hold a bear, now even a mouse would find it squeezy. Plus the miniature didn't have the elemental rebound effects that made its predecessor so mesmerising. A short break in concentration shattered the crude structure, and mana rapidly spilled out.

Shit, the thing's leaking!

I hurriedly forced the rudimentary structure out of my stomach. As crude as it was, the process felt akin to letting out gas; meaning surprisingly relieving. Almost immediately, purple light materialized in my hand, a pale imitation of the spells I had seen before. The flare caused the elk to cry out mid charge, and I stared at it, ironically like a deer in headlights.

"Son!" yelled Gro'Bur from across, shaking me from my stupor. When it was practically right on top of me, I flung the spell at it thoughtlessly as I dove to the side. It attached itself to the creature's rear hoof, springing up like a bear trap and ensnaring it to the river bed.

As expected, the wispy spell broke apart in an instant, the violet lights immediately disintegrating into nothingness. That wasn't to say it had been useless however. Far from it, the unexpected trap had used the elk's momentum against itself, and like a curb to a speeding truck, it flipped end over end, face down into the dirt. The effects were spectacular; half of its head was buried deep into the mud, the creature breathing heavily but obviously still stunned from the impact. The caught leg lay unnaturally, lower bone obviously dislocated from the whiplash.

With a loud shout I retrieved my fallen sword and rushed at the creature. Raising my sword high I prepared to deliver the coup de grâce. As I looked into the creature's glazed over eyes, my conscience pricked greatly. As dangerous as things were, even I knew how wrong this was.

The elk had done absolutely nothing to me, heck, I should be thanking the beast since it was thanks to it that I had my equipment, and learned how to cast a spell. Stronger was my aim, but I had already beaten it, and I wasn't sure if there was a need to finish the job.

It attempted to get up, though in my panic, I frantically sent three more pulsing nets onto each of its legs, but it was unneeded. The elk would not walk again, not without assistance. It continued to struggle and call about in pain, my heart growing heavier by the second.

Then a heavy twack! interrupted its calls. Gro'Bur had a large rock nested between his hands, slamming it on the elk's head. Tough hide and bone allowed it to survive the first hit, but not the subsequent ones that followed. I watched on, stunned, as he mutiliated our adversary's head into bloody paste over the course of a minute.

Bloodied, bruised and more than a little tired, Gro'Bur turned to me, his weary eyes boring into mine, before giving me a light slap on the head.

"Goblins weak, son. Doubt is death while hunt. No die today. "