Chapter 45 - ‘Sword Fighting Is Not For Women’

“Thrust!”

My shouts and heavy panting awoke the empty forest, scaring away birds. My blade flashed left and right, catching the sunlight as it twisted backwards and forwards. A torn sleeve lay by the side of the small arena I’d drawn out for myself, collecting more and more dust by the second. The second one was used as a hairband, keeping the long strands out of my face, now in a scuffed ponytail. Sweat and perspiration dripped down my clothes, soaking the thin material the robe was made out of.

It’d been a long time since I held a sword.

Even longer since I’d actually practiced.

“Right slash!” I shouted out, bringing the sword down from my right shoulder across my body in a clean slice.

This body was strong. A lot stronger than my original one, but I’d say not as strong as the human (original). However, what it lacked in strength, it made up for in speed. It was a lot more flexible and seemed to be faster than before. The main problem with it, though, was the chest area.

Every large movement I made, my breasts would swing backwards and forth, up and down. It was seriously uncomfortable and always threw me off my swings.

For now, I was practicing the few basic moves that’d been drilled into my brain over and over again when I was a child.

Slowly but surely, the number of sword swings needed to complete the quest rose.

[Sword swings: 104/1000]

“Alright.” I wiped the sweat off my forehead and lowered myself to the floor.

Although I was much stronger and fitter in this physical body, I still needed to rest sometimes. Gently placing the sword to the side- I didn’t want to accidentally set off the spell, after all- I rose up and paced towards a thick oak tree by the side of the clearing.

I battered away the bushes growing around it and tapped the trunk’s surface.

It was hard and sturdy. The bark flaked a little in places, but overall, wasn’t too badly damaged. Yet. I turned back and retrieved my sword from the floor.

“Sorry about this.”

The sword was well made, yes, but it’d been a long time since it’d been sharpened and hadn’t been maintained well. After all, it’d just been lying in a clutter of other swords. I had yet to find out the reason why Rya’de abandoned his job as a blacksmith, since he obviously was a professional.

Putting that aside, I once again got into a ready position against the tree, with the tip of my sword touching the bark.

“Hah!”

Thud.

Crack.

The tree shook wildly as the impact of the sword came crashing through it. The sword wasn’t sharp enough to cleave through, but I’d definitely swung it hard enough to cause a large dent. The sword itself was now badly blunted at the side.

Bonk!

Something large and heavy fell onto my head and landed on the floor, rolling a few paces before coming to a stop by another tree.

“What the…” I murmured. “Wasn’t this supposed to be an oak tree? Last time I checked, oak trees didn’t bear fruit.”

I turned toward the ball shaped object on the floor. It was brown and quite spiky, with several, multicoloured quills poking out from around. It didn’t look like any fruit I knew of. To be fair, though, I hadn’t eaten much fruit in my past life.

Letting the sword hang by my side, I approached the ball and kicked it.

Just a soft kick, to test whether or not it was hollow.

Grrrrr.

It spun around suddenly, growling, exposing hollow red eyes.

“The fuck?” I exclaimed. “It’s a monster!”

Without any further hesitation, I flicked my sword back up into a fighting stance. An information window appeared above it.

___________________________________________

Species: Spike-o-chidna

Combat Power: 45%

Other Information:

This monster is a reclusive beast, small in comparison to other monsters. However, do not let your guard down just because it looks harmless. Its hard outer shell protects itself from most attacks by sharp objects. It prefers to sleep on top of trees to protect itself from ground predators. The spike-o-chidna has a tendency to be tamed by people who often offer it blood. It has high intelligence and may even be able to understand simple commands. When threatened, it will paralyse you with its red eyes and poison you with its flying quills.

Recommended Forms Of Attack:

Beheading Being stabbed

Weaknesses:

Beheading Being stabbed

___________________________________________

“Oh shi-”

But it was too late. I’d already looked into its eyes and now found myself unable to move even a muscle.

Grrrr.

It spun around and bunched up once more, and I knew what was coming. The quills.

‘Telekinesis!’ I mentally commanded, and flung the creature deep into the forest before it could attack.

Even after the eye contact was broken, I still couldn’t move. My leg gave way, and I collapsed onto the ground on my knees, face in the dirt.

‘How long does this damn thing last for?’ I wondered whether it would come back to finish the job.

After a few minutes wait, with no sign of the spike-o-chidna returning, I began to relax a little.

Then I heard the voices.

“Where did he go, then?” A mildly familiar girl’s voice said irritably.

“I don’t know. Home, maybe.” A soft male’s voice replied.

The girl huffed loudly. “Seriously, Leon. Can you stop acting like that? What’s done is done, and will never be undone.”

Leon? Did I just hear that correctly?

“You wouldn’t be saying that if you went through what I went through, Tath.”

Tath too?

I had two questions. One, why were they together? And two, why were they in this part of the forest?

“Mmmh! Mmmhhmmhh!” Unable to feel my lips or face, it was all I could do to mumble incoherently. If any monster decided to prey on me right there and then, I would’ve been doomed. But Tath and Leon could stop that from even being a possibility. If they helped me right here and now, then-

Oh, right.

I was still in my female body.

“Did you hear something coming from over there?” Tath asked curiously.

Leon ignored her.

“Whatever, then. Let’s hurry before it gets dark.”

Their conversation continued for a little longer, growing further and further away.

Once I couldn’t hear them at all, I let out a sigh of relief, only to cough up the dust that was stuck to my face. That was a close one.

“Oh my, are you lost, little girl?”

I tried to spin around, but only managed to flop into an even further unsightly position, with my legs open and my butt sticking in the air.

Footsteps thudded around, until finally, two worn-out leather boots appeared in front of me. A large hand gripped my ponytail and pulled my head up none too gently.

“Thank… sir.” I managed to mumble, starting to feel the feeling return back to my body.

“Wow, what a beautiful face we have here!” The person said, using his other hairy hand to stroke my chin. “Soft cheeks, small nose and sparkling eyes.”

I grunted and lifted my head higher to get a better look at this creep’s face.

What stared back at me was a smiling man, wearing a bushwhacker's hat and a roughed up tunic. He was definitely old, several white strands of hair already clearly visible.

Where had he come from? Why hadn’t I heard him coming? What did he want from me?

“Now, now. I have a question for you, little girl.” He said, still smiling.

“What… do you want?” I blurted out, constantly clenching and unclenching my fists behind me to rid my body of the paralysis.

Slowly, he reached his hand into his pants pocket and drew out a small pocket knife. “You see, I had a little friend who came this way. You wouldn’t have happened to see her, would you?”

A friend? And what was with that knife?

“There was no one. I didn’t see anyone.” I half-lied, now squeezing my toes. Firstly, I hadn’t seen anyone. Secondly, I didn’t think someone as creepy as him had a good reason to be searching for Tath and Leon.

“Aw.” His mouth literally turned upside down into a mock frown as he pressed his finger against the blade of the pocket knife.

“Well, maybe you can help me find her. You see, she really likes blood.”