’Of course, we’re going hunting.’
Lucian pressed a hand against the bark of the nearest tree, and slowly, memory began surfacing. This felt exactly like something out of his past, a place he recognized down to the ground beneath his feet.
But it raised a question he couldn’t shake: what had happened to that kitchen room, and why had it felt like they’d been falling?
"Miyu, can you explain what actually just happened back there?"
Miyu didn’t answer. She was too busy straightening out Lucian’s rumpled clothes and smoothing down his hair.
’Mm, there, you look presentable again.’
"Miyu." Lucian tried her name again, hoping she’d finally give him an answer.
’Okay, let’s start walking.’
She took hold of his hand and led him deeper into the forest. The air around them stayed calm and cool as they moved.
Why does she keep avoiding my question...
Lucian couldn’t stop turning it over in his mind as they walked, but the shape of the ground beneath his feet told him something else entirely: this wasn’t unfamiliar territory to him at all. If anything, he felt like he could navigate this entire forest without ever losing his way.
In the middle of his own speculation, Miyu suddenly stopped. She pulled him down behind a nearby tree, crouching low as though something were closing in on them, though it was clear her senses had picked it up long before his ears caught anything at all.
’Let’s keep our voices down,’ Miyu whispered.
’Lucian, did you eat Horned Boar meat earlier?’ she asked, smiling again, the spark returning to her voice bit by bit.
"Horned Boar?"
Horned Boar was a fairly common Beast, one people hunted regularly for food. Properly prepared, its meat was known to be juicy and rich. Lucian had never actually tasted it himself, though it seemed he might finally get the chance.
’Yeah. It’s a little tricky to catch, but with the right trick I can usually manage it. It’ll probably taste even better roasted.’
Just as she said it, caught up in her own excitement, Miyu’s foot came down on a stray branch, and the snap sent the boar bolting instantly.
"Ah, it’s getting away!" Miyu made to chase after it, but Lucian caught her arm, as though he already had another plan in mind.
"Um... maybe I could try catching it."
’Eh, no, no, I already told you, catching it is my job. You just wait here,’ Miyu said firmly, forbidding him from going after it.
But Lucian brushed off the warning. He felt confident enough in his own hunting instincts, even without his sight, since within a certain range he could track a Beast’s every movement by sound alone.
Besides, he needed to confirm whether this forest really was what he thought it was.
"Don’t worry, I’ll catch it. Just wait here, Miyu. I’m useless in the kitchen, so at least let me pull my weight for tonight’s meal."
Hearing the sincerity in Lucian’s voice, Miyu couldn’t quite bring herself to stop him a second time.
’Fine. But you have to be careful, Lucian, that Horned Boar isn’t an ordinary one, it’s stronger than most.’
Lucian only gave her a thumbs up, as if to say he understood perfectly well.
Slowly, he moved away from Miyu, tracking the boar’s trail with careful, quiet steps, weaving from tree to tree.
The further he went, the more certain he became that this place really was exactly what he remembered.
This really is the Sarnel family’s private forest. There’s no mistaking it, the shape of this ground, this stretch of red maple trees, I know exactly where I am. I can’t be more than two kilometers from the main estate.
Lucian wasn’t wrong. Directly behind the Sarnel main estate stretched a vast forest reserved for training, and this particular grove of maples marked a spot he knew wasn’t far from home at all.
Maybe I can head back once I’ve caught this Horned Boar.
That was Lucian’s plan, and he pushed himself to move faster, eager to track the boar down so he could finally tell someone about everything strange that had happened to him tonight.
A few steps further, he heard it again movement, close ahead.
From the weight of its steps and the sound of its breathing, this has to be the Horned Boar.
But it sounds a little bigger than before... and there’s a strange static sound too. Maybe that’s just some lingering effect from that fall earlier, messing with my hearing.
Lucian murmured to himself as he ducked behind a tree, because directly ahead of him stood a Horned Boar, its hide an unmistakable shade of blue.
Okay, this might be my chance. All I need to do is drop down on its shoulders from above, and it should go straight down.
The boar was digging through roots and bark nearby, seemingly unconcerned with anything around it. Its guard was completely down.
Lucian channeled mana into his legs, focusing everything into a single powerful leap that would let him strike hard enough to bring it down.
Now.
He broke into a silent sprint, weaving through the underbrush without making a sound, catching the boar entirely off guard. He leapt, channeling every ounce of strength into his legs, and came down hard directly on its shoulders.
THUD!
Ugh, that’s rock solid, and why does it feel like I just got shocked?
The Horned Boar didn’t so much as stumble, let alone fall. Instead, it turned its head and fixed him with a look that promised nothing good.
Realizing his mistake, Lucian smacked his palm against his forehead, not because he’d failed to knock it down, but because he’d badly misjudged what kind of boar this actually was.
Damn it. Don’t tell me... a boar this dark shade of blue, with two faint threads of lightning crackling along the tips of its tusks...
His guess was dead right. Standing in front of him was a Thunder Horned Boar, a Beast whose strength far outmatched his own. Even someone with Arch Core level power would struggle against one. Lucian, sitting at only the third tier and completely unarmed, stood no chance at all.
He swallowed hard.
GROOAWR!
The boar charged straight at him, fury unleashed.
"Oh, Goddess—"
Lucian broke into a full sprint. There was no controlling this situation, and regret hit him hard, not just for underestimating the boar, but for how far he’d wandered from Miyu in the process.
This was entirely his own fault, ignoring her warning to stay close, and now he was paying for it.
Birds scattered from the trees around them as the boar plowed straight through anything in its path, closing the distance behind him.
"This is bad, this is really bad," Lucian panicked, the boar’s presence growing more crushing with every second.
"Aghh, I’d take a beating from Sister Jeanne any day over dealing with this thing."
He kept putting distance between them, cutting sharply to the right, but the boar refused to be fooled and stayed locked onto him.
Then, without quite meaning to, he veered left instead, some half-remembered instinct pulling him down a path he recognized.
"There should be a lake near here..."
Sure enough, a lake opened up directly ahead of him. But standing at its edge was a child, no older than twelve, silver hair catching whatever light filtered through the trees, a black blindfold wrapped over his eyes, sitting quietly and facing the water.
"Hey, kid, move, get out of there, now!"
Lucian tried to steer the boar toward the lake instead, away from the child. The boy seemed to sense the danger closing in without even turning around, and in one smooth motion he rose to his feet, a white sword already in hand.
What the boy did next caught Lucian completely off guard. He turned to face the boar head-on, sword raised, stance set as if he actually intended to fight it.
Lucian realized immediately what the boy meant to do and shouted at him.
"Hey, don’t you dare fight this one! The way you’re holding that sword, your breathing, you won’t stand a chance against it. Throw the sword to me instead!"
The boy froze for a moment at that, then hurled the white sword through the air toward him. Lucian caught it cleanly out of the air and spun on his heel mid-motion to meet the charging boar.
Clang!
The sound of steel meeting tusk rang out sharply. Lucian’s hand shook with the impact, and even with a blade in hand now, the gap in raw power between him and the boar was still enormous.
The boar and Lucian faced off, but something strange was happening with the sword in his grip, it seemed to be glowing.
The boar recoiled the instant it caught sight of that light, turning tail and sprinting off into the trees without looking back.
"Did that boar really get away?"
Lucian dropped to the ground, sitting hard. "Huff, thank god for this sword." He slid the blade back into its sheath.
"Thanks, kid. That’s a fine sword you’ve got there."
The boy approached, closing the distance between them, carrying a small roasted fish he’d apparently been cooking, though something that looked suspiciously like hair sat draped across the top of it.
"Here, brother, eat this. You’ll feel calmer after."
"Oh, really?" Lucian caught the rich, savory smell rising off the fish, though something about it stirred an uneasy sense of déjà vu.
"Ah, don’t worry, it’s just roasted fish and hair grass."
"Hair grass?"
The boy pointed toward the surface of the lake, where a strange grass grew just beneath the water, its strands shaped uncannily like human hair.
"Hmm, it’s not really something people normally eat, but I tried it by accident once, and it’s actually pretty good roasted with fish. Tastes richer than if you’d used salt."
The fish did carry a stronger aroma because of it. Slowly, Lucian took a bite.
"Hmm, this... not bad at all. You’re a pretty good cook."
The boy smiled at that. "Ah, thank you."
"By the way, what are you doing out here all alone? Isn’t this a bit dangerous?"
The boy looked toward the lake, still smiling. "I’m waiting for someone. Besides, I actually live around here."
Live here?
"Ah, you live in this forest?"
The boy laughed suddenly. "Hahah, of course not. Don’t you see the Sarnel family crest on the back of my clothes?"
Sarnel?... Wait, does that mean the other family members and guests have already arrived for the party?
"Ah, forgive me, I can’t actually see the crest, I’m blind. Are you part of the Sarnel main family, or one of the branch families?"
The boy’s expression shifted with surprise at that. "Brother, are you blind too?"
Blind too?
"Ah, yeah, I’ve never been able to see, not since I can remember. Are you blind as well?"
"That’s right. We’re both blind. Wow, isn’t that interesting?"
This kid isn’t joking, is he? As far as I know, there’s no other blind person in the Sarnel main family or any of the branch families. Is he being serious?
"So, um, what are you actually doing out here? Isn’t there some kind of event happening today?"
The boy dipped his head slightly. "Ah, brother, did you come to the Sarnel main estate for the Sword Calling Ceremony too? You should probably head over there soon. I’m not taking part in it."
The Sword Calling Ceremony?... Wait, isn’t this supposed to be a party?
Within House Sarnel, children who turned twelve were expected to call forth their own sword, one embedded within the family’s Sword Tomb, though only those of the main family or particularly gifted branch descendants could actually manage it.
"Are you sure you’ve got the date right?"
The boy shook his head. "Of course I do. It’s the seventh day of the second month, year 988. I was supposed to take part today, but my siblings told me not to, said I’d embarrass them."
The color drained from Lucian’s face the instant that date registered.
Because that date was the exact same day, seven years ago to this one, when he himself had undergone his own Sword Calling.