"Abilities gained," the voice announced in his head.

"Could you turn down the volume at least? You're going to send me deaf... wait, can I go deaf? Ugh, another time! Damn it, boar first."

Arcane Barrier: A shimmering barrier composed of pure mana, capable of absorbing or deflecting incoming damage. When activated, it creates a protective shield around you, providing a moment of safety. Upon impact, the barrier can explode outward, releasing a wave of energy that deals small damage to nearby enemies.

Flame Whip: A whip of magical flames that ignites on command. This fiery weapon delivers searing heat and can inflict burns. It is versatile, allowing for both striking and entangling opponents.

Conjured Distraction: An illusionary mirror image of yourself draped in shadows. This distraction confuses and misleads enemies, drawing attention away from your true location for a limited time.

"Oh great, now I have to figure out how to use these as well. Why couldn't it have just given me a damn sword or something?" he muttered to himself. "Alright, time to get this over with. No better way to learn than to dive right in, right?" His heart raced as he steeled himself.

He stood to the side of the tree, peering down at the boar, and yelled, "FLAME WHIP!" He waited a moment, but nothing happened. "Flame whip!" he tried again, panic rising within him. The boar, for its part, looked equally confused. "Come on, damn it! Flame whip! Isn’t this how these things normally work?" Anger mixed with panic surged through him.

The boar had seen enough of the strange human flailing about and charged. "Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck!" Brandon turned and ran, but it was no use. Missing chunk or not, this boar was fast. It leaped off a tree root and lunged at him. Just before impact, Brandon focused on his Arcane Barrier ability, feeling a surge of energy envelop him.

The boar slammed into his gut, throwing him backward. To his astonishment, he realized it hadn’t hurt him at all. Looking down, he felt around his body and marveled, "Well, I’ll be damned, it worked!" But then he noticed cracks spreading across the barrier around him. "Shit, the shield must be about to break."

With a crash, the boar charged again, this time colliding with his legs. Brandon was lifted off the ground and dropped onto his face in the dirt. He grimaced, feeling the impact, and quickly turned his head to glance around just as the barrier shattered, sending shards of energy flying in every direction. Branches splintered, leaves fell, and trees bore new holes where none had existed before.

"That one hurt," he groaned, lifting his pant legs to inspect his shins. "No damage? The barrier must have absorbed most of it." He glanced at the boar, now appearing far more weary, blood oozing from several wounds where the energy had struck.

"Focus, Brandon. You got the barrier to work; now do it with the clone thing," he muttered. He concentrated on the Conjured Distraction ability, and a humanoid figure draped in shadows appeared twenty feet to the left of the boar. As the boar charged, it barreled through the dissipating distraction, which flickered and vanished into wisps of darkness.

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Brandon seized the moment to conjure his Flame Whip. "Now we’re talking," he grinned. "You’re mine, piggy!" he shouted as the boar raced through the now-dissipating distraction.

Brandon charged at the boar and swung his whip, realizing he had exactly no experience using it and barely made it do anything. "Shit," he scolded himself. Focusing on the boar, he noticed it wasn't that hard to dodge its attacks; sure, it was fast, but it mostly ran in a straight line. "Really wish I’d realized that before."

Deciding this would make for good practice, Brandon spent a few attempts trying to get the whip to wrap around the boar. At one point, it got stuck in a tree, but he could still see water marks on the trunks. "It must have rained recently," he thought. After grunting and trying again, he discovered that if he pulled his arm back at just the right time, he could generate enough force to make the whip snap at the end. He practiced this a few more times and became fairly accurate with it.

“Flame Whip unpracticed advances to Flame Whip novice,” the voice announced in his mind, and a new energy flowed through his body. "Huh, I feel like I know how this works now. More magic fuckery, I guess," he thought, feeling more confident. With his new level, he could accurately wrap and strike with the whip.

“Sorry, little guy, I’m gonna have to kill you now,” he said to the boar. “Thanks for helping me train, though.” He struck out with his whip, wrapping it around the boar’s neck. It let out a loud shriek of pain. Brandon felt he could give the whip a command to burn, so he did, igniting the flames that reached back, singeing the hairs on his arm. “Gonna have to do something about that,” he muttered as the boar fell still on the ground.

Moments after the boar fell still, Brandon felt a wave of relief wash over him. "Holy shit," he panted. "I actually killed it." He slowly walked toward the fallen creature, and as he reached it, a screen appeared before his face:

"You have slain Hollowhorn Boar, level 4. Experience acquired. Would you like to claim your bounty? Yes or No."

"What the fuck?" Brandon muttered, trying to peer around the screen, but no matter how he turned, it remained fixed in front of him. "Is it attached to me?" he wondered aloud. Shaking his head, "Obviously, it’s attached to you, stupid." Slapping a hand to his forehead.

After a moment of contemplation, he mentally accepted the bounty. To his surprise, the boar ignited in flames. "You have obtained 1 Hollowhorn Boar Hide and 1 Hollowhorn Boar Horn."

"If I have them, then where the fuck are they?" he exclaimed, spinning around to search for any sign of the items. His eyes darted back and forth, looking for the hide and horn, but there was nothing in sight. "Great, just great. More magic bullshit," he muttered, feeling a mix of frustration and bewilderment.

As he walked around the now empty vicinity, searching for his goods, worry gnawed at him. "How am I going to survive? I have no food or water, and apparently, animals just disappear whenever they die," he thought, anxiety mounting. He returned to the tree where he had hidden during the fight with the Hollowhorn Boar and sank down, trying to take stock of his situation.

"Okay, first I need to find some water," he muttered to himself. "And some way to access items I’ve looted, I guess? That's the term kids use in games, right?" He put his head in his hands, feeling the weight of the situation. "I just need to pick a direction and go. Someone has to be around here. My phone did say summoned, right?"

He paused, glancing down at his phone. "My phone, can I call anyone?" After all, he still had it with him. He pulled it out and attempted to call Sarah, but all he received was a dial tone. "Great, just great," he sighed, frustration bubbling up again. "This is not how my day was supposed to go."

He steeled his resolve and stood. "Right, I need to find someone or something to tell me what the fuck is going on here," he muttered to himself. Taking a deep breath, he looked toward what he believed to be north and began walking in that direction, hoping it would lead him to some form of survival.