The contemplation Cassian had over killing lingered as he continued down the path, facing only a few more monsters—five in total. Four of them were mutated boars, and one was a creature called a forest dog, which had dark green fur that helped it blend seamlessly with the forest, making ambush attacks easier. When its ambush failed, however, it was weaker than the boars, and Cassian managed to kill it within minutes, though he still ended up with shallow claw wounds.
Without a mage in their group, Cassian couldn't heal quickly. Dallas and Cassandra carried a few healing elixirs, but they were for emergencies, so he had to bear the sting of these injuries as they slowly healed.
The pain kept reminding him why he wanted to become a warrior—to avoid forced pain. But did that mean he could inflict pain on others if they tried to hurt him? He didn't have the answer; while he didn't want to suffer, he wasn't sure he wanted to make others suffer either.
