Chapter 4 – Boar in the Brush
The silver light of the clearing faded behind them as Axel and Elyria stepped into the deeper parts of the Whispering Woods. The trees, their obsidian trunks twisting like petrified serpents, grew closer together, and the soft glow of the moss was replaced by a more muted, natural light that filtered through the impossibly green canopy. The air grew thicker, heavier with the scent of damp earth and unseen life.
"The fox," Axel began, his hand resting on his sheathed blade. "How do I find it? And how do I… cook for it?"
Elyria, walking with an effortless grace that belied her aetherial nature, turned to him. "It is a creature of emotion, Axel. It will be drawn to a strong feeling. Your purpose, your focus—that will be its beacon." She gestured to a path barely visible through the undergrowth.
"We will find it, but first, you need to understand the true nature of your system."
Before she could continue, a low, guttural snort echoed from the brush ahead. The sound was thick with rage and aggression. The ground trembled slightly, and the leaves on the nearby ferns rustled violently as something large moved toward them.
"Speak of the devil," Elyria murmured, her purple eyes fixed on the source of the noise. "Or rather, the boar."
A massive beast burst from the foliage, its hooves tearing at the soft earth. It was a boar unlike any Axel had ever seen. Its hide was a mottled grey, but it pulsed with a faint, internal light, and its tusks, long and curved like scythes, glowed with a fiery red energy.
Its eyes, two points of molten amber, were fixed on them with a terrifying, mindless fury.
"A Mana Boar," Elyria said, her voice calm despite the approaching danger. "Its hide is tougher than steel, its tusks can shatter stone. A creature of raw, unbridled fury."
The boar pawed at the ground, its snorts puffing clouds of steam into the cool air. It was a beast of pure rage, its entire being a testament to its fiery temper. It was, Axel realized with a jolt, a perfect target for his Emberheart Affinity. But before he could even consider taming it, he had to survive it.
The boar charged, a living battering ram of muscle and fury. Axel drew his blade, the familiar cold steel a comfort in the face of the impossible. He had faced beasts before, but never one so imbued with raw, magical energy. He knew, instinctively, that a direct attack would be useless. His blade, while sharp, would be little more than a knife against a mountain.
He dodged, a blur of motion as he sidestepped the boar's charge. The ground where he had been standing erupted as the tusks tore through the earth. The beast was fast, but its rage made it predictable. It turned, its amber eyes still fixed on him, and charged again.
Axel waited, his body coiled and ready. This time, he didn't dodge. Instead, he met the boar's charge, not with his blade, but with a series of quick, precise movements. He used his blade to deflect one tusk, sending the boar's head swinging to the side, then used his body weight to push off the other, spinning the beast off its path. It was a move born of pure instinct, a dance he had performed a thousand times with opponents both human and beast.
The boar, its blind rage momentarily confused, stumbled. This was his chance. He needed to strike, but where? Its hide was impenetrable. Its tusks were death. There had to be a weakness. He looked at the boar, really looked at it, and saw a pulsating, fiery glow just beneath its shoulder, where the magical energy seemed to be the most concentrated.
He took a deep breath, his mind a sudden, crystal-clear calm. The knowledge of his [Cooking] skill, of the strange, magical properties of this world's creatures, bubbled to the surface of his consciousness. The beast's power came from its mana, and its mana was tied to its heart, its fiery emotion. If he could strike at that core, he could kill it.
He lunged, not with a simple thrust, but with a complex, fluid movement that felt both old and new. He spun, his blade a blur, and plunged it into the pulsating spot beneath the boar's shoulder. The blade bit deep, not into the impenetrable hide, but into the raw energy beneath. A scream of pure, unadulterated fury tore from the boar's throat, a sound that shook the very trees.
But the blow was not fatal. The boar, its rage amplified by the pain, thrashed wildly, its tusks catching Axel in the side. He felt a sickening crunch, a white-hot pain that spread through his ribs. He was thrown back, landing hard on the forest floor, his vision blurring at the edges.
He had been so close. He had been so sure. The boar, bleeding a silver-tinged ichor, turned on him, its amber eyes burning with a renewed hatred. It charged again, this time with a cold, desperate focus that was even more terrifying than its blind fury.
Axel knew he was outmatched, out of time. But then, a thought, a sudden, powerful instinct, surged through him. [Emberheart Affinity]. The beast's emotion. Its final, desperate drive for vengeance. He reached out with his mind, with his spirit, not to dominate, not to control, but to understand.
He saw a flash of a boar, alone and hunted, its rage born of fear and desperation. He saw its drive to protect its territory, to survive against all odds. He felt its emotion, its passion, and he reached for it.
The boar, only feet away from him, faltered. Its charge slowed, its eyes widening, as if seeing him for the first time. The fiery energy around its tusks flickered, dimmed, and then extinguished. It stood there, panting, its amber eyes no longer filled with fury, but with a bewildered, animal fear.
Axel, his side screaming in protest, pushed himself up. He looked at the boar, then at his blade. The bond, the empathy, was not enough. Not to tame this beast. It was too wild, too consumed by its own powerful emotions.
He had to kill it. But not out of fear, or out of hate. He had to kill it out of a strange, newfound respect. He had understood its heart, its [Emberheart], and now, he had to give it a final, respectful end.
He stood, his body screaming in protest, and with a swift, clean thrust, he plunged his blade into the boar's heart. The beast fell, not with a roar of fury, but with a final, shuddering sigh. The glowing energy in its hide faded, leaving a dull, lifeless grey.
Axel collapsed, his back against a tree, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The pain in his side was a constant, blinding fire, and he knew he had broken ribs. But he was alive. He had fought a magical beast, a creature of pure, elemental fury, and he had won.
Elyria appeared beside him, her face a mask of concern. She knelt, her hand hovering over the wound in his side. A gentle, silver light emanated from her palm, but it did nothing to ease the pain. "You are hurt," she said, her voice soft. "Your vitality will begin to heal you, but it will take time."
Axel nodded, his eyes fixed on the lifeless body of the Mana Boar. "What... what was that?"
"It was a test, Axel," she replied. "A first challenge. And you handled it… with a wisdom beyond your years. You did not fight its strength; you fought its weakness. Its emotion."
She gestured to the fallen boar. "This is not just a kill, Axel. This is an ingredient. The most potent ingredient you have come across yet. Its flesh, imbued with its emotional mana, its heart, still pulsing with its fiery temper—all of it is a part of its [Emberheart]. Its mana can be used to create a meal of immense power. A meal that will grant you strength, fortitude, and a taste of the realm's secrets."
Axel looked at the body, his mind still reeling from the fight. He was a swordsman, not a butcher. But the new knowledge, the [Cooking] skill, was already at work in his mind. He saw the boar not as a corpse, but as a series of components: the tough hide, the magical tusks, the mana-infused flesh, the powerful heart.
He was a cook. He had just killed his first ingredient. And his first lesson had been learned the hard way. This world was not a game. It was a brutal, beautiful, and dangerous reality. And he, the cook, had to survive in it.
He pushed himself to his feet, wincing at the pain. He looked at Elyria, a new resolve in his eyes. "Teach me," he said, his voice a low growl. "Teach me how to use this. All of it."
Elyria smiled, a genuine, warm smile that reached her twilight eyes. "Come, Axel," she said, gesturing to the boar. "Your first lesson in [Sovereign Cooking] begins now. Your first meal awaits."