"Stab it in the eye roan."Roan heard his friend yell from behind him as he swung his steel sword at a wild boar. It was huge, at least 4ft in height. Its irritating grunts bombarded Roan's ears as it beelined towards him, trying to impale him with its large menacing horns.
"Not today, "Roan said while flinging himself to the side, away from the animal's reach. He watched as it came to a sudden halt, its target safe and sound which seemed to greatly anger the boar. Its grunting got louder as it again charged towards Roan, its snout moving up and down searching for soft human flesh to ram through.
Roan scrambled across the ground again and got out of the boar's sight but the wild boar didn't stop and took an abrupt turn, continuing its chase. They ran around in circles in the middle of a forest.
It was a pathetic sight and embarrassing for Roan a young man who had just turned 18 and was hoping to impress his friends by swiftly dispatching the boar which probably weighed more than three times his weight.
"Hahaha." A loud laugh cut through the grunting and heaving of the running duo. It was Roan's friend, Seth who was perched atop a tree, spectating the fight with a wide smile.
Roan's face which was already red due to exhaustion turned even redder after hearing his friends laugh. It was too embarrassing considering that he had bragged that he could single-handedly kill a wild boar while on the way to the mission. He couldn't but he only found that out after trying to kill one and now here he was, running away from it.
"I have to do something."Roan thought as his feet struck the hardened ground. He couldn't run away forever. He had to find a way to resolve the situation.
Roan's eyes danced around the area searching for an opportunity to end the fight but he found nothing except for fleeing this area and running deeper into the woods. But then he wouldn't have his friends' protection. They weren't just hiding to laugh at him but to protect him during his hunt.
But the hunt had turned into a circus after Roan had been unable to fatally wound the boar with the surprise attack he had done while the boar was taking a nap.
And now for that mistake, he had to run away from his prey, roles reversed.
"Quit running away and fight it like a man roan," Seth yelled, leaning on the trunk of the tree he was hiding, beside him on another tree was his sister Lela with a bow and an arrow ready to be fired.
Her small young face was fully concentrated on the comical scene happening in front of her but her lips carried no smile. Her brown air fluttered in the wind just as the black cloak on her back.
She was a beautiful young girl, the total opposite of her brother who was a buff guy with a bald head and a hairy chest.
"I'm trying," Roan yelled back to Seth but his feet never stopped shuffling.
"Where? I don't see you doing anything other than running away." Seth cried out dramatically as he cupped his eyes and looked around.
"Hahaha." He again laughed at his joke and suddenly jumped down from the tree. he landed on the ground with a thud catching the attention of the boar chasing after Roan. The boar turned around, its interest in the new prey overpowering the interest of the running prey in Infront of it.
It accelerated, closing the distance between it and Seth who was clapping the dust from his palms with a nonchalant expression almost as if he couldn't see the hulking mass of flesh hurtling towards him.
The boar arrived near Seth in just a couple of seconds. But as it was about to lunge at Seth, an arrow whistled through the air stabbing in the eye of the boar with unreal accuracy.
The boar came to a halt and screeched wildly, the pain too much for it to bear. Its loud cry tore through the peace of the forest disturbing the wildlife around it.
Seth who had been standing before it swung his sword, swiftly decapitating the head. It seemed so effortless.
Roan who was sitting on the ground stared with his mouth agape at the fountain of blood flowing from the neck of the boar, only one thought on his mind," When am I going to be able to do that?"
Lela landed next to the fallen boar, with grace and elegance in her every movement. She removed the nocked arrow from her bow and put it back on the quiver on her back as she approached the dumbfounded roan. She nudged him slightly with her elbow to wake him from his trance." what are you gawking at? It's not like you haven't seen him do something like this before." she said with a slight smile and twinkle in her eyes, clearly enjoying the surprise.
"Yes but it's the first time, I've seen him kill something this big with one hit... it's amazing "Roan sighed and tore his eyes away from Seth and faced Lela. He forced a smile as he tried not to think about his failure in killing the boar. He was just 18 this year, a tender age and not an age when someone should be capable of killing a boar at least 4 times his weight. He had time to learn and train and eventually be able to kill some damned boar.
"He didn't kill that thing with one hit, you idiot. He was only able to do that because of my arrow which got it in the eye. So, don't beat yourself up. You'll be able to do that in no time." Lela consoled Roan, her face losing the smile after seeing Roan's expression. She knew what he was thinking.
"You run good boy. I knew it" Seth who had already arrived near the duo said his massive hands covering half of Roan's back as he patted it.
"Shut up." Lela barked at Seth causing him to flinch and shoot a glare towards her to which Lela replied with a glare of her own while Roan just sulked in the middle of the two fighting siblings.
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An hour later
"They've arrived" Seth said perched atop the same tree as before looking far in the distance where a group of people with wagons were approaching. He jumped down and walked towards the group with Roan and Lela following behind him. The three of them stood in the middle of the road waiting for the group to arrive.
"Took you long enough." Seth gruffly said to the two men, at the front of the group as soon as they arrived in front of him. They were twins, with the same features, black hair, brown eyes and dark skin, the typical characteristics of a Cerese. They were wearing rough leather armour vests and pants with leather boots just like every other adventurer in Asterisk.
"You see, we had to negotiate a bit to agree on a price, so it took a bit of time.", one of the twins said with a slight smile on his face, not bothered by the tone of Seth.
"How much did you ask?" Seth asked the man with brows furrowed, clearly displeased at him. And it was warranted considering that they had already waited for two hours for them to arrive with the villagers who were now standing behind the twins.
Seth, Roan, Lela and the twins who were named George and Sol were an adventurer team who had taken the mission posted by the people of Flakir village for killing the boars that were destroying their crops. Seth, roan and Lela had been the old team but George and Sol were temporary members that they had recruited for this mission thinking that they would have to fight hard but it was the total opposite as there were only 5 boars. And the twins who were supposed to work started acting like they were on vacation after arriving at the location of the hunt.
They were also the ones who had suggested negotiating the price rather than the predetermined price. And in the name of negotiation, they had made Seth, Lela and Roan wait for two hours in the forest guarding the boar corpses.
"4 silvers a piece."George the man who had been doing all the talking stated the price and turned away from Seth.
"Everyone, there are your prizes," he said pointing towards a heap of boar corpses beside the road. The group of people standing behind the twins shuffled towards the meat mountain and started loading them one by one on the 4 wagons they had brought. The villagers were efficient, loading all the carcasses in minutes while Roan and the group watched from the side.
The whole group set off towards the Flakir village after finishing their work as the noon sun beat down on Earth.
The group split up after reaching a fork, the villagers continuing their journey towards their village after paying the cost of the boar carcasses while Roan and his group set off towards their town, Tolaga.
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"crunch"
Leaves crunched beneath the feet of Roan as his group travelled the Mervielle forest on a small and narrow dirt road which was sandwiched between dense trees covered in green foliage. The Mervielle was a dense and dangerous forest, with deadly beasts and monsters calling it home. It was considered one of the most dangerous places to be in the whole Asterisk, second only to the home of the dark creatures, The pits. But the outskirts of the Mervielle was considered safe by the Cere kingdom which led to the establishment of many small villages and towns. Flakir was one of those villages, located on the outskirts of Mervielle with small roads connecting it to the biggest Town in the vicinity, Tolaga town.
"Hey Seth, did you hear that a magus is in our guild?"Roan said trying to spark a conversation. The mention of magus caught Seth's attention making him perk up his ears and turn toward Roan.
"Where did you hear that?"He asked.
"I heard it from Ruth. He said he saw the magus with his own eyes. "Roan replied, increasing his walking pace to match Seth's so that he could walk side by side. Lela did the same as she said"He probably isn't a true magus. probably just a rejection. Otherwise, why would he come to the town."
"Well, even if he is a reject, he can still use magic, can't he?"Roan shrugged his shoulders while starting at Lela.
"Hey, what's that?" said Sol, one of the twins interrupting their conversation as he pointed to a black figure standing a little further away from them on the edge of the Road. It looked like a huge gorilla standing upright like a human. It stood still as the group spread to form a line and approached it.
"Be alert. it looks like a beast." Seth warned as he gripped his sword tighter, hanging on his hip.
Roan did the same as they edged closer to the figure. Lela nocked an arrow as she crouched and took aim at the figure.
"What in the name of Mahor!" Roan heard George curse and a rustle beside him accompanied by the crunching of numerous leaves by many footsteps.
Roan turned towards the sound to see a sight which made his heart turn cold. It was an ambush by the beasts.