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Chapter 6
Ren woke to pain.
Not the sharp, screaming kind—this was dull, deep, everywhere. His body felt heavy, like it had been filled with wet sand. When he tried to move, his muscles protested violently.
He groaned and forced his eyes open.
Trees.
The forest canopy loomed above him, dark and unfamiliar. For a moment, panic surged—until memory crashed back into him.
Wolves.
Blood.
The task.
Ren exhaled shakily.
He was alive.
Barely.
He tried to sit up.
Pain flared immediately, sharp enough to steal his breath. He clenched his teeth, refusing to scream, and slowly leaned against the tree behind him.
His clothes were stiff with dried blood. His thigh throbbed with every heartbeat, and his shoulder burned as if something had torn deep inside.
Yet… he wasn't dying.
Ren frowned.
The wounds were still there, but the bleeding had stopped. The pain, while intense, was manageable—unnaturally so.
Rapid Healing, he realized.
It wasn't obvious. It wasn't flashy.
But it had kept him alive.
Ren pushed himself to his feet, wobbling slightly. His balance felt… different. Not better, exactly—more controlled.
When he took a step, his foot landed where he intended it to.
Martial Arts, he thought.
No explanation came.
The forest was quiet.
Too quiet.
Ren took a few cautious steps forward, broken branch still clutched in his hand. He needed to move—staying in one place was dangerous.
That's when he heard it.
Heavy footsteps.
Not fast.
Not light.
Something large was moving through the trees.
Ren froze.
The sound grew closer, accompanied by a low, rumbling breath. Branches snapped. Leaves shook.
Then it emerged.
A boar.
No—not normal.
This one stood taller than Ren's chest at the shoulder, its body thick with muscle and scarred hide. Its tusks curved outward like ivory blades, stained dark at the tips.
Its eyes locked onto him.
And it charged.
Ren barely had time to react.
He dove aside as the boar thundered past, the ground shaking beneath its weight. Wind tore at his clothes as it missed him by inches.
He rolled, came up clumsily—and pain exploded through his injured leg.
He stumbled.
The boar skidded to a halt, dirt spraying as it turned with terrifying speed.
It charged again.
Ren raised the broken branch instinctively.
The impact sent him flying.
He slammed into a tree, ribs screaming as the air was knocked from his lungs. He slid down the trunk and collapsed to the ground.
The world spun.
Too strong, his mind screamed. Too fast.
The boar lowered its head and charged once more.
Ren forced himself to move.
Not faster.
Smarter.
He rolled at the last second, feeling the boar's tusk graze his side. He swung the branch at its flank as it passed.
Crack.
The branch shattered completely.
Useless.
The boar roared, more enraged than hurt.
Ren staggered backward, chest heaving.
He was being beaten.
Badly.
Each movement sent pain through his body. His leg threatened to give out with every step. His vision blurred at the edges.
The boar charged again.
Ren didn't dodge.
He stepped toward it.
At the last moment, he twisted his body sideways, slamming his shoulder into the boar's head while grabbing one tusk with both hands.
Pain exploded through his arms.
But he held on.
The boar's momentum carried them both forward. Ren was dragged through the dirt, skin tearing, breath leaving his lungs in ragged bursts.
He screamed and twisted with everything he had.
The tusk cracked.
The boar shrieked and thrashed violently, finally throwing Ren off. He tumbled across the ground and slammed hard against a rock.
Something cracked.
Ren lay still, gasping.
The boar staggered, blood pouring from its mouth—but it didn't fall.
It turned again.
Ren forced himself to rise.
Every instinct screamed at him to run.
He couldn't.
He picked up a jagged stone from the ground, gripping it tightly.
The boar charged.
Ren waited.
At the last second, he stepped inside its guard, driving the stone up and under its jaw with everything he had left.
The boar's body slammed into him, crushing him beneath its weight.
They hit the ground together.
Ren felt something warm spill over him.
The boar went still.
Silence returned.
Ren lay there, pinned beneath the massive body, chest barely rising.
He laughed weakly.
"I… really hate this world."
His vision darkened.
Then the ground beneath him gave way.
With a sudden roar, the earth collapsed, and Ren's body was dragged downward as water surged up violently.
Cold.
Shock.
Ren was thrown free as the boar's corpse vanished beneath the surface.
He hit the water hard.
The current seized him instantly.
Ren tried to swim—but his body was spent. His limbs felt like lead, his wounds screaming as water rushed over him.
He was pulled under.
The surface vanished above him.
Darkness closed in as the river dragged him deeper, faster, away from the forest and into the unknown.
Ren's lungs burned.
His consciousness flickered.
The current tightened its grip—
And the world went black.
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