Holden stepped through the door and heard it shut behind him.
BOOM!
The steel cage walls rose about four meters on all sides.
He looked across the ring.
The Gore-Boar looked back.
It was bigger than he imagined. He'd heard the descriptions, read the entry in the public district library's copy of the Regional Bestiary, rank 1 creature, manageable threat level, standard exam variant. That entry had not mentioned that the thing's shoulders came up to his chest, that its tusks were the length of his forearm.
A hot cloud of breath puffed from its nostrils.
Okay, Holden thought. Okay.
A ring official reached through a window and held out a sword for Holden to use. Holden took it, swung it to feel the weight, and turned back to the boar.
BOOM.
It charged like a cannonball. It's hooves hit the ground hard and fast. A blast of air hit Holden right before the boar did.
Holden jumped left.
But his back foot slipped and almost got hit by the tusk. He stood up quickly and turned around. At the other end of the ring, the boar was getting ready to attack again.
Just survive ten minutes, Holden said to himself.
Except.
His eyes moved to the system screen floating at the corner of his vision.
Multiplier: 10x.
He thought about what happened earlier. One pushup becoming ten. One strike becoming ten.
He gripped the sword.
The boar charged.
This time, instead of just moving, Holden brought the blade up into the guard position of the Iron-Cleaver Sword Art. He'd taught himself from a drawing he found near the training yard trash can.
He knew the first three moves.
Block. Step. Counter.
Clang.
The tusk hit his sword so hard his arms shook. He groaned and stumbled, but his stance held.
Then, a moment later, something strange happened.
His arms remembered doing it ten times.
Not in imagination but In muscle. Like his tendons and joints had just lived through ten executed parries and were now working with all of that knowledge already built in.
He blinked.
The boar attacked again.
Clang.
Holden's block was much smoother now. He held his sword at a better angle and moved his feet more quickly. It felt like he had practiced the move ten times already, even though he had only done it once.
It was working.
Each time he fought the beast, it was like ten times the practice. Every block and movement became a permanent habit instantly. By the time the boar ran at him again, his body had already mastered those changes.
He felt himself getting stronger every second.
The boar attacked again.
He dodged the attack easily. He brought his sword down to guide the boar away from him. The boar slammed into the side of the cage with a huge bang.
He shifted his grip and took a new stance.
Something was different now. He could feel it in his body as he watched the boar come at him. Moving didn't feel hard anymore. It felt easy and simple. Everything finally felt right.
Thud thud thud thud.
The boar attacked, aiming its tusks to catch him while he moved. Holden had been watching it so closely that he knew about its habits.
He realized that on the third rush, the boar always put all its weight on the right.
The third time the boar ran at him, it moved a little slower on one side. He waited while the boar got closer and closer. He had only a moment to act. Instead of jumping away, he stepped right toward the beast. He moved past the sharp tusk and swung his sword upward in a powerful motion.
Whoosh.
The boar's body fell to the ground and slid.
After a moment, he noticed he wasn't tired. His breathing was normal. He didn't feel like someone who just fought a giant beast.
Then a chime rang in his mind.
Ding!
[Kill Confirmed.]
[Kill Points Awarded: +10 KP.]
[Total KP: 10.]
Above the boar's body, a golden light appeared out of nowhere. It formed into a small bronze chest, floating just above the floor.
Nobody outside the cage reacted to it.
No one in the crowd was pointing or acting surprised.
Only Holden could see it.
He stood there with his sword and looked at the bronze box floating over the dead boar.
He crouched down slowly in front of it, one hand still loosely gripping the sword, and reached out toward the latch.