I partially hoped I had been wrong, that Benny wouldn’t continue to follow me, and then I’d be free to continue with the test.  

I wasn’t. Benny followed me at full speed as if to trample me. I was scared but I kept on track while being followed by a giant boar. I ran for my life. I must have looked terrified because I managed to run past three fights, and none of them stopped to attack me. Maybe they looked, but I’m not sure. I kept running, using a bit of mana to keep myself just shy of getting caught in Benny’s snout.  

Retracing my steps wasn’t hard. It just took a bit of tracking knowledge. A large boar, like Benny, left quite a trail the actual hard part was doing this quickly while running away.  

Many times, I almost gave up. Especially when I had to double back on myself or someone looked like they were going to risk attacking me until they noticed Benny’s proximity. At least that was helpful, though; none of them thought of helping me out. If I had seen this myself, I also wouldn’t have helped and minded my own business to pass the test.  

Once I managed to get Benny near the area where the pit was, the squeals of a tiny boar led Benny the rest of the way. Mission complete! I celebrated with a tiny woo as I collapsed to rest a bit before leaving. 

Even though most of my progress was gone. I didn’t regret it at all. I did the right thing with Benny, and no one can tell me any different.  

I couldn’t dawdle for too long about what had happened because I saw glowing red eyes in the corner of my eye. Someone was already hunting me. Momentarily I cursed Benny and myself for making a dumb decision. Until Benny came back trotting along with a tiny boar behind them. This time I didn’t hesitate to jump on. I already smelled like them, so I took the risk.  

My gamble paid off better than I thought. Benny didn’t mind or even notice my extra weight. I thought I was in the clear, but there was a possibility that the red-eye creature could attack Benny too. What could I do to protect Benny when I was already exhausted and had already spent most of my mana? But Benny didn’t need any protection because they had started hunting for food to give a hungry baby boar. 

Benny was and still is a merciless boar. They tore through the forest like the trees were broccoli. It got too dangerous to ride Benny’s tusks, so I moved up to their lower back. On Benny’s back, I noticed a strange set of charcoal black bumps running along their back. I was about to closely inspect a slit in these bumps when I caught a glimpse of bright red eyes following Benny in the trees.  

By the time I noticed, Benny was already reacting to the potential predator. They whirled around, bucking me completely off and setting their back on fire. As I stared at the wonderfully fearsome spectacle, I landed in a tree with plenty of branches to catch my fall.  

Flames erupted from Benny, lighting a few trees on fire as they charged at their prey. Once the predator became prey, Red-eyes had to strategically avoid being burned by Benny’s fire. I saw those red eyes glance at me a couple of times. I think they were trying to bring Benny towards me. Unfortunately for them, Benny blocked off the path because it was in the direction of the baby boar.  

Not going to lie, I felt a bit smug. Sure, I lost most of the distance I had traveled, but in return for reuniting a family, I was rewarded with momentary protection. Of course, I couldn’t stay with Benny. I had a test to finish, so while Benny took care of Red-eyes, I went on my way to make up for the lost time. So yes, I was feeling a bit smug.  

Benny is a rare breed of boar that uses fire in the same way a dragon breathes fire. Fascinatingly beautiful, deadly, and a total badass of a monster that will hunt you down with only your scent.  

I recovered most of my progress by dusk but couldn’t follow the same path Benny did. They went mostly west when they ran from the wolves, and I needed to continue north toward the peak of the mountain.  I felt oddly lonely. I guess the company of a protective mother made me feel safe. Any good mother has that effect on children. 

Dang, I’m making myself sad... okay, okay, let’s just go back into the forest. As I made a path through the darkness, night fell. I was jumping from tree to tree like a nimble squirrel. The tree branches formed a perfectly safe path high above the ground.  

As I said, I can see general shapes in the dark, not completely as other races can but enough not to fall. I could feel what I could not see in the darkness, such as the movements in the brush beneath me. Six feet was the only limitation to “seeing” for sixteen-year-old me. Pretty good, if I do say so myself. Using this method, I found a good area to rest for the night.