Chapter 18: Here Comes the General

I was momentarily happy to see my NPC friend, but he killed my whole battle flow! Reuby, I’m not sure if you understand our current situation, but we’re in the middle of a siege. Can’t you see what’s happening around us? Why are you forcing me to sit on my knees in the middle of a battleground? I’m staying here out of respect for your strange autonomy, but isn’t this dangerous? Was Village Boy B programmed to be this reckless? I didn’t get that impression from our interactions.

“Do you understand what you’ve done Talon? You’ve thrown Dadirdtoun into chaos. The Frying Festival is a special time of celebration, and your stunt in the village square was completely incomprehensible! Even as a prank, that was too far!”

And he’s lecturing me? This poor NPC doesn’t even understand the full situation. I should clear things up.

“Reuby that wasn’t a- “

“And you still haven’t met with the Village Elder! He and I were planning on helping you settle into the village. Why did you slip away that day? I just don’t understand.”

Oi. I was just about to explain that.

“Listen, Reuby, I think you-”

“Look, Talon. Let’s get out of here.”

“Reuby.”

“I don’t know why your chickens dragged me over here, but maybe that’s Nephelai herself giving you a second chance.”

“Reuby, can you let me speak?”

“These Orcs are dangerous, we have to move fast/”

“Reuby!! Let me speak!”

All he does is give me a shocked expression, what’s that about? Did I sound too angry or something?

“What’s with the odd face? You kept cutting me off, so I had to activate my hidden ability, Slightly Angrier Tone Than Usual!”

“...”

“Geez Reuby, if you keep being that silent you might as well admit that you're just a plain old NPC. But listen, we can talk later! We’re kind of in the middle of battle y’know? I have my own things to do. The Orcs aren’t a danger to me. I don’t know how you got here, or why my chickens traveled with you, but don't get hurt, okay?”

I quickly take off one of my gauntlets and pat his head, still ignoring that I need to stand on my toes to reach it. Reuby flinches, but accepts the gesture. Hehe, my charm points have increased since the last time I did this, haven’t they? I’ve been practicing with Sheffie Jr.!

“Alright then, see you when I see you!”

I think I hear a “Wait, Talon!” from him as I dash away, but I politely ignore him in favor of not wasting anymore time. I need to focus on General Wuns Agen. If we take the pace of the Hero Party and my unexpected appearance at Fort Forth, it’s quite possible that the General is very close to deciphering the magic he uses in The Tears of Nephelai. The most important treasure from the dungeon is already in my hands, and I would rather not have this old man degrade himself into an undead, so I should really focus.

Given his tendency to indulge in paranoia, I’m predicting that the General will either rush to complete the magic during this battle, or use an incomplete version of the spell in desperation. Both lead to bad endings for him… so I need to be quick! I’ll head to the training grounds as previously planned.

As I’m making my way over there, I sense another pair of legs running with me. They’re right behind me, but they don’t have the thundering steps of an Orc. Nor do they have the steady trot of Reuby. There’s no clanking of armor either, so it’s not an apprentice knight.

…A chicken?

I whip my head around quickly, blowing away the hair that gets into my face from the action. Lo and behold, it is a chicken. Just… not the chicken I expected.

“Rocco?”

His dark and proud feathers bristle at the sound of his name. All he does is give a low cluck before pecking at my legs.

“Ahh!! Alright, alright! I understand! Let’s get moving!”

Too many odd things are happening today. Rocco has never approached me of his own accord, and now he’s led his entire flock to me? These chickens crossed the Tilde Plains, and even somehow roped Reuben into tagging along. It’s clear that Rocco has some degree of intelligence, but with his stoic nature, I can’t understand what the bird might be thinking.

Well, that doesn’t really matter right now. We’ve arrived at the training grounds, and in the middle of the field, there stands a man muttering to himself.

With the shadows of night dancing across his figure, I’m almost convinced that he’s already an undead enemy, but closer inspection thankfully eases my worries. The General’s figure is sturdy and resolute. His crimson armor somehow glows a brilliant red, even in the darkness. I can feel his piercing gaze and I meet his line of sight to see cold blue eyes glaring my way. With such a large and full grey mustache, and the two longswords he’s gripping tightly, this guy looks menacing. I’d argue he looks more menacing than his undead appearance from the game. In The Tears of Nephelai, his scary appearance is simply from necrotic interference. Here, he wields an overwhelming pressure from his noble armor and stance alone.

Do I dare say that I feel a little bit excited? The General will be my first true boss fight! Now that I have somewhat of a means to fight, there’s no way I would miss the opportunity. If something goes wrong, I have chickens, Orcs, and maybe a stubborn villager NPC on my side! I’ll even get to hear his voice! One of the best things about reincarnating into Namida is hearing the voices of named characters. I've started my own personal mental game by cataloguing character voices I hear. Then I compare their actual voices to the voices I imagined for them. It's fun! It’s like playing a remake of an old favorite and enjoying a new feature.

Hmm, if my experience got turned into a game, I wonder how it would be? If it ends up even half as good as The Tears of Nephelai, then I'd say it would be a pretty decent game.

As soon as the General sensed my approach he quickly attached a menacing looking book to his waist and snarled at me. Is he a guard dog or something?

“So it was you, girl!”

Woah. His voice is raspier than I thought it would be. It fits his design, though.

“Whatever do you mean, general? All these scary Orcs invaded the Fort while I was sleeping! I came looking for you for help!”

“You lie as easily as you breathe, you wretch! Do you think me low enough to believe your falsehoods when you so confidently wear that necrotic ring? I am no fool!”

“B-But the apprentice knights have this to me for protection! They said to go fetch you!”

“Despicable traitor! I will not be swayed by your silver tongue! You disgrace the human race, and you desecrate my fort! By the power vested within me, I shall strike you down where you stand!”

“Oooh those are some wonderful boss lines! Much better than your alternate, super undead self. Super eloquent stuff. Alrighty then Mr. General Wuns Agen Sir! It seems I won't be able to fool you this time. Shall we start?”

My answer arrives only in the form of a blade heading my way. His majestic and sturdy longswords have already started moving, and somehow, they gleam just like his armor.

I dodge within a hair's breadth of the blade and nearly collapse out of fear, but I make sure to push that instinctual emotion down in favor of looking smug. Well then, I suppose we have a battle! I'll power myself up by humming the boss theme while I fight. After all, a battle without background music is hardly a battle at all.