Chereads / Embers in the shadows / Chapter 6 - Chapter 6 - Goblin vs Boar

Chapter 6 - Chapter 6 - Goblin vs Boar

*RUMBLE*

The ground shook as a large monster was approaching with fast speeds. Iac climbed the nearest tree in order to get the high ground and to get a better view of what they would be fighting. Popping out of the bushes, a red boar with large tusks charged towards the tree Iac was in. It rammed it's head strait into the trunk and shook the entire tree. Iac held on for dear life as the monster reeled back for a second charge. The boar looked really agitated. It gave off this aura of hatred that reeked just like the goblin cave. Alan and Iac hadn't exactly done anything other than kill off some horned rabbits and a human girl. So they felt this hatred was unwarranted. 'Maybe we had invaded it's territory?' Alan thought.

It didn't exactly matter because as Alan was trying to find a reason, Iac was panicking on a tree branch holding on for dear life. He didn't have much time to hold on though because the boar rammed into the truck of the tree for a second time sending it timbering down. Leaped off the branch just in time before his face hit the ground. The boar prepared a third charge, this time aiming it at Iac directly. Its feet pushed off the dirt as it flew at incredible speeds. But that's only what an outsider would see. For as fast as the boar charged, Iac felt like he could go head to head when racing against this boar. It felt slow or at least slow enough that Iac had a chance at fighting against it's insane strength.

Running right at the boar, Iac leaped just to the side forcing the boar to ram into another tree. From the looks of it, Iac had the advantage in environment. So he used it making the boar slam it's head into as many pieces of lumber as possible while he got a couple of slashes on its skin here and there. The skin was thicker than Iac had originally thought it would be. He couldn't just get by with shallow slashes. It would little down the HP of the boar by small amounts over time. But it anything the monster couldn't just naturally heal. And Iac's stamina was slowly getting drained. He wouldn't last for more than 10 minutes against this guy.

He had to get a couple of fatal hits in before the boar would obliterate him. Iac waited for the boar to charge again. But instead it opened it's mouth and shouted right in Iac's direction. It must have been some type of trait the boar had. Feeling dizzy from the shock Iac couldn't move properly. His vison got blurry as the boar then took the opportunity to charge at him. Alan this entire time had thought of the fight as a bullfight. Iac was dodging from left to right, the bull or rather the boar was ramming into different barriers or trees. It really did remind him of one, even if he had only seen it in movies. Alan knew that the best time to strike was when the boar was disoriented for ramming it's head into a tree. It should already have some form of internal bleeding from all of the head slamming.

Although it's only worked once before, Alan tried to yell from the bottom of his heart for Iac to dodge. 'Iac! Jump over him!' In his dizzy state, Iac caught wind of himself self and jumped right before getting smashed by the boar's hard head. He survived the attack but was now on top of the boars back. Seeing this as an opportunity, Iac, as fast as he could, jammed his knife repeatedly into the boar's back. Roaring in pain the boar seemed to have taken some actual damage from Iac's repeated attacks.

The boar flailed it's body and tried to throw Iac off it's back. But to no avail, as Iac had jammed his knife deep into the boar's hide and held onto it causing even more pain for the boar. It's HP must have been rapidly dropping because the boar started to charge at a nearby tree. Iac didn't understand what it was doing and kept his knife stuck in the boar's hide. As soon as the boar reached the tree it jumped slamming it's back right into the tree. Unfortunately Iac was on the boar's back and took a lot a damage from the attack almost halving his health.

[HP - 34/50]

"Gii! gwok kik, gwerk!" (Gii! I'll kill you, you bastard!)

Although his threats were full of anger, Iac now had no weapon to back his statements up with. His dagger was stuck inside the boar's back. Now defenseless, Iac had to grab the next best thing. A Stick. The boar gave Iac no breaks as it kicked away dirt and charged as fast as possible at him. It looked to be the boar's final and most powerful attack.

Iac wasn't sure what he could do with just his flimsy stick. But Alan had other plans. He used his emotions to influence Iac's mind again and change from where he was looking at the boar. To the copse of the female knight. Normally looking away from your enemy was a big no-no in his dad's tips against monsters. But in this case it was for the better. As Iac ran to the female knight in the opposite direction of the boar he felt like the boar was just riding on his tail. Thanks to his overwhelming agility stat, he was just barely able to out speed the boar.

Alan was thankful that Iac was a little stupid. If he hadn't missed the most important thing the girl had owned, they would most likely be in a much worse situation. Finally reaching her corpse, Iac slid across the dirt and gripped the girl's shortsword. He turned around just to meet face to face with an overly pissed boar. Thankfully Iac had the sword aimed strait at it's face. The boar seemed to have a face that screamed "Oh no" But the boar couldn't stop at this point and was stabbed right between it's eyes. As it couldn't stop its body, both the boar and Iac flew towards the tree behind him.

[You have slayed small forest boar LV 3]

[You have earned 32 experience]

"Whew~" Iac sighed. Both him and Alan were beat. They barely had any feeling felt in their hands after the rodeo they just experienced. Although Iac does all the heavy lifting with it being his body. Alan goes through everything Iac does, just without being in control. His pain, his fatigue, and even his emotions. Alan feels like he's learning more and more about Iac's type of personality as he spends more time in his body.

With Iac exhausted, he finally took everything from the knights body with the exception of some of the armor that was either too big or too heavy to carry. He used the girl's under cloth to wrap up all of the gear he could carry and strapped the sword his back. The boar was grabbed by the tusks and dragged in the dirt behind him. Iac grabbed everything from his hard fought battles and left for shelter, leaving behind a damaged forest and a young girl's corpse in the process.

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In the tower there were several thousand cities that were created by humans on each floor. It's been theorized by Geologists that each floor in the tower could be almost as big as earth if it was laid flat. In a city called Cerverstein named after it's first ruler. On the first floor a new group a slayers came into the starter town, just finishing their beginner's tutorials. They had chosen their weapons and slayed their first monster allowing then to progress into the tower. Among them was a young man. He had black hair with silver eyes. The young man looked to be 5'11 in height and rather average overall. he wasn't good looking but he wasn't ugly either. His blandness showed in his face as he followed along with the other slayers he completed the tutorial with.

They were all on their way to the slayer's association, being led by a beginner guide. They worked for the slayer's association to provide information of the tower and combat basics for beginners. Walking around town the young man looked around wondering if he was really in the tower. It almost felt like any big city back on earth except for the weapons people have equipped on them. It felt like a modern fantasy to him as he saw various shops selling potions or weapons for slayers to purchase and use.

The group finally reached the slayers association and were told to enter the assembly hall. Taking a seat in the audience the young man noticed other groups already sitting down. The young man also noticed a 4 sided gigantic screen that looked similar to the ones presented in professional sports matches. The lights in the room suddenly got dark as a singular spotlight beamed down towards the center of the room. The curtains in the center of the room dropped as a man appeared from behind with a remote in his hands. He wore a suit and glasses with his hair slicked back with hair gel. He gave off a professional vibe as he spoke.

"You all are the 4,787,432nd group of slayers given a chance at a second life for fame and riches in the tower. As I'm sure almost all of you know, we are the slayer's association. We will provide you with the necessary beginner courses to start your journey at level 5. If you so choose to not partake in this course do not fret, we have multiple options of work you can commit yourself to. But they will not be as profitable as becoming a slayer. Not everything here is free though. You must work hard to remove your debt with the association after becoming a slayer. Finally I hope you all can direct your attention to these screens above me. The presentation will give a brief introduction into your current situation. When the presentation is over look for your beginner guides. They will bring you to either a job selection or help you find work. I wish you all the best, as you all are humanity's future!"

The association member then walked towards a hall underneath the seating area. The screens then turned on presenting a video that reminded the young man of airline safety presentations. It lasted for 15 minutes explaining the basics of being a slayer and how it benefits society etc, etc. They really tried to convince as many people as possible to become slayers by presenting this video.

The lights in the assembly hall then turned back on and the guides all entered. The young man was too busy to notice everyone getting up as he was currently lost in his thoughts. He wondered about his family back home and their safety. A thought also came up from his childhood days. This new experience for him reminded the young man of a school field trip from when he was still a young child. He hadn't been on many so he always remembered them fondly. Once the young man finally realized everyone was gone he rushed outside the assembly hall to find his guide.

There was groups with their beginner guides everywhere in the main hall. It was flooded with beginner slayers trying to find their guides and set out to find their jobs. The young man ran around bumping into people left and right trying to find his guide. After 30 minutes of searching he was unsuccessful. There were far too many groups for him to find his own. He hadn't remembered anyone's face other than the guide's beforehand. Lost and without hope the young man wanted to give up. Until he heard a girl shout in his direction.

"Hey!" The girl had shining blonde hair with the most beautiful face he had ever seen.

"Huh?!" The young man was surprised, but he knew the girl.

"You're that guy who works the morning shift with me sometimes, right?" The young man was astonished. A girl that pretty really remembered him?

"Eh! Umm... y-yes." The young man appeared shy when facing the girl. His face becoming flushed.

"Umm... I'm sorry but I believe we've never formally introduced ourselves before. My names Britney it's nice to finally talk to you!" The girl said cheerfully.

"Uh... y-yeah my name is… F-Finn." The boy said not being able to face the girl fearing that she may blind him with how bright she shined.

"Alright then Finn, lets go!" she said pulling him by the wrist.

'I've finally reached first base bro!' Finn proudly yelled in his thoughts.