Wereboars

On the Misty Path, Renato and Perly trailed at the rear of the group.

Amid the thick white mist and gloomy forest, Renato could sense Perly's tension. Though she kept her face stern, her hand kept straying involuntarily toward the spell component pouch on her chest.

Still, Renato was already quite pleased with how she was handling herself. He had seen plenty of newcomers boast wildly back in Brekka Town, only to start shaking like leaves the moment they entered the Misty Path, clutching their weapons like lifelines.

"Have you studied the monsters in the Phantom Forest?"

"No... I've only heard people mention a few things."

Renato had hoped a little conversation would ease Perly's nerves, but it did not seem to be helping much.

Lately, monsters in the Phantom Forest had become increasingly active. Even the first stretch of the Misty Path was prone to encounters with wild beasts.

Sometimes, faint tremors came late at night. They were so slight that most people could barely notice them, but to Renato's keen senses, they were unmistakable.

Perhaps the monsters' increased activity had something to do with those tremors? Renato had no way to verify it. He could only hope they were caused by the changing seasons or ordinary geological activity.

They were lucky this time and reached the Old Ruins District without incident.

The crumbling ruins of the ancient city left Perly awestruck.

"According to the Adventurers' Guild, these are the ruins of the ancient Niter Kingdom. This wasn't the Royal City, though, just an outlying urban district."

Renato volunteered an explanation before Perly could ask. He had wondered the same thing on his first visit.

"But I remember the map only marking the 'Old Ruins District.' It didn't show where the Royal City was."

"Legend says part of the Royal City sank underground. There are all sorts of explanations. Some say the king's blasphemy brought down divine punishment. Certain texts attribute it to a massive magical disaster, while some literary works claim an ancient Titan slept beneath the earth, and the city vanished when he rolled over..."

"That's enough chatting for now. Let me show you how to identify Calming Flowers."

Behind a half-collapsed stone wall, Renato found a Calming Flower and had Perly examine the small, bell-shaped plant with its pale blue blossoms.

"Got it? Then go look for some. Remember to dig out the roots intact and bring them to me."

After mistakenly digging up weeds a few times, Perly gradually got the hang of it.

While Perly devoted herself to picking flowers like a girl on a countryside outing, Renato stood on a slope of rubble and surveyed their surroundings.

He still had Calming Flowers from an earlier gathering trip in his Bag of Holding, so he did not need to worry about his own gathering quest.

This outing effectively let him take on two quests at once. Completing them would earn him 1,075 experience points. Added to the 410 he had saved from his previous five quests, that would give him a total of 1,485.

Excited as he was, the hefty 1,000-point quest reward also put him on his guard. Renato kept a constant watch on their surroundings and Perly's position.

As winter approached, Calming Flowers grew scarcer. Gathering them was no easy task for a novice like Perly.

It was nearly noon before Perly finished gathering.

With her first quest successfully completed, she paid no mind to the grass clippings covering her robe. Hugging a bulging backpack, she ran up to Renato and said excitedly:

"Renato! I finished the quest! Look!"

She eagerly untied the cord and showed him the Calming Flowers inside:

"Exactly thirty! The last two were in that ruined stone tower, growing beneath a crack in the stones... Wow, I kept feeling like something was watching me. It gave me chills..."

"Renato, could you check them again for me? I'm worried I counted wrong."

He could not be bothered to count them individually. He had plenty in his Bag of Holding; if she was short, he could simply make up the difference for Perly.

They were not among the first to finish. Looking into the distance, they could already see several adventurers sitting in a circle by the entrance to the Misty Path, eating.

Just as the two of them were about to head toward the meeting point, something suddenly happened in the distance.

A javelin pinned an adventurer to the ground like a nail. Bestial roars followed, and a pack of Wereboars charged out of the abandoned buildings, launching a surprise attack on the adventurers.

Their muscles bulged unnaturally, and their bodies were covered in bristles as stiff as steel needles, caked with hardened mud. Huge wild boar heads sat atop their necks, with protruding snouts and outward-curving tusks.

Rather than Wereboars, Renato thought they looked more like a pack of wild boars walking upright.

After a brief panic, the adventurers who had survived the javelin attack raised their shields to defend themselves. But Renato could tell that without help, their defeat was only a matter of time.

One Pigman relied on brute strength, ignoring its injuries as it slammed into a shield. It easily broke through the defensive line and knocked its opponent to the ground.

They needed help immediately. Renato quickly assessed the situation and decided to circle in from the right, telling Perly to hide first.

He did not expect the girl to contribute. As long as she stayed out of the way, that was enough. He had no desire to be hit by friendly spells.

One Pigman spotted Renato charging toward them and hurled a javelin, but he ducked beneath it.

The missed attack seemed to enrage the beast. Rather than retreat or call for its companions, it brandished a rusty cleaver and charged straight at Renato!

The distance between them shrank rapidly. The Pigman leaned its upper body back and raised its cleaver, the muscles in its arm swelling grotesquely.

That wild attack missed as well. Renato swept his blade across the Pigman's chest, cutting it open and sending dark red, foul blood spraying out.

Wereboars were products of a curse. Everything about their bodies carried a "poison" that could turn ordinary people into Wereboars. Though the infection rate was very low, Renato did not want to take the risk.

He passed up the chance to kill it in a single strike, instead keeping the Pigman at a distance with his sword point.

As its wounds multiplied, the Pigman before him only grew more frenzied. Then two more charged in from the side, and Renato's heart sank.

He could not let himself be surrounded. He had to finish the Pigman in front of him quickly!

His mind made up, Renato immediately stepped forward to meet his opponent head-on. Before the Pigman's cleaver could fall, his sword pommel smashed into its foul-smelling snout.

Broken teeth flew. Even the frenzied Pigman staggered from the heavy blow to its face, and Renato seized the opening to sweep his longsword across its throat.

Three Magic Missiles curved through the air toward the other two Wereboars. Sharp darts formed from magical force pierced their flesh. The Wereboars howled and clawed at their wounds, trying to dig out magic that had already vanished.

Perly's spell support gave Renato room to maneuver. He was far more agile than the lumbering Wereboars, which could only charge straight ahead. He wove through the ruins, steadily bleeding them with lead-tipped throwing darts.

Two more Wereboars charged over. Though they were wounded, their arrival only made Renato's heart sink further.

I'm afraid we're the only two left... Renato hurled his last throwing dart, bringing down one of the more severely wounded Wereboars.

This was Renato's first encounter with Wereboars. He had never heard of a Wereboar tribe living in the Phantom Forest. These monsters seemed to feel no pain and think of nothing but killing. They were even more deranged than starving beasts.

Renato raised the Silent Lady and used the blade to block a hardwood club crashing down at him. The frenzied Pigman's strength was astonishing, and the impact numbed the web of his hand.

He turned his wrist and severed his opponent's forearm, making the Pigman pay for its reckless attack.

An icy blue-white beam shot over, striking a distant Pigman just as it prepared to throw a javelin. The freezing magic instantly arrested its movement, and thick white frost formed on its bristles.

The repeated magical attacks seemed to restore a little sense to the beasts. Two Wereboars began trying to get past Renato and rush the mage in the distance.

Renato killed the one-armed Wereboar before him and shifted from defense to offense. Without hesitation, he hoisted his two-handed sword and charged the nearest one.

The five-foot blade rode the momentum of his entire body. There were no flashy changes of technique, only the most direct thrust.

The blood-soaked Pigman turned around. Without retreating a single step, it roared and swung its weapon. But before it could reach Renato, his sword point bit deep into its thick abdomen, easily tearing through its tough hide and driving into its body.

Renato pulled his longsword free. Foul blood and ruptured organs gushed from the enormous wound, and the Pigman crashed to the ground.

The last Pigman, an exceptionally tall one, stood before Renato. White frost covered its chest. Rather than bloodshot red, its eyes were strangely calm as it watched him.

It tossed its javelin to the ground and drew a rust-speckled longsword. Lowering its center of gravity, it aimed the point straight at Renato.

Seeing this, Renato rested his own longsword on his shoulder and took his stance as well.

After a brief exchange of probing movements, the Pigman thrust. Renato stepped back half a pace and easily avoided it.

It was a feint, meaning the Pigman was still testing his defenses. But its disordered footwork had already revealed its level of swordsmanship to Renato, and he had no intention of dragging this out.

Renato sprang his sword off his shoulder and brought it down hard from above, striking the weak of his opponent's blade with the strong of his own. At the same time, he extended his arms, driving his point straight toward its throat!

That was how sword duels went. Victory and defeat were often decided in an instant.

Renato stood before the fallen Pigman. He could read no expression on its ugly porcine face. Blood spilled from its mouth, as though it were murmuring something.

Watching its eyes gradually lose focus, Renato shook his head and turned to meet Perly as she ran toward him.