The forest was quiet.
No birds.
No rustling leaves.
Just the sound of feet lightly pressing into dirt, and breathing—steady, but uneasy.
They'd been searching for what felt like hours.
Aldric moved through the trees, eyes scanning his surroundings from above.
On the ground, Lyriana and Draven advanced steadily forward in silence.
> This is starting to feel pointless...
Draven's thoughts were sharp with frustration.
> We've been combing this damn forest for what—two, three hours? And haven't found a damn thing.
Not even a bird.
If there's nothing out here... what the hell do those goblins even eat?
Maybe it's time to give up.
We can't waste any more time.
We need to—
Lyriana suddenly stopped.
She froze, eyes narrowing as she called out quietly, "Young Master."
That cut off Draven's train of thought.
"Hm?" he muttered, glancing back. He stopped.
Above, Aldric also halted, landing gently on a thick branch.
All three of them turned toward where Lyriana was looking.
Between the trees, shadows shifted.
Bulky shapes moved low to the ground—massive, far too large for any normal animal.
One by one, they stepped into view.
Wild boars.
But not the kind you're thinking of.
Their bodies were huge, grotesquely muscle-packed, with thick, gnarled tusks jutting sideways from split jaws.
Steam curled from their mouths like smoke from a furnace.
One of them was even bigger than the rest.
It stepped forward, and the others followed behind it.
Aldric stared. "Hmm.
To think there are actually wild boars in such a place."
Draven looked them over, eyes narrowing.
"Well, finally found something... but why the hell are they so fucking huge?"
He frowned.
"That one's the size of a goddamn truck.
No way that's natural."
His red eyes glowed faintly as he scanned them.
"Magical beasts, maybe?"
But then his expression darkened.
"No magic stones," he muttered.
"So what the hell did they eat to get that big...?"
The biggest boar snorted, stepping forward again.
The ground trembled beneath its weight.
The others mirrored its movement, forming a loose line.
Then they charged.
Branches snapped.
Dirt erupted.
Five of them barreled toward the group like living battering rams.
Lyriana moved first—fluid, silent, deadly.
She slipped sideways into cover, eyes scanning for a clean shot as she drew back her bow.
Aldric remained above, calm, calculating, gaze locked on the lead boar.
Draven, however, stepped forward.
His boots dug into the dirt as he rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck like someone waking from a nap.
"Okay…" His red eyes gleamed.
"Been walking around this damn forest all day—and I'm done."
He raised his arms as the lead boar thundered toward him, tusks lowered.
> "Come at me. I don't have time for this shit."
The boar let out a deafening roar.
Draven didn't flinch.
The beast charged—massive, wild—and swung its tusks.
With one hand, Draven caught them.
The creature skidded, hooves digging furrows in the dirt, muscles bulging as it tried to push forward.
But Draven didn't move.
Not an inch.
He stared into the beast's eyes, unmoving.
The boar thrashed, grunted, its massive frame trembling, but it couldn't break free.
Draven's fingers tightening around its tusks until small cracks began to form beneath his grip.
"This is damn annoying," he muttered.
"Thought it'd be a little stronger than this."
He sighed—Then grinned.
In one fluid motion, he shifted his stance, pivoted, and slammed the boar's head sideways with a bone-jarring crack.
Not enough to kill it—but enough to daze it.
The beast stumbled.
Draven let go, leapt upward, and with surgical precision, drove two fingers into the soft gap beneath its jaw—the only exposed part not covered in armor-thick hide.
There was a sickening squelch, a flash of blood—
The boar let out a choking breath, then collapsed—dead before it hit the ground.
Draven landed lightly beside it.
He flicked his bloodied fingers.
> "Neck nerve cluster," he muttered.
"Doesn't ruin the meat."
Crouching down, he eyed the beast's hulking frame.
> "Hope you taste better than you smell... 'cause you smell like shit."
He turned his head and spat to the side.
> "Tch.
I was thinking about what to cook with all this big-ass meat."
He squinted at the ribs.
> "Might need a second fire."
Behind him, Lyriana stepped out of the trees, having finished the others without a scratch.
She approached quietly.
"Are we taking all of it with us, Young Master?" she asked.
Draven stood and shook his head.
"Nah.
Just this one's enough."
Aldric dropped from the branch landing beside them, silent as a shadow.
With one hand, he lifted the massive boar's corpse effortlessly onto his shoulder.
Draven glanced up at the sky.
The sky was grey and sunless, cloaked in thick clouds.
> "Clouds are thick.
No sunlight.
We fly—it's the fastest way back."
Aldric followed his gaze.
"The brat's right."
Lyriana nodded.
"Understood, Young Master."
Black, bat-like wings unfurled from her back. She offered Draven her hand.
"Ready?"
He grabbed it without hesitation, and the two of them took off into the sky.
A moment later, wings erupted from Aldric's back as well, and he soared after them, the heavy boar slung over one shoulder rising high above the dancing canopy of trees.