Adventuring Hard

After a good fifteen minutes of bobbing and weaving my way through the primary campus at top speed, I felt it was time to stop and breathe.

That was too close! Could have really botched it there.

The story's heroes were never supposed to meet a crying Kalish boy on their first day. And, while I was fairly certain it wouldn’t make that much of a difference, if I had stayed and chatted, that could have made a lasting impact.

Also, holy crap! Did I just run a Five-K without breaking a sweat? And all while wearing leather armour, with a shield on my back and sword strapped to my hip? Man, goodbye to lazy, overweight Tahvin. This time around, I’m going to get fit and stay fit!

That was about the time my words bit me in—

Bzzzz—pwft.

“My ass!” I screamed out as a dagger plunged into my unprotected buttock.

Fumbling to draw my sword and shield, I turned to face my assailant. I expected an orc or hobgoblin bully, maybe an upperclassman, but what I saw was worse. I hadn’t been stabbed by a humanoid with a weapon, but instead by a mosquito the size of a corgi.

And it wasn’t alone, as a second corgsquito buzzed by its side and, beneath it, a rat nearly as big as a wolf, frothed at the mouth as it looked at me hungrily with its bulging eyes.

“Holy—!” Shouting out, I held a hand forward. “Bolt of Light!”

Luminous magic pooled in my palm and burst forth a beam of radiant luminosity. It struck true to one of the corgsquitos, rupturing its body like a bloody water balloon.

The creature, which must have been the one feeding on me, graciously returned all the blood it had taken back over my body, coating me entirely in gore.

Holy crap! Cool holy crap!

But I wouldn’t have a moment to look around and see if there were any witnesses. Because at that moment, the foaming wolf-rat charged me.

Raising my buckler to block the attack, the serrated short swords that the beast called incisors clamped down on the wood. With a horrifying crunch, a chunk of shield splintered and disappeared.

“Ahhhhhh!” I screamed like a little girl.

Jumping back, I dodged as the remaining corgsquito plunged for my neck. But before I could deliver a riposte, I felt another stabbing on the same cheek as before.

“Ah, god!” I yelped, turning to see the initial stabber still plunged proboscis deep into my right buttock.

With a swing of my sword, the second of three corgsquitoes splattered my blood across the sandstone pavement.

That was when I realized the first corgsquito had sprayed me with about four pints of someone else's blood. Beginning to dry heave, I wouldn’t have time to lose my MacRonald's because it was time for rabid-rat to gear up for another bite.

Lowering my shield a little, I braced for the heavy strike. But what I got was a sudden surging pain as the beast had tripped me up and instead sunk its rabies-coated teeth into my thigh.

“YUUHH-ahhhhhh!” I screamed like a little girl—again.

With the creature now enjoying some of my fresh veal, I lifted my sword and swung down with a mighty blow. It screeched, releasing its locked jaw and bouncing away. The blade had hit, carving a grizzly wound, but not enough to outright kill the vermin.

Taking this opportunity, I fumbled around in my bag until remembering to call for a healing potion. Popping the cork, I hoisted it to my lips—

Bzzzz—pwft.

“Again?! The same cheek!?” I cried out as the bottle fumbled from my hands and shattered to the stone.

I looked down as the potion’s magical qualities dissipated and, in that moment, I felt like I could hear the distant voice of Phyllis whispering on the wind, ‘No refunds.’

Glancing up, the wild animal was nearly on me again. But this time, I would be ready.

I watched as it moved and didn’t assume it would do the same thing twice. Lowering my stance, I waited until the last moment—sure that it was jumping.

With a final thrust of my sword, I caught the creature in its belly, piercing it through. Its heavy, limp body collided with my shield, pushing me back.

That was when my feet gave out from beneath me, slipping on the defunct potion and a horror movie amount of blood, I fell to my back. With a sickening squelch, I felt the last opponent pop like a water balloon under mine and rat-dogs combined weight.

Lying there, I struggled for a moment in a failing attempt to push the rat off the buckler. But it was no use, and as bloody foam poured out over my face, its dense body pressed against my chest.

One thing was sure: no bulging muscles on this body meant that I wasn’t strong in this life either.

Silent tears began to pour from my eyes as I wriggled, continuing to fail at removing the creature. I had just fought my first battle, solo, and was nearly killed for it. So, to me, the tears were justified.

Sure, it was a trio of corgquitos and a devil capybara, but those sweet experience points were all that mattered—

Right?

Then, as the adrenaline began to fade and the weight of the rat pinning my body to the stone started to overwhelm me, a curious sensation filled the void of excitement: shock.

That was when the worst-case scenario occurred. Officially out of combat, my body began to tremble before I vomited on myself and proceeded to fall into unconsciousness in this miserable state.

ooo

I was tired. My body was fatigued from the strain. At the age of ten, almost eleven, I was the newest member of my middle school volleyball team. And, so far, I had been playing the entire game and had even scored five of the eight points our school had.

It wasn’t like I really wanted to play, but I had seen how proud my parents were of my sister when she did. She was the top of her high school team and the captain of her travelling league. But now, with her away at college, I didn’t have her as the happiness buffer between me and my parents anymore. So, if my brothers or she did something bad, I would get in trouble.

If I wanted to keep them happy, I needed to be more like the rest of my family. More like my athletic siblings.

“Tahvin, switch out.” The coach called, and I happily returned to the bench with the rest of my waiting classmates.

Sitting, I drank from my water bottle, which had warmed up from sitting in the baking sun. The taste of plastic tainted my taste buds as I gagged.

“Tahvin.” A stern voice whispered in my ear.

A hand grabbed my arm, yanking me to face who had spoken. It was my mother, and she appeared disappointed.

“What are you doing?” She scolded.

“The coach told me to sit,” I responded, confused. “Did you see me score those points?”

“You’ve only won five rallies. You get back out there and don’t embarrass us. Your team is relying on you and your good genetics.”

“I’m tired, though. I need a break, mom. My legs are hurting—”

She tugged me closer, her words becoming sharp and venomous.

“I don’t care if you’re gushing blood from your leg. You wrap it up and keep playing. If you need to vomit, do it somewhere out of sight and get back on the court. You’re an Echebarriscoa; you do not show weakness. You show everyone that you don’t need help—that you’re a winner. Do you understand?”

“Yes, mom.”

She took the bottle from me and pointed slyly towards the coach.

“Now go and insist you get put back in. Go!”

Tears began to form in my eyes as I turned and marched my way back to the front of the bench. I would prove myself to mom and dad. I needed to show them I could be like my sister. That I didn’t need help.