It was a huge success.
Lakh moved toward where the boar lay. Its eyes were still open, its chest rising and falling weakly.
The animal seemed to understand its fate. Slowly, it closed its eyes.
Lakh looked at it with pity.
"I'm sorry… but I need to survive too."
He stabbed the boar cleanly through the neck, ending its life with as little pain as possible.
Once again, a strange light rose from the boar's body and flowed into his own.
Warmth spread through him.
It was unsettling.
Red blood spilled onto the ground.
Lakh hid his blade at his waist, beneath the tunic he was wearing.
Then he grabbed the boar by its legs and began to drag it away.
Surprisingly, it moved easily.
Based on its size, the boar weighed over a hundred kilograms yet he dragged it without much effort.
That's weird…
Did I get stronger?
Lakh let the remaining blood flow into the river. In this world, eating meat without draining the blood or consuming blood itself was considered a grave sin.
The elders said it invited divine punishment, and Lakh wasn't about to take that risk.
According to the commandments of the God of Creation and Light, blood is life.
Anyone who eats meat without draining the blood would face divine wrath the same punishment given to Titans and demons.
Afterward, Lakh opened the boar's abdomen and began butchering it carefully.
He removed the blood completely, then took large leaves similar in size to banana leaves and laid the organs on them.
He placed the intestines, liver, heart, and kidneys on the leaves. These organs were rich in nutrients, but people in this world refused to eat them, believing them to be filthy.
For Lakh, who came from Earth, it was different.
Liver and intestines make the best barbecue, he thought.
Next, Lakh carefully separated the boar's skin from the meat.
He planned to turn it into leather. He cleaned the hide thoroughly, removing every trace of flesh to prevent it from rotting.
He relied on what he remembered from Earth about leather-making.
Once finished, Lakh wrapped the organs inside the boar's skin and tied it together with rope, slinging it over his back.
With most of the blood removed, the load was much lighter.
Still, he was carrying more than eighty kilograms.
And yet, he could lift it.
With steady steps, Lakh walked back toward the village.
The village was small.
Its lord was a fourth-circle magician, guarded by two fourth-class knight swordsmen.
A crude fence made of logs surrounded the settlement barely strong enough to stop a huruk herd, but better than nothing.
Around three hundred people lived there.
The lord didn't care much for this village.
Every winter, he and his knights migrated to the neighboring city of Kasum, where food was plentiful if you had money.
Meanwhile, the people left behind suffered through the cold, many dying from hunger and exposure.
But they had no choice.
Refugees rarely survived elsewhere, and becoming a serf in another land was nearly impossible.
With only five months left before winter, the villagers were anxious.
Last winter alone, more than twenty people died from cold and starvation.
Lakh walked toward the village, a boar slung across his back.
Step by step, he approached the gate.
The guards noticed him immediately.
One of them ran over.
"Oi, kid! Is that a grass boar?" the guard asked curiously.
Lakh nodded calmly. "Yes. It's a grass boar I hunted."
The other guard stared at him in disbelief. "How did you do it, boy?"
Lakh pulled out his knife and held it up.
"I used this."
The blade gleamedfilthy a knife made of polished bone.
"You made that?" the guard asked, surprised.
"Yes," Lakh answered confidently.
"What's your name?" the first guard asked.
"My name is Lakh, son of Hana and Carson.
They're both farmers."
"Oh Carson, huh?" the guard said, chuckling. "I know him. Decent man."
He stepped aside. "Alright, you may enter."
Lakh adjusted the boar on his back and walked into the village, his heavy prize on full display.
People began coming out of their houses, drawn by the sight.
A twelve-year-old boy carrying a wild grass boar.
Murmurs spread.
One villager ran off urgently. "Carson! Hana! Come quick look at your son!"
Hana and Carson rushed out of their thatched house, hearts pounding.
What they saw made them freeze.
Their young son stood there, holding a wild grass boar with strength and confidence.
"Oy… seriously?" Carson muttered, stunned.
Girls around Lakh's age stared at him with admiration, whispering among themselves.
"Seriously, he's the first one to hunt a grass boar, right?" said Marie, a fifteen-year-old girl.
"Right? Even my big brother and his friends who are all fifteen can only hunt rabbits and mice," added Anne, who was around fourteen.
More chatter followed.
"As far as I know, only adults hunt those."
"And even then, it's usually fifth-class knights. The forest is too dangerous."
The boys watched too admiration mixed with jealousy. After all, hunting a boar alone was something only strong fighters could do.
Lakh ignored the attention and calmly carried the boar inside his house.
Gab saw the Lord's attendant with the knight looking at him as well.
And he don't want to drawn unwanted attention surely news will reach out on the Lord's attention.
Lakh made his decision to kill share his reward with the Lord.
Lakh noticed the lord's attendant and a knight watching him from a distance.
He didn't want to draw unnecessary attention.
News like this would inevitably reach the lord.
After a brief moment of thought, Lakh made his decision.
He would share his reward with the lord.
On the wooden plank where the boar lay, Lakh used his knife to cut off one of its hind legs.
In this world, the hind leg was considered a prized cut of meat.
He approached the knight and the attendant.
"Greetings, knight. Attendant of the lord," Lakh said calmly.
"Yes? What is it?" one of them replied.
"This is my gift to the lord," Lakh said, holding out the leg. "Please relay my words to him.
"I will depend on his guidance in the future."
The knight accepted the meat.
That single leg alone was worth more than a month's salary for any villager.
The knight smiled. "You can rest assured. I will relay your words."
Both the knight and the attendant bowed lightly before continuing toward the lord's residence.
The villagers didn't understand why Lakh did it. After all, there was no obligation to give part of a hunt to the lord taxes were paid in coin, not meat.
But what they didn't know was that Lakh wasn't paying a tax.
He was buying goodwill.
So he could act freely in the future without trouble.
One leg was a small price to pay.