“Not Long now.” Said one of the guards as they walked along the road. “You can see the walls in the distance. That’s the town of Wildwood Crossing. The town sits on the two main roadways connecting the county to the neighbouring countries. The town was named after the forest that surrounds it.”

Aidan grunted in reply as he struggled to put one foot in front of the other. They had been travelling for two weeks now. The effort he had to keep up with the merchant group was beyond what he was used to.

The guard slapped him on the back as he walked ahead, swapping places with one of the lead guards. Aidan had learnt early on that they rotated the guards out often. Each guard went through every post multiple times a day. They told him it meant no one got comfortable and dull at their duties.

Aidan looked over his shoulder, noticing that Lyra was standing up, an eyeglass as they called it, searching the road ahead. Even now, they didn’t let up watching this close to the town. They had been attacked multiple times over the two weeks. Each time, Aidan had proven how useless he was regarding combat.

Lyra hadn’t spoken to him after the first attack. She just looked at him with disgusted pity on the face. The guards had asked how he was so low-level. Each of them was around level twenty. They asked if he had befallen some curse or punishment. Aidan jumped at the curse idea, using it to weave an almost believable lie.

He had told them he had been cursed by something in the ruins, which had taken a level of him each day. Most of the guards gave him a wide berth after that conversation. None of them wanted to risk catching whatever had befallen him.

Aidan laughed at the thought. It was almost as ridiculous as how much this world still blew him away. He had gained a skill point in constitution from the almost non-stop march. It still made him think he was dreaming or somehow trapped in some VR game. The only problem he had was he knew that deep down, whatever this world was, he was here because he walked through that portal on Earth.

He gripped the pen in his pocket again for reassurance. Every night, he had twisted and turned the pen. Pulling and pushing it, but nothing would happen. He wasn’t sure why nothing he did would make the portal open again, but he needed to figure it out. Aidan hoped this town could help him find out more about his brother.

As the wagons rolled up to the gate of Wildwood Crossing, the sheer scale of the stone walls made Aidan shake his head. The walls were as tall as a four-story house. Looking at the gate, the walls seemed as wide as a sedan. The amount of stone and labour it would have taken to build them made Aidan’s headache.

“Ho there. What’s your business in Wildwood Crossing?” Called out one of the gate’s guards as he stepped up to the lead wagon.

“Hey there, Will. Fancy seeing you on guard duty again. They finally bust your ass down, hey.” Called back Lyra as she chuckled at her joke.

“Lyra. Should have known it was you.” Spat the Will, the gate Guard, as he glared at her. “You would do well to watch your tongue. I wouldn’t want to have to confiscate some of this merchandise here. Hmm.”

Lyra sighed. “How much, Will? I’m a busy woman, you know.”

Will chuckled. “For you, Lyra. I’ll give you a discount, one copper per wagon.”

“That’s bloody stealing, and you know it. The toll was only two coppers for all the wagons last time.” Said Lyra as she crossed her arms angrily.

“Take it or leave it. You can always wait until tomorrow. Take your chances out here, on the wrong side of the walls. We won’t be able to help you if you are attacked. I can’t say we would not hit your wagons when we come to your defence. What about us being up on the walls? Would be a shame to see you lose a few of your precious wagons.” Laughed Will as his eyes showed his greed.

Lyra growled at him as she pulled out the ten copper coins to cover the bribe. “How you sleep at night baffles me.”

“I sleep perfectly fine.” Snorted Will in reply as he counted the coppers. “You know the rules your team needs to present for Identification checks. We had a few Bandits and thieves trying to sneak in lately. Got the strung up in the town square for their troubles.”

Aidan watched the exchange as it raised more questions about this world than it answered. Lyra and Will, the gate guard, seemed to know each other well, but their interaction still came across as hostile. Aidan shook his head as he gave up, trying to understand it.

“You there.” Shouted Will as he noticed Aidan standing off to the side. “I haven’t seen you before. Your clothes are strange as well. Come here. I have a few questions for you.”

Aidan sighed as he looked at Lyra. Her stare didn’t give him any hope that she would intervene. Aidan shrugged and went to where Will and a few guards had gathered.

“You wanted to see me.” Said Aidan as he stood in front of Will.

“Hmmm,” Will grunted, his heavy boots thudding against the ground as he circled Aidan. The air crackled with tension, and Aidan’s senses sharpened, instinctively bracing for the impending onslaught.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Without warning, a searing pain erupted in Aidan’s back, radiating outwards like a burst of fire. He gasped, his breath hitching as he stumbled forward, his body jerking in response to the brutal impact. A low groan escaped his lips as he fought to remain upright, his muscles straining against the force threatening to overwhelm him.

Will’s presence loomed over him like a looming shadow, his form casting a sinister silhouette. With a menacing sneer, Will raised his fist, the muscles in his arm coiled like a spring ready to snap.

The next blow came fast and hard, crashing into Aidan’s side with bone-crushing force. The impact reverberated through his entire being, a symphony of pain echoing in his ears as he staggered under the relentless assault.

Each blow felt like a hammer to his senses, a relentless barrage of agony that threatened to break him apart piece by piece. His skin burned with the heat of the blows, his bones rattling with each punishing strike.

Anguish and rage mingled within him as he struggled to survive the onslaught. With gritted teeth and trembling limbs, Aidan summoned every ounce of strength he possessed, his willpower a flickering flame in the darkness of his torment.

But for every blow he endured, another followed quickly behind, each one more punishing than the last. Will’s fists were like a relentless storm, raining down upon Aidan mercilessly. He felt himself slip into the darkness that now clouded his vision.

The last thing Aidan heard as he slipped into unconsciousness was the ping of a new notification.

‘Congratulations. New achievement Unlocked.’

‘You have unlocked the achievement. [Punching Bag]. This achievement has unlocked an ability.’

‘New ability unlocked.’

‘You have met the criteria to unlock the ability [Resilient Endurance]. This ability enhances the character’s resilience and ability to withstand physical trauma and adds an increased resistance to damage multiplier of 15% for five minutes. Stackable with other abilities. This ability is passive and will activate when the subject is physically injured.’

----------------------------------------

Aidan groaned as he slowly returned to his senses, gradually awakening to the reality of his surroundings. The chill in the air seeping into his bones as the pain he had been expecting was only a dull ache. Opening his eyes, he stares at the ceiling of a room. “Huh. I guess someone must have brought me inside at some point.”

Aidan shivered as he pushed himself into a sitting position, his muscles protesting with every movement. His surroundings came into focus. He was in a small room. The bed he laid on was the only thing in the room. A wooden door with steel reinforcing the frame took up the wall at one end, with a high window on the other.

A flashing icon to the right of his view caught his attention. Focusing on the icon, an achievement notification popped up. “Ok…” Muttered Aidan as he read the description. “I guess getting beaten up has its benefits. As fucked up as that achievement is. Seriously computer. Punching bag… Real sick sense of humour. [Status Card]”

Status Card:

Name: Aidan Thornheart

Class: Battlemage.

Level: 1

Experience Points (XP): 35

Ability Points (AP): 0

Health Points (HP): 8 / 10

Mana Points (MP): 6 / 6

Strength: 11

Dexterity: 13

Constitution: 13

Intelligence: 10

Wisdom: 9

Charisma: 11

Skills:

No skills are available.

Magic:

No magic is available.

Equipment:

No items are equipped.

Abilities/Talents:

* Flee. (Can only be used once per encounter. It gives a boost of 25% to strength and dexterity for 60 seconds.)

* Resilient Endurance. - Passive - Stackable - (adds increased resistance to damage multiplier of 15% for five minutes. Activates upon injury.)

“Huh.” Muttered Aidan. “I guess that stupid moron of a guard was worth something. Something tells me that ability will get a real workout over time.”

Aidan got to his feet and stepped up to the door, pushing it with his hand. It swung open with an ease that he wasn’t expecting. Stepping out into a hallway, Aidan looked in both directions, trying to figure out which way to go.

“Ok. I need to find my stuff.” Said Aidan as he settled on a direction. Walking as quietly as he could, he could hear distance groaning and screams. “Yeah, that doesn’t give me much hope for whatever this place is.”

Just as Aidan rounded a corner, He heard voices approaching in front of him. Looking around, Aidan pushed on the closest door; he let out the breath he had been holding as the door swung open. Ducking inside, he closed the door, leaving only a crack to look out from.

Two guards marched by, followed by a woman dressed in robes. The guards kept talking between themselves, discussing some brawl that had broken out at a bar the previous night. The woman looked bored as she followed them down the hallway, away from where Aidan was now.

Slipping out of the empty room, Aidan quickly made his way down the hallway in the direction the trio had come from. A few minutes later, after cursing his luck in walking into another pillar. He stood in front of a large wooden door that spanned from one side of the hallway to the other.

“Huh.” Said Aidan as he studied the door. “Not sure why anyone would need a door this wide, but yeah ok.”

Pulling on the handle, Aidan grunted as the door slowly creaked open. Aidan puffed as he slowly managed to open the massive door enough for him to slip past. Stepping into a large room, the door slammed shut behind him with a loud thud.

The room was empty except for a limp body hanging on one wall. Aidan stared at the body as he struggled to process what he was seeing. Dead bodies were not uncommon in his line of work back on Earth, but seeing someone chained up to a wall wherever he was now shook him to his core.

“Yeah. Not going to ask about that.” Said Aidan as he turned away from the body. Looking around the rest of the room, Aidan noticed only one other doorway. He started heading towards the door when it opened. Two men walked through, both wearing swords at the hips.

Aidan stopped in his tracks as the two men stared at Aidan. Neither group moved as they tried to decide what to do.

“You. Where did you come from.” Said one of the guards.

Aidan stared at the one who spoke. Trying to decide on what to call him. “I’m going to call you pig,” Aidan said with a smirk. He was feeling a little more confident now that he had survived one beating. “Yes. Pig. Because anyone that can miss their mouth with what I can only guess is an ungodly amount of food to make the mess that is your shirt. Pig certainly suits.”

“Wha… Hey. That… That was uncalled for. You’ll pay for that.” Shouted the newly named pig man.

Feeling confident, Aidan grabbed one of the wooden stools next to him and motioned to the two guards. “You two are not going to push me around. I won’t let you repeat what that moron did to me. Come on!”