"Huff! Agghh!.. ahhhh! Hufff!"

Our panting can be heard at night.

We are running under the moonlight, the grass rustling with every step we take.

"RRAAAOOOOOEEEIIIKKKKKK!!!!"

A monstrous sound of abomination, comparable to a dying pig on a megaphone in the lowest octave, wakes the crickets on the grasses and trees.

"FUUUUCCCCKKKKK!!!! PERSIS YOU NEED TO RUN FASTER!!"

I am freaking out as a giant boar, the size of a hut, is chasing us.

"TOP SPEED ALREADY!"

"WHAT THE HEEEEEELLLLLLL!!"

"RRAAAOOOOOEEEIIIKKKKKK!!!!"

The monster boar is getting closer!

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

we both screamed.

What the hell just happened? A few hours ago, I was enjoying the food of my old world served by a beautiful elf, and now this creature, which looks like the cursed pig that was barbecued by Satan and somehow survived the cooking, is chasing us to be barbecued in our place.



The sun is setting low, the air is getting colder, but as of now, I am wearing a thick red fur coat, and my head is covered with the same kind of coat too. My lower face is covered by a coconut husk with whiskers.

"WWWOOOOOOSSSSHHH!!"

The wind blows from our back, and I notice a lot of shadows passing above us. I look up and see angels flying fast in the direction of the Silver City, their beautiful wings leaving sparkling glitters on their trails.

"WWWOOOOAAAAHHHHH!!!!"

"Mesmerized?" Persis asked.

"Definitely! I was amazed by the sight of the Silver City, but I will never get tired of looking at those flying angels." I answered.

"Please Don't get carried away!"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't mind! We need to go!" he said with urgency.

We walk for miles and miles. Persis, who was a talkative companion earlier, is very quiet right now. But when the darkness covers the surrounding, he demands complete silence.

"This weird!" Persis muttered.

"Why?" I asked.

"By this time I should feel presence of some predators."

"Predators?" From my back, I feel the cold air beginning to embrace me.

"What kinds of animals are lurking here?" I asked with fear laced on my voice.

"Oh! Just normal once! No malignant creatures!"

Maybe Persis is talking about small venomous snakes or easily frightened herbivores like bulls.

"So no bears, lions, or wolves?"

"No Lions. Bears and wolves yes!" he responded.

"Wolves? Oh! My! We should go back to the hut then!"

"Don't worry; wolves are afraid of dwarfs however bears are very mad at us for some reason." he answered with confidence and smirk on his face.

"Well, at least bears are not as fast as wolves!"

I am relieved that I am walking with wolf repellent at my side.

"We are safe as long as..."

The dwarf pauses for a moment, stooping down, and seems distracted by what he saw.

"What is it?"

"HoooYYYaahhh! Strong silver coin hahahaha! Lucky day! I mean lucky night" He proudly showed me the plain coin with no features on it.

"I think the thing that you were going to say before is more important than one simple coin."

"Kid! One silver coin can get me and my friends one whole night of drinks with pretty elves on our side, that's more valuable than your cowardice, however!"

"However?" I asked with eagerness to hear what he supposed to say earlier.

"If we stumble with hell pig! We might toss this strong silver coin to Prophet of death to erase our name on his book."

"Hell Pig? You're not afraid of bears and wolves, but you're afraid of a pig?"

"Hell pig!!! The king of this mountain, only my friend witch and angels can shoo monster away!"

"So what this hell..."

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I almost tripped over some animal. I look down and I'm shocked by what I see.

A white wolf is lying down, bleeding from multiple wounds on her body. The dwarf checks the wolf.

"This animal still breathing"

I stoop down to investigate the white wolf. Even though the poor animal might bite me, I still gently touch the wolf.

The wolf looks at me. Animals may not speak, but they can surely convey a message either from their actions or just by looking into your eyes. I used to have several dogs before my father died, so I know and can completely understand my dogs, and so is this wolf. This canine seems to be conveying a message to me.

"This poor beast has many lacerations. What kind of cruel predator would do this to their prey?"

"Not predator, hunters!" Persis responded with stern look on his face.

The wolf closed her eyes and took her last breath.

"We need to bury this wolf!" I said.

The dwarf sighs.

"If you going to prevent others to eat this carcass you are just as crueler as one who hunts this wolf."

I spent too much time in the city that I forgot animals are always part of the circle of life. Urban people always bury their pets, and we even offer prayers for them. Not that it's bad, but Persis is right. In the jungle, your death might be a survival moment for other animals.

We notice the blood trails left by the wolf. It is just along the road. The dwarf gives the spare torch to me.

"If we encounter bandits or hunters, run away towards witch of mountain, you only need to smack the torch to any hard surface and torch will be lit."

I examine the torch and am amazed by its conveniences. It seems to be made of metallic bronze, but it is much lighter than bronze. I think the dwarves would not waste time plating a torch with bronze. It has a dwarven-looking vibe to it.

I try to smack the torch, but it doesn't light up.

"smack harder"

I put a little extra force into smacking the torch.

"You need to smack it as hard as you can!"

"WHAT? You make a feature on this torch to be convenient, yet it needs my whole strength to light it up? Why not just attach some matches to it?" I exclaimed.

"Why you weak? We dwarves just only need one hand and put little effort on it to light it up, for you kid you need both of your hands."

I inhale and use both hands as if the torch is a pickaxe, then I hit the ground as strong as I can. It lights up; however, because of my weak grip, the torch flies away.

"Why you so weak?" the dwarf mocks me

The torch tumbles and rolls away from us. We need to run for it until it finally stops rolling and stumbling, giving shine to its surroundings.

I see a wolf again in a distance, this time with black fur, bleeding, and silhouettes of two tall hooded men. One is holding a spear, and the other is kicking the wolf.

I notice the wolf is biting into some big sealed canister made of bamboo. The wolf is looking at me; I can see the pain that he is enduring.

The man who is kicking the black wolf asks for the spear and raises it to give a final blow to the poor beast.

I am greatly troubled by what is going to happen. For some reason, I see myself in that wolf, bleeding on the ground, holding onto something and never letting go, just like how I hold onto our relationship even though my heart is broken by signs of my wife's adultery.

I am about to take a step forward, but my limbs are shaking. I feel like my body is being held down by chains. I am scared. Even though I have killed someone, I am not a delinquent or brave. That kind of violence was from rage and insanity. Deep inside, I am a coward.

The wolf continues to look at me, as if asking for help. Don't look at me, please. I cannot save you. I am a cowardly weak man. No! I cannot call myself a man! I am a cowardly weak guy! You seriously cannot ask me to protect you.

However, I cannot look away. My neck and eyes seem petrified in place.

The tall man is going to strike the final blow, and the wolf closes its eyes, anticipating his death.

"STOOOPPPPPP!!!!" I shouted "uuggggghhhhhh!!!!"

"GODWIN!!!" Persis follows.

I am shocked at what is happening. For some reason, I sprint towards the guy and push him away from the wolf.

"Hufff huff HuFF!!" I am panting as I pick up the torch.

Damn!!!! I knew from afar that this guy was tall, but not this kind of tall. I am a 5'6" boy, and this guy is towering over me like I'm a child who just bumped into him.

The hood is knocked back, and I raise my torch to see the guys clearly.

"Holy mother of God!"

"No! I am Holy child of God!" The tall guy responds with a smile.

This guy is extremely beautiful; he looks like Jesus Christ with a shaved, clean face, beautiful blue eyes, and blonde golden hair. A crown is levitating over his head.

I mean..... I am not gay! But if this guy were to embrace me, I might shriek in excitement like a bitch.

And ohhh! Ahhhhmmm! Maybe something will rise but not the shield hero.

The dwarf just gets onto my side and is surprised by what he sees. He pulls me down while I am struck by his beauty and elegance.

"Y.. Yo.. Your.. Ma.. Ma.. Majesty I.. I... I.. W.. We are greatly sorry for what this idiot did to you!"

The dwarf is groveling on the ground, pulling me down further than kneeling.

"Bow down, you stupid prick!" Persis insisted with frustration in his voice.

I come to my senses and bow down with him.

"It is fine! Persis, you can lift your head up." a gentle kindness shown by the beautiful person.

Despite the permission, the dwarf remains kneeling, his head still bowed down.

"The night covers our land, your Majesty. The forest is dangerous."

"Yes, it is dangerous. That is why my friend and I are patrolling, keeping people like you safe."

"My gratitude to your kindness should be manifested at some other time, your Majesty."

The angel stoops down to the level of the dwarf and taps his shoulder. Because of that, I cannot ignore the fragrance coming from the prince.

Damn, he smells good! What a lucky guy! Being a prince and drop-dead gorgeous surely is a gift from God.

"Your gratitude can be in kind, like not telling anyone about what you saw, about me being here in the middle of the night," he says, smiling, but it's the kind of smile that you don't want to mess with.

"Your Majesty, I don't need to hit my head against a rock to totally forget this!"

"Good! Now I must go! There may be other people out there for me to protect."

"Thank you, your Majesty. The path shines after you!"

"Take care, Persis, and your new pet musang!"

And the prince glared at me intensely, then he and his companion walked away!

I immediately gave my attention to the wolf to assess him. The wolf suffered from multiple lacerations too, but it was not as grave as the white wolf before.

We gave first aid to the wolf, and when I cuddled him and lifted him up, he shrank smaller, to the size of not a puppy but a stuffed toy. Now he looked like a miniature puppy that could be carried in my palm, so I put the puppy inside my clothes and he poked his head outside to breathe.

For some reason, he was still biting the shrank canister. The torch grew brighter and I could see further into the dark.

The stench of blood hurt my nose, and I noticed dead wolves not only wounded but mangled. I could even see wolves pinned onto the branches of the trees.

"How fierce was the battle to have this kind of corpses lying around?"

"A battle to protect themselves" the dwarf responded.

"Persis, for some reason, I recognized that the prince is an angel!"

"It is kind of weird to have that kind of ability!"

"Good, it means some instinct or knowledge, activating right now you need it!"

"To recognize people?"

"To recognize danger!"

Suddenly, I hear heavy breathing from behind us.

"Persis!" I whisper.

"I think danger recognition is activating again!"

We slowly turn our heads back and...

"HHHHHEEEEELLLLLLLL PPPPIGGGGGGG!!!!" I shouted

"RUUUUUUNNNNNNN!!!!"

Even the puppy biting the canister makes noise in fear.

We run so fast, but it doesn't stop me from noticing the two men from earlier standing far above us. In an instant, I swear I see his face with a smirk!

"YOOUUU!! STUPID HUMAN! WHY DID YOU PROVOKE PRINCE!"

"I DIDN'T MEAN TO PROVOKE HIM! I JUST WANT TO SAVE THE WOLF!"

"YOU SAVE WOLF, NOW WHO SAVE US?"

"I AM SORRRYYYYY!!"

"RUN FASTER!!!"

"TOP SPEED ALREADY!"

"WHAT THE HEEEEEELLLLLLL!!"

"RRAAAOOOOOEEEIIIKKKKKK!!!!"

The puppy makes more noise, as if begging me to run faster.

The monster boar is getting closer!

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

"CLIMB LARGE TREE!"

"AGAAAAIIIINNN!!!???"

It seems that climbing the giant tree is not enough to end this day! Now we frantically climb a tree like monkeys, and thanks to the training of climbing giant tree, it saves my butt this time!

"RRAAAOOOOOEEEIIIKKKKKK!!!!"

We catch our breath while the hell pig is head-butting the tree, trying to bring it down. Fortunately, the tree is large enough to withstand its assault.

"I am glad the hell pig cannot jump!"

"Well it has limbs, Hell pig can jump"

"How high?"

The puppy is tugging at my clothes to get my attention.

"RRAAAOOOOOEEEIIIKKKKKK!!!!"

I turned around and saw the pig just getting enough distance to run and jump towards me. Persis grabbed my shoulder, pulling me enough to avoid the bite from the hell pig! An inch slower, and my lower half would have been bitten off!

"That high!"

"You stupid prick! You should have told me to climb higher!"

I looked down at my chest and pet the puppy.

"Thanks, buddy!" I feel like the puppy is my spider sense.

"Damn! angel!!!"

"Do you think this is the prince's doing?"

"Definitely!!!! Even orc will choose to walk another way when encountering Hell pig!"

"My mind, for some reason, is telling me that it's impossible because angels cannot fly during the night. Therefore, luring this pig to us is impossible!"

"Except that fucker!!!"

"RRAAAOOOOOEEEIIIKKKKKK!!!!"

The hell pig is still trying to reach us!

"We need to shoo this ugly off and spend the night here!" I frantically said.

"OH! So you want to face, Reaper owl?"

"Let me guess! That owl is the size of a man, isn't it?"

"Yes! And only hell pig can make the owl away!"

This is a dire situation! Surely we cannot kill the pig, but we can't let other predators chase our tail either!

"Persis, give me your rope and your dagger!"

Persis gave me those two items, and I tied the rope to the end of the dagger. Thankfully, the pommel of the dagger is ring-shaped, which makes my knotting easy and strong.

"Hold on, buddy!" I said to the puppy,

I mocked the hell pig to give it extra reason to jump on us!

"Hey! You ugly pig! Come back to your momma; she is the only one who can accept you!"

"RRAAAOOOOOEEEIIIKKKKKK!!!!"

The pig jumped, and with my utmost attention, I stabbed its nose, letting the dagger stick in the nose of the pig!

"RRAAAOOOOOEEERRAAAOOIIIKKKKRRAAAOOKK!!!!"

The hell pig cried in pain.

The puppy rejoiced at my success.

He was going to run away, but I tugged the rope, making the dagger move a little, inflicting more pain on the pig.

"RRAAAOOOOOEEERRAAAOOIIIKKKKRRAAAOOKK!!!!"

The pig tried to jump on us again, but I just tugged the rope to inflict more pain!

"What are you doing?"

"Disciplining this ugly bastard! We cannot afford another beast chasing us, so I am choosing this creature to become our scarecrow for the night!"

"HHHHmmmm!!! Not bad!"

"Not bad??? You should be impressed by now!"

"Let's see" Persis responded.

We slept on the branches of the tree, taking turns guarding the beast, while the puppy slept comfortably inside my clothes. Morning came, and I pulled the rope to retrieve the dagger, totally damaging the beast. After that, it ran off into the wilderness, crying in pain.

We walked a little further while I carried the sleeping puppy inside my costume. We reached the Silver

City, and the architecture of the city gate was magnificent. Persis seemed very popular in the city; left and right, everyone on the street greeted him. He introduced me to everyone as a new emerging creature called Musang. According to Persis, this is the disguise of my predecessors.

I wonder how different my new life will be compared to what I faced before in this city!