"Or~phye~us! Or~phye~us!
Hm-hm-hm~
Nya~ Nya~ Nya!"
I march along the dirt road leading away from the village. I dance to my own tune, humming and cheering my good fortune.
A magic name - Orpheus! So cool! And...RUNES! Who knew there was a whole ENTIRE magic system based on letters!!
...I-I mean Runes existed in my past life, but... but I knew nothing about them, and i-it wasn't JUST 'cause I was ignorant! It's 'cause they weren't so incredible back then!
...I think... I- I mean, I never really knew about that sorta stuff and if it benefits you. Maybe it also works back on Earth, but differently?
... I think I came pretty far. I left immediately after that Haggard Old Mr. Lucius said he needed to rest. Oh~ boy did I nab a bunch'a stuff from the villagers! A satchel with potions, a stinky flower, a belt...
...even a shield! And it doesn't feel that heavy anymore! Kinda!
Mrahaha! My adventure begins! I left that village immediately after leaving the village leader's shabby-looking (though not from the inside) abode, and that was early morning! The sun's about to set now! I'm kinda tired, but I'm sure I'll find a campsite soon. Don't adventurers have those? Areas or campsites where they can stop frequently?
... Did I misremember some details from my past life? I lived in Adventurer City, so I learned how to survive either way. Still, Did I really need to leave like this, so soon?
Maybe I-
.
.
.
NO! E-Even though it feels sad to say g'bye...
I ACTUALLY got away with the stuff I swiped! Mrahaha! I grabbed everything that I hid before entering the Village Leader's house, and ran off!
GOBLINS! COME! I dare you to challenge me now! I can cast TWO types of magic! Nyehe...
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Um, a-actually I can't cast Runes too well, yet...
I tried channeling mana into my index claw and drawing a Rune in the air, but... I forgot which one I wanted to draw, and it fizzled out, draining my mana in the process.
But! Mr. Lucius gave me an alphabet sheet! Ehehe~ I can start learning now! When he summoned his own magic name, the freaking house shook! I can do that one day!
I just have to learn how to...erm...how to...summon...my name...
Mrah! I'll figure it out! It's there, after all! It'll be easy-peasy, and I can just cast that cool ghostly flame I learned against anything that tries to eat me until I can cast with runes.
Hrm? I hear...noise up ahead...
*GASP* I knew it! I must've been right! I didn't misremember, maybe adventurers are setting up camp nearby!
I run over as fast as my four paws can take me - yeah, I walk on two feet, but running is much faster on all fours. Honestly, I thought my body would feel weird when it transitions between two feet and four feet, but, surprisingly, it doesn't.
"Or~phye~us! Or~phye~us! Nya~ Nya~ Nya!"
Orpheus~! Orpheus! Mrah! Hehe. I'll cozy on up to them and- hm?
My kitty fur has been standing up on all ends since I started running, why? My instincts really want me to be careful, and, I smell... blood?
Am I... wrong? Or, are they bad adventurers? I-I should take a peek, then.
I carefully pull out my shield and ready my swo-
.
.
.
MRAH!!! NO!! I completely forgot!! The WHOLE reason I visited Mr. Lucius was to swipe a cool sword like his ceremonial dagger! I was careless! All I have is this stupidly pretty sheathe and a wooden sword that Rei carved for me, which I inserted inside of it as a placeholder so it doesn't feel lonely.
... I was stupid. And now there's something dangerous, too close to me to ignore.
Still!
I march on.
Why? Because the smell of blood is growing stronger. It sounds like a fight is happening, and logically, I can't turn back. Even though I want to.
I STOLE from them. They must have put the pieces together by now after I went to each of their homes right before some things went missing from everybody. I even took Mr. Lawrence's 3 best lures...
Also...can I outrun the dangerous thing ahead of me? I'm quite far from the village, won't the dangerous thing or things, get rid of the resistance ahead of me soon then make for me? My beautiful smell is all over the trail I walked, and covering my tracks would take forever. But if I shoot fireballs at the dangerous-feeling thing ahead of me from afar and help the ones clashing and bleeding...Nyehehe, they'll be SO indebted to me, wouldn't they?!
So I take my shield out, hide behind it and slowly make for the closest trees to spy on the situation, where blood smells the thickest.
...
*Clang!*
*Clash!*
"Damned...howling menaces!"
"You've been following us from the start, waiting for the rift to open! Haven'tcha?!"
A blood-curdling howl triggers a collection of succeeding howls in suit.
"Damn! Even though they're lesser-grade, in these numbers..."
...
Hm? Lesser grade? Where have I heard that term... ah! Th-The hydra-Chameleon thing!
...
"They had to catch us immediately after we fought our way through that massive nest of Prowler Apes! Damned Werewolf-like monkeys... We're not bein' paid enough for this shit!"
"Here it comes! That one's probably the pack leader!"
"A leader? But I thought lesser grades followed orders from higher-"
"Shut up and focus!!"
...
E-Each of those things must be... a lesser grade, right? So... are they the same as the hydra? But, they don't look so tough...
Right...?
Hm...yeah.
*Nods*
I resolve myself and manifest mana from my hand. It transforms by pulling the fire elemental mana all around and, following my inner, instinctive command, seems to gain sentience. Though it doesn't really. I think. The little cat-ghost shaped flame yawns and charges towards the head Wolf-ape! Closer, closer does it sharpen it's deadly ghoulish fiery claws for that monster mutt's neck!
Perfect timing! Just as the werewolf blocks a giant man's sword and axe... Boom! My ghostly fire feline of doom smashes into the right side of his nose!
*Fizzle*
"Hm?!"
...
They... they're looking at me now. Or at my giant shield, actually, since it protects me from view.
...
I... I don't think I wanna be an adventurer anymore...
