The next few seconds were a blur. Amara tackled me, we both went sprawling, and the boar ran straight past where I’d been standing, tearing away the earth beneath its hooves.

  I sprang to my feet fast. I unsheathed my weapon and brought it to my side.

  My heart was thundering. This was what danger felt like.

  I’d never experienced anything like this in my last life. Not once.

  I walked closer to the boar. I could feel the warmth radiating from its smoldering tusks.

  With a tightened grip around my sword, I entered the boar’s eyeline. I could attack it from behind, but that would defeat the point of this. I wanted it to charge me again. To react on my own, without Amara having to save me.

  Thankfully, I didn’t need to goad it much. Time didn’t slow as the boar ran in my direction once more, looking to gore me with its flaming tusks, and dodging it was more forced and frantic than in any way instinctual…

  But I’d managed. I’d dodged an enemy attack on my own.

  This was exciting. Terrifying.

  “Careful!”

  The boar didn’t keep running this time. I thought I had a bit longer to recover, but I all too suddenly found myself rolling around on the floor as it attempted to trample me. I kicked under its legs and tried to knock it off balance.

  It reared back and dropped its front paws forwards, aiming for my chest.

  I brought my arms up to block, barely able to weather the blow. If I wasn’t an Ascendant, if I wasn’t already powerful, I was pretty sure this creature would’ve snapped my arms on contact. Instead, despite the intense numbness and burning pain in my muscles, I was able to prevent the creature from trampling me, even grabbing one of its forelimbs and pulling it until the boar stumbled.

  Then its head lowered, and I scrambled back as quickly as I could. I didn’t wanna tangle with those flaming tusks.

  I pushed myself back to my feet, but it was with a start that I realised I’d dropped my jian when I’d blocked the boar’s hooves. I was weaponless. The blade laid uselessly on the floor before me, and the boar stood between me and it.

  Left with no option, I attempted to slide past it and grab the weapon, grazing my arm and elbow in the process as splintered flecks of wood scraped against my skin.

  Amara watched from the sidelines as I lunged forwards and grabbed my weapon, immediately rolling onto my stomach and pushing myself back to my feet.

  The boar was hot on my trail, but this time I was armed and prepared, and without a big run-up, it was easier to follow its movements.

  It led with its head, lunging with its tusks and trying to gore me around my midsection. It was awkward to sidestep, and attempting to reach close enough to slash it with my blade without getting impaled in the process was proving tough.

  Then, finally, I felt a rough pressure against my side, and for half a second, I worried I’d been caught.

  No. One of the boar’s tusks had caught on my thick, furred overcoat, tearing it, pulling me left and right as it attempted to dislodge itself.

  I felt like a toy being ragged by a huge dog. The amount of strength behind this creature’s head movements was unreal, and it was taking everything I could muster to not throw myself off balance.

  I tried to focus my frantic breaths. Breathe purposely like I did in my training. Focus the movements of my body and align myself.

  It kept me on balance. If I fell here, I’d be trampled.

  Suddenly, I had an idea. I pulled the overcoat from my left arm with my teeth, pulling the thick garment off of me and wrapping it around the boar’s head, around its horns, attempting to both blind it and pacify its strongest weapons.

  It shook the covering from its eyes immediately, so I focussed on its tusks. Once I’d fastened the fabric around them, I lunged forwards with a stabbing motion. My blade disappeared into its back, though I could only push it so far from the angle I was stood at.

  The boar squealed. It bit at my arm through the coat wrapped around its maw, struggling to find purchase as I pulled back my blade and stabbed at it a second time.

  Eventually, it was able to latch its large jaws onto me and bite down. The pressure was incredible. It felt like my forearm might snap.

  Still I stabbed it a third time. Still it bit down on me with stubborn resilience.

  I had to pull my arm back. The moment I did, the great pig swung at me with its head once more, but with my coat still enmeshed with its tusks, it didn’t manage to aim properly, and avoided piercing me on collision.

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  Still the blunt side of its horns knocked the wind out of me, burning my stomach all the while. I collapsed forwards, and with the momentum, made the snap decision to grab the boar’s head and attempt to pull it down with me.

  We both fell to the ground, me gripping it by its tusks, and I immediately moved to straddle its side, reaching for my fallen sword and finding it to be too far away.

  I had a flash of thought. Cael had a bloodline skill. Rock Spear. Maybe if I could channel my thoughts into using that, then I could—

  No. It was too far beyond my reach. I’d never used something like that before, and I didn’t have time to figure it out now.

  But I needed an attack, and fast. This thing could kick me off at any moment.

  It wasn’t elegant, what I did next. It was simple and desperate.

  I started punching the boar in the head. Its skull was incredibly tough, and it hurt like I imagined punching boards or walls might, but luckily, Cael had punched plenty of boards in his life.

  My calloused fist held true as I continued to pummel the powerful creature. Right hand after right hand fell upon the boar’s head as I continued to keep it held in place with my left, my chest heaving, my body burning, my thoughts fully devolved into a series of repetitive, sickening, exhilarating actions.

  By the time the mist cleared, the animal was worn down and had finally stopped resisting.

  Amara handed me my sword, and I finished the creature off. I stood to check myself over.

  I’d burnt my stomach. My arms were incredibly bruised. My fist was red and throbbing…

  I’d killed a flaming boar.

  Me.

  How the hell had I managed that?

  I fell to the floor beside it, looking up at Amara.

  “Thanks.”

  “For what?” she asked.

  “Not interfering. Letting me fight it alone.”

  “I wanted to help,” she admitted. “It’d have been so much easier to defeat together.”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “But I realise that would have undermined the whole point of this.” She walked over to me. Put a hand on my shoulder. “How does it feel? Do you feel more like yourself again?”

  “If I said ‘yes’ would you be disappointed?” I chuckled.

  “Just don’t start monologuing about yourself.”

  She reached for pills as she spoke. A smile tugged at her lips. It was infectious. We were laughing before long, albeit quietly. We were still somewhere dangerous.

  I had an awkward thought.

  “You don’t… you don’t think that me acting differently recently is just because of a bruised ego, do you?”

  “I think if changing you was that simple, it’s a shame no one beat you sooner,” Amara chuckled. “That said, if this boar had bested you, I fear you might’ve lost your mind entirely.”

  “That so?” I laughed, taking a salve from Chun and beginning to rub it on my stomach.

  “Yes. I’m sure you’d have written to your esteemed father and demanded a cull. That we’d dine only on pork for the next decade.”

  “If the boar had beaten me, you’d have to avenge me, of course.”

  “You say that like I wouldn’t have saved you.”

  “And deny yourself a good revenge story? You could be the Scourge of the Mountain. The bane of pigs everywhere.”

  “And you’d be the Soulgrave that died to a pig. A little less poetic.”

  I shrugged. “Eh. Beats a peanut.”

  “That… makes no sense.” Amara frowned at me. “You aren’t proficient with humour.”

  “Ouch.”

  “It doesn’t!” she insisted, shoving my shoulder.

  “Okay, seriously. Ouch. I’m in pain here.”

  “Sorry.”

  “So… what do you think? Think I brought my full strength out?”

  Amara nodded. “Much more than you exhibited in your training. Your wounds are fairly minor, too. I think this excursion was…” she cut herself off. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think this actually ended up being a good idea.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes. I’m glad I came.”

  The calm that followed such an immense thrill was so gratifying. The knowledge that I wasn’t a coward, that I was capable of doing something like this. It gave me hope I might survive this place. Plus, if I could use my body anything like Cael could, then maybe I could finally start getting a handle on my own mana soon too.

  I smiled. Looked over at her. “Thank you. Honestly, without you, this whole thing would’ve been—”

  I stopped talking. Amara went to reply, but I shoved a hand over her mouth.

  There was something behind her. Maybe ten or fifteen feet away.

  Its eyes glowed in the darkness of the forest as its head emerged from a pair of twisted trees.

  I saw its jaw move. Its eyes shift.

  I didn’t know much about wildlife, much less magical beasts from the Forest of Bad Stuff, but this thing looked like bad stuff alright.

  I’d just about gotten finished raising Amara to her feet and turning her when the creature stepped fully into view.

  It was a bear. No. Bears had fur. This thing looked to be covered in roots and moss, brown and green all over, its eyes a fiery, smoldering orange.

  It glanced between us and the dead boar.

  We dared not move.

  It pounced at Amara.

  I jumped between them. Tried to barrel her to the side as she had to me when the boar attacked.

  I wasn’t a good learner. I felt three claws rake across my back as I hit the ground hard. My legs refused to work. Colour faded.

  Amara screamed.

  “Ru…”

  I could only gurgle.

  Words failed me.

  The world faded to bla