*****Author's Note*****
Sooooo I have not yet figured out how to properly use the BB code to create the Tables. I'll be experimenting with it for a bit, so for now please bear with it. I will try to fix it ASAP
Special Thanks to Sharon
****************************************************************************************************
Chapter 4:
-Alfred’s POV-
A ray of light filters through a half-broken window, arousing me from my comatose sleep again. I barely open my eyes as I hang by the chains. How many days has it been? Weeks? Years? It takes a few long seconds to recall. 3700 days, today it seems.
Exactly ten years since the fall of the great lord. Ten years since the invasion by the detestable Bladvund and his cohorts. Ten years since I failed to rescue his son. Ten years since I saw any living thing, other than the occasional insect or rat.
How many more years before this accursed body finally gives out? I can barely conjure up enough water to fill a glass on a daily basis thanks to this abhorrent restrains, thus I can’t even quench my thirst properly. But perhaps this is proper. After all, my failure was great. If I had been able to rescue the young master, things could have been different. I might have been able to rejoin the fight. I might have saved the Forest Lord. I might have preserved a part of our beloved home.
But I could not do it back then. As a butler and as a guard, I have failed miserably when it mattered the most. This failure surely is a grave sin and as such, I who have so gravely sinned, must be punished.
Creeeiiik~
Sounds like hinges from an old door are creaking and wood is splintering. This mansion has been unattended for a decade… A door must have finally started to give out, or else it must be the wind filtering through some hole in the mansion again, pushing against the door.
Or so I thought, until I heard someone gasp.
Instinctively I looked up, fixing my gaze upon the doorway intensely. My frustration was about to reach new heights, as I was sure that I was finally going insane.
Before me an apparition presented itself. The ghost of the child I failed to save. His appearance was the same as I had last seen him: a mane of wild black hair, teeth that seem just a little too sharp for a human, a strong jaw line inherited from his father, a skin tanned like bronze, deep green eyes, and defined muscles fit for a warrior. The only difference is that faint scar upon his chest.
I want to rage for a moment, and to tear apart the illusion before me. If it be a mere illusion from my mind, let it not stand there and watch me in my despair! Even if it’s a figment of my imagination, it must not sully the last moments of the deceased young master.
But then our eyes met. His eyes were not hollow like I expected, but instead, they shined like those of a child who had just seen the world for the first time. Those eyes were vibrant, full of life and energy. It is then that all my senses told me the truth. This creature was not a ghost from the past, nor an specter from the dead. It was the young master in the flesh.
0-0-0-0-0
I had a dream of the time I met the new young master last night. It was like watching my own memories put on a show for me, a perfect theater.
Every detail from that day was clear and crisp in the dream, from the depth of regret I held in my heart, down to the oppressing feeling that the magic restraining chains exerted in my body. Everything I had experienced that day was preserved in a perfect memory. Though perhaps that’s to be expected. What kind of man would not recall all the details of the day of his salvation?
Though I must admit that the ‘new’ young master is quite different from the ‘old’ young master, I will admit I think that the change is for the better. Though he is lacking much of the common sense for one of noble lineage, such as letting servants eat with him, his attitude towards his surroundings has certainly improved. Even in these bleak ruins of what used to be his home, he diligently seeks ways to survive. Anything of use is searched for, from Gerbera’s knowledge to scavenging for supplies in the ruins, he thoroughly examines whatever he gathers.
In the past, the young master would have certainly deemed it all too troublesome and rushed headlong into a quest to revenge for his fallen family. But now, though he at times displays a lonely face, he doesn’t seem to hold much attachment to the destruction of the city or his family.
Perhaps losing his memories is not entirely a curse.
0-0-0-0-0
Young master becomes crestfallen when Gerbera notified him about his… ‘condition’ regarding his lack of ability with magic. Though the young master never did display any great talent towards magic, nor much interest other than magic tools, I still find it odd that he is unable to use magic whatsoever. I am certain that this is related in some way to his return to the world of the living.
Due to the master’s clear disappointment, Gerbera immediately tried to cheer him up with soft words, and flowery encouragement. As much as it pained me to do it, I will have to intervene there. I understand that she cares for the young master, but she must keep in mind that he has forgotten much of what should be common sense and knowledge. Feeding him such sugar-coated words may prove to be dangerous if he truly were to believe them from the bottom of his heart.
I must steel my heart, as much as it pains me to do so, and dispel any misconceptions before they produce problems. Fortunately, the young master seemed more mature after he came back to life. Then again, I suppose that being killed once would force people to change, wouldn’t it? I cut into the conversation and dispel the atmosphere.
“Gerbera, I urge you to not comfort the young master too much.” I try to say in a gentle but firm manner, earning a reproving glare from her. I ignore her glare, and focus my eyes on the young master. “Young master, as much as it pains me to say this, I beg you to pay heed for a moment.”
I start to explain without restraint how serious the situation is. Put simply, most people of every race in this world can use magic to some extent. That is not to say that everyone is a ‘magician,’ ‘wizard,’ or some other such type of entity, but it does means that the young master has a disadvantage compared to the norm.
In addition, though they are usually physically weak, accomplished magic users can use devastating long and midrange attacks if they have enough time to activate a spell. More importantly, skilled magic users have a higher status in society, thanks to their versatility. Accomplished or high ranking mages have status that is fit to rival members of nobility, and in fact, a fair numbers of nobles are magic users of some sort.
The worst of it all is that people that can’t use magic are usually looked down upon. Since more than 97% of people can use magic to some extent, they are an overwhelming majority. In fact, people without the ability to use magic are essentially seen most of the time as ‘defective products’ or lower class citizens.
It is truly unfortunate for the vigorous young master to have developed such a condition. This is all the more true now that the young master had recently told us his wish of traveling the world. This is yet an other thing that has changed from his old self. In the past, he never held any interest for the world outside the village.
But for the sake of the young master, Gerbera and I must do all that we can to help him attain his goal! I have faith that, as long as it’s the young master, he can achieve anything, with a little help. If the master can not use magic, we must grant him other means of self defense. I will not fail him again.
0-0-0-0-0
-Terra’s POV-
Squeeeal!
“This bastard-!” I growl out, leaping out of the way as a carnivorous red boar gallops towards me, fully intent on goring me with its tusks.
“Hohoho! Not bad young master!” Alfred calls out at me, watching the battle from the safety of a high branch on a tree. “As expected of the young master, even normal C-rank monsters have trouble dealing with you!”
Damn it Alfred, pitting me against this violent fellow as training, isn’t it a bit much!?
I resist the urge to look at Alfred, focusing on the enemy in front of me. Unlike the common boar I ate on the night I met Alfred, this one is a C-rank monster called ‘carnivorous red boar.’ This beast is the size of a dairy cow and is known for its violent temperament. It is common in certain areas of the forest that surrounds the fortress.
The boar sure lives up to its reputation for being violent. It rages and turns to look at me with beady black eyes full of hatred. It’s somewhat intimidating to be honest, since it clearly wants me dead. Acting on its rage, the boar charges at me once more, and I’m forced leap to the side once again.
“Damn.” I look about, realizing I’ve been driven against what is essentially a wall of trees. However, I have no time to think about my position, as the boar has already circled around and is coming right at me.
Since this is how it is, let’s try this then!
I get ready, digging my toes into the ground, and my hands reach out, getting ready to receive the boar head on. I make eye contact with the boar, not letting it out of my sight at all.
Batoom!
His tusks collide against my hands, struggling against them. The collision sends vibrations down my body, but I clench grip his tusks and push back as hard as I can. The boar manages to push me back about a meter, until the heel my back foot is just brushing against the root of the nearest tree behind me, before I can fully stop his advance.
The boar is struggling to push forwards but it’s too late. I look right into his hateful eyes, meeting them with resolution. Now that I got you, I won’t let you go at all, you know?
“My turn!” I flex my muscles, tightening my core, and pull upwards his tusks. The boar squeals angrily as its body starts to be lifted off the ground, but it’s futile. Growling, I jerk my arms up above my head and then swing them down violently, slamming the boar against the ground hard enough to make the ground tremble briefly.
“Still awake? You stubborn piece of…” I click my tongue and repeat the process one more time, before swinging the boar against the trees behind me, splintering their surface. At last the boar is immobile. The toughness of this guy is quite something.
“There. Finally.” I grunt, standing up straight. Looking over at Alfred, I see him drop from a branch 7 meters above ground and land perfectly, with such ease that he might as well have jumped off a chair.
This fellow… it’s not the first time that I’ve thought of it, but this fellow is certainly strong. He doesn’t flaunt his skills about, but the way he does things make you realize that he is truly strong when you stop to think about it.
“Hohoho, well done, master!” Alfred congratulates me full-heartedly. “To defeat a C-rank monster in less a minute is rather unexpected. I had noticed it before, but your strength has really increased compared to the time before your death.”
“That’s good.” I state simply. I will take every advantage I can get since I can’t use magic.
“Indeed. It’s rather shocking.” Albert adds with a sagely nod. “Young master, this is just a hunch, but could it be that the young master had an innate special ability this whole time? Otherwise, I find the sudden spike in strength rather hard to explain.”
“Special ability?”
Those words quickly caught my attention. As far as I know, there were three categories of special ‘powers’ that could be acquired in this world: skills, magic, and abilities.
While magic and skills could be trained and learned with relative ease, abilities are considered “abnormal powers” that follow rules of their own, and were only obtainable in two ways: being born with them (otherwise known as innate or inherent abilities), or by meeting special requirements. However, the requirements are not necessarily the same for everyone in order to obtain the same ability. This obviously makes obtaining abilities far more difficult than obtaining skills or magic.
Which is why I really want to know if I had any of these special abilities.
“How do I find out if I have one?” I ask Alfred immediately, even as he grabbed the dead boar and heft it up on his shoulder with ease. However, the moment I asked this he looked very thoughtful. Perhaps even skeptical for a moment?
“Young master, to my knowledge there are three ways to know your ability. Normally, most people acquire a special ability rather than being born with one. As such, they will hear ‘the voice of the world’ announcing to them their ability. The second method is to self summon the status of your abilities. The last method is to find someone with an ability that somehow reveals your ability, though this method is the least informative of all, as it only gives you the name of the ability.”
“I see.” I say thoughtfully.
Gerbera has already explained to me what ‘the voice of the world’ is. Also known as ‘the whisper of Gia,’ it is a phenomena that occurs when the world itself deems someone has achieved or earned something worthy of note, and announces it to said person. ‘The voice of the world’ usually announces when one has acquired a special title or ability.
In other words, its similar to what one would call an announcement system in videogames. I had hoped that there was something like a “status” window too, but it seems that this world is not so accommodating. Why would there be something so convenient anyways? It’s already amazing that something like ‘the voice of the world’ exists in itself.
Anyways. If I do have some sort of special ability, it will probably be something like ‘enhanced strength’ or ‘stronger body,’ since that’s essentially what Alfred pointed out as standing out about my physical condition.
“Alfred, once we arrive home, I want to learn if I have any abilities.” I say resolutely. “Since I can’t use magic, I need to learn all I can about my current condition, especially if I have an ability.”
After all, knowledge is power. Understanding myself will lead to more efficient progress. In fact, I have a feeling that Sun Tzu said something similar once…or at least, I think he did.
“By your will.” Alfred replies, formal as always.
0-0-0-0-0
After we got back, Alfred and Gerbera joined forces to teach me how to self summon my ‘status’ properly. Apparently it’s called a ‘meditative soul realm dive.’ It’s annoyingly difficult compared to how it’s done in videogames, since in videogames you can check your status with a touch of a button. But that’s not the case in this world. Though the process itself was not difficult in theory, in practice it took more effort than expected, since it required total focus and a calm mind. Thus, it took me at least an hour to reach the required state of mind.
However, once I reached that state of mind, I simply focused upon myself. Just like I had done when Gerbera checked my soul realm, I reached out to that stream of energy inside me, but this time, instead of just touching it I sank into it deeply. I had a distinct feeling of the world around me muting itself as my consciousness sank in itself, focusing on what it saw within itself. Within me.
Soon I found myself in within a many fold magnified version of the soul realm I had seen thanks to Gerbera. I floated among spheres of light of many sizes, from the size of a baseball to those that were a good two meters across. Of course, at the center of it all, an orb of light that was the size of a house dominated over the other radiant spheres. Last but not least, a giant snake-like dragon eating its own tail encircles everything. To be honest, I think my soul realm is awesome. People would pay to take a tour around here back in my world.
“Now let’s see…” I hum to myself, “According to Gerbera, I need to… Ah, that’s right.”
I fly down to the central orb and touch it with my hand, focusing strongly on wanting to know my ‘status’. According to Gerbera, visualization is an important part of examining your abilities. Essentially, if I wanted to see my abilities displayed, then I had to provide some sort of format for them to actually appear. To be honest, it’s easier for me to imagine it a sort of videogame style ‘status window’ rather than just having words floating about, so I will imagine a ‘status window’ for now.
Sure enough, after a few seconds, the surface of the orb of light shines brightly. As if made of glass, words start appearing in the format I had imagined.
Success!
“Let’s see what we got here…”
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
StatusNameTerra ZilvamaneAge15 Divine ProtectionNone TitlesReincarnated One; Son of the Earth; Young Master; AbilitiesIndomitable Body [Unique]; Strong Body; Magic Deflection; MagicNone SkillsNone ResistancesMagic (general); Mind Control
Woah. There seems to be a lot more information than what I expected. Lets see… I wonder if I tap one, could I get some information on them? Let’s test it out with Indomitable Body.
After tapping on it, a separate window opens up and shows this:
Indomitable Body [Unique] (Passive Ability)-Gives the body extremely high vitality, and high endurance.
-Allows for consumption of Monster crystals to boost abilities.
*Warning! Eating monster crystals of a too high level may cause backlash if the body is not strong enough to handle the power influx
Uwaaa! It seems I have a great Ability right off the bat! Though I’m worried by that backlash, I think I should be fine as long as I’m careful. I’ll have to experiment a bit though.
The abilities [Strong Body] and [Magic Deflection] are pretty self-explanatory after looking at them. Essentially, [Strong Body] is a special passive ability that makes my body stronger and tougher than normal, but [Magic Deflection] is a bit odd. Essentially, it deflects harmful magic. That’s all it says. Still, it sounds extremely useful!
I try tapping on the titles, but nothing happens. I should ask Gerbera about them.
Alright, mission complete. Let’s get back to reality, I am sure that Gerbera and Alfred will be surprised at these abilities.
0-0-0-0-0
The reaction I got from Gerbera was excellent. She was clearly shocked to hear someone as young as I had more than one special ability. On the other hand, Alfred merely rose his eyebrows in surprise while the rest of his facial features didn’t really change. Still, I like to think he seems pleasantly surprised.
Perhaps I should have expected it, but Gerbera seems truly delighted. She is looking me over intensely, with a broad smile on her face while she starts to walk around me.
“To think that the young master would have such magnificent abilities…Truly unexpected!” She says with a nearly singsong tone to her voice, “Ah~ What a wonderful thing! It seems we have a prodigy with us, Alfred, a prodigy! And I’ll get to witness his story personally. It will make a great book!”
I think that she is even more excited about my abilities than I am. I have come to understand that she loves books and stories a lot, but for her to view me with something akin to scholarly interest is a bit odd.
“Hohoho,” Alfred replies with his soft laugh, “Yes, it would seem you are right Gerbera. However…”
Oi, what’s with the sharp look you are giving me? I didn’t do anything wrong.
“I would like to advice the young master to refrain from explaining his abilities to people in the future.” Alfred says firmly. “While it is fine right now since there is only the three of us, in the future it’s not impossible that someone to be listening into our conversation. There have been cases in which men have gone to extreme lengths to capture or forcibly indenture someone with a unique ability.”
Ah, so there are that kind of people in this world too, huh? I guess you can find that kind of people everywhere.
“I understand.”
“No young master, I don’t think you do.” Alfred rebutted in a firm but courtly manner. “Young master, for the sake of your memory loss, I would like to remind you that we, as part of the Malicia race, are not viewed favorably by most other races. I recommend exercising extreme caution when anything related to your abilities comes up.”
I see. Well he is not wrong if that’s the case. There are six main races: Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Romas, Malicia, and Fairy-folk. The Romas constitute of what could be called beast-men, and Malicia are something akin to monster-men. Out of all the six races, Romas and Malicia are the most unpopular of the bunch. It isn’t difficult to imagine that some avaricious person would be more aggressive towards me than to a human or elf.
“I’ll be careful Alfred.” I assure him. I just got back to life, I don’t have any intention of becoming indentured to anything or anyone any time soon.
“Ahem,” Gerbera clears her throat, bringing attention to herself, “While Alfred has a point, young master should still take advantage of his abilities. As it is now, young master stands out compared to the common folk due to his abilities, but if he were to encounter a particularly powerful enemy he could be in danger.”
I want to point out that I have no enemies in this world, but perhaps she is referring to monsters? No, since I am a member of the Malicia race it is possible that people will come that want to pick a fight with me. Or perhaps someone out there hated my parents and would like to relieve their resentment by attacking me. However, this is all speculation without any basis. I should ask Alfred about my political standing later.
“Indeed, Gerbera has a point.” Alfred nods in a sagely manner, stroking his neatly trimmed beard. “I think that we should increase the level of difficulty of training now that we know your special abilities.”
Alfred remains polite and proper as ever as he said this, but I swear I heard a hint of glee in his voice. It might be just my imagination, but I can’t help but wonder if he secretly loves to fight. Now that I think about it… what species of Malicia is Alfred? I should try to find out some time.
“If Alfred and Gerbera think it’s necessary, then I will do it.” I reply simply. It’s not like I have many other better things to do anyways, since the search through the ruins is nearly done. More importantly, I currently want to go travel and explore this world, so I must be ready to defend myself incase any monster attacks during my travels.
“I’m glad you are so energetic young master.” Alfred replies with an uncharacteristically satisfied tone to his voice. “In that case, let us start! For the sake of the young master, I will harden my heart and push the young master to his limits!”
“What?! Now?” I ask startled, but before I realize it, I’m being dragged away by Alfred, back towards the forest. Battle-maniac! Slave-driver! I cry this out in my heart.
0-0-0-0-0
It has been just over three months since I’ve arrived to this land now, and I have discovered that Alfred can be a real slave-driver. Every day is filled by several hours hunting and sparring practice with him. My daily routine has settled into waking up, hunting for breakfast, eating breakfast, studying with Gerbera for about an hour, then back to hunting for lunch. After lunch, I have sparring practice with Alfred, and before dinner, Gerbera teaches me things about this world again. And of course, every meal includes monster cores for me. It is quite exhausting, but at least I am already used to hard work.
Eating monster cores really helped me increase my abilities at first, but it seems that eating too many of the same cores results in a case of diminishing returns. In other words, the effect they have on me decreases if I eat too many of the same kind of monster core. Because of this, Alfred takes me to explore new areas of the forest on a roughly weekly basis. But to be honest, eating monster cores has become a bit of a pleasure for me, as each monster core taste like a different sort of candy. For instance, a core from a carnivorous red boar tastes subtly like an orange flavored hard-candy.
Currently, we are in an area of the forest that’s about a day-and-a-half hike from the village fortress, if one is walking briskly. The area around here is very lively, full of monsters that range from D to low B ranks. If you consider that a C rank monster is considered a threat to a village, and B rank is labeled as a threat to a town, then you can assume that this area has some scary monsters that even normal adventurers would rather avoid.
That said, it does have its upsides. Mainly, there is a small pond here, fed by a small waterfall with pristine water. The pond is only about 10 meters across and roughly circular in shape, so it’s not ideal for swimming but its perfect for showering under the waterfall. This little pond has become my personal favorite location in the entire forest. I can just lean back against one of these smooth rocks and soak into the water.
My only complaint is that I’m still not used to the face I see in the reflection of the water whenever I look at it. I almost look like a delinquent of some sort. But otherwise, this is as relaxing as it gets. I dare say that due to the atmosphere and beautiful forest, this place has a little extra soothing power, in addition to the water. Its great.
Showers are the best.
Batoom!
“Hiiii!”
“Oh for the love of…” I sigh, frowning.
What is it this time? I hope its not an other stone-head ram trying to pick a fight with an other red boar. Their fights are always so noisy, and if they start a fight it will ruin my bath time. That second noise though… that doesn’t sound like a boar. That sounded like…
Krrbang!
“HEEEEEELP!”
… a girl.
“For real?” I ask to myself in wonder, leaping upright in an instant and splashing water around me. This place is supposed to be desolate, without any civilization for miles and miles on any direction.
I leap towards the noise right away, my toes gripping the earth briefly before propelling me further with each step. I can feel my heart pound as heavily as war drum while I make my way towards the voice. By the depth and tone of the voice, she is likely a teenager.
I put more power into my legs.
I leap over fallen logs, and tear up the ground between the trees, racing to the source of the now hoarse sounding voice. However, I didn’t have to run much further.
Just up ahead, I can hear the angry roar of a beast, followed by the heavy panting of someone. No time to loose, my sense of urgency propels me forward as I lunch myself towards the sound. I can hear lighter steps now that I am this close. It must belong to the girl.
“GRowWWAAaaan!”
“Ah!” That gasp of the unknown girl is followed by a soft crash.
It’s now or never!
I leap through the trees and land in the path of whatever it is that is chasing her. Maybe I should have thought a bit more before doing that, because before me is not a red boar. Rather, I see something that is clearly above it in terms of power: a ravine bear, also known as the warmonger horned bear. Its about 50% larger than your average grizzly bear, and can easily deal more than twice as much damage as a normal grizzly with those steel-like claws and ram-like horns of theirs. Couple that with his tough hide, and its clear why it ranks as a “B-” monster. Its something that even a group of very experienced adventurers would struggle to defeat. Worst of all, there is two of them.
Well shit. This is not going to be as easy as I thought.
Surprisingly, the bears stop when they see me, glaring me down as the bear their teeth. This is not good. This bears are usually not hostile, unless provoked. Once provoked, they will hunt their prey relentlessly, and take down anything in their way. And in this case, I am in their way.
“GRowWWAAaaan!” one of them roars at me, angry.
“Come at me bro!” I shout at it, provoking it. I rather have to deal with them one at the time. I am gambling enough as it is here, so I would rather not risk more than this if I can help it.
My provocation seems to work, considering that it lunges at me at full throttle, clearly hoping to impale me with his horns. Excellent! If its just this, I can handle it like normal.
I ready up my position, setting myself up with a practiced stance as I get ready to grab his horns. This technique has quickly come up as one of my favorites for dealing with this kind of attack, since it renders the enemy immobile for some time.
The bear’s horns collide with my hands, and I grit my teeth as I dig my feet into the ground, trying to stop his momentum. Despite being only a few inches taller to the shoulder than a red boar, the bear easily weights twice as much, making stopping him a much more difficult task. Still, my abilities have not abandoned me!
Despite being pushed back a good three or four meters, I finally stop the forward motion of the bear. Like usual, I tighten my muscles and start to heave, pulling him. However, there is a slight miscalculation on my part. There are two bears after all, and they don’t have such a thing as situational awareness, like they would in a TV show or manga.
The second bear launches itself at me viciously, thick 30 cm long claws reaching out to slice me up. I quickly react the only way I could think of: I used the horns of the bear I had stopped as leverage, and leapt over onto its back, forcing its head back violently, and ever so narrowly avoiding the other bear.
The bear I am now riding rears up on its hind legs and starts to flail around desperately, his claws slashing at the neck other bear in the process, wounding him. It seems that because they have a short and thick neck, pulling their head back too far bothers them. I wonder if it makes it hard to breathe?
No time to think of that though, the other bear is angry at being injured, and is launching himself at me with renewed energy. Or is it attacking this bear? I can’t tell. But now an idea flashes through my mind.
I let go of the horns of the bear I’m ridding, and instead I wrap my arms around his neck. It’s a bit harder than I thought since his neck is thick, but I can do it. Now, lets see if it can handle this!
I grit my teeth and start strangling the bear. This causes the bear to thrash around violently, injuring his companion in the process. The next sixty seconds or so are filled with confusion. The other bear starts attacking my bear in a rage, while this bear starts to foam at the mouth, clearly suffocating.
Finally, both bears collapse. It seems that while I killed one via suffocation, the other one bled out from the wound on his neck. If I had to guess, the bear I was riding must have sliced an important artery. Well, at least its finally over. I think I got lucky, if it was a normal fight between the two of them and me, I highly doubt I would come out unscathed. These bears are monsters that individually could take out entire teams of good adventurers.
But that’s okay! It seems like I survived alright, so I let go of my bear, and let out a tired sigh. Alright, time to check on the victim.
I turn around and look at the stunned girl. As expected, she is young, but it’s hard to tell her age. She is short, maybe about 150 cm (5 feet tall), and slim, with small breasts but with already rather curvaceous hips. Her face looks young but it’s not cherubic, but her lips are a little more plump than what would be considered normal, and her eyes are wide with deep brown irises. Moreover, her hair is messy and short, as if cut with a knife, which gives her a somewhat pixy-like appearance. It’s… confusing. I can’t narrow-down her age range at all. If I had to guess, I would say anywhere between twelve and sixteen years old is fair game.
I would not call her a great beauty, but she is certainly cute. She could grow to be a great beauty though. She certainly been blessed with some good genes anyways. However, I should probably refrain my judgment until later, after all, she is only wearing some dirty rags on her. I’m sure she would look much better after a bath.
“Ah…” The girl speaks out in a hoarse voice, bringing me back to reality.
Oops. I think I have just been looking her over for a few seconds without saying anything. That might be considered rude right?
I smile at her refreshingly, and put my hand on my hip. You know, I think every man has a romance in his heart of some day saving someone and looking cool. Maybe it’s because of that, or maybe its because it feels good to not be in immediate danger, but I feel like I am on top of the world right now. Is this how a knight in shinning armor feels like in story books?
“Don’t worry, you are safe now.” I say warmly. Surely this is what they call a flag right? I’m not the most well versed man when it comes to videogames or manga, but even I know the most common pattern would be for her to thank me right now, right?
“B-b-big…” She stutters with her eyes fixed on me. Her cheeks are turning red. Wait… I don’t know this pattern.
“Excuse me?” I ask, somewhat perplexed. Maybe she is still in shock?
“S-s-sn-snake!” She almost shouts out while stuttering, before fainting on the spot.
I quickly turn around, ready to fight but… there is no snake? What?
Right then, I feel a breeze brush across my body, and for the first time, I realize I am still wet and in the nude from my bath. I never took time to grab any clothes, I just rushed over here.
“Shit!” I curse out loud.
Well, so much for my heroic rescue story.