Shock hog I

After we've finally weaved across the hills, through the narrow paths, Henry ties Clover to a tree with some fresh grass nearby to eat. He says bye as he's giving him a pet on the head.

"See you later, buddy!"

"Mooo"

Well, not like anyone expected words from a bovine. It does seem like Clover understands he'll be alone for a while. He lies down as we walk away, trying to find some signs of another hooved creature that should be close by.

Andy walks off towards a big puddle of mud, and he was right to do so. The puddle is so much deeper than it appears. Some kind of boar has been here for sure; there are giant hoof marks all over the place. The disturbing part is that there are also smaller footprints following the hoofs around.

"Damnit, when did multiple types of magic beasts working together become the norm?!"

"Calm down, August..."

"Calm down? Get your eyes checked, Leo! Have you seen the size of that rabbit's footprint?"

"Leo is right, it's not the first evolved species we've fought against."

"Not you too, Thomas, last week's fight was not our first encounter with a magic bear either, are you going to tell me that was fine? The new guy and Leo almost died there, and Pierre was basically dead for an entire day!"

"I know you're upset, and so am I, but our job and duty is to take care of the magic beast ahead of us, not figure out how they work. If it's any solace, during this year's meeting, I do intend to recruit a few new party members. We could possibly even do our rounds with an entire second party as well."

"You're the boss, but if any of you do something dumb and leave for the afterlife, I'll chase you there and drag you back here to apologise!"

"We love you too, August"

"... Why do you always have to make things awkward, Leo?"

August is actually blushing, I didn't think he even could!

"Okay, people, enough chit-chat, let's talk strategy."

seems Thomas either wants to save August from his embarrassment, or he can't help being too tense for their tomfoolery. knowing what the stakes are. I imagine it's probably both.

"Considering how high its vitality and melee strength are, I imagine the boar will be the vanguard while the hare will stay back a bit more. Sadly, evolved species are all over the place. As to what stat they excel at, but considering it is a hare, it will most likely be highly agile. Because of the evolution, its class may have improved from around two to high three, maybe even three and a half."

I have heard about evolved magic beasts before, but never seen one before, never mind fighting it.

"For our side, Pierre will be the main vanguard. I will support him. August, can I ask you to keep the hare occupied? Henry should support you at the frontline.
The rest are backline and should support from the sides, this can be knife throwing for Andy or guarding Andy and quickly jumping in when you see an opportunity for the new guy and Leo."

"I'm stuck on the sidelines of combat again?"

"We need to make sure at least one of our medics is uninjured, just in case something bad happens. considering Pierre is the best vanguard within a fifty-kilometre radius, that leaves you as the dedicated medic, Leo."

After a short pause, Thomas asks one final question before we start the hunt.
"Any other suggestions or objections?"

August breaks the ensuing silence.

"Let's get our hand shields out then. Andy, considering we don't know if there will be natural walls around, I think you might be best off taking the large shield as well so you don't get struck by lightning while supporting us."

I'm not entirely sure why Thomas lets August take the lead this often, while he is the actual leader, not August. During this fight, I get to stand on the sidelines until I see some kind of opportunity, huh? Not quite as exciting as I had hoped, but it might be my own fault for going a little too far above and beyond by myself last time.

As the tracks get fresher, we approach a hole in the cliff face we've been walking next to. Andy stops about a dozen metres away from the cave, far to the side so it's not visible from inside.

"Best if I set up the shield here before we start fighting, considering we have the advantage in numbers, it's best if we lure it out of the cave instead of fighting in such a cramped area"

Makes sense, on top of being able to surround in the open, the place being cramped makes attacking a lot more difficult, even one on one. The boar might have the same problem due to its close-quarter based stats and size. The hare, however.... If it is good at using magic, it will be near impossible to even attack if it decides to hide in a narrow side passage.

"Pierre and I will go into the cave to lure the boar out. Once it's about ten metres out, or turning around, Henry should cut off the way toward the cave for the boar.
August, you wait for the hare to appear. Once the hare and August are fighting it out, Henry can fall back and switch to the hare."

"Take one of my knives with you: throwing distance gives you more room to retreat from the cave."

"Thanks, Andy"

And just like that, Pierre and Thomas get into the cave. The rest of us get to wait at this mountain clearing in front of the cave. After a minute or two, A terrifyingly deep growl leaves the cave. It seems they found our hooved target. Let's hope they can make it back to the exit before they have to start fighting.

Halfway filled vitality, one third of the way melee strength, and the magic power is about a quarter of the way, huh... I don't think any of us could take it one on one, but three or four on one should be way more than enough...

Thomas leaves the cave first, shortly followed by a flying shortsword, then Pierre, and finally the one responsible for sending his sword flying. The boar keeps chasing Pierre, who pulls out his full-sized katana to use with his shield. Taking the shortsword inside a cramped space was probably a good idea, but out in the open, against an opponent with giant tusks to grant it more range, a full sword is certainly better.

"Henry!"

"Way ahead of you!"

As Henry locks the boar in place by completing the encirclement, he slashes at the bottom of its hind legs, causing the boar to kick back. Henry can stand his ground, but gets pushed back a little. Because of our advantage in numbers, the boar barely has time to realise the next slash is already underway. Thomas slashes at its flank, but the blade is unable to fully cut through.

Maybe it was not so much the boar not realising it's getting attacked as it having decided not to get distracted by every single attack. It shakes its head as it uses the short runup to charge headfirst at Pierre, creating a small magic circle in the process. Electric headbutt, sounds kind of cool. The sheer destructive potential is nothing to laugh at either, as shown by a chunk of Pierre's shield that's flying off somewhere into the field.

The dent aside, they seem to be fairly easily winning against the boar three on one, if you add in the occasional knife from Andy, there is almost no way they'll lose. The boar seems to have realised this, too, as it lets out a desperate squeal.
I would like to jump in as well to finish it quicker, but that would leave Andy by himself. August and Leo are hidden near the cave. Just in case the hare comes out as well.

I hear something the size of a cat approaching us from behind us. When I turn, all I can see is a giant blue bolt flying at Andy and I. Just our luck! As I deflect the bolt with my sickle, I can feel the heat dissipating from the amount of energy. I'm lucky as hell to have a wooden handle without any metal connecting it to my hand, as some cheap swords do. I easily close the distance between us as a few well-aimed knives from Andy keep the long-eared miscreant occupied. He even scratched its belly right behind the front legs.

Miscreant because it sure as hell didn't get prettier with its evolution, a normal hare has big hind legs, but in an acceptable proportion still, this one has over triple the size of hind legs, while the front ones only doubled.

Andy throws another knife to the right of the hare as I approach it from the left, the hare dodges towards me as expected, and I swing my scythe overhead to finish it. Except I have to switch to defence as a giant magic circle, about an entire metre in size pops up. As I block the path the hare is going, it kicks off against my scythe. Right after he does so, a massive blast hits the same area. I still get thrown back quite far, and as my arms aren't strong enough to take all the momentum, the handle of my scythe hits me in the ribs.
Am I really going to go down first in this battle as well? I'm fighting against a glorified bunny!

The hare jumps past Andy, as it approaches the boar, except August and Leo, knowing the hare isn't in the cave, have rotated as well. August cuts and splits the front from the back half before it can reunite with the boar. The front half lands between the boar and Thomas, about half a metre away from the boar.

The boar, realising it lost its companion, starts a giant Magic circle of its own. Compared to the bear, it does not have much magic, but never underestimate how much power fits inside a quarter of a bar when it comes to the magic ability. That ember wolf only had a fifth, yet it easily ruined an entire field. The only reason I survived was that I dodged and parried instead of taking an attack head-on.

Blocking is also what everyone near the blast does. Even Andy and August get behind the big shield, just in case. Henry, Pierre and Thomas all get thrown back and drop to the ground. I can feel the static as the shockwave passes by me. That isn't why my jaw drops to the ground, though. Instead of mourning, avenging or fleeing after his companion gets defeated... The boar starts eating the front half? Starting at the cut, it eats about a tenth of that half before facing Thomas and going for another thunder headbutt. Is it just me, or does that boar seem to be growing as it's charging?

I think we may have just witnessed how magic beasts evolve, and it seems to be a very quick process when it happens. August seems to have noticed as well. He starts shouting his frustrations.

"What in the world? I knew I had a bad feeling about this, but the boar evolving as it's fighting us, really?! What kind of higher being did we insult to get this much bad luck?!"