“Gotcha, so what level were those goblins?”

  “Seven, eight, and ten. To answer your next question, this world may not be like yours...carnage and despair are nothing new here.”

  Rook’s head began to hurt; the familiar pressure of a settling migraine crept into focus. Fat chance they’ll have Aspirin here. He continued searching the debris and found four more iron screws that added to his inventory. The crossbar was lodged into the side of a burnt crate, presumably after being launched end over end.

  “Well, I found everything. Time to head back."

  Rook sheathed his crude club, but after five minutes of it slapping him in the back, he placed it back in his inventory. The skinning blade would have to do. The Wood of Sorrow was peaceful; the distant sound of the stream made his mouth water.

  You are Thirsty.

  Hydration 65%

  Thanks for the reminder.

  “So, how did the goblin bandits take you? Couldn’t you fight them off?” Rook asked, kicking over a purple mushroom.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, and to answer your question, no, I couldn’t. I’m not really a fighter. I am powerful; in other words, I am what you call an enhancer. There are different types of Mages throughout the realm.” She paused as Rook kicked another one of the purple mushrooms over. “Can you not help yourself?”

  “Eh?” Rook realized he had kicked the caps off multiple purple mushrooms. “I guess I’m just nervous.”

  “Nervous or not, we can attract beasts that feed on the mushrooms. Damaging them can increase the smell. I don’t wish to fight a Mushroom boar, or did you by chance hope the boar would have a quiver of arrows?” Reina said.

  “Okay, I get it.”

  Reina shook her head slightly and walked ahead. He kicked another mushroom, over. She jerked her head around and glared at him. He quickly looked away and began whistling, then gave her an innocent glance.

  “Did you need something?” Rook asked as innocently as he could muster. He kneeled to inspect the purple cap. “Say, are these edible?”

  She sighed and shook her head in the negative. “In your world, do you normally eat bright purple mushrooms?” She paused for a moment before he could answer. “I didn’t think so.” She continued on the beaten route.

  He wanted to retort, but thought better of it, she had just been kidnapped by goblins. I’d be mad too. So instead, he kicked a cap off one last time. What else could he do? Rook was a sucker for immaturity–or maybe it was just that pesky aversion to authority rearing its ugly head once more after four years in the military. The forest was rather beautiful, for being a simulation, or whatever this was, he thought idly, inhaling the deep earthy smell of distant giant mushrooms, the ferns around him, and the sweet sap from the leaking trees. He swatted the buzzing and chittering insects in the humid air. Bugs are bad everywhere, I guess. He squinted as he walked through one of the many rays of sunlight cast through the canopy in long stabbing cones of light. Small moth-like bugs fluttered around, and finally, the sounds of the giggling stream came into focus.

  You are Thirsty

  You are Hungry

  Satiety 45%

  “No kidding.” He said, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. “And tired.”

  “Are you speaking to me?” Reina asked, stopping to kick a clump of roots free of her boot’s tread.

  “No, I was speaking to…” Rook paused, then thought better. “Myself, please pay me no mind.”

  He was still unfamiliar with the woman. She could have been a psycho, but he looked at her and shrugged. A beautiful psycho. He was surprised when his mind was filled with the thoughts of Tyco, Farmer Jacobson’s dog. The German Shepard with the face only Satan could love. Then he thought of Adaline; he didn’t have much left, but he couldn’t help but think of the comforts of home. The small courthouse, the small gas station that doubled as a restaurant and grocery store. The memory of the first time he visited an actual grocery store dedicated only to selling food. His brain just about leaked from his ears.

  Gramps, what would you do in this situation? Call me a whiny bastard for missing you? He remembered his grandpa saluting him when he boarded the bus to basic training, prouder than he’d ever seen the old man. Grandpa Jimmy mouthed something to him through the window. Rook liked to think it was Overuse, but he was pretty sure he actually said I love you. Rook swallowed hard and realized his eyes were moist. Shit. He frantically wiped his eyes with the traveller’s shirt. That was the last time his train of consciousness left the station and made a stop at boohoo ville.

  “I need something to drink.” Rook opened his inventory and checked his items. His empty canteen appeared in his hands. “I also need a refill,” he said, smirking at her.

  Reina looked away. “My sincerest apologies. Honestly, being blown up makes me thirsty, a terrible trait I picked up when I was a little girl.”

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “Touche.”

  He knelt by the stream, dipped his canteen into the flowing water until the bubbles stopped, took a drink, and then repeated the process.

  You are no longer thirsty

  You are hungry

  He looked down at the stream and noticed that to his left, it led out to a large lake, and to his right, it seemed to stretch for miles deep into the woods.

  “Hmm, what did I step in?” He muttered, looking at the purple ink-like substance soaking the front of his shoe. He put the tip of his shoe in the water and washed the ink off.

  “I told you not to kick the mushrooms. Hunters use these mushrooms in traps because they linger on skin and fur. Next time-”

  “You know you nag strangers quite often, Reina. Next time, what?

  He felt a sharp pain on the side of his hand, and he yanked it out of the water. There was a small black and red crab that hung onto his skin with one claw. The hell? He swiped it away with his canteen. It fell onto the rocks with a crack, then floated to the top.

  You have slain baby sunset crab:

  +1 experience gained. 81 of 100 experience until level 3.

  Reina’s eyes went wide. He saw that look before, when she was captive with the Goblins. Rook stood up.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, taking a step towards her and crunching on something beneath his feet.

  “Shit.” He lifted his foot to find four more sunset crab carcasses.

  You have slain sunset crab baby x4:

  +4 experience gained. 85 of 100 experience until level 3.

  Rook laughed nervously. “Sorry.”

  “Those are sunset crabs. Leave them be, we need to leave now that you killed a few.”

  Rook heard a snorting to their left. He jerked his head around to see a boar that had to be 500 lbs, seemingly made entirely of mud, rocks, and mushrooms, save for the tusks and teeth the length of its snout. It looked like the Wish version of a final evolution, monster. How do I even deal with this? The beast regurgitated something out of its mouth; Rook’s gaze followed the spit wad and realized it was a purple mushroom. Then back to Reina.

  “Rook, I told you not to,” Reina sternly began.

  “Ya, I know, don’t kick the mushrooms,” he interjected. “Too late now.” Rook took a step back towards Reina. “I assume it doesn’t want to make friends with us.”

  Reina shook her head frantically, no, and got behind him. “You wouldn’t happen to have anything that you can throw at the thing with telekinesis do you?

  “No. No, I don’t.”

  The boar came up to his shoulders at least, but was as wide as a mature grizzly. It narrowed its eyes and lowered its head. I think it’s gonna charge.

  COMMAND PRESENCE ACTIVATED

  The fear he just felt, dissipated, and a serene, calculating calm. Ok, what should I do? Well, this wasn’t a human combatant; this was a boar. He never deployed to Vietnam like the old crone, but was certain the Vietcong didn’t have tusks and heads that were partially mushrooms. In the Army, you have rules of engagement, and right now, there aren’t any in this world. The beast started dragging its foot down into the dirt over and over, lowering its head, seemingly ready to charge. On second thought, that might be communicating a threat. Rook looked at the beast, then back at Reina, her eyes darted about, as if she was desperate to find something to fight with.

  “What a crock of shit we got ourselves into now.” He patted his skinning knife. “I’m not a hunter, but I think this will put you down.” Rook held the knife out, flared his Attramancy, and let the blade fly towards the boar. “Shit.” He exclaimed as the skinning knife barely grazed the boar’s shoulder.

  Rook watched as the skinning blade flew into the water and was swept by the current. How is that even possible? The boar gave a frantic squeal, violently shaking its head.

  “Can you hit it with something else?” She asked.

  “I don’t have anything, and I don’t think bonking it on the dome will take it out.” Another crunch sounded below his foot as he backpedaled. “What’s happening?!”

  You have slain sunset crab baby:

  +1 exp gained. 86 of 100 experience until level 3

  Rook gave Reina a nervous smile. “I don’t suppose you like crabs, Mr. Boar?” He threw the carcass of the crabling at it. The boar swiped the crab aside, sending it into the water. “I guess you would like mushrooms instead. Or me,” Rook said nervously.

  He thought of all the survival guides he read as a child, which mentioned that when faced with a predator, such as a bear, you either outrun the predator or play dead. Reina held on to his shirt with a trembling hand. That’s out of the question; I will never leave a buddy behind. The second option is to play dead. I don’t want to be pig bait, so not doing that. Rook wasn’t sure those authors had ever truly stared death in the face, and he himself had never stared down a predator animal. He was no Steve Irwin, hell, he wasn’t even Scuba Steve. What to do, slow your breathing.

  There was a low rumbling growl within the earth as the last crab carcass was sent downstream. He felt the pang of despair as he watched the body tumble through the current that fed into the lake adjacent. The rumbling growl came again, and the birds above scattered away from the water. Frogs began to hop frantically away. Now we’re doomed.

  “Reina, what is that?” Rook faced his new potential merchant friend.

  The enhancer stood looking at the water, breath hissing from her flared nostrils. She tore her eyes away and grabbed Rook by the shoulder.

  “Run. Run now.” Reina said, turning towards the wagon.

  “Shit, what about the boar?”

  The boar began to scrape its foot again. Rook glanced over his shoulder to see something shot free from the water and wrapped around the boar. His legs froze, and Reina tried to pull him along, but she might as well have been pulling an anchor for all she managed to budge him. They watched in horror as the boar let out a howl of pain and was lifted into the air by a giant black and red claw that extended from the dark water, crushing tight on the beast. Oh, that’s gonna leave a mark.

  “It’s the mother,” Reina said, sounding far away.

  It let one rattling last cry as if it was trying to breathe through ruined lungs, then went limp. The claw continued to pinch until the boar was split in two pieces, splattered on the ground in a bloody mess. He watched the claw, still dripping with gory viscera, recede back into the water. His command presence activated once more, and he slowly realized that it was not a good sign. More like a buff before a boss fight, and unfortunately, it wasn’t super strength, a magic weapon, or speed; it was the ability to think clearly so he could throw a rock.

  The bubbles gave way to a dark shape that slowly rose from the water. It was like the top of a minivan, but black, armored, and evil. Two forearm-sized eyes popped from the shell. Death by crab it is, and boy does it look mad. He wasn’t going to talk his way out of this one, no silver tongue tricks, so he looked around for the best route away. The crab’s clawed legs grabbed the shore for purchase, and it shot free from the ground in which it was buried. It emerged faster than they could turn to run; in hindsight, maybe he should’ve run in the first place. Why was I more ready to run when facing the boar?