After using all his remaining mana on practicing manipulating metal Adam had run to the river to wash; realising quite how dirty and disheveled he had become with the events overnight. The shirt that he had torn to make bandages was beyond salvaging so as he dressed he changed into the replacement clothes he had found on the ship. Thinking of the ship reminded him of Sharky and using report he linked with him from a distance.

Sharky was happily exploring along the coast and Adam could tell he was planning on heading back to the sunken ship to take on the creatures there again. Now he knew that the creatures would respawn Adam realised that Sharky had already worked this out instinctively. Down the link he could tell that Sharky was specifically going to challenge the octopus that had been frustrating him for several days. Wanting to keep Sharky busy Adam added the quest of exploring the underwater cliff to his list before dropping the link.

Adam sighed as he contemplated that Sharky was the easiest task at the moment. It was simple to direct him to the next area and allow him to slowly progress. By slowly, he really meant quickly. Sharky was already level 8 while Adam was only level four and his highest other follower level three. He knew it was because he was afraid to push either himself or the vermite in the same way he pushed Sharky. While he felt affection through the link to Sharky he was distant and harder to understand than the vermite. Look how he had reacted when one that wasn't even his follower at the time had been injured. The simple thoughts and playful responses had endeared the vermite to him and solidified their relationship.

Would knowing they could respawn if they died make a difference? Wu had forgotten the events of the night before, but she still knew Kai and the pups were still there. Ma had told him that they were only a few days old so if she had lost more than 24 hours memory then surely Wu would have noticed the difference in them as well. It was reassuring to know they would come back; but not something he wanted to test on purpose. Regardless; if he was going to push the vermite more he was going to lead by example. First he rearranged his quests:

Quests: Quests Complete? Exp Explore Mountain, slope 1% 100 Explore Mine, upper 0% 100 Explore Forest, coast 0% 80 Explore underwater cliff 0% 100 Defeat the Razorback boar 0% 150 Gain basic control of all five elemental manas 32% 400 Collect exp Y/N

So he could either explore; or complete the last quest in the areas he had already cleared. One was a challenge he could quantify and the other an unknown. The Razorback was level five, he was level four and Sharky had taken down a level 10 octopus when he was only level 7. It was possible to take on creatures at a higher level; plus he knew he could kill a boar and last time had done so without even losing HP. With this thought firmly in his mind and ignoring the other thoughts telling him it was foolish to act dangerously Adam headed to the forest.

It turned out his slow exploration of the area surrounding the boars and watching their patrol routes gave him an unfair advantage. The pattern was set the same as the day before so Adam waited for the boar he had previously killed to come round the corner. Not using stealth he was spotted from much further away and the boar charged towards him.

Adam held until the boar was only several feet away to release the prepared fire lance directly into its face. He knew the blast would be effective but was shocked as a hole was drilled into the boar's brain and stopped it dead in its tracks. While it took a little timing and accuracy he could easily repeat the skill with the other boars around the forest. Other than the spiders this was the first time he had properly used his powers; yesterday with the boar he had only hit with a glancing blow. If this was a true display of fire lance he would have no problem facing Razorback.

Looking at the carcass Adam regretted the fact that he would be wasting the meat even though he knew the boar would just respawn at some point. While the meat was wasted he could still use his byproducts skill to obtain useful items. Spending 2 SP to do so he picked up the hide and unworked tusk that dropped before moving on.

It had taken the whole morning to clear the outer ring of boars that roamed the forest. Adam had been careful to not draw more than one at a time as he slowly circled the area. They had ranged from level 2-4 and except one that managed to dodge the first fire lance had all fallen prey to his superior skill. The one that dodged had been hit in the shoulder instead causing its leg to give way meaning that Adam had to finish it off with his dagger. As well as improving his aim through the morning Adam had also grown resistant to the guilty feeling that he was killing for no reason. Knowing that the boar would all just reappear took this feeling away and allowed him to eliminate the entire herd one by one. He had also almost filled his pack by using byproduct twelve times through the morning. He had actually been so efficient at killing the boar that his SP had not regenerated quick enough to use it on all his victims.

The main achievement from the morning was the collection of experience; after killing the last boar he allowed himself to check how much he had gained.

Notifications: You killed Boar - level 4. You gain 40 exp You killed Boar - level 2. You gain 5 exp You killed Boar - level 2. You gain 5 exp You killed Boar - level 3. You gain 20 exp You killed Boar - level 4. You gain 40 exp You killed Boar - level 3. You gain 20 exp You killed Boar - level 2. You gain 5 exp You killed Boar - level 2. You gain 5 exp You killed Boar - level 2. You gain 5 exp You killed Boar - level 3. You gain 20 exp You killed Boar - level 4. You gain 40 exp You killed Boar - level 2. You gain 5 exp You killed Boar - level 2. You gain 5 exp You killed Boar - level 2. You gain 5 exp

Bloody hell that was 220exp in total. He would probably have to adjust the settings on the notifications in future; it was too much to read through all that. With his current 70exp stored he now had 290 in total. That meant that once he killed the Razorback he would be able to reach level five. He had definitely been right in choosing the riskier option and actually, so far he hadn't felt at risk.

Turning to the task at hand Adam slowly walked out to the centre of the clearing towards the remaining larger boar. He had plenty of mana available due to his regen and was hoping on simple plans being the best. He would use fire lance to kill the Razorback as it attacked him.

The Razorback turned inquisitively to see what was approaching and on seeing Adam roared in anger. Like the other boar it lowered its head and charged towards him picking up speed quickly as it crossed the space between them. With five yards between Adam released fire lance and watched as the skill hit the boar between the eyes; his aim perfect. He watched on as the skill burnt through the skin on the boar's face and scalp leaving a patch of glistening bone beneath.

The look of exhilaration on Adam's face changed quickly to shock and then horror as the screaming boar did not drop down dead as the others had. Instead despite the loss of an eye and the sizzling patch of bone replacing the skin of its face the Razorback screamed in defiance as it dug its tusk into Adam's left thigh. He fell immediately to the floor, his leg giving way as the Razorback tossed its head left and right to try and cause more damage.

Luck rather than skill meant that Adam twisted as he fell meaning his pack was facing the boar rather than his exposed torso. The brunt of the next few attacks absorbed by the closely packed hides that he had collected as he killed the other boar. Knowing if he lay and waited the Razorback would just continue goring him to death Adam rolled out of his pack and managed to get back up onto his good leg.

The Razorback was in obvious pain as it left the pack to approach Adam again. Despite the damage it had suffered when it charged before there was little difference to the way the Razorback approached him the second time. Screaming in rage and then lowering its head before charging at Adam. Unable to gather the fire mana quickly due to the pain in his leg Adam instead swung his staff at the approaching Razorback. Connecting just as it came in range and spinning his body at the same time meant that the charge only grazed his waist rather than hitting him properly. Even this movement meant that Adam had to put some weight through his left side; the pain in his leg making him collapse.

Lying on the floor Adam watched as the Razorback turned and charged once more. With the reduced pain now he was no longer standing he could better ignore his pain and focus on the fire mana. Extending his arm towards the approaching boar he pushed the fire mana down the channel towards his hand. He felt the magic building as the boar came closer; fearful that there was not enough time to complete the fire lance before impact occurred. A crunch confirmed he was right; the Razorback hitting his outstretched hand at the same time as the fire lance burnt through its skull and took the momentum out of the charge.

Notification: You killed Razorback - level 5. You gain 77 exp

Adam's HP dropped to 20 as he felt his wrist break due to the weight of the Razorback falling on top of him as it died. He gasped in shock as he realised how close to death he had come; never losing more than ten HP previously he had now lost eighty percent of his life. He lay on his back and could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins slowly fade. Not wanting to risk getting up just yet he closed his eyes instead and rested for a minute.