I walked through the thick blanket of snow, my boots sinking deep into the drifts with each step. My gloved hand clutched the sliced head of the Raiders' Captain, my fingers turning numb from the cold.
"Hahh...I ran too far away," I muttered to myself, more for the company than anything else.
"You sure did," a small voice answered from behind me.
I sighed as I looked over my shoulder to see Valdi, the weird child of the village who had a peculiar desire to become the 'Next Reaper of the woods'. It felt as if the little shit almost idolized me.
"What do you want?" I asked him in a grim tone.
"Holy- Is that a severed head?!" he said, ignoring my question.
"Go away, kid. I do not have the time to deal with Shitlings like you." I tried to buzz him off and kept moving.
But he had other plans. He started walking with me and continued, "Well, I would. But no one in the village ever plays with me, you see. They say I'm 'weird'. But I couldn't care less, Their opinion won't matter once I'm the Rea-."
"Shut the fuck up," I said while still walking.
"...," he stopped in his tracks.
After a moment, he shouted, "I will become strong one day! And then YOU will have to shut up when I become The Next Reaper of the woods!"
Sighing, I turned around to his angry face and said, "There is no 'Reaper of the woods,' ya dumb fuck. It's just a title, nothing else."
He stayed silent for a moment, then continued to walk beside me.
"Say...How do you win battles so easily?" he said as if he wasn't tearing up a moment ago.
"I win battles because I train. Perhaps one day you can win one too, if you train."
"BAHAHAHAHA, are you kidding? You NEVER train! Tell me the truth...What's your secret?! How do you win battles so easily?" the brat exclaimed.
"Well, I guess the title does help me win battles," I said.
"I knew it! Can you tell me how to get the title?"
"You gotta earn it."
"Well, how do I earn it?"
"You gotta defeat some formidable warriors."
"Are you serious? Look at me, how can I defeat anyone, let alone formidable warriors?"
"You train," I said as I smirked at him.
He looked speechless for a second. But then shouted, "Huh, alright! I shall train! I shall train till the end of days!" and went running towards the village.
He's the only one in the village that dares to make a talk with me, besides Herlin. Maybe he is weird after all...
I opened the door of Herlin's cabin and walked towards his table.
"Ahhh! Here comes my hero. How did it go?"
I kept my grimly stare as I reached behind and untied the severed head from my belt and threw it on the table.
"Hah, thought so," said Herlin, smirking.
"But why'd you kill him? You usually leave the leaders alive," he said.
"He ran in the face of Death. Wasn't worth keeping alive," I replied.
"What was the problem with that?" he asked.
"A man who fears death would never do anything worthy of a man who is alive," I stated.
"Wow...where did you learn that from?" Herlin replied with a cocky smile.
Ignoring his statement, I turned to walk out.
"Wait! I have some work for you to do," he said.
"What now?" I asked angrily.
"They say there's a guy that's come into the Town's Tavern."
"And what do you want me to do about it?"
"His name is Sakaar," said Herlin.
"You mean...the Colossus, Sakaar?" I asked in utter shock.
"Yes, the Colossus. Be kind enough to go and ask him why he is here."
"Why me?" I asked.
"Well, no one else dares to go and talk to him. Why not send the Reaper of the Woods?"
"Call me that again and I'll make sure to hang your old ass in front of the town hall for all folks to see," I threatened.
"Ooh, threatening the beloved Earl, are we?" he replied with a chuckle.
I grunted. "You make me sick," I said before storming out of his cabin. I could hear his faint chuckle behind the door.
As I walked to the Town Tavern, people looked at me in horror, perhaps because I was covered in Raider's blood. I finally reached the tavern and was about to smash the door open when a worker stopped me.
"You can't take your weapons inside," he said, looking scared for his life.
I sighed and threw my armor and weapons aside. He flinched at the sound of them hitting the ground. "What a sorry excuse for a man," I thought to myself. "May I go now?" I asked with a sarcastic smile on my face.
He hesitantly nodded, and I went inside. I have to say, the energy in the tavern was different today. Usually, everyone goes silent when I enter, but today they couldn't care less about me. They were already busy looking at someone else. I followed their gaze, and there he was - the Colossus.