4 – The Ugly Duckling Brienne could only stare.
She had been raised on proper knightly training—footwork, parries, the correct way to generate power.
The way this man fought shattered every rule she had ever learned.
He was more savage, more terrifying, than even the unstoppable Boar King itself.
The beast’s charge finally slowed.
It could no longer withstand those crushing fists.
Blood began to trickle from its nostrils and the corners of its mouth.
Under the relentless, unrestricted power of Rek’Sai’s punches, its frenzy gradually collapsed.
A broken whimper escaped its throat.
Its front legs buckled.
The massive body crashed into the mud and lay still.
All will to resist had been beaten out of it.
Fear filled its cloudy little eyes.
Only weak, panting snorts remained.
Rek’Sai swung down from its back and stood upright.
He shook the blood from his knuckles, then wiped them clean on the boar’s hide.
Familiar blood-red characters bloomed across his vision.
[Quest: Tame (Beginner) — Completed] [Battle Pet Obtained: Mutated Boar (Unnamed)] [Reward Issued: Skill Unlocked — Mend Pet] Rek’Sai grinned, showing sharp white canines.
He placed one broad palm on the Boar King’s head.
Warm green light flowed from his hand into the beast’s body.
Mend Pet activated.
The bleeding from its nose stopped.
Its ragged breathing evened out.
The Boar King lifted its head and looked up at him with a mixture of fear and submission.
Its rough, barbed tongue licked the mud from the back of his hand in a clumsy attempt to please.
“From now on, your name is Pig.” Rek’Sai gave the huge head a solid pat.
Pig let out a low, contented rumble and stayed obediently where it was.
The fight was over.
Rek’Sai turned and looked down at Brienne, still sitting in the mud.
The woman had a heavy frame and stood well over six feet, her face covered in freckles.
Nothing about her appealed to him in the slightest.
He had zero interest.
He walked straight past her toward the trampled corpse of the squire Roland.
Without the slightest hesitation he crouched, rifled through the blood-soaked belt, and tore free a coin purse.
He weighed it in his hand, listened to the pleasant clink of gold, and tucked it into his own belt with satisfaction.
Next he moved to the two dead hunters and efficiently stripped them of everything valuable.
Brienne opened her mouth.
Looting the dead was the act of a bandit, not a man of honor.
But this same man had just saved her life.
“Who… who are you?” She forced herself to her feet.
The weight of the half-plate made her chest ache.
“Rek’Sai.
Rek’Sai Storm.” He didn’t even glance back.
“A hunter of the Rainwood.” “You saved me.” Brienne straightened, eyes serious.
“I am Brienne of Tarth, heir to Evenfall Hall.
I owe you my life.” Rek’Sai finished pocketing the last copper and turned to study her.
“Empty words of gratitude mean nothing.” He patted the purse at his waist and pointed at Pig lying quietly nearby.
“House Mertyns of Mistwood put fifty gold dragons on this beast’s head.
Now it’s my mount.
The bounty is gone.
You can cover that fifty dragons as your thanks.” Brienne froze.
Fifty gold dragons was a fortune.
“What?
The heir of House Tarth can’t even produce that much?” Rek’Sai raised an eyebrow, making no effort to hide the mockery in his voice.
“I’ll pay it!” Brienne clenched her teeth, face flushing red.
“Evenfall Hall will pay.
And more than that—your strength deserves higher honor.
Would you… would you become my sworn sword?
I can recommend you to my father.” Rek’Sai stared at her for a second, then threw his head back and laughed.
The rough, booming sound shook the leaves around them.
“Sworn sword?” He cut the laughter off cold.
Green vertical pupils fixed on her.
“I’m only interested in gold and women.
All those rules about playing dog for nobles?
You’re joking.” Brienne’s expression darkened.
She had spent her entire life chasing the honor of knighthood, only to hear it dismissed as worthless by the man in front of her.
“The honor of a knight—” “You’re too weak.” Rek’Sai cut her off without mercy, eyes sweeping over the bulky armor.
“You move like a tin barrel and fight like a stupid cow.
Against a real beast that iron shell does nothing but give it something hard to chew on.
Honor is built on strength.
Without strength, do you think a knight’s title will buy you even one extra loaf of bread?” Brienne’s fists clenched so hard her nails dug into her palms.
Being mocked by the man who had just broken the Boar King with his bare hands left her feeling utterly powerless.
Then red characters flared across Rek’Sai’s vision again.
[Bond Quest Triggered: Brienne’s Obsession] [Description: This ugly duckling who dreams of becoming a knight has just witnessed true power.
Take her as your disciple.
Shatter her naïve ideals of knighthood.
Teach her the pure craft of killing.] [Reward: Weapon — Arcanite Reaper] Rek’Sai’s eyes narrowed slightly.
An Arcanite Reaper was no small prize.
He looked at the humiliation and anger on Brienne’s freckled face, and a faint, amused curve touched his mouth.
“Still,” he said, voice easing, “for the sake of the gold, I can teach you something useful.” Brienne’s head snapped up, surprise flickering in her eyes.
“I can make you strong.
Stronger than any so-called knight.” He jerked his chin toward the obedient Pig.
Brienne bit her lip, torn.
“I’ll take you as a disciple.” Rek’Sai walked over to Pig.
“But I only have one rule—obey.
If you can’t manage that, crawl back to Evenfall Hall and wait for some man to breed you like a mare.” The words struck exactly where her deepest wound lived.
Humphrey Wagstaff’s contemptuous gaze rose again in her mind.
She looked at the towering man in front of her.
Crude.
Greedy.
Without a shred of honor.
And in possession of the power she had always dreamed of.
“I’ll learn!” The shout rang through the rainforest.
Rek’Sai gave a satisfied nod.
He glanced at the quest panel.
The progress bar hadn’t moved.
Looks like a verbal agreement isn’t enough, he thought.
Probably needs formal recognition from House Tarth.
“First, get out of the mud.” He swung up onto Pig’s broad back.
“Fifty gold dragons, plus your tuition.
Have your father prepare both when we return.” Pig gave a low grunt and started walking.
Rek’Sai rode the two-meter-high Boar King and looked back down at her from above.
“Keep up, disciple.
Don’t fall behind.”