“It is time we fight something more than these small lizards. We have new gear and I’m still able to keep my ability to somewhat control the beasts. The quests seem to have a greater amount of rewards that we should utilize before we leave tomorrow.” Mom pulled her own grilled meat away from the fire, perfectly cooked like she always managed.

Cindy ended up burning her meat once more as she did her best to listen to her mother. A worry filled her voice, “Mom, I’ll only get more powerful if we take our time and farm up all the gear I can get my hands on. I told you, I get a lot of benefits from going broader in my abilities. Maybe we wait and farm up some gear.”

“Are you questioning me Cindy?” The tone was harsh, just like when she commanded Cindy to start murdering the creatures she was able to pacify.

Cindy froze curling in on herself as she grew quiet. None of her ideas seemed good enough for Mom to take seriously. The seemingly unstoppable ability for her to command the monsters around her probably made her overconfident. Cindy hoped that this next monster could resist her, show her that it was smarter for them to take the time to be fully prepared. “No, I just want to be careful. I don’t want either of us to get hurt.”

Mom ate silently tearing through the meal as Cindy forced herself to eat all the burnt meat. Mom had chastised her heavily when she refused to eat the meat she hadn’t done correctly. Even if her mom gave her time to just get cooking right, let her learn more about this world without being forced to push past everything and focus on the mission. Why couldn’t they just enjoy their time together?

“I understand that but don’t you want to go home? That is why we’re here right? To save this world and go home together. Once this is all over we can do this grinding for gear. I would rather be done with this so that we can look upon this world from above.” There was a dark gleam in Mom’s eyes that sent shivers down Cindy’s spine.

“Look at it from above? You were just talking about going home. Don’t you want to see Dad again?” Cindy hoped that she could get her to slow down, “I could always ask Gaia to bring him to us? Maybe then we can all adventure together.”

Mom was silent for a few moments that became uncomfortable, “Your father is a good man. But he would keep us from accomplishing anything. He would make us stand to the side while he took care of it all. That won’t let us be strong. We need to be strong. You understand that right? You want to be a hero, you have to be powerful.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Cindy’s heart sank. She didn’t know why but she had kept the fact that she had wishes left from Mom. Something deep inside her told her it should just be a secret. The images of them adventuring as a family and saving the world together was dashed against the rocks of her mom’s words. “I have to be strong.” There could only be placating mom now.

“That’s my girl. Now come on. It’s time we fight one of these Boroclops.” Mom pulled out a map she bought with some of the tennies she had earned with the elizards. It highlighted where different monsters could be. “There are a couple glades in the forest we can take the road to. The map says there are boroclops there. Let’s head out and take it one at a time.”

Mom didn’t bother to try and hold Cindy’s hand anymore. The distance between them slowly grew each time Cindy disagreed with her mom. This just made Cindy not want to argue or talk anymore. Fear of displeasing her mom enough to drive her away stilled her tongue. Cindy filled herself with as much bravery as possible and brushed her hand against her mother’s. A silent plea for attention and affection.

The hand opened and took her hand. The warmth of it soothed Cindy deep down. Making the memories of a cold still hand grasped so tightly in her own fade away. Taking deep breaths as her mind warred against herself she was so lost in thought that she didn’t even notice when they stopped at the first glade.

Cindy looked up and her heart froze, the boroclops were huge monsters. Their shaggy hair hung as they tower at least twice as tall as a man and four times as long. A single bloodshot eye lay on its forehead. The massive tusks made Cindy shiver a little. Thinking how she could possibly take on something so large filled her.

“Ok Cindy, you’re going to draw its attention and if you start getting to be in too much danger I’ll step in with my commanding ability.” Mom let go of her hand and gently pushed between her shoulders pushing her closer to the monsters.

“You want me to try and fight them alone?” Cindy felt her confidence draining looking at the sheer size of the beasts.

“I believe in you,” Came the honeyed words of her mom.

Cindy had fire and electric spells. Plus the dash ability from the elizard cloak. She started to go through her head on how she would fight the monster. This was the first big step towards saving this world. She just had to take it.

Cindy’s feet were rooted in place as she stared, she took a deep breath before stepping forward. She just needed to be safe, dance around the enemy. Something that big couldn’t be that agile right.

“Go on Cindy. Show momma what you can do.” Cindy looked back at the judging eyes of her mother. Screwed up her bravery and confidence as high as she could and stepped forward finally freeing her feet from the fear.

Cindy lay exhausted staring up at the sky. Her health was half full, stamina was nearly empty, her mana gone, she hurt all over. A stream of items filtered into her chest as the boroclops slowly disintegrated into motes of light. The massive cracks from the hundred or so spell attacks spread throughout its body.

Slowly mom loomed over her, “Was that so hard?”