Aidan stared at the group of dead Goblins in front of him. Blood had begun to pool around the last one he had slain. A chill ran up his back as he tried to wipe the bit of blood and matter that had splashed onto him from the fight. But no matter how much Aidan wiped, he couldn’t remove the memories in his mind. The images of the brutal fights over the last two days kept playing on repeat.

He had been fighting them for two days now. No matter how many he killed, it never seemed to reduce their numbers; they simply didn’t stop coming. Small groups of two or three had continually appeared, which had taken its toll on him. Every time he tried to rest, more would appear. Aidan groaned as he fought the pull of sleep; he knew it would be the last thing he did if he fell asleep now.

More goblins would appear each time he started to doze off. He was beyond tired now, and it was slowing down his movements and reaction times. His clothes were no more than dreads of loose tatters now. Almost nothing remained of his shirt. His pants weren’t in much better shape. Dozens of minor cuts and scratches marred his skin. Some still wept blood as he moved; the pain from the cuts was constant now.

Aidan knelt as he searched the bodies of the three he had just killed. Hoping they might have something of use to him. He grunted as his shoulders sagged. He searched the pockets of the last one, but these goblins had nothing on them. It was almost like they were there to make his life harder, pure canon fodder, as he called them, in the games he used to play. “Surely, the odds of one of the goblins having some item of interest or value would have given me something by now.”

A snapping branch behind Aidan caused him to whip his head up, searching for where the noise had come from. Keeping his body low to the ground was a fundamental skill he had developed over the last few days after one of the goblins had almost removed his head with a well-thrown spear.

The rustle of leaves caught his attention. Something was moving through the underbrush, making Aidan’s hair stand up on his arms. Whatever was coming this time was not a goblin. It sounded much larger.

“Oh, come on.” Cursed Aidan, something much larger than the size of a goblin, stepped into his view as it pushed its way through the underbrush. “The hell is that thing?”

“Come on, you great big ugly brute.” Roared Aidan as he returned the creature’s roar. “Two can speak that language, you stinking overgrown goblin. You smell so bad.” Aidan ducked again as he tried not to throw up. The odours of dead, spoiled meat and a rotten smell were almost more than he could handle.

Aidan kept retreating as it gave chase. His log club did little to the overgrown creature Aidan had quickly nicknamed Brute. He couldn’t fight it head-on; the smell was beyond what he was willing to put up with. Any distance within two meters of the thing was a death sentence.

Just as Aidan finally began to get some distance between Brute and himself, he stumbled as his foot caught on a tree root. Aidan landed hard as his knees bounced on the ground. He barely had time to get back to his feet, and he felt something hard collide with his side.

The forest moved past him slowly as time seemed to grind to a halt. Everything happened in the blink of an eye as his mind finally caught up. Just as he started to process what had happened, Aidan slammed into a tree trunk. The impact rattled his brain as he slid down the trunk, dazed.

The Brute stood before Aidan, waiting for the blow that would finally kill him. He coughed as the smell overwhelmed his senses. He struggled not to throw up as he stared at the beast before him. It would only take one swing of its arms to end the overgrown thing. Deep down, he knew this would be how this world finally did him.

Aidan closed his eyes. He didn’t want to see the blow come. He had always said he didn’t want to see how he died. The roar from Brute made him flinch as he tensed for the end. Seconds ticked by as he waited. The Brute roared again as he heard it move around him, tramping the ground with loud thuds. Cracking his eyes open slightly, Aidan stared at the scene before him.

Three cloaked people had engaged the Brute. Each one had a bow notched with an arrow as they fired relentlessly at the creature. Every other shot seemed to have magic embedded into the arrow. Aidan stared at the the three move around the Brute with practised ease.

The Brute roared one final time before it smashed through the forest. Running from the never-ending onslaught of arrows. Two of the three gave chase after they nodded to each other. Aidan could still hear the roars of the Brute as they faded further away from where he was sitting. The whole fight had taken less than a minute, but it felt like a lifetime.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

“Hey. You.” Said the third cloaked person as they moved closer to where Aidan was. He noticed the bow still had an arrow notched, almost like they expected him to attack them. “Hey. Human. Can you hear me? Hello?”

Aidan tried to speak. He moved his mouth, but no sound came out as he began to panic. Aidan raised his hands, trying to seem less of a threat to the cloaked person. He watched as whoever they were looked around the area before looking back at him. Almost as if they were judging him silently.

The cloaked figure lowered the bow as they stepped closer to Aidan. “Are you alone?”

Nodding his head, Aidan gestured to himself before holding up a single finger, his still heart pounding as the adrenaline began to wear off. Aidan let out a broken groan as he tried to get his feet to play ball. The cloaked figure backed away, raising their bow again.

Aidan sighed as he shook his head. Finally standing, Aidan went over to where the log he had been holding lay. He gave the figure a wide birth as he finally bent down to pick up the log. A scream tore its way from his lips as he straightened up, the log once again in his grasp. Aidan smiled as he held the log. It gave him a sense of comfort after the days it had kept him alive.

The cloaked figure watched Aidan closely as they kept looking around the area. Aidan figured they were still wary of others attacking. He chuckled to himself as he heard a familiar ping sound.

‘Level Up!’

‘Congratulations. You have unlocked the starting battlemage class magic.’

‘Arcane Strike: Empowers the next melee attack with magical energy, dealing bonus damage based on the character’s intelligence. The base damage of 18 points plus Bonus damage is calculated at 2x intelligence. The mana cost is 9 points.

Mage Armor: Conjures a protective barrier of magical energy around the battlemage, increasing their armour class and resisting incoming magical attacks. Base magical protection of 15 points plus bonus magical protection of 2x Wisd m. Mana cost of 12 points per 60 seconds.’

‘Sub-Admin protections removed. You now have access to advanced menu options.’

“Huh. Now that’s something,” Said Aidan as he read through the notifications. “Advanced menu options h h? I need to check that out later. Hmm. Gee, the mana cost for this magic is steep. I think, for now, I will not use the mage armour in the short term. One use of that means I won’t have enough mana left for anything else. I can use Arcane Strike twice, though. Damage should be a nice little winning move as well.”

“Hey.” Shouted the Cloaked figure.

Aidan looked up, noticing the other two people had returned. He figured they had either killed Brute or given up chasing it. They both had their bows still ready as they stared at him. Aidan rubbed the back of his neck, trying not to look at them.

“Umm. Thanks for the save.” Mumbled Aidan nervously. He rubbed his palms one at a time on what was left of his pants. The dirt and blood kept smearing with his sweat, doing little to clean his hands. “I don’t suppose you can point me toward the nearest stream by any chance. I really need a bath.”

“Who are you, and what are you doing in this part of the forest? Humans know not to come here. Are you breaking the accords?” Said one of the two figures who had just returned. “You will come with us.”

Aidan looked at the three of them as he rolled his shoulders. Now that he had stopped moving around, they began stiffening up. “Do you have food? I haven’t eaten properly in days.” He asked as he continued to stretch.

“You expect us to feed you human? You are our captive!” Shouted the same one as the three of them raised their bows.

“Yeah. I don’t think so.” Snorted Aidan. The level-five magic had him feeling confident he could escape these three if needed. “I have no intention of being held captive. Not by you or the stupid guild. You want me? Come and get me. I won’t go down without a fight.”

Aidan flinched as the thump of an arrow hitting the tree behind him caused him to flinch. He turned his head and stared at the feather end of the shaft. Looking back at the three, his eyes widened in surprise. He hadn’t even seen the arrow be let loose. One of the cloaked figures reloaded their bow, and the other two stared at him, waiting for him to make a move.

“Last warning, human.” Shouted the same voice again. Aidan suspected it belonged to the one on the right. He couldn’t see their mouths, but he made a guess anyway. Aidan figured he might as well give them a nickname. He lifted his hand to his chin and watched the three arrowheads follow his every movement.

“Look, trigger finger. No. That didn’t sound right. Hmm. Jumpy?” Aidan muttered as he tried to think of a name that suited them. He knew it was stupid. It was a habit he had formed throughout his life. Every time Aidan found himself faced with a problem, he named it. It had been a suggestion from one of the many doctors he had seen growing up. No matter how much he tried to stop, the habit had stuck with him.

“Wha.. What are you doing?” A confused voice came from the one he was trying to name.

“I’m trying to think of a suitable name for you.” Replied Aidan honestly. His face was a picture of confusion. Almost like being questioned had surprised him.

“I… I have a name. You are coming with us. Hands together out in front of you. Interlace your fingers. Now.”

Aidan nodded to himself as he came to a decision. “I know. I will call you Bossy. It seems fitting. Now, Like this?” Said Aidan as he put his hands forward. He felt vines wrap around his arms tightly. The sudden surprise caused him to jump as the vine continued to bind his hands and arms.

“You are coming with us.” Said Bossy as two of the figures lowered their bows. “We will get to the bottom of this. You are our captive now.”

“Ah, shit.” Muttered Aidan.