We came to an abrupt stop. I looked around, and the male elf had disappeared from my view. I glanced up at the female elf, and she was staring intently into the distance, crouched down. I tilted my head towards where she was looking. A dark, humanoid figure that I could barely make out was in the distance. What was it, I wondered? A box popped up:

[Skill Identify Activated.]

The word “(Orc)” appeared over the head of the being in the distance.

“An orc?” I blurted out. The female elf quickly clasped a hand over my mouth. The orc turned its head towards us, and I felt a cold shiver run down my spine. Whoops.

Another figure dropped from the trees above, and it looked like the orc’s head came off. The banner disappeared. I let out a muffled gasp. The female elf covered my eyes with her other hand. I guess she hadn’t intended for me to see that. She then sang some soft, flowing words to me. It was enchanting. My eyelids became heavy and a yawn slipped out. The soothing melody was somehow putting me to sleep even though I was filled with adrenaline. I decided I didn’t want to sleep yet. I needed to have words with the system first. I began to consciously fight it. After a short while, the feeling passed, and the female elf gave me a strange look as I received a notification.

[Congratulations, you have successfully resisted a minor sleep spell. Will has increased. That should not be possible for a five-year-old, but look at you go.]

I quietly mumbled some words as her hand still covered my mouth. “This must be a computer game. The word ‘Orc’ is not that old; it was made by Tolkien and was short for Oxford rugby club. You can send me home now and be done with this simulation.”

[Not a simulation. Next time, I will have to take a human that has not seen the Matrix movies. As for the Orc, this is a translation to the closest word that matches what you would understand for them. Your realm is so rich with imagination and stories that even if a tangible comparison does not exist, there will be a work of fiction I can pull from. Seeing as how my efforts to better make you understand the world around you are not appreciated, the next thing you identify won’t be translated for you, but given its native name.]

“Fine,” I mumbled and got a soft whack to the head and a stern look. I guess I am not supposed to make noise.

A branch snapping noise occurred, causing the female elf to jump out of the way of a mace crashing into a tree. She released her hands from my face and pulled her bow and arrows out so fast I could not see them move. The new orc swung around lightning fast towards us, and three arrows flew from her bow at the same time, but the orc had somehow blocked them with his mace. I pooped myself. “How is this still happening to me?” I said in shock and disgust. The orc swung his mace at us and the elf jumped swiftly to the side. The back of an arrow stuck to the mace got caught on the cloth I was bundled in, pulling me out of the elf’s arms, and I went flying to the ground face-first into the moss-covered ground. It hurt and I could still not move as I was wrapped tight. All I could see was moss as my face was buried in it, making it hard to breathe. My arm stung. There was lots of crashing and banging above me. I hoped the elf woman would be okay. I was so dumb. If this were a game, they had cranked the pain settings up to max. No one would want to play a game with pain settings. Would they? I blame teenagers. Something heavy landed on my back and the pain intensified sharply before the sweet relief of passing out took me. My last thought was good riddance to this world.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

I was not blessed with a return to my old life. I awoke to a headache and blurry vision. My whole body was itchy with pinpricks all around me. I tried to breathe in deeply, but it hurt. A bunch of almost identical notices appeared.

[You have received minor healing: Fractured rib has been fused. Soreness will persist for a few days.]

[You have received minor healing: Your lungs have been healed to a minimum working state. Yay you won’t die right away but take it easy for the next 6 months or find a better healer.]

[You have received minor healing: Minor concussion has been reduced to dizziness.]

[You have received minor healing: Broken arm has fused. 3 months recovery still needed.]

[You have received minor healing: Damaged muscles partly restored.]

[You have received minor healing: Minor injuries and light bruising repaired.]

[You have received minor healing: Spell ineffective. Too low of level to produce further healing.]

[You have received minor healing: Spell ineffective. Too low of level to produce further healing. Now he is just wasting mana.]

[You have come close to death but survived an Orc attack. New trait acquired: Durable.]

As my vision slowly returned, I could make out what looked to be a relieved look on the male elf’s face. I started giggling at the ridiculousness of this. A few hours ago, he was going to kill me and now he is doing everything he can to save me. As the itchy feeling faded, the cold air started becoming notable. I looked down and I was now free of the restrictive wrap but once again in the state I was when I came into this world. I blushed with embarrassment and then shame as the female elf cleaned my bottom like I was a baby before wrapping me in a new wrap. “This sucks,” I mumbled as my chest thrummed in pain as it was breathe.

We then headed back off back into the woods. She had me now facing towards her chest. Every time I tried to talk, my lungs continued to hurt so I gave up on that. I could not see anything as we moved. This made the trip very boring and uncomfortable. I wished she would cast that sleep spell again. I am sure it would work now that I wanted to be asleep, but no, I was wide awake probably because of that healing spell or it could be the pain, definitely the pain. The rest of the very long trip was profoundly uncomfortable with nothing to do and my few painful mumbling words were not enough to get a response from the system. I guess an uneventful trip was better than almost dying in a humiliating way again.

It was dusk by the time we stopped moving. The female elf unstrapped me then said some soothing words to me. We are beside a cliff wall with heavy trees around us. The male elf was rapidly building what looked to be a shelter. The speed and grace that elf moved at was astonishing. It was not long before I was placed into a bed made with thick moss. The male elf came up to me again and spoke some words as he put his hands on me. A soft yellow light glowed from his hands and the pain subsided.

[You have received minor healing: Minor injuries and light bruising repaired.]

I smiled. “Thank you,” I said, knowing full well he would not understand but had nothing else I could say or do. He has now saved my life twice. Finally, my little child body became exhausted and I gratefully drifted to sleep.