Even if he was still unused to the marshy terrain, Troy managed to keep a brisk pace as he hopped over roots and rocks. The sturdy covers of the boots kept his feet quite mobile, with brambles and knots thankfully being bumps rather than tripping hazards. But as the distance closed on the conflict, he could make out the sound of squealing, wood splintering and… steel clashing on bone?
Troy ran steadfast towards the sounds, hopping over a brook and scattering loose rocks. As he crested over a hilltop, Troy was forced to drop on all fours when several trees were sent flying his way. After curling up for several seconds, Troy glanced up to see a small figure leap from the treeline. As the person landed with a splash less than fifty feet away, he glared through the sparse foliage for details.
With Troy watching from his hiding spot, the person stood up and threw their hood off, revealing a boyish person with shaggy, black hair. In fact, a second glance made it clear it was a boy, given the faint baby fat on his lean cheeks. Not even a teen, most likely. While most of his body was cloaked in a dark green cloak that was knee-length, his lean arms were easily visible as he lifted up a sword as long as his arms. Maybe a short sword?
Troy’s musing was cut off when a massive beast literally burst through the trees. Standing nearly ten feet tall, a massive, car-sized boar shoved past the foliage to glare at the child. Chipped tusks, each the size of Troy’s hands together, cut trunks down effortlessly as it threw its head back. Its bristly hide shrugged off the trees falling on it, and wide legs crushed the foliage beneath it into splinters. Even with cuts and blood leaking all over its hide, the beast still stood tall in the swampy forest.
Troy watched in fascinated horror as the feral beast let out a snort, and the child lifted his sword up in challenge. There had to be someone else with him, right? But as the boy and beast prepared to fight, he began to look around in a panic. With the trees felled, it was easy to see the lack of any intervening adults. The complete area seemed to have been vacated by all life, the only life left being the plants.
Troy futilely looked around for several seconds, but as a rabid squeal sounded behind him, he spun around to witness the monstrous pig charge at the kid. Frozen in fear, Troy took in a breath to shout at the kid to run. But as his voice filled his throat, the scream died a quick death as the kid moved.
Troy could barely keep track as he darted forward, jumping over the boar’s plowing tusks to cut its face. The boar immediately lashed out, and the boy used the momentum to leap away. While the boar skidded to a spray of dirt, the boy crouched down before he finally lunged forward.
The boar let out a deafening cry of pain and rage as the blade sunk into its left eye, sinking inches deep and permanently blinding it. Before the boy could finish the job, it threw him off, the action forcing the kid to jump away.
Troy continued to watch with clenched fists as the kid fought the boar, moving like a matador to land a canvas of additional blows. But the longer the battle drew out, he could tell that the battle was slowly falling apart. Each time the boy had to jump away, his actions became sloppier and jagged. In contrast, the boar was still fighting strong, despite having bled enough to fill a dozen blood donations.
As the beast nearly trampled the child when he dodged on trembling legs, Troy looked down at his shaking hands. If the kid kept dodging, they’d be safe. But if a single blow managed to land, by tusks that could cut down trees like a chainsaw…
Troy let out a low growl and began to move his gun off his shoulder. He didn’t know where the kid’s friends or parents were, but he couldn’t stand by like this!
The rifle slid into his arms after some difficulty, and he switched the safety off as he aimed forward. A low breath escaped for focus, and Troy lined his gaze with the iron sights. With the two so close as it steadied, he could only watch as the two fought. But when the kid finally jumped away, he clenched his teeth before he finally pulled down on the trigger.
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Alcydes took in ragged breaths as he glared at the Great Marsh Boar, his ringing fingers barely holding onto his sword. Health was down by half. Stamina nearly depleted. Having heard that marsh boars were an easy challenge for even Porcelain-rank adventurers, he had taken the quest to cover for room and food. It was a hazardous trek, especially with the marsh being bleak enough that stealth was difficult. But with careful steps and liberal use of Stealth, he had managed to sneak under the presence of more deadly beasts to the designated area.
However, after several hours of hiking and two days of ambush hunting, he found himself on the run of a most grueling encounter. Even with his training, the Great Boar was a monstrous demigod compared to the normal marsh boars. With twice the size, three times the muscle and an instinctual intelligence that belied its feral form, the great boar had forced Alcydes to turn from the hunter to being the hunted. The boar’s hide prevented a fatal blow being dealt in close quarters. No matter how far he Dashed, the beast seemed intent on following him relentlessly.
After hours of hit-and-run fighting, he could feel his magic reserves on the last dregs. At this rate, he’d end up being the one taken down by bone before he could even become an Ivory. As the boar crouched down to charge, he gripped down on the hilt and prepared to counter-attack again-
Before either clashed, a sharp pop ruptured the flow of battle, and the boar let out a sudden squeal. Alcydes blinked in confusion, thinking it had been spooked by the noise. But as a new trio of pops shot through the air, his eyes widened at the sight of its ear being blasted to pieces. It spun in the air before finally dangling by thin strips of flesh.
“HAY! YUU OHWVRGRON BAYCUN!” A foreign tongue called out. With bleary eyes, Alcydes glanced towards the call to find a lumpy, oddly dressed man standing in the bushes. A short series of pops came from the iron tube (a new type of handheld artillery, maybe?), peppering the Great Boar into spraying more blood from fresh holes. After one round struck the beast right between its eyes, the Great Boar let out an indignant bellow at the new challenger, enraged at how it was being attacked like this. As the shots died out, the man waved his arms in a challenge before he did an about face and ran from the fight.
Rather than continue the fight though, Alcydes could only watch in shock as the monster charged after the intruder, tearing up the terrain as it charged. He knew there wasn’t anyone of that strength from the guild, as he had turned down anyone joining him. But for a random stranger to follow him like this, and draw the beast away when he was in trouble…
Pushing the pain down, Alcydes pulled out a MaSta Potion. He swiftly chugged the mixture down and threw the clay jar away as he trudged after the path of destruction. Mana recovery would take a few minutes to get enough regained, but he had to make it in time!
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“Fuck-fuck-fuck-fuck-fuck!” Troy hissed as he ran through the woods, clutching the rifle tight as he fled. After all those shots, he had certainly gotten the boar’s attention. With the trees and land being torn to shreds feet behind him, he could definitely tell the beast was hot on his trail. But couldn’t it give him some space?!
As Troy pushed through the low trickle of the brook, he looked behind him only to speed up at the beast knocking trees down like kindling. “Why did I have to be so close?” he asked himself and began to dig through his pockets for ammo. With shaky hands, he began to stuff the rounds down the loading tube, dropping half the ammo in his haste.
While he unsteadily reloaded his gun, Troy could practically feel the boar breathing down his back. A hard snort behind him pointed out that it was perhaps more literal than that, and Troy sped up even further. But with all his muscles burning, he was hard-pressed to come up with any plan when a few seconds of hesitation would turn him into offroad roadkill. As he rushed down the coastline, a lightbulb turned on when he noticed a massive pile of brambles in the distance.
With his legs now at a full rush, Troy changed from running straight ahead to charge at the pile of plants. He had only spotted it earlier as a spot to avoid, especially with all the brambles being feet deep. If he got there before the boar ran him over, he had a chance!
Troy climbed up the bushes on unsteady feet and began to run across the thorny brush. While his feet caught on some of the protruding branches, the mass held as he ran across it. The sound of trampling only grew louder as the boar rushed on the brambles after him, the splintering underfoot sounding more like an industrial woodchipper than heavy steps. But as Troy neared safe ground, he heard the wood groan underneath. Each step of the boar seemed to make the entire growth tremble, nearly coming apart as the wild pig became deeper entrenched.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
As Troy hopped up on the higher ground, he turned around to see the boar fall deep into the brambles. While it had trudged over the brambles at first, the sheer weight seemed to work against it. While the boar first pushed through belly-trailing brambles, it had pushed through to be buried up to its eyes in the shrubs. No matter how hard it pushed, the beast seemed fully stuck in place.
Seeing the opportunity, Troy hastily pointed his rifle at the boor and began to fire shots into it. He put at least two dozen shots into the beast, having the time to reload two more times. But no matter how many pops of blood came up, it just wouldn’t go down!
After peppering the boar’s hide with enough bullets to paint a constellation, Troy hissed at how futile the pepper spray of shots failed. “Fucking hell, is this the Hog Kong to match Hogzilla?” he asked aloud, glaring at the thrashing beast. He couldn’t land a solid shot with how much it thrashed. For all the shots the beast soaked up, he would likely be spending all day shooting it! Even though Troy hated the idea of getting close to it, he tentatively glanced at the boar before he reached for his hatchet and rope.
Once he switched weapons, he began to crawl down the hillside towards the beast, his rope slowly unraveling behind him as he descended. The boar began to thrash harder, sensing his intentions. But with it being thoroughly stuck, Troy hopped up on the boar’s neck and raised his hatchet high. With a light squelch, the hatchet slowly began to cut into the boar, and Troy went ham in a series of choppy blows.
“Come! On! Where’s! Your! Femoral! Artery?!” Troy cursed, each blow earning a little more progress. While he couldn’t find the mortal body part, each blow earned a spurt of blood. However, as the edge drew deeper, the boar began to thrash about violently. Troy grabbed hold of the boar’s ear for stability as it threw its head back and forth, but his legs wrapped around the beast’s neck for a solid hold. When a heavy blow caused a gush of blood to shoot out, Troy let out a cry of triumph at how close he was.
As he lifted the hatchet up again, Troy was thrown forward when the boar rushed backwards. While it had gotten stuck charging forward, the boar rapidly backed up. With Troy hanging atop the boar’s head, he opened his eyes to find the monster glaring at him with its only good eye. He gulped at the beast’s infernal fire in its eyes and tried to right himself. Troy’s hands were mere inches from the boar’s wretched, sharpened teeth, and each time the beast threw him around, he barely avoided getting his hands being bitten off.
As the boar tossed him over the left side, Troy’s hand came down to rest on the jagged tusk. Sensing blood, the feral pig began to grind its upper and lower tusks together. With the edges nearly tearing fingers or his leg to shreds, Troy let go and swapped the hatchet to the other hand. As his rope was caught by the beast, he swung down with a full-body blow. The hatchet dug deep behind where flesh and tusk met and locked the cord in place.
The boar let out an agonized squeal at the deep blow and stumbled around before slamming its head against an exposed boulder. The impact trapped Troy’s leg between skull and stone, and he could hear the hatchet irreversibly crack. With a scream of pained rage, Troy twisted the hatchet outwards and pulled it out at a sharp angle. The tusk was sent flying through the air as it was ripped out, accompanied by steel splinters and a spray of blood. However, the same motion tossed Troy off the beast, and he rolled for several feet before coming to a stop.
His calf felt like it had been wrapped in nettles, but Troy unsteadily stood up to face the boar. The mammoth pig writhed around for several seconds, caught up in its pain, then forced itself to glare at Troy. Despite a stream of blood pouring from its neck, a tusk removed, and only one eye left, the boar still stood strong. Troy looked down at his hatchet, wincing at how the break made it look more like a sickle than an ax, and looked back to the boar. Maybe a final blow deep in the eye socket would finish it. Even with his body aching, Troy crouched down as he prepared to jump in who knows what direction-
“[Gultain Leigas],” a young voice suddenly cut in.
Troy froze at the sudden comment. Blinking rapidly, Troy suddenly saw the boy appear on the other side of the boar as it dropped like a stone. The beast fell like a dropped puppet, and the head rolled away to reveal a mostly clean cut. His mind rife with confusion, the man could only watch as the kid stood up and turned to look at Troy.
“Grat’ull,” the boy said as he faintly bowed his head. Troy’s brow scrunched up at the words, not knowing how to even reply.
After several seconds of silence, Troy realized the kid was waiting for a reply and coughed. “Um, thanks, I guess,” he commented, rubbing his neck at the awkward situation.
The boy nodded back and turned back to the fallen animal. As Troy watched in curiosity, he reached under his cloak and pulled out a metal pendant that hung from his neck. The kid held the pendant straight up, then pointed it at the boar. “[Pakut],” the boy said, and Troy’s jaw dropped as the corpse began to glow. Over nearly twenty seconds, the corpse of the boar turned into light before finally vanishing.
As the raw corpse finally vanished, the blood on the ground being the only evidence remaining, the kid put the pendant away only to suddenly collapse face-first. Troy started when the child collapsed, and immediately ran over. “Shit, are you okay?” he asked as he knelt down, even if he couldn’t be understood. When there was no response, Troy rolled the kid over and began to look him over. While there was no visible bleeding, the boy’s face was very pale, and his shirt was matted with sweat.
Fearing the worst, Troy lowered his ear to the boy’s mouth and listened intently. When he heard a faint but steady breath, Troy sighed in relief and rose back up. Placing a hand on the boy’s head, he frowned at how it felt damp yet burning hot. Did he have a cold? Or had he been poisoned somehow?
While the boy’s clothes were intact, Troy began to check his limbs and head for a possible cut or concussion. Thankfully, the only injury on his arms were some scrapes, so it was unlikely he had to deal with tetanus. But as he began to move the boy’s hair to check for a scalp wound, his eyes widened as he saw his ears. They weren’t torn or pierced. But as he lifted the hair up higher, Troy stared at the kid’s pointed ears in shock.
After several seconds, he finally shook his head and let go of the boy’s black locks. “Damn, guess elves really do exist,” he commented, looking up at the sky as he tried to process everything. He had honestly expected there to be something living out here, but an actual fantasy race?
Troy let out a slow breath and looked down at the kid in disbelief. As the kid continued to lay still on the ground, Troy looked at him with hesitation before he picked the kid up. Throwing him over his shoulder, he let out a shaky breath at the extra weight and began to take shaky steps.
“Alright kiddo, let’s get you in an actual bed,” he commented as he trudged back toward the shed. If this was back on Earth, he’d likely get a visit from the cops for carrying a kid who didn’t know him. But without knowing where the kid’s family was, it was better to give him a roof to sleep under than being attacked by god knows what!
As Troy continued to trek, he momentarily stilled when he found the bloody tusk laying on the ground. The blood had mostly dried, but the sheer size of it still stunned him. He looked around for a bit, then clumsily crouched down to pick it up. He firmly shoved the tusk in an empty pocket, then re-adjusted the kid before he continued his trek. Despite the rush of battle earlier, thankfully the rest of the hike back was undisturbed.
After nearly a half-hour, Troy finally stumbled up to the shack, and pushed the door open before he walked back into the bright lights of modern housing. When the door firmly shut behind him, Troy shakily walked over to the table and set the kid down in the chair. With both hands free, Troy immediately put the bracelet on the counter and sprinted to the door. Seeing nothing but porcelain and toiletries, Troy nodded in satisfaction and finally slid down against the wall.
As he began to take in rapid breaths, Troy looked at his hands to find them shaking. Was it due to a rush from earlier, or hurting himself in the battle? Troy’s eyes became vacant, and the shaking spread across his body as he struggled to process it all. Why had he even fought the beast? It had been bigger than his bed, let alone him! If he hadn’t been so lucky, he would’ve been turned into bacon supplements. So, why had he even done that?!
A boy darts forward to cut the boar on its face and jumps back to avoid a blow that shreds the ground he had stood on.
Troy’s breathing calmed down as he remembered how close the kid had been killed and looked at the unintentional guest sleeping at the table. While he didn’t even know the boy’s name, his sleeping face of innocence was a sharp contrast to his stoic focus earlier.
Troy shook his head at the sheer variance and picked the kid back up before he walked towards the bedroom. He carefully trudged up the steps, the stairs creaking faintly underneath his feet. After he pushed the door open, he trudged over to the bed and carefully set the child down. Once he put the boy on top of the mattress, Troy grabbed a black blanket and draped it over the child. With the elven kid tucked in, he chuckled faintly at the sleeping child's face before he walked away and closed the door behind him.
As he walked back to the kitchen, Troy picked up the bracelet with a contemplative frown. “What even are you?” he asked as he sat down. Even though he had found it downstairs, he had never seen uncle Eric use any magic, or even have a real weapon outside of his own pistol. But as he thought it over, he began to remember the stories that he heard as a kid at family parties. Of castles built in a marsh, elven nobles with hair of every color of the rainbow, and monsters that could reshape the land in their migrations…
Troy groaned as he felt a headache grow and rubbed his scalp in frustration. “Ffffuck… I can’t think this over at all right now,” he hissed, and tossed the bracelet back on the table. With his body beaten and bruised like damaged fruit, he pulled out a sleeping bag and laid it on the ground. Even though the cold floor wasn’t the best for his back, Troy soon fell into a fitful sleep, his subconscious a blur of what could be in the world or which of Eric’s stories were true.