Running through the forest was quickly proving to be difficult, his breathing was heavy, his arms and legs hurt and more than once he stumbled because of his long robe or because his staff got stuck in some long hanging branches. Still they never stopped, in the fleeting moments that he looked behind him he noticed the panicked expressions of James and Marie and the grim determination of the three remaining prisoners.
In the distance the horns sounded, screams and the howling of wolves, the whole goblin tribe seemed to be behind them at this point so Ethan tried to think of a solution. His feet wouldn’t carry him for long if he kept up this pace and Marie looked like would collapse every second. When he took a deep breath before saying something he gagged instead. A foul smell invaded his nose and he would puke if he could. Still this could be a chance, the smell would mask their scent, he didn’t know how good goblins could smell but he was pretty sure he could trick a wolf.
“We need to find the source of that smell! Quickly!” He turned his head left and right, smelling the air and decided to turn left and right randomly in the hope to find the source. In the end it was James that found it by accident, the valiant knight moved to the right and suddenly fell, landing a few feet below in pit of mud, when he managed to stand up again he looked over a swamp, fog was hanging low over the water and he could see all kind of insects buzzing around. He called for them, a warning attached about the steep fall.
Quickly the group followed him and made their way down the slope. One of the prisoners grabbed Ethan and shook him. “So what now wizard boy? Gonna tell us your great plan?” he looked angry at him like it was his fault the tribe attacked.
Ethan just pushed his glasses back up his nose and he nodded towards the brown, murky water that felt more like mud. “We need to hide in there, the smell of the swamp can mask our scent.” the prisoners and James looked at him like he was a fucking idiot and Marie looked horrified with the thought to mess up her pink magical girl outfit with all that filth. Ethan furrowed his brows. “It’s not what I want to do but do you idiots have a better plan? We’re in this situation because that caveman killed the goblin child!”
The fist that hit him the next moment pushed all the air out of his body and he slumped to the ground, gasping for air. A kick followed and hit his shoulder, making him fall back into the thick sludge of the pit James landed in previously. “Don’t get cocky, you better watch out… your stupid plan would kill all of us, I would rather run away.” he shook his head. “Allow a child to do a man’s job. Come on, leave him here. He can stall those creatures for us.”
The group left him, James and Marie looked back at him, torn about what to do but a simple grunt from the man made them turn around and leave. Ethan groaned but he couldn’t just lay here, he turned around, his cheek pressed firmly into the mud while he tried to get his hands under him, the thick sludge made every movement appear in slow motion, still he pushed himself up and crawled on hands and knees out of the pit and towards the swamp, the cold water embraced his body, pulling at the last of body heat he had left inside of him, there he sat, only his head poking from the water while he waited for the tribe to find him.
It didn’t take long for the hunting party to reach the swamp, in those five minutes Ethan pulled some plants towards him to cover himself even more, he could feel insects crawl around in his long black hair, he twitched when something bit into his exposed skin or crawled into his robe. He wanted to scream and jump from this swamp but if he did, death was the only outcome. He could hear them now, goblins snarling in their weird language with each other, the growling of the wolves they had with them.
It sounded to him like they’re arguing about something, maybe they lost the scent of the others too? A shimmer of hope formed in his chest, not for the prisoners but he hoped James and Marie were okay, they’re only kids after all. But his hope got crushed quickly when he heard them laugh and scream, he risked it and took a look through his plan cover and spotted the twenty goblins and ten wolves running around the swamp, he guessed the direction the others took.
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He decided to wait and he could feel his arms and legs getting numb, his eyelids got heavy and Ethan could just drift into an endless, dreamless sleep. But he wanted to fight, wanted to live, if it was not for himself then just to keep the memory of his sister alive. The thought about her made him wide awake once again, like some animal did he claw his way back to shore, all the pain forgotten for those few minutes it took him to escape the deadly embrace of the swamp.
Breathing heavily he rested on hands and knees for a while, happy he managed to evade the goblins, he crawled to the pit he was in previously and grabbed his mud covered staff and used it to pull himself back up on his feet. A sigh escaped his lips and his gaze wandered to the sky, the dim sun was already approaching the horizon and it wouldn’t be long before the night would rule this cursed tutorial.
Ethan thought about following the goblins and finding the others but what could he do about a group of twenty goblins? Literally nothing, the best course of action would be to find some other creatures he could kill, like in all the RPGs he played that was the first step, maybe he could find a group of boars. The plan set he climbed back up to the sickly looking forest, his hand grabbed a root to pull himself up, he turned his gaze upwards and stared into the yellow eyes of a goblin.
For a moment both of them stared at each other, disbelief on their faces. But the goblin had the better instincts and with a scream he threw himself on Ethan, pushing him for the third time back into that mud pit at the edge of the swamp, he managed to get his staff between him and the green pest while it tried to dig his needle-like teeth into his neck. Ethan pushed with all his might against him, both turning and tossing around in the mud like children fighting over a toy, but the crazed look in the goblins eyes and the saliva dripping from his chapped lips told Ethan what would happen if he lost.
Their struggle continued, the goblin having a clear advantage with his natural weapons, Ethan felt the sweat run down his forehead, leaving small lines in the otherwise dirt covered face. Then he finally remembered something and he would kick himself if he could. With a cry he yelled. “Ice Bolt!” he didn’t know if he needed to point his staff somewhere or use some kind of connection to his energy but in the next moment a tiny spell circle appeared in front of his nose and a pointy ice shard shot from it and pierced straight through the goblins face, showering him in blood and gore. While everything seemed to be in slow motions for Ethan. He could see the ice pierce its green skin, how it dug into his flesh and pushed against the skull only to push through it with such ease like it was covered in oil.
The goblin collapsed on him and blood continued to drip from the fist size hole in the goblins head. Then a notification appeared
[You killed Goblin - Level 1 | You gained experience!]
Well that was anticlimactic ,Ethan thought with a small laugh. Then more notifications appeared.
*Update* [A little bit of magic - Be the first person to hunt a monster using magical abilities. Bonus experience earned]
*Update* Level 1 -> 3
*Update* Stats gained, free points gained.
Name: Ethan Delaney
Race: Human(?)
Level: 3
Class: None
Subclass: None
Health Points (HP): 80/120
Mana Points (MP): 130/190
Stamina: 100/100
Stats
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 10
Vitality: 12
Wisdom: 19
Intelligence: 19
Perception: 10
Willpower: 10
Free points: 4
A simple thought was enough to call his status. He let out a sigh and looked over his stats, it seems each point increased his resources by 10, he didn’t even notice the loss in health but the long time he sat in the swamp and the scratches from the goblin must have taken a good chunk of his meager health pool. Looking over his mana it seems one ice bolt cost twenty to cast, something he needed to look out for, without mana he was as good as dead.
Ethan pushed himself to his feet…again and crawled out of the pit…again and made his way through the forest, it was time to take his fate in his own hands.
