Teok muttered something low under his breath. The fact that Teok was muttering told me this wasn't a situation he'd planned for.
A magic beast. No reasoning with it, no negotiating. From what I'd learned over the past week, the key difference between magic beasts and ordinary animals was their high mana content — which translated to enhanced physical ability, and in some cases actual magical power. Extremely dangerous, by any measure.
The beast let out a growl. It looked ready to charge at any moment.
"Yohei. We run."
Teok kept his eyes locked on the creature as he said it.
The moment we broke into a sprint, the Razboard came straight at Teok. He threw himself sideways just in time.
"That was close…"
Having missed, the Razboard kept running and barreled past.
"Yohei, now's our chance — move!"
We bolted away from the Great Tree Springs and plunged into the forest.
---
We ran until the beast was out of sight, then stopped to catch our breath. My lungs were burning. Teok looked barely winded. The difference in conditioning was hard to miss.
"That was a Razboard. If that charge had connected, you wouldn't be walking away."
One look at it had told me that. Something that size would shatter bones.
In our panic we'd run off the path and into the forest proper, and now I had no idea where we were.
"Let's move away from the Springs for now."
I followed behind Teok. Tall grass pushed in around us from both sides as we went.
"Can we actually get back from here?"
"Hm? Oh — yeah, everyone who lives in Asteno knows this forest like their own backyard. Though running into a magic beast can still go badly, sure."
Completely matter-of-fact about it.
That was exactly what I was worried about.
It didn't take long.
A sound from the undergrowth.
Teok stopped walking.
"Damn. It followed us."
The Razboard we thought we'd lost pushed out through the brush directly in front of us.
"Looks like we're fighting."
Teok put his hand on the machete at his belt and glanced at me.
"Can we beat it…?"
"Probably not. We drive it off."
Before he'd finished the sentence, the Razboard charged — straight at me.
"Whoa—!"
I threw myself behind the nearest tree. The beast snapped at the spot where I'd been standing a moment before. Close enough.
I pressed my back against the trunk and tried to think.
I couldn't just keep circling this tree forever.
"Take this!"
Teok swung his machete at the Razboard. A dull thud. The beast snarled and turned its glare on him. It lunged, but Teok was already moving, jumping clear to the side.
"No good — the fat's too thick, the blade won't go through!"
Running wasn't working. Teok's machete wasn't working. My knife would be even more useless.
…Then —
"Club, come out!"
A club appeared in my hands — about seventy centimeters, heavy, swollen at the end. I gripped it with both hands and swung as hard as I could at the Razboard while it was focused on Teok.
The impact shuddered up both arms and tore the club right out of my grip.
But it had landed.
"GRAAAUGH—!"
The Razboard staggered with a cry.
No time to go back for the club. I put distance between me and the beast.
"Nice one, Yohei!"
Teok scooped up a large rock from the ground and hurled it at the Razboard's face. It didn't seem to do much damage on its own, but hitting something already off-balance seemed to shake it — just for a moment, there was confusion in its eyes.
Small blades don't work. But blunt force does.
A club can do this. Which means —
I summoned another club — shorter this time, about thirty centimeters, but solid. The moment it appeared, the one on the ground vanished.
"Here!"
I threw it straight at the Razboard. My arm wasn't anything special, but the weight behind it would hurt on impact. It hit. The beast's attention swung toward me.
I focused again. The thrown club disappeared, and a new one materialized in my hand. I threw it immediately. This one caught the Razboard in the face.
Another growl.
"One more!"
I summoned again and threw again. My arm was starting to ache from the repetition. This one fell short, landing in front of the beast instead.
And then the Razboard roared.
"What are you doing, Yohei — get back!"
Teok's shout.
The Razboard came at me.
Good. That was the idea. I'd made it furious, and now it was charging to finish me off.
I focused. A new club appeared.
This one was over a meter long.
Not something I could swing more than once, even pushing myself. One shot.
I planted my feet. Raised the club. Put everything I had into it.
"AAAAGH—!"
I swung full force at the Razboard's face as it bore down on me — rotating my whole body through like a batter swinging for the fences.
The collision was enormous.