Bait and kite

Kaden's heart raced. The priestess of the moon—famed for pushing back abominations long enough for humanity to survive in the previous timeline—was lying unconscious in a damp clearing overrun by kobolds. What on earth was she doing here?

A thousand questions tore at his mind. She was a high-profile figure, revered for her unique healing magic and unwavering courage—so how had she wound up captured by a band of kobolds this early in the world's new "Evolution Process"? It should've been impossible.

Kaden swallowed hard, silently cursing as he weighed the situation. The priestess's silver hair splayed across her shoulders, and even in an unconscious state, her presence radiated an odd calm—or maybe he was just remembering how she'd once rallied entire cities with her mere appearance. Somehow she ended up here… abducted before she could even reach level 5.

That's right. Maybe she was weak and vulnerable at the moment because she had yet to embark on her path and select a class. Maybe she had become powerful only later and not in these initial days.

All of that aside, Kaden felt extremely nervous at the moment. What was he supposed to do now? Should he risk his life and save this woman? She did not need his help in the last life, so logically nothing should have changed now?

Kaden stared at the kobolds for a few seconds when two words popped into his mind.

Butterfly effect!

The last time around he had spent the first three days silently groaning in pain and didn't exactly do anything. 

But this time, he started hunting the kobolds. What if that had set some things in motion and because of which the priestess got captured? What if she never got the chance to become the priestess because of him?

Were all those people she had saved going to die now? Was he supposed to save them instead? Or was he supposed to save her here and now to correct and realign the fate?

Kaden felt as if his thought process was spiraling and he was not being productive. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.

While he did intend to become stronger and change the future, he did not consider himself to be some sort of mythical hero. He did not have any grand plans of saving the entire world. He wanted to. If he could, he would. But he was not prepared to die for it.

As for the woman in front of him, he had been on the receiving end of her kindness in his last life. Even though she probably had no idea who he was, she still saved him just like she saved many others.

Maybe it was that gratitude or maybe because of him that her fate was altered, Kaden didn't feel good about watching her suffer. It would weigh heavily on his conscious if he abandoned her without even trying to rescue her.

"No promises, Priestess." He clenched his fists and started making a plan. In his current state, rushing a large group of kobolds head-on was tantamount to suicide. If he died here, then whatever chance he had at changing the future would be lost.

He needed to do something else. Something smarter.

So, Plan B: find something else to do the heavy lifting.

Kaden thought for a moment before shaking his head. It was a stupid idea but this was the best he could come up with. "Wait for me." He glanced at the woman one more time and left the area. He retraced his steps back to the boar territory.

During his previous life, these boars had been a menace, roaming in territorial herds and capable of ripping through lower-ranked adventurers. This time, however, he could try turning that danger to his advantage.

It didn't take long for him to stumble upon a herd. Kaden instantly put his plan into motion. He had no illusions about how dangerous this was—provoking a herd of territorial boars was nearly as foolhardy as charging the kobolds himself. 

However, he did not have a lot of time to act more strategically. A straightforward bait and kite would have to work. He had to make it work. If this worked, he might turn the boars' aggression on the kobolds, creating enough chaos to grab the priestess and run.

He crouched behind a large root protruding from the forest floor, scanning the herd from a safe distance. There were twenty boars in total, each sporting thick, bristly coats and wicked tusks. 

The largest among them pawed the ground with a snort, probably an elite. Its bulk alone was intimidating, easily outweighing Kaden by a considerable margin.

His heart thudded in his chest. Just one solid hit from that elite could flatten me. Still, he clutched his spear, took a slow breath, and readied himself. If he could bait them all back toward the kobold clearing, the inevitable clash might let him slip in and rescue the priestess.

Steeling his nerves, Kaden grabbed a fist-sized stone. Here goes. He hurled it at the nearest boar. The projectile smacked its hide with a dull thud, bouncing off into the undergrowth. A chorus of enraged squeals erupted.