Chapter 18: Teach you a Lesson

"Bye everyone! I'll be going now! "

I was about to leave the store when the manager called.

"Can I have a minute, Michelle? "

"Y-yes ma'am? "

I slowly turned around.

*gulp*

Did she find out bout the ice cream machine?

The two of us went inside the staff room.

"Now tell me what happened. " said the manager.

"I'm sorry! It wasn't my fault! I swear! The ice cream machine broke down on it's own! "

I bowed down with all my might.

"Ice cream machine? "

The manager seemed confused.

"Eh? "

Did I just rat myself out?

"Michelle... Did you wreck the machine again? "

The manager glared at me.

"Eep! I'm sorry!!! "

"*sigh* Fix it some other time. There are more important things at hand. "

"Right! "

"As you know, there are monsters found north of the city. I want you to stay here until Albert's shift is up. " the manager told me.

"Understood. " I replied.

"Even though Joshua bringing his weapons should be considered stupid, I would advise you to do so as well. "

"Bring my weapons? "

"Yes. Just try to disguise it. "

"Yes ma'am! "

The manager left the room.

"Disguise my weapons huh? "

I am on my way to the shopping district to buy dinner.

"Hmm... It's quiet... "

Too quiet. It feels like something is wrong.

A few steps later, I heard a loud noise behind me.

*CRASH*

"AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!! SOMEBODY HELP MEEEE!!!! "

Turning around, I saw a man being chased by a monster.

It's a withered shadow. A low level monster on Paradise Lost.

I could probably take it on.

"Alright. Time to test these bad boys. "

I took out the daggers and charged at the monster.

"Run away! I'll take care of this! " I told the man.

The man nodded and ran away.

"Man! That sounded so cool! "

Facing the monster, I swung a dagger at it.

"Huh!? "

It dodged!

"KRAAAAAH!!! "

*SLASH*

"Gah!!! "

My arm was hit.

"Why you! "

*SLASH*

I retaliated with a slash of my own.

"Krrrr... "

The monster payed no heed.

"Then how about this! "

*swish*

Nothing but air.

The monster is really fast.

"What the??? "

*SLAM*

Grabbing me by the neck, the monster threw me towards a wall.

"GAH! "

I fell down on the ground, looking at the monster slowly approaching.

"Shit... "

The withered shadow is just a low level mob, and yet, I'm being destroyed.

"This wasn't what I expected... "

"...What was that? "

I was in the middle of watching a video when I felt a sudden chill.

"What is this feeling?... "

There's something inside me won't let me sit still.

"Nice job Albert! "

"See you tomorrow! "

"Right. See you. "

Albert exchanged farewells with our coworkers.

"Alright! Let's go home! " I told him.

"Right. "

The two of us were walking towards the shopping district.

"So! What do you want to eat? " I asked him.

"Anything is fine. Let's just buy the cheapest option. " he replied.

"Buuu... That's no fun! "

"Saving up money is important you know. "

We were having a debate over dinner, when suddenly, a we heard a loud noise.

*CRASH*

"Huh? What was that-"

"Quick. Let's go. "

Albert dragged me towards the noise.

*step* *step* *step* *step*

"Wait! Wait! Why are we running!? " I asked.

"There must be something happening over there. There might be someone in danger. "

Reaching our destination, we saw a group of teenagers being chased a a monster.

"A monster!?! "

"Stand back. I'll take care of this. "

Albert raised his hand, summoning a lightning sword.

"Lightning Flash. "

*BZZZZZZZZT*

With one strike, the monster fell down on the ground.

"Woah... That's so cool! " a teenager shouted.

"Thank you for saving us mister. " a teenage girl told Albert.

"No problem. Just go straight home right away. It's dangerous this time around. " he replied.

"Yes... "

The girls kept staring at Albert.

"Ahem! He said you should go home now! " I shouted at the girls.

"R-right! Thanks for saving us again! "

The group of teenagers went away.

"He's so cool! "

"He's like a prince... "

*sigh*

I could still hear them talking about Albert.

Grrrrr..... Those girls... He's my partner!

"Oi. Michelle. Let's go. " Albert called.

"Oh! Right! Let's go! "

"Crap! "

*CRASH*

I barely dodged the monster's attack.

"KRAAAAAAHKH!!! "

*SLAM*

With a swing of its tendrils, the monster easily destroyed the wall behind me.

"KRAAAAAAAHKH!!! "

The monster attempted to eat me whole, but I jammed a dagger in its mouth.

"KRAAAAAAAAKHK!!! "

The monster flailed around in pain. I took the chance to get away.

*step* *step* *step*

"Hah... Hah... "

What's with that monster? None of my attacks are working.

*CRASH*

The monster suddenly came bursting out of a wall, catching me by surprise.

"KRAAAAAAAHKH!!! "

*CLANG*

I managed to block its attack with my dagger.

"Grrrrrrrk!!! "

It's strong. I can't hold out much longer.

*SLAM*

I barely avoided getting crushed by sidestepping.

"Take this! "

Running around the monster, I tried attacking from a blind spot.

*STAB*

It worked!

"KRRRRR... KRAAAAAAAAAH!!! "

It didn't work!

The monster turned around. It resumed its assault by launching several tendrils towards me.

"Shit! "

*STAB*

I wasn't able to evade all of them. A tendril pierced my left leg.

"AAAAAAAAARGH!!!! "

I fell down on my knee.

I can see the monster preparing another attack.

*SLAM*

I managed to roll away at the last second.

"Krr... KRRRRR!!! "

The monster's tendril appeared to be stuck on the ground.

"Now's my chance! "

I tried to run away.

*GRIP*

"Huh!? "

A tendril is attached to my right foot.

"No you don't! "

*STAB*

I stuck my remaining dagger to the tendril.

"KRAAAAAAAH!!! "

The monster screeched in pain.

"Dammit. I'll have to get help for this one. "

I ran away from the monster.

"There must've been a monster here. " Albert said. "Stay close to me. "

The area around us is greatly damaged.

The ground is ruptured, the walls are destroyed, there are signs of a battle occuring recently.

"Someone must be fighting against the monster. Let's follow the the trail. " Albert told me.

"Right. " I replied.

Somehow, there's a feeling of unease welling inside me.

*CRASH*

I heard a loud noise from a distance.

"Let's go! " Albert shouted.

We went towards the noise.

"There's no one here... "

There are still fresh marks from battle, yet there's no one around.

"Wait. Don't move. " Albert told me.

He approached something stuck on the ground.

"This dagger... It's Joshua's... "

"Joshua's dagger?... Then that means... "

"He must still be alive. If they're moving this fast, then he's still going strong. " Albert told me.

"R-Right... "

He can't be dead? Right?

Albert and I continued following the trail.

*CRASH*

"GAH!!! "

I was sent flying towards a lamppost.

"Krrrrrrkhk... "

The monster is slowly approaching.

"Dammit... "

I struggled to stand up.

"You aren't making this easy are you? "

"KRAAAAAAAH!!! "

Aiming to finish me off, the monster sent a couple of tendrils towards me.

*CLANG*

The force of the tendrils was strong enough to cut the lamppost into two.

"Hah... Hah... "

If I was hit by that, I'd be a donut.

*SLAM*

*CRASH*

*SLAM*

The monster kept sending out attacks one after the other.

It's getting harder to dodge them as I'm slowly being tired out.

*SWISH*

A tendril almost caught me by the neck.

If I was a few inches off, I would probably be dead.

"That was clo-"*SLAM*

The monster slipped in an attack, catching me off guard, sending me flying towards the wall.

"GAH!!! "

I can't move.

Slowly, the monster approaches.

"Krrrrrr... "

"Shit... Am I done for?... "

With the monster only a few steps away, I closed my eyes for the inevitable end.

*SLASH*

*CRASH*

"Over there! " Albert shouted.

The two of us have been running for a while now.

*huff* *huff*

"I'm tired already... "

I stopped to catch my breath.

*huff* *huff*

"Huh?... "

Where's Albert?...

"Albert!? Where are you!?"

Nobody answered.

"Oh no... "

I was too careless.

"!!!"

Turning around, I was greeted by a monster.

"GRAAAAAARGH!!! "

"KYAAAAAAH!!! "

I tried running away, but there is another monster around the corner.

"No... What am I gonna do?... "

*blam*

I fell on the ground.

"GRARRR... "

"No... Stay away... "

I can't move...

"GRRRRRRR... "

The monster is approaching, yet I can't move.

I froze up.

"No... I don't want to die... "

Tears started flowing from my eyes.

"GRRAAAAAAARGH!!! "

When I saw the monster jump at me, I just closed my eyes and hoped for a swift end.

"Lightning Flash! "

*BZZZZZZZZZZT*

With a flick of my blade, the monster was torn apart by lightning.

"GRAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! "

The monster wad reduced to ash in a matter of seconds.

"Hey, are you alright? "

I approached Michelle who has a lifeless look on her face.

"..."

No response.

"Hey! Michelle! "

"!!!"

Life returned to her eyes.

"Albert! "

"H-Hey! "

She suddenly lept into my arms.

"I was so scared! "

Michelle began to sob uncontrollably.

*sigh*

I patted her head.

"It's alright now. "

*SLASH*

I'm... Alive?...

Opening my eyes, I saw Amelia finishing off the monster.

"Triplet Strike! "

Three thrusts to the torso was more than enough to eviscerate the monster.

"KRAAAAARH!!! "

*SLAM

The monster breathed it's last and fell to the ground.

"Joshua! "

Amelia came rushing towards me.

"You're hurt! "

"Yeah... I got messed up real good. "

"Look at you... I already told you what could happen... "

Amelia had a sad look on her face.

"Sorry... " I told her.

She knelt beside me and cast a spell.

"May you receive the blessings of God's Light. Salvation! "

A surge of energy filled my body. I could feel my wounds closing and my bones mending.

"They're here! " someome shouted.

I could see Michelle and Albert moving towards us from a distance.

"Joshua! Are you alright!? " Michelle asked.

"Yeah... Amelia healed my wounds. " I replied.

"I already told him that it's dangerous, but he didn't listen. " Amelia said.

"This dagger didn't help much, did it? " Albert said, holding my dagger in front of me.

"Yeah... The monster was beyond my expectation. "

"Many people went straight to the grave after learning that lesson. You're lucky to survive. " Albert told me.

"I really didn't expect monsters to be that horrifying... " Michelle said.

"I'll keep you company if you need to go outside. " Albert told her. "You should do the same as well. " Albert said, looking at Amelia.

"I already told him, but he refused. " she replied.

"Now there's no reason for you to refuse. " Albert told me.

"Yeah... "

As much as it wounds my pride, I know I can't survive against these monsters.