Fire and Water

"FUCK YOU, YOU MOTHERFUCKING UGLY ASS BLUE BITCH"

On the day of my departure, I had everything prepped. I made a sand sled full of fruits, dried meat, water, a tent, and anything else I could need. I set out the moment the sun cracks across the horizon.

After taking one last look at my peaceful little grove in which I spent the last two years of my life, I walked to the gap in the ring of dunes surrounding my grove.

There was a group of ten bokoblins, waiting for me. They were all armed with wooden clubs and spears. Behind them stood a blue bokoblin.

The blue monster was different than the red ones I am used to. While reds usually stand at 5'2, there is a blue one which is 5'10, with muscular arms, sharp claws, a rusty longsword, and scavenged armor. It was almost unrecognizable from its game counterpart, the only similarities being its gaping mouth and long ears.

To put this encounter into perspective, I estimate a red bokoblin would need at least two normal full-grown men to take down.

Nine of those AND a blue one? I shuddered at the sight of the bloodthirst emitting from that monster's yellow eyes. I can, at most, take four reds, even with lightning.

So I ran.

Now, here I am, yelling obscenities at the horde of monsters chasing after me.

My heart starts wildly beating as I rush through the grove, abandoning my meticulously prepared supplies.

One glance over my shoulder pumps me full of even more adrenaline. Twenty feet behind me is the terrifying sight of The Blue Monstrosity, running on all fours after me, gradually closing the distance.

However, the dozens of fights I have experienced have conditioned my mind to work under stress, and I form a plan.

I change directions and run towards the pond. By the time I reach it, the bokoblin is just five feet behind me. I quickly scamper up a familiar tree with a canopy over the water.

During hot afternoons I would use a woven rope to swing off this tree into the water. I use this same rope to swing over away from my pursuer.

This is a last-ditch attempt to buy a little time to get a head start on the horde behind me. I don't expect the Blue bokoblin to leap after me.

It is so close that its claw tears my shirt before falling into the water. I swing safely to the other side of the pond.

Something that has stayed true to the game is the bokoblin's ability to swim, or lack of ability to swim.

I take one last glance at my drowning enemy and maliciously discharge lightning into the water before bolting off into the desert, away from the horde behind me.

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By day three of walking, I am completely engulfed in a vast expanse of unforgiving desert.

The weight of my backpack presses heavily on my shoulders, carrying the few meager supplies I have left; I left all of my weapons on the sled.

Every night I try to summon fire, and every day I try to conjure water, but I inevitably fail, falling back on my waning supplies.

I just finished my last cool-repellent fruit, and the afternoon heat hasn't even reached its peak.

Each step has become an arduous struggle, my strength waning with every passing mile. The weight of my backpack presses heavily on my shoulders, carrying the few near-dry water jugs I have left.

A gnawing emptiness creeps into my stomach, a painful reminder that my food provisions are also diminishing rapidly.

The desert stretches out before me, an endless sea of shifting sands and shimmering mirages. Sweat drips down my forehead; my parched throat yearns for even a single drop of my carefully rationed water. I will be out of the precious liquid by tomorrow.

Desperation is etched across my face as I survey the barren landscape; I manage to survive the day's heat, and the evening cool is setting in.

The sun falls under the horizon, and I eat my last cold-resistant fruit as I huddle into the side of a dune. Freezing wind and dust devils howl throughout the night.

I jolt awake in the middle of the night to my spicy pepper's cold-resistant properties wearing off, completely exposing myself to the full cold of the desert.

If I don't do something, I won't live another half hour.

I turn my attention inwards to my mana, once again trying to conjure fire, but I fail with every attempt.

When I summoned lightning, I was fearful, angry, and in a near-life-death situation; I am definitely those things right now.

After several more attempts, I realize I'm trying to make fire mana while like I make lightning mana, but their natures are innately different.

Lightning is fast and strong, with explosive bursts of power.

But flames burn slowly like the garbage can campfire I used to huddle around on cold, dark nights, or it can be explosive like a burst of gunpowder from a cannon. Finally, my white birthmarks take a faintly red hue.

There it is! A tiny bit of fire mana; I latch onto the feeling of making it, and eventually, my entire body is warmed up by a circulation of the warm fire mana.

"SUCK MY DICK DESERT"

"Suck my dick...."

"my dick..."

"dick.."

I did not expect that to echo, but whatever, there's no one else out here, and I have FIYAAAA!

I spend the rest of the night in good spirits, warm with fire mana.

Once the sun rises, the cruel reality once again sets in as the desert heats up.

My lips crack and begin to bleed, and I lick the sweat off my arms, trying to do anything to gain a bit more moisture and cool myself down. Sand stings my eyes, and my light brown skin is covered in burns.

I'm out of water, fire-resistant fruit, and food; I need to focus on awakening water magic. I awakened an element last night; how hard could it be?

I settle into a lotus position and start the process of trying to convert my mana into the water element.

Hours pass, and the rippling heat waves intensify. A layer of sand has covered my body due to my not moving an inch for hours on end.

Just as I'm about to accept my fate, an idea pops into my head.

Maybe... Am I trying too hard? Fire and lightning are elements of passion that burn and tear through the air, but water just... flows.

And it works! I open my eyes, and my tattoos glow blue. I push out all of the mana in my body outwards, forming a ball of water in front of me.

"OW, what the?"

While I was in a state of concentration, a horsefly landed on my arm, and now it is tearing a piece of flesh off my body.

My concentration slips and the water ball falls to the ground.

Completely out of mana and exhausted, my head spins, and I fall to the ground, unconscious.