Leo shook me with his hand. I opened my eyes: it was time for the shift. I hadn't noticed it before; Leo had brought along a small hourglass that marked the time. I took it and waited for him to lie down, and it began to run.
Luckily, I had brought two books with me: one on chess moves that I had just started reading. I was still far from being a grandmaster.
The other, titled Amadís de Gaula, I hadn't started yet, but I saw it was a bit thick and picked it up.
Dawn broke quickly, and before I could even reach out to pick it up, he was already sitting up.
He had either been sleeping or had stayed awake waiting to see if I would fall asleep.
I don't know, and I didn't think much of it.
And so our remaining six days continued until we reached the village.
***
Our stop in the village was brief and to the point. We left as quickly as we had arrived. Leo's words were harsh, but full of truth.
"We're here to work, not to sightsee."
We only gathered a little information. Apparently, it wasn't a single boar, but a herd of at least five that could number as many as twenty.
The cart and the mules also stayed in the village. There was no time to waste.
"I need to explain what we're about to hunt."
"They're huge, standing nearly 1.4 meters tall, two meters long, and weighing over 300 kilograms."
"In and of themselves, they could be considered medium-risk creatures. What sets them apart from normal ones are mainly their tough hides and longer tusks. Also, their tenacity in attacking relentlessly even when they should be fleeing."
"The key isn't just to cut for the sake of cutting. It's knowing where to strike with the sword."
"At the neck to immobilize them instantly. At the skull or behind their ears—even in the ear itself to reach the brain. In one specific instance, in the area behind the shoulder, you can hit their lungs or heart depending on the angle."
—Don't underestimate them. You need to be precise and have the strength to kill them easily. For obvious reasons, don't even let them touch you, because you'll be done for.
***
We ventured deep into the forest, looking for tracks or traces a boar might leave behind—saliva or fur—and waited patiently. It didn't take long before we came across one.
We came up with a simple plan: I would climb a tree, and Leo would lure it over so I could finish it off quickly with Rúnstingr.
And that's exactly what happened.
The first one charged with terrifying ferocity. Its size, its copper-colored fur caked with dirt, saliva, and traces of blood, made it look fearsome. And it attacked just as Leo had described: fearless and determined to kill.
"Now!"
I jumped on him immediately. I braced my legs to hold on to him and not get thrown off. I gripped the dagger with both hands and plunged it into his left ear.
To my surprise, not even half the dagger went in.
"What the hell!"
The boar turned its head, trying to reach me with its tusks. If it touched me… it would rip open my stomach.
It writhed nonstop, running aimlessly.
Back and forth.
Every jolt of its body was like trying to hold on to a moving rock.
Putting more strength into my feet and my right hand, I grabbed hold of its fur. With my left hand, clenched into a fist, I hammered the dagger down with brute force.
But the beast wouldn't give in. It kept moving and running, showing no sign of losing strength.
"Hah… hah…" I gasped as my breathing quickened.
In a desperate attempt, I tried to tear its skin by pulling the dagger toward me…
But the movement was futile.
I pulled the dagger out on impulse to try to strike again, but I couldn't stay on top of him any longer and was flung off, crashing to the ground.
—Thud!
A ringing filled my ears.
I tried to get back on my feet quickly, but when I took a breath, my body gave way. When I fell, I must have hit my liver or a lung—who knows.
Luckily for me, the boar was already poised to charge at me.
I tried to move out of the way with what little strength I could muster.
But before the boar could make its move, Leo intercepted it at an overwhelming speed. The metal of his sword screeched before piercing the boar's ear.
It was then that the beast, dazed, tried to stay on its feet, but in an instant it lost strength and fell to the ground.
The first one fell.
And yet I could still have died.
"Not bad for your first time. Come on, let's cut out its tusks."
I approached in small steps while I was still fully recovering.
"But first we'll skin it. You can take care of that."
"Sure."
I'd learned from Ravenscroft. He nodded and took a moment to pull something out of his backpack: a hatchet and some rope.
I placed my left hand on the boar's head and channeled hot water to wash away traces of saliva, blood, and anything else that could be removed.
But there was something else that bothered me and wouldn't go away even with hot water: the stench.
It was a bit tricky to cut through the skin on its snout, but not as much as doing it while it was moving.
With my right hand, I channeled a small flame, which I moved to the tip of my index finger. I pressed around the first tusk to soften the flesh, but not for long: about five seconds per tusk.
Leo took the hatchet and, with three swift strokes, pulled out the fangs.
"What will we do with all the meat and skin that's still left to remove?" I asked.
"We'll have to go back to town and ask for a cart. But by the time we go and come back, other things might show up."
"We'll cut off what we can carry and give it to them. It'll just go bad with us."
"Or we could freeze it and bury it underground."
"That's certainly a good idea, but how long will it take us to dig a hole for that? If it were just one boar, it would be perfect. But we still don't know how many more we'll face."
"That's true," I admitted.
"So we don't waste anything, we'll bury a portion that we can easily dig up. And let nature make use of the nutrients in the rest."
I nodded and began digging with my hands, while Leo cut up the rest of the boar.
We added salt to the small pit with the ice to keep it as well-preserved as possible.
We ate to regain our strength, since what lay ahead would be quite tough.
I conjured up some blocks of ice to which we tied the legs and a bit of meat—just enough to drag easily. Once secured, we tied the hide and the block to our waists.
The journey was very tiring. We stopped every fifteen minutes or so to catch our breath and drink water.
And so it went until we reached the village.
They welcomed us with great enthusiasm. They immediately invited us to stay the night, but Leo flatly refused; he only asked them for ropes and salt. They agreed to his request.
While Leo was talking to those people, I was sitting there regaining my energy. Then, in the distance, I saw a group of children accompanied by a girl who looked about my age.
I won't lie, she looked kind of cute. And apparently she noticed I was watching them. She looked me in the eyes and greeted me shyly. I just smiled a little and returned the greeting. Nothing special, just friendly.
"Let's go," Leo said as he tapped me on the shoulder.
And we set off again into the forest.
***
Tonight I would be sleeping at Leo's request. This suited me perfectly, since my body was already pretty worn out from the naps and the work I'd done today.
***
As soon as I got up, Leo was already having breakfast. I joined him and we chatted.
"Drake, you'll be on guard duty all night. It's up to you how much energy you expend during the day."
"I know."
"The village chief told me there's a small river not too far to the northwest. We'll go take a dip and look for more wild boars. They must be nearby because of the water."
"And while we're at it, we could catch some fish."
"Exactly. Three birds with one stone."
***
By the time we reached the river, what awaited us made things worse. There were two of them. That meant there had to be more, without a doubt.
This complicated our fishing and cleaning.
"What do we do, Leo?"
"Watch. We have no other choice. If more show up and chase us, we'll be in trouble."
Going back to where we killed the first boar wasn't an option either; we'd just be fighting and wasting energy against senseless animals or monsters.
We walked in the opposite direction of the boars; they were heading south.
We were able to clean ourselves and wash our clothes without any trouble. But there was no sign of many fish or other animals. Those creatures had kept everyone else away.
And to top it all off, the two boars were following in our footsteps.
This was an opportunity: to take out two of them and thin out their herd, but it was also a difficult task.
"I'll distract them at the same time."
"No, leave one for me. I'll handle it."
Leo sighed before agreeing. "All right."
I'd already failed once. It wouldn't happen a second time. Leo whistled, luring them toward us. It didn't take them long to catch our scent and charge at us.
"Mother Nature…"
They ran in perfect sync, side by side.
"Support me by shielding me from external threats."
I placed my hands on the ground.
"Stone wall!"
The wall appeared in front of the one on the right, causing him to crash right into it.
He went right through it, leaving him dazed. Leo immediately ran toward the forest to separate them. The one on the left kept screaming after him, as if warning his companion to follow, which almost worked.
The dazed one was already starting to run after him when a second wall blocked his path.
He looked annoyed by the wall and stared straight at me.
He charged with even greater ferocity.
When he was close enough, I leaped at him and, with both hands:
"Flame!"
I unleashed the full spell upon him.
His fur didn't burn completely; the dirt and grime had protected him quite a bit. Nevertheless, he had jumped into the river in desperation.
He came out quickly, even angrier. With serious wounds, patches of fur missing, but with an unbreakable determination to kill me.
If magic wasn't enough to finish him off, there was nothing left but the sword.
I ran toward the trees. He followed me.
When he was about to catch up to me, I gained momentum by jumping from a tree to deliver a diagonal slash.
I rolled on the ground and kept running.
"Crack!"
The crackling of branches scattered across the ground. Bushes shaking. And he kept up with me, closing the distance more and more.
I looked around. I couldn't see anything I could use to my advantage.
His heavy breathing was getting closer and closer. Too close.
I moved toward a tree and spun around.
I raised my sword, took the Ochs stance, and thrust it into his forehead. Like the dagger, it didn't penetrate deep enough.
But it did what I needed.
I cast a spell with one hand while running as fast as I could toward the river. We were just a few meters apart.
—Flame!
I managed to burn his side, and he immediately ran toward the water.
But not before crashing into a wall. I quickly placed my hand on the ground.
"Stone Wall!"
This time he tried to stop as best he could. But the sword that had been driven into him did its job.
"Crack!"
His skull was shattered on impact.
He fell dead instantly.
I didn't have a chance to celebrate my victory; I lost all my strength. A surge of mana caused my body to collapse.
The pain was immense. I could feel my organs burning. My breathing was frantic.
I lay sprawled on the ground, writhing in pain, unable to do anything.
Leo didn't take long to come running back.
"Are you okay?"
So as not to worry him, I didn't say anything about the mana surge.
"Yeah, he just pushed me and I landed badly. I'm regaining my strength."
"Good job. Can you cast the healing spell on yourself?"
"Yeah, just give me a moment."
When I was finally able to recover and heal myself with the spell, the routine was the same as yesterday: skinning, cutting… but now with a heavier load.
And back to the forest
***
I ate very little and was too tired to stand guard. However, this time it wouldn't be in shifts; I'd stay awake all night.
Logically, I decided not to use the blanket to cover myself, since the warmth would eventually lull me to sleep without thinking.
Fatigue had me nodding off, and hunger made my stomach growl. But the cold left my feet frozen. No matter how close I was to the campfire, I couldn't get completely warm. And that was torture.
***
I don't know how much time passed.
Given my own decision, I couldn't take it anymore. I wrapped myself in the blanket, seeking that warmth. Obviously, the cold didn't disappear immediately, but little by little…
…
I opened my eyes and it was already daylight. I jumped up, looking around. And there was Leo, sitting there, eating without saying a word. I also had a wooden plate piled high with food in front of me.
"I saw everything. Right when your mana collapsed."
He knew I'd collapse at some point. There was a reason he put me through so much exhaustion.
"That would have killed you."
He didn't scold me, he didn't reprimand me, and that hurt more than any blow. He's absolutely right. I just nodded and started eating.
But there was something else: a third sword. Not mine, not Leo's. A new one. I didn't say anything and kept eating in silence.
Leo finished first and said:
"It's a gift from your parents and me. It's time for you to replace that bastard sword."
"Its name is Dainsleif. It's not meant to be drawn out of habit. It doesn't matter if it's an animal, a monster, or someone like you. When it comes out… someone won't get back up."
"Ravenscroft gave you his dagger." Don't set it aside; trust it. And with Dainsleif, finish what you're about to begin.
I was stunned. Not only were they preparing me, but they were also arming me.
I didn't ask for that sword.
And yet, there it was in my hands.
One thing was clear: their trust was completely placed in me. And that is what I must not dishonor.