My ensuing scream reminds me of the death squeals of pigs shoved into slaughtering machines.

I dive to the ground. I bury my head into my arms and brace myself, like an actor in one of those crash guides shown before planes take off. A clap of thunder, the sound near splitting my eardrums, follows the crackle of rogue electricity.

I tremble so hard my teeth chatters. With my eyes closed, I imagine a lightning bolt descending from the skies, hurtling towards me. But strangely, other than a passing wave of heat, I don’t feel a thing.

I peek through my fingers. Just meters away, a mass of mud writhes in agony. When the dust thrown up from its violent thrashing finally disperses, I get a good long look and quickly abandon my position, fleeing in fright.

Blue sparks of electricity race across the brown, trunk like body. It has an elongated snout, twice the length of an arm that opens sideways, flashing gums lined with serrated teeth the size of thumbs. Extended from its body is a scaled tail. It slashes the air as fiercely as a dictator’s errant whip.

I can’t peel my eyes off this monstrosity. It looks someone crossbred an alligator, crocodile and dinosaur. Which dinosaur, I can’t say, but it would be one who tore bloody strips off the body of its prey. This thing even has six clawed feet. I don’t think they’re simply used for intimidation. I back away further as it continues to thrash, leaving deep gouges in the dirt. I don’t want my face clawed off by accident.

The man who somehow shot lightning from his hand follows my lead, putting distance between him and the mutant reptile. Only, he doesn’t make the mistake of repeatedly falling on his ass like I do, and takes slow but deliberate steps backward.

He doesn’t look very happy. “Snagtooth,” I catch him muttering. “If I’m lucky, it’ll be my level. If not… oh saviour, lend me strength.”

Snagtooth? Is this beast one of his rebellious pets? Well, I can hear its flesh sizzling from here. I’m not an expert on animals, but I can tell it won’t be happy once it stops seizing.

As if hearing my thoughts, the Snagtooth’s spasms taper off. My breath catches as it gets to its feet, shaking its lengthy snout back and forth. The last of the blue sparks disappear, and it sweeps the log shaped head left to right. I remain in a crouch as it inspects its surroundings.

I prepare to run for my life if it sets even one clawed toe in my direction, but luckily, I don’t end up registering on the Snagtooth’s radar. Instead, the beast swerves on its stubby feet, placing the man who electrified him directly in its sights.

It advances with a slow gait. For each step it advances, the man takes an additional one back.

For each inch of the Snagtooth’s advance, the man adds another step back. Caution has been thrown to the wind. His steps are practically leaps. His robes billow about, the man’s frightfully thin frame making him look like another mutant creature. I silently creep forward, curiosity overtaking my sense of preservation.

The man has one arm extended. His stance reminds me of what happened earlier, when he shot lightning from his hand. If he did it once, he should be able to do it again. He should have a better chance of killing it then I do.

“Scram or I’ll take your spirit energy and use it to level up!” he threatens.

His attempt at intimidation is underwhelming but it allows my worries to subside. I was right to assume he’ll have an ace up his oversized sleeves. Though I am afraid his attention will shift to me once gets rid of the Snagtooth, it’s much better than seeing him ripped to pieces.

The Snagtooth abrubtly stops advancing. Against all expectations, its brown whip of a tail begins to wag. Did the threat register with its reptilian brain?

I shift my observation back to the man. He isn’t looking anymore relaxed than before, his wary eyes still fixed on the Snagtooth. If the fear wasn’t expressed so clearly through his tense expression, I might mistake this scene for an owner attempting to train his pet.

The wagging doesn’t stop. The Snagtooth’s tail swings back and forth, starting and stopping in bursts. When the tail finally goes still and the small dirt cloud settles, I see meter long grooves left in the ground. And without warning, the Snagtooth slams its tail on the ground and launches forward.

“!”

Another clap of thunder hammers into my eardrums, and I fall flat on the ground, clutching my ears. This is the second time he did something I thought completely impossible.

Holy shit. He just cast magic. Magic!

I laugh despite the painful throbbing of my eardrums. “You’re a wizard, Harry!”

When the infernal high pitched buzzing in my head subsides, I make sure my vision is steady and absent of dancing black spots before rising to my feet. I glance around, wearing congratulatory grin as I search for the man I decided to dub ‘Badass Wizard’.

Instead of a victorious human towering over a downed beast, what enters my sight is instead a pyrrhic and grisly conclusion. I rush over to the wizard lying on the ground, tripping over my new feet several times in panic.

“Hey!” I leap over the bloody chunks of Snagtooth flesh and kneel beside him. “Oh shit… this looks really bad. Sir, can you hear me?” Badass wizard stirs at my gentle prodding. “At least you’re still conscious. Seriously, how did things turn out this way? I thought you had everything handled.”

My stomach churns as I eye the wound on his neck. To say it is grievous is like saying the sun is hot. I can’t bring myself to think the jagged opening of his neck is worse than it looks, not with how much blood he’s losing.

This is way past anything my common sense and bandaging can treat. Unless I have a medical degree sitting in my back pocket, it’s pointless to think my actions will have an effect.

There must be something I can do. Since he knows magic, he could have something on his person to save his life.

He tries to get up. He doesn’t have enough left in him to overpower the hand I’m using to keep him down. His clouded eyes swim back and forth, perhaps attempting to make sense of his wounded state.

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“You need to stay calm,” I tell him. I peel my gaze off the gore and force down the bile creeping up my throat. No time for that, Mei Ling. Focus on what the next step should be and use that momentum to keep going. I release a shaky breath. “I’m going to have to search you, alright? I won’t take anything I’m not supposed to, so please, let find something that will help.”

Hearing a male voice come out of my mouth is jarring. Hopefully, I’ll get used to it. But, since there is magic here, there should be a way to heal my vocal chords. Or even better, send me back to where Auntie Bao and Athea are. I don’t know how much time I’ve wasted here, wherever here is, and they must be worried sick.

I go to search his robes, beginning to peel back the first layer of clothes. His hand shoots out and grabs a hold of my wrist. He doesn’t keep his grip for long. He uses his remaining energy to push my hand away. I don’t know what his problem is, but this no time to care about trivialities like personal space.

“Look, we’re wasting time. If you don’t let me do something…” I glance at the hand he’d pushed aside and notice something strange. I stop talking, preoccupied with what is supposed to be my limb.

I grab the flesh of my forearm and twist it between my fingers. The rush of pain confirms it – yes, this green and hairless arm with skin like rubber belongs to me.

“St…ay” the man’s rasping breath forces me to look at him. He lifts his hand and jabs a bloodied finger directly at me. “St…away, g-goblin.”

I stare blankly. “That’s not funny,” I reply with a calmness I don’t feel.

He doesn’t say anything else. For a second, I debate slapping his rudely pointed finger away. But, before I gather the remnants of my scattered mind, Badass Wizard goes limp. Like a puppet with its strings cut, his arm falls to the ground.

I can feel myself trembling as I reach out to check his pulse. He doesn’t react to my touch. In the next few seconds, I wait for his corpse to be engulfed in a brilliant glow of green light, the hallmark of an reanimation spells.

When nothing happens, it finally hits me he is well and truly dead. I take my fingers off his wrist.

The foremost thought in my mind is: how can someone capable of creating lightning and thunder from thin air die, just like that? If he knew magic, surely, he could’ve healed himself.

“This… this is a joke, isn’t it.”

And also, me… a goblin? He lost so much blood he must not have been thinking straight. I don’t look at my arms again, because for all I know, someone could have dyed me green when I was unconscious.

“Now what? You were supposed to tell me what the hell’s going on.” Frustrated, I reach up to comb my fingers through my hair. I don’t feel the silken smoothness I’m used to. In fact, my fingers don’t catch on a single strand of hair.

The man’s words echo in my head.

Goblin, goblin, goblin.

A distant rumble of noise stops me from losing it. The sound is too vague for me to determine its source, but if it’s another one of those mutant reptiles, I won’t stand a chance.

Meltdown later. Figure out to protect myself, now.

Idea number one, run and hide. There’s no shame in retreat when you don’t know what you’re up against. Though… there is still a risk of it being able to track me. And the more I think about it, isn’t trying to outrun a predator pointless? I might end up triggering some kind of hunting instinct, even.

I fold my arms. Seems like the remaining option is to find a weapon, and desperately hope I can use it scares off whatever comes. I’m not a big dog, but I’m confident in my bark.

I clap my hands together in a prayer for the badass wizard lying at my feet.

“I’m sorry, but please don’t come back to haunt me.” I bend down to search him, kneeling on the part of the ground that isn’t dyed red. The smell is horrible. A heavy copper tang invades my nose, enough for me to gag on. Holding my breath, I quickly undo the clasp of his cape.

I flick the straps off. Now, the layer under his robe is exposed. I gather my courage, egged on by another rumble of noise sounding much closer than before, and slide my hand into the folds. When I finish searching his upper body, finding nothing, I go lower.

I search the blocky compartment pouches attached to his belt. Instead of something useful, I find only three strange objects.

The first is a sphere with what seems like runes carved into the metal surface. It has the colouring and appearance of iron, which I assume it was made of. On the contrary, it was surprisingly light, like I was grasping a block of wood. The inside of the sphere is hollow, something I discover when I glimpse through the jagged crack almost splitting the object in half.

I wonder if this is what allows badass wizard to cast magic. I don’t see what it can be for, otherwise. I put it down and go on to the next objects.

This second item is shaped like an oval and holds frightening resemblance to a dwarfed cocoa bean. I thumb the yellow stitching running across its width and draw circles a patch of furry hide. Encircling the oval is patterned green scales, too big and hard to be a snake’s. I don’t bother trying to loosen the stitching despite feeling something bouncing about inside. It’s too small to be a weapon.

I reach to the final object with some disappointment. It’s a square box no bigger than a clenched fist. It weighs like a box should. I throw it in the air and snatch it back with ease. Probably empty. The only remarkable aspect is the faint golden markings on the lid.

For some reason, holding this feels… I can’t dredge up a word to describe it.

I shake my head, “Not the time for this.”

I turn the box over in my hands and find a small indent under the line separating the box into two parts. I shove my finger in to pry the lid open. “Guh…” I abandon my attempt when my arm starts to ache. “Never mind. It probably isn’t something I can use.”

I leave all three objects on the ground and continue searching badass wizard. Unfortunately, I don’t find anything else. I’m still a sitting duck. A green one with meat on its bones an ugly reptile can chomp on.

I start pacing when the odd thumping sounds get even closer. I conjure images of frightful beasts in my head and grab my head between my hands. I shake myself furiously. “There has to be something else here,” I mutter. “Come on, his friends should have left something behind.”

I see the mannequin woman and nearly slap myself. “Right, I haven’t checked her. I need to calm down. Panicking won’t help.” I walk over to her, dreading to confirm my suspicions. “Alright, it’s time to check if you’re real or…”

Part of her head is caved in. Against my better judgement, I look inside. I see the sticky red and grey mess, and watch as a couple of flies take off at my approach.

I lean away and throw up. I wipe my mouth, somehow accidentally scraping the back of my hand with my teeth. This day keeps getting better.

I turn her over with the taste of rancid stomach juice in my mouth. The mild slosh and squelch of her brain matter nearly makes me throw up again. I drown it out by concentrating on the rustle of grass, and search her from top to bottom.

Thankfully, parts of her outfit are already undone, and I make quick work of going through her leather outerwear and inner fabric. I feel a long strap of metal attached to her waist. I follow the trail and touch something with the outline of a knife.

I jump to my feet. “Yes, finally!”

I grip the handle firmly before pulling off the scabbard. The blade slides out in a low whine, revealing the entirety of gleaming dagger. I gape it at it. From the weight in my hands and the dazzling metal edge, I’m not fool enough to think it’s fake.

I cut the air with three tentative slashes – diagonal, horizontal and a slant. The sound it produces as it breaks apart the air can only be describe as whistling. I shift my palm over the handle, feeling how my skin rubs against the slick material.

I choke out a breathless laugh, “I wonder if you have a name?”

Even if I’ve never held a real dagger, the closest thing being kitchen knives, I can tell it hasn’t been used. The edge is too sharp, too clean, reeking of a strange smell that I guess might be polish.

I glance at the dead woman. She must have been looking forward to using it.

“Bahaha!”

A shadow falls over me, and I realize my error. I got too caught up in my new discovery. I’m about to be mauled by a monstrous beast and left to the wolves. I whirl around, brandishing my new weapon.

However, no attacks come. I tilt my head up and up and up.

“This funny,” The absurdly large humanoid speaks in a gravelly voice eerily similar to the one I heard when I’d just woken up. His fiendish grin reveals more of his tusk like teeth jutting from his lower jaw. “Only tiny goblin!”