The giant boar lay where it fell, chest rising and falling like a living hill. Ember still hadn't moved from her spot by the pond, eyes wide. The spirit hovered in a jittery spiral, her glow flickering like a nervous candle.
Surprise!
Without warning, a dark shimmer rippled across the clearing.
FWOOSH
The familiar black book materialized in midair with a low, metallic hum.
Spirit: "What in the four winds—!"
Ember: "AH!"
The pages fluttered open by themselves and glowing letters scrawled across the surface:
Book: New creature obtained: Giant Boar.
Nyxar tilted his head, unimpressed.
Nyxar: "Hmm… well. Now what?"
"Safe for Testing?"
Bug rotated his antennae like he was trying to catch a distant signal.
Bug: "What do you mean now what?"
Nyxar: "I want to test the limits of this boar." He glanced around. "But… not a safe place to test."
The spirit zipped backward in alarm.
Spirit: "No. Totally safe. Perfectly fine. Nothing could possibly go wrong."
Her voice cracked on "totally."
Nyxar stared, expression unreadable.
Nyxar: "Bug. Ask the surface girl. Safe?"
Ember was still blinking at the floating book like it might explode.
Ember: "Huh? Oh… uh… yeah? Should be safe?"
Bug gave a little shrug.
Bug: "She says it's safe. Good enough for me."
Nyxar nodded once, as if Ember's distracted mumble was an ironclad contract.
The Test Begins
He raised his marked hand.
Shadow stretched across the forest floor, deep and cold.
The dead boar twitched, then materialized whole and alive, its eyes gleaming red for an instant.
Spirit: "Gah! What—HOW is it moving again?!"
Ember: "That's… that's not normal."
The boar snorted, shaking its massive head.
Nyxar pointed to a thick oak.
Nyxar: "Run. Break tree."
The boar snorted again and charged.
The tree shuddered but held.
Nyxar frowned.
Nyxar: "Again. Harder."
The boar rammed once more. The trunk trembled, a few leaves falling like lazy confetti. Still standing.
The Tree Test
Nyxar tapped his chin, then calmly lifted his spear.
Nyxar: "Stay."
The boar froze, obedient.
With three swift cuts, Nyxar felled the tree himself.
CRAACK—WHUMP!
The oak crashed down directly onto the boar's broad back.
Dust and leaves exploded outward.
When the air cleared, the boar simply huffed, unimpressed.
Reactions
Ember's jaw dropped.
Ember: "Well… damn. That's a strong boar."
The spirit's glow pulsed in disbelief.
Spirit: "I… yes. That is absurdly durable."
Nyxar exhaled as though he'd just watched a slightly boring magic trick.
Nyxar: "Weak."
Double Take
The spirit spun like a tiny cyclone.
Spirit: "WHAT? Weak? That thing just wore a tree like a blanket!"
Ember, catching only the tone, looked alarmed.
Ember: "What? What happened?"
Bug, trying not to laugh, translated.
Bug: "Nyxar just called the boar weak."
Ember: "WHAT?!"
Nyxar gave a slow, thoughtful nod.
Nyxar: "Bug. Of all summons, this is weakest, correct?"
Bug tilted his head, pretending to tally an invisible list.
Bug: "Yeah… looks like it. Slowest, least armored. Definitely the runt of the bunch."
Uneasy Wonder
The spirit hovered closer to Ember, her light flickering a nervous blue.
Spirit (whispering): "If this is his weakest… what monsters has he bound that he considers strong?"
Ember's eyes darted to Nyxar's calm profile, then back to the boar still chewing moss under a fallen tree.
Ember: "Either he's lying… or we are so underestimating him."
The boar gave a lazy grunt, perfectly fine with a hundred pounds of oak across its back.
Bug stretched his wings and smirked.
Bug: "Welcome to a normal day with Nyxar. Get used to rethinking what 'strong' means."
The spirit and Ember shared a look that said we might have just made friends with the scariest person in the forest—while Nyxar simply brushed a leaf from his shoulder, already considering his next experiment.