Chapter61

Pushed
In Ouro, humans grew stronger by raising their Shard count through combat, training, and surviving situations that should have led to their death. One Shard became two, two became three, and every step up meant more power and better control.
Monsters followed the same ladder, but they did not just get stronger when their Shards increased. Their bodies evolved, twisting into new forms with different instincts, tougher frames, and sometimes entirely new abilities.
That was the problem Hajin was staring at right now. A dead two-Shard boar was turning into a three-Shard monster in front of him, and if he let the change finish, this fight would get a lot worse.
It clicked fast once he saw the cracks in its body sealing while the third Shard spun faster around its tusks. 
"It was already evolving before we got here," he muttered, circling to the side with his sword up, "that's why it stayed alive even after Juna tore its face open."
'Such terrible timing,' he thought, kicking off the ground while the boar lowered its head and snarled through blood. 'Out of all fights, this one decides to evolve now.'
He leaped high and brought the sword down toward its skull with both hands, putting everything into the drop. The boar raised one thick forearm and caught the blow, the blade hitting with a hard clang that stopped dead without cutting into the skin.
"Heh, figures," he said, pushing off its arm before it could grab him.