The fireball hit a crawler center mass, then exploded in a shower of sparks. They fanned out after that, but another fireball hit its mark.

  Notice: You have gained a level!

  Something inside me bubbled to the surface as another crawler fell victim to my flames.

  Excitement.

  I grinned, spell after spell blasting the monsters. Within moments, the sandy forest had become a graveyard. The air smelled of burnt meat, and I lowered my staff after the last of them lay charred on the ground.

  “How?” Riu asked, face scrunched in confusion.

  I shrugged.

  “Maybe I’ll tell you about it la-—”

  Something whistled through the trees, then Riu fell over.

  There was an arrow in his chest.

  I ducked, an arrow just barely missing my head. What the hell? Then I heard it again, that sound that had accompanied the crawlers. It was faint, just at the edge of my hearing.

  Voices.

  The words were in a language I couldn’t begin to understand, but there was someone or something down the hill.

  “Riu!” I called, using one of the trees for cover.

  The kid was on his back, one hand still gripping a dagger, the other pressed to the jutting needle of wood buried in his chest.

  It was black, probably made from one of the local trees. A few grey feathers on the other end tugged against the breeze, one of them speckled with blood.

  “Do you have a potion?” He groaned, then started trying to scoot back. An arrow thunked in the sand next to his legs.

  Whatever was shooting at us was getting closer. I could hear more of them, their words harsh, a violent and panicked edge to them. I tried peeking around my cover, but my bad leg damn near gave out on me.

  Sweat was dripping into my eyes now, and I blinked through the pain. Got to be something I can do. If Riu didn’t get a move on, he was about to become a pincushion.

  “Fuck it.” I leaned down and popped open my inventory. Pushing my full weight onto the end of my staff, I grabbed my last health potion.

  Huffing, I shot forward as fast as I could, then activated bubble.

  A sphere of white energy flashed out from my chest. It extended a few inches from my body in each direction, and it followed me as I ducked down.

  “Take it,” I said, thrusting the potion into Riu’s empty hand.

  His eyes fluttered, and he nearly dropped the potion. I wasn’t even sure if he could understand me.

  A shape appeared to my left and I turned just in time to get an arrow in the teeth.

  Or I guess that’s what would have happened had bubble not sent it bouncing away.

  As soon as the arrow hit my protective spell, the bubble flashed, then expanded. It tossed the projectile to the side, then popped, the sound like a balloon meeting a needle.

  The creature that shot at me slithered forward. It was covered in a mixture of red and black scales, its head large and angular, just like the crawlers. It slithered like a snake, but its torso was humanoid and it had four arms, each ending in a human hand. The top two held a bow, the bottom two a set of curved daggers.

  By the time I aimed my staff at it, the thing was about to skewer me. But just before it got into range, I managed to shoot it in the ribs.

  It hissed and fell to the side, one more fireball finishing it off for good. A second one came at me too fast to get my aim right, and I ended up missing it by an inch.

  I planted my good leg as best as I could, then swung the staff with all the strength I could muster. It cracked into the snake man’s head, opening a mean gash. Bastard was tough though, he slashed, the tip of his dagger tracing a red line across my stomach.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Gritting my teeth, I thrust my palm forward. Casting fireball without my staff meant my aim would be shit, but this close it wouldn’t matter. The spell burst against the snake man’s chest, the force of the impact knocking us both back.

  It was only pure luck I didn’t end up on my back, and with a little more space between us, I shot another fireball at my opponent before he had a chance to recover. And with a second one dead on the ground, the others were more cautious. Seemed they had more sense than the crawlers.

  Riu tugged on the arrow, blood spurting as he tossed it aside. He drank the health potion, then quickly got back to his feet. Once up, he ducked low behind a small tree across from me. Good thing he was tiny, otherwise he would have nowhere to hide.

  The snake people might be advancing more slowly, but they were still coming at us. I closed my eyes, focused on the sound of their movements. Four left. I tightened the grip on my staff, then leaned around my cover, two fireballs launching before they had time to react.

  I had to duck back before I could see them land, but judging by the pained cries, at least one of them landed true.

  Riu’s eyes went wide. “Behind!”

  I twisted, one of the snake people only a few feet behind me. Unlike the others, it made almost no sound as it slithered across the sand. And instead of a bow, it had a set of curved swords, its bottom arms holding two long daggers.

  One of the swords flashed red, then ignited. The monster hissed, exposing a mouth full of pointed teeth. Then it came forward, blinding fast. I raised my staff to block out of instinct.

  The sword sent sparks flying as it cut into my staff, but the wood held. I let go with my left hand, open palm ready to launch a spell, but a dagger slashed out, slicing across my forearm.

  A pocket of air to my left distorted, then Riu appeared. He drove his dagger down from above, the point spiking through the top of the snake man’s head. It squirmed as he ripped his dagger free, then I shoved the monster, sending it to the ground.

  I blasted it with a fireball for good measure, then watched as the rest of the snake people retreated back into the woods.

  “Thanks for the save,” I said, panting.

  Riu smiled, then bent over and puked all over the snake man’s corpse.

  The battle hadn’t been long, but I’d gained a level and was already close to level four. Bubble, despite only being used once, was halfway to level two. My fireball was also close to gaining a level, though part of me wished it would stay like it was.

  Sure, having an exploding death ball would be great, but what happens when the enemies get too close? I could probably kill most before they reached me, but if one got near me, I’d be kind of fucked.

  Guess that’s just being a mage though, isn’t it?

  The potion Riu drank had healed him back to full health, but that meant there was nothing for me. I had a slice across my stomach that was only surface level, nothing too bad. But my arm was another story. I had to use a piece of my torn work shirt to make a makeshift bandage for it. Bastard stung like hell.

  “But I’ll live,” I mumbled to myself.

  I’d killed enough crawlers and snake people that I now got a full description when I inspected them.

  Juvenile Sand Crawler Lv. 2

  Description: Juvenile Sand Crawlers are used as hunting dogs, livestock, and sometimes pets within the boarders of the Red Stone Empire. They are one of the weakest creatures on the continent, but that’s only the little ones. They are basically puppies in comparison to the adult versions (That makes you a puppy killer, by the way). But take heart, most juveniles never see adulthood due to their habit of eating each other when no one is looking.

  Drops: Crawler Legs.

  I’d received a few “Crawler Legs” when I inspected their corpses. Interestingly, nothing actually disappeared from the bodies. Their legs remained intact despite a few of them appearing in my inventory. They were marked as food, but I would only consider eating them as a last resort. But this place had towns and the voice had mentioned shops. Maybe these would be worth something to someone?

  The snake dudes were more interesting.

  Red Stone Warrior Lv. 5

  Description: A member of the Red Stone Empire’s warrior cast. They are trained in a variety of weapon types and styles. They are also fantastic singers. Often used as fodder in their wars with the Acorn Kingdom, they are only fearsome when allowed to organize. Each squad is led by an elite warrior or a mage. Once a squad leader is slain, the others are likely to retreat.

  Drops: Coins.

  All together I’d gathered about fifteen coins from the dead warriors. But their leader had dropped several tier D weapons. Riu had taken the guy’s daggers and then his sword. The sword had a fire enchantment, but it took a small amount of mana to activate. Riu had leveled up during the fight and put two points into dexterity, but his remining point he’d plugged into focus. Despite it making him throw up, he must have realized how useful that teleport skill of his truly was. If he could gain a bit more mana, he could use the enchanted blade and his teleport together. That was a combo I was excited to see.

  Huh. I clenched and unclenched my hand, the pain in my arm blooming hot. But despite the pain, despite the situation and all the death, I felt excitement like I hadn’t felt in years. It felt like I was back on the field, bright lights shining down on me, my enemy standing there ready to be crushed. I felt alive.

  And that description had mentioned mages. If the elite warriors dropped weapons, maybe one of the mages would drop a grimoire?

  I put my three points from leveling up into arcane, bringing the attribute up to fourteen. Couldn’t be sure how much extra damage the stat was providing, but I saw little reason to invest my points elsewhere. Maybe I’d eventually plug a few into constitution to gain some health, but that would be something to consider later. For now, it was damage all the way.

  “Ready?” I asked Riu.

  He nodded, then we set off. We still had a few hours until nightfall and we had to be on the move. They knew we were here now, and they’d be back.

  But a part of me, a growing portion deep inside, hoped we’d be seeing more of them. I knew thinking like that wasn’t sane, and I tried suppressing it, but the further we walked, the more that part of me grew.

  I worried, just like I did all those years ago, what would happen when this feeling finally consumed me.