“Alright, lay low. These guys are not to be trifled with no matter how low level they may seem.” Bella was being extra careful. We had only seen her during training and in town before, so seeing her at work in the field was a completely different experience. We were at the edge of the Westfall and slowly heading further in. She hadn’t explained the job to us yet. “Stop here. I’m going to scout ahead for a bit.”

She disappeared into the brush. I could hear her for a little bit but the noises quickly vanished as she got further away. I turned to Javi, “What do you think we’re doing out here?”

“Hunting something. She said it was low level so it probably isn’t too serious. Maybe a goblin or a flentel or something?” Good guesses. Both of those are pack monsters, so they shouldn’t be underestimated despite their levels. Soon enough I could hear the bushes rustle again. We braced our weapons but relaxed when we saw it was Bella.

“Okay. There’s a small encampment up ahead. It should be easy to take them out. I’ll head in straight away. You two guard my rear and make sure none of the goblins get away. All in all, I expect you’ll see minimal combat.” That’s good, if we learned anything from our training, it’s that we aren’t strong enough for big threats.

“Goblins huh. What kind of numbers are we looking at? Are they all standard goblins or is there some variance?” Bella gave me a proud smirk at that. It seems I made the right choice in wanting more information. “Eight goblins surrounding a cave, likely more inside. Most of them are standard but I saw two archers, I will take care of them first so that they do not become a concern. We want to avoid alerting the ones inside so that we don’t get overrun. We’re clearing the whole place out but we can’t take them all at once.”

So that’s the job, clear the cave of goblins. Simple enough. I looked over to Javi and he gave me a nod. “We’re ready. Let’s do this.”

Bella nodded and led the way towards the cave with us close behind. A short time later we could see the cave from our vantage point. Bella pointed to the sides. “Spread out and get ready. I’ll be attacking in two minutes. Make sure none of them get away. If you have time, watch me fight. It’ll be a good lesson for you.”

I headed off and Javi did the same. I could feel my anticipation growing. My first real fight. Not a training, not watching someone else fight, it was really me fighting. I drew my shortsword and felt the weight of the handle in my hand. Was it always this heavy? It felt like a million things were crashing into me now. I was going to fight. I was going to kill. I mean, it was a monster, but still. Kill. Kill something. I’m an ordinary guy. I’ve never killed anything more than a bug. What was I thinking? I can’t fight. I need to get away. I can’t do this. I’m going to mess everything up. I need to-

Suddenly Bella was in the middle of the enemies. Her sword flashed out and cut off the head of one of the archers before some energy shot out of her hand and pierced the other one straight through the eye. No time to run. The battle has started and I have to be a part of it. The goblins charged Bella but she fought them off well. Without surprise, she wasn’t killing them as fast but she was still making short work of them. She probably didn’t need our help after all. I wouldn’t have to fight. I could just leave it all to her.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

But no. One of the goblins decided to run. Run straight towards where I’m hiding.

Shit.

Shit shit shit.

What do I do? Training. My training. What’s the first thing you do in combat? Analyze, you analyze. Learn your enemy.

Hafdg

Class: None

Strength: 35/87

Speed: 38/91

Durability: 27/78

Intelligence: 13/68

Charisma: 8/43

Luck: 11/52

Abilities: Analyze(D)

Titles: None

Criminal Record: None

Training. My training paid off didn’t it. Before training I was similar in stats to this guy. But now I easily outclass him. He was almost on me now. I readied my sword and sprung forward. He hadn’t noticed me and was easily caught by surprise. My sword went into his neck and it was over. Just like that. I did it. I won. I defeated the enemy. I, I killed it.

Now, I noticed the blood covering my sword and hands. My stomach churned and I ran back over to the bushes. And I quickly started throwing up. I killed something. With my own hands. It died because of me. And that is something I have to accept. To live in this world and have this lifestyle I have to take lives.

I felt something harden within me at this moment. I killed. I had to kill. It caused a moment of weakness this time but it won’t happen again. From now on, I’ll be ready for it.

“You done getting rid of breakfast over there?” And back at it. Not a moment of rest to celebrate my growth I see. I turned around to see what had become of the place. The goblin near me was of course still dead, my sword lay on the ground by it. It seems that like me, Javi also got a kill. And unlike me, he did not throw up afterwards. Great, he’ll hold that over me for a while. However, by Bella there was a miniature bloodbath. Six goblins dead and each one seemed to have been killed in a different way.

“Good work you two! We’ll take a quick break and then head into the cave.”

She sat down on a nearby rock and glanced over at the two of us, “While we rest I want you to tell me what you observed about my fighting.” She looked at both of us in turn, seemingly waiting for a response.

Javi spoke up first, “You didn’t just use your weapon, you also shot beams and stuff.”

“That’s right! I am an Aether Swordsman, I primarily use my sword, but I have the ability to manipulate Aether to enhance my fighting style. And you?” She looked directly at me this time.

“I could follow along with your combat. When I saw Alicia fight it was like a whirlwind that I couldn’t even perceive. But with you, I can track your movements and understand what you are doing.”

“Very good! You can follow along with me for two reasons. For one, Alicia is a beast, it would be difficult for anyone to follow her movements. My stats are much lower and closer to yours. For two, you have combat knowledge now. You know what to look for. Great answers the both of you. Now let’s get going.”