“Hah…hah…hah…” Glenn heaved with difficulty, struggling to decide whether he should be happy or terrified in this situation. Father Albenas, the nightmarish-eldritch creature that tried to eat him, died. Or so it seemed.
“Fuck…” He blurted out as he tried to extricate himself out of late Father Albenas’ embrace. The disgusting tentacles dripping with a dark liquid were sticking to his clothes, making it quite difficult for him to escape from the creature’s arms.
The saliva, blood, and…whatever that liquid was didn’t make this task any easier. Nonetheless, Glenn eventually managed to extricate himself, not without much effort.
“Ugh…So it’s dead…for sure, right?” Glenn mumbled to himself as he looked down at the corpse, wincing when he saw that worms were navigating the monster's corrupted flesh, eating their way through.
He turned away to try and save himself from puking his guts out again. He sat down a little further away from Father Albenas, and drew a deep breath, looking at his shaking hands. He clenched both of them tightly, shivering, before quickly examining himself for any injuries. Thankfully, besides some minor scratches and a few bruises, there was nothing urgent to attend to. Once Glenn made sure he wasn’t going to bleed out, he allowed himself to relax. He sighed deeply and looked up at the crimson, starry sky, tinted with the light of the blood moon.
“...In what hell did I fucking land…?” He muttered, before pushing himself up and turning back toward the dead creature. He walked up to it, braving his disgust and the scent of rotting meat, looking at his sword stabbed in the corpse.
“...Can’t give up the only thing I have to defend myself, can I?” Glenn snickered sarcastically, gritting his teeth as he tried to reach for the weapon. The hilt, wrapped in leather strips, was covered in black blood and stuck to his hand. He pulled, trying his best to ignore the suction noise or the disturbing feeling of cutting through some kind of slime. It was very different from stabbing the ghoul from earlier but still very, very disturbing. Thankfully, Father Albenas didn’t bleed out everywhere when he pulled the blade—
Gush!
He gasped and took a step back as he finally managed to get his weapon back, putting his arm in front of his eyes to block the black blood from getting in his eyes. He hurriedly retreated, keeping a safe distance between him and the bloody corpse.
“Man…This isn’t getting any better, is it…?” Glenn grimaced as he looked at himself, covered in red, black, all kinds of different colored, unidentified mixtures, as well as some bits of flesh here and there. Oh, and there even was a feeler!
Glenn tried to shake away some of…it, but that didn’t help much. A bath would probably do him a great favor, be it mentally or so he could avoid smelling like the tastiest treat in the whole forest. He looked at his sword, frowning when he realized the blade was now entirely purple, and slightly corroded.
“Did the blood somehow…?” Glenn looked back at the corpse and then at the sword. The weapon didn’t look like it would cut anything, the edges dull and dented due to the corrosion. Well, perhaps it was only visual, and the sword would still cut well? It didn’t matter, he only had that to defend himself, anyway. He couldn’t afford to be picky.
“A dull sword is still better than a stick…But shit, I’d rather have a sharp one, man…” Glenn shook his head, saddened. Hopefully, it wouldn’t break in two the second he used it. No, if he had to hope, that would be to not get into any more fights for now. That would be nice.
He sheathed the sword in the scabbard hanging in his back, before glancing around the forest.
“I need to clean this shit up…” Glenn muttered, listening attentively for the sound of flowing water. The fact that he had just slayed some kind of hellish, probably once human monster was still disturbing him, but he couldn’t spare the time thinking about ethics and whatnot, could he?
Glenn was about to leave the place when he suddenly remembered.
The root!
He quickly searched through the darkness, smiling when he found the root that unexpectedly saved his life. He walked up to it and built a little cairn next to it, trying his best to ignore how awkward it felt. Once he was done, he whispered a quick “thank you” and stepped away. He wasn’t going to begin his life in this seemingly new world by not upholding his promises!
With steady steps, Glenn resumed his pace toward the mountain, concentrating on the sounds of the forest. A rat squeaked, a bat flew past him, a wolf howled in the distance…Finally, Glenn heard the sound of flowing water. He barely accelerated his pace, excited, before remembering that there was a very large probability of something else being out there trying to kill and eat him.
“...Yeah, let’s stay calm and composed for now. Calm, and composed…” He mumbled through his teeth, pushing through bushes and thorns. He found the river, and a quick look from over a bush informed him of no apparent predators in the area. He stealthily walked up to the river, gathering some of it and splashing it on his face. The water was cold, practically freezing, and refreshed him quite a bit. There was a slight breeze whistling through the leaves of the dark oak trees, but it was neither warm nor cold, like a wind on a beautiful spring afternoon.
Glenn glanced inside the water, finding it quite clear, but not that clear either, and after a short consideration, made his choice. He took off his clothes one by one, making a note to himself to check them out for more information later, as well as his sword, and jumped into the water.
“Ooohhh, sh-sh-shit, it’s cold…” Glenn trembled as he clattered his teeth and hurriedly scrubbed his body from all the dirt, blood, and whatever filthy stuff he could. He almost wanted to chuckle as he felt like he was becoming slightly more human now that he wasn’t so fucking dirty, but the glacial water stopped him from doing so.
Instead, he shook like a leaf and clattered his teeth.
After a thorough, but much-needed bath, Glenn jumped out of the river, completely naked and trembling uncontrollably. He looked at his bloody, filthy clothes and sighed.
And it’s not like he could put these disgusting rags back on, now…
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Well, what stopped him?
Making a fire before going into the river would have probably been a wise idea, though.
‘That was a dumb move,’ He thought sarcastically, before gritting his teeth and shivering. He shook his head and with trembling hands slipped his clothes back on. The cozy, kind-of-clean feeling disappeared, replaced by filth and disgust.
Oh well.
He would dry naturally with the help of his clothes and his body temperature, as long as he moved around. Making a fire would certainly help. On that thought, Glenn began gathering dry moss and wood from a little farther from the river, before building a little campfire, making a circle with some big stones, and placing the sticks in an upward manner. Once he was done, Glenn looked down at his glorious, tiny wooden pyramid. He couldn’t help but feel dejected at the pitiful sight, but…
“That’ll have to do.”
The blood moon hung high in the sky, covering the river’s surroundings with a crimson hue. Thanks to it, Glenn could barely see the difference between normal stones, other normal stones, and finally a flint. He swore more than a few times when he believed he found one, and yet it was only some chunk of…whatever name stones have.
When Glenn found his flint, he drew his sword from his scabbard and winced when he saw that it was still covered in the goo-like dark liquid that Father Albenas secreted. He looked down at his tunic, more a rag than anything, with barely any indication of whose side he could have fought for back on that battlefield, and ripped a small bit from it.
Glenn used the piece of cloth to wipe his blade, before kneeling in front of the campfire. He looked at the flint, then at the sword, and sighed.
“This is going to take a long time, isn’t it?”
On these wise words, he began to strike the flint against the sword, creating a few sparks. He was trying to direct them toward the dry moss, to start the fire, but it simply wouldn’t light up. After half an hour of effort, he stopped, looked at the flint, and wondered whether he should just give up and throw this little piece of shit far away. He looked at the flint with empty eyes, contemplating, before smashing it against the sword. The sparks flew and landed on the dry moss, igniting a ridiculously tiny ember. Glenn’s eyes widened and he hurriedly changed position, blowing carefully at the ember to try and grow it into a larger flame. The night breeze blew on his back, freezing him. He ignored the shiver going down his back and didn’t lose his concentration until his body lost the fight and he sneezed.
“Shit!” He cursed, looking at the ember worriedly. Thankfully, he didn’t snuff it out, and the fire finally started. Glenn sighed in relief and snuggled next to the fire, rubbing his arms. He ignored the filth and the goo and then made sure to aliment the fire and stabilize it the best he could.
Glenn then glanced back at the river and sighed.
“Here we go again, then…” This time, he jumped in the river with his clothes on, using the occasion to also clean them up, or at least rid them of most of the filth. After the cold was too much for him to tolerate, Glenn ran out of the river and crouched next to the fire.
“...A-Alright, t-that’s one t-t-thing done. Phew…” He shook his head, feeling his heavy eyelids close by themselves. He closed his eyes, slowly falling asleep, when he suddenly woke himself up.
“No, shit, I can’t sleep now! Fuck hypothermia!” Glenn bit down on his lip, using the pain to wake himself up. If there was one place he couldn’t fall asleep in, that was the one he was in. Right next to a water source, barely hidden, with no cover or anything. The first wolf he’d meet would probably also be the last.
Glenn clenched his teeth and held his hands above the fire, warming them up. His stomach grumbled, letting him remember that food was also a problem he needed to take care of. Alongside many others, of course.
He forced himself up.
“I need to move to dry anyway…” He muttered repeatedly, trying to push away the nagging feeling that made him want to lie next to the fire and sleep as he searched through the forest. He scavenged for anything that looked edible, pulling roots and wild vegetables, as well as a few mushrooms. He’d have loved to eat some meat, but…
No way he was going to get that. Or perhaps he could hunt?
…With a sword?
Glenn shook his head. He theoretically knew how to make rabbit traps, but he wasn’t planning on staying around more than necessary. As soon as his clothes are dried, he’ll have to leave for the mountain so he can then find his way back to civilization.
Thinking about the mountain, Glenn looked up, finding it to be slightly closer than it was before. It seemed like the river he was bathing in came from the mountain.
“Huh. Source water, then. It should be fine to drink, right?” He pondered, grimacing when he remembered the number of parasites someone could get just from drinking river water and shook his head. If only he had a recipient to boil the water in…That would be at the very least a little better, but no, the army he was in did not even give him a helmet.
“...Was my side so poor they’d only give us a sword and nothing else? That’s not surprising we lost, then…” Glenn chuckled as he brought the products of his scavenging to the fire. He used the light from the flames to give them a closer look.
Hmm…This one mushroom had a red cap with white spots covering it…Not this one then…That root looked like…a root. And that thing, was it a cucumber? That looked kind of like a cucumber, but it was blue.
“...I’ll just throw away the obviously poisonous mushroom and cook the rest,” Glenn decided. He sharpened twigs and skewered the “vegetables”, before placing them over the fire. He waited patiently, hugging himself. His hair was wet and stuck to the back of his neck, giving him an occasional shiver, but nothing too displeasing.
Suddenly, a bush a few meters away trembled. Glenn blinked and rubbed his eyes, thinking he might have hallucinated, but then the bush shook harder. He slowly grabbed his sword, unsheathing it as silently as he could. Drops of water dripped from his wet hair, plopping on the ground. Glenn drew a deep breath, his fingers tightly wrapped around his sword’s hilt. He didn’t want to fight yet another nightmarish creature, but if he had to, he would.
Survival before all.
The bush trembled, and a white form jumped out of it. Glenn lunged forward, feeling his sword hit something dead in the center. He looked down at what he instinctively attacked. His eyes opened widely, and he blinked a few times, wondering if he was dreaming.
Impaled on his purple, corroded sword, was a rabbit. A white, fat rabbit that was only asking to be eaten.
“...Is that my reward? Hah,” Glenn chuckled in disbelief, the tension in his shoulders relieved. How did he even stab the rabbit? He never used a sword before, and yet…his hand seemed to know where to aim instinctively. No, it was more like the sword knew the path, and sought that path…
“Well, whatever,” Glenn dismissed these thoughts, taking the rabbit off his sword and looking at it.
That’ll do for some meat.
A few minutes later, a poorly skinned rabbit was cooking atop the fire. Glenn washed his hands in the river from the fresh blood, salivating at the smell of grilled meat. He had little to no experience in butchering, but he thought that this was a pretty good result. He had to use his sword, and it was very messy, but he eventually managed to skin the rabbit.
“I could be sad about the rabbit…” Glenn muttered when his stomach grumbled. He nodded, agreeing with his hunger.
“...Or I could eat meat. I’d rather eat meat.”
He looked at the water, wondering whether he should drink it or not. In the end, he shook his head and decided against it. He was going to climb the mountain eventually, so if he needed to drink, he might also do it close to the source.
Glenn sat next to the fire, watching the rabbit cook. The fire crackled as fat drizzled and fell in the flames.
It had been what, an hour? Two? He couldn’t tell.
And yet, he already slayed a ghoul, a tentacle human, and a rabbit.
Quite the bloody adventure he was starting, wasn’t he?