They barely made it to the Lush Forest between the beginning area and Haven before Lumi slowed to a stop.
"Hold up," she said, already pulling up her menu. "Before we forget—let me party you."
Corrin stiffened.
Just a little.
Lumi didn't notice. She was already tapping through options, brow furrowed in concentration.
"…Okay. Party invite sent."
She waited.
Then blinked.
"…Huh."
Corrin kept walking. "Something wrong?"
She glanced up. "It didn't go through."
He shrugged. "Lag?"
"Maybe," she said, unconvinced. She tapped again. "Try again."
Nothing happened.
She stopped walking now.
"…That's weird."
Corrin slowed too, turning back toward her. "Weird how?"
Lumi squinted at her screen. "You're not showing up. At all."
Corrin's brain kicked into gear.
"Oh," he said easily. "Yeah, I figured."
She looked up sharply. "Huh?"
"Old account," he said. "Beta stuff."
She stared at him.
"…Beta stuff?"
"Yeah," Corrin continued, tone casual. "Early testing character. Missing a bunch of social features. Friends list, party system, that kind of thing."
Lumi exhaled.
"That's stupid."
"Agreed."
She stared at him for a long moment, clearly sussing him out. Corrin kept a calm poker face, but inside, he was sweating buckets.
Finally, she shrugged.
"Whatever," she said. "As long as you can still carry me."
That got a small smile out of him.
"About that," she added, pointing at him. "If we can't party, how are we leveling?"
Corrin answered without hesitation.
"I help you level."
She blinked. "That's it?"
"Pretty much."
"…And you?"
He waved a hand casually. "I'll just grind after you log off. I'm terminally online, after all."
Lumi stared at him.
Then snorted.
"…Wow. Okay."
She turned and started walking again, like the conversation was already over.
"Works for me," she said over her shoulder. "As long as I'm getting EXP, you can be as weird as you want."
Corrin opened his mouth to reply—
Then stopped.
His eyes flicked past her to the bushes on her left.
They rustled softly, once, then twice.
Corrin's expression changed instantly.
"Shh," he whispered.
Lumi barely had time to blink before Corrin grabbed her wrist and pulled her sideways.
"H—hey—"
"Quiet," he hissed, already guiding her behind the nearest tree trunk.
They ducked just as the undergrowth parted.
Something heavy pushed through the undergrowth, forcing its way onto the road with a low, guttural snort.
A massive boar emerged from the foliage, nearly as tall as Lumi at the shoulder. It had a thick hide, along with dark fur matted with dirt and moss.
Long, curved tusks jutted from its jaw, chipped and stained, scraping faint grooves into the dirt as it lowered its head.
A Dire Boar.
"…Level five," he muttered.
Lumi glanced back at him, whispering, "That bad?"
"What level are you?" Corrin asked quietly.
"Three," she replied without hesitation
He nodded. "Skills?"
She shifted her grip, shield angling forward instinctively. "Guard Up. That's my big one."
Corrin exhaled slowly.
Okay. That worked.
"Then it's winnable," he said. "But listen carefully."
The Dire Boar turned and snorted in their direction, hooves scraping against dirt as it pawed the ground.
Its body lowered, muscles coiling.
Corrin didn't take his eyes off it.
"If you mess this up," he continued calmly, "you get one-shot."
Lumi stiffened.
"…Excuse me?"
"That charge will hit harder than your max HP," Corrin said flatly. "Shield or not."
Her grip tightened.
"But," he added, "there's a trick."
The boar huffed, digging its hoof deeper, ready to burst forward.
Corrin leaned closer, voice dropping to a whisper.
"Don't pop Guard Up early," he said. "If you do, it'll just plow through you."
Lumi frowned. "Then when?"
"Right before impact," Corrin said. "Not when it starts charging. When it's about to hit you."
Her eyes widened slightly.
"That late?"
"Yes," he said. "The game checks Guard Up at the moment of contact. If it's timed right, the recoil kicks back into the boar instead."
She blinked. "Recoil?"
"It'll stagger itself," Corrin said. "Not long. Half a second, maybe."
The Dire Boar snorted sharply, head dropping fully now.
Corrin smiled.
"That's all I need."
Lumi swallowed, then nodded once.
"…Alright," she said. "So I tank, barely."
"Wasn't that how you advertised yourself in the beginning?" Corrin questioned.
"Fair," she sighed.
The boar let out a guttural roar and exploded forward, earth kicking up beneath its hooves.
Corrin's voice cut through the rush.
"Wait…"
The boar crossed the distance in a blink, even behind trees, it seemed to know their exact locations.
"—NOW!"
They both emerged from the trees. Lumi slammed her shield forward and activated Guard Up just as the tusks were about to hit.
The impact thundered through the forest.
For a split second, everything froze.
Then the Dire Boar reeled back, legs skidding as its charge broke awkwardly, head snapping up with a pained snort.
He slipped behind it, drawing his rusted dagger in one smooth motion and driving it straight into the exposed rear.
[Critical Hit!]
The boar screeched, its HP bar plunging, nearly half gone in an instant.
But instead of falling—
It roared.
The ground shook as the Dire Boar thrashed violently, muscles bulging as it entered Phase Two.
Corrin was thrown back, boots skidding through dirt as he barely kept his footing.
Lumi took the hit head-on, shield raised—but even then, she was sent sliding several steps back.
The Dire Boar snorted, foam dripping from its mouth as its eyes locked onto them again.
Corrin pushed himself upright, eyes sharp.
"…Okay," he muttered. "Now it's serious."
The Dire Boar screamed and charged wildly across the forest. Way faster this time.
"Cooldown?" Corrin shouted.
Lumi barely had time to roll out of the way as the boar tore past her, tusks carving a trench through the dirt.
"Twenty seconds!" she yelled back. "Guard Up's twenty!"
Corrin cursed under his breath.
"That's too long!"
The boar skidded, twisted, and charged again, wild and erratic.
Corrin dodged cleanly, boots sliding across the ground as he slipped past the charge by inches.
Lumi wasn't so lucky.
She moved late.
A tusk clipped her side.
"Gah—!"
Her HP dipped.
Not a lot.
But enough.
She barely had time to regain her footing before the boar spun and charged again.
Corrin shouted, "Left—no, LEFT!"
Her shield caught part of it, but her SPD stat just wasn't there. The impact sent her stumbling, another chunk of HP shaved off.
"…I can't dodge it!" she gasped.
Corrin's eyes flicked to her status.
Shit. Even if Guard Up came back. She wouldn't have enough HP to block another charge head-on.
"You can't block the next one," he said.
"What?" Lumi shot him a look. "Then what do we do?!"
The Dire Boar roared and lowered its head again.
Corrin didn't answer.
He moved.
He sprinted straight toward Lumi and slammed in behind her, pressing his shoulder against the back of her shield just as the boar charged.
"Corrin—what are you—"
"Brace," he said. "NOW!"
The impact hit like a landslide.
The shield bent under the force.
Lumi cried out as the blow shoved her backward—
But not all of it hit her.
Corrin felt it instead.
Pain exploded through his arms and shoulders as he took the brunt of the force, his boots carving deep grooves into the dirt as he was driven back.
His HP plummeted—nearly two-thirds gone in an instant.
The boar recoiled again, confused, momentum broken for just a fraction of a second.
Corrin gasped, teeth clenched.
"…That," he wheezed, "shouldn't have worked."
Lumi stared at him, wide-eyed.
"You—did you just—"
Corrin didn't answer.
He was already moving.
He slipped behind the boar as it staggered, dagger raised—
—and drove it home.
[Critical Hit!]
The Dire Boar staggered once.
Then collapsed.
Its massive body hit the forest floor with a heavy thud, dirt and leaves scattering before it dissolved into a pile of convenient scrap and materials.
Corrin let out a long breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"…Alright," he muttered.
He straightened, rolled his shoulders despite the lingering ache, and slid the dagger back into its holster with a practiced motion.
Behind him—
"We did it!"
Lumi threw her arms up, practically bouncing on her heels.
"We actually did it!" she said, staring at the fallen boar like it might get back up. "We might be the first people to hunt down a Dire Boar!"
Corrin glanced over at her, then at the boar.
A slow grin tugged at his lips.
"Yup," he said casually. "You know me."
She laughed, clearly riding the high, then stopped.
Her eyes drifted back to him.
Up and down.
Lingering a second longer than before.
"…Okay," Lumi said slowly. "Real talk."
Corrin raised an eyebrow. "Uh oh."
She planted her hands on her hips.
"That thing was level five," she said. "I'm level three. My Guard Up timing was perfect, thanks to you, and I still almost got folded."
She gestured vaguely to where he'd braced behind her shield.
"But that?"
Corrin scratched the back of his head. "Lucky guess?"
She stared at him.
He smiled back.
Lumi sighed.
"…You're hiding something," she said again.
Corrin didn't deny it.
Instead, he glanced down at his HP bar, still painfully low.
"Hey, if a Ranker doesn't gatekeep," he shrugged, "are they really a Ranker?"
Lumi stared at him.
Then she snorted.
"…You're unbelievable."
Just like that, the tension evaporated.
She crouched by the pile of scrap and materials, already rummaging through it with renewed enthusiasm.
"But hey," she added cheerfully, "as long as you keep doing that, I'm not gonna complain."
She scooped up a drop and held it up triumphantly.
"See? Profit!"
Corrin chuckled, holding out his hand.
"Remember the deal," he said. "Sixty–forty. Actually—seventy–thirty, since you didn't do any damage."
Lumi stared at him, then reluctantly plopped a large tusk along with the monster core in his hand, face scrunched up the whole time.
"Ugh," she said. "Stingy."
Lumi dusted her hands off and stood, stretching like the fight had barely registered.
"Alright," she said cheerfully. "Next one's mine. I need to make that loss back."
Corrin pocketed the loot and glanced down the road ahead.
The forest thinned there, the path widening just enough to suggest it actually led somewhere. Sunlight filtered through the canopy in broken streaks, and beyond it—
Progress.
"Let's keep moving," he said.
Lumi nodded, already stepping forward. "Haven won't clear itself."
Corrin followed, the ache in his arms still lingering as the trees slowly closed in behind them.
The road ahead stretched forward, waiting for someone to come solve its many quests.
Although…It just didn't expect an NPC.