Luke made his way through the forest, listening to the distant sounds of hunters searching for large prey. Some had already found their targets, and the clash of battle echoed through the woods, disturbing the forest’s natural tranquility.
Still, Luke couldn’t blame them. Hunting demanded movement and noise. One hunt was bound to interfere with another.
With so many hunters roaming the forest, the larger beasts had likely gone into hiding, assuming there had been any to begin with.
From everything Luke had explored, nearly ten kilometers across the northern, western, and southern edges of the forest, the largest creatures he had encountered were hares, antlered deer, and at best, bears.
He had already lost interest in those directions. He didn’t have the time to wait until nightfall for larger predators to emerge from their territories and head toward the streams. Nor did he want to spend hours wandering in search of worthwhile prey. That would only waste precious time.
If he was going to travel that far, he would rather choose the one place everyone else avoided.
The eastern side.
The most isolated part of the forest, despite being the area with the highest chance of encountering powerful beasts.
The reason?
The Hunter Killer.
Rumor had it that a mysterious creature lived somewhere near the village, one that had once slain a magical beast.
And any hunter who ventured too close never returned to describe what they had seen.
Some claimed it was a giant reptile. Others believed it had the head of a lion and the body of some unknown beast. A few simply called it a demon.
Luke had been curious about it, of course.
But he wasn’t looking for that creature.
He knew it wasn’t within twenty kilometers of the village. He had explored that far before and was certain of it.
He had only come to the eastern side to hunt in peace, find a worthy beast, and finish as quickly as possible.
His footsteps were nearly silent as he moved through the dense forest. His eyes searched every corner while his ears remained alert for even the slightest disturbance.
He didn’t have to search for long.
Rustle.
A noise came from his left.
Heavy hoofsteps.
Luke turned toward the sound and listened carefully. The loud snorts of something breathing furiously reached his ears.
His eyes narrowed.
Something was there.
Through the trees, he caught a faint glimpse of its matted fur.
Activating <Shadow Walk>, Luke quietly circled behind it, careful not to make a sound.
He lowered his body, making himself as small as possible.
As he drew closer, he finally got a clear look.
A massive boar.
It was feasting on the carcass of another beast.
Its curved tusks were nearly two feet long. Thick muscles rippled beneath its rough hide, and its powerful hooves looked more than capable of crushing bone with a single stomp.
Luke stayed low, slowly moving toward its flank where he could drive his dagger into a vital spot.
When he was finally close enough, he summoned his dagger.
’No!’
The instant it appeared, sunlight reflected off the blade.
The brief flash landed squarely in the boar’s small crimson eyes.
GUAAAGH!
The beast let out a furious shriek and lashed out with its hind legs at astonishing speed.
Luke sprang backward just in time, the attack narrowly missing him.
"Shit. Fatty’s way too agile."
He steadied himself as he faced the enraged beast.
There would be no more hiding.
’Let’s see...’ Luke kept his eyes on the boar’s legs, his own body bent and tense.
That was where the warning would come from. Not head and definitely not its eyes.
The boar lowered its snout and charged.
Luke broke left, angling toward a cluster of thick-rooted trees. The boar adjusted mid-charge with a speed that had no business belonging to something that size.
Its shoulder clipped his ribs as it passed, not a full hit, but enough to knock the air from his lungs and send him stumbling into a trunk.
He caught himself, one hand braced against the bark.
’Agile and smart. Bad combination.’ he was checking its maneuver skills and it was there.
The boar had already wheeled around. It pawed the ground twice, throwing up dark soil, then charged again.
This time Luke didn’t run. He waited, watched the angle of its lowered head, then dropped into a roll at the last second.
The tusks carved twin lines through the trunk he had been standing in front of, wood splintering like dry clay.
Luke came up behind the boar and drove the dagger into its hindquarter.
GUAAGH!
The blade bit deep and the burning did the rest. The boar lurched sideways with a screech, its back leg buckling for just a moment before it righted itself and spun away.
Luke pulled the dagger free before the movement could wrench it from his grip.
Dark blood ran down its flank. The fur around the wound was already singed.
First blood.
The boar circled him now, a lot less noisy now. The mindless fury from before had sharpened into something more dangerous. It was reading him the same way he was reading it.
Luke backed up, drawing it toward a section of uneven ground where exposed roots ran across the forest floor like the fingers of a buried hand.
The boar lunged. Not a full charge this time, a short feint to test him.
Luke held his position and let it pull back.
’Again.’
It lunged a second time. He sidestepped, felt a tusk graze his forearm, and caught a clear look at the tendons working behind its front knee.
That was where the dagger needed to go. Not the thick flank this time. The joint, small and precise, and the boar would lose the leg entirely.
But it wasn’t giving him the angle.
It kept its front side toward him, tusks between them like a gate.
Luke considered his options for a half second.
The dagger was fast, good for punishing openings. But the openings the boar was giving him were narrow and brief.
He needed something with range. Something that would make the beast move on his terms instead of its own.
He dismissed the dagger.
In one motion he summoned the steel claws onto his right hand, five curved blades snapping into place with a sound like a lock being set.
The change in his silhouette made the boar hesitate. Just a fraction of a second, a tilt of the head, the crimson eyes tracking this new shape.
Luke used it.
He darted right, forcing the boar to track him across the rooted ground. Its front hoof caught a root and it stumbled, only slightly, but that slightly was enough.
Luke closed the distance and raked the claws across its left shoulder in a diagonal slash.
The boar screamed and swung its head. A tusk caught the inside of his left arm, shallow but impactful, a hot line of pain from elbow to wrist.
He threw himself back before it could follow through.
’Fair trade.’
Blood ran freely down his arm. He flexed his fingers. Everything moved.
The boar’s left shoulder was worse off. The claw marks ran deep across the joint, and when it tried to lower its head again, the movement was stiff. It was hurt.
Luke pressed the advantage before it could compensate.
He feinted right, waited for the head to follow, then went left and drove the claws into its neck just below the jaw where the hide was thinner.
He dragged them back as he pulled away, opening four long furrows.
The boar stumbled. One knee hit the ground.
It rose again immediately, shaking, breath coming in wet and ragged bursts now. Blood darkened the soil beneath it.
Luke stood back and watched it.
Still dangerous...if not, much more since the beast knew its end was nearing.
But it was tired. The charge that had nearly broken his ribs was gone from it.
He dismissed the claws and let the hammers fall into both hands.
The weight settled in his grip, not foreign in his hands anymore. He has gotten somewhat used to it.
He just needed one clean moment. One square landing.
The boar lowered its head for a final charge, running on fury now more than strength.
Luke planted his feet and waited.
It closed the distance.
At the last second he sidestepped, pivoted on his back foot, and brought the right hammer down in a full arc onto the crown of the boar’s skull.
KRAKOOM.
The thunder cracked through the trees and sent birds scattering from the canopy above. The shockwave rattled through Luke’s arms up to the shoulder.
The boar dropped.
All four legs went out at once and it hit the ground in a heap, sliding a foot through the dirt before it stopped.
Luke stood over it, chest heaving, and watched until the rise and fall of its side went still.
His left arm burned. His ribs ached where the shoulder had caught him.
He exhaled slowly.
’That could have gone better.’
He dismissed the hammers and crouched down beside the boar, resting one hand against its broad side for a moment and thinking why he even let it hit him even once.
Just then, breaking his thoughts, he heard a cry.
"Aaaahhhh!"
It was feminine. He knew this voice.
"Zuri."
•••••••
A/N:- Sorry, only one Chapter today.