Damon raised three fingers, then two, then one.

They struck in perfect unison.

Four bolts of lightning tore through the forest clearing. Two from Sera’s staff, two from Damon’s palm, the upgraded Lightning Lance spitting twin projectiles where before there had been only one.

The boar had just enough time to lift its massive head, its small eyes reflecting the blue-white glare, before all four bolts slammed into its flank.

The timing was exact. At the moment of impact, both Resonators triggered Sovereign’s Strike through their respective bolts.

The effect was immediate and devastating.

The lightning didn’t just strike the boar. It detonated. Golden energy erupted beneath the electrical discharge, four separate explosions of concussive force layering on top of the lightning damage.

Damon’s two Strikes cratered its shoulder. Sera’s two struck lower, tearing into its ribs.

The boar’s front legs buckled as chunks of bristly hide and scorched flesh sprayed across the underbrush.

The creature let out a scream that was less pig and more thunder, a deep, resonant bellow that shook leaves from the surrounding trees.

But it didn’t fall.

"Again!" Damon shouted.

They fired a second volley before the boar could recover. Eight bolts total across the two volleys. Eight Sovereign’s Strikes layered onto the impacts.

Damon aimed for the already-wounded shoulder. Sera’s twin bolts caught it in the flank.

The combined damage tore through the boar’s body, its leg giving out completely, its ribcage cratered from the repeated detonations. It crashed onto its side, tusks gouging deep furrows in the dirt as it thrashed, trying to right itself.

Its remaining legs churned, and its massive head swung wildly, tusks sweeping through the underbrush like scythes.

Damon didn’t give it the chance to stand.

He closed the distance in a blur of motion, longsword already drawn, golden light racing up the blade. The boar’s good eye tracked him, its tusk swinging toward his midsection in a desperate, blind arc.

But with Damon’s current agility stats, a half-assed strike was barely a threat to him anymore.

Sovereign’s Strike met the base of the boar’s skull as Damon swung down.

Behind him, Sera fired one final bolt, her own Strike layered on impact. It caught the boar’s exposed throat as Damon’s blade punched through its spine.

The crack echoed through the silent forest. The boar’s body went rigid for a single heartbeat, then collapsed, its massive head hitting the dirt with a heavy thud.

[DIRE BOAR DEFEATED]

[EXPERIENCE SHARED: 400]

[BOAR TUSK +2]

[BOAR HIDE +1]

[SOVEREIGN’S TRIBUTE: +45]

[TRIBUTE: 58]

Damon sat down beside the corpse, his chest heaving. The longsword’s blade was slick with blood, and his right arm ached from the force of the final strike.

Across the clearing, Sera lowered her staff, staring at the scorched and cratered remains of the boar’s hide.

"That was eight Strikes," she said, her voice caught between disbelief and exhilaration. "Eight. In under ten seconds."

"Your timing was perfect." Damon straightened, rolling his shoulder. "I wasn’t sure you’d land the rider on both bolts."

"Neither was I." She flexed her fingers, watching the last traces of golden light fade from her knuckles. "But the skill kind of... wants to activate. Like it’s eager, automatic even. Does that make sense?"

Damon nodded. He’d felt the same thing in his first fight with Matthew, like the skill itself wanted to land against an enemy.

"Now," Sera said, a slow grin spreading across her face, "how about we find another one?"

"Already?" Damon gestured at the scorched crater where the boar had fallen. "That thing had more health than five dire wolf alphas combined."

"Yeah, but we still killed it."

"Fair. But if it had the health of five alphas, imagine how deadly one blow from it would be."

He rolled his shoulder, the memory of the dire wolf alpha’s strike still fresh.

"You saw how much damage I took from a single alpha hit. If that boar even managed to land a single blow, it would probably kill me."

Sera’s grin faded into something more thoughtful, and she slung her staff across her back.

"Fine, let’s rest and recover our mana. But we’re not going home yet, boss. After seeing numbers like that, I’m more than okay with spending the night here."

"You want to stay overnight?"

"Why not? We’ve got the supplies. The town has an inn. And if we go back now, we’ll just have to make the trip again tomorrow."

Sera planted her staff in the dirt, leaning on it.

"Besides, you heard the vendor. The main city is two days away. If we’re going to make that trip eventually, we should get comfortable with extended stays."

Damon considered the logic. It was sound. His pack still had the fresh recovery draughts Lena had given him, plus the stamina draughts and antitoxin.

Sera had restocked her mana potions at the market. Neither of them was injured.

"Fine," he said. "We’ll check in at the inn after another few kills. I want to see how many boars we can handle before we’re tapped out."

Sera’s grin returned. "Now you’re thinking like a proper Resonator."

They moved deeper into the forest, following the trail markers. The rune-carved posts continued at regular intervals, their faint glow visible even through the thickening underbrush.

The second boar they found was smaller than the first, maybe six feet at the shoulder, with shorter tusks and fewer scars. A younger one, or just less aggressive. It was drinking from a stream that cut across the trail.

"Same strategy?" Sera murmured.

"Same strategy."

They took it down with six bolts instead of eight. The younger boar’s hide was thinner, its bones less dense.

It died before it could even turn to face them, its body crashing into the stream with a splash that sent water spraying across the moss-covered rocks.

[DIRE BOAR DEFEATED]

[EXPERIENCE SHARED: 350]

[BOAR TUSK +2]

[SOVEREIGN’S TRIBUTE: +40]

[TRIBUTE: 98]

"That’s a lot of exp," Damon said, checking his system. "This place is worth it."

Sera pulled a mana potion from her satchel and drank it down. "How many more boars do you think we can manage? I’ve got enough potions for maybe four more volleys."

"Let’s aim for two, then we’ll call it quits."

They found the third boar in a clearing ringed by ancient oaks. This one was larger than the first, its tusks chipped and yellowed with age, its hide a patchwork of scars and bristles.

It was sleeping, sprawled in a patch of sunlight like an enormous, grotesque cat.

"Old one," Sera observed. "Probably tougher."

"We’ll lead with Static Field this time. Slow it down before it can charge."

"And if it charges anyway?"

"Then you run and I’ll distract it."

"You really are a meat shield."

"Focus."

They positioned themselves at the edge of the clearing. Damon channeled mana into his palm, feeling Static Field take shape, the air around his fingers beginning to hum with contained charge.

He released it in a wide arc, and the clearing’s center erupted in crackling blue-white energy. The boar’s eyes snapped open.

It heaved itself upright with a speed that belied its size, tusks swinging toward the source of the lightning. The Static Field caught it mid-stride, arcs of electricity crawling up its legs and slowing its charge to a lumbering crawl.

"Now!"

Four bolts.

With all four landing on the boar’s head and shoulders, the golden detonations overlapping into a single, sustained blast.

The boar’s charge faltered, its front legs buckling, but it kept coming. Slower now, dragging itself forward through the Static Field, its tusks gouging trenches in the dirt.

"Another volley!" Damon shouted.

Sera’s second pair of bolts caught it in the throat. Damon’s caught it in the already-cratered skull. The boar let out a single, wheezing bellow and collapsed, its massive body skidding to a halt less than ten feet from their position.

[DIRE BOAR DEFEATED] 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

[EXPERIENCE SHARED: 450]

[BOAR TUSK +2]

[BOAR HIDE +1]

[AGED BOAR CORE +1]

[SOVEREIGN’S TRIBUTE: +50]

[TRIBUTE: 148]

Damon lowered his hand, the last traces of lightning fading from his palm. His mana reserves were starting to feel the strain, a hollow ache behind his eyes that he’d learned to recognize as the early warning sign of depletion.

"That one dropped a core," Sera said, approaching the dissolving corpse. She picked up the fragment, a dark, pulsing shard similar to the King Slime core but larger. "Must be from the older ones."

"Or just rare drops. Either way, it’s worth more credits."

They took down one more boar before turning back toward town. This one was a straightforward kill, no special drops, no close calls. Just two volleys and a well-placed blade to finish it.

[DIRE BOAR DEFEATED]

[EXPERIENCE SHARED: 350]

[BOAR TUSK +2]

[SOVEREIGN’S TRIBUTE: +40]

[TRIBUTE: 188]

By the time they reached the outskirts of Verdant’s Edge, the sun had begun its descent toward the treeline, painting the sky in shades of orange and gold.

Lanterns were being lit along the main street, their warm glow spilling across the packed-dirt road.

The Hunter’s Rest was busier than it had been that afternoon. Resonators filled the common room, their conversations a low roar punctuated by the occasional burst of laughter.

A fire crackled in a stone hearth at the far end, and the smell of roasting meat drifted from the kitchen.

Sera pushed through the door first, making a beeline for the innkeeper, a stout woman with graying hair and the kind of no-nonsense expression that suggested she’d been dealing with Resonators for decades.

"Two rooms for the night," Sera said.

The innkeeper didn’t even glance at her ledger. "Sorry, only one room left. Should’ve come earlier. Either you two share, or one of you gets no room at all."

Sera’s mouth opened, then closed. She turned to Damon, her expression caught somewhere between exasperation and something harder to name.

"Thoughts?"

Damon weighed the options. The inn was the only one in town, and sleeping outside wasn’t impossible, but it was impractical.

The forest at night was colder, louder, and full of things that hunted in the dark.

"One room’s fine," he said.

The innkeeper slid a single brass key across the counter.

"Room three, upstairs to the left. Dinner’s at seven, and don’t be late."

They climbed the stairs in silence. The room was small but clean, with a single window overlooking the main street, a washbasin in the corner, and one bed.

One.

Sera stopped in the doorway, staring at it. "Of course."

"I’ll take the floor."

"Don’t be stupid. You’ve done most of the physical work." She stepped inside, setting her staff against the wall. "It’s a big enough bed. We can share."

Damon set his pack down and sat on the edge of the mattress, letting the exhaustion of the day settle over him.

[LEVEL UP]

[LEVEL: 4] → [LEVEL: 5]

[+1 ALL STATS]

[STAT POINTS AVAILABLE: 3]

[NEW SKILL OBTAINED]