Rise CHAPTER 15 - A Valiant End

An iron grip on his arm roused Jiran from his sleep. The familiar flipping sensation of being teleported brought him to partial awareness. A grunting squeal followed by something heavy smashing its way through bushes pushed his brain the final yard to full alertness.

The world around him slowed to a crawl as something brown blasted its way into their training glade.

Upside down in midair, Jiran was left with very few options to defend himself.

As the ground approached in slow motion, he kicked with the most force he could muster, causing his foot to sail above his head. At the same time, he used Forcing to pull his arm directly toward the ground where his palm planted firmly in the dirt.

Momentum brought his feet down a moment later, finally giving him purchase in the hard dirt. Lifting his head, he got his first real look at the beast charging toward him.

It was a brown boar with a single large tusk instead of a mouth. The adrenaline pumping furiously through his body crystallized his vision, allowing him to see the needle-like point of that deadly tusk. The sound of air being sucked through a tube could be heard between each of the creatures huffing squeals.

Please don’t tell me that thing sucks blood like a giant ass mosquito?! That's horrifying.

https://imgur.com/Qi5O3Ft 

The beast was almost upon him as it charged with unbelievable speed for its stout body. When it was nearly upon him, Jiran leaped with all his strength while pulling his arm forward.

The board tried to jump and impale him but missed by a large margin, sailing through the air before landing on its side and rolling several meters.

When Jiran landed, he saw his spear sticking out of the dirt. He dashed the short distance to the weapon, feeling like he was running through water and not air.

His hand clasped around the thick, rough wooden handle as he jerked the weapon around to face the beast who was not yet back on its cloven hooves.

Seeing the beast’s slow responses, something inside Jiran’s brain shifted uncomfortably and time seemed to resume its normal pace.

He took a step toward the beast before halting. Momentary indecision waged a war within him as he watched the creature struggle to its hooves.

Can I kill it? I’ve never killed anything.

Am I a coward like my mother who hesitated before plunging that dagger into my chest? Or am I a warrior, like Micah, who went to the front lines and lived to tell of the horrors of the graymin?

Samris’s chilling whisper broke the silence that had descended on the glade.

“Only those with unassailable power have the right to sleep peacefully. For the rest of us, we must always be prepared to defend that which we hold dear.”

A shrill squeal pierced the air after his words were spoken. The beast charged once more, its beady eyes promised death.

I hope it’s as stupid as it looks.

Jiran was prepared for its reckless charge. He leaped to the side and pulled his arm once more, moving far faster than the beast could adjust to. Once it flew past, he spun to follow, charging for all he was worth.

His body responded with a quickness he didn’t know he possessed. Nearly matching the speed of the charging beast, he caught it the moment it slowed to turn. His spear easily pierced the beast's flank, drawing blood.

The creature howled and flung itself backward. Its back legs kicking in the air. Jiran dove to the side awkwardly and then ripped himself back to his feet by pulling his arm once more.

Something in his elbow stretched dangerously, alerting him to his accidental overuse of the technique.

“Do not lightly drop your guard, Jiran. Never give Madra a chance to take all that you have strived for.”

What are you, a green gremlin from space? Why don’t you just jump on my back while I fight and spout philosophical nonsense?

Snarling with frustration, Jiran dropped back to his crouched stance, ready for whatever the beast threw at him next.

Without a large amount of momentum, the boar was much more manageable. Jiran’s spear pierced its shoulder, slowing it further. With his superior distance and speed, he was able to land several more hits safely before he backed away.

The creature continued to pursue him, dragging itself forward pitifully with its two remaining legs.

Jiran cast his gaze about the glade, searching for Samris and not finding the elusive tutor. The man’s whisper sounded like it came from right beside him, even though he was clearly nowhere to be seen.

“Why are you swinging that spear, Jiran? Is it an obligation that drives you, because I told you to? Or perhaps you enjoy a challenge, pushing your limits.

“Look at the beast in front of you, will you follow through with the thrust to end its life? What if it was a bandit bleeding before you, another human? If I told you to strike down a child, would you do it?

“Why you use a weapon is far more important than how you use it. Those who only know how to swing a blade are always the first to be lost to the Wilds. They transform into something no longer human, incapable of thought, for they never had thought to begin with.

“Never forget, if the essence of your swing is as insignificant as a hill, how could you ever conquer the peaks?”

Jiran danced away from the beast as it neared him once more.

Why isn’t it running away? It has to know it can’t win, yet it keeps charging. This isn’t its territory, so why did it even attack me in the first place?

“Trying to understand the meaning behind a beast’s actions is pointless. They are no longer animals, they seek blood and death in an ever-consuming spiral of acquiring power for the sake of power.

“Strike it down, or it will recover and threaten another.”

Jiran once more imagined Niya behind him, helpless as the beast barreled down upon her. its horn pierced her and sucked the blood from her body.

https://imgur.com/f7M8bJE

An instinctive growl escaped his lips as he looked down at the beast now impaled completely through by his spear. His rage at the thought of his family being hurt had driven him forward before he realized what he was doing.

With heaving breaths, Jiran stood over his first kill and watched the light leave its eyes.

“I don’t want to kill anyone. But if I have to defend Feylon or my family, I won’t hesitate again. I understand Madra is not such a kind place as to allow me the luxury of letting my enemies walk away.”

Samris silently appeared at his side as if he had always been there.

“An excellent start, Jiran. I find it prudent to remind you that service in the military will not allow for soft ideals. You will be pushed, and you will certainly have to take lives that you will not wish to take.

“Be mindful that in the empire, only power holds the superior morality.

“Enough talking. I will bring you another beast. I expect you to thrust to kill, or lay down your weapon and present your neck. There can be no middle ground. Either you are superior, or you are at the complete mercy of whatever bested you.”

Jiran mentally reviewed his fight while he waited nervously for whatever Samris brought him next.

I did pretty good at the start considering I had only been awake for a few seconds. Other than that, my movements were awful the entire fight. Every attack and evasion was either too small or too large causing me to use Forcing excessively.

Jiran rubbed his elbow, reminded of the ache that was quickly stiffening into a mild sprain.

At least my attributes increase crazy fast when I fight. I wonder why that is…

Strength + .1

Agility + .3

Endurance + .2

Durability + .1

Wisdom + .1

Jiran heard them long before his eyes could pick them out in the early morning darkness. They crashed through the foliage, shaking leaves off trees and snapping delicate tree limbs. He readied his spear, assuming his low defensive stance once more.

When the beasts arrived at the glade, they didn’t rush in headlong as the boar had done but instead circled around the entire clearing while staying in the trees. All the while they made strange warbling sounds like a bird being strangled.

Before they finished surrounding him from every direction, Jiran was nervous. By the time they completed their encirclement and all began mimicking the same keening whine, he was terrified. He couldn't tell what direction they would come from first and still had not managed to spot one.

When his body began to shake, they finally struck. First one, then five more in rapid succession. Luckily, they weren’t as fast and powerful as they were intimidating.

The beasts only came up to Jiran’s waist. They were covered in scales that looked like bark. They had large red eyes like an owl and wide mouths that could easily tear large chunks of flesh if he let them get close.

https://imgur.com/sjby3Ma 

Jiran ran forward as soon as the first beast appeared, not wasting time trying to turn and face the first one that had sprung from behind.

The beast that he charged toward stumbled back as if afraid when it saw Jiran’s charge. Not having time to spare with five more of them coming from multiple directions, he leaped with a light Forcing to guide his thrust.

The point of his spear missed the beast's chest but did cut clear through its back leg which he hoped would slow it down. Not stopping after his successful attack, Jiran ran right past the screeching gremlin. He could feel the others right behind him, nipping at his legs.

Jiran jumped and spun in the air, his spear making a wide arc behind him. His estimation of their distance had been off, not one of the beasts was as close as he had feared so his spear whistled uselessly through the air, leaving him wide open to their retaliations.

Two of the beasts took advantage of his blunder, leaping headlong toward his chest with their mouths open. Sharp teeth glistened with green saliva as they flew ever closer.

This is going to hurt like hell.

Jiran grit his teeth and pulled on his mana. The powerful Forcing he used dragged his body through the air. He felt the bones in his arm and leg protest the rough treatment. His body shot to the side as if he had been hit by a beast the size of a house.

Despite his best efforts, one of the beasts managed to clamp down on his calf.

Pain exploded in his leg as teeth effortlessly pierced his flesh and dug into bone. He screamed in agony as his skin and muscles began to smoke from the acidic saliva that wormed ever deeper into his limb.

A fury he didn’t know resided within him bubbled to the surface. A snarling rictus replaced his usually serious expression as he brought his spear down on the beast attached to his leg. The blade pierced through its back, completely impaling the small creature.

Its companions wasted no time, leaping at their wounded adversary.

Jiran completely ignored the state of his body as he used Forcing recklessly and in quick succession. He threw his arms holding the spear to the right, cutting another of the beasts in half and then grabbed his spine and yanked his body back and away from the two closing in.

When their attacks missed and turned into an overextension of momentum, he focused on one of the two. He pulled his arms forward, sticking his spear right through its face. The other, still off-balance tried to resume its dive but stumbled awkwardly.

Jiran kicked its ugly face and it flew several meters end over end as he doggedly scanned his surroundings for the next beast. He only spotted the one he had just kicked and the first gremlin with the wounded leg, still hobbling after him. The rest lay dead on the ground.

Did I win?

Suddenly, an explosion of agony came from his back as a weight slammed into him. His body froze in shock at the overwhelming sensations and he stumbled forward to his knees. A horrific sound of his own flesh being chomped on came unbidden to his ears.

The sound triggered something deep inside him; a will to survive. The same will that surfaced when he pulled his broken and bleeding body across the floor on the day of his tiering.

Without making a sound, Jiran reached behind his back and grabbed the last healthy beast.

His shoulder tore as he ripped the creature from his flesh. He could feel acid and blood running freely down his back but his brain ignored the sensations as they were not nearly as important as ending the life of the miserable monster who had dared sink its fangs into his body.

The creature squirmed and thrashed with a strength that should have been enough to immediately set it free. However, Jiran’s grip remained strong as the last vestiges of his mana were pumped into his free hand.

The punch that connected with the monster caved its face in, leaving even more of its acid to coat Jiran’s now extremely wounded hand.

He looked up from the wreckage of the beast's destroyed skull to stare blankly at the hobbling goblin that he failed to kill with his very first strike. It shuffled ever closer, growling and hissing with green saliva spraying before it.

Jiran heard a dull thump and his vision darkened. His brain struggled to understand the strange sensations pushing against his face.

Is that… the dirt? Why is my face in the dirt?

Then there was only darkness.