Chapter 6

"What test?" I asked nervously.

"Come with me."

The grandmother rose from her chair and made her way outside the cabin. Once we were out, she pointed her staff toward a dense forest in the distance.

"You must cross that forest alone and reach the other side."

"Wait, that's far too dangerous," Hina said, her voice trembling with concern.

"He must prove his determination. If this is merely a whim, he will surely abandon it. But if he truly wishes to flee with such strength, he will have to earn the right to stay here."

"But he could die!" Hina cried out.

"That is precisely why this must be his choice. Will you do it or not?" she asked, looking directly at me.

"I suppose I don't have much choice," I said, feeling somewhat nervous.

Hina looked at me with worry etched across her face.

"I suppose sending you into the forest empty-handed would be cruel, even for me."

Isobel approached a chest that sat against the wall of her cabin. From it, she withdrew a spear with a pendant tied to its shaft.

"Take this weapon. It will serve you well for defense. Something so primitive tends to work well on beings like you."

I felt insulted, but it was better not to argue.

"Take this as well."

She tossed me a pendant with a gem in its center and a button at the top.

"If you wish to abandon the test or find your life in danger, press the button and it will pull you from the forest immediately. If you use it, you will fail the trial at once."

She handed me a lamp with a candle burning inside.

"You now have everything you need to begin. Hina and I will wait for you at the forest's edge."

I took the lamp and began walking toward the forest.

"Would it really be so terrible to return to your normal life?" Hina asked from behind me.

"To be honest, I'm not even sure myself, but I don't think this is about whether returning would be bad or not. If I don't try this, I think I'll regret it afterward."

Hina looked at me with sadness in her eyes. I smiled at her and continued on my way.

As I entered the forest, I realized how dark it was. I could barely see the path ahead. The overcast sky didn't help matters either. With the lamp, I could illuminate the ground directly in front of me, but I couldn't see very far beyond that, which put me at a disadvantage—creatures could surround me at any moment. Moreover, the candle would burn out completely if I took too long. Without the lamp, survival would be nearly impossible.

The first thing I did was mark the trees beside me with an X so I wouldn't lose my way. To my surprise, the spear they'd given me cut very cleanly. I had no trouble marking the trees with ease.

I continued walking cautiously. I noticed bushes beginning to move around me. It was only a matter of time before some animal detected my presence, so I had to be careful. The problem was that I started hearing multiple bushes rustling, which meant there had to be several creatures. I gripped the spear tightly, bracing myself for any attack.

Just as I glanced to the side, I saw a shadow leap behind me. Surprisingly, I managed to react in time—I was even amazed at my own reflexes. Looking closer at the shadow, I saw it was a black dog similar to Drust, though smaller. These had to be a pack of wild Cu Sith. The dog that had lunged at me opened its mouth and hurled a fireball toward me. I threw myself to the ground quickly and managed to dodge it. I scrambled to my feet and started running.

I could feel them pursuing me—there were quite a few of them. I had to extinguish the candle or I'd never lose them, but if I did, I'd have no way to relight it. I suddenly stopped and threw the lamp at one of the dogs chasing me, but it managed to dodge it.

Running without the lamp was difficult, but if I concentrated on the path, I could still see it. I don't know if it was adrenaline, but no matter how hard I ran, I didn't tire. I could maintain a pace I hadn't been able to sustain even on the way here. I didn't know how long I could keep this up, but I couldn't continue this way through the entire forest.

"I have to lose them somehow," I thought.

I gripped the spear tightly and tried to cut through a tree with more force than I had used for marking. I made a deep cut, but not deep enough to fell the tree. I had to abandon that attempt since the dogs were nipping at my heels. I spotted another tree that looked more fragile. This time, instead of cutting, I tried to impale it with all my strength. To my surprise, I created a large hole—large enough that the tree began to fall. Before it crashed down on me, I leaped out of the way. I could see from the corner of my eye the tree falling onto some of the dogs, but it didn't frighten all of them. Some continued chasing me. I had to find another tree.

Just as I prepared to attack another tree, a massive roar echoed through the entire forest, shaking the ground. The roar was so loud that it frightened away all the dogs. I immediately raised my guard, as the sound seemed to come from something nearby. Due to the darkness, I couldn't see clearly, but then I heard heavy footsteps and labored breathing. I peered into the shadows ahead and could make out a figure. It was a boar—but not an ordinary boar. It was a gigantic boar with enormous tusks and covered entirely in moss.

I had to flee, but all my energy suddenly drained away. All the exhaustion hit me at once, and even the strength I'd felt when felling the tree seemed to vanish. I had to think, or I would die here. I had to use the pendant or I would perish. After all, was it really so bad to return to my normal life, as Hina had asked? My hands moved toward the pendant, ready to press the button.

"Don't run," I heard a voice—coming from within me.

"Don't run," it kept repeating those words.

Thanks to the voice, I came to my senses and saw the boar preparing to charge at me. Before it could reach me, I managed to throw myself to the ground and dodge it. The boar continued past but I could see it was already turning to come at me again. Before it could charge once more, I managed to get to my feet and run in another direction. It was an advantage that the boar could only run in a straight line, but that advantage wouldn't help me much if I couldn't harm it.

I continued running and dodging. I couldn't last much longer like this. My stamina was nearly at its limit. The only way out was to kill that boar, since it didn't seem willing to leave me alone. I had to kill it in one strike or I wouldn't survive. I had to drive the spear through its head.

I saw it approaching me as it charged. I planted my feet firmly on the ground and gripped my spear with all my strength. In that moment, the pendant on the spear began to emit a yellow glow that illuminated the entire area. Because of the light, the boar lost its balance. I seized the moment and jumped with all my might toward its head, driving the spear through. The spear had pierced it, but it didn't seem to have killed it. It thrashed its head with all its might to shake me off. I clung to the spear with whatever strength I had left and kept pushing harder. If I kept pushing, I would eventually die. At that moment, the pendant blazed with even brighter light, and I saw a light in the sky. It was a lightning bolt heading straight toward me. The lightning struck down on the boar where I stood, but for some reason, I felt nothing. When I came to my senses, the boar was dead and charred by the lightning, but I was completely unharmed.

Somehow I had managed to kill the boar and escape unscathed—it was something I never could have imagined. As I recovered from my shock, I realized I had to get out of there. More beasts could arrive at any moment, and night was falling. Without the lamp, I wouldn't survive a night here. I heard the sound of the sea crashing against the cliffs, so I ran toward it until I found a way out.