What must have been an hour later, and after Skan had passed him at a light brisk pace, Dante felt his inexperience biting him.

He thought he'd gotten it, but every time he reached in striking distance the beast would find a spurt of energy to escape him. It just ignored Dante.

At some point, even the goblin passed him, but not before calling him stupid.

He’ll kill the damn thing if he ever got the chance.

The bad new didn't end there.

You have entered the Waldo territory.

Beware that your presence in this land is not welcome.

Well no shit man. This was exactly what Dante didn't want to happen. Regardless, he didn't turn back around. He was too invested to let it go. The others thought the same when Dante finally caught up. Skan and Pistil sat against the tree, catching their breath.

“It's gone?” Dante wheezed, bending forward as he panted. This body was good, but it wasn't that good.

Skan shook his head, nudging his chin past the shrubs with one finger on his lips.

Dante poked his head out.

Ratch's corpse is being consumed by a monster. An extra penalty will be applied based on how much of his corpse is consumed before the spawn time.

Time Left: 3 minutes 23 seconds

“What the hell,” Dante said, swallowing bitter split. “This is some fucked up shit. People play this game for fun?”

"Fun?" Pistil said, laughing. "Why would anyone play this shit for fun?"

"Then why are you playing?" Dante said, confused. This was not a pleasant experience.

“Quite. Breath. Kill,” Skan said, closing his eyes and resting his head on the trunk.

“In 20 seconds we’ll take it down, newbie,” Pistil, sharpening his spear with a pebble.

Dante leaned on the tree. What Pistil said was true--Dante was a newbie. Listening might be the better option here.“How do we kill it?”

“Wood,” Skan said, motioning around the tip of the spear. “In boar. Boar bleed. Boar die.”

“Distract it,” Pistil said. “Don’t let it charge. If we get the other eye it will be easy hunting.”

“How the fuck do I not let it charge? Want me to grip it by its tusks and hold it down for you?” Dante said.

“Sure,” Pistil said, shrugging. “If that works. Don’t see you punching it to death.”

Dante shook his head--he shouldn't get angry. Pistil was right again. Dante had expected to fight...well something that was punchable. He could wrestle a boar, but not that boar. He'll have to figure something out. “Let’s go then. I'll get its attention."

Skan stood up, raising his hand. “Quiet. I go,” he said, and then tiptoed out of the shrubs. His steps were nearly inaudible as he closed the distance between him and the boar. The sound of its teeth ripping through Ratch's corpse camouflaged Skan's footsteps. The madman got within an arm's distance before he stopped.

Dante stalked to the side. Pistil did the same. He was aiming for its other eye.

Skan raised his hand, motioning it around, and showed three fingers.

One hand held the spear at its haft while the other held the end. Three seconds later, Skan dashed forward at an unbelievable speed considering his shriveled body. He drove the spear in the same location Ratch had attacked earlier. This time the spear went the full distance. Skan pushed it until his hands nearly entered its backside and immediately retreated with it as the boar squealed again. It swung its head back at empty space.

By that time Dante and Pistil were on its sides. Pistil aimed for the eye, but the boar learned its lesson and swung its head to the side, forcing him back.

The boar did not notice Dante at its blind side. His fists struck the only place he could deal damage; it’s already poked eye. The sensation…. wasn’t that bad, actually. It was squishy and cool, like some hard jello.

The boar did not like it. It swung its head and began to charge, but Dante held on. He jumped onto to it from the side, its husk the perfect width for his large hand. It kept him balanced as the boar picked up seed. It tried to shake him off, but the more it shook around the further his arm went into its eye.

Each time it tried to bite at him Dante pushed hard on its tusk, keeping its head away from him. The thing was strong but so was he.

“Tree!” Pistil yelled.

Dante snapped up, seeing a tree only a dozen meters away. Fuck. The beast was trying to crush him against the tree. The adrenaline made him lose his head.

Split-second crazy thinking was Dante’s Forte. He couldn't jump off. The moment he would let go the boar would escape again. Dante yanked his hand out of its eye, letting its blood pour off to the side. His hand had turned completely red. He slapped it back on top of its head and pushed himself on top of the boar's back.

This better work. Dante turned to face the boar as he dropped in front of it. He caught its husks under his armpits. "Hello there," Dante said, smiling as the boar chomped the space in front of him. Its teeth couldn't reach him as he hung off its tusks.

Dante never thought the carrot-and-stick principle he'd learned in his high school philosophy class would work so well.

Barely a moment later the boar crashed into a tree. Dante’s brain shook inside his skull, completely stunning him. The world spun around, but even then Dante knew what he had to do. He pushed himself against the tree and held onto the tusks.

He didn't need to. The tusks penetrated the tree behind him, trapping the boar in its place. Skan and Pistil caught up from the sides. With the boar held in place, both of them were able to drive their spears through its eyes.

The boar pulsed once, twice, and then dropped to the ground.

Pistil stood at the side, his hands on his knees panting heavily. “Dude, that was crazy. Nice job man.”

“I lost three years of my life. Help me pull this thing off," Dante said, grunting as he pushed back. Its tusks were firmly attached to the tree. The boar's blood began to pour in front of him, and if Dante did not smell like the insides of an animal he did now.

“Good guts make good orc,” Skan said, pushing alongside Dante and Pistil.

After pushing the boar’s head far enough for Dante to squeeze himself out, the three orcs sat near their prize, finally catching their breath for good.

Do you wish to loot Level 1 Lesser Boar?

“I think...starting as an orc might have been a mistake,” Pistil said. “What time of game forces you to chase a boar for 10 minutes? And we can’t even loot it.”

“Aren’t we supposed to...uh...level up?” Dante said. “Status screen! Yeah, nothing there.”

“Idiot, say the command in your head. Holy shit, you’re right. The experience bar is still at 0%.

“We get experience,” Skan said, and then tapped his head. “Skill,” he motioned with his hands. Finally, he tapped his teeth with his index finger. “Protein.”

“Yeah old man, that’s not how it works,” Pistil said, laying on his back. "Dante, can you do that a couple more times?"

"Uh, I would rather not." He can't die without knowing the penalty for it. If it was just experience that he loses it wasn't bad--he had none, after all. But if it's permadeath? Of if he gets locked out of the game for a while? He'll fall behind too much.

“Power? Eat. Grow,” Skan said, pointing at his teeth. Dante expected for them to be crooked, twisted, and missing, but he surprisingly had a sturdy set of teeth. Same shape as a human, but metallic, and that jaw strength was not to be underestimated.

“Like I said, not how it works,” Pistil replied. “This is a game, old shit. It doesn’t have to make sense.”

“No,” Dante said, scratching his chin. “I think Skan is up to something. Why wouldn’t they let us loot it?”

Pistil sat up slowly, scratching his cheeks. “Holy hell… don’t tell me--”

“Stupid, stupid!” the goblin appeared from behind the shrubs, jumping up and down. “Blood! Smell! Danger! Bring!” He pointed in a direction. “Bring!”

Dante looked from the goblin to the boar, and to Pistil, as realization struck both of them at the same time.

The quest wasn't over. They still needed to drag it back to camp. If they died along the way...

Dante swallowed. "I think we should hurry."

"I think we should really hurry," Pistil said, standing up.

"I think it's fine," Skan said, shrugging.

Dante wasn't even surprised at this point.