I landed on the ground, hard. It was hard enough that I don’t know how long it was before I woke up. When I did come back to consciousness I was sore from my head to my toes, and in fact, the pain in my toes was getting a little worse. I could hear a 'slap slap slap' and growling as I opened my eyes to find a monster chewing on my boot and trying to wrench it off my feet. Not far away another was trying to gnaw through my backpack’s strap.

They were about the size, build, and general of a capuchin monkey, with a bushy tail that reminded me of a squirrel, a face resembling a shaved lemur, with huge bat-like ears and the crown of its head covered with dull hair like the kind you would find on a doll. Its feet were as bare as its face, and covered in coverings made of broad green leaves. Its compatriot looked the same.

The one on top of my leg let out a screech and tried to wrench my boot off yet again.

Was I getting robbed by some glorified squirrels? Almost subconsciously as I tried to figure out how to get it off of me, I issued the mental command for analysis.

Instantly, I was given information about it while I tried to form my plan.

“Cobluchins are wild creatures caught between the ground and the trees. One and all obsessed with leather, they covet it like some covet gold; and dream of nothing better than creating or stealing a pair of leather shoes of their own to cover their incredibly sensitive and sore feet. This cobluchin is male. All cobluchins are fae and nature-primarily aligned monsters. This cobluchin has a secondary artifice alignment. Its tertiary alignment is locked. It's level is one.”

So I was being robbed of my shoes and backpack! And they were after the leather itself, not even the contents. With a glance around I could see that I was on my own and that there was no way to get close enough to my reliquaries to let out Baloo the Cerbearus or Bagheera the Ossicarn.

So I let out my inner pro wrestler and slapped at where I expected the cobluchin’s ankle and instantly got a reaction. As it screeched and circled to meet the source of its pain, I rolled to the left and threw it off of me.

Then I stumbled to my feet and took stock. My sword scabbard was still at my right hip, held there by my belt - good. I moved my foot to make it sit right in the boot and glared. With a charge, I sent the one nearest to me scampering to its fellow but then they both were staring at me from atop my stolen backpack. They began to hiss.

I drew my sword with my left hand and held it in front of me with both. I took a step forward, this was my first real fight and I was keenly aware I wasn’t moving fast. Practice was one thing but as I tried to close the gap I was taught two things about my enemies that Analysis had not taught me.

One, cobluchins were fast. Two, cobluchins did not move alone. They operated as clans. Before I could even close with the two on top of my backpack and pry them free I found myself swarmed by cobluchins dropping from the trees above.

I was bitten, scratched, and slapped a dozen times in as many minutes. I had to throw myself and buck like a bull to get them off of me, and where I had before faced two now I was half-encircled by a dozen cobluchins. Two of them started trying to fight with my backpack to open it, with a third practically rubbing its paws together to grab whatever it could out of it.

I made some experimental slashes in the group’s direction, as well as stomping a few times. “Get! Get out of here! And away from my stuff!”

They didn’t move. So I charged and started slicing. One, two, three, four, five. While I didn’t move quick enough or dexterously enough to hit any of them it did get them to flee into the trees and move away. Not before stealing something out of my backpack though.

The backpack trio was halfway up the tree before I saw they had stolen the monster egg I had found on my first day in Hekatondrona. I felt my anger rising uncontrollably because while it had not hatched in that whole time, it felt like a failure on my part. How would I protect my family, and save them from the circumstances of this world, if I couldn’t even protect an egg?

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

I had to protect it! I had to get it back. How could I be failing this hard so quickly? The cobluchins fled out of my sight.

[[ You have successfully defeated a swarm of Cobluchins! You have gained five experience points! ]]

There was even chiptune victory music. I grit my teeth. This was not a victory. As I resecured my backpack, I added a task to the obvious task of finding my party members and regrouping. I had to save the egg, and I had to do it before they provided harm to it.

Throwing the bag over my shoulders, I began to walk through the dark cave which somehow held a forest.

***

I ran into the first of my party in less than five minutes; hearing a scuffle in front of me and the voice of Alec speaking with a series of grunts. "Stop. Trying. To. Take. That."

I reached up my energy and tapped the reliquaries of Ossicarn and Cerbearus right my right hand while holding my sword in the left.

Volleys of golden energy flowed out, quickly turning orange then lightening to yellow, then white, and finally blue each of the creatures appeared by my side. Cerbearus at my left and Ossicarn at my right, they both looked at me. I jabbed my right pointer finger forward, and my monster partners charged forward. As they did, so did I.

As we closed the distance, I saw another baker’s dozen of Cobluchins, with three of them trying to remove the sling straps that made up part of Craytipult’s body. As Craytipult swiped with its claws, Alec swung the giant bubble wand-shaped staff like it was a bo staff and he was an expert in staff combat. His efforts kept the ten outer Cobluchins from closing with Craytipult.

This time I didn’t hesitate.

“Baloo hit them with a Bear-rel Roll! Bagheera pounce on one of the Cobluchins attacking Craytipult.”

Without hesitation, my monsters reacted. With a practiced leap Bagheera launched herself at the biggest of the creatures, faint green energy floating from its paws as if its leap was empowered by more than its muscles.

Baloo looked as if he tripped and went into a tumble, but kept on tumbling. As he did, green energy matching that which had surrounded Bagheera’s feet began to circle his whole body and he picked up speed.

Without missing a beat Alec threw his body out of Baloo’s path and the bear hit the Cobluchins hard enough to send a few flying backward as if they were a wet towel being snapped. Bagheera slashed at its opponent a few times and pulled it off of Craytipult by enraging it. The ossicarn ran back towards me, and I brandished my sword at the monkey that chased it.

I hesitated in charging in myself or trying to stop it from chasing my kitten partner, but as the monkey goblin monster took a pink and green colored swipe at Bagheera and caused a pain meow from it I acted on instinct. It wasn’t as simple as seeing red so much as knowing if I didn’t act my partner would be hurt more.

My sword crashed into the Cobluchin as it tried to run, and it flew backward, rolling and hitting a tree. Blood dripped from the blade, and the Cobluchin let out a screech. Then it ran up the tree it had slammed into. When it made itself to a branch, it screeched again, and the majority of the others called out in response. Quickly, they were a furry avalanche in reverse and all in the treetops. Only the two that were yanking on Craytipult’s horn leather were still here, and they too were trying to retreat, but Craytipult was seasoned and didn’t hesitate.

As they turned to run, the horned slingshot crab snapped its claws at their tails and yanked back. With grace I would never expect from a decapod, Craytipult threw them over itself and swung them spinning. Before they hit the ground, Alec batted them away.

[[ You have successfully defeated a swarm of Cobluchins! You have gained five experience points! ]]

Once again, I heard the chiptune music from before with the message, and from Alec’s smile I was sure he had gotten it too.

“Thanks for the help, you really saved Craytipult and I’s bacon! Stupid Cobluchins, they a menace. A jackanack would just pummel you, and leave you with no food on the field. Those Cobluchin were trying to take Craytipult’s straps! That’s like someone pulling off your finger!”

I gave a nod, “I was already on my guard because they stole a monster egg from me, and it didn’t feel like it was much hard fighting. Was honestly pretty easy. ”

Which led to a shaky grin from the shepherd. “It was. But we should go. Cobluchins are easily startled, but they will be back and in greater numbers.”

I had to fight the urge to snicker childishly at the reference he hadn’t even been sure he made. Instead, I took a deep breath after gritting my teeth and digging the fingernails of my right hand into its palm hard enough to make it hurt.

“Yeah, you’re right. Hopefully, we can find everyone else and they won’t be in danger.”

Craytipult gurgled some bubbles at me and my monsters in greeting and Alec gave a nod. Soon the five of us were on the move.