Chapter 59 - Jonas's Training Regime III
Bryn gripped the bow as fast as possible to prepare his first arrow. As his right hand positioned the projectile and pulled the bowstrings, Bryn screamed.
"Ahhhhhh".
Jonas's eyes shone as he listened to the young man's dedication. He saw the young faun extend the mana inside him to his entire body and slowly cover the whole bow and arrow. He could tell the process of enforcing the weapon with mana was not refined at all, but it was Bryn's first time doing it successfully in combat.
As Bryn released the arrow, his lips curled upward, more than double the speed and power of his previous shots. The moment it connected with the elk's left antler, the creature's neck was forced to the side, revealing many vital areas. Bryn tried to capitalize on the situation, instantly sending one of the water spheres at the elk's exposed body.
He had focused so much on the arrow shot and his spell that he didn't notice the approaching boar. It had seen Bryn's posture when shooting; now, it came from the left. The shooting position put it behind Bryn's view range. The moment Bryn noticed it, he had no time to react.
Damn creature… I can't evade it. I need to sacrifice one of the spheres. Thought Bryn.
He used one of his protection spells to hit the hog's head from above. The boar's peripheral vision couldn't notice the spell coming from the sky as it was hit directly. The skin was torn at the skull, but the bone resisted the water pressure. Still, the unbalance of such a direct hit on the head made the animal dizzy. Bryn could pull out Akusashi and finish it with a side pierce.
Even with its head knocked down to the ground, Bryn was barely visible from the other side of the creature. One could only see his hooves below, horns above, and Akusashi's tip, which had run across the boar's internal organs.
Bryn pulled the sword out as the boar's knees hit the floor with a loud thud.
One down, another to go…
The elk had a lot of exposed flesh on its left side. The sphere had done its job well, but the creature didn't seem that much affected by it. Bryn could tell that the worst had already passed for it; the internal damage was not severe. The skin had held back most of the power from the sphere, and what was left ended up hitting the elk's ribcage.
Bryn walked to the side, circling the creature slowly as both glared at each other. The forest breeze passed between the two several times before anything happened. This time, the elk was the first one to move. It accelerated toward Bryn's position. The elk had a smaller acceleration than the boar, but the momentum was much higher. Almost double the weight of the other creature, what ran toward Bryn could be his doom. Bryn looked up toward the elk's head. He could see the fire in the eyes of the creature. He backed away, pulling the bowstrings again but trying to aim and time the arrow perfectly to cause the dashing animal to stumble face first.
Bryn was slower than the elk, so the gap between the two diminished with every step. He used the time to cover the bow and arrow with a thin layer of mana, but as he released, the arrow snapped as soon as it left the bow.
The snap made Bryn lose his focus for a second; he had never experienced such a thing before, and it allowed the elk to gain distance from him. Now, about 3 meters away from each other.
Okay, many different creatures simultaneously demand much more adaptability than before. I have no choice but to reset my situation, Thought Bryn as he stopped walking and sent the remaining water spheres flying head-on toward the elk.
At its reached velocity, there was no choice but to engage the spells. It knew its power, but the trust in its antlers was higher. The impact sound was soft at first, but as the water pressure released from the spheres peaked, it sounded like an explosion around the forest. Birds flew away from the canopies as Bryn rushed toward the creature with Akusashi to guarantee the job was finished. What he found turned his stomach. A half-destroyed carcass of the elk, some bones disintegrated from the pressure, blood flowing from what was left. Life on the ground also had been destroyed, leaving behind only mud and puddles of water mixed with blood from the explosion.
Bryn unconsciously dropped both his bow and Akusahi. His eyes trembled at the scene before him.
What am I doing?! Is this the right thing?
More questions popped up as the mana around his body diminished and started to be entirely absorbed by his body. As the trance state kept him from regaining control of his mind and body, Jonas had no reason to hold back.
Another three hogs were pointed towards Bryn and running at top speed.
Realizing something had happened to the kid, Jonas called out.
"Do you wanna die?!" he yelled.
The chaos and whirlwind of thoughts in Bryn's mind suddenly heard a heartbeat. Jonas's words echoed through his mind, but what awoke him was the more potent and faster heartbeat that kept screaming fight.
He tried grabbing both weapons but was unable to do so. Two hogs had already gained too much distance to his left, demanding him to evade right. He did it without thinking, instinctively grabbing Akusashi from the floor and jumping right. The last incoming hog came from the right, but Bryn could happily evade a single creature's forward dash. The hog's tiny legs allowed it limited side mobility.
Without any water spheres to protect him, little mana covering his body, and without his bow, Bryn found himself against three adult hogs that used the forest trees to cover themselves as they circled and alternately sprinted at him.
His eyes narrowed as he slowly tilted his read sideways. The slightest noise could tell Bryn enough information to evade the creature's attacks. Still, for a second, nothing came.
The focus must be survival. I have to refill my core, the mana enhancement on my body, and even the scales. I then must start recreating protection spells or even focus on attacking one of them with everything to scare the rest…
While Bryn thought, his mind kept splitting into organizing his action plan and surroundings. Any noise from a branch moving by the breeze made Bryn's head turn to the incoming sound.
Come on, core. Why aren't you filling up?! Thought Bryn, as his core was about seventy percent filled.
Seconds passed like hours for Bryn as he started to sweat coldly. As his forehead dripped, he used the back of his left hand to wipe it before it got into his eyes. At that moment, the first hog came out of hiding.
The animal ran fast, squealing as it attacked. Jonas laughed from afar, looking at the excited hog as it found a window to attack.
Bryn started his evasion to his right, going over a few tree roots as he moved. The second boar rushed from his side, preventing him from continuing his current trajectory. Jumping high to evade the second animal, Bryn lost the ability to avoid it until he reached the ground. From the bushes came the last one. It looked at Bryn as if it was looking to his next meal. Matching its speed to Bryn's flying time, it would reach the ending point a bit sooner than the faun.
Time rushed on Bryn's mind as he flew toward his incoming doom. He had about another second to deal with the strike coming his way.
Taking the hit head-on is not an option, and using Akusashi to block is also ineffective. Think damn it!
Step after step, the hog prepared its fangs to attack the faun's legs while Bryn moved his body for a better landing. Just before reaching the ground, Bryn's eyes opened as if a bulb had lit up his brain.
Akusashi got sheathed mid-air, and as a mana pulse came from his core, he channeled it straight to his arm and palm. He used 5% of his core energy to create a pressurized water sphere, but he focused less on the pressure and more on the size of the sphere. He wanted it to be big enough to cover the creature's eyes and block its vision. Holding his right wrist with his left hand, he used a following mana pulse to shoot the ball at the incoming hog.
It is not magic that wins a fight, but wits! How could I forget that for a second? These animals never saw magic. If it looks big enough, it might just do the trick.
The previous two fights taught him that the spells don't need to be the thing to end the opponent's life or win the fight. They are tools for him to use as he best sees fit. He even remembered Luca's use of earth magic to force a position change when fighting the small icy leopard.
The boar had never seen a water ball appear out of thin air. It got startled especially when the thing was sent flying toward it. Afraid of the incoming thing, the boar evaded to its right, choosing not to engage it.
The hesitation and deviation from its path allowed Bryn to land safely and evade the opposite side. Things were far from over; he had landed safely on the first round of maneuvers to escape the hogs, but as he moved, so did the other boars. Bryn could hear the incoming attack from his back, forcing him to keep moving.
From the timing before each attack and angle, each hog is doing something similar to an eight-figure, with me as its center. Each hog has a different attack angle. They are about two and a half seconds apart for now.
As Bryn analyzed the situation, his movements improved and became more efficient. Dash after dash, the hogs realized it wasn't working. Growling kept sounding as the time between attacks shortened. The noises echoing in the forest chased away all the animals around.
At one point, the attacks became a second and a half apart. Though they had shortened, the momentum behind each hog was smaller. Bryn had less time to prepare, but the creature's top speed had reduced while his core replenished slowly. The dance stayed the same for five minutes. In the meantime, Bryn finally finished his preparations as the hogs got tired by the minute. The endurance battle had reached a turning point.
With his body breaming with mana, Bryn's moves were now unstoppable. He couldn't outrun the creatures, but they had no chance of hitting him anymore. Used to their movement, a sinister smile appeared on Bryn's face as his right hand reached back. Akusashi would be licking its lips at her next prey if blades could express.
Next came a slaughter. With each dash, the hogs found nothing except slashes all over their hide. Slowly, the blood loss took care of them. The attacks spaced out, and suddenly, only two kept sprinting at Bryn, and then only one.
The last hog had a fire in its eyes, looking at the faun with genuine hatred. Its companions had lost their lives to the small faun before him. It only lasted a moment before Bryn approached with a few faint movements, lashing Akusashi from above, landing it near the connection between the neck and shoulder plate. The lodged blade was enough to make the life run out of its eyes.
Breathing to celebrate the victory, Bryn was surprised by the hit of another hog from his left. The creature hit him head-on. Its fang cut his arm near the triceps. Confused with the situation, Bryn created distance between him and the attacker before looking at his arm. The pour quality cloth he called a shirt had been torn, and a nasty cut bled, turning what remained from his sleeve red.
From within the forest, an echo came to his ear.
"Never lose focus." Whispered Jonas.