Hours into Arthur's journey into the woods, he finds himself in a bush, hiding from 3 goblins that are frantically looking to kill him.
[Where'd all that spunk from earlier go?] Rex asks, teasing Arthur for running and hiding.
"Oh shut up ,Rex," He replies, whispering as lightly as he can to avoid being spotted. "And I didn't run, this is a tactical retreat."
[Sure, if you say so,] He says, sarcastically.
"Could you please shut it? I'm trying to think right now," He silently yells, annoyance visibly displayed on his face. "Now where do I even begin?"
He closes his eyes, deeply thinking of what to do about his current predicament. He finally comes up with an idea and his eyes widen.
"I got it!" He says excitedly, still trying to keep a low voice. "It's risky but it's worth a shot. Here goes nothing."
He leaps out of the bush, clenching his fist and extending his arm backward, then swinging it forward in a fierce motion. The punch connects, expelling explosive force and crushing the goblin's skull into the ground, creating a loud boom noise.
[That's 50% of your aether gone,] Rex alerts.
"I know," He responds, drawing his sword then making a swift turn and dashing towards the other two goblins, betting everything on this single strike.
He closes the gap, gripping his sword with both hands and extending his arms as far back as he can to exude as much force as possible.
He swings the sword with all his might, decapitating the one closest to him. However, the second one narrowly dodges as the sword lost its momentum from slicing through the first goblin and gets lodged in a tree.
Arthur, not accounting for the countless variables on a battlefield panics, losing focus. The goblin finally getting its opportunity, slashes Arthur's arm, making a deep cut across his arm and forcing him to let go of his sword.
He takes a couple steps backwards, placing his hand on the gash and applying pressure to try and slowly down the bleeding. But the goblin gives him no space to recover. It charges at him, swinging its blade at his stomach but Arthur narrowly escapes a fatal slash to the gut by taking a few steps further back and only ending up with a graze.
He screams in pain, mustering up enough strength to kick it away as he falls to the ground. He looks from left to right, frantically looking for something to fight back with.
He sees the weapon dropped by the first one he killed just a meter away. He crawls towards the blade with all the strength he has remaining, blood still gushing from his wounds.
He drags himself across the ground, beads of sweat dripping uncontrollably, as he desperately tries to reach the weapon.
At the same time the goblin shakes off from its daze, grabbing its weapon and charging at Arthur yet again. But he manages to get a hold of the blade, just narrowly parrying the attack aimed at him and using the force to roll away.
He pushes against the ground, breathing heavily and slowly coming to a stand.
[You're losing too much blood, Arthur,] Rex alerts, with concern in his tone.
"Really? I didn't notice!" Arthur replies, sarcastically as he groans in pain. "It feels like I'll dying just from standing. I need to ends this quickly or I'll actually die."
He stands, barely able to keep straight as he watches the goblin come at him once again. "Sigh, why doesn't it just give up already," He says to himself, gripping his blade tight and preparing for his last counterattack.
It leaps at him, aiming its blade straight at Arthur's head. Right before it lands, Arthur ducks and thrusts his blade straight into the goblin's chest, piercing its heart and finally killing it.
He falls to the ground, exhausted and out of breath, leaving his weapon lodged inside the goblin. He inhales and exhales rapidly, trying as hard as he can to control his breath so he doesn't pass out.
Ultimately he succumbs to exhaustion and passes out. A few hours pass and he starts waking up. His eyes flutter, as he struggles to open them. He finally opens his eyes but his vision is hazy from being knocked out for so long.
He pushes himself up onto his elbows with careful movements and finally to a seating position, before gathering the strength to speak. "How long was I passed out this time?"
[A little over 5 hours.]
"Damn," He exclaims, looking down at his bloodstained shirt. "I'm surprised I'm not dead from losing all this blood."
[Well your body has become quite durable as of late so I wouldn't be so surprised if I were you.]
"The cut on my arm is pretty deep. It'll probably take a while before it completely heals," He says, lifting up his shirt to check the wound on his stomach. "Huh, this one's already healed up."
He puts down his torn up shirt, pushes himself off the ground and stands up straight, wobbling a little. He moves towards the goblins, barely able to walk and he crouches, absorbing their aether one by one and healing his wounds gradually.
"That should do it," He says, feeling a bit more energetic than before. "Now that I'm done here, I should head to the next target."
[Don't be reckless Arthur. Anymore and you might actually die. Look at yourself, you can barely walk.]
"I can't stop now, Rex," He insists, dragging his body as if carrying a heavy load. "I need to get stronger."
[I admire your determination, but destroying your body won't do you any good. It's time to call it a day.]
Arthur pauses for a while, thinking heavily about what Rex just said to him and he finally concedes. He turns around and walks back to the cave.
Hours pass as he walks down the path back to the cave and eventually night falls. He reaches the cave all battered and tired, but he stops right at the entrance.
"Why does it smell like someone is cooking?" He asks, trying to figure out what's going on.
He walks in to the sight of his mom roasting what seems to be a rabbit over a bare flame. The aroma hits his nostrils, causing his mouth to water as he hadn't eaten a proper meal in almost a week.
She notices him and rushes towards him, frantically inspecting his body as she sees his bloodstained shirt, before asking. "Are you okay? How on earth did you end up like this?"
"I'm fine," He answers, lifting up his shirt as he speaks. "See? All my wounds are healed, so there's nothing to worry about mom."
"Just because you heal fast doesn't mean I won't worry about you," She voices, placing her hands on his face and gently rubbing his cheeks with her thumb. "You're still my baby."
"Don't say that mom, it's embarrassing," He says, placing his hands over hers as his face turns red from embarrassment. "Anyway, enough about me. What's happening over there? Where'd you get a rabbit?" He adds pointing at the meat being cooked.
She turns and looks at it then turns back to face Arthur, before speaking. "It just happened to be passing by when I caught it," Giggling before she continues. "You're not the only one with skills you know," Walking away and sitting in front of the flame.
He stands quietly, as he watches her walk back.
"What're you doing standing over there? You must be hungry, come have some," She says, motioning for him to take a seat.
He smiles as he walks, taking a seat and cutting a piece of meat. They eat and chat for hours until finally he falls asleep.
"Good night Arthur," She whispers, kissing him on the forehead before putting out the charcoal embers and going to sleep too.
[END]
To be continued…