My eyes tracked the motion of a rabbit-like creature hopping across the grass. A loud grumble in my stomach reminded me of the creeping hunger— that and the fact that I was salivating at the thought of having meat for dinner. The fruits I'd taken from Limea earlier ran out shortly after I escaped. Only a few hours have passed since then, but the endless walk had chipped away at my energy.
Pulling out my bow, I took an arrow and lined it up. However, as I went to pull the bow back, I realized something. Try as I might, I failed to pull the bow back even by a couple of inches.
"What the hell?" I grunted as I tried pulling it back once more. It refused to bend, and my weakness became disappointingly apparent. Unable to give up so quickly, I tried again a few more times using other techniques. Planting my feet onto the belly side of the bow, I pulled back on the string with both hands.
Holding my breath as I drew the bow back, I flattened out my body and felt it shake as the tension grew stronger. I exhaled sharply before taking another deep breath, but I felt something go down my windpipe as I inhaled. Choking suddenly, my body curled in, and the string was released. The arrow was sent flying, and as it swooshed, I heard the sound of a squeal.
Pushing myself up, I ran towards the general direction of the arrow. When I arrived, I saw that the arrow had struck the rabbit on its leg. It squirmed around as it tried desperately to hop away. Watching the rabbit gave me a sense of guilt. Having just survived an encounter similar to this, I couldn't help but feel a sense of empathy. Although, those thoughts were quickly drowned out by the sound of my stomach's desire for food.
Drawing my dagger, I carefully placed it on the rabbit's neck. My goal was to make it quick and painless. One deep breath, then another. Calming my nerves, I lowered the blade down. The rabbit winced as the cold steel moved through its fur and touched its skin. One swift movement was all it would take. Knowing this, I raised my blade once more and drove it down into its neck.
At least, I thought I did. My blade landed right beneath my target, driven into the ground.
"I can't do it," I grumbled, placing my head on the ground. "I mean, I've never killed anything before... and I don't want to just..."
A heavy groan escaped my lips before I removed the arrow from the rabbit's foot. No longer bound to the ground, it quickly limped away into a shrub of bushes. My stomach rumbled aggressively, a pain emerging in my stomach as if to punish me for letting my dinner escape. Falling back onto the ground, I counted my options.
There was no point in returning to Limea. Although I had initially run in a straight line, somewhere along my path, there were so many turns and twists that it was impossible for me to intentionally return. Besides, I wasn't willing to risk another encounter with the skeleton. There were some berries on the bushes around the field, but I wasn't sure if they were poisonous or not. If all else failed, there was also the option of just eating tree bark and grass...
Not willing to do the first or the last, I rolled over to a nearby shrub of bushes with mildly appealing berries hanging from them. Maybe it was the hunger, but they looked extremely appetizing. Picking a handful of them, I held them up to my nose and sniffed it. Of course, there wasn't much of a smell, but it was worth trying. Before I placed them into my mouth, a thought crossed my mind.
'What if they were poisonous?'
I wasn't really fond of dying. I wasn't a fan of slow deaths, either. Knowing that eating these berries could very well bring either or, I hesitated. After a moment of thinking, I came to a conclusion.
I was going to march as much as I could in search of a settlement, and I'd have a bunch of berries just in case. If I really needed to eat them, then I would.
"I guess that'll work," I muttered. "Sorry, stomach... you'll have to wait."
A grumble accompanied by a pain in my stomach seemed to disagree with my idea, but it was what had to be done. Filling up my pouch with nearby berries, I spun around twice with my finger pointing outward. After stopping, I looked toward the direction of my finger and looked out toward the forest.
"Looks like this is the way to go, huh?"
Rubbing my stomach to soothe the hunger, I began my march. The forest was thick, but as time went on, I found it easier to traverse through the vines and branches. As I made my way through, I found a few new fruits. Some were too big for me to place into my pouch, but others were small enough to cram in between the berries. There were also a few large monsters walking around the forest. There were a few large orcs and a couple of boar-like creatures. However, compared to the skeleton, they were much easier to sneak around.
As much as I wanted to enact my fantasy dream of defeating a large enemy, I knew well that my strength was not nearly enough to leave even a scratch. After a while, my legs eventually began to shake from the hunger. Feeling it overtake me, I looked down at my pouch. As much as I wanted to avoid this route, if there was no choice, there was no choice.
But as I placed my hand into my pouch, the smell of roasting meat caught my attention. My body turned towards the source, and before I knew it, I was already running there. As I approached, I began to slow down and hide behind some bushes. In front of me was a small camp of four goblins in a small clearing. I heard them speaking in a language foreign to me. They seemed to be laughing amongst each other.
As they cackled, one of the goblins dragged out a sack of trinkets, along with a bag that had blood leaking from it. As they emptied the bag, I felt a sick sensation run up my spine. My hunger had faded at the sight of a bloodied body no less than a teenager's age. They seemed to have adventurer's cloak on, similar to the one I'd taken from the guild in Limea. Covering my mouth to prevent myself from vomiting, I couldn't help but avert my gaze.
Were they dead...? I shuffled around the bushes to get a closer look, making extra careful steps so as not to alert them. The goblins continued to laugh and cackle as they taunted the child. Initially, I was planning to steal the meat and outrun them. But something about this situation didn't sit right. My body froze at the sight of a twitching finger.
The child was alive, although barely. I wasn't sure if the goblins were aware or not, but they must've been playing dead. There was no way I could leave them be now. A part of me wanted to go in recklessly and kill them all. After all, they were only goblins, right?
Maybe if I had been raised in this world. But I was raised in an era of peace. There was no need to vigorously train yourself for these things. We had advanced weaponry, and on top of that, there was no need to kill to begin with. There was no way I'd be able to take on all four of them as it stood. But I couldn't just leave.
Taking a deep breath, I collected my thoughts. While I couldn't just brute force this, I did have another option. Picking up a small stone, I flicked it towards a tree nearby. I watched as the goblins' ears perked up, and their laughter ceased. Two of them left and moved closer to the sound, while the other two stayed to watch the child. They moved through the bushes, just like I'd planned. Stepping between the leaves and the branches, I went towards the ones guarding the child.
There was too much shrubbery and foliage in the area, so the two went to investigate. If I attacked them there, the noise was sure to bring out the others. But the other two were in a clearing, so dealing with them would prove easy as long as I didn't make too much noise. But they were on edge; I needed them to direct their attention somewhere.
The goblins turned their head to a sound of rustling in a nearby bush. Heavily breathing, they slowly stepped closer to check what made the sound. They drew their crude weapons made of stone and wood, pointing them toward the source of the sound.
Quietly, silently. I stilled my breath as I crept up behind one of the goblins. I felt my heart beating in my throat as I reached my hands forward. In one swift movement, I pulled the goblin back, restraining its movements with my legs. I covered its mouth tightly with a cloth that I'd cut off from my clothes. If I stabbed it quickly, it would make noise. Slowly, I drove the blade into the goblin's chest, feeling it bite against the cloth while desperately trying to break free.
I felt a sickening feeling in my gut as I felt the blade cutting through skin and tissue. Even more so after the frantic movements of the goblin finally came to an end.
'Don't think,' I told myself. 'There's a kid's life on the line right now. Just do it.'
Calming my nerves, I went behind the other goblin and quickly pinned it to the ground. Since there was nobody around, I quickly drove the dagger into the back of the goblin, restraining it with my knee until it stopped moving. I gulped as a chill ran down my spine. I'd just taken two lives. Two living, breathing creatures. My hands trembled as I removed the blade from its back before turning to the child. They weren't bound by any ropes, so I assumed the goblins thought they were already dead.
I was going to walk over to the child when I heard the sound of quickly approaching rustling. Turning over to the sound, I saw the other two goblins approaching from the bushes. They looked at the blood dripping from my dagger and then at their fallen colleagues. After a moment of silence, they let out a fierce cry. I felt a strange sensation in my stomach as if I'd heard this kind of scream before. Despite that, I held my dagger out. If there's one thing I learned from reading fantasy stories, it's that hesitation kills.
They charged at me, their attacks crashing down heavily. I surely would've died if I hadn't sneakily killed the first two. The goblins' attacks were frantic and fueled by anger; each hit being faster and harder than the last. The only reason I was able to survive was because their attacks were telegraphed. I was able to read their attacks, but that didn't mean I had the reaction time to dodge it well. Every time I moved, a small piece of their attack connected.
Bruises and cuts began to build up on my body as I clumsily stepped away from each strike. Eventually, the adrenaline began to run out, and I felt my hunger coming back to bite me. The pain also began to settle in, as well as the sight of blood and death. I felt myself stumble for a moment, and that was all it took for them to knock me to the ground. Lifting my head up, I saw the goblins approaching me with murderous intent.
"Damn it," I grunted. "What the hell is wrong with me?"
I coughed as I gripped the hilt of my dagger. I thought back to when I was reading a novel with a similar setting. Oh, the anger I felt when the main character went out of his way to put his life on the line for a random stranger. I never really understood the reason why until now. I don't know what changed, but something did.
"I'm just as bad as he is," I chuckled. "But I don't care... I'd rather die than let that regret hang over me!"
As I spoke, a feeling surged up from within me. It was as if the desire to live suddenly sprouted from inside me. Like a seed blooming in my chest, something told me that I couldn't die here. Not right now.
'Desperately struggle, if you must.'
I planted my hand onto the ground, preparing to push myself to the side. If they did hit me, I would lose an arm, but at the very least, I would--
"Piercer!"
Within a single moment, I watched the goblins get skewered by a stone spike. Their bodies flew to the side and were stuck to a tree. My eyes moved over to the source of the spell, the child that was on the ground earlier. They stumbled up to me, covered in blood. Holding their hand out and pointing it at me, another spike formed above my head.
"I... want answers."