Ryan POV
The city gate opens to wilderness.
I’ve seen it before from a distance, but standing at the threshold is different. The forest stretches out before us—trees that seem impossibly tall, their leaves creating a canopy that blocks out the sky.
The smell of earth and vegetation hits harder than it did from the plaza. Real. Ancient.
Emily leads. Daniel walks beside me. Behind us, the city is shrinking. The walls are still visible, but they’re getting smaller. Farther away. This is the moment where the tutorial ends and the actual game begins.
"So what’s this quest anyway?" Daniel asks.
Emily doesn’t answer immediately. She’s focused on the path ahead, watching the undergrowth. Her hand rests on her sword hilt like it’s muscle memory.
"Boars," she finally says. "Six of them. They’ve been causing problems for the farmers in the outer settlements. The Adventurer’s Guild wants them cleared out."
"Boars like what? Angry pigs?" Daniel laughs. "That doesn’t sound so bad."
"Angry pigs with tusks and armor-thick hide," Emily replies. "They’re stronger than wolves. More aggressive too."
We’re deeper in the forest now. The city is gone. It’s just trees and undergrowth and the distant sound of animals. I can hear birds. The rustle of leaves. Wind moving through branches.
My hand is on my sword hilt like Emily’s. Not because it helps, but because it feels right. Preparatory.
"How dangerous?" I ask.
"Beginners are dangerous," Emily says. "People die to boars. But usually because they panic or make stupid mistakes. If you follow basic combat rules, you’ll be fine."
"Basic combat rules being what?" Daniel asks.
"Don’t panic. Keep your positioning. Don’t overcommit to attacks. Watch for tells before the enemy attacks. Dodge if you can. Block if you can’t."
Emily stops walking.
I almost collided with her. She puts her hand back without looking, stopping me before I crash into her.
There’s a clearing ahead. Grass instead of forest floor. And in that grass, moving slowly, are massive boars.
Three of them are visible immediately. Each one is the size of a large dog. Their fur is dark. Matted. Their tusks are yellowed ivory. They’re moving peacefully, eating grass, not aware of us yet.
"They’re bigger than I expected," Daniel whispers.
"They’re beginner monsters," Emily whispers back. "Wait until you see what’s actually dangerous."
She crouches down. Daniel and I do the same. We’re hidden in the undergrowth, watching the boars move through the clearing.
Emily pulls out the quest parchment. It lists the target—six boars in this area. They need to be cleared out. The reward is gold and experience. Simple. Straightforward.
"Here’s what happens," Emily says quietly. "I’ll engage one. You two work on another. The third will probably charge us, which is fine. We handle it when it comes."
"What about the other three?" I ask.
"We deal with them one at a time as they show up. Monsters in this area don’t seem to have heard behavior. They’ll come at us individually or in small groups, not all at once."
Daniel raises his sword. "Ready when you are."
Emily nods.
She stands and walks directly into the clearing.
The boars notice immediately. Their heads come up. They stop eating. They watch Emily approach.
One of them charges. The source of this chapter is g.com.
The moment it moves, Emily is moving. She’s not panicking. Not desperate. Just moving with purpose. She sidesteps the charge perfectly. The boar’s tusks pass inches from her body. She brings her sword down as it passes, cutting across its shoulder.
The boar squeals and turns around to charge again.
Emily is ready. She’s already moving to a new position. The boar charges. She sidesteps again. Another cut. Blood sprays from the wound.
"Come on," Daniel says to me, running into the clearing.
I follow.
We approach the second board. This one is still mostly calm, but it’s watching us. Assessing the threat.
Daniel charges first. He swings his sword at the boar’s side. The connection is solid but not as clean as Emily’s strike. The boar turns toward him. Grunts. Lowers its tusks.
"Don’t let it charge!" I yell, more to remind myself than to help Daniel.
The boar charges.
Daniel sidesteps, but not quite enough. The tusks catch his side. There’s an impact. His health bar—visible in my peripheral vision—drops. Yellow turns orange. But he’s not dead.
The boar is past him now, turning around for another charge.
I move forward. I don’t think about what I’m doing. I just react. My sword comes up. The boar charges at me.
I’ve trained on dummies for hours. I’ve practiced the movements. I know what I’m supposed to do.
But knowing and doing are different things.
The boar is faster than I expected. Angrier. Its tusks are pointed right at my chest. I can see them clearly. I can see the malice in its eyes.
I step left.
Not quite far enough.
The boar’s tusk clips my shoulder. Pain. Sharp and immediate. My health bar drops. It’s not critical, but it’s visible. I’m actually hurt. I’m actually in danger.
Panic wants to flood in, but I fight it. Emily’s voice in my head. Don’t panic. Keep your positioning. Watch for tells.
The boar is turning around. Its momentum is carrying it forward, but it’s slowing. Preparing to turn and charge again.
That’s when I attack.
Not a wild swing. A calculated strike. I’ve practiced this motion hundreds of times on the dummy. My sword comes up and across. It connects with the boar’s shoulder, just like it’s supposed to.
The boar squeals.
Blood.
It’s real. The blood is real. It looks real. It smells real.
The boar turns toward me, but it’s slower now. Wounded. Angry.
It charges again.
I dodge. It passes. I attack as it goes. My sword hits its leg. It stumbles but recovers.
Beside me, Daniel is in the same dance with his boar. Neither of us is skilled enough to end this quickly. We’re just trading blows. Attacking. Dodging. Surviving.
Emily’s boar is different. Her combat is finished. The boar is on the ground. Bleeding. Not dead, but defeated. She turns to help Daniel.
I’m still fighting mine.
It’s getting slower. I’m getting faster. Or maybe I’m just adapting. Learning. Each exchange teaches me something. The boar’s pattern. The timing of its charges. The moment when it’s vulnerable.
I press forward. My sword finds purchase again. And again. The boar is weakening.
Then it charges one final time.
I dodge. I counterattack. My sword finds its side. Deep. The boar squeals and collapses.
I’m breathing hard. My heart is racing. My character is covered in blood—mine and the boar’s mixed together.
"Good," Emily says. "You didn’t panic. You adapted."
"We’ve got three more," Daniel says, pointing.
The other boars have noticed what’s happening. They’re converging on our position. Not frantically. But definitely moving toward us.
Emily draws her sword. Daniel readies him.
I catch my breath.
"You ready?" Emily asks.
I nod.i
The first of the three boars reaches us.
Emily engages immediately. She’s moving faster now, more confident. She knows she can beat these things.
Daniel and I take the second boar.
This one is more aggressive. Or maybe we’re more cautious after the first fight. The difference is noticeable. The boar is fast. Its tusks are dangerous. One moment of distraction and it could end me.
But I’m not distracted.
I’ve stopped thinking about the mechanics. I’m just responding. The boar charges. I move. I attack. It charges again. I move. I attack.
Daniel is doing the same. Together, we’re a unit. Working together without needing to communicate.
The boar falls.
We turn to face the last one.
It’s slightly larger than the others. Its tusks are longer. There’s something about it that feels different. More dangerous. More aware.
Emily’s current boar is nearly defeated. She’s moving toward us.
The large boar sees all three of us approaching.
It doesn’t charge immediately like the others. It lowers its head. It paws the ground. I’m preparing.
"That one’s a little tougher," Emily calls out. "Be careful."
The boar charges.
But not at Emily. Not at Daniel.
At me.
It’s faster than the others. Angrier. Its tusks are aimed right at my chest. There’s no time to think. No time to plan.
Just reaction.