Only I Am The Strongest

Locked In

The applicants tore through the woods.

The noble recruits invaded the forest as explosions of elemental fire illuminated the twilight canopy, sending flocks of dark birds scattering into the sky. The aristocrats shouted commands to each other across the dense thickets, treating the forest like a private sporting ground. They unleashed overwhelming magical firepower to flush out low tier beasts. 

Kieran took an entirely different approach.

He remembered his brutal years surviving in the outer ash wastes. He stopped moving and pressed his back against the bark of a tree. He closed his eyes and forced his erratic breathing to slow. He tuned out the distant shouts of the nobility and the chaotic blasts of fire magic. He relied on his natural survival instincts, letting his pulse settle into a calm, steady rhythm.

He listened for the subtle snaps of dry twigs. He focused on the rustle of dead leaves and the ragged breathing of hidden predators lurking in the underbrush.

Miles away in a different part of the forest, Alaric marched through a cleared path.

The young noble walked alongside a seasoned Knight named Aldren. The older man wore the plate of an elite soldier. His face was a map of old scars earned in the border swamps. House Vayne had paid a staggering amount of gold to ensure Aldren oversaw this specific part of the cull.

"Did you handle the problem?" Alaric asked.

"The street rat will not survive the hour." Aldren kept his voice low. "You paid a premium for guaranteed results, my lord. I do not fail my clients."

"He is not a normal peasant." Alaric stepped over a burning log. "He broke royal blade with his bare hands. The King gave him a pass, but I saw his eyes. He is dangerous. He might survive a pack of shadow hounds."

"He will not face a pack of hounds." Aldren stopped walking and turned to face the young lord. "I do not leave things to chance. I laced his body with a particular smell during the gathering. We captured a demon possessed Razorback near the border swamps last week. I released the beast ten minutes ago."

Alaric raised an eyebrow. "A Razorback?"

"That demonic boar is tracking the boy right now from the scent." Aldren nodded. "The scent binds to sweat and cloth. The beast will follow him to the edge of the world. The monster will trample him into a bloody paste before he even draws a sword."

"Are you certain the beast will finish the job?" Alaric frowned. "He is strangely durable."

"If the Razorback somehow fails to crush him, I will hunt the boy down myself." Aldren rested his hand on the hilt of his broadsword. "I will snap his neck and leave his carcass in a ditch. The commander expects casualties during the cull. No one will ask questions about a dead orphan."

"Good." Alaric let out a sigh of relief. "I want him erased from the ledger."

Aldren reached into a leather satchel resting on his hip. He pulled a canvas sack from the pouch and handed it to the young noble. The bag clinked with the sound of solid glass rubbing together.

"What is this?" Alaric grabbed the heavy sack.

"Your qualification." Aldren smirked. "There are fifteen pre harvested beast cores in that bag. I gutted a nest of scuttlers yesterday morning. You can spend the rest of the afternoon drinking wine by the fence. Your spot in the tournament is guaranteed."

Alaric clutched the bag of cores. A cruel, triumphant smile returned to his bruised face.

Deep in the woods, Kieran opened his eyes.

He had tracked the distinct, acrid scent of a low tier scuttler to its nesting ground. The creature resembled an arachnid forged from black rock. It clicked its mandibles and guarded a clutch of dark eggs in the roots of a dead tree.

Kieran took a slow step forward.

The dead emperors in his mind woke up. They sensed the demonic entity lurking in the shadows. The heat in Kieran's chest spiked into a searing inferno, begging for release.

Kieran fought the mental intrusion. 

“Hey!” He shouted calling the attention of the scuttler

He plans to engage the scuttler using only the strength of his altered muscles.

The beast lunged forward. It snapped its sharp mandibles directly at his throat. Kieran sidestepped the attack, he grabbed the creature by its fangs. He drove his bare fist downward and crushed the beast's skull with a single strike. Dark fluid splattered across his torn tunic and coated his forearms.

Kieran reached into the ruined chest cavity. He ripped through the dark tissue and extracted the glowing crystalline core.

He wiped the thick gore from his hands using a handful of dead leaves. He took a deep breath, trying to steady his racing heart.

Suddenly, a deep vibration rattled the soles of his boots.

The ground beneath him began to shake. Thick tree trunks splintered in the distance, snapping like dry twigs under pressure.

Kieran dropped the leaves. His survival instincts screamed a frantic warning.

He turned around just as the bushes thirty yards away parted violently.

A Razorback burst into the clearing. The demonic boar matched the size of a wagon. Thick iron plating covered its muscular shoulders and massive back. Serrated tusks the length of broadswords protruded from its jaw, dripping with a foul green venom that burned the grass beneath it.

The beast ignored the fresh scent of the dead scuttler resting near the tree roots.

The Razorback snorted and kicked the damp earth. It locked its glowing red eyes directly on Kieran, confirming it was hunting him alone.