Mila’s perspective.
I tripped forward absentmindedly in reaction to what I saw. I raised my head again and leaned in, tilting my head in their direction. Instead, I could only shake my head as I sighed. I gazed notably at their futuristic appearance. It was a sight I’ve never witnessed.
“Hey Mila, what’s got you so captivated?”
I could see Ron wiping his hands together to remove some black dust before approaching me, and I could only lean and exasperatingly point towards the people. Ron was a bearded white man in typical blacksmith clothing, brown beard hair and eyes with rosy red cheeks. You might think he could be mistaken for anybody if he wasn’t 7 feet tall.
“I’ve never seen people with such a look!”
“Oh them, I am surprised it’s your first time seeing them! Those guys over there are the Lunar Capital guards. They’re people who are watching over the exams this year for the academy recruitment program.”
“Why would such imposing individuals visit this tiny village?”
“The reason was your parents moving here and teaching people to fight. Though the teaching was short-lived, rare diamonds in the rough emerge occasionally. Actually, my oldest daughter passed the exam last year.”
“How is she doing, Uncle Ron?”
Ron has no blood relation to me, but he was such a positive influence in my family’s life that I couldn’t help but at least call him uncle. But I saw Ron looking into the distance. His smile dimmed for a moment before returning.
“It’s clear that she has become quite ‘competitive’. You’ll see when you get to the capital. She’ll be excited to see you though, Mila.”
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“Oh, I have some meat for Thomas. I can’t waste precious food.”
“Alright little one, you better get going.”
I exhaled, looking up at Ron. I wasn’t little compared to the kids my age, but Ron towered above me. He stood at 7 feet tall, but his burly build would deceive you at a distance. His shop compensated for that worsening the effect.
*POMF*
I lost my balance, almost falling forward if I hadn’t launched my foot in front of me. I saw the wonderful green grass and rich dirt beneath my feet as the pain brought me back to my senses. To express my exasperation, I stood up and looked at Ron, who was now behind me, waving my finger at him.
“Hey! If I wasn’t so durable, you could have knocked the wind out of me!”
“You answered yourself, little lass.”
His smug smile would pierce my being. I could only gaze around as I failed to understand what exactly he meant by that. I shook my head in resignation and hustled towards Thomas’ meat prep shop.
“Shoot I forgot to give him the Gems,”
I could only complain in my heart with thoughts I didn’t even understand in regret, but I didn’t dare to walk back after that debacle.
“THOOMASS!”
“Oh Mila, was Ron bullying you again?”
I felt listless after that encounter, yet I wasn’t physically tired.
“Yeah, I forgot to give him the gems I collected this morning.”
“Well, I can bring him the Gems later.”
“Really! Thanks Thomas. Here is the meat I collected earlier.”
He inspected the carcasses I skinned earlier and delightfully smiled from ear to ear.
“You’ve improved since the last time. This makes for a bonus. 175 dollars for three abyssal wolves. It’s funny how these animals have such delicious meat, despite being a predatory animal.”
In this sudden instant, a sound assaulted my ears. The world around me almost lost its meaning as I covered my ears, then the shockwave hit. My organs felt like rupturing. My entire being felt violated by the explosive shockwave. I had no clue which way was up or down. My ears felt stuffy, and all I could hear was ringing. I couldn’t keep my balance, falling from its force. All I could think was weird. Something felt wrong, but I couldn’t figure out why. The impact left my vision blurred. Slowly… my eyesight returned, and I looked towards home. I stood up just to fail, and fail again. But in my determination, I stood up again and ran in what I could hope was straight home. At last, my vision cleared up and I could see the fire towards home. It was then I ran as fast as I could, back to what I hoped was still home.