1.1.05 – I Come Bearings Pigs

As I jumped through the air, I could feel the wind ruffling through my hair. I felt the same stomach in throat sensation that I would get every time I rode rollercoasters back on Earth, the feeling of regret only after you were strapped in. I had that same feeling now.

The fall probably lasted a lot longer in my head than in reality, and my quick reminiscence was cut short when I landed on the boar. I caught the boar with both my arms wide, and my knees jammed against the boar’s bristled hump. I made a mental note to close my mouth the next time I had to do this as there was a fistful of boar fur in my mouth.

The boar squealed from the shock as it probably had not experienced another creature jumping on its back. I immediately looped the noose I had in my left hand around its neck. It snagged briefly on the bristles before luckily going all the way through. I mentally thanked RNGesus for not screwing me over.

I was almost thrown off right after that as the boar started bucking. I was lifted off the boar’s back for a moment as I was caught unaware but landed back down thanks to the rope. This was probably what it felt like to be those rodeo cowboys. I also hoped the bulls back on Earth had better hygiene standards as the next thing that hit me was the smell.

It was bad enough that the fur was prickling me through my clothes, but it also smelled like public toilets at a state fair where the cleaners went on strike. If I survived this I would need to teach Marta how to make soap.

Lasting 8 seconds on a bucking bull was considered the gold standard and I would probably qualify for some world record as I held on for dear life. My left hand was strapped to the noose and the right hand clung to the boar’s fur.

I almost lost my grip when the boar veered sideways and slammed its body against the tree I climbed earlier. The air was knocked out of me as the tree trunk caught the side of my ribs and scraped my cheek. Yeah, that’s definitely gonna bruise tomorrow.

The rope on my left arm was biting into my forearm as it was further stretched from the boar’s bucking. Another injury to add to the growing list.

The boar seemed to realise that jumping around angrily was not doing anything to get rid of the unwelcomed passenger on its back and decided to change its strategy. It was probably going to charge against a tree trunk in hopes of knocking me off, or at least that was what I guessed it was going for as I had no intention to find out.

I took that moment of relative stability to release my right hand and cast Spark. I could only hope my innate lightning resistance was enough to protect me as I shoved my hand into the boar’s spine. I did not just cast Spark as usual but pushed the spell to the maximum capacity and held it for as long as I could as the spell discharged from my right palm to the boar’s spine.

I could sense the Weave sent a notification at that point but I had learnt to keep it closed for later lest I got distracted. The system can wait, but the boar can’t.

I did not choose this specific strategy of jumping on the boar’s back at random. It was not just to solve for ambushing the boar, but also so I could be as close to the spine so that my spell could attempt to overload and shut down its nervous system more effectively.

The boar seized immediately as my spell took effect. I could see the legs seizing and could feel the electrical charge trying to enter my body; stopped only by my meager clothes and my innate lightning resistance. I kept the spell for as long as I could until I felt my coils start to ache.

After what felt like an eternity, though it was probably only a few seconds, I released the spell. It was then I realised I had not accounted for what came after I paralysed the boar. Oh shit I thought, as I felt the boar tilting to the side. I scrambled to release the rope from my left arm and just managed to do it in time to push myself off as the boar fell sideways.

I was thrown off and got knocked into the same tree for the second time that day. It was probably pissed at me for using it without its consent and decided to take it out on me now. Thankfully the impact this time was a lot less and I picked myself up quickly to check the status of the boar.

I turned on my Electro Perception to check if the boar’s nervous system was still working. The activity seemed less but it seemed to be still working. I did not want to take any chance with it so I immediately pulled out my hunting knife and cast a second Spark in my left hand.

I stabbed the knife in the side of the neck aiming for my best guess of where the carotid artery was. I never even studied human biology, much less a pig’s, so I was probably stabbing at random. I immediately let go of the knife and slammed my left hand into its spine again. Was this what counted for double tap in this world?

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I pulled out the knife and stabbed around the neck a few more times and made a mess as the blood spurted everywhere. I looked like I was shooting a sequel to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This was all due to the blunt hunting knife, worst starting weapon ever, which I need to make sure to sharpen before my next hunt.

As the blood pooled around the boar’s neck on the forest ground, I could see the boar’s nervous system finally shutting down. Phew, I breathed a sigh of relief as the fight was finally over. It was then I could feel a well of energy in the boar, probably near where its mana core was.

It felt like it was calling out to me and I let the sensation guide me as I placed my arm closest to the source of energy I felt. I placed my hand on its front shoulder area and channeled that energy into me.