Dawn- An age of Darkness

The old man ran towards the hobgoblin while I dealt with the normal ones. My sword was lighter and sharper than what I was used to. And my body felt painless.

The swings were fast and swift. With every swing, I almost lost my balance and fell to my death. I wasn't used to this sword at all!

With an audible tick of his tongue, the old sliced of one of the arms of the hobgoblin. "Pay more attention to where yar standing ya moron!" His shout brought some senses back to me.

I took deep breaths and corrected my footwork for the lighter sword.

The ground was mushy and there was grass around. I had to take it all under consideration along with the weight of the sword and the weight of my armor. Why I hadn't done this beforehand was a mystery to me. The old man was right, I really was a moron.

I took another deep breath and controlled my breathing. With a calm demeanor, I sliced the goblin that approached me. The sword shimmered and I felt empowered. It cut through the goblin, like butter.

This sword is amazing….

It really was. But I was still inexperienced.

I cut them all, one by one: I was fast and now that I could move better, they didn't pose much of a threat. I was still afraid of the goblins, even after cleaving every single one of them, my heart wouldn't stop racing. I couldn't forget that first day. I couldn't forget that bite.

But this time, after all this time, I finally won.

What about-?

I turned around. The old man was done too. The hobgoblin was standing on its feet without its head for a second, before blood gushed out and it fell on the ground. That looked quite ominous. This old man definitely was something else. I couldn't hold a candle to him.

"Wa-way to go old man…" My eyes were twitching.

How the hell am I supposed to get to his level when I can't even keep my footwork right?

"Look out!" He shouted. The old man threw a gust of air towards me before I could react.

What just happened? I thought so highly of the old man that I'd let my guard down?

With horror and terror, I turned my head. Sweat poured.

There was a goblin toddler behind me. That gust of air sliced it through.

But I- how?

Upon close inspection, this goblin was much smaller than the regular goblins and it wasn't wearing anything; it only had a sharp stone in one hand. The poor thing was still alive. It screeched in pain and looked awfully humanoid.

The old man punctured the goblin's heart and it died shrieking in pain. "This one might have been a toddler but it was a mage species. These things mature way too fast. If I didn't kill it, you could have ended up hurt." Regret was painted all over his voice.

But what about me? How could I let my guard down in the monster territory?

They say, history repeats itself. Today wasn't an exception. I didn't trust anything and I wanted to keep my guard up all the time. But in the end, it was all just talk.

You have to take this seriously Daarc!

But I also had something else to deal with first. I remembered the time back in Moire when these small things were sniping us. "Even the small ones are evil, huh?" It wasn't a question. And I definitely didn't want an answer.

"Why would you think they are evil? Because they eat others?" Alisa had apparently come out of the cart and was now standing behind me.

It was safe now that all the goblins were dead.

I wasn't prepared to answer her question though. Till now I never thought of it that way. "What are you saying? They kill innocents and-"

"Are you sure? Are you sure they aren't doing this just to survive? Besides, don't you do the same to live?" Something about her voice was different. Maybe she was scared?

I didn't reply. I couldn't. She didn't say anything either.

The old man snorted. "What do you know of goblins, brat!" Just this once, I saw his rage. The calm and careful old man showed off rage. I didn't even know he had that emotion. "Just to survive?" He snorted again and for the first time ever didn't laugh it off.

Neither the old man nor Alisa said another word. Something didn't feel right. It really didn't.

We didn't cut the ears of the goblins or take their fangs. Rather we buried them here. It was something that the old man insisted. His reasoning, they'd turn undead and it'd take them a long time to crawl out from the ground. Otherwise, they'd just roam freely from just a few days later.

Upon further, poking around, he told me in secret that goblins eat their dead and even try to mate with the dead. It disgusted me and I hated these things even more.

"By the way, are they edible?" Brenda asked. Of course, she was referring to the goblins. And boy oh boy, was she dumb to even consider that question.

The cart moved on.

"If you want a poisoning. Yes," Jowy answered, as he made the horse go faster. I was glad Jowy answered. I didn't know what I or the old man might have said.

However, we did secure the knives and valuables such as coins. Why did the goblins have coins anyway? I surely didn't know.

We marched on. The mood felt terrible. Jowy and Brenda didn't say anything and the old man just looked like he was in a foul mood.

Alisa and Biteria were basically like rivals though. It was fun to watch them eyeball each other.

A few hours later we arrived at a massive pond.

Should I be happy about this? Is fish really worth it?

I had a lot on my mind and I tried to be as guarded as possible. But the idea of eating fish made me forget about all my other troubles for a moment.

"Jowy, it would be best if we stopped here for the noon." The old man looked around. There weren't any monsters or even living things in the area.

I didn't see any dead things either.

"I was just about to suggest that," Jowy added, as nonchalant as ever.

We stopped by the pond. It was covered in shadows on one side and engulfed by the sun on the other.

We set camp in the dark side and let the horses rest. Most of the trees here looked like wood trees with no edible fruits. It was a letdown. But the pond seemed to have some fish. I lived on that island for almost two months with the old man, so I learned fishing as a byproduct.

Maybe I should give it a shot.

Of course, all I was doing was running away from the harsh reality.

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