One of the defining features of the System is its quantification of attributes. As far as we can tell, the five core attributes are in fact composite measures comprised of several readings. Generally speaking, Strength is a measure of physical power, Dexterity a measure of agility and control, Arcana a measure of magical capabilities, Constitution one of vitality and toughness, and Perception one concerning the sensitivity of your senses. Besides this, there is thought to be a number of hidden attributes that the System keeps from us for unknown reasons.

Giada Marino - Scholar - Intricacies of the System

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As if oblivious to Silas’s worries, Aengus’s zeal spread to his lips, and he grinned broadly. “Look at them boars, seven beauties, you say.” Silas most definitely hadn’t said that, but the fiery giant seemed hardly concerned. “Ready for the axe, I say.” He guffawed freely, and Silas thought it was a miracle the boars hadn’t noticed them.

“I think this is a bit too much for us,” Mia said nervously. Her eyes darted from boar to boar like lightning, and her voice of reason was strained by tension.

“Nonsense,” Aengus replied, patting her head paternally. Then, perhaps thinking Silas would get jealous, he patted the smaller man’s matted hair as well. “I’ll go in first and distract them. Ye come after and jab them in their porky behinds. Just watch yer backs, and it’ll be a breeze.” Before either of them could bring up any further doubts, he set off.

Silas turned to Mia and saw his mixture of fear, confusion, and wonder reflected in her face. They searched each other’s eyes for a go signal, and he eventually nodded. She responded with a timid one, and they were off. As they ran after the man-giant, Silas’s heartbeat matched the quick rhythm of his feet, and an odd combination of fear and exhilaration settled over him. It was almost like some of Aengus’s confidence had spread to him.

They heard the fearful squeals and indignant grunts before they reached the clearing, and they sped up. Finally coming into the open, they were greeted with discordant fanfare and the sight of Aengus swinging his Dane axe down, catching an unfortunate boar by its neck. Another lay beside bloodied, and the remaining five bounded for him.

Suddenly spotting Silas, the nearest one sensibly decided against its previous target and instead came for him. Spreading his legs, he lowered his centre of gravity and waited for it to enter his range, the tension pulling at him like a rope drawn thin. As it crossed the line, he lashed forward and his spear licked out like a viper’s tongue, slashing the boar across its eyes. Unable to see its prey, the boar squealed while changing direction, running headlong into an oak tree.

Silas had no more time to leisurely watch it as he heard steps of thunder nearing. He lacked the strength to kill the large monster in a single blow, so he instead struck low. His spearhead punctured the newcomer’s front leg and caused it to trip and crash beside him. Finishing it off, he saw the first boar he had attacked was now wobbling to its feet, rocking its head in pain.

He sneaked up on it and took a low strike. It fell back down, and he chopped its head, once, twice. Turning about, he surveyed the scene and saw Aengus had killed four boars, the man-giant now casually walking over with his axe over his shoulder. In contrast, Mia was still engaged in combat - well, technically speaking at least as in reality she was standing a few metres away from the final boar, using telekinesis to trip it up every time it stood.

Figuring she was practising her magic, the two men waited until she drained her mana, at which point she rushed forward and bashed the poor, mistreated boar in the snout with her shield. When it tried to bite back, she littered its face with long, deep cuts, swiftly finishing the job.

“Ex-cell-ent,” Aengus shouted with raised arms. “Now onto the next one!”

Over the course of the day, they cleared out three more groups of boars. The fights got more hectic as they moved further into boar territory, and both Mia and Silas got minor injuries. Luckily, the restoration bonus in the safe zone healed them overnight.

The next day was similarly structured, and they alternated between attacking clearings filled with boars and training. By now, they regularly encountered boar variants with tougher skin and larger bodies.

In Silas’s view, the most dangerous variants were in fact the smaller boars (when in numbers) as they could rapidly amp up their thundersteps and were wont to come at you from your blindside. They were also harder to hit due to their diminished size, making them a headache to fight.

Contrarily, Mia found them easy to deal with using her telekinesis and instead struggled the most with the plump boars who came barrelling down like they had a personal vendetta to honour.

Unlike either of them, however, Aengus never broke a sweat in combat and instead appeared to find far more joy in it than danger. As such, he led them into challenge after challenge, unwavering in his passion. Because of this, it wasn’t long until they made it to the biggest clearing so far, and apparently also the final one.

In the centre lay the famed hog, and around it were ten boars snuffling and snorting and sleeping. Carrying prodigious weight, the hog was as tall as Silas and had tusks as long as his forearms. Its orange fur was lined with white and looked as stiff and prickly as thorns, whereas its visible skin was thick and calloused like armour. It was practically a walking tank, although it seemed far fonder of sleeping than walking.

“Aye, we made it,” Aengus remarked on seeing the scene. “I have the feeling the fat fucker will be grumpy when he wakes, so I’ll take him on while ye two clean up the lil fuckers.” He gave them a cheeky grin which looked ferocious between his gleaming eyes and fiery ginger beard. “Any questions?”

“Yeah,” Silas said, squinting cautiously at the hog as if he expected it to wake from an overly eager glare. “That’s the thunderfoot hog, right? Do you reckon it can run with thunder then?”

After a pause, Aengus answered with a surprisingly straight face. “Yes, I’ve seen it in action. If I fail, find cover behind a thick tree.” Despite his sombre words, his eyes only shone brighter.

“Shouldn’t we wait for others?” Mia asked. “He seems a little too much for us.”

Aengus clicked his tongue. “Maybe if ye were underlevelled and inexperienced, but yer not. Besides, we haven’t spotted any human tracks in the last two days, so who knows if anyone else is out there - this is as good a chance as any.”

Silas agreed. He had already picked up on the fact he had always been in a group of three. Angela too had said she had been with two others, and although Aengus always dodged the question of what he had done in the days before he met them, Silas figured it had something to do with two teammates and likely two deaths. Fearful of what could happen if he pressed the issue, Silas hadn’t shared his theory with Aengus or Mia, although now he felt he owed it to her after all the help she had given him.

He reached out through the undergrowth and squeezed her hand reassuringly. When she turned, he gave (what he hoped to be) a confident smile, and he saw some colour infuse into her pale cheeks.

Aengus took their lack of questions as a go-ahead and counted them down. Three, two, one, action.

They rushed out and cleared four boars within seconds. Seeing the hog rise, Aengus deserted the boar he had injured and bolted at the hog with frightening speed. He swung his axe down and it bounced off, the struck skin almost unmarred. Leaping to the side, he evaded its headbutt and hooked his axe around its leg, tripping it up before it could gain a run-up.

Meanwhile, Silas went through boar after boar, critically injuring them with single strikes. Moments after his sixth kill, he reeled away dramatically as the hog’s blaring cry washed over him. Disconcerted, he glanced towards the centre and saw Aengus trying to silence the beast but to no avail as it kept screaming. It was only a matter of seconds before the forest itself came alive with tremors. Numerous boars raced into the clearing, and their steps combined into a deafening, heart-splitting rhythm.

He caught Mia’s gaze, and they pulled up against each other. Although her telekinesis was now strong enough to stop the larger boars in their tracks, she instead used it more efficiently by only tripping them up, causing further chaos in their disorderly ranks. Still, even as conservative as she was, her mana quickly drained from the sheer number of boars.

On his end, he simply struck down any boars that came close enough, his spear sweeping swiftly like a wagging tail on an overly excited dog. Its point endlessly drew blood until his arms ached, and his mind near snapped from the violent noise. Fortunately, the flow of boars ended before this point, and he soon got to downing the beasts for good.

Although Mia kept them incapacitated, several of them still got the jump on him and bashed him down and bit at him. He was sore and bloody by the time he was finished. It had barely been five minutes since the start of the battle and already his arms felt as heavy as lead, his mind as unfeeling as stone, and his heart as cold as the dark depths of the river that had once threatened to submerge him.

They turned and saw Aengus was still tussling with the hog. Gripping its tusks, he desperately pushed against it as it attempted to crush him. Although they were currently at a stalemate, his feet were slipping on the slick mud, and it was only a matter of time before it threw him under.

Silas sucked in shaking breaths, then circled the beast, waiting for it to be sufficiently distracted. His opportunity came as Aengus’s strength faltered and the monster pushed forward its advantage, ignoring the smaller man by its side. As it budged forward, it placed its front legs in vulnerable positions, revealing the less protected inner sides. His muscles bunched and sprung and he lunged, puncturing through its shank.

The hog tipped onto its side with a terrible squeal and barely forced itself back up when Silas took another opportunistic strike, this time aiming for its eyes. Roaring, it lurched in pain and kicked up a dust cloud as it tried to knock him away. Grinning savagely at its struggle, Aengus gripped his axe again and swung into the beast’s mouth. It did little to dodge in its blinded state.

Like this, they whittled down the hog until it breathed its last. Gasping in relief, sweat dripping down his face, Silas checked how much experience the battle had given him.

Silas Wycliffe - 3 unassigned attribute points

Level 12

Mana: 63/63 (recovery rate: 0.15 per minute)

Strength: 15

Agility: 20

Constitution: 10

Arcana: 3

Perception: 24

The fight had levelled him up 3 times in one swift stroke!