NOVEL NEXT 9: Symiril Tusker (2)
If the [Ankra Beast] was willing to kill him for his soul card, would it be safe to assume that it would also try to hunt other Beasts?
Perhaps not of it’s own species but… back on Earth, evolution had deemed that there would be a law of the jungle, the prey and the predator.
So far, this forest hadn’t been teeming with beasts— he had travelled quite a distance before he encountered his second foes.
Perhaps not all beasts hunted down each other, but where there were resources to be found, there was conflict to be had.
Assumptions stacked upon assumptions…but that was all he had.
A spark flashed in his mind. A stupid, bizzare idea made its way to the forefront of his consciousness, refusing to budge.
There was no time to be wasted if he wanted that card.
“[Inventory],” thought Tom, and a crack in the void metaphorpized into reality.
Tom reached inside. But it was not the rapier he grabbed. Instead, Tom yanked out a slab of smelly, yellow meat— the meat that he had obtained from killing the [Ankra Beast]. The smell was so bad that it it made him gag, every inch of his body struggling not to throw up. He wondered if he was really supposed to eat this if he wanted to survive, or if he’d die with the first bite.
He had a short window to act before the smell wafted over to the [Symiril Tuskers]. His gaze shifted to one of the wide trees that was roughly situated between the two boars. Thanking himself for playing baseball as a child, Tom hoisted the slab of meat with both his hands.
Please, don’t miss.
Tom hurled the slab of meat forward with the intensity of a baseball pitcher, immediately collapsing back into a crouch. He silently watched the slab of meat arc through the air, before slamming square in the center of the wide tree before it slid down onto the floor.
The [Symiril Tuskers] were faster, far faster than what Tom had envisioned in his mind as they backpedalled from their feasting spot with the agility of a feline beast. Their quizzical gazes landed upon…. what appeared to be a slab of yellow meat at first glance, but they didn’t immediately approach.
Instead, they slowly begun circling around each other, slowly widening the radius of their circular movement. It gave them a three sixty degree view of the entire forest but their action seemed to be directed more by animalistic instinct rather than intelligence, for if they were truly intelligent they would immediately see the slab of meat for what it was.
The next ten minutes passed as Tom remained rooted to his spot, watching the [Symiril Tuskers] circle the perimeter of their clearing. One of the Tuskers had come dangerously close to his hiding spot, and Tom had been prepared to blast it with [The Flame] card, but thankfully it didn’t come to that.
‘Level 1 my ass,’ Tom resentfully thought to himself.
The female tusker let out a muted grunt, before she finally stopped her patrol.
The male tusker stopped as well.
Tom was almost certain that these creatures were omnivores at this point. Herbivores would have long fled at the slightest sign of danger, whilst he had seen them eat plants with his own eyes, so they couldn’t be carnivores.
The two tuskers slowly began to approach the slab of meat, causing Tom’s anticipation to grow. Then they stopped a meter before it, and began to sniff it.
Fuck. This was stupid to begin with. Why was Tom applying his old world’s convention to this forsaken land? Maybe the meat just didn’t smell good to the Tuskers. Maybe they only ate certain types of meat. Mayb-
Tom’s thoughts stilled as he saw the female Tusker gingerly approached the slab of meat, before she ripped a small chunk of meat and scarfed it down. Despite the Tusker’s imposing ivory protrusions, they had surprisingly small mouths.
The male boar let out a grunt in response that seemed to be… aggravated? Annoyed?
Did the yellow meat actually smell good to the boars?
It seemed so, as both the boars huddled closer, before beginning to tear into the meat.
The first phase of his plan had…. worked? The boars were huddled together.
The next and final phase of the plan was the riskiest. But Tom felt no hesitation as he slowly circled around the bush.
He felt no hesitation because he had tried this once before. He had tried it and failed. He had received two bullets as a reward for his attempt to sneak up on the gun-toting psychopath back in Japan.
Tom crept into the open clearing, carefully avoiding any loose branches and dry leaves. There was no cover to hide behind, but tom followed with another step, crouched so low that he was a little under the boar’s height.
RIght now, he felt like a tightrope walker suspended hundreds of feet above a city skyline, walking from one skyscraper to the next. A single misstep. An errant sound. A solitary miscalculation. And disaster would ensue.
His face was beaded with sweat, but he kept going.
The only thing in Tom’s mind was the next step. And the one after that.
There was so many things that could go wrong that… he’d stopped counting. It didn’t matter anymore.
All that was left was the task.
10 meters… 8 meters….6 meters….
Tom moved like a ghost, and perhaps he was one. By all rights, he should’ve died in Japan. He was probably considered dead in his own town.
5 meters…. 4 meters…
Three and a half meters away, Tom stood behind the Tuskers that happily tore into the succulent yellow meat. Even now, they had no idea that a person stood behind them, observing their movement carefully.
Tom’s eyes only reflected an eerie focus that bordered on obsession.
Tom refused to die the same way twice.
The card held forward, he finally said the words in his mind…
The Flame.
A powerful gout of flame burst out from the card held in his palm, but thankfully the heat emanating from it didn’t seem to affect him.
Howls of pain rang out the next second, followed by loud grunts that seemed to resemble a cry for help. In the flames of his inferno, he saw two glows of light, one a small sphere of water and the second the yellow outline of a tusker that seemed to glow with a powerful radiance.
The sphere of light flickered in and out of existence, whilst the Earthen glow seemed to dim with every passing second.
Perhaps they were waiting for him to run out of Soul Power, but…. that wasn’t going to happen.
A tear streaked down Tom’s face, his hands trembling as he kept [The Flame] card aloft with his left hand.
Thirty seconds passed and the blue light winked out of existence, this time permanently.
This was the consequences of his actions.
As much as he wanted to avert his gaze…. he couldn’t. That was the respect he would afford to his foes.
The only thing he could offer.
He wanted to snuff out his flames but…
He couldn’t fight the tusker in a fair confrontation. And the Tusker would not show him the same mercy.
A minute later, the Earthen Glow that seemed to be shielding the tusker finally winked out of existence.
Tom collapsed onto his knees.
Before him lay the charred corpses of the Tuskers, his flames having burnt off their facial features. The smell of charred skin made him want to heave over, but he resisted the urge.
This was the world he’d come to.
This was Artezia.
And he would either have to adapt or… die.