Arthur sprinted through the forest, his heart pounding as the distant screams abruptly ceased. His mind raced with possibilities.
'Is it already over?' he thought, his grip tightening on his dagger. Still, he didn't slow, his instincts urging him forward.
Breaking through the dense trees, he stumbled into a clearing. His breath hitched at the sight before him.
A girl, no older than fourteen or fifteen—around his age—was pinned to the ground by a wild boar. The creature's tusks gleamed as it loomed over her, ready to deliver a fatal strike.
"Sunless!" Arthur shouted, his voice sharp and urgent as he hurled his dagger at the boar.
The dagger struck the boar's flank, not enough to do significant damage but enough to draw its attention. The creature's head snapped up, its glowing eyes locking onto Arthur with a furious snarl.
Sunless didn't wait for further commands. The skeletal warrior dashed forward, its bony claws slashing across the boar's side in a powerful strike.
The boar squealed in pain, momentarily stunned. Arthur's sharp eyes darted around the clearing. 'Where the hell is Borak? This is a boar right here, he should have manipulated this one,' he thought, frustration bubbling in his chest. 'This is the perfect situation for him to help, but he's probably off looking for females...'
Suddenly, his thoughts took a bizarre turn.
'Wait a second...' A memory surfaced of the boars Borak had previously led. 'They were all female. Was that what he meant by dominating them?'
Arthur's lips twitched involuntarily, a mix of disbelief and annoyance flashing across his face. 'Seriously? This pig's idea of domination is just a glorified mating game?'
'Damn this boar, I thought he was a master manipulator in his race. Turns out, he was just a harem seeker,'
Despite the ridiculousness of his thoughts, his body stayed on high alert. He rushed forward, scooping the girl into his arms and carrying her away from the thrashing boar.
"Stay down," he instructed firmly as he set her behind a large tree. Her wide, frightened eyes met his, but she didn't say a word, nodding shakily instead.
Arthur turned back to the battle just as Sunless delivered another strike, the skeleton's claws raking across the boar's chest. The beast retaliated, its tusks charging trying to slam into Sunless's ribcage.
Sunless sidestepped with gracefulness and retaliated with a counterpunch to the Boar's side, sending it flying across.
Arthur turned back to the battle just as Sunless delivered another strike, the skeleton's claws raking across the boar's chest. The beast retaliated, its tusks slamming into Sunless's ribcage and sending the skeletal warrior skidding backwards.
"Sunless, keep it together!" Arthur shouted, rushing to retrieve his dagger from the ground. He positioned himself at a safe distance, ready to jump in if needed.
The boar charged again, its tusks aimed directly at Sunless. The skeleton sidestepped, its clawed hand slashing across the boar's neck in a clean arc.
The boar let out one last agonized squeal before collapsing to the ground, its body twitching briefly before dissolving into shimmering fragments.
[You have slain a Corroded Wild Boar (Level 4)]
'Sunless, go back' Arthur said, as he dismissed him.
He wasn't sure if sunless would scare the girl to death, but he decided not to take the risk.
Sunless quickly evaporated into nothing, going back into a space that Arthur called summon's space.
Arthur let out a long breath, wiping sweat from his brow. "That was closer than I'd like," he muttered. He turned to check on the girl, who was still huddled behind the tree. Her wide eyes were filled with both fear and curiosity.
He approached cautiously, kneeling in front of her. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice softer now.
She nodded, her gaze flicking nervously to the spot where the boar had fallen.
The girl's face suddenly twisted in fear as if she had just remembered something critical. Her wide, terrified eyes darted toward Arthur.
"We—we need to leave this place quickly!" she whispered urgently, glancing around the clearing as if expecting something to leap out from the shadows.
Arthur frowned, confused by her panic. "What's wrong? Calm down. I already killed the boar. If another one shows up, I'll kill it too."
She shook her head violently, her voice trembling. "It's not about the boar."
Arthur's frown deepened. "Then what is it?"
"There's a group of bandits chasing me," she confessed, her voice barely above a whisper. "My bodyguards stayed behind to delay them, but there were too many. They told me to run."
Her words hit Arthur like a cold splash of water. She clutched his sleeve, her grip desperate. "We need to leave this place, now. It's not safe. Please, let's go."
Arthur nodded, his tone firm. "Alright, we'll go."
He stood, scanning the area for any signs of immediate danger, his fingers tightening around his dagger. A chill ran down his spine, a primal instinct warning him that something was wrong.
The sinister chuckle sliced through the air, freezing Arthur in place. He turned his head sharply to see a figure stepping out of the shadows. Dressed in black, the man's face was obscured by a hood, but his malicious grin was unmistakable.
Arthur's grip on his dagger tightened. He had already dismissed Sunless after the fight with the boar, leaving him alone with the girl.
The man in black let out another low chuckle, tilting his head. "You want to run?" he sneered, his tone mocking. "Hehe, it's too late for that now."
Arthur instinctively looked at the girl behind him, his mind racing. 'Damn it, I walked right into this.'
Arthur looked at the bandit standing before him, his mind racing. He glanced at the little girl behind him, then slowly began to side-step away from her, raising his hands in surrender.
"Uh, sorry, sir," he said, his tone awkward and overly polite. "Can I—uh—like, you know, leave? You can have her, by the way."
The girl's mouth fell open in shock, her eyes widening as she stared at him. "But you just—"
"Shut up," Arthur snapped, cutting her off mid-sentence. "I don't know you." He waved his hands dismissively at her like she was some random passerby on the street. "This isn't my problem."
The bandit let out a low chuckle, his shoulders shaking with amusement. "You're quite the odd one, aren't you?" he said, his voice dripping with mockery. "First, you try to make a run for it, and now you're selling her out like a cheap trinket."
Arthur shrugged, stepping back another pace. "Look, I'm just a guy trying to live his life. I'm sure you understand. She's clearly the one you want, so I'll just... you know, get out of your way."
The girl glared at him, her shock giving way to outrage but she slowly succumbed to her fate.
"Cowards..." She muttered silently.
Arthur threw her an exaggeratedly offended look. "Coward? No, no, this is called strategic thinking, thank you very much."