Chapter 11. Idiot

Chapter 11. Idiot

Everything was fine. I left the village and followed the road that cut through the forest. The atmosphere pressed a little: the moment you stepped in, sunlight almost vanished. I’d been walking under the dense canopy for nearly an hour, and not a single ray made it through the thick leaves—even though it was high noon. The trees here were tall and old, their branches and foliage forming an almost solid ceiling above the road.

Silence reigned around me, broken only by the rasp of insects and distant bird calls. Those sounds of nature were calming. I walked like that for about an hour, unhurried, just listening to the forest. Yes, the air felt a bit oppressive, but the sounds were strangely soothing.

But everything changed about two minutes ago. At first I thought something big was moving among the trees. I assumed it was just my imagination, but the sound grew clearer. Whatever it was, it was getting closer. I could plainly hear something large forcing its way through the brush. I quickened my pace, trying to move as fast as I could. I didn’t dare sprint flat out—the pack on my back was barely holding together as it was. Cheap, but surprisingly sturdy considering it held over thirty kilos. I walked fast, trying to jostle it as little as possible.

The noises grew louder, and something huge pushed through the forest.

Without stopping, I glanced back to see what it was. What I saw did not make me happy.

A black boar burst out of the thickets. No, not just big—huge. I’d never seen a wild boar in my life, but… are they supposed to be that size? It was only a little smaller than a horse.

To hell with caution. If the pack tears—let it tear. I’m not losing my life over a pack.

Without thinking about anything else, I bolted flat out.

Damn, I was running much faster than when I fled from the rabbits.

But the sound behind me kept drawing closer.

Great… the pack didn’t tear. And now I even wanted it to tear instead of being so tough, holding up through all this shaking.

Taking it off and tossing it mid-run wasn’t an option. I’d have to slow down to do that.

I pushed myself to the limit, squeezing out everything to gain even more speed.

I think I managed to run from that boar for fifteen seconds, maybe twenty… maybe even less.

In an instant—while I was sprinting forward—something slammed into my back.

Time seemed to slow—I clearly saw myself lifted into the air as the black boar thundered beneath me and charged farther down the road.

I crashed to the ground and pain lanced through me.

“Damn…” I hissed, trying to get up.

Running back to the village—the only option. The boar was already ahead of me, toward the ravine. I pushed myself up on one arm and tried to take a step… but pain stabbed my leg. I’d hurt it. Bones seemed intact, but there was no way I could run. Not that it mattered—the boar was too fast.

I ripped the pack off my shoulders.

“Damn,” I swore. “Even now it won’t tear…”

I’d thought it was cheap and would fall apart, but it turned out absurdly sturdy.

Tossing the pack aside, I yanked my sword from its sheath and braced myself.

Nowhere left to run.

The boar turned.

It looked straight at me, and for the first time I saw its eyes—bloodshot, red like glowing coals. They burned with rage… no, not just anger—vengeance.

“What the hell… I didn’t do anything to you,” I muttered.

The boar bellowed and launched itself again, ripping the earth with its hooves.

I raised my sword. A thought flashed—strike as it closed in. Then I realized: stupid idea. Even if I cut its hide, the inertia of that bulk wouldn’t stop. It would simply crush me.

When it was almost on top of me, I darted right.

“Aaagh!” Pain stabbed my leg. The sudden move cost me, but I narrowly dodged.

The boar barreled past, unable to brake sharply. It needed time to stop and start turning back.

I quickly checked my mana. Yes—enough for one potion.

I crafted it fast and downed it. Warmth spread through my body, and within a couple of seconds the pain in my leg vanished completely. Just in time—the boar lunged again, and I slipped aside.

But this time it wheeled around much faster than before.

“Damn… I can’t keep dodging forever,” flashed through my head.

And then I finally noticed what I’d missed.

Its massive back was studded with arrows—at least three were jutting from its flesh. And just above the right eye a broken shaft was lodged, an arrow snapped off.

“So that’s it… they were hunting it,” I murmured.

The boar was wounded.

Wounded—and more dangerous for it.

I’d heard a wounded bear is far worse than a healthy one… looks like that goes for boars, too.

All its madness, all that fury—was now aimed at me. Yeah, I’d become the target of its revenge. It doesn’t tell humans apart by face. A human hurt it. So now any human it meets is the enemy that caused its pain. That enemy must be destroyed.

What can I do? Run into the forest? No, not an option. Among the trees it won’t reach the same speed as on the road, and I might have a chance to escape. I might even slip away without too much trouble. But… I’d never get out of that forest. I have no tracking or navigation skills. I’d just get lost.

Keep going straight? Also no. It’s too fast.

Only one way out remains—fight and kill it.

If I want to live, I have to kill this beast.

I tightened my grip on the sword and readied myself.

When the boar charged, I dodged and slashed at its head.

Damn, mistake! I struck its tusk. The impact was so strong the sword flew from my hand, and my arm went numb.

Ugh, I have to aim better.

Fortunately the numbness passed quickly. I grabbed the sword and braced again.

When the boar turned and rushed me once more, I managed to hit its head this time. But the result wasn’t what I expected—just a shallow cut across its brow.

What the hell?!

Oh… right. I’d heard a wild boar’s skull can be hard enough to stop a rifle bullet.

So slashing its head with a sword was the dumbest idea I could’ve had.

That won’t work.

Think. Think!

There has to be a way.

A raging beast bore down on me, moving forward without thought, without stopping.

And if I didn’t find an answer, it would just crush me.

And… a great idea came to mind. Well, I hoped it would be great.

I was betting that, blinded by rage, the beast would keep attacking me at full speed without thinking.

I sprinted ahead to the biggest tree nearby. It really was gigantic—the trunk was about two, maybe two and a half meters across. I stopped with my back to the massive trunk.

Just as I’d counted on, the boar came straight for me, not slowing down.

At the last moment, I slipped aside.

It had no chance to brake or veer away.

An ear-splitting impact—THUD!

The ground shivered as if a giant boulder had fallen. Birds exploded from the branches in a flurry.

The boar slammed its forehead into the trunk.

Damn… looked like it blacked out.

The trunk itself shuddered from the force.

How powerful was that charge?

Now I had two options: take advantage of the boar being out cold and run… or finish it right now.

But what if I choose the first, and it wakes and chases me down? Even if it doesn’t—this road leads straight to the village. Leave it alive and others could get hurt. Villagers. Children.

It’s cruel… but I have to finish it.

I clenched the sword in both hands and struck the boar’s body. The blade parted the hide, but not as deeply as I’d hoped.

I gathered all my strength, raised the sword, and struck again—much harder this time.

The sword sank deeper—and the boar woke. A deafening roar split the air.

I didn’t give it time to come to its senses.

“One… two… three…” I struck again and again, without stopping.

Blows rained across the beast’s body, dozens of times, until my arms were numb.

[Wild Black Boar (Lv. 22) slain]

[Received +1,950 experience points]

Finally a system message popped up before my eyes.

The boar was dead. That’s it… it wouldn’t move again.

I exhaled heavily and sat down on the ground.

Yeah, I’d killed rabbit-monsters before, but that was completely different. They were small, and after death they simply vanished, leaving only magic stones behind.

Now a real carcass lay before me—an enormous boar’s blood-slick back, hide and meat split open right in front of my eyes.

My clothes were spattered with its blood. The sword in my hand was red to the hilt, as if I’d pulled it from a barrel of blood.

And now I felt… lousy.

No, not regret for what I’d done—an awareness that I’d just taken a living creature’s life. But if I hadn’t killed it, it would have killed me. And it attacked first.

“Stop acting like an idiot,” I told myself, taking a deep breath.

If I keep thinking like this, I won’t survive.

I got to my feet. Time to go.

Where did I leave the pack?.. Ah, over there, about thirty meters away.

I started toward it, then stopped.

Can I just leave the boar here?

Its blood and carcass would surely draw predators or monsters from the forest. If a villager happened by on this road, it could end badly.

I couldn’t carry the carcass—it weighed several times more than me. Go back to the village and report it? No… for some reason I didn’t want to do that.

Then only one option was left.

I went up to the carcass, touched it, and activated the Training Room skill, transferring inside together with the boar. It worked.

Returning to the road, I inspected the spot. Blood still soaked the ground around. I couldn’t do anything about that. But at least the body was gone—that was better than leaving it lying here.

I headed for my pack.

—

In less than an hour I reached the ravine.

I climbed down and made straight for the river without a second thought.

I washed myself thoroughly from head to toe.

Good thing I hadn’t put on the new clothes I’d bought.

The old set was covered in dried blood—both fresh and older stains. I couldn’t wash it all out. The smell had sunk into the fabric. I’d probably have to throw these clothes away.

I scrubbed the sword clean in the river as well.

Then I took clean clothes from my pack and changed.

And right then it hit me.

“Crap…” I froze.

I’d made a monstrous mistake.

I instantly activated the Training Room skill and transferred inside.

And immediately clapped a hand over my mouth—I almost threw up.

I jumped back to the ravine at once.

Just as I feared—the boar’s carcass had already started to rot.

The stench was so acrid and heavy it was impossible to breathe in there.

Why didn’t I think of this earlier?

It had taken me about an hour to reach the ravine.

Then another hour to wash up and try to scrub my clothes.

About two hours had passed.

And in the training room that equaled 480 hours…

Twenty days.

Of course the carcass had rotted.

And now it was impossible to stay in there even a second.

I am, quite literally, an idiot.