There was poison in my veins. Death surged through my body. In that one eternal moment where everyone was just beginning to freak out and react, I activated the destruction in my blood.

My shoulder exploded in fire and fury. Orange flames and malevolent purple flashed through my sight as I staggered backward.

I landed on my ass.

A great gout of pain blossomed in my gouged-out flesh, along with a torrent of blood. But the poison was mostly gone. Much of it had been destroyed by my own actions.

Granuel quickly came to stabilize me, and so too did I help with my own nature magic.

Moonwash handed me an antidote to drink, then she gave the same to Berry. She confirmed that I would be fine for now, so she healed our struggling friend first with streams of water magic that cured and renewed.

My own pain waxed and waned. I was beginning to feel sluggish, and I tasted blood in my mouth, but it was hard to say if that wasn’t caused by the damage I’d caused to myself. I just knew that the level 40 tarantula’s poison was no joke, and I was more confident in my chances against a mere flesh wound.

Moonwash rushed to my side next. Much of my shoulder had already been healed, so she focused on curing what poison remained. She then restored my entire being back to health until I could stand and stretch and function back to my peak.

“Good as new. Let’s do that again.”

““Haell No!””

~~~

“Woah,” I said. My words were echoed by my peers.

Our wagon had stopped after a slow transition into a different terrain. I climbed out of the vehicle, with Moonwash’s hands held in my own. I stood there with my friends for just a moment, to behold the new and beautiful land. From the lush green grass that went from being taller than me, to small shoots that would serve no hindrance at all. There was also a field of gold in the distance, tended to by centaur farmers. They protected the wheat from a lone bison who wanted a taste. The animal ran away and was pounced on by a bunch of lions that had remained hidden in the tall grass. Vulcatures came down to contest the still-warm meat, for they were the bulkier and more violent cousins of the scavenging vultures. The birds were driven away, but not without putting up a fight.

Elsewhere, a flight of smaller birds migrated north. A skyle dove among their ranks and they scattered, but some were still devoured by the massive flying monster with a particularly big mouth. Horses ran free in the distance, and the massive form of a grazlibeast ripped tall grass out of the earth, roots and all. A herd of rhibras ran freely against the wind, and the particularly small and lither rhinos turned around and curved until they were facing right towards our group.

They ran.

They came closer.

They were aiming for us, weren’t they?

“Is someone going to do something?” Therick asked, and Berry moved up to the front.

“Do we run? Flee? Fight? I don’t think holding our ground against that is a good idea!”

“Hmmm…” Angerly pondered. She stared at the much bigger monster at the front of the stampede. “I can stun the one in the lead… but no, you’re right. I don’t think we can face all of them.”

Granuel and Moonwash readied their tower shields as I calmly walked to the front of our position.

“It’s fine. It’ll be fine. They’re giving us a warm welcome.” I licked my lips. The enemy was fat and would surely yield a great bounty. “Let us return the favor.”

I charged before they could respond. Their words were lost in the wind. It caressed my face even through the layers of armor, in a way that felt refreshing. The air was fresh and crisp and abundant, different from the constraints of the constant forest.

I approached my prey, just as the group’s many pairs of eyes bore into mine. I smiled at the mindless glint in their gaze, but unfortunately failed to show the true wrath hidden in mine.

That was fine. Our groups kept closing in. Collision was imminent. But I curved around faster than they could turn before we could truly meet.

We only grazed each other.

That was enough.

I raked my sword through a few passing rhibras, and I threw the largest wave of wrath I could make at the entire herd.

They were left undamaged. Their bodies suffered no injury. But it was their frenzied minds that did not come out unscathed.

Taunt.

All that rage. All that animosity. It had all become focused on me and me alone.

I laughed and they gave chase.

I made use of my wrath magic to stay ahead of the pack.

My legs stung, but I did not overdo it. I showed just enough of my armored ass for the enemy to think they stood a chance. That they might yet catch up.

That was when my allies struck their flanks.

Therick stabbed one in the joints. The rhiba did not react for it was still so mad at me for no reason at all, but my friend’s next slash and Granuel’s projectiles soon got its attention.

The monster slowed down. It turned towards my friends. Angerly clobbered it good on the head with her mace, and the animal swayed. It fell on the grass and fainted, only to be finished off by Therick.

They repeated this same process. For once I decided to leave most of the kills to them just to be nice, though I did throw several balls of dismembering wrath at the herd as they continued to give chase. I even added in some weakening blasts just for fun. Rot was banned after many incidents because it was always a pain to cut around when it came to dinner time.

A rhibra fell, and then another. The hold of my taunt had lessened, their rage had subsided, and more peeled off from the herd. Berry blocked one while another was killed. Moonwash restrained two, and the rest piled on for the kill. Angerly was wounded, Therick tossed aside, and I sent a fresh wave of wrath towards them to both taunt and damage so that they left my friends alone. Berry held back those that remained, running in between them with her superior agility, and crushing their legs with the superior strength of her claws. Moonwash and Granuel tended to the wounded, and soon they were back in proper fighting condition again.

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My friends took on the remaining monsters, including one that was at the level of 20. It was large, but Berry and Moonwash managed to hold it back for long enough for the rest to take out one leg. The rest of the fight was just a slaughter from there.

There were two left chasing after me, their skin and flesh already peeling off. A few had actually died earlier from just my diffused curses alone. I decided to take the pair that remained for myself.

The first died swiftly, for it was already a miracle that the level 10 animal had even survived this long. Next was their leader, larger than any other, and I filled my sword with the pure request for destruction and sharpness as I slammed the metal into my enemy’s single horn.

The bone construct fell apart. The rhibra whined in great distress as it instinctively covered its broken wound. The cut was not clean, for that would never be who I was, but there was significantly less spread. That was the curse-aligned magic’s capability to focus its effect on enhancing what the weapon was meant to do, and to slice was the purpose of a greatsword.

I tested that promise again by acting as a guillotine.

A massive head rolled, before sagging on the ground.

~~~

“Whoa,” we found ourselves saying again. We were surrounded on all sides by a sea of golden wheat. Our two wagons had gone past a wooden gate and were now driving through a road in between two heavily armored fences. Our destination was the massive city of Gildora in the distance, and we marveled at its mighty walls and the large outward-facing spikes planted on the ground around it. Even its wide-open gates had spikes adorning its face, so that there may be no gap in their piercing defenses in case of a siege. This love for spikes extended to the outside perimeter of the fences that covered the farms outside the walls as well, and the centaur warriors largely preferred spears and lances as their weapons of choice.

A convoy of the locals trailed behind our wagon, some of them carrying carriages of their own. The other strangers on the road made way for our heavy procession, and they looked on with interest at the dead rhibras openly shown on the carriages of our new centaur friends. Granuel had hired them to help bring our massive haul into the city with the promise of a damn good feast later.

We reached the gates, and were quickly waved through by the human and centaur guards. Our small caravan made its way to the nearby parking area, and the farmers that accompanied us left their carriages in our care for now. They left with happy smiles and a small tip while I tied our horreks to nearby trees. There wasn’t any place to receive the beasts because everyone just hired centaurs for their job, especially here. People had found our choice of mounts odd, and some were offended, but more were just perplexed.

Moonwash and Berry laid out the rhibra remains for some early butchering, Granuel and Therick went off to go negotiate with some merchants, and I invited the remaining Angerly to go hang out with me and explore more of this place!

~~~

Gildora City was big, as it was right on the border between the plains of Grandera and its forests. People paid us no heed as we walked, even in our full armor. There were a lot more centaurs here than I was used to, and the people here just seemed more diverse in general. The place was wealthier than I was used to, although not by a totally crazy amount. One very noticeable thing however was how the locals were better dressed, and many sported good embroidery on their shirts.

The city made for a very lively atmosphere overall. I and Angerly quickly made it past the most overcrowded areas, and found the excitable market districts to peruse. There was wheat aplenty, as well as stalls of rice and other veggies. There were actually several small breaks in the ocean of gold we had passed by outside to accommodate for some other plants. Rice in particular was exported from elsewhere however, as people preferred to have entire settlements dominated by them.

My attention inevitably hovered over to the street food as merchants continued to hawk their wares. I sampled them all, from many fried delicacies coated in breading, to just regular bread prepared in many different styles. I loved the sandwiches that they had, and the massive portions of everything!

I shared the bounty of this place with my friends once we were done exploring.

~~~

I stared at the beautiful sunset with Moonwash as we delivered some of the rhibras we had hunted. The various farmers had left their scattered homes to gather for the feast we had promised. Most of them were centaurs, but there were also humans, ogres, and a few other species. They were all excited and happy for an excuse to party.

The preparations began, and I helped to roast a whole rhibra that had only been skinned. We used spices and condiments more endemic to this region, and soon I began to salivate from the smell alone as the meat began to cook.

People set up tables, chairs, and large cushions in the periphery to give the people a place to rest and relax. They cooked a variety of other dishes, made from vegetables, and eggs, or the barn animals that were more readily kept here in this region. Music began to play, and it was a mix of tribal and folk that I actually enjoyed. Moonwash stayed by my side as we allowed this rare moment of peace to buoy us forward in the great journey that was life.

Soon the feast was done cooking, and thanks were given to the angels that had made all this possible. I just listened respectfully to the shepherd who had been invited to the party. That was fine, he was a part of the community, and I… should not be racist. Something still needed to be done about their passive influence over everyone else, but that was not an issue to be solved tonight. The sun had sunk beneath the horizon, and now the skies were a vast canvas of stars and a bright shining moon. It was an alien sky that was now more familiar and comfortable than the world that used to be my own.

I leaned against Moonwash. We enjoyed some light alcohol with our own meals. The meat was tough, its texture rough, but it was still delicious in spite of it all. The amount of rhibras that we’d brought with us was a rare event, for the animals usually ran if things ever got too heated.

“Let’s join them,” I stood up and beckoned to Moonwash. People had began to dance around the campfire, and my girlfriend assented.

We weren’t very good. We just copied the movements of everyone else, and even that was hard for most had four feet instead of two.

It was still fun no matter how awkward our movements were, and then we split to dance with our friends and eventually the locals. Of our party, only Therick and Berry were any good.

We sat back down after all the excitement, and had another meal. Someone offered us more drinks, and then the centaur woman sat on the big and soft cushion beside us.

“What’s your deal?” she asked after some cursory greetings.

I thought over my answer for a few seconds. “We’re adventurers. We take on quests. We kill monsters.”

She looked at the food everyone was eating. “Yeah… that was impressive. Your magic is so cool!”

“Ah…” she saw that. Of course she did. People had better senses here, and it only got more extreme. But it’s fine because I’d already decided to reveal more of my abilities. Grandpa had agreed, and anything I said about his approval would technically not be a lie because he had told me everything I wanted to hear, bribes or not. I even had written statements in the secret lockers of our wagons! “It’s forbidden. I’m only allowed to do it because Golex the Hero is my grandfather, and he taught me personally.”

“...You’re joking.”

Of course, claiming to be related to a literal legend would be met with disbelief. I produced my adventurer's badge and told a few stories, until she finally bought it. By that point, a crowd of farmers had already gathered around me to listen. Even the shepherd sat nearby to hear me speak about my grandfather.

So I told more stories. From tales of mercy shown to former enemies, to sparks of brilliance that my grandfather had seen that were now lost for the Empire had swallowed up some of their culture. I massaged my language a little bit, not to make things too… revolutionary, but the shepherd among us was still displeased in the end. Most of the crowd was receptive, however, and I allowed myself a small smile upon their cheers.

My expression fell, just a little. It did irk me to extoll someone else’s virtues than to stand on my own merit. I was still an unknown, all things considered, and while I appreciated the centaurs who actually asked me about my own adventures and were interested in my accomplishments; I was still nothing compared to the reputation Grandpa had built throughout his long life.

It was in my best interest for things to remain that way, but it still… aggravated my ego. So I told a few more stories, of myself standing against beasts that would ravage entire towns and villages. I picked the ones where I had fought with friends as a compromise, so I didn’t reveal just how strong I truly was.

The night was a beautiful one, and I gave the people I had spent it with a genuine smile.