Ada was the first to notice how drained I’d become. She saw how I’d sleep through classes, barely eat, and just seemed exhausted with life. The day I was called in sick, she came by my house to drop off homework. But my mom sent her away, saying she was probably there to harm me. Then, she tore the homework into shreds, saying it was poisonous.
“Hmm…”
Opening my eyes, I blinked up at the ceiling for a second, trying to process everything. Then, it all hit me, and I shot up. I was still in the cabin, and footsteps were closing in from outside.
“Damn it,” I whispered, glancing around before spotting the trapdoor. I quickly yanked it open.
Below was a pit—littered with corpses. It reminded me of when James told me about the crawlspace under his childhood vacation house, though his didn’t have bodies. He’d talked about sneaking into the house through a trapdoor, scaring his parents, and somehow linking the story to some bizarre stock advice…
I lowered myself down, stepping onto a decaying body, feeling the slimy surface under my foot. The stench was overwhelming, filled with rot and worms. Elves, dogs, humans—it was all a horrific, decomposing mess.
I crawled out to the opposite side, away from where I’d heard the footsteps. I tried to stand, but a wave of weakness hit me hard.
“Bad boy!” Suzan’s voice rang out.
Looking left, I saw her. She was already peering down at me through the trapdoor, her head appearing upside down with a crazed smile that stretched across her face. That sight alone gave me enough adrenaline to push myself up and sprint.
“I’ll gouge your eyes out and make you eat them!” she sang as if she were reciting a nursery rhyme. “Hear that, Axy-Axy?”
“Just leave me alone!” I yelled, racing into the forest.
“No can do!” she laughed, her voice echoing closer. “Why not stop and make it easier, mmh?”
“Screw you!” I shouted back.
“Aww, now that’s just rude!”
Jumping over a large rock, I nearly stumbled, catching myself by throwing a hand to the ground and pushing onward. The maniac was still close behind, but I didn’t dare look back to see just how close. The whole situation was beyond surreal—a nightmare. I’d almost ended up as someone’s dinner.
Finally mustering the courage, I glanced over my shoulder. Suzan had her hands stretched forward, and suddenly, two blazing fireballs shot my way.
I swerved to the right, barely dodging the first, then dropped to the ground to avoid the second. The dodge threw me off balance, and I hit the dirt hard, rolling a few times. Somehow, I managed to spring back up and keep running, heart pounding.
“Come on, let’s just talk!” Suzan called out, voice lilting with mock sweetness. “No need for violence.”
“You’re insane!” I yelled, pushing through thick grasses, shielding my face with my hands.
“Insane? I’m just crazy, not insane, Axy-Axy!”
Every step made my injured shoulder throb, but I couldn’t stop. I had to get to the city, to Kinowa, but Suzan was forcing me in the opposite direction.
“Come on, stop! Please?” She laughed, closing the gap between us. She was only a few steps away now—one misstep, and I’d be done for.
“Get away from me!”
“Oh, you’re fast,” she taunted. “Didn’t take you for a runner.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Just leave me alone!”
“Again---no can do!” She yelled, her voice taking on a sing-song tone. “Tell you what—” for some reason, she didn’t complete her sentence. “I’ll stop, okay? Bye! Good luck!”
“What?”
Turning forward, I suddenly saw what she meant: a massive black bear stood in my path, scars crisscrossing its muscled body, one eye clouded over but the other locked squarely on me.
“So that’s what I heard outside.” Suzan’s laugh echoed as she circled back. “Good luck, Axy-Axy.”
“Oh, great. Just perfect,” I muttered.
With a ground-shaking roar, the bear charged. I turned to run, but it closed in fast. Its heavy body slammed into me, sending me crashing to the ground. A crushing paw pinned me, and I felt sharp claws rake down my back, cutting into flesh. I screamed, agony flaring hot and sharp. The bear snapped its jaws down on my arm, but thanks to the sturdy gauntlet I wore, it couldn’t sink its teeth in. Frustrated, it turned to my injured shoulder, biting down and thrashing its head back and forth.
Gritting my teeth, I punched at its snout, but the blows barely registered. Desperately, I reached for the dagger the Queen had given me—only to realise it was gone. I must’ve lost it back at the cabin.
The bear swiped at my face, and I barely rolled to the side in time. Its massive paw landed on my right leg, and it sank its teeth into my thigh, yanking me toward it with a roar. Saliva dripped from its mouth onto my face. I tried to roll away again, but it pressed one of its legs onto my stomach, its full weight crushing me and leaving me gasping for air.
“Agh—no, no, no!”
Level 2: Axel
HP: [█░░░░░░░░░░] 09/110(!)
Mana: [░░░░░░░░] -1/100
Stamina: [███░░░░░░░░░] 23/120
Options: [Inv | Skills | Quests]
A flashing, red-outlined box appeared in my vision, warning of critical status, but I couldn’t focus on it with the bear’s jaws clamping down on me. Barely able to breathe, I curled into a tight ball, hoping it might lose interest.
Instead, the bear bit down on my cape, hoisted me, and hurled me against a tree. My back hit hard, pain flaring anew as I crashed to the ground, vision swimming and blood flowing from too many wounds to count.
“No… not like this,” I whispered. “No… shit. God. No. No.”
Desperation clawed at me as I remembered how Mortan cast that fire spell. Raising a shaky hand, I extended my palm toward the bear, clenching my teeth and closing my eyes. I couldn’t die—not to a wild animal---not in a place like this.
The bear was closing in, I didn’t have much time to do something. Or I was a goner.
Heat built in my hand, strangely soothing. Cracking one eye open, I watched as a fireball materialised, then blasted forward with a force that jolted my whole arm, like firing a high-calibre rifle. The flame shot straight at the bear, striking it with deadly accuracy. With one final roar, it collapsed, blood splattering across me as its body crashed to the ground.
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* Bear slain!
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+ XP Gained: 5
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| Current XP: 05 / 100
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| Progress: █░░░░░░░░░░░░
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“Ah… damn. I actually cast a spell,” I gasped, pain gnawing at every part of me. “Agh… okay… okay. Crap.”
I tried to stand, struggling through multiple failed attempts until, finally, I managed to get to my feet. Stumbling a few steps toward the trees, my adrenaline began to fade, and I collapsed. The forest spun as my blood pooled around me, mixing with the bear’s, dark and thick.
“Father?”
“Damn it! Where’s that bear?” A deep voice muttered nearby. “It ran this way.”
“Are you sure, Father?” a younger voice replied.
“Yes, of course.”
“Maybe it changed direction?”
“Possible. Keep an eye open.”
“Wait… is that… someone on the ground?”
I felt a hand gently roll me onto my back, and through blurred vision, I saw a burly man and a girl about my age peering down at me, concern etched into their faces.
“Claw marks,” the man murmured. “The bear messed him up pretty bad.”
“The… woman,” I rasped, barely able to speak. “The cabin… dogs…”
“He’s delirious,” the girl whispered. “Probably in shock. We have to help him.”
The man lifted me carefully, draping me over his shoulder. “Hang on, kid. Don’t die on us, alright?”
“I’ll… try…”