A short distance beyond the city gate, before I reach the first farm, I pause to take out my Heart Scroll. The first thing I do is accept the repeatable quest for hunting a hoglin, which causes the ‘Map’ option to start flashing blue. I switch my focus to that page, seeing an incomplete, basic outline of the land around me.

  “It appears that it’s filled in places I’ve already been and anything within my line of sight… hmmm… there’s a little black dot right in the middle with a little purple triangle pointed off in… that direction.”

  I indicate with my finger as I say the last bit, also noticing that my sixth sense for quest trajectories is telling me that I need to go that way. After I take that into account, I come to a decision.

  “It doesn’t look like it’s much more useful than the general feeling I already get, so I’ll put it away for now.”

  I immediately do exactly that, followed by summoning Koa out of my inventory using Father’s Call. It’s then that I head off into the distance, toward the violet leaved oaken sea.

  Another name that’s better than ‘Bluewood Forest!’

  We cross the open field that’s maintained by the kingdom in order to allow notice of any monster or sapient race attacks. After travelling a distance past the farms we reach the twilight trees, which is once again a better name.

  As we travel through the woods, I stop to take out the tome of plants. I approach a bush of bright green berries that seem like they could be useful. Their blue leaves form a cup holding the fruit within. There are thorns lining the branches nearest the round, green orbs. As I continue to observe the bush, the book flips open to a page that’s not very far into it.

  Air berries:

  If eaten raw, the berries will cause the unsuspecting victim to bloat to the point of explosion. However, the air berry can be brewed into a potion that significantly reduces the weight of the person who drinks it. Be very careful when harvesting the fruit, as its thorns cause debilitatingly painful, uncontrollable gas that can last up to a week once inflicted.

  The leaves can be dried and the thorns ground into a powder. Once mixed, they can be brewed into a tea that cures the effects of the thorn’s poison.

  The roots can be cooked in oil to produce a tasty, crispy snack that many nobles consider a delicacy worth spending quite a few rings on.

  If a bush is found, it is highly recommended that all of its useful parts be harvested, as one can sell them at a premium to any alchemist.

  Holy fuck! I don’t know if I even want to attempt to harvest these!

  As soon as the word 'harvest' goes through my head, the bush vaporizes into the gold and silver mist. After absorbing the sweet smelling mist, I smile. I decide that’s enough plant gathering for now, so I place the book back into one of my boxes, this time choosing Inventory B, where the berry bush parts are.

  Yeah, I can get used to this.

  …

  It’s not long before I feel like we’re close to our target.

  The quest must choose whichever hoglin is closest to us. Handy.

  “Alright girls, it’s just ahead. Let’s move quickly and quietly. It seems like we’re downwind, so smell shouldn’t be an issue, no matter how good its olfactory senses are.”

  As I take my first step, I hear a branch snap under my foot.

  Damn detritus! Why can’t these stupid trees have a normal seasonal cycle?! It doesn’t even make sense to only have foliage during autumn and winter!

  In the direction of our prey, I hear an angry squeal, followed by the telltale pounding of feet that indicates a charging hoglin.

  Shit! That’s bad, that is very bad!

  “Fuck! Delilah!”

  Luckily, when we’re in any sort of danger, Delilah loses her snark in favor of keeping us alive. Without any preamble, she responds to my call.

  “On it!”

  About five seconds later, the creature comes barrelling through a bush that had been blocking our line of sight. Immediately following that, it bellows in pain as it loses its footing and comes skidding to a stop in front of me. I freeze for a few seconds, heart racing as I stare at the beast, which is head and shoulders larger than the one I fought before.

  “What are you doing, Human?! Kill it!”

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Yanked out of my stupor, I wield Koa and go in for the kill, this time stabbing it in the back of the neck several times, trying to pierce through its spine at the base of the skull. Koa begins cackling like a madwoman, gleefully shouting almost a single word over and over again.

  “Die! Die die die! Gwe he he he he! Stupid stupid stupid! Die, die die die die!

  The hoglin, however, feels no compunction to heed her words as it rears up, now back on its feet. It shrieks in outrage, its face and neck covered in blood, giving it a terrifying visage.

  “Oh shit… Oh fuck! Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck!”

  I’m now running as fast as I can, away from the monster. Even at my fastest sprint, I still hear it quickly gaining on me.

  “Human! Tree! NOW!”

  I duck left behind a tree, thrusting my dagger out behind me. I feel a slight pull on my arm, but Koa is sharp enough that she cuts straight through the side of the beast, opening a long, deep gash without much strain on my part.

  “Gwahahahaha! Die, stupid! Stupid monster!”

  I think I’m going to have to have a long conversation with my dagger about her… yeah… maybe not… I need to focus. Focus! One of those potions I mentioned would be nice right about now… GAH! FOCUS!

  Having just enough of a break to collect myself and think that single thought, the beast turns, ready to charge again. Rather than let it do that, I dive in, doing the only thing that I know for certain will take the creature down… I stab it in the eye.

  Well, I try to pierce it. Instead, it jerks its head to the side, causing me to land a glancing blow that nicks its brow. The attack slides across the scalp to cut off its left ear midway above the base.

  Evil Etheri, I think I’ve bitten off more than I can chew here! This thing is a lot tougher than the last one!

  Just as I think this, the monster opens its mouth, about to go in for a bite of my tasty manflesh. I freeze in terror, watching the beast as its maw seems to come toward me in slow motion. I’ve almost given up, considering my life forfeit, only to see a white blur latch onto its head, scratching with all her might.

  “Delilah!”

  As my exclamation leaves me, I dive to the side. The beast rears up again, slamming its front legs down where I had just been standing. Delilah flies off of its face, falling a few feet from the ferocious creature. She hits a tree, hard, before lying limply on the ground.

  “Its eyes… Human…”

  Her weak words bring my focus back to the beast, as I notice its eyes are completely missing. It stands there, attempting to find my scent, having a difficult time getting through the smell of its own blood. I don’t miss this opportunity, stabbing Koa directly into the empty socket on the right. With one final screech of agony and outrage, the monster falls to the ground, dead.

  I immediately rush over to my friend, crouching down before her. She’s covered in blood, unmoving. I pick her up, cradling her in my arms. I rock back and forth, not knowing what else to do in the moment. My voice is wracked with fear and misery, not wanting to lose yet another of my faithful companions to my stupidity and selfish need to complete dangerous quests.

  “No! Delilah… I’m sorry, Delilah! Please don’t leave me! Delilah… no… I love you… I can’t lose you, too…”

  Holding her tenderly, I try to hold back tears, only barely managing to not burst into a sobbing mess. Her breathing seems labored as she gives me her dying wish.

  “Hu… Human, is… is that you? I… I’m dying, Human… could you… please… could you pet me… one last time… before I… before I go?”

  Her struggled words come through our bond weakly, as she’s unable to muster the strength to send anything with her usual stability.

  “Of course… I’ll pet you as much as you want…”

  I do just that. I sit there, cradling her in my arms. I continue to rock back and forth, hoping that it helps ease her passing. I sit there, mind catatonic, gently petting her for several minutes before she stops breathing, her body going stiff. I hold her as time goes on, still petting her as I hug her corpse to my chest.

  Exactly one minute later, though the time seemed to have stretched longer than that, she regains movement. Her breaths are completely normal as she struggles to flop out of my grasp.

  “Alright, Human, that’s enough! Put me down!”

  As she speaks, I freeze with surprise. After a few seconds, I release her, my despair being replaced by utter shock and disbelief as she turns to look at me.

  “Delilah… how… How are you alive?”

  My mouth hangs open as I openly gape at her, uncomprehending as to what’s going on.

  “Ha! You should see the look on your face, Human! ‘Delilah, nooo! I love you Delilah! You can’t leave me!’ I was never dead, you bumbling buffoon. I reversed my wounds as soon as I landed. Duh.”

  The cat’s mocking tone offers a stark contrast to my own emotions at the moment. I barely understand what she’s saying, my brain spinning as I process the information.

  “But… you… you died! I felt you go stiff! You stopped breathing!”

  Still going through the stages of grief, my denial comes out in a shout that has more force than I had planned.

  “I leveled twice from that fight. Got my new skill. ‘Stasis Stun.’ It takes thirty seconds to cast, but oh boy was it worth it to see the look on your stupid face! Ha! You’re too gullible, Human.”

  She continues to mock my roiling emotions, causing my anger to spike. As I finally notice that I’ve been speaking aloud, I switch to my mental communication.

  “Fuck you, you fucking cat! I was worried sick! That’s not funny! I thought… I thought I had lost you, too… That I was the cause of two deaths… of the people I love…”

  It’s at this moment that I hear a slow clap coming from behind me. I jerk my head up, turning to face whoever it is. Before me stands a human man wearing a cloak of shadows. It’s hard to stay focused on him for some reason, but now that I know he’s there I can keep my attention from drifting away.

  “Bravo! Bravo!”

  His voice is deep and oily, like the shadows draped around his shoulders. His slicked back black hair matching his tone, he slowly turns his head to exaggeratedly examine the area. He continues to slowly clap as he takes in the carnage around us.

  “I’m not going to even pretend to understand anything about why you were having a one-sided conversation with a cat that was dead, but wasn’t, or whatever. But that fight? Bravo! It was brilliant, but… sloppy, to say the least. I could have done a much better job, myself. But, for only your second encounter with a hoglin, it was… adequate.”

  The way he emphasizes the word ‘second’ gives me chills.

  I never told anybody about the first fight, how does he know about it?! Wait… I’m sure I recognize him from somewhere? But… where…?

  As my thoughts spin in circles while trying to figure out who this man is, they must be visible on my face, because he ends his clapping with a malicious grin.

  “I knew from the first time I saw you staring at your Heart Scroll at the task board that you were hiding something from us. From… Boss. I just couldn’t figure out what. So I needed to gather evidence, I needed to watch. So… I’ve been following you ever since.”

  The man that approached the task board on my first day! That’s who he is! Fuck, I was hoping that he hadn’t seen me, but of course I wasn’t that lucky. What does he want from me? I have a really bad feeling about this…

  As if in response to my internal question, the man’s slimy smile reappears on his lips. His grin widens, showing all of his yellowed teeth as he laughs at a joke that only he seems to be in on.

  “I see you recognize me! Fantastic! This will make it more… pleasurable when I watch you die. After all, we can’t have anybody keeping major secrets from our commander-in-chief, now, can we?”

  Fuck…