The Glassback crossed the starting line before Hallen cleared the handlers from the arena gate. Its first charge drove clear plates over its shoulders, closing every seam Vell had used against the wounded boar outside Orison.
Vell moved across the candidate circle rather than retreating toward the barrier, favoring the calf Jia had cut above the auction. The animal changed direction halfway through its charge, following a silver pulse from the collar instead of the momentum carried by its plated body.
One tusk passed beneath his ribs as he turned beside its blind shoulder. The collar snapped another command through the beast, making it kick sideways before any natural boar could recover its footing.
The impact caught him across the hip, then threw him beyond the second hoof. Pain spread through the joint, but his Grade-Two core kept the leg working when he stood.
