Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! I didn’t mean to get a wolf! Of all the luck! Maybe I can lure it back to the trap. Yeah, that should work. Wait where was that trap again? Wasn’t it right about… Oh shi-!

Fang felt a rope tighten around her ankle. Time was in slow motion. The last thing she saw was a spear flying at her and a wolf pouncing. She closed her eyes tightly.

Oh man… this is going to hurt.

Jessica groaned. Death hadn’t felt too good. Even worse, she wouldn’t be able to play for another 24 hours. She felt a little sick, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was forgetting something. At least death would give her time to put in extra studying hours.

In the first few weeks of adventuring outside the walls, she had already died twice. The first was when she had tried to hunt foxes because she had tired of hunting rabbits, and the second was when she had tried her hands at using multiple traps. It had been embarrassing, to say the least. At least in the former, she had gotten more than one fox, in the latter… there was no “at least.” If she told Emmett, he would probably laugh himself to death. At least it was somewhat amusing; three weeks had passed since she started Royal Road, and she had already died twice. Perhaps she’d have a death a week. At this rate, she would.

Damn it. I really suck at this game.

She mourned her failures in her head. After she had had enough of wallowing in self-pity, she turned her thoughts towards her studies. She had to rearrange her notes, there was a test in two weeks, and she had to check her assignments to make sure she had them done and that there wasn’t anything she missed. She returned to her dorms mulling over the tasks ahead of her. As she was opening the door to her room, she suddenly remembered what she had forgotten.

In the middle of the night, her roommates were awakened by a scream.

“Aaaaaah! My loot!”

***

It was her fourth week playing this game. Half the week had gone by, and she had not died yet. She felt inordinately proud of herself, even though she knew it was silly. Most players, she was sure, hadn’t died in the first month. She continued to use her ambush and trapping methods, and as she practiced, she got better, and took a great deal less damage.

Mwahahahaha! Come a little closer foxy foxy. Just a little bit closer… Gotcha!

Fang pounced on the fox that had been attracted by the smell of meat. After a bit of maneuvering, she pinned the fox down with her hand wrapped around its muzzle and her knee in its side. She dispatched it quickly and picked up the loot.

She stared at her loot in puzzlement; she couldn’t understand this game’s system. This fox clearly had not been carrying an iron can, but now she had gotten one as a drop. Where had the fox been hiding it? The can was too large to fit into its mouth, so it couldn’t have ingested it. The metal handle may have been hanging from that bushy tail, but it would have been loud and noisy and not hard at all to miss. She puzzled over this, but then had to give up under the reasoning of: it’s a game; it doesn’t have to make sense.

At least now she could sell her pot and use something cheaper. Or perhaps it would be better to sell the can. She pondered this for a while before determining that she would keep both the pot and the can, and see if they would work the same.

***

Hm… I’m out of supplies, I should head back to town for tonight. Most stores are closed though, so I should stay there until morning, probably. What should I do while I’m waiting…? Maybe I’ll just explore the town again, I haven’t been there in a while, maybe I’ll think of something I need while I’m walking. Yes, let’s do that.

Fang finished looting the animal she had just killed and put its drops in her bag. She had gotten an animal skin drop, and that was what she used to wrap the meat to keep it from touching other things in her bag. She wondered how it had gotten 50 coppers to drop though.

Fifty coppers, huh? Must have weighed a ton, maybe it carried it in its stomach? Wouldn’t that cause indigestion? Poor creature, it must have had a horrible tummy ache. If I had such a bad stomach ache, I’d attack just about anyone that crossed my path too.

The guards eyed her as she went back through the gates. She’d gotten used to it of course. They’d been doing that to her for a while. As she wandered down the road, she was accosted by two drunken men.

“Pretty girl, come play with us!”

“Haha, yeah, we’ll show you a very fun time!”

Fang gave them an annoyed look.

Of course, no story would be complete without a female being harassed by a pair of drunken men after dark. Clearly this is the time for the female character to either show that she’s bad-ass character, or a damsel-in-distress side-character who everyone hates. Or she could show that she’s a fighter and then get knocked down a peg and then still be hated by everyone. Pleasant thought, that. She thought to herself sarcastically.

“Do I look like I have breasts to you?”

That brought them to a temporary halt. One reached out and groped her flat chest; she slapped his hands away and glared at them. They were silent for only a moment.

“Ohhh! You’re a boy! I see.”

“That’s okay; you’ve got a pretty face. We wouldn’t mind doing a pretty boy like you.”

“Yeah, c’mon, c’mon, we’ll have some fun together. Don’t you want to have fun?”

The first drunk grabbed Fang’s wrist as he said those last words. Fang stiffened, leaned back, and dug her heels in as he gave her a tug.

“No, I don’t want to go with you. Let me go right now.”

The drunk ignored her words and tried to pull harder, as he ended the tug she turned on her heel, turned her arm sideways, raised her arm over her head, and brought the heel of her palm down on his wrist bone. He yelped as her palm connected and his grip was broken. Fang jumped back away from him out of his reach.

Oh shit… now what? I never learned what you were supposed to do after that, and there were no lessons in the dojang about what to do when it was two against one… I was only there for three months.

“Why you little shit! I’m going to kill you!”

Oh, so now they’ve gone fighting-drunk, and I don’t know what to do next, just my luck. Goodbye cruel world.

She dodged one of the drunks as he charged, fighting down the urge to yell, “Tauro Tauro” and wave a red flag off to the side. Pity she didn’t even have a red handkerchief. She pivoted and elbowed him in the spine then jumped back again. She wasn’t as strong as them, and couldn’t handle two guys at once, so she wanted to keep her distance, to give her time to react. It seems that they weren’t so drunk they couldn’t fight. If she got them angry enough, the alcohol might be burned away and then she would be really in for it.

Well, if I die, I’m going to at least be clothed, probably.

“Motherfucking bastards, you want a piece of me? Come and get it!” she yelled as she tossed her bag aside.

When she was stressed and feeling threatened like this, she tried to intimidate by acting tough. She pushed down her fear. Hopefully, if she made enough of a racket, the guards would come. She wasn’t entirely sure she could outrun these drunks. It was also likely that their stats were higher than hers. She still hadn’t gotten around to choosing a class.

If only I’d chosen a class like monk or warrior or berserker! Then this situation wouldn’t be so bad. Inwardly, she was sobbing to herself.

She sidestepped a rush, and tripped one then dodged the next and backed away. If there had been one, she might have been able to get one in some sort of lock or hold and wait for the guards, but because there were two, that was too risky, and she would have to keep them occupied without being caught by them. She wished the ground was sandier. She could throw sand in their eyes if it was.

They split up and went in opposite directions around her. They were trying to make it so that one could get behind her, and attack from behind. She sprung sideways so that they would both be on one side of her, but she was getting closer to a dead end alley. In fact, she had her back to the alley. This could end badly if they advanced at a good distance from each other, and cornered her in the alley. She began trying to move away from the alley, but clearly she wasn’t the only one who realized she could be cornered there.

Not good. I need to find an opening and get away from this alley. The longer I wait, the smaller my window of escape becomes.

She made a run for it, but an arm was flung in her way, they had closed the distance faster than she thought they could. She spun to try the other way, but the other was already too close. She tried to duck under an arm, but she was caught and thrown into the other guy behind her. She felt herself caught in a vise-like grip and was dragged backward. She scrabbled for footing, but she was unable to get her feet under her. As they dragged her into the alley, her arms were being pulled back. She was at a very disadvantageous physical position as well as in a bad situation.

Damn it! I’m not a fighter!

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

She was flung face first into the wall. She fell to the ground stunned. If she could form proper sentences in her head now, she would be screaming at herself to get up and move. A boot flew towards her face. She brought her arms up and jerked her head to the side. The boot grazed her arms. She would not scream, she told herself. She wouldn’t let them know they had hurt her. She tried to get her feet under her but she was kicked in the shoulder and fell back into the wall. The foot remained against her shoulder and the wall.

An opening, of a sort!

She brought her legs to her chest and kicked out at his unprotected shin. There was a crack and he fell forward without a foot to support him except for the foot on her shoulder and the wall. He was in an uncomfortable position. If his knee hadn’t hit the ground, he would be doing the splits. As it was, his knee was uncomfortably close to his face.

Damn it, if I had hit harder, he would have kneed himself in the face. I should have hit harder.

She would have kicked again, but the other man had moved forward and grabbed for her throat. She had ducked her head, so her chin was now protecting her neck. He grabbed her by the front of her shirt and pulled her up. The other guy moved away, and she was pleased to see he could barely put weight on the foot she had kicked and he was moving rather stiffly, as if he was in a great deal of pain.

“I’ll kill you!”

“You already said that. Or maybe it was the gorilla holding me now.” She said with a sneer. “So let’s just get it over with already.”

“Why you-!” the injured one began as he drew his sword and started forward.

There was a crack as a fist collided with her cheek. Her head snapped around and her opposite cheek hit the wall.

“No.” The one holding her said as he held her pinned against the wall. “We’ll just make you wish you were dead.”

Damn… I was so close. If they killed me, they would get the murderer mark and I could see their names and maybe send people after them.

She tried to pull her knife, but he grabbed her wrist as she drew it. He tightened his grip until she sucked in a breath from the pain and dropped the knife. He kicked it back out of the way. His fist dug into her sternum and he flung her to the side. She managed to save herself a knock on the head but she wasn’t able to protect herself from the kick to the stomach. She gritted her teeth as she curled into a ball and covered her head with her hands. She just hoped they wouldn’t stomp on her, but that seemed unlikely.

They began to kick her and stomp her, while she tried to protect herself. She refused to cry out or beg for mercy. She would not give them the satisfaction. At some point during the beating, she heard the thwack of a bowstring and the sound of an arrow sinking into flesh. There was cursing and footsteps going away from her. It didn’t take long for there to be two thumps as the drunkards collapsed.

“Are you okay?” A gentle voice asked.

She opened her tightly closed eyes to see the silhouette of a person outlined by the lights from the street leaning over her. She stared dazedly for a moment and closed her eyes feeling tired and drained. She ran her tongue over her cracked lips and tasted blood.

“Yeah…” she whispered softly.

“Can you stand?” the voice asked.

“Just… give me a bit.” She replied.

She wanted to let her mind stay blank and lie there, but she forced herself to take inventory of all her pains. Her neck hurt from the first punch her lip seemed to be split and one cheek stung while the other ached dully. Her shins, hip, knees, arms, and side hurt, and so did her stomach. She moved slowly as she uncurled herself from a ball, testing for any pain. She wasn’t really in the mood to make herself hurt worse, or move something that shouldn’t be moved. She lifted herself up on one elbow and a hand then pulled her legs under her. Warm helped her sit up and stand, and she steadied herself against a wall. She had a sudden headache and felt a bit dizzy. Strong arms helped support her as she stumbled over to a wall and rested against it. She considered the unconscious bodies before her. Each one had been felled by a single arrow to the leg. She wondered how he had taken them down with one arrow per person, but dismissed the thought in her exhaustion. She was just glad it was over with.

“Let’s get out of here. I want to get the guard before they wake up, but I don’t want to leave you here.” The person helping her said. She glanced at him, but could barely see his face which was concealed in the shadows.

“Yeah.” She stumbled forward with an arm clutching her stomach and another arm against the wall to support her.

“Here, lean on me.” The person offered. He maneuvered himself so that it would be easier for her to lean on him and helped her stumble out of the alley.

“My bag.” She said as they started to move down the street.

“You’re bag? Where’d you leave it?” the person helping her asked.

“Over there.” she said and pointed to her bag sitting on the side of the road. He led her over to another wall to lean on while he retrieved her bag.

“Wow this is heavy.” He said as he shouldered her bag.

“I have a room in an inn, if you want to go somewhere to rest. It’s not far and I’d like to get a better look at you in the light, and make sure you’re okay. I’ll also get a friend to come heal you.” He offered.

She just closed her eyes and nodded. Her headache was getting worse. He helped her up again and they made their way to the inn.

“There’s a washbasin you can clean yourself at, over there. And you can help yourself to my extra clothes if you don’t have any, they’re over there. Yours look a bit damaged.” He added as he helped her to his bed.

“I’m going to go talk the guards, okay?”

She nodded and he left immediately. Fang just wanted to lie down on the bed, but she was a mess. She’d have to at least make sure she didn’t bleed over the pillows. She gathered her strength and stumbled over to the wash basin and splashed water on her face and cleaned herself up. Her clothes were covered in dust and were torn, that was probably why he wanted her to change.

He doesn’t want me to get his bed dirty.

She stripped off her clothes and changed into a cleaner pair in her bag. The dirty ones she rolled up. She’d have to repair them soon, or get some new clothes and armor; either would work. She pulled out some bandages and bandaged her injured cheek that was bleeding, and applied some salve before going back to his bed. She wouldn’t fall asleep, she told herself. She was just going to rest some. Unfortunately, she fell asleep, and didn’t even wake up when her rescuer had returned or later when he let a cleric in to heal her.

***

I had such a strange dream last night.

Fang thought to herself as she woke in the morning. She tried to ponder the meaning of dreaming about being beaten up by drunks until she opened her eyes to a strange room. She lay on her side on a strange bed in what she now remembered was the inn. Her rescuer was sleeping on the floor with his back to her. She took a moment to study him, now that she could finally see him in daylight.

He was a silver-haired wood-elf with an angular face and a strong chiseled jaw. His hair was chin-length and ever-so-slightly wavy. She could see the tips of his pointed ears through his silver hair. She examined the rest of him, wishing she could see his face from here. He seemed like he would be someone tall, taller than her in this form by maybe half a foot, and she had increased her height when she had chosen an appearance. He was slender, as expected of an elf, but he had an athletic build. She could see a bare hint of muscles beneath his clothing, but as he was currently wearing a loose shirt with short sleeves, she could see the muscles in his arm. The muscles were apparent, but in no way overgrown. His boots were by the door, and his feet were bare. She wondered if he was cold. It seemed he’d covered her with the blanket, but that had left him without one.

She peeled the blankets off the bed and tried to cover him with them. When she bent down to see if she had woken him up and also examine his face, she met his gray eyes. He stretched and sat up as she looked away.

“Well, you seem to be awake and in much better condition than you were before. Why were they attacking you?”

“Er… well, they were drunk, and they wanted me to” she paused as she looked for an appropriate word, “accompany them… I suppose. I declined. I wasn’t interested in the entertainment they suggested.”

“I see.” He studied her. “You were lucky I was coming back from a walk at that time. I saw them drag you into the alley.”

“Yes, thank you very much for your help. I’m glad you were there. By the way, how did you take them out with one arrow?”

“Oh, that’s simple. I coated the arrow tips in a neurotoxin. This poison will completely paralyze the body in a short time, and can easily stop the heart with about two or three arrows. However, one each was enough to take care of those drunk idiots.” He said dismissively.

“…”

Simple my ass! He knocked them out in less than ten seconds! That’s some strong poison. Hm... if it's so strong, it has to be expensive.

Fang tried to keep the gleam out of her eye.

Jackpot! I wonder how much money I can get out of him…