The forest stretched out before me as far as the eye could see. It moved all the way up the mountain that loomed ominously over us, coating it in a wash of dark green.

  Below the trees was a haven of untouched wilderness. Logs and rocks covered the ground. Bushes were scattered throughout it. And a carpet of moss and shade-swelling plants blanketed the area.

  Shiny vines with three leaves crowded over some trees, choking the life out of them. Thorns poked out of bushes. Bits of blood-stained animal fur coated them. Ticks hid in tall grass for anything they could drain of blood. And there were no doubt far worse things lying in wait.

  I stood near the river. The boat my class arrived on was behind me. Meanwhile, the other students were going to various places as they prepared the campsite. Edward was talking to some mercenaries.

  For the first part of my plan, I needed everything to look normal. I pulled my tent out of my pack and set it up. Looking around as I did, I noticed where Millia and Augusta were. They were both near me. Millia made a tent of her own while the other girl hadn't.

  That's when I realized something. My talk on the boat with Augusta...a conversation I had with her before then...she didn't have a tent and was too embarrassed to admit it. Well, I could solve that problem while also distracting them. Millia knew the game, and Augusta would probably follow me if she saw me move into the woods. Getting them out of the way was key to my success.

  I approached Augusta.

  "Hey, Augusta, do you need a tent?" I asked.

  "No. I can sleep under a tree," she answered.

  "Don't be like that," I said. "You can ask Millia or one of the other girls to let you join in their tent."

  Augusta hesitated.

  "I am a princess. I could get the captain to let me share a tent with you," she suggested.

  However, there wasn't much resistance in her voice.

  "Don't abuse your authority like that," I replied.

  "Alright," Augusta nodded. "I'll talk to Millia."

  She turned away. And, the moment no eyes were on me, I rushed into the woods as quick and quiet as I could.

  Thankfully, I had already put the mail Augusta gave me on. I also made sure I had the magic items Millia gave me a while ago. That way, I'd be ready.

  Still, navigating through the forest was a mess. I had to be careful or I'd trip on some rock or root. The canopy was so thick that it blocked out sunlight, slowing down my travel speed.

  You walked through the paths in the Duke's Duplicity. So, I made sure to get to one of those as fast as I could. The wilderness was unfamiliar terrain. However, things looked similar to the video game once I stepped on a deer trail.

  I walked along the path towards one of the spots where the boss could appear. Shadows loomed over me all the while. It was only a matter of time before my absence would be discovered. That meant I needed to hurry and get lucky.

  And after walking for a while, I was lucky.

  Or horribly, terribly unlucky.

  My foot stepped into a clearing. Light shone down on the empty area before me. And in the forest beyond it, a massive shape moved through the woods. Its head brushed branches 4 meters in the air.

  Glowing eyes flickered with intelligence, enough to evade the mercenaries' detection. But they were cold, cruel. It was like gazing at a psychopath who wasn't bothering to hide that he was a monster.

  And I knew what it was thinking: a child. Easy prey.

  Despite the creature's size, it moved without making a single sound. In fact, there weren't any noises in the forest. Even the wind was terrified of this thing. And as the monster got closer, the stench of death filled the air.

  I drew my rapier as it stepped into the clearing. My breath stopped when it came into full view. Seeing it in the game was one thing. But witnessing the creature in real life was a nightmare.

  Its body was obese, covered in rolls upon rolls of fat. I could barely see its equine legs under them. The monster's arms were thick and meaty with a coating of bushy hair covering them. One of its hands clenched a cleaver the size of a bodybuilder. But its head almost made my heart stop.

  At first glance, it looked like a pig's head. But the eyes were human. Its snout was disproportionately large. And the monster's mouth was distended like a serpent's maw. Broken and jagged teeth filled the creature's head. The stench of rotting meat came from the bits of flesh stuck between its teeth.

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  This was a truiecheval. It was the Duke's Duplicity's version of a troll.

  No words were said between us. None were needed. Our conversation would be with blades, and it would be to the death.

  The truiecheval swung its massive cleaver. I moved to the side, jumping out of the way. Its weapon impacted the ground. Dirt flew up, pelting my side like bullets.

  I fought through the sudden jolts of pain and punched with my left hand. A spectral fist came out, slamming into the monster's face. It stumbled back, and I rushed forward.

  One of the creature's hooves lashed out as I closed in. But I knew this trick. The truiecheval's fat hid just how long its legs were. I fought my instinct to rush back and jumped to the side instead.

  Its limb extended far beyond where my last position was, and I stabbed hard with my rapier. Blood sprayed out of the monster's leg. A squeal of pain escaped its mouth as I moved towards its body.

  The cleaver came at me from the side. I ducked under it, going low to the ground. Some of my hair was cut by the weapon. However, my head was unharmed.

  At that point, I'd closed the distance. My rapier flashed several times. Each one pierced a bloody hole in the creature. Fat and a greasy red liquid coated my sword as it came out.

  Then, the truiecheval's fist lashed out at me. I ducked under it, just for pain to explode in my chest. The monster's knee slammed into me.

  Unfortunately, my mail armor was almost worthless against blunt force trauma.

  I felt half of my ribs shatter as I was thrown back. My body flew across the clearing before slamming hard into a stump, snapping the rest of my ribcage. It hurt to breathe.

  Gruff chuckling echoed from the truiecheval's mouth. The monster started walking towards me. There was a trail of broken links of mail between it and my body.

  Despite the agony in my chest, I forced myself up. I got in a fencing stance while holding my left hand back. The creature raised its blade to strike. A dark orb formed in my left open palm. I kept my rapier at the ready while uttering a command.

  "Head."

  The sphere flew out. It collided with the monster's face. A bloody cut was left where it hit before it returned to my hand. Then, I commanded once more.

  "Head."

  This time, the truiecheval raised its cleaver in defense. The ball moved around the weapon and slammed into the monster's grotesque ear. That part of its head flew from its body.

  As the sphere returned to my hand, my opponent changed its tactics. It went on the offensive. Its cleaver swung through the air at me. I commanded once more.

  "Arm."

  Just a little bit further. Even with a full party, I never hurt the truiecheval as much as I had now.

  The orb slammed into the monster's arm. It burst through it, going out the other side in a shower of blood. But it wasn't enough to stop the monster's swing.

  I tried to dodge, but pain lashed me like a whip as I moved. I was too injured. I couldn't evade this beast.

  Holding up my rapier, I tried to block the massive cleaver. There was a shriek of metal on metal. For a moment, I thought I'd parried the blow. I didn't feel any pressure on my arm, so...

  ...my sword snapped in two. The truiecheval's weapon kept moving. It sliced right through my arm at the shoulder. I felt so much pain that I thought I'd pass out.

  The skin on my severed limb lashed out, clutching onto my body. Nerves, bones, and flesh forced themselves back onto me. My arm pushed itself back into place and I let out a scream of utter agony. Then, I collapsed onto my knees.

  I thought the truiecheval would take this chance to finish me off. Instead, it stood in stunned silence. The swift realization came to me that the way Millia's trinket prevented me from losing limbs utterly horrified it.

  That was something I couldn't let go to waste. If I didn't finish the truiecheval off before it recovered from its shock, I was dead.

  "Head!" I shouted while lunging with my broken sword.

  The orb collided with the creature's skull, sending a gush of blood out. At the same time, I jabbed my broken sword into its right eye.

  Then, a sharp force connected with my chest. I was flung to the ground. The truiecheval stumbled back, clutching at the snapped blade still embedded in its skull.

  I tried to push myself up, but I couldn't. Still, I had my orb. It just needed to-

  With a roar, the truiecheval yanked what was left of my sword from its head. The monster threw it at the orb, knocking it off course. A guttural call emanated from its mouth, and it charged me.

  "No!" Millia's voice came to my ears.

  The truiecheval stopped in its tracks and turned around. Panic flashed through me as I found the strength to force myself up. Millia was standing in the clearing. Her sword was on the ground, and she was clawing at her own face.

  "This is my fault! This is all my fault!"

  "Millia! Now is not the time to have a panic attack! Run!" I shouted.

  Hearing my words, the truiecheval charged the girl. I rushed at it. My adrenaline pushed down the pain. Then, I punched. This time, I aimed at the monster's legs.

  "Shut the hell up, Dante! You shouldn't fucking have magic!" Millia hollered back. "I should have told you, but I didn't!"

  A spectral fist flew through the air. It collided with the truiecheval's foot. The creature fell backwards and I tried to jump to the side to get out of the way.

  I wasn't entirely fast enough. The truiecheval fell on my leg as I dodged. My limb snapped like a twig. Another scream came out of my mouth. Aside from that, the sound of Millia's ranting flowed through my ears.

  "Fuck! Dammit! Hell! How could I be such a fuckup? I should have told him, but I didn't! Dammit all!"

  As much as Millia from the game might come off as weaker than the Millia I knew, she would be much more useful right now. Panic had completely come over me. A large part of me regretted not getting help as the truiecheval got up.

  The monster stood above my body. It ignored Millia as it raised its blade. This cleaver's shadow fell over my form, ready to kill me in just a single blow.

  There was a loud crack as a gunshot erupted from the shadows. A ball collided with the truiecheval's head. It turned and squealed. Janek stood at the edge of the clearing, musket in hand.

  He dropped his weapon and dual-wielded pistols, firing one and then the other in rapid succession. Blood burst from the truiecheval's chest as it started to charge Janek.

  "Run, Janek!" I called out. "Grab Millia and get the hell out of here!"

  The noble dropped his pistols and drew his sword. I saw him look the truiecheval right in the eyes.

  "No. I do not run, I do not suffer monsters to live," Janek said. "And I don't need to kill this thing to win."

  He swung his blade.

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