Chapter 1: Knight or bear

“Don’t worry! I’ve cleared the forest. That wolf that kept eating your chickens has been taken care of!”

Smiling brightly, A young woman smacked her fist on her chest proudly. Her other hand held up a loose wolf pelt.

“Ah..that’s great..however no one asked you to-”

An old man stared at her, his hands clasped behind him in an effort to support his hunched back.

“Don’t you worry. You can have the pelt too. I don’t need any thanks.”

“No, I wasn’t particularly-”

The old man paused.

“Actually, are you bleeding, miss..your arm its full of bite marks, you need to get to a doctor immediately before-”

“No need!”

Reaching into her belt pouch, she quickly pulled out a small vial. Sprinkling the liquid inside over her wounds.

“But miss, that will hurt like hell and you will have scars..”

Taking off her cloak and wrapping it around her waist, she displayed her nearly bare upper body.

“Oh..dear...”

“See, Don’t worry. I got plenty of scars. One more won't change the canvas too much.”

Waving at the old man, she began walking off.

“Oh yeah! Old man!”

Looking back, she pulled her long matted black hair away from her face as it fluttered in the wind.

“Make sure you remember who helped you! Elara the hero!”

Running off before the old man could get a word in, Elara left the old man standing dumbfounded while holding a slightly wet piece of pelt.

“Hero..? like the children's books..? Ah, maybe it’s her last name. Thahiro, what a strange last name..fitting for a strange girl.”

Shaking his head, he turned back, heading back into the village.

–

“Another check towards my budding reputation as a hero..now. Where to next.”

Walking down the dirt road, Elara looked around the forest she was in.

“Aha. Perfect. A shortcut. I think this is the way to the next town.”

Unsheathing her battered longsword, she began cutting away at the tree branches covering the small dirt path she had spotted.

Walking along the dirt path, she kept swinging her sword at the branches, deep in thought.

Clenching her left fist, she looked at the nearly fully healed wound.

This will leave another nasty scar. Sigh. I thought I was getting better, but to get so careless against a mere wolf..Will I ever get better at this..

I’ve already been doing this for fifteen years..yet no one even knows me. There have been zero rumors about an emerging hero. Not a single one in all these years..what have I been doing this for..

“Will I ever be able to accomplish my goal..”

Before she could continue with another self deprecating thought, she heard something rustle in the shrubbery.

Her emerald green eyes scanned across the forest, looking for the source. Her previous lighthearted softness was utterly gone. Instead leaving the eyes of a predator.

The shrubs near her rustled.

Her sword was already drawn, her posture was ready, legs apart, Sword held in front of her. The tunic around her waist flowing softly in the wind, mirroring the leaves around her.

“There!”

She saw it, something large jumping out of the bushes at her.

She couldn’t tell what type of beast it was due to all the foliage, but she could make out the vague shape of it.

For her senses that were honed from years of battle, it was enough.

Her body twisted, the nearly dull blade flying in an arc, slicing through the air with practiced effort.

Her strike hit true.

She had struck the beast right on its chest, the most common weakness of most beasts.

The beast slammed into the ground, sending dust and leaves all around the both of them.

“Cough..that was strange..that hit just now..felt almost like..striking metal?”

The dust slowly cleared, revealing the beast.

Except it was no beast at all.

“...A person?”

She stared at the fully armored individual laying on the ground in front of her.

The armor, similar to the one knights wore, covered every inch of their body, not even leaving an opening for the face except a small slip that made one have doubts about the person's eyesight.

“...At least that means I didn’t kill them..probably?”

Poking the unconscious knight with the tip of her sword, she flinched when the knight suddenly sat up, stray leaves rustling, stuck between the armors joints.

“You okay? Why did you jump at me?”

The knight looked around frantically, the distress clear despite them not saying anything.

“Hey! Say something!”

Elara watched the knight scramble around on the ground, looking for something in the foliage.

“What are you looking for..? Ah, your weapons?”

The knight nodded frantically at her, confirming her guess.

“Alright, alright, calm down, I’ll give you a hand.”

She began to rummage through the leaf covered ground.

“Why are you in such a hurry anyway? Oh yeah. Sorry about smacking you! I thought you were some kind of beast or even a bear!”

Chuckling to herself, she glanced up at the knight, who now sat frozen.

“What? Remember where you left your weapon? That’s so strange..you’re wearing armor but it almost looks like you're sweating..why are you sweating.”

She blinked as she heard some rustling in the foliage behind her.

“....?”

Before she had the chance to turn around, a huge mass of fur exploded through the foliage, tearing apart thick branches that even her sword couldn't cut through.

“You’re joking..!?”

Before Elara could reach for her now sheathed sword, the giant beast caught the knight in its giant maw. The razor sharp teeth slightly denting the armor as it tried to bite through.

Unable to bite through its prey, it resolved to shake the knight around like a ragdoll, before slamming them into a nearby tree.

The knight sank down, limp and unconscious.

Shit. Is that even a bear? It looks like a monster.

The bear raised one clawed paw towards the knight, preparing to peel the armor off them to get into the meal waiting for it inside.

“You’re lucky..if I was some average vagabond I would have left you here and ran off. However..I am no mere vagabond..I am someone who aspires to be a hero!”

She now stood between the knight and the bear. Her sword raised in front of her.

“...Though I really don’t know if I can beat you.”

Her legs shook slightly. Yet despite that, her eyes were focused.