Chapter 3

In the calm river nearby the scarred tree, Will dunked himself into the water.

The slow, fresh current and low depth made it a perfect bath for a sulking Rowlet. His wings splashed under the surface, blemishing its crystal clear elegance with murky, thick puke.

Before he stepped in, Will stumbled away, head to talon in the stuff.

Now, he had his eyes shut, the stream washing away his discomfort. After some scrubbing, it washed the vomit away too. However, the scar was never healed.

Vulpix never left his mind.

Who knew such a sight would destroy a Rowlet so quickly?

'Oh dear,' He sighed, splashing his face with water, 'I didn't get any food,'

For a moment, though his mind was off the death he experienced, Will bargained on eating the dead fire type.

He didn't.

Not because his mind was still somewhat human, and eating something raw would be considered revolting. The reason was simple.

Will would vomit again.

Right now, he prioritized this stagnant memory. Hunger didn't knock yet, and bathing in a clean river looked to be the best source of water.

Stepping out of the river, Will felt his body cool and his head unwind.

He flung a sharp feather at the tree, ruining the symmetrical aspect of the previous blades.

'It tried to fight,' Will thought, his heart spasming with energy and urgency, 'but failed,'

Another feather pierced the air.

One by one, he tossed projectile after projectile at a quickening pace.

'If I slip up,' Will increased the speed of the feather throwing, losing some accuracy, 'I'll die...'

'I'll...'

A second later, he lowered his gaze, his head in his wings, and his eyes a blur.

'die...'

Fear enlarged his shadow as Will grew smaller and smaller, reaching his breaking point. It was as if the ever-growing darkness would wash him over like a tsunami, yet it stayed where it was. It was Will's shadow. If he moved, the shadow followed.

Breaching from his ocean of fears, Will stared at the many feathers he threw. From where he looked, almost everything had been a victim of Will's frustrations.

He sighed.

'But, I have a system,'

In his darkest moments, Will had to latch onto a light to thrive.

'If I do this over and over again,' He lightly lobbed a feather, 'I'll be rewarded,'

'But, if push comes to shove,' Will frowned, 'it'll be a kill or be killed situation,'

Yet, as he prepared himself for this 'scenario', nervousness latched onto Will.

Could he do it?

For as long as the sun lit up the sky till it slotted below the horizon, Will went on a continuous run of moves and feather blades.

One minute, he focused on a tree, launching them as if they were cannonballs. The next, Will used each of the available moves he had, punishing his surroundings with an onslaught of attacks.

At some point, he even kicked.

As bizarre as that was, when the sky darkened to a spectacle of multiple disco balls flickering their light far away, Will stopped for a rest.

Sitting on a tree with his back leaned against the wood, he gazed in astonishment at this pale moon within the darkness, replacing the warm, baking yellow rays with softer and cooler rays of white.

With that, he saw his stats.

[Moves: Astonish; Growl; Gust; Leafage; Peck; Shadow Sneak; Tackle]

'Interesting,' Will breathed out, his body heavy with exhaustion, 'I did the bare minimum to unlock Astonish, now it's a few hours for Shadow Sneak? That must mean I'll work harder,'

Seeing the move, he tried to remember what it did.

Will pushed himself off the tree and perched fully onto the branch.

'Come on,' He concentrated, 'show me how you work,'

Staring down the wooden extension, Will saw a dark apparition make its way slowly, darkening the entire branch.

Instantly, his surroundings flashed by.

He found himself on the edge.

Luckily, Will balanced himself, but he hung upside down like a bat.

'I remember now,' He breathed in and out quickly, his heart thumping in his chest with shock, 'I for sure have a lot of luck,'

While in this conundrum, Will scanned the area around him. Despite the absolute darkness, he could see clearly as if it were day. There was a sense of joy as Will searched for every little thing he could spot in the night.

However, he yawned.

'Weird,' Some adjustments later, Will was the right way up, 'but what can I do?'

As he turned to the tree, seeing the marks and feather blades of his effort, Will's eyes lit up in joy.

He saw a spot that looked rather tight to fit into. Funnily enough, it was a simple place. In the part that connected a branch to its tree.

Will saw home.

A hop and a flutter later, he plopped into the space, feeling an overwhelming sense of comfort. Sure, Will could still fall. A flick of the wind could lead to a tumble off the tree.

Yet, he was reminded of someone.

Someone who gave him warmth. They would never complain or hurt him. All the times Will needed them, they were there for him.

His bed.

'Bed good,' In the catacombs of this warmth and affection, even Will's thoughts digressed, 'Bed warm,'

The hours churned as he slumbered snuggly in this space, and in spite of the cold, threatening world around him, Will rested as if he were a baby.

A noise woke him up with a start.

His eyes were wide, rushing around like bouncy balls. Will's body shook with fear, trying to calm down.

Distant chattering attracted his overwhelming state.

Like sniper scopes, Will's eyes finally locked in the direction of the voices. They didn't blink, not wanting to potentially miss their targets.

Will took a deep breath as they grew closer, joy and relief laced these voices.

As their movements brought them within sight, he saw them.

The Raticate and four Rattata.

With his sight, Will saw something...peculiar.

"My friends," The Raticate spoke in an orderly manner, "Arceus has blessed us,"

He raised both of his arms.

On one, a necklace of some sort. On it, a round stone hung on the string.

The other, confused Will to no end.

'A sheathe?' He thought, rubbing his half-awake eyes so that he wasn't imagining it, 'A sword? Why does it have a sword!?'

The sheath, around half the Raticate's height, was attached to a strap.

What was even more strange was the four Rattata celebrating his findings.

"Now," The Raticate wrapped the necklace around his neck, and the sheath against its stomach, "we will never starve again,"

One of the Rattata perked up, its tail wagging excitedly.

"You look like a lord already, Ross,"

"That's right," Another added, wiping its snout, "soon, you'll live in a castle and command an army!"

"Do not jump the claw, Ajay," Ross the Raticate added, a stern glare on his face, "and Yujin, I have only the looks of a lord,"

Both of them nodded in agreement.

"They can't help it," The third one defended, pulling one of its ears, "I mean, think of all the wives you'll get,"

The more Will eavesdropped on the conversation, the more dazed he became.

'Castles? Lords? Wives?' He thought, shifting in his resting spot, 'Is there more to this world?'

He heard the group walk away, their chattering dying into the night.

'Wait,' Will stared at the tree, 'Does this mean they saw everything? Why didn't they react?'

Then it hit him.

'Do they see in the dark?' He frowned, realising his error, 'I don't remember if Rattata can do that,'

Even though he was certain they didn't see all the feathers and scratches in almost pitch-black darkness, Will kept his guard up. Maybe they could only see themselves, and not even realise. Or with all the excitement lead to some overlooking.

Will could only think about the sword.

If there was no for-sure threat, he would've exploded into a cacophony of laughter.

'Pokémon wear swords against their sides? Is that right?' Will thought humorously, 'Imagine an Eevee or a Diglett...'

The thoughts ceased.

If that's the case of this world, no matter how silly or bizarre it was, that was his problem now. Of course, he couldn't take the thought of a Jigglypuff gripping a sword like a toughened veteran seriously, but if that adorable little normal type walked up and cleaved his head off, that'd be a problem.

'Furthermore,' Will snuggled up in the tree, 'they can kill me with or without a sword,'

He exhaled.

The thought of them hungrily glaring at the berries after finishing off that Vulpix came into Will's mind.

'Does that mean I'll break my wings trying to find food? Or berries, for that matter,'

In the course of his discussion, Will yawned.

'Somethings up,'

Despite his weary gaze, his heart pounded like a drum inside him, as if warning him of something.

'Great,'

He sighed. Not even his bed-like safe heaven could help him sleep, but that was better. It was better to stay awake prepared than be caught unawares asleep.

So Will followed the way of the owl, and turned nocturnal for the rest of the night, eying his eerily quiet surroundings, waiting for something to happen.