Arcane Heir: History's Strongest Mage

After the crunch of bones snapping, there was a moment of silence that stretched out before an almighty squeal filled with pain echoed from within the arena. Michael felt his equilibrium shaken by the sound, almost causing him to fall to his knees.

With his mind in disarray, he struggled to identify what was happening. Blood had covered his face and he could no longer feel his arm. He tried to take a step back, but there was something preventing him from doing so.

His eyes moved to where his arm should be and only saw the fur of the ferocious boar, drenched with blood. His mind lagged, unable to make sense of the current situation.

Before he could react, he felt a strong pair of hands grab him by the waist, pulling him back from the beast in one swift moment.

"Get back!" the voice yelled, filled with some panic.

White steam suddenly obscured Michael's vision, giving off a tremendous heat that took his breath away. Still feeling disoriented from the earlier clash and squeal, he didn't know what was going on.

"Where is Melody?" he asked, looking left and right.

"She's fine, snap out of it. The boar is going into a frenzy." Rudy's serious voice entered his ears as he was pulled up and stood onto his feet. "Can you still fight?"

Hearing that she was fine, Michael let out a small sigh of relief. At his friend's question, he checked himself for any injuries. Since the adrenaline was still pumping in his system, it made it difficult to pinpoint any pain.

The first thing he noticed was his right arm covered in blood all the way up to his shoulder. He moved his fingers, feeling a tingling sensation shoot up his arm alongside a sharp pain—likely because he'd flooded his muscles with mana.

Now that he thought about it, his legs also felt like jelly thanks to the overexertion.

With a bitter smile, Michael shook his head, "I can't fight anymore…" he admitted, "at least not physically."

There was a brief silence before Rudy pat him on the shoulder, "It's alright, you did well. That blow you gave it was fatal, it should be in its death throes now." he said matter-of-factly.

I gave it a fatal blow?

Michael was taken aback. The only thing he remembered was striking the beast behind the forequarter with the intention of throwing it off balance—or getting its attention off Melody.

As if to back up his friends words, the steam began to clear, revealing the now red figure of the ferocious boar in front of them. It threw its head high, letting out a monstrous squeal filled with pain and fury.

Yet upon doing so, more and more blood began to shoot out of its side in spurts—almost as if an artery had been breached. With every pump of its giant heart, blood continued to spray onto the arena floor.

Michael's eyes moved to the wound, seeing the deep hole he'd somehow created through its thick hide. The sight surprised even him, but he didn't have time to marvel at his handiwork since the beady eyes of the beast turned to him in the next moment.

He felt a shiver down his spine as the boar turned on him, its intentions clear.

"What's our plan?" Michael asked, feeling his body lacking strength.

However, he did not receive a response. He turned, only to see that Rudy had disappeared, leaving him alone in front of the frenzied boar.

Ah fuck, this isn't good…

The beast kicked off the ground, beginning its charge towards him with its head lowered. Despite the fatal injury, its large body seemed to be filled with a renewed strength as it aimed to exact its vengeance before death.

I just need to buy some time, he concluded, stepping backwards.

Yet as he did, he felt a shooting pain up his body, rooting him in place. That single step was enough to realize that his body was in a much worse shape than he had anticipated.

In fact, from the way he was feeling, it was a miracle he was even standing at all right now.

As he watched the boar charge towards him, Michael let out a sigh. His earlier fear and anxiety was replaced by indignation. If the soul pill had improved his mana control like it had with Rudy and Melody—he wouldn't have had to recklessly fill his muscles with mana and injure himself earlier.

The bitterness was almost overwhelming, but there was nothing that he could do in this moment. Just when he was feeling this way, he thought about his friends who were meant to be fighting this beast together with him.

Where did they go? Did they leave me?

However, as this thought crossed his mind, he saw the charging figure of the boar jolt before it was thrown aside like a ragdoll. A shrill squeal sounded out before the ground beneath him rumbled.

Rudy was seemingly floating in the air, his leg fully extended after performing a brilliant kick to the side of the beast. He righted himself before landing expertly on the ground, sending Michael a wink.

The boar was now on its stomach, attempting to get up and charge once more. Its eyes were still locked onto Michael, its hatred burning through its fading vitality—even on the cusp of death.

At this point in time, it was clear why the beast was named the ferocious boar.

But before it could get to its feet, a blue-haired figure launched herself into the air and performed a front flip. Michael saw a flash of white beneath the plaid skirt from his vantage point before the girl sent a descending axe kick to the spine of the boar.

The impact was sickening. The dull clash of flesh followed by the crack of bones caused Michael to cringe inwardly. But it was the panicked and pain-filled squeals by the ferocious boar that brought him back to reality.

The boars body was limp, with only its head thrashing around, as if fighting to survive. Yet after a few moments its movements grew sluggish, a final sigh escaping its snout before it turned lifeless.