I lurched forward, forcing my protesting legs to move. I was slow, clumsy, and the lingering thwack of the trampling still echoed through my body. The last remaining smaller boar, a savage, lean thing, had Ayerelia pinned between a thick root and a mossy rock. Her confident veneer had shattered; she was scrabbling at the dirt, her expensive staff discarded.

  A flash of electric blue light illuminated the trees as Darkraven cast [Aura of Ice] and ice spread from her hands, frost creeping across the ground in jagged patterns as she tried to slow the remaining smaller boar.

  Copperbeard was on his back in the dirt, his lute somehow still clutched in one hand while the other held a dagger that looked for all its glittering sharpness comically small against the beast bearing down on him. A needle to parry a monster with hide like a shag carpet.

  Ayerelia was behind him, her hands glowing with golden healing light, but her eyes were wide with panic. She was trying to heal and defend at the same time, and doing neither effectively.

  "Move!" Arjun's voice cut through the noise as he crashed into the boar from the side, his shield catching it mid-charge. The impact sent both of them tumbling, a tangle of metal, fur, and flailing limbs.

  Where was my little hellhound?

  Then I saw her—a shadow launching from a thick branch, landing on the boar's back with all four paws. Climbing trees again, was she? At least this time it looked like she could get down on her own. Her teeth found the back of its neck with predatory precision. The boar squealed and bucked, but Dekka held on, her jaws locked, her shadow teeth biting deep.

  The big one.

  Where was the big one with the ruined jaw?

  I spun, club raised, heart hammering. It was ten feet behind me, standing in the trees, swaying slightly, blood still pouring from its mangled mouth. Its eyes found mine, and I saw something in them that made my stomach drop—not rage anymore, but something calculating. Wounded predator math. It was waiting to see how we would fare against the little one.

  The bucking one fell to its knees on the ice Darkraven had conjured, and Dekka was torn free by the force of its fall, her teeth ripping open its hide. The long runnels of blood that began to form in the creature’s thick, wiry fur were more an annoyance than serious damage.

  Dekka’s trajectory, however, sent her on a collision course with the healer, and both went tumbling in a dizzying mix of shadow, sparkle and growls (mostly from Ayerliea)

  I ran forward and helped Copperbeard up as Arjun and Darkraven attacked the smaller boar.

  “Thank you,” the dwarf said as he quickly checked his lute and began to strum.

  I looked off the path to see Dekka and the elf disentangling themselves. Making sure not to turn my back on the large boar I looked for an opportunity to help take this one down.

  The boar had gotten up but the ice made the area treacherous for us as well as our foe. Arjun was standing back trying to keep the boar’s attention without slipping on the ice. The mage was waiting for her mana to recharge or something.

  My turn. I dodged around behind it and used [Crippling Blow] on a back leg. There was a sickening crunch and the beast’s back end went down. It struggled but couldn’t stand. Arjun used that moment to leap in and carefully avoided the tusks as the panicked animal squealed and tried to thrash at the human and human adjacent creatures that were hurting it. He put it out of its misery.

  40XP!

  I half hoped that the big boar would decide it was outmatched and leave us alone.

  I was not surprised it didn’t. What did surprise me was that it had been waiting. For a friend? Possibly a mate?

  Another massive boar came running and briefly sniffed the injured one. Hate filled its eyes, and it charged us, followed closely by the other.

  “Look Elizabeth,” Ayerelia was saying as she brushed herself off not looking up, and thus not realizing the half ton of angry pig headed her way. “Your pet is convenient in battle and all but it got dog hair on my robes.”

  “Not now,” yelled Copperbeard, not taking his eyes off the boars.

  Ayerelia looked up nonplused. She saw the dual threats barreling our way and decided to complain about her outfit anyway. “Look, I know aesthetics are clearly not your thing Kyle, but this robe is a fleeting item. If it is knocked off or damaged I could lose it. Then I wouldn’t have the whole set anymore.”

  To her credit she said this while raising her staff. The boars stopped before us, breath steaming, the injured one’s sides heaving with the effort.

  “Ok let’s try this again.” Ayerelia said. Who had designated her party leader?

  “Lets focus on the injured one.”

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Darkraven cast [Greater Frost Bolt] at the boar as it swayed slightly. I thought about asking if they could tell me what the health bars said about our opponents, but that would likely lead to too much confusion.

  The bolt hit the boar head on. Ice crystals formed hoar frost first along the shaggy coat, then the cold penetrated and the boar’s legs started to move jerkily. The red eyes clouded over then froze, a dull grey sheen.

  The pig kept moving forward due to inertia but it’s limbs were no longer working. It tripped, fell and shattered into a million pieces.

  30XP! CONGRATULATIONS FIGHTER YOU HAVE LEVELLED UP! You are a level 5 Fighter +1 to strength, +2 to constitution. +2 to speed You have one skill point to allocate. Would you like to allocate you skill point now? Yes/No

  You have received a Greater Beast Haunch

  Holy fuck nuggets, that was one powerful spell. I quickly focused on ‘No’ and blinked to clear my vision.

  I looked over at Darkraven. She was bent over as if she had just finished a marathon. Her face was pale and I could see a slight tremble as she fought to stay standing.

  “Why did you waste that now?” Ayerelia snapped.

  Bitch much? Darkraven was too out of breath to answer.

  The shattered bits of pig started to melt in the heat of the day, making the fighting area treacherous.

  I barely had time to shout, “Incoming!” before Arjun threw himself in front of Darkraven. His shield caught the tusks, the impact echoing through the forest like a drumbeat. The force shoved him back several feet, boots carving twin furrows in the mud.

  “Hold the line!” he grunted, and I could see his knees shaking from the effort.

  Ayerelia lifted her staff, her expression fierce -- or at least determinedly pretty, it just depended on how charitable you felt in this moment.

  “Don’t worry I have an idea! I just got a new skill, I think I can stun it.”

  Golden vines of light burst from her hands, curling upwards getting brighter and brighter. The air smelled faintly of roses and ozone. The vine twisted towards the sky then it was like a flash bomb of glitter went off.

  “The fuck! You didn't just blind him, you blinded us!” I yelled, my vision having gone bright gold.

  I tried to listen for the boar, my eyes wide by seeing nothing but sparks of light flashing in a sea of light. I could hear it breathing and tried to face it club held high.

  Out of the chaos came the strumming of a lute.

  “Oh, the folly of the sparkly elf, the sparkly elf,

  Who’d rather gleam than guard herself!

  Oh, tis true vanity’s a sin

  Thank the gods the bard runs in!”

  The strumming sped up.

  “Dim that shine, you gilded bane,

  Your light’s no gift, it’s bloody pain!

  Fade your flare, begone, you glare—

  I’ll sing the dark back into air!”

  My vision started to clear and I could hear Ayerelia muttering and I started to laugh. I had never thought much of bards in parties before, but Copperbeard was quickly changing my mind.

  We could see again, but so could the boar. It was shaking its head and stomping a forefoot.

  Arjun was standing right before it, wiping at his eyes. The boar knocked him over with a sweep of his tusks. The fighter rolled and surged up with a guttural roar, shield slamming the boar’s tusk aside, sword carving deep into its shoulder.

  “Any songs for speed or strength?” I yelled, charging in from the flank. My club connected with a satisfying, meaty crack against the boar’s ribs [Hit], maybe not as catastrophic as before, but enough to stagger it.

  “Still on cool down,” The bard sang back.

  Ok, we will do this the old-fashioned way. The right way, something whispered in my head.

  The boar went to dash past us again, but this time, Dekka was there roaring in its face. The boar made a feint as if to rush her, my dog wasn’t fooled and grabbed the boar by the snout. In its panic, or rage, I don’t know pigs well enough to tell the difference in their squeals, it ran sideways and flattened Arjun.

  Dekka never let go, but Arjun wasn’t moving. Shit. But his body didn’t disappear. How long did player’s bodies stay if they were killed?

  The boar was now running sideways in a large arc and headed blindly towards the mages. Darkraven seemed to be prepping a spell, and Ayerelia had her staff and chin raised defiantly.

  I don’t think so. I was the Tank. I didn’t like it, but that didn’t matter. The beast was supposed to go for me. That was my job.

  I screamed at the boar and leapt between the party and it.

  This action so surprised the beast it skidded to a halt; it also surprised my teammates and no frosty magic came to freeze out foe.

  The pig dodged my swing. “Help Arjun” I yelled.

  “Ayerelia and I are on it, keep the beast busy,” Copperbeard called back.

  The boar managed to graze my thigh with a tusk as I ran, trying to keep it’s attention on me. Shit that hurt.

  “Anytime, Darkraven,” I yelled, trying again to hit it. This time I tried [Targetted Hit] But still I missed. This thing must have some crazy stats.

  Then a blast of icy energy shot past my left cheek, making my breath visible. The energy hit the pig right between the shoulders and was absorbed into its hide.

  The beast visibly slowed. I used that moment to stand tall and use every bit of strength this game gave me and brought my club down on its head as hard as I could.

  It dropped do the ground. Dead.

  37XP!

  You have received tusk of the matriarch (crafting item - legendary)

  Dekka let go and looked around to see if there were more.

  Thankfully, there were not. A legendary crafting item? That was nifty. I hope I lived long enough this life to use it.

  The others were gathered around Arjun who was moving. He was still glowing slightly as Ayerelia healed him. Good, I didn’t want to give up a healing potion. I would, if I had to, but I had a feeling I would be needing them more.

  After Arjun could walk, loot was discussed. Copperbeard was the party’s crafty member, so they gave all their crafting supplies to him. No one asked what I had gotten, so I just kept my mouth shut.

  I went through my HUD to spend my skill point as the others chatted. [Mighty Swing] looked mighty good. One more skill and I would have filled out two skill trees. Then I could level up my class or something. Hopefully, change things, though I was getting not bad at hitting things with a blunt object.

  We were setting up camp when Arjun dropped a bombshell.

  “Urg, we should have done this first. That was really close, and I would have spawned all the way back in that inn. You guys would have had to finish the boars without me.”

  “I don’t think we expected the first fight to be so hard,” Darkraven said as she settled on her purple and midnight bedroll.

  What!?

  If he had died, he didn’t have to go all the way back to his starting point? And the implication that if he spawned in camp, he could run right back in the fight… that meant he wasn’t knocked back to level one.

  I just stood there and stared at them. I caught snippets of conversation about meeting again to play tomorrow night. But I was reeling in the unfairness of it all.

  This was only a fucking roguelike for me?