Abel, the Monster Adventurer

After another long day of dealing with quests, we decided to hit up one of the local taverns. It was a pretty popular spot in the city, always filled to the brim with adventurers, locals, and the occasional travelers. Since a majority of the people were regulars, the atmosphere always felt warm and inviting, kind of like eating at a home away from home.

"Hey, Abel!" Vance cried out, his inside voice already clocking out for the night as the booze started kicking in. "That was a sick catch you did back there! Didn't expect something that big to move so fast!" He hadn't been drinking for more than a few minutes and you can already tell he was getting tipsy. Hard to believe he was usually cool and collected while sober.

"I mean, I didn't really have a choice. The fight lasted quite awhile, and I was sure Tereza didn't have much mana left for a defensive spell. Better safe then sorry, I suppose," I replied, feeling a little giddy at the sudden praise. I wanted to drink along with them, but I could never bring myself to do it. Seeing how much control one can lose when drunk was just to unsettling to think about. Especially with someone like me. Thankfully being sober doesn't prevent you from enjoying a nice, warm meal with friends.

"Still! That rock was big enough to break through a village wall! Seeing you catch it like nothing was so badass!" He exclaimed before shoving his mouth full of food. I couldn't help but feel happy for the praise, just enough to turn my head a bit red from embarrassment. That's when my eyes caught Cecilia looking upset from across the table.

"Something the matter, Lia?" I asked, using her nickname, the one only I was allowed to call her for some reason. I, apparently, brought everyone's attention to her, all of us now curious why she was so down despite another successful monster subjugation.

"...I'm sorry," she said hesitantly, unable to make eye contact with us as she did. "It's my fault Abel even had to worry about Tereza in the first place. If I was feeling a bit better, I wouldn't have dragged out that fight for so long and Tereza would still have plenty of mana to spare." She had been sick for a while now, though nothing more than some nausea and fatigue here and there. It wasn't enough for us to see her as a burden, but I guess she thought differently.

"Hey, first off, it's not your fault you're feeling under the weather!" Tereza said, her arm wrapping around her shoulder, trying to comfort her before I got a chance. "Secondly, it hasn't even been an issue, as far as I'm concerned. If anything it's our frontliners here that need to stop acting so recklessly. Right?" She looked at me and Vance as though we were the main screw-ups in the group.

"I guess I do get a bit complacent, since I'm so used to my special powers and all..." Having the blame shifted on us felt harsh, but they did have a point.

"You're one to talk, Tereza! Do I have to remind you of all the times your rock walls almost left us cornered?!" Vance suddenly shouted, his voice mildly slurred from his increasingly drunken state. To think this is the man that is our supposed leader...

"Oh, did I hear some rubbish come from the foul mouth of Mr. Vance Lance?" Tereza called him, the nickname he had been teased with since he had chosen a spear as his primary weapon of choice. Or at least that's what I been told, as they are the oldest members of the party, having come from the same village as childhood friends. "I mean, since I'm the mature one here, I guess I can admit I may have overdone it a few times. But just a few," she spoke out before Vance could say anything back, trying to play the role of a humble mage. Emphasis on trying.

"Wow, never thought I'd see the day Tereza admit accountability," Vance sneered as he went for another swig of his ale. One that Tereza didn't hesitate to ruin by poking at the bottom of the mug with her staff, causing it to over-tilt and spill all over his face.

"Oi, Tereza!" He rebuked at her as he wiped the liquid off his face, while Cecilia and I couldn't help but laugh at their squabble. Unfortunately the good mood would be short lived, as the sudden noise from the front door being slammed wide open caught everyone's attention.

At the entrance of the tavern was an unfamiliar group of adventurers, each with a rather large physique. It was obvious they weren't from around here, as the three of them looked like they were searching for something. Or maybe someone? That's when the blond, brutish-looking fellow's eyes landed on us.

"Oi, boss, check it out!" He said rather loudly, not keeping anything discreet as he very obviously pointed to our table.

Are they looking for me? I thought, wondering if my reputation had spread that far.

"Well, well, well. Look at what we got here; some brats taking up our seats. Why don't y'all beat it, eh? Shoo, shoo! Go on, git!" demanded the 'boss' of the group, looking down at me and Vance as he did. It wasn't the first time my relatively small stature and young appearance made me seem harmless. Vance, on the other hand, was definitely a fit guy, but his body was still small in comparison to these thugs.

"Or what?!" Vance asked through a slurred voice, his hand already reaching for his spear, despite clearly being inebriated. I knew I had to say something or things could get really ugly, especially considering Vance was still in the middle of his drunken stupor.

"Now, now!" I interjected, trying to calm everyone down best I could. "Let's just get out of their way, alright? No need for any of us to make a scene, after all." I tried ushering Vance away to make sure he didn't try to do anything reckless. "Sorry about all that, we'll get moving now. Tereza, Lia, let's get going--"

"Woah, woah, hold it now. You two losers can go, but the ladies," the boss man said as he turned his head towards them, his eyes leering at their bodies lasciviously. "They can stay." Both Cecilia and Tereza shuddered visibly with disgust as the man was blatantly undressing them with his eyes.

"Yeah, right, like I'd ever you give you the time of day, you disgusting perv!" Tereza snapped at them as she grabbed Cecilia's arm. "C'mon, Cecilia, let's get out of here!" But before they could leave, Cecilia's other arm was grabbed by the third ruffian.

"Come on, baby! Don't be like that! Stick with us and we'll show you a good time," he snickered, licking his lips. That's when he suddenly felt someone, or something, grab his shoulder. He wasn't entirely sure if it was a hand as it felt way too large to be one. But that didn't stop him from being annoyed someone was interfering with his good time.

"Hey, can't you see I'm busy here with--" he started, but cut himself short when he finally caught sight of what exactly was grabbing him. His eyes went wide with fear, now knowing he was partially right; it was too large to just be an ordinary hand, but he never imagined it would be what he saw at that very moment.

The hand-like extremity grabbing him was far too large to be that of a human, but to say it belonged to a beast would not be entirely correct, either. It's 'fingers' were long and thick, each one comparable to the grip of a broadsword, or the handle of a mace.

And its skin, or whatever you could even call it, was as black as night. The texture on it didn't look like any type of skin, fur, or hide, but rather something else entirely. Something you couldn't touch, almost like a shadow.

But what shocked the man the most wasn't the 'hand' itself, but rather who it belonged to. And that was to none other than the boy that they had pegged as harmless just moments ago.

That's right, it belonged to me.

The man started to panic, trying to get away, but despite his efforts, he couldn't escape my grasp. Scared out of his wits, I continued gripping his shoulder tighter and tighter until he couldn't take it anymore, finally letting go of Cecilia. As soon as he did, that's when I flung him at the wall like a rag-doll, though I made sure to hold back, since I did not want to pay for damages.

"Oi, oi, oi!? What the hell is going on!?" Their boss said, his face suddenly filled with dread, his eyes stuck on me and my partially transformed self.

"Oh, sorry. I tend to get a little pissed off when my friends are touched like that. Try not to do that again, okay?" I asked with an unsettling smile.

"Don't bullshit me! I saw that! We all saw that! You... you're a monster!" Despite this revelation, the tavern stayed silent, the patrons eyes still on him rather than me. But that silence soon ended as a wave of laughter erupted from the onlookers. He was absolutely flabbergasted by this reaction.

"What's wrong with all of you? Did you not just see what he did to my friend here!? Can't you see he's a monster!?" Despite his efforts to get his point across, his desperate pleas were futile as they were drowned out by the ever-increasing laughter.

"Sorry, sorry!" Vance finally spoke up in-between his drunken cackling. "It's just that... it's always funny to see the reactions of someone meeting Abel for the first time! Especially when it's from some dumbass that thinks they're hot shit!"

"Abel? Wait, you don't mean--", the thug helping his friend up suddenly realized. His boss glanced back at him for a moment before returning his full attention back to me, only to see my arm in the middle of returning back to normal.

"I guess I should properly introduce myself, huh..." I walked up to him, holding out the very same hand I used earlier to teach his friend a lesson. "I'm who they call Abel, the Monster Adventurer! Nice to meet you!"