Chapter 4 - Classic Boar

I laid on my back, aching as if I was in terrible pain. I sat up, rubbing the sore muscles. I immediately noticed I was on a hill, rather than dread filled air, it was alive.

Clouds spanned the sky, mountains reached high and covered their peaks in cold snow. Rivers and waterfalls could be heard nearby while a massive distant river cut through the valleys. I took a deep breath, feeling that fresh air course through my lungs.

“Damn... Mother nature is beautiful. You can't get this in the city life.”

City life? Like one full or citizens? Like one with cars honking and people on their phones all the time? Almost like...

“ALMOST LIKE I REMEMBER!?!?” I cheered. I peered about my feet and hands. They weren’t new, they were familiar. “I remember! I’m Toshiro Kage! The man who died at the hands of a yandere and almost had to raise an someone else's baby!”

I reflected on my words, realizing that's probably not the best thing to get excited about.

“That’s great and all...”

A familiar feminine voice creaked in defeat from behind, I turned to see a sad eyed, long hair girl sitting on the ground. I now realized who that golden girl was.

“G- Goddess...?” I stuttered.

“YOU BASTARD!!!!” I felt a sudden grab of my collar, the Goddess shaking my very core. “WHY! WHY DID YOU BRING ME HERE!?!?”

She cried, I’ve never seen this Goddess let tears flow in all my reincarnations.

“I- I’m guessing you’re still here because-”

“I’M TRAPPED HERE BECAUSE OF YOU!!!” She accused, confirming my insight.

She flew herself to the floor, banging the grass and dirt in anger.

“Uh...” I didn’t know how to comfort. “There, there... I’m sure we can find you a way home...”

She turned and glared at me, a fear rose in my chest.

“You dumb bastard! You sure as hell can guess how to do that, huh? Mr. I don’t want to be bored. I want things to be exciting.”

I took a step back in pure astonishment, her mocking of my very existence was not inaccurate, but I wanted to hit here.

“Well... Typically the story would go now that I’ve been reincarnated... I have to defeat a demon lord.”

“Hm-Hmm.” The Goddess nodded aggressively. “And?”

“And... To get you home, I would also need to defeat the demon lord...”

I felt my collar get grabbed again. “You dumb son of a bitch! If you knew this was going to happen! Why did you grab the orb!?”

“I didn’t mean to! I-”

Before we had a chance to continue our fight, rustling of the trees garnered out attention.

“What is it now!?” The Goddess was pissed.

“Oh... Ah fuck...” I groaned.

Bustling through the tree line, a wild boar, massive in size charged us.

“W- W- W- WHAT DO WE DO!?” The Goddess screeched.

“Move!” I grabbed her by the hand.

As we rand, I noticed the boar was head strong. Its speed made it terrifying, we were not going to outrun it.

“Shit, this better work.” I cursed.

“What better work- Ack!” The Goddess yelped as I changed course.

Rather than run away, we were charging the beast.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” She shouted in fear.

“Trust me!” I shouted, facing the beast in its path.

The boar readied its tusks, ready to swipe up and fling us to the air. Its body was intimidating, scars and cuts from its previous battles clearly show its skill.

I ran head strong, the Goddess’s screams ringing my ears.

In the moment the boar was ready to strike. I was already to its side.

“Eh?” The Goddess questioned.

We ran past its legs its enormous body unable to stop itself to its inertia. I charged. Running straight into the woods.

“Ow- Ow- Ow-” The Goddess cried as branches and leaves smacked our faces.

“We should be far, hopefully the boar won’t find us.”

“Uh...”

The Goddess murmured. My curiosity grew, but my urgency to run was overpowering.

“Wait...” I stopped us in our run, the Goddess catching her breath harder than myself. “We got the cliché of the boar! That must mean you give me special powers, right?”

I asked curious.

“No way.” The Goddess was quite to rebuttal, waving her hand in a almost patronizing way.

“What? You wanted to send me to fight a demon king without some kind of power? This is clearly heading towards magic or sorcery world. Full of dragons, elves, all kinds of mythical creatures!”

“Well duh!” She snapped, inching close to my face. “If you had waited patiently for my explanation I would have presented you options for starter abilities!”

“Uh... Oh.” I realized my mistake now.

The Goddess rubbed her head in frustration. “Why did I ever think the guy who broke an entire reality with his fists would ever be a good pick to save another!”

With my memories of my encounters with the Goddess returning, I reflected that I may have gone too far.

“C- Come on Goddess... You have the power to summon that lightning, you clearly have some powers you could use here right.” The itch was itching.

“Did you see me use my powers on the boar?” She asked with a pouting look.

“N... No...” My insight was correct.

The sounds of trees shook off in the distance, signifying the boars return.

“Let’s just keep running this way, the boar shouldn’t have a way to follow us.

“Uh...”

My curiosity and itch grew to the Goddess’s murmuring, but I again chose to prioritize running.

The sounds of the boar were consistent, the vibrations in the air told me it was closing in.

“How the hell is it following us!?” I shouted, angry at the world.

“Uh...”

“What!?” I snapped, finally unable to bear her murmuring.

“Well... We may not be able to escape the boar...”

“What...?”

I stopped, deadpanning to the Goddess’s panicking self.

“It- It may be able to see me!” She flustery shouted out, my itch was scratched.

I stared at the Goddess, then back on our path, knowing the boar was heading this direction. I opened my arms out wide, sighing my fear away.

“W- What are you doing?” She asked.

“Well, if it's inevitable, I’ll just die and go to the next cycle of reincarnation. I’m guessing the next time I'll listen and get a proper start to this whole deal.”

“Umm... About that... Remember true death and all?” She asked, the sounds of the boar echoed through the trees.

“Yes?” I asked, embracing a new start at life again.

“Well...” She fiddled with her fingers. “If you die here... You will be truly dead...”

“What...?”

With only a moment to process her words, the boar broke through the trees, both of our hearts jump from our chests.

“Between its legs!!!” I demanded.

The boar had put too much swing into breaking the trees, giving us a chance to dive under its belly, staying to the ground as it ran over head.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'LL ACUALLY DIE!?!?” I demanded answers.

“YOU DIDN’T LET ME EXPLAIN YOU IDIOT!!!” WE both turned to see the boar smash into a tree, letting it stop abruptly, while comparatively the open field did not give it such an advantage.

“SHIT!”

The boar was already in a charge. It slammed into another trunk, unable to break it.

I noticed something. Me and the Goddess had split, she took one tree, while I took the other. The boar had chosen her tree.

I watched as the Goddess cowered, unlike her usually comfortable spot at the hillside tree that was all too familiar now. I watched as she cried terrified by the boar, she looked over to me, I could feel the pleas in her eyes.

We stared at one another, hope reflected in the blue eyes, calling for my help.

With a simple extending of my hand, the Goddess watched in absolute hope.

I put my hand up in a salute.

Good luck Goddess.

“Ah-” The Goddess stared in betrayal Before the tree began to topple over.

###

“YOU BASTARD YOU WERE PLANNING TO ABANDON ME!!!” The Goddess pulled on my collar, shaking me to my very core once more.

Noises from the Boar echoed through the cave we took refugee in, the Goddess’s slight glow brought us light.

“Why do you glow?” I asked as she shook.

“STOP TRYING TO CHANGE THE SUBJECT!!!” She ordered, crying through her betrayal.

I ignored his tantrum, letting my mind piece things together.

“Is there a reason the boar is hunting you down in specific?” I asked.

“Don’t ask sensitive subjects like that!” She shook me even harder.

This Goddess is a pain.

If any creatures can track you the same, we have a real problem on our hands. Can you do something to not be a beacon?”

The Goddess pouted, getting even angrier by my lack of consideration.

“No! My powers are the only thing keeping the cycle of reincarnation from going haywire. If I turn them off to hide myself, then every soul would pass through in real time, and have full control over which world they reborn into!”

“How is that a problem?” I asked, curious to the issue at hand.

“If a hundred souls try to reborn into a world where only five babies are being born, what do you think would happen?” She asked, it felt like some kind of riddle.

“The baby would pop?” I answer.

“Ew! No! Their souls would merge into a single entity. And that would have disastrous consequences for all the realities. If even two souls merge into one, they alone could jump between realms.”

“Jump between realms? That actually sounds interesting...”

The Goddess stared into my mischievous smile.

“No bright ideas. You already are problematic enough. No telling what you would do with that kind of power.” The Goddess stressed.

I put a rain check on that idea for now.

“Anyways. If you aren’t able to turn off that tracker of yours, and I am at risk of a true death. Then it’s clear my next course of action.”

“You wouldn’t.” The Goddess doubted.

“You would!” The Goddess tugged hard, trying to stop me in my tracks as I headed towards the exit.

“I’m not walking around with a fly trap that doesn’t zap! If I'm going to survive it’ll sure as hell be by my own wits!”

“You’re a young man raised in a world of technology! We both know you don’t know a damn thing about surviving in mother nature!” She observed.

I paused. “And you do?”

She stared blankly at me.

I resumed.

“Look! I don’t want to do this! But I will use the fact I’m a Goddess to convince you!”

“Oh yeah, and how's that!?” I asked angrily.

I turned. The Goddess went smug, she had already started to roll up her skirt.

I didn’t really pay mind, but her outfit is quite eccentric. With her high heels, thigh high socks, short skirt and kimono-like top. Clashing against her red hair, the white was a standout. Her breasts implied being hidden in under wraps, giving it to the imagination to fill in the pieces.

I felt the itch once more.

As the Goddess attempted to garner my attention with her teasing, I pondered.

Her actions seem far off from a Goddess in a religious sense. More akin to something you would read in a novel or comic... I can read her nature much like those from earth.

My intrigue was electric.

I found the Goddess’s all too familiar human nature in a new way. I realized my one mistake, the same one that got me killed before.

This isn’t a story.

This Goddess is in front of me, trying to woo me as a woman does, flashing her panties and trying to sucker me in. The world of magic fills the air, the Goddess’s glow seems to even be dancing with it like a small flame in the wind.

My countless memories of my reincarnations tell me that I have existed on multiple planes, and this is the one life I have to live with true consequence of death.

I am free.

The Goddess was distracted, she forgot her original purpose to woo, and was now engrossed with her own body, feeling up her hidden breasts.

“Heh...”

“Hm?” The Goddess snapped out of her trance, now staring at me.

“HAHAHAHA!!!” I gave heart filled laugh.

“Eh!?” She was surprised.

“I’m actually here! Right now! I can read you, a Goddess! The pinnacle of mankind!”

The Goddess was dumbfounded, blankly staring at my sudden shift. The air reacted to my whims. My own emotions turned the cave air colder. A thin layer of frost coated the rocks.

“W- What is this?” The Goddess was confused.

“This! This is exciting!” I turn, facing the way we came in.

“What are you thinking?” She asked cautiously.

“To live in excitement!” I shouted, charging to the exit.

“Eh!!!” The Goddess’s shout echoed, growing ever more distant as I ran with all my might.

This! This is my moment! To start a life of excitement! Free from boredom and real consequences. My decisions will matter, and my life is my own!

My heart dances with such euphoria, even charging into my possible death I have no fear. The vary nature of freedom gives me strength.

The light at the end of the tunnel excites me, mere moments away from my first real choice.

Only then does it dawn on me. The boar had stopped its rampage a bit ago, no longer making its stomping sounds outside.

As I jump into the light, I only take a moment to adjust.

I stand, dumbfounded.

The beast was dead.

Standing around is a group of adventurers, various weapons and outfits giving them distinct looks.

A woman draws a bow.

“Who goes there!?” She demands an answer.

The rest of the crowd peaks to the woman's sudden question, now realizing I was present.

They put up their guard, some even abandoning the prep work of cutting down the boar.

I stare, the group demanding answers from me. My intrigue gone, my found strength vanished. All that remained is disappointment.

“You all...”

The group perked up to my words.

“Speak up!” A male voice demanded.

I trembled. I have never felt such frustration. I stared down the defeated boar, the men guarding it took notice, even more prepared to safeguard it.

I didn’t understand my anger. Both my subconscious and conscious were aflame, but I could make out why. They had done me the service of defeating the very thing that ruined my start to a fantasy life. I know if I had faced it I would have truly died. So why?

“Tell us now or we will kill you!” The women ordered, giving her threat.

Kill me?

I glared to the group, each one staring back.

I could see their eyes.

Each one of them fell into their archetype.

There was a wizard with a thin build but young body, meaning he’s likely a prodigy of magic. There was a brolic man, stern in his glare showing he had the strength to use his hammer effectively. A man with a well-kept soul patch on his chin, he is keenly aware of his blade handling considering he was ready to skin the boar, and his eyes and facial structure tells me he is good with the ladies and a good scout. And lastly the woman with the bow, clearly levelheaded but has a short fuse, her increasing edge to my lack of communication shows she’s ready to shoot me at any point.

An arrow whizzed past my face, nearly cutting into my cheek but I stood unfazed. Being honest, even after her shoot I didn’t register she fired yet. The women pulled another arrow.

“This is your last warning!” She shouted.

Staring them down, a feeling I thought was already done and over with resurfaced.

I sighed.

“I really hate human nature.”