At the edge of the forest, several brown tents stood in place, with the largest one standing firmly in the center.
It had been a week since Evan began training the seven villagers to become his future knights. After teaching them the basics of physical conditioning, discipline, and breathing techniques, it was now time for them to prove their abilities in the field by hunting a wild boar.
Evan stood near the largest tent, his arms crossed as he observed his surroundings. A beautiful expanse of grass stretching up to his ankles spread out before him, with butterflies fluttering through the air in the afternoon light.
However, that peaceful scene was suddenly shattered.
Up ahead, at the edge of the dense forest, trees could be seen shaking violently before toppling one after another. The thunderous sound of enormous footsteps shook the ground, signaling that Marco and his two teammates had successfully lured out their prey, a wild boar of a fantastical size, as large as an elephant!
It was obvious that this was no ordinary wild boar. This boar was a Demonic Beast, with razor-sharp ivory tusks, thick skin like coral rock, and blazing red eyes filled with fury.
Although Evan knew this was extremely dangerous because the creature they were facing possessed strength and a threat level far beyond that of an ordinary wild boar, he continued standing at a distance, watching them. He deliberately held himself back because he wanted to test the limits of his trainees’ mental fortitude and teamwork.
Marco sprinted ahead with a sword in his right hand, his eyes wide and sharp as he panted heavily. Inwardly, he cursed his own arrogance for stubbornly refusing to ride a horse that morning.
"I’m such a reckless idiot!" Marco muttered, clenching his teeth so hard that they ground together with a cracking sound, as though they were about to shatter.
A genuine chill ran down his spine, and terror enveloped him. After only a week of learning the basics of swordsmanship, he had begun to believe that his talent was slightly superior to that of his friends. That confidence had made him careless and a little arrogant. Now, standing before a real monster, his pride had been completely shattered.
His two companions, riding the horses Evan had provided, raced alongside him. A young man with bangs named Wren screamed in panic when he saw Marco falling farther and farther behind, nearly within reach of the monster’s charging tusks.
"Kael! Distract that wild boar! I have to save that stupid bastard!" Wren shouted from atop his horse.
Kael, a young man with somewhat long hair and drooping eyes, quickly nodded. Although he always looked lazy, he immediately understood his role in a critical situation like this. Kael reached into his horse’s saddlebag.
Truthfully, Kael was rather reluctant and annoyed at having to play the hero for Marco, especially since Marco had previously acted arrogant and obnoxious, behaving as though he were the strongest among them. But no matter what, Marco was his friend!
"I’m going to beat the crap out of you after this, you stupid Marco! You’re way too full of yourself, even though the Instructor always tells us never to underestimate anything!" Kael cursed angrily.
Indeed, lately, they had begun calling Evan ’Instructor’ out of convenience and respect. After all, their relationship had become much like that of students and a teacher.
Kael threw a ball of sulfur smoke and a chunk of fresh, bloody meat straight toward the monster’s face, hoping to divert the wild boar’s attention and make it chase him instead.
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Taking advantage of that extremely dangerous moment, Wren urged his horse forward through the thick smoke that obscured the wild boar’s vision. He raced toward Marco, risking his own life as he slowed his horse down.
Behind him, Marco’s pace began to falter as he ran out of breath. But when he saw Wren slowing his horse ahead of him, Marco froze in shock.
"What are you doing, Wren?! If you slow down like that, you could die too!"
"Shut up, idiot! There’s no way we’re just going to let our friend die!" Wren snapped, glancing over his shoulder as the silhouette of the monstrous wild boar began to emerge through the smoke.
When Marco was close enough to Wren’s horse, Wren stretched out his right hand with all his strength.
"Grab my hand! Hurry!"
On the other side, Kael, who had successfully drawn the wild boar’s attention, began to panic. The smell of blood from the meat he had thrown only made the monster even more furious, sending it into a wild frenzy. His trick had worked, but now the wild boar was charging after him at an incredible speed!
Kael felt both guilty and moved as he watched Wren and Marco reunite, but the situation had now taken a turn for the worse for him. The wild boar was already dangerously close behind his horse’s saddle.
Evan, who had been watching the battle from afar, remained standing perfectly still.
Meanwhile, several meters away from where Evan stood, the four other trainees were preparing behind a barricade, holding long spears in their hands. They looked panicked and confused because the monster’s movements had suddenly become chaotic, straying from their original plan.
"Why isn’t it following the original plan?!"
"What do we do?! What are we supposed to do?!"
The four of them were utterly terrified. This was the first time they had ever faced such a chaotic situation. From where they stood, they could clearly see the gigantic wild boar making a sharp turn, its massive body slamming hard into the side of Wren and Marco’s horse and sending both of them crashing to the ground, where they rolled over and over!
The monster roared furiously and redirected its full attention toward chasing Kael.
Seeing his two friends thrown to the ground left Kael deeply unsettled. His concentration shattered, and he began struggling to think clearly. His hands trembled violently as he gripped the reins, and the horse beneath him could also feel the overwhelming killing intent radiating from the wild boar behind them.
The horse neighed in panic. Since Kael could no longer control it as calmly and properly as before, its running speed dropped drastically.
And just like that, the gigantic wild boar easily caught up!
The four trainees standing some distance away clutched their heads, overwhelmed by panic and fear.
"He’s in serious danger! At this rate, he could die!"
"Instructor! What should we do?!" one of them called out in a trembling voice. "Kael could be impaled by that wild boar’s sharp tusks!"
Evan showed not the slightest hint of panic. His expression remained calm, and he made no move or indication that he intended to draw his sword. Naturally, this only left the trainees he was teaching even more confused and terrified.
Why was the Instructor just standing there doing nothing? Was he deliberately letting Kael die? They had absolutely no idea what was going through his mind.
Just as the gigantic wild boar viciously prepared to gore Kael from behind—
CRASH!
Kael’s horse lost its balance, tripped over a large rock, and fell, rolling violently across the ground!
Unfortunately, the horse was immediately trampled by the wild boar’s front leg and died instantly, while Kael was thrown off and sent tumbling across the muddy ground in another direction.
GWWARRRRRRGH!
The gigantic wild boar let out a thunderous roar. Its enormous front leg, as thick as a tree trunk, rose high into the air, ready to crush Kael’s helpless body beneath it until nothing remained!
Kael’s eyes widened. In those decisive moments between life and death, time seemed to slow down. His thoughts raced wildly, recalling every memory of his childhood, his grueling training over the past week, and even the warmth he had felt while being trained by Evan...