8/9 - The Holy Lands - wilderness - evening

Today was a new day. I was out on the field working. Me, Marie, and some others were out hunting for food. Alex didn't want us to waste spending money on the meat we can easily get out in the wild. Currently, I've captured nothing, but on the other hand, Marie and Racheal had some in hand.

"Proxy, you still haven't gotten anything yet," Marie pointed out as if I didn't know.

"Yeah, I didn't."

"Not even a white Mair?"

A white Mair is the combination of a squirrel and a rabbit, fast as hell, and can climb up trees just as quickly.

"It...easy," Racheal said in broken English.

She was getting a bit better at speaking but she still needs a ton of practice before she’s able to speak properly.

"Yeah, all you need to do is conceal your presence," Marie explained.

"I...very...good...at it," Racheal elated with a proud look about her.

"Yep, you are."

Marie rubbed her head. Tch, whatever, I can do better. I just need to find something better that'll show them all up.

"I'm going on ahead," I told Marie.

"Wait up, we're not done clearing this area yet."

"I'm just going on ahead, relax."

I went on ahead despite her calls. Walking through the woods I only found animals that weren't worth bragging about. I gotta find something that's gonna make everyone's jaw drop to the floor...

"Hm?"

There was something far off ahead of me. I went over to what it was. It looked like a bear's body with a boar's head and a bull's horns (it was like a toy that can have its limbs or torso switched with other parts, it was sort of horrifying). It seemed like it was eating a Mair.

"Nasty. . .but perfect."

It was big enough to be considered a predator and it was clearly on the prowl for prey. Little does it know that I'm gonna sneak up on it. Though, it does seem like sneaking up on it would be a bad idea, that's why I should get the jump on it from the tree-tops. Slowly, quietly I stepped on the tree branch, I was on top of the creature now, I took out some knives I had on me. Standing up on the branch, I got ready to drop down on it. Taking a deep breath, I dropped on it, stabbing it with my knives.

"All right!"

The monster's cried out in pain from my attack. It was tossing around whatever-which-way. It was gonna take more than moving aggressively to knock my ass off; I'm a master at the animatronic bull game.

"What's the matter, is that all you got?"

I wanted to use the knife to hit its head but I needed it to stay in its back so I could hang on to its back.

"You don't have me beat yet! Whoa, what the!?"

Beyond my expectations, it stood itself up on its feet. It gave a short roar and ran backward onto a tree.

"Augh!"

A painful thud that found itself coming from my back. It stung like a bitch. It kept doing it over and over again, unrelenting in its action. My hand's firm grip was getting weaker and weaker. Eventually, I tapped out and let go of the thing.

"You bastard, if it's a fight you want, then a fight is what you'll get. . . Wait."

A revelation came to me, I didn't have my knives. They were still in the thing's back.

"Oh, crap. . .Um, say. . .You're not too angry about me stabbing you, right?"

It gave a low growl in response. Forgiveness seems like a big no-no. So like any rational human being, I ran.

"Oh, shit, shit, it's behind me!"

That thing was fast for its size. It was keeping pace with me even when I was doing my best to outrun. I want to try moving to the sides, but I don't know if strafing will get me killed or not, so running dead ahead will be my best bet probably. Nope, no, not a good idea, it'll catch up eventually if I keep running forward. I need to do something, or I'm going to become chow food. It was then I saw a strange root sticking up from the ground. It intersected with the other roots, layering themselves next and on top of each other. There was enough space for me to crawl through. So, like an Olympic diver, I got down to my chest and crawled like a cockroach. The monster followed me in but couldn't get its mouth past the outside. It was stuck in the roots while I just got done getting out.

"Haha, what's the matter, got yourself in a Chinese trap?"

I went over to it to take my knives back.

"Don't mind if I do."

I plucked my knives out of its back and it gave out a roar that was ear-shattering. The stinging in my ears had me stunned for a brief few seconds. That was enough time for it to break the roots and hit me with the back of its arm. Blocking resulted in me being flung at a tree behind me. A painful jolt goes through my back and my head feels groggy after hitting the tree. It was a good guess that I wasn’t going anywhere for a bit. That's fine, might as well try my luck.

"All right, bring it on then!"

It was a do or die time, and I guess I had to do this.

"HAAA!"

A spear went through the bear and was pulled right out. Marie toppled the animal from behind

"Marie, damn, that was impressive. But that one was mine, so-"

She smacked me in the face before I could finish. It was an all-around stinging sensation.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Why did you run off on your own!? If I wasn't here you would be dead!"

She put my arm over her shoulder.

"I'm-"

"Don't say a word! We're going back to camp!"

Marie was not going to have it this time. Our excursion for today came to an end.

Anti-bandit camp - medical tent - afternoon

I had a make-shift cast on my arm. It kind of itched a bit, making the thing uncomfortable to wear. Raven came back into the medical tent.

"Proxy, you're going to be fine for now, but your arm did suffer a minor fracture, nothing too serious, but I notified the leader about it and he has barred you from fighting for a couple of weeks."

"Seriously!?"

That was not music to my ears at all. This was just a minor fracture, I can still fight! But, I knew that it was no use to argue back.

"Proxy, I'm also going to have you on suspension even after you recover," Marie issued.

"WHAT!? Are you fucking kidding me!"

"Let this be a lesson to you about off on your own..."

"Just shut up already. I had enough of this bullshit for one day."

I left the tent with no intention of listening to Marie acting all high and mighty, it pissed me off to no ends. Why the hell does she think she controls what I do!? Damnit, now it's just pissing me off! Damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit. . .

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"I can't stand her. . .!"

Thinking about it and getting angry isn't gonna solve my problem. As for this wound, I wasn't going to waste a week for this arm to recover. That's why I'm gonna use a loophole.

...

Richard was healing my arm at a slow rate, it took nearly half an hour to get this fixed and it seemed to exhaust Richard but he insisted on helping me.

"Sorry Proxy, this is the best I can do as of now."

"No problem, my arm feels much better, buddy."

"Move it slowly, see if my healing worked."

Moving it a bit I didn't feel any type of discomfort at all. Well, that settles it, I'm feeling much better now!

"Welp, thanks for your help Richard, I gotta get going now."

"Hang on a sec, where are you going?" Richard grabbed my arm. "Proxy, you should take a minute to relax before going out?"

"I'm good to go, so I'm gonna get some exercise."

"You need to take it easy for a bit. You've been pushing yourself as of late. Take a bit of a break before doing what you're doing."

It was true that I was fighting and becoming much more active than usual and have been getting more exercise done ever since the arena fight with Quincy. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to take a few minutes off.

"Alright, I'll sit for a few minutes and that's that."

"That's fine by me."

Richard took out some sweets from a bag. They were sweet to the eyes from how puffy and soft they were.

"So, how's the magic training," I asked him.

"It could be going better. My healing is still for crap, so I need to do better."

"Why don't you ask Selena for help?"

"I did, she told me that she can't help me. She said she was too busy and couldn’t be bothered."

"That sucks, what about the books you borrowed?"

"They aren't used to help master Source, but to know the history of Source and about the attributes.."

"That's pretty useless."

"Not really, I did learn some things about Source. For one, it wraps itself around a person like a layer of clothing. It can be controlled to a degree, so that's why I'm trying to learn how to use my Source by trying to manipulate it, then make better use of it in my healing."

"I see."

It Sounds pretty complicated for me to understand, so I won't even try to.

"Let's talk about something else," Richard suggested.

"Shoot."

"Well then. . .Do you think you graduated?"

Yikes, wasn't trying to think much on that subject ever since we got here.

"Had to bring that up, didn't ya? I'm guessing I did okay, judging from the fact I passed 3 out of 4 quarters. What about you?"

"I most definitely did. I was elected Valedictorian after all."

"Seriously!? Congrats man."

"Thanks. Though, to be honest, I didn't aim to become it since it wasn't to my interests."

Man, his disinterest in it is making me feel a bit bad for the poor kid that wanted to be it.

"It's not that bad, man. If I was Valedictorian I would be bragging about it."

"I suppose. . .Say, why don't you try your hand at it when we get back home?"

"No deal, that sounds like I gotta get grades higher than a 70 or an 80."

"Not really a big deal, you should just try harder."

"I like taking the easy-breezy path, so no thanks."

"It wouldn't hurt to apply yourself by at least a bit."

"I do, if anything I do so more than Lauren."

"How come? Actually, wasn't she selected to be valedictorian?"

"Lauren knew she would get elected, so she intentionally got above-average scores."

Lauren puts any other slacker to shame since she's smarter than the majority of us said, slackers. Honestly, it pisses me off...

"Do you think anyone is looking for us?” Richard somberly asked. “. . .I mean, do you think anyone knows that we've gone missing? Actually, I'd get why people would notice you've gone missing, but I doubt anyone would notice that I did."

Richard never told me anything about his family, and if he did it would be a slip-up. The only thing I do know is that he has a brother. I'm guessing he doesn't have a great relationship with him. Even so, I know that “the people not looking for him” part isn't true.

"Don't be ridiculous, I wouldn't count you out yet. Birch likes you more than me, so he probably is searching for you, so don't even sweat over it!"

I made a double peace sign and gave a smile to cheer him up.

"Why do you say that as if he isn't doing the same for you?"

"I'm just guessing from what I think, I could be wrong."

Birch and I had the "me annoying him with my mischief" type of relationship. At least, that's how Lauren said it was. I never asked for him to clean up after me, and yet Lauren still annoys me about it. Now that I'm thinking about Lauren and Birch. I bet they’re glad I’m out of their hairs.

"Well, I shouldn't waste time here, I gotta go and exercise in camp since I'm not allowed to leave. Although, I don't do what I'm told."

"Proxy, are you gonna do something reckless?"

"Nah, mildly tame."

I'm lying of course, but I think it's best not to say anything about that.

"If you say so. . .Just be careful, I don't want to lose my friend out here."

"Don't worry, you won't."

I walked away from Richard who was still eating the sweets. There were many reasons why I fight, to survive, to have fun, but growing stronger was a new one; and I need to get my goggles back, and to make sure nobody has to save my ass ever again. So I won’t let Marie or anyone else get in the way of that.

8/10 - Anti-army camp - midnight

It was the dead of night, everyone was asleep. I, on the other hand, was ready to go, I had my stone sword and some knives on me and a map of the whole continent with bandit camps marked down on it. Tomorrow the group was going to fight a bandit camp that had twice the numbers of the previous ones. They haven't told me where it was due to my suspension, but I think I can find someone who does. Turning on the bike near the camp was a no-go, so I pushed it away before turning it on. I went from the camp, I went past the village I fought in today. The route I took to Cade's camp was easy to remember since many landmarks involved a weirdly shaped boulder, a statue of an animal that looked like a mix between a platypus and a duck, and a statue of a person in a robe with its head upside-down. The tall trees were in my sight as I was nearing them.

"Okay, this is it."

I picked up the speed after reassuring myself. After a bit, I arrived safely outside of the tall tree forest. I quietly got off my bike and walked near the trees. I wasn't able to go any further before heading something cocking behind me.

"Hands up, don't move!"

I felt cold steel against my head. It felt like a circular cylinder. I heard this voice before, it belonged to that chick sounding guy.

"Whoa, easy there kid. I'm just here to see Cade."

"What do you want with him?"

"I want to talk to him about something."

"That being?"

"About fighting some bandits. . ."

I heard the gun being cocked, for sure I thought I was going to die.

"Move it," the kid coldly commanded.

"You gonna let me see him?"

"I said move it!"

The kid with the gun kicked my ass(literally), pushing me forward.

"Watch it, you brat!"

"I told you to move, blame yourself," he sarcastically responded.

"You didn't have to kick me in the keyster. How would you feel if I kicked your ass (literally)."

"I'd shoot you before you got the chance."

"Fair point."

I got up from the ground and went over to where the ropes are without making any sudden movements. There was also the added benefit of a kid with a gun behind me. We climbed up the only rope available. Up on top, Cade and some others were sitting around with a lantern-lit up.

"Proxy is that you," Cade asked, surprised to see me this late.

"Hey, Cade, how are ya?"

I rolled off the floor. The gun kid poked me with a dangerous weapon.

"Puck, what are you doing," Cade questioned him.

"He came to 'talk' to you, at the dead of night with weapons on him."

Okay, I'll admit, that is pretty suspect, but I wasn't thinking of that, so cut me some slack.

"I can explain why I do, but before that, can you stop poking me with that thing!"

The kid named Puck removed the gun from my back while keeping it trained on me. At least it's not hit me.

"You see, I wanted to see if you'd know something about a bandit camp on this map. I opened the map I had on me. I pointed to a marked point a bit up North from our current position. It had a chicken-foot road nearby. There was a note saying: current target.

"Yeah, we've scoped out this camp before. It has twice the number of bandits there. It's a bigger camp due to being near several different small villages. It's composed of a group of Moths. Overall, it would be a tough fight to take over the camp," Cade concluded his analytical explanation.

"I see. . . Thanks for the info."

I packed up the map into my pocket.

"Sorry to disturb you guys, I'll be on my way. Thanks for the info,"

"Wait, are you going to attack that camp by yourself," Wedge inquired with an explosive shocked expression.

"Yeah, I am, and don't even think about stopping me."

There was a moment where I expected them to try to stop me, but nobody objected. They just looked at me with a blank stare, except for Cade, who seemed as if he was nodding off.

"Nah, if you're dead set on it, I won't try to. But, if you'll let us, can we join you," Cade offered.

"I want to do this on my own."

"The way I see it is this: you're going there for your own reasons, and we're going there to fight some bandits. We might just so happen to cross each other's path, and if that's the case, wouldn't it be better to help each other out defeating a common enemy?"

Cade put a hand on my shoulder and was smiling with one eye open. His carefree expression towards this whole thing was a shock to me since I thought I was going to get reprimanded. I also had to admit, when he put it like that it sounded convenient, plus he was going out of his way to help me.

"I guess that means it would be nonsensical to not accept some help from passing bandit fighters."

"Alright then! Puck, Wedge: go get the other fighters! Tell them to drink some Oling Juice and get their gear. Tell them we're gonna attack the camp up North!"