CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
Is this really what the life of heroes should be like...
~
The smell of dirt and grass was joined by the smell of fresh rain
The feeling of the water on his head helped ease the pain
The nausea had subsided though he still felt cold and weak
But after sitting up Twig found found the energy to speak
“Status” he cried out in hope of answers, but no luck
Whatever all those symbols meant, his status was still stuck
He stared into that broken screen while soaking in the mud
But at the very least he was not wet with his own blood
~ xxmx: Txxx ~
xxxxx: xxxxxxxx
xxxxx: Pxxxxxx
xxxx
[x]
xxxxx
[0]
xxxxx
[x]
xxxxx
[x]
xxx
[0]
xxxx
[x]
xxxxx
[x]
xxxx
[0]
Xxx xxxxx xxx xxxxxx xxxx xx xxxxx xxxx xxxxx xxxxxx
Xxxxxxx xxx xxxxxxxxxx xx xxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxx
Xxxxxx xxxx xxx x xxxxx xxxx xx xxx xxxx xxx xxxxxx
Xx xxx xxxx xxx Gxx ox Txmx, xxx’xx xxxx x xxxxxx xx xxxx
He couldn’t tell if it were close to sunrise or sunset
He had no sense of how long he had been unconscious yet
The rain continued falling lightly from the cloudy sky
And then the boy was shaken by a long and painful sigh
He took a breath and hoped that when he turned his head to look
That he would see no evidence of the great life he took
He opened his eye slowly as his hand began to shake
Wanting to see nothing of the life he tried to take
There beside him on the damp and grassy forest floor
Was a Horn Bear capable of rampaging no more
But what little relief he felt that he was still alive
Vanished, for he was not the only one to survive
The Horn Bear was quite injured but it too had yet to die
It struggled feebly to get up while staring at the sky
Twig had always wanted to see such a creature dead
But now when he looked in its eyes he saw himself instead
“What is happening to me, why can’t I kill this thing
How come looking at this creature just makes my ears ring”
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
He backed away until his back was up against a tree
And something popped into his vision unexpectedly
Achievement: Empathy for the Weak
Not that it’s my business but I guess it’s fair to say
Your own eyes have looked up at the sky in the same way
It’s a shame that isn’t how things went in the last fight
Seeing you die that way sure would fill me with delight
“Empathy…” Twig muttered while he hugged his muddy knees
“How do people kill so many big monsters with ease…”
He cried until the shame of all the tears he had released
Gave way to fatigue and finally his weeping ceased
The Horn Bear had recovered just enough to raise its head
But in its eyes was still the knowledge it would soon be dead
And when Twig looked at it from underneath a great pine tree
He could see a helpless beast but not an enemy
Achievement: Makes Sense
The more I think about it though, the more sense that it makes
Of all the hunters out there, you’ve exactly what it takes
If anyone could understand a stupid beast, it’s you
No one could relate to dying monsters like you do!
The insults didn’t hurt as much as they would have before
They helped him understand what his new strength was really for
Twig recalled the words to an old lesson he had heard
Every village child had to remember every word
“Power is for killing enemies and saving friends
When you save a life, remember that another ends”
He’d never understood the meaning of those words til now
He wished he could undo the battle with the beast somehow
Achievement: Cruel
Hurry up, it’s suffering, it won’t survive out here
It won’t be long until some other animals appear
Put the thing out of its misery, it’s all on you
Even I was planning to put you down quickly too
He stood up and approached the bear still shivering and cold
Resentful of the power that he suddenly controlled
“I don’t want to kill, I don’t want to slay a monster
I want to go back home and I want to see my mother”
He started reaching out toward the head of the Horn Bear
He didn’t see why death was a fate they both had to share
He pitied it for fighting him and being in such pain
Alone out there and wait for death in the pouring rain
But as he reached out, maybe just to try and comfort it
The beast recoiled and Twig noticed that his left had was bit
He pulled it back and noticed that his left hand was missing
Taking just a moment to remember everything
Achievement: Childish
This is why I hate kids, I’ll just to it myself then
I shouldn’t have left work to you that was meant for real men
Let’s see if I’ve got this right, ya, this should do the trick
Seriously, how gutless are you, it makes me sick
~ Name: Unnamed⇨ Horn ~
Title: Dying
Class: Horn Bear [lv1]
HP
[15⇨ 0]
MANA
[2⇨ 0]
ATK
[24⇨ 0]
INT
[3⇨ 0]
DEF
[23⇨ 0]
SPD
[13⇨ 0]
A creature that fell victim to the the most selfish of boys
Who causes suffering as if it’s something he enjoys
It’s only crime today was being weaker than that child
Who’d still be better off just dying out here in the wild
Suddenly the air around Twig violently shook
Everything was wavy and it hurt his eye to look
The Horn Bear’s stats just vanished as it lay upon the ground
Without them it died instantly, without another sound
System Message
Warning, status has been changed to quickly, please refrain
The sudden change is causing the system increasing strain
Searching for the cause of this system violation
Unable to determine the culprit’s location...
Twig’s mind was already blank before the message came
“It’s dead, I killed it, why did it suddenly have a name…”
He touched the bear again where he had struck it earlier
His fingers sunk into the creature's course and thick brown fur
Achievement: Weak
You really did pass out from just the shock of your first kill
If this doesn’t make it clear, then I don’t know what will
Give up for the sake of everything that’s good and right
Eat the food your mother prepared, then just say goodnight
“Just let me go home, I don’t want to be out here now
Please forgive me, I’ll fix whatever I did somehow”
But neither the god or the System answered the boy’s cries
He wept until he’d cried enough tears for a pair of eyes
~