SS: The Boy Who Wished to Be a Champion

One autumn day two years after Allen had left Krena Village, the villagers were about to head out for a day of great boar hunting once again.

"I want to just use the same spear as everyone," Dogora grumbled.

"Don't mind that," his father insisted almost scoldingly while pushing a long spear at his son. "Just take this one!"

"Fine!"

Standing to the side, Dogora's mother looked on at the exchange between her husband and son, worry creasing her face.

Today was the first day that Dogora, who had turned ten years old, was participating in a great boar hunt. The boy now begrudgingly looked down at the special four-meter spear that his father had painstakingly forged for this day's sake.

The idea to let new hunters gain levels by attacking with long spears from a safe distance that Allen had come up with two years ago was still in practice. As today was Dogora's first hunt, he could not join the front line group that used two-meter spears.

The boy studied the spear made of steel from head to shaft, with a grip specifically adjusted to the size of his hands. The source of his discontent was not the fact that he had to attack from the back.

No, what he did not like was having a weapon clearly different from what everyone else was using—the spears used by both serfs and commoners were basically wooden shafts with small metal spearheads. However, his father practically shoved his handiwork into his son's hands.

"Stay safe, okay?" Dogora's mom said worriedly.

Somewhat taken by surprise at how much his parents were fussing over him, Dogora replied stutteringly, "I-I know, mom. Don't worry about me."

He then set off as if to throw off their voices, heading for the village gate.

When Dogora drew close, a pink-haired girl brimming with energy despite the early hour, noticing him rushed over. "You're late, Dogora!"

"You're early, Krena," Dogora sighed. "You got here before me, huh?"

"Yep!"

A quick pan of the area revealed around fifty other villagers who had gathered for the day's hunt. Previously, this hunting party was almost entirely composed of serfs, with there only being the occasional commoner addition.

However, many of those same hunters had been made commoner two years ago. Consequently, almost all the current participants were commoners with the exception of a few serfs aiming to climb up the social ladder. At least, this was what Allen's father, Rodin, had told Dogora previously.

"Looks like we're the only children."

"Hm? Did you say something, Dogora?"

"Nah."

There were plenty of children of Dogora's age in Krena Village.

However, it was not like all of them would be immediately cleared to join the hunting party after reaching ten years old. It was only thanks to the girl holding a four-meter spear before him that Dogora himself could be here today.

Originally, it was Krena who had convinced her father, Gerda—who happened to be one of the leaders of the hunting party—to let her participate starting this year. Then Dogora had gone to Gerda and basically said, "If she's going, then I want to go too." Rodin, the other leader, had given his permission too, in light of the fact that Dogora also had a battle-related Talent. Bada bing, bada boom.

Before long, Rodin shouted, "All right, we're off!" prompting an enthusiastic roar from the rest of the party in response. Rodin and Gerda headed the procession as Dogora and Krena followed close behind.

Despite having been born a commoner, this was Dogora's first time stepping foot outside Krena Village. He was not legally compelled to stay within the walls of his village as serfs were, but the fact that his parents managed the village's smithy-cum-weapons shop meant there was little reason for him to leave. He took in the sights as a slight sense of anxiety mixed with exhilaration filled his chest.

"Allen's passed this road many times before, right?!" Krena asked excitedly.

"Presumably," Dogora replied. Although he sounded brusque, he could not deny that it felt odd thinking of how he was now tracing the same path Allen had trodden all those years ago similarly heading out to hunt great boars.

"C'mon, Krena, you promised me that you'd be good and follow along properly," Gerda chided when he saw his daughter looking around busily, starting and stopping at times.

As always, she replied with an energetic "Yep!" and a bright smile that gave no clue as to whether she was really listening or not.

Gerda threw up his hands and turned to Rodin. "By the way, you think there'll be a lot again this year?"

The other man nodded. "Chances are high."

"A lot?!" Krena perked up, her eyes sparkling. "Of boars?!"

Rodin sighed. "That's right. And that's why we have to stay careful."

The group continued making their way to the hunting ground within the nearby forest, chatting the whole time.

When they arrived, Pekej, the leader of the group in charge of drawing monsters over, said he would scout out the situation and quickly disappeared into the trees.

He returned less than half an hour later.

"How was it?" Rodin asked. "A lot again, just like last year?"

Pekej nodded. "Yeah, the whole place is chock-full with them. If we mess this up, someone could get hurt."

"That said, thanks to His Lordship, we're all equipped with all this nice armor," Gerda cut in, waving a hand dismissively. "With the numbers we've got, I doubt any of us'd get seriously hurt."

By "thanks to His Lordship," Gerda had been referring to the leatherworker that Lord Granvelle had arranged to set up shop in Krena Village. This leatherworker was the person who was equipping the hunting party members with better and better armor.

Everyone present today, aside from Krena and Dogora, were veterans who had surpassed multiple Trials of the Gods before. There were more than enough of them to handle the situation even if a great boar rampaged a little.

"That may be so, but we'll still do our best to lure the smaller groups over," Pekej said before heading off once more, accompanied this time by his teammates.

While waiting, Gerda suddenly asked, "Why do you think there are suddenly so many great boars?" Although having so much game was a good thing, he couldn't help feeling uneasy not knowing the reason.

"I heard that it's because the goblins that used to eat them are all gone," Rodin replied in a low voice.

"Huh?! What does that mean?"

"Shh! Keep it down. Some adventurers that visited the village said that the number of goblins in the area suddenly plummeted."

"You serious..? Bad enough that it's affecting the boar population? What the hell could be doing it?"

"It's only a rumor, but I've heard that it might be a new type of monster that entered the area and is wiping out the goblins. Don't tell anyone else, though, all right? We don't want to be getting people all riled up over unconfirmed rumors."

It was true, however, that great boar was very plentiful this year. They would probably meet the quota of twenty set by the feudal lord in no time at all. That said, there was too little information to speculate any further, so the two men switched gears back to focusing on the hunt.

Slightly less than an hour later, Pekej's shout rang out. "Sorry, I've got three on me!" He then immediately burst into the clearing, three great boars charging at top speed right at his heels.

Gerda barked a laugh. "What was that about doing your best to lure smaller groups over?" He turned to the rest of the hunting party, who were already in position. "You lot, get ready! They're coming!"

"YES, SIR!" the villagers shouted, gripping their spears and bracing themselves.

The ground shuddered under the approach of the three giant beasts, but the front wall led by Gerda managed to absorb their momentum and stop their charges. The three shields in use bent sharply under the boars' horns, fangs, and tusks but otherwise held fast.

The strain of holding three great boars back at the same time prompted Gerda to shout, "Rodin, hurry!"

"I know!" Rodin replied before addressing his team. "You lot, focus on taking down one boar at a time!"

"YES, SIR!" they roared back, surging forward.

To Gerda's consternation, he heard Krena's high-pitched, childish "YAAAAAHH!" cutting through the other voices. It was then that he realized he had not previously gone over what number counted as too many enemies and became too dangerous for her to join in.

He shouted, "Wait, Krena!" but was too late. Before he could stop her, Krena had already jabbed her long spear into the forehead of one of the great boars. Right next to her was Dogora, who had done the same.

"It's so tooooough!" Krena exclaimed at the same time Dogora grunted, "Ugh, we're not getting through!"

The two spears that had landed on the monster's forehead refused to go any further. The hide in this area was extremely thick and sturdy. This was why the hunters normally avoided the head and aimed for the neck.

Before long, the finishing team led by Rodin brought down one of the other great boars.

"Huh? I suddenly feel...so much stronger!"

"Th-This is..."

Krena and Dogora, who had been trying to push their spears in deeper with all their might this whole time, suddenly felt a lot stronger. They had earned XP as well when Rodin and his team killed the first beast.

Crack.

"Aw, my spear snapped."

The wooden haft of Krena's spear had given out, crushed as it was between her newfound strength and the monster's tough hide. Krena hurriedly grabbed onto Dogora's spear.

"Huh?! What are y— Okay, let's defeat it together!"

"Yep!"

The two children gripped the spear tightly and stabbed at the great boar with all their might. Soon, Rodin's team killed their second boar, causing Dogora's and Krena's levels to go up once again.

"Hnngghhh!"

"Wait, y—" The incredible strength coming from Krena that Dogora felt through the spear prompted him to cry out. Before he could form a coherent sentence, however, Krena's feet dug into the ground so hard that the earth was turned over. Refusing to fall behind, Dogora did the same. Their combined efforts drove the spear deeper, deeper, and deeper.

"GUMOOOOOOHHHH!"

Finally, Dogora and Krena's spear penetrated the great boar's forehead and buried itself deep inside its skull. Blood sprayed everyone as the massive beast fell over with a resounding crash.

"Yay! We did it!" Krena threw up both hands in celebration as the jaws of the rest of the hunting party dropped in astonishment.

No one had managed to kill a great boar by piercing its forehead before.

Everyone's general understanding was that going for the neck was the best they could do. The adults stared at the ten-year-olds, marveling at the potential of those with Talents.

However, the adults were not the only ones staring at Krena; Dogora was as well. Because he had been gripping the same spear, he could tell how much stronger she was than him. It felt like she had suddenly gone somewhere really far away.

"I will become a champion," Dogora suddenly said out loud. "I swear I will."

It was after Dogora met Allen and Krena—the boy with strange abilities who saved the village, and the girl born with the Talent of Sword Lord—that this wish had budded within him. When he was younger, he dreamed of becoming a knight. When he got to know Allen and Krena, however, his dream had changed to wanting to become something much more, a champion of the people.

Unwittingly, his dream was growing bigger and bigger.

Dogora clenched a fist as his eyes blazed with the spirit of resolve and determination.