Chapter 1.4 — The Fieldtrip

  Gahhhhhh… why, tell me why?? I screamed inside.

  Once again, I was outside walking. For how long this time?

  My feet hurt. My legs hurt. My back hurts!

  I didn’t understand why I was so tired. Sure, I wasn’t the most athletic, but my stamina wasn’t this bad, was it?

  When we walked to Mr. Glasses’s house earlier, I didn’t feel much.

  But now… my feet were dragging.

  It was late, yeah. But I wasn’t a stranger to all-nighters.

  Back home, I’d stay up all night gaming and go straight to work the next day.

  So why?? Why did I feel like I was dying?! I thought, huffing like an old man.

  — — —

  Mr. Glasses charged full steam ahead—straight into the darkness.

  The fields were lit by moonlight, but even then I had to squint to see anything.

  Looking at him, he didn’t seem tired at all… that lucky bastard!

  Annoyed, I glanced back, searching for proof I wasn’t the only one suffering here.

  Mr. Beard and Sweet Lady walked behind us. I leaned my head back, trying to listen in… Sure, I couldn’t understand their language,

  but their interactions had become a source of amusement for me.

  I grinned, imagining their squabble… then froze.

  Wait—am I the jerk here?!

  — — —

  — — —

  “Why, Jen? Why did you drag us along?” Grey said displeased.

  Jen narrowed her eyes. Her expression… completely dead.

  “Grey dear, you know how dangerous it can be at this hour, right?”

  Grey looked away, annoyed. “Yes, I know. And Simon can handle it, you know.”

  Exasperated, Jen let out a sigh before explaining.

  “That might be true. But if a monster appears—or worse, an entire pack—it’d be

  inconvenient for Simon to fight and protect the boy at the same time.

  Don’t you agree?”

  Her head tilted, teeth gritted. A vein pulsed on her forehead… as if daring to disagree.

  Grey knew she was making excuses. Simon could handle himself just fine—

  everyone knew it. But Grey also knew better than to press further,

  so he simply nodded.

  “We are here,” a voice suddenly declared. It was Simon—he'd given the signal to stop.

  “Is this it?” Simon said, looking at Jen and Grey

  “What do you mean?” Grey blinked, caught off guard.

  “I mean what I said. Tell me, is this the place? Or did I get it wrong?”

  Grey's mind raced—was it here? He remembered the moment, the panic,

  but the details blurred. He glanced at Jen, hoping she’d jump in.

  Jen hesitated too, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the field.

  “…Yes,” she said finally, nodding a bit awkwardly. “Somewhere around here.”

  Grey pointed vaguely at the grass. “Yes, right around here… I think.”

  Despite the moonlight, the field was still too dark. Pinpointing the exact location was impossible. The best they could do was approximate it.

  “Good,” Simon said while grabbing something from his pouch.

  "Let's begin.”

  With that, the grown-ups seemed satisfied—or at least, that’s how it looked to me. Mr. Beard and Sweet Lady had been squabbling for a while,

  and honestly… I kind of felt bad for enjoying it. It really looked like Mr. Beard was on the verge of utter defeat.

  Yep. I was definitely being a jerk for finding this amusing!

  — — —

  Mr. Glasses walked slowly, more focused than usual. Occasionally, he crouched, brushing his fingers through the grass,

  and paused to glance at the ground. I could hear faint mumbling, as if he were talking to himself.

  I couldn't tell if he was looking for something or just stalling? Glancing at Mr. Beard and Sweet Lady, I noticed they didn't seem all too surprised by Mr. Glasses.

  My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a sharp light, my hand instinctively shot up to shield my face.

  “Ahh… What?” I blurted out in surprise.

  The glow came from Mr.Glasses, he was holding an object in his hand. I squinted, trying to assess the situation.

  The light shimmered in multiple colors, floating just a few centimeters above his palm. I didn’t recognize what he was doing, but the object resembled a small crystal.

  What is he doing??

  — — —

  Jen and Grey looked at the crystal, light was pouring out of it. Their eyes widened,

  and their mouths gaped—shocked at what they were witnessing.

  “Simon, what's going on? How is it even possible?”

  Leo was bewildered. The surprised reaction of his companion made him realize something might be wrong.

  “That can't be normal?"

  At that moment, the light violently dissipated, as if something had forced it,

  and the crystal fell into Simon’s palm.

  “Hmm… interesting.”

  They all froze, staring at each other. Jen leaned down, making sure he was alright.

  “Ahh, sorry. It must have frightened you,” she said, putting on a reassuring smile.

  Leo nodded, not sure what was going on. But the atmosphere had suddenly changed for some reason. Was it because of the light that was emitted?

  An eerie feeling came over me, and I squeezed the Coat Mr. Glasses had given me… very tight. It had kept me warm this entire time.

  But now—I suddenly began to feel cold.

  My ears caught the snap of twigs. My body turned on its own toward the sound—

  a faint growl seeped out of the darkness. Once again I could make out a silhouette

  of something… Then a foul smell filled the air, worsening my uneasiness.

  Why do I feel colder?

  — — —

  The silhouette slowly took shape and it came closer, revealing its massive size.

  “Jen, get behind me.” Grey stepped forward, raising his hand toward the threat.

  Leo was taken aback from the sheer size, he stood in awe beholding the giant beast. That is when a realization hit him.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “No way, no way, it's a Weiss Dire Wolf?”

  It's a strong monster that appeared as a random encounter close to Heimzuch Village, but normally you found them close to the dungeons.

  It's stronger than the normal Klein Dire wolf, but much weaker than the boss monsters—essentially making it a mid level boss monster.

  This is a pain, I remember having a few issues with this opponent during the game's prologue, but to be fair you only had that one character who was quite weak.

  Damn it, I didn′t expect a rare encounter appearing out of nowhere.

  Leo had just arrived in this world, but was already facing a dangerous foe that could easily kill him. Not knowing the capabilities of his allies, he could only assume what he knew from the game.

  In the prologue he learned that despite the locals living close to the dungeon, it was very rare to meet a Weiss Dire Wolf,

  let alone defeat one. Most locals would use some form of bait to lure it away, and secure their escape. Facing one head-on was seen as reckless.

  The wolf was slowly moving towards them, while gritting its drooling teeth. Its eyes focused directly on them, locking in its prey. Leo peered at his companions, hoping for some kind of plan?

  However, as his eyes caught the others' gazes, he realized that despite them looking very serious, the atmosphere around them was calm.

  Ehh, what’s going on, why do they seem too relaxed?

  A sound suddenly surged through the air. It was the cry of the Weiss Dire Wolf.

  “Crap, this is bad!!”

  Sweat was running down my face. The wolf’s cry was terrifying.

  I wanted to move, but I was unable. Frozen in place,

  I could only stand and watch in horror as more wolves slowly revealed themselves.

  I gritted my teeth as I realized that the wolf had called its pack. Despite the rest only being Klein Wolf's, they were dangerous in numbers.

  That’s right… that damn wolf is smarter than it looks—calling reinforcements.

  Leo immediately saw the wolf shifting its weight. “Crap… it’s coming!!”

  With tremendous force, it kicked the ground, moving lightning fast—

  the other wolves followed suit. My heart began to pound through my chest.

  Adrenaline shot through me as I finally became unfrozen from the Weiss Dire Wolf's earlier shout.

  The monsters were closing so fast that I could only perceive them as a blurry mess.

  I focused my eyes, scanning for my companions, only to find Mr. Beard suddenly grinning like a madman.

  Wha… why is he grinning like an idiot? Is he mad?

  But before I could finish that thought, Mr. Beard's hands began to glow enveloping in a bright blue light. It feels almost like he is charging something…

  The wolves were so close I could practically taste their foul stench—I felt like vomiting, blocking my mouth with my hand.

  Mr. Beard swiped his hand in a wide arc, and a solid wall of water surged from the ground. At first, it stood like a tall barrier,

  blocking the wolves’ path. Then, with a subtle shift, the wall surged forward, sweeping the wolves like a tidal wave… they cried out and tumbled, unable to reach us.

  Despite the sheer force of the spell, some of the wolves managed to get through. It didn’t slow the Weiss Dire Wolf.

  No, it seemed only to agitate it further, since it sped even more—locking onto Mr. Beard, still grinning like a fool.

  The hulking wolf was only a few meters away. The sheer stomping power from its feet almost made the ground shake. At that moment, I was gripped by fear—panic set in.

  “Run, you fool!!!” I shouted at the top of my lungs.

  A wall of rotating orbs of water immediately manifested behind Mr. Beard.

  He pointed at the wave of enemies, shouting.

  The wolves were bombarded with a swarm of high speed water-orbs.

  The wolves yelped, flying through the air, their bodies slamming into the ground. Most of them couldn’t even stand, pinned down to the ground.

  The spell however only staggered the Weiss Dire Wolf.

  It was growling even more fiercely, gradually pushing through the onslaught.

  I was completely shocked—Mr. Beard was holding a powerful monster back without breaking a sweat.

  That’s when it hit me: I’d been so focused on the beast that,

  in the midst of chaos, I’d lost sight of Sweet Lady.

  That's when Mr. Beard yelled something, the water-orbs dissipated and the Weiss Dire Wolf was no longer staggered.

  Immediately the wolf ran toward Mr. Beard—yet he stood his ground, unflinching. The hulking beast jumped into the air, its month gaped wide open ready to devour Mr. Beard.

  I raised my hand as if trying to grab him, the beast was on top, only a hair's breath away from him—a slash echoed through the air…

  Before I knew it, the beast’s head was sliced off clean. I stood completely frozen in utter shock as it rolled across the ground.

  The sword had moved with elegance and power, slicing the beast head in one fell motion.

  One strike… it seriously went down in a single strike?? I thought in awe, my gaze glued to the severed head. I blinked a couple of times, trying to process it all.

  My gaze then shifted to her sword. A strong grey-blue aura seeped out of the blade, as she pointed it toward the remaining wolves.

  They froze—then with their heads bowed low, they retreated.

  Realizing we've won, I sighted in relief and could finally relax.

  Not realizing how tired I truly was my legs began to give and I felt drowsy.

  From the outside the fight looked different. While Grey kept the wolf’s attention focused on him, Jen had moved in an arc around,

  waiting for the right moment to slip into its blind spot.

  Jen then called out to the boy, running over to check on him.

  He was sitting on the ground catching his breath.

  “Aww, you poor thing… it scared you good!” Jen said, while gently caressing his head. Jen was proud at how well he′d handled it.

  Most kids would have broken down in tears, but somehow he did not cry nor seemed to have panicked.

  “Jen, how is he doing?” Grey asked, concerned.

  "Don't worry he's fine—just very tired” She said, then her gaze shifted to Simon.

  “Care to explain what you were doing, while we took care of everything?”

  Simon let out a small chuckle, “Ohh, but you two were working so well together, I didn't wanna be the 3rd wheel” he playfully explained.

  Jen, somewhat displeased with his answer, furrowed her brows while looking away from him.

  Grey then walked over and picked the boy up, he was so tired that he was almost sleeping in his arms. Grey then in a serious tone explained.

  “We need to go now, more monsters will coming out soon at this late hour”

  Simon and Jen nodded, and with that, they all ventured back to the village.

  ***

  “Kykelikyyyyyy!!!!” The sound of the rooster echoed through the air.

  “Gahhhhh… wha… what??"

  I shouted, leaped out of bed as the piercing sound cut through my fragile ears. I looked around, confused, not recognizing the room.

  The entire place was like one of those forest cabins: everything from the walls to the furniture was made of wood.

  A fireplace stood at the center—the smell of food flowing through the air.

  What happened? I tried to recollect the events that led me here.

  Then suddenly, a familiar voice caught my ear.

  Sweet Lady came with a plate of food—porridge. She set it in front of me,

  then immediately placed her palm on my forehead.

  What’s she doing… ahh—she’s too close? She smelled really nice.

  For some reason, it reminded me of strawberries.

  She smiled, seemingly satisfied, then gestured for me to eat, like I was a child.

  I felt somewhat annoyed—but then remembered: I was a child,

  or rather—I had been transformed into one. While contemplating my own existence, a growl escaped my stomach.

  I quickly put my hand on it, trying to silence it.

  Another growl echoed in the room. I became even more embarrassed,

  but Sweet Lady couldn't help chuckling out loud. I pouted,

  then buried my spoon into the porridge.

  — — —

  I heard knocking at the door. Sweet Lady went and opened up, and a man entered the room, it was Mr. Glasses.

  He and Sweet Lady began discussing something, I can only guess, but Sweet lady seemed quite agitated—not sure why thought?

  I try not to think of it and focus on finishing my food. At that moment Mr. Glasses came over and without warning—put his palm to my forehead.

  Why is everyone in a touchy mood today? I thought, while cursing my luck.

  Before I knew it, Mr. Glasses had taken out my coat. Even without saying a word,

  I knew what he wanted me to do. Sweet Lady was still very agitated…

  I couldn’t help but wonder what he might have said to her to make her this angry.

  Well, I can’t blame them, they were so unlucky to get someone like me dumped into their lap. While I was in my thoughts,

  I suddenly realized that Mr. Beard was nowhere to be found. Confused, I scanned the house for him but to no avail,

  Sweet Lady saw what I was doing and just shook her head—as if to say he′s not here.

  After those pleasantries, I found myself walking with Mr. Glasses,

  I can only guess where he was going to take me next?

  ***

  Soon we arrived at what looked to be a big mansion… Or maybe ‘humongous’ fits better?

  Since the place was three stories high and bigger than a football field—maybe no bigger than two football fields!

  Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit, but seriously, to me it looks massive…

  How can such a gigantic building fit in a small village like this?

  While my head was reeling from all the earth-shattering revelations,

  a figure appeared at the main entrance. She was tall and slender,

  her posture elegant and graceful, like a nun straight out of a chapel—

  but the smoke curling from the slender pipe in her fingers broke that illusion.

  Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine. That’s when I realized her gaze was fixed on me—a sinister smile forming on her lips.