Yugo would sleep peacefully that night as his mind drifted through memories of a day packed with adventure.
And what a day it was.
He found out he had magical powers, defeated an evil monster, and met such amazing people from far away.
Until now, his life had been completely ordinary and with no real surprises.
This day felt like something out the many stories Ruel would tell whenever he passed through town, tales of adventure his father always said were nothing but fiction.
Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream ripped him from his dreams.
He blinked groggily, let out a lazy yawn, and stretched.
I was having such a great dream…
He thought as he was getting dressed.
I wish it was real.
But there was no time for regrets.
It was time to get back to work.
He put on his hat and, as he headed for the door, he another shriek outside.
Az burst into a panicked frenzy, fluttering around the room and hiding under the bed.
Something was clearly very wrong.
Yugo threw open the window and leaned out.
And, when he looked down, nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to see.
A small humanoid creature made of grey slime was chasing a terrified villager, its claws stretched out as it tried so attack.
The man ran with everything he had, but before he could escape another monster that just like it leapt from the shadows and sank its razor-sharp claws into his flesh.
Yugo watched in fear as the man’s body began to transform.
His skin hardened and cracked.
His flesh became bark.
In mere seconds, he had gone from a person to a twisted wooden statue.
The boy felt cold sweat down his back.
His first instinct would be to run and hide, but, after having saved the town from Rubilax, he knew he couldn’t back from this fight.
A hero would never do that.
He then bolted downstairs with Az at his back and burst out of the tavern, ready to face this new threat.
When he stepped outside, he saw that the scale of this disaster was much greater than he could have imagined.
Those creatures wasn’t just a couple of wandering monsters.
They were a plague.
Dozens of those slimy beasts swarmed the town, attacking defenseless villagers and transforming them into twisted wooden status.
As they rushed through the town, wood and plants in their path would turn grey and wither.
Before he could come up with a plan, one of those monsters locked its hollow eyes on him and lunged.
Immediately, his battle instincts kicked in.
With a quick sign, Yugo opened a portal and vanished before the monster could strike with its claws, instantly reappearing on the tavern’s counter.
But the creature didn’t stop.
With a guttural shriek, it turned around and launched itself right back at him.
It wouldn’t stop until it finished the job.
This time, Yugo fought back.
He waited for the creature was in the air, at the last possible moment, opened another portal.
His hand passed through and grabbed the first thing he found in the kitchen: a frying pan.
He gripped it tight, now that the foe was defenseless, brought it crashing down on the creature’s head.
¡BANG!
The impact was devastating.
The monster was sent flying into the wall and dissolved into a puddle of grayish liquid.
And, with that, it was out of the picture.
With his heart pounding and his hand tightly clutching the frying pan, Yugo straightened up and took a deep breath.
He wouldn’t let these things destroy his home.
Not after defeating the Shushu.
He gritted his teeth and ran off into the battlefield.
Right when he crossed through the door and burst into the town square, a rain of arrows fell upon a horde of mosters and reduced them to slime.
Evangelyne!
he thought with relief.
The boy didn’t take long to spot her.
The Cra was standing on a nearby rooftop and firing with surgical precision at every monster that was entering the square.
Yugo smiled when he saw she wasn’t alone.
Percedal and Amalia were fighting below, taking out the monsters that tried to approach the rooftop. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Yugo smiled.
His friends were safe, and, now that they were together, victory was possible.
While they were turning back the tide for now, the enemy was nowhere near gone.
A mass of monsters began to spill into the square and began bunching together until they formed a massive gray wave which threatened to crush everything in its path.
But, as it approached Eva’s position, Percedal stepped into its path and stared it down with unflinching determination.
Now that he had the monster in his sights, he gripped Rubilax with both hands and the dagger suddenly grew in size until it became a flaming greatsword.
“Fear not, fair lady”, proclaimed the knight.
“Sir Percedal of Sadlygrove shall ensure that none of these foul beasts will so much as blemish your radiant beauty.”
Evangelyne just shot him a frustrated look as she drew her bow.
“You have a plan for this, right?”
“Plan?
This is all the plan I need!”
And, without another word, he charged headfirst into the swarm.
As both fighters collided, Percedal began to rapidly slice at everything in its path, his sword becoming a whirlwind of steel that mowed the creatures down by the dozen.
Within seconds, the ground was covered in puddles of grayish liquid and there was not a monster to be seen.
Evangelyne sighed with exasperation.
He’s an Iop.
I shouldn’t have expected anything different.
But deep down, there was one thing even she had to admit.
He’s much stronger than I thought.
Looks like that so-called knight isn’t just bark and no bite.
As Percedal carved his way through the monsters, he was so embroiled in the thrill of battle that he didn’t notice a second swarm which began to sneak through their rear guard.
As they approached, Amalia began to hear strange whispers echoing in her mind.
Whispers that only grew louder.
They were cries of tormented spirits.
She could hear them.
She could feel their pain.
She held her head in pain as she felt shivers down her body.
Her legs buckled and she lost balance, falling to the ground and unable to move.
Right in front of the enemy attack.
Seeing this weakness, one of the monsters leaped toward her with claws outstretched.
Evangelyne reacted instantly.
In an instant, she notched an arrow and fired at the moster, disintegrating it before it could touch the Sadida.
“Amalia!” she shouted.
“Stand up right now!
Create a wall or something!”
But Amalia still wasn’t moving.
Her eyes had gone white and her body began to shake uncontrollably.
Evangelyne yelled again, this time at the top of her lungs:
“Amalia!
Can you hear me?!
AMALIA!
”
Luckily, her friend’s thundering voice banished the screams and dragged the Sadida back to reality.
She stood up and looked at her friend with eyes wide-open in fear.
“Eva…
you don’t understand,” she stammered.
“These spirits…
they’re in pain.
I can hear them crying out!
It’s horrible!
We have to…
we have to save them somehow.”
“Amalia, please focus!”.
Eva shouted, unwilling to waste even a second.
“If we don’t do something, those things kill us all.
So stop crying and fight!”
Amalia’s hesitated, still remembering the horrifying screams from the spirits.
But, in battle, hesitation is a deadly mistake.
Her distraction had opened a gap in their defense which let the dark spirits slip through and climb towards the rooftop.
Eva tried to fire and take them down, but for every one she killed two more would take their place.
Soon, they would reach the top.
Once Percedal heard Eva’s screams, he immediately turned and raced to help.
But, before he could arrive, the ground suddenly shook at his feet.
In a blink of an eye, thorny roots erupted from the earth and crushed the slimy monsters, rapidly eliminating the second group and protecting the building.
Evangelyne exhaled with relief.
Amalia was back and ready to fight.
While the Sadida’s eyes were still full of tears, her heart blazed with the fire of determination.
Now that the first wave was destroyed, Amalia placed her hands on the ground and channeled a new surge of life energy.
In an instant, a roiling mass of vines erupted across the square, crushing all surviving creatures until there were none left.
With that, the adventurers managed to secure the area around the tavern.
Once Yugo saw the end of the battle, he smiled with joy.
His friends were holding the line.
But, as he looked around, saw Ruel and his father weren’t among them.
His heart dropped.
He had to find them.
Now.
Yugo took off into the village, opening portals to move faster and dodge enemy attacks.
As he rushed through the monster-filled streets, he heard once more the loud sounds of battle.
As he reached the area, he sighed in relief when he saw Ruel and Alibert fighting side by side against an enemy horde, defending the town with everything they had.
Thanks to them, many villagers had managed to flee and take shelter and they had drawn the remains of the monster army to their position.
He arrived just in time to see Ruel spin his shovel in a brutal cleave which flattened half a dozen monsters, reducing them to grey slime.
“What’s up with these damned critters!” the old Enutrof growled as he swung his shovel with fury.
“Why did they have to come here of all places?
Wasn’t the monster enough?”
“Well, after twelve years of peace something bad had to happen.
But, I have to say, the gods have been quite generous to have monsters attack right when you’re visiting,” Alibert replied as he dodged an attack and impaled an approaching monster with his spear.” I have to say, fighting by your side takes me back to the good old days.
Don’t you agree, Ruel?”
The old Enutrof smiled as memories of countless past adventures returned to his mind.
This nostalgia filled him with renewed strength and made him feel young once more, making his blows strike even harder and banishing the pain from his old bones.
“I haven’t felt this young in ages!
I have to say, old friend, running a tavern has made you quite out of shape.” He said in a friendly tease.
“That said, I hope that all my hard work saving the town will give me some nice discounts at the tavern.”
“Being a hero is its own reward, Ruel, but I know that the only thing that matters to you is money,” Alibert laughed as he took down the last monster.
“You haven’t changed a bit, old friend.”
Once Yugo saw that his father and Ruel had everything under control, a wave of relief washed over him.
As he headed back to the town square, the battle was all but decided.
The few surviving monsters were fleeing in every direction, scattering like cockroaches under a bright light.
In the center of the battlefield, standing atop a puddle of gray liquid, Percedal stood proud and triumphantly raised his sword.
“Run to the hole you crawled from, filthy beasts!
Sir Percedal of Sadlygrove wins again!”
Yugo couldn’t help but smile.
As he walked into the square, Percedal noticed him and grinned with pride.
“You all right, young man?” he asked.
“If any of those things hurt you, tell me, and I swear I’ll hunt them down to the ends of the earth.”
“Don’t worry, those things didn’t even touch me.
Anyway, I can’t believe you took down that many monsters.
You’re incredible!”
This praise filled Percival with joy and he gave Yugo a big hug.
Once again, the heroes had triumphed against the forces of darkness and saved the town.
Or, so it seemed.