My Bag Carrier Hates Me

A wolf soared over her head as Gwen slid underneath, dodging its attack. She pushed herself up and tapped her staff against the dirt. The moment the beast landed, a spike of stone shot from the earth, piercing through its skull.

It collapsed instantly, blood pouring from its wound.

“Well, that makes five… how many did we need?” she asked, turning to face a dome made out of stone. “Oh right, let me break this first.”

She tapped the ground again, and the dome dropped, revealing Kira.

“Ugh, can you please start making holes when you put me in there!” Kira whined, approaching the downed wolf to skin it.

“Sorry…I’m still trying to get the hang of using earth magic.”

Kira glared at her. “You’ve said that for the past week! We both know you’re just a battle junkie and keep forgetting in your rush to fight!”

“That is slander and lies!” Gwen argued, stomping her foot.

“The only time I see you smile is during a fight!”

“I- no, what, whatever you say. I’m not going to argue with my bag carrier.”

“And I’m a damn good bag carrier at that,” Kira replied, positioning her blade over the wolf and getting to work. “Also, to answer your question, we needed five wolf pelts from floor two.”

Gwen sat against a tree, resting her staff across her lap to catch her breath and recover some of her lost energy.

Man, these last two weeks I have been going hard with the training. She thought, letting the tension drain from her shoulders. My magic reserves have grown along with my strength after beating so many monsters.

Practicing her katas and swinging her staff until her arms burned, and running laps also helped. The early days had been rough, and there were times when quitting felt like the only option, but she stuck it out.

Now her body felt stronger and more flexible. Anything was better than getting stabbed again.

Getting stabbed isn't fun; zero out of ten bad experience.

What was worse than being sliced multiple times was dealing with an angry Mel. It had taken serious effort to get her friend to stop yelling at her and actually listen. All Gwen got out of that conversation was two measly slivers, plus a bonus of five for saving a village.

Like that covered her almost dying. At least Kira permanently joined her party now.

No more picking up more and skinning monsters for this adventurer! Gwen cheered internally, satisfied.

She couldn’t wait for Kira to finish up with skinning the last wolf. The thought of heading deeper into the forest to fight stronger monsters made her heart race.

Finding a worthy challenger to gain new XP is a must!

“Ugh, could you not think about fighting while I do this? I can see the drool coming out of your mouth from here,” Kira joked.

Gwen shot a glare at her, quickly wiping her mouth. “I wasn’t thinking about—”

“Don’t even try to lie!”

“Ugh, fine, I’m just ready to go deep into the forest, to see what other creatures we can find besides the wolves!”

“Well, I’m almost done here, plus being able to stuff everything in your pouch means we won't have to worry about it rotting while we stay here longer.”

“Yes, my… father did give me a good gift.”

“I’m sure. Being a noble must come with pretty good perks,” Kira muttered.

“I’m not a noble anymore. Now I’m just a normal adventurer named Gwen, here at your service.” Gwen took a small bow.

Kira opened her mouth, then closed it. Instead, she shook her head and got back to work.

Gwen gave a small pout as the banter died down, then closed her eyes. Breathing in and out slowly, she allowed her magic to flow around her body unrestricted.

***

Kira finished a few moments later, and Gwen immediately grabbed her wrist, dragging her deeper into the forest.

The second floor was nothing like the first. Massive trees stretched toward the ceiling, their thick branches twisting together overhead to block some of the fake sunlight. Dense bushes and vines covered the ground, with thick roots that pushed through the dirt.

“Come on, let’s go!” Gwen said hurriedly.

Kira paused, a slight frown on her face. “You used to be respectable. Now you’re just an annoying ass battle manic with a cold personality.”

“I don’t know if I should take that as an insult or compliment.”

“The fact you have to think about it is slightly scary.”

Gwen shrugged. “I’m just happy I can be free, or at least move around the city without rumors or people bothering me.

“I see…” Kira trailed off, her eyes dropping to the ground. “I-I guess we should keep moving then. I’d like to be back at the guild for dinner.”

“Yes! Time to grind,” Gwen cheered, pumping her fist into the air before walking deeper into the forest.

“I don’t get way you so keen on fighting all the time,” Kira muttered out loud, following after her.

It didn’t take long before they spotted two kobolds lying beneath the trees. One was red and the other blue. Both had long claws and spiked tails.

At the sound of their approach, the humanoid lizards shot to their feet and hissed before rushing toward them.

Gwen tapped the ground with her staff. Brown light traveled downward, and a little rumble formed around them.

Suddenly, a stone wall formed around Kira, leaving a small opening. With her safe, Gwen focused on the two Kobolds.

She tapped the ground again. The earth immediately responded as rocks shot upward, forming one giant ball. Gwen thrust her staff forward, launching the boulder.

It slammed into the red kobold, sending it flying backward. The blue one continued forward, claws lashing toward her.

Gwen leaned aside, dodging the attack. Spinning her staff, she brought it down in a fiery arc. Flames caught the kobold across the chest, forcing it back.

She chased after it, slashing two more times until the scales covering its chest broke, revealing the skin underneath.

The kobold swung widely.

Gwen caught the attack against the middle of her staff. She twisted it to the side and threw the monster off balance. A blade of fire formed at the bottom of her weapon and jabbed, driving the flames through its chest.

The blue kobold turned to ash, leaving behind a few scales and a magic stone.

Gwen immediately ducked under the red kobold’s tail sweep before leaping away from its follow-up attack.

The monster snarled and chased after.

She narrowly dodged each strike, while occasionally tapping the ground. After an overhead slash, she rolled out of the way while channeling her magic.

“Stone Wall!”

Rocks erupted from around the kobold, forming a tight dome. They slammed together, crushing the monster. Without hesitation, Gwen sent a wave of fire, turning the coffin a dark red.

When she felt a surge of energy, Gwen stopped the flames. She waved her hand, dismissing all the rocks in the area, including the ones surrounding Kira.

Gwen wiped the sweat from her forehead. “Whoa, man. That combination uses a lot of magic. I think next time I should trap them on the ground instead of lifting the rocks in the air.”

“Are you done yet or do you want to keep going?” Kira asked, coming to a stop beside her.

“I’d like to keep going! I want to fight a few more kobolds before we leave.”

“You say that, but we both know you’ll keep fighting until you run out of magic.

Gwen shot her a glare but marched forward, leading them deeper into the forest.

A few minutes later, the trees opened up into a small clearing with several monsters waiting on the other side.

Gwen’s eyes immediately lit up. Come to momma!

She raised her staff, and immediately the area around her started to heat up.

Kira let out a sigh as she ran to hide, not wanting to get caught up in the madness that is Gwen Vanderick.