Chapter 4 - The Bear

Aodh didn't know how long he stayed like that, staring up at the sky. He didn't even feel like he could form coherent thoughts. I killed that thing without even thinking about it. If this was still normal life, I'd be a murderer. I'd be in jail. Aodh continued to struggle to come to terms with what he had done, but his thinking was interrupted by a loud dinging sound, and the appearance of another blue window. 

[Quest received.]

Quest - Kill 100 White Goblins

Progress - 3/100

Reward - Information

Aodh stared blankly at the panel floating in front of his face, not even registering the words on it. It meant nothing to him. How could it when he had just executed someone in cold blood. Granted, they had attacked him, but in the end they were defenceless, and he could have let them go. No good will come of thinking like this. 

Aodh pushed himself to his feet. He was clearly in a dangerous place, and if he was constantly feeling guilt, he would most likely end up dead. He recognised it probably wasn't the most healthy coping mechanism, but beggars couldn't be choosers. He did his best to put the image of the creature's head rolling on the ground out of his mind, and turned his attention to the new screen. 

More things I don't know anything about. What the hell is a quest?  In this sort of environment, I don't know when my lack of knowledge could turn fatal.  He put that thought out of his head, and just concentrated on figuring out what he could. 

Oh fucking hell. I have to kill more of these things. White goblins if this is to be believed. As far as I can remember, goblins were this fantasy race. I think I can remember them from somewhere. Lord of The Rings maybe? It doesn't matter. At least I get a reward for killing another ninety seven of the goblins, although it's the thing that would be more helpful right now, instead of after I go on a killing spree. I don't even know what information it could give me. It might be useless. 

Then, Aodh remembered another message he got, what felt like hours ago. Maybe it could tell me more about the Path of The Sword thing I got. I would very much like to know more about that. I get the sense it's important. It could explain my unusual talent for swordsmanship. That brought Aodh to nother thing he had no information about; his ability with the sword that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

Of course, before all of the strange System stuff happened, he hadn't ever wielded one, so he could be one hundred percent sure. Still, I doubt anyone can pick up a sword and be able to fend off two of those goblins at once. 

It must be connected to that Path of The Sword message I got. Maybe it's somehow planting information in my brain? Aodh almost laughed at the absurdity of the thought, then looked around. With all the strange stuff that had been happening, it would be surprising to find out that information was somehow being implanted into his brain. 

It is unusual as well because it feels so instinctive when I'm fighting. I'm guessing someone could only achieve that after years of training. Aodh stood there in silence as he tried to think about how that would work. If he was gaining information about how to wield a sword, it would do nothing if the body wasn't used to moving in that way. Somehow, his body was moving as if he had been training with a sword for years. 

Aodh heard a shout from behind him, and quickly turned, raising his hand as he went, only realising too late he dropped the sword on the ground. What he was confronted with made the blood drain from his face. About fifty metres away, was a large group of the goblins, all well armed, and sporting shiny metal armour. Most concerning of all, was the larger goblin standing at the front, leading them. 

It had to be at least two metres tall, and the sword it wielded looked to be thicker than Aodh's neck. It too was kitted out in armour, although it looked to be of a better quality than the others. The thought of fighting didn't even cross Aodh's mind, he turned around and fled. 

He could hear shouts from behind, presumably the larger goblin directing its subordinates. I never thought they would be able to communicate, although that big one strikes me as very different compared to the rest. Aodh got a weird feeling from the big goblin the moment he laid eyes on him. It was indistinct, yet somehow Aodh knew that if he tried to fight, it would kill him without breaking a sweat. 

As he took off running, Aodh's mind was frantically thinking of what he could do. All around him were just trees, not something that suited for sheltering from what looked like a legion of goblins intent on killing him. The wind whistled past his ears as he furiously dug his legs into the ground, straining to move faster. 

He hazarded a look behind, and felt like his heart would jump out of his chest. The large goblin that was leading the group was chasing him, and it was steadily gaining ground. In a panic, Aodh redoubled his efforts to find anything that could help him. Far off in the distance, his eyes got caught on a small bump in the ground. He got a similar feeling from that area as he did when he first saw the goblin commander. 

Not really knowing what that feeling was, he kept on course for it, holding a small amount of hope that it would turn out to be something useful. He heard a small swishing sound from behind, and without thinking, threw himself to the side with as much force as he could generate. 

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the goblin commander's sword sweep through the air, right where his neck had been not even a second ago. How did it catch up to me so quickly? It must have covered that fifty metres in a few seconds. How can something that big move so fast? Aodh let out a small grunt of pain as he hit the ground, the leaves doing little to soften the landing. 

Almost instantly, he was back on his feet and running. He tried to weave in and out of the trees as much as he could, to prevent the goblin from getting a clear strike at him. On some trees, he pulled down branches, although he doubted it would do much to stop the goblin. Just as he was ducking around a tree to run to the strange hump in the ground, another blue screen appeared. 

"Fuck," he cursed, narrowly ducking under a low hanging branch, the screen partially obscuring his vision. He swiped at it wildly, but it didn't go away. I can't see anything with this in the way. Finally, his frantic swiping must have triggered something, and the screen seemed to collapse in on itself, leaving his vision clear once more. I'll see if I can check what it was later, if I don't die.

Aodh could hear the footsteps of the goblin closing in again, his ducking and weaving around the trees doing little to put it off the chase. Again, he heard the sword moving through the air, and prepared to throw his body off to the left. However, at the last moment, some instinct he didn't know he had screamed at him, and Aodh did the best he could to arrest his momentum, causing him to trip on a root and go sprawling across the ground. 

Off to his left, he could see the sword descend, and with a cold certainty, knew if he had continued his dodge in that direction, he would be dead. That's another question I need the answer to. How did I know where the sword would go? Aodh was jolted out of his thoughts as he heard an extremely loud roar, sounding like it was right in front of his face. He raised his head off the ground, trying to control the thoughts flying around his head. There has to be some way to get out of this. 

About 200 metres in front of him, there was an eruption of soil, sending dirt and leaves everywhere, almost reaching as far as Aodh. When everything cleared, Aodh's mouth dropped. Standing there, was a bear, except in the loosest definition of what a bear was. It had four legs, it had fur, but that was where the similarities ended. It was at the very least five metres tall, and its fur was jet black. 

It was when Aodh felt the thumping footsteps of the goblin vibrate through the ground, that he remembered what he was supposed to be doing. He felt his blood run cold, and rolled over expecting to see a blade heading for his face. Instead, the goblin was intensely staring at the bear, the sword clenched tight in its clawed hand. Not one to give up opportunities, Aodh started to inch ever so slightly off to the side, hoping the goblin would remain distracted with the bear. 

That fantasy curled up and died when the goblin took a step closer to him, still keeping its eye on the bear. Aodh stopped crawling, and tried to make himself as still as possible. Maybe it forgot about me? Maybe it's just stepped closer to the bear? I am in the way after all. Aodh knew how unlikely these ideas were, and was proved right when the goblin reached forward, and in a flash drove the sword into the ground next to Aodh, cutting off a route of escape. 

Aodh gulped. That was a very clear message. Just before the goblin could take another step, and possibly crush Aodh under its feet, the bear growled. Aodh could feel the vibrations in his chest, and could have sworn the air seemed to shake. In an instant, the goblin had the sword back in its hand, and jumped backwards a few metres.. The goblin barked something, and there was another growl from the bear in response. 

Are they communicating? Aodh stayed still, not willing to upset either the goblin or the bear. He did want to get out of this alive after all. After a few more back and forths, the goblin let out a grunt, and turned around before trudging back towards its group. Aohd looked at its retreating back, not really believing what he was seeing. Just like that, it was leaving. 

His attention was pulled back to the bear, when he felt a hot breath down the back of his neck. Slowly, he turned around, eventually coming face to face with the bear. Despite his panic and fear, Aodh was still picking out small details about the bear's appearance, perhaps as a way to distract himself. Unlike what he thought at first glance, the bear's eyes were not totally black. They had something that looked vaguely like a pupil. 

Aodh shivered in spite of his effort to stay still. He got a sense of intelligence from the eyes that seemed unnatural. Its eyes were darting around, and Aodh got the feeling it could understand fully what it was seeing. With a huff, the bear turned around, and padded its way back to the origin of the explosion. Aodh watched it go, his heart still beating furiously in his chest. Surely it was some type of trick. The goblin had tried to kill him, why wouldn't the bear as well?

After the bear had disappeared into the hole in the ground, Aodh stared into empty space for a few seconds, before the reality of his situation snapped back. Holy shit. What the fuck just happened? Why did it let me go? He got to his feet and turned to see if there was any sign of the goblin commander. It had left, but Aodh did not entertain any notions that he was safe. It had seemed intent on killing him, perhaps as retribution for the murder of its kin, and Aodh didn't think it would give up that easily.