Love is an emotion that rarely comes in physical form. Who am I to question what love is? Many artists inspired by their Muse attempt to depict the wonders that is love, all to no avail.

My mother used to say that love is a battlefield. How ironic it is that on the battlefield, was where I found my first love. I loved combat. The feeling of my sword penetrating deep into my enemies gives me a sort of euphoria that I cannot describe with words alone.

But all love must die. Like the beauty of a rose, it eventually fades as time consumes it like a ravenous fiend. I lost my bloodlust and became disheartened, a shell of a man who knew nothing but to kill. I retired to a lonely town in the mountains to live out the rest of my life.

It was at that moment, I met the person I was meant to be with. She barged into my life as sudden as a summer drizzle. Her complexion immediately mesmerized me, and I became lost in her crimson eyes. They reflected some of the bloodlusts that I use to long for. I could tell that she too had face many life and death experiences. Facing her, was a local adventurer by the name of Koryn, a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, by normal standards. They fought with such ferocity that puts the kingdom’s knights to shame. Suddenly a voice rang out.

“Miranda!”

Her name was Miranda. I learned of her name as her fellow teammates called for her. Like a gentle breeze, she brushed into my life, and like a fleeting wind, she vanished. Koryn was already on the floor in a heap. Poor kid didn’t even realize he was no match for the woman. I was dazed. My mind repeated the sight of her over and over again. Mesmerized for an entire day, I sat in my room. I soon realized that I longed for her company, so I set forth from my desolate adobe. With my sword in hand, I once again embarked on a journey of murder to find her.

The first steps were easy. Tracking her down was the difficult part. As soon as I stepped out of my house, I am faced with a situation I was not prepared for. I didn’t even know where to start. She crashed into my house after a brawl with a drunken adventurer. Koryn was still out-cold in the town infirmary. I won’t be able to get any word out of him anytime soon.

Soon, my wandering footsteps took me to the local tavern, the Stinky Cheese. A dingy yet exotic place for travels far and wide. She must have stopped here for a drink before the fight started. I could spot the familiar bottle of grog tucked in her backpack. It was a special brew that the owner of Stinky Cheese took great pride in.

I asked the bartender about the woman.

“Oh, Miranda? She visits every year around the same time,” The bartender said as he wiped the grim off a crystal chalice.

So I still had a chance if I were to fail today.

“Has she left town yet?” I asked frantically.

“Naw, she usually stays for a week. Her party just arrived yesterday, so there is still time,” The bartender replied with a glint in his eye.

I tossed him a gilded coin and left to find more clues. My next stop was the adventurers’ guild. The bartender mentioning Miranda having a team means that she was probably an adventurer. Meanwhile, I am just a lone mercenary. I certainly wasn’t welcomed by the inhabitants of the guild. As soon as I stepped in, those who recognized me gave me an unsatisfied glare.

I could tell that they may start a fight if I make even the tiniest of mistakes. I walked up to the guild counter and pulled out three gilded coins, the usual amount for one who needs information.

With the politest tone I could muster, I asked the receptionist where Miranda and her team lived.

The receptionist was clearly new as she eagerly accepts the coin and answered me. Any veteran would first question my motive.

“Miranda and her party are currently renting a room at the Barnaba’s Inn,” the receptionist said after taking out a scale and measured the weight of the coin.

Quickly, I stepped out of the guild hall as fast as I could and darted straight for the Barnaba’s Inn. I was there within fifteen minutes. I knew the owner quite well, I used to work with him back during our mercenary days. He too retired and got married. Runs the quaint little inn now with his wife and daughter.

“Hey Marcus,” I greeted as I walked through the heavy mahogany doors.

“Oh look who it is, the old flesh grinder himself!” Marcus laughed.

“Long time no see, how’s the family?”

“Good, good. Business is good as well.”

“Glad to see, old friend.”

“You must be seeking something if you came to me willingly.”

“I want to know if a woman named Miranda and her party lives here.”

“That crazy woman? She nearly tore down the place! Yes, she and her party lives on the third floor. But they went out to take on a request this morning. Most likely they won’t be back till late in the evening.”

“Where did they go?” I asked urgently.

“To the Death Grotto to collect some skeleton archer bones. The old Alchemist Titters needs them for his crazy brew again.”

I talked with Marcus for a little more before quickly leaving for the grotto. It was a dangerous place that I would not go alone if I weren’t so blinded by love.

The path there was long, a good three-hours hike. If I leave now, I may be able to catch them as it is still noon.

I left immediately on my horse, carrying nothing but the sword on my back.

By the time I reached the grotto, the evening had come. Night always approaches early near the grotto. Something to do with the necromancer’s curse. It was a perfect place to gather undead materials, so the adventurer committee left it to its own accord. As long as there are regular clean-ups, it is safe. If left alone for too long, a boss monster may spawn.

I pray to whatever deity is above that they haven’t neglected the place. As I leaped off my horse, I was greeted by several monsters. A flesh slime and a bone warrior. Simple beasts that are really just scavengers of the grotto. They feast on the cadavers that the true hunters leave behind. I grinned as I pulled my trusty blade out of its sheath.

“Come,” I said, even though I know they do not understand human speech.

The shambled and wiggled toward me. With a single leap, I decapitated the skeleton warrior and crushed its limbs with the back of my sword. The slime was a bit more difficult as it had a natural resistance to physical trauma. I had to slice its core in half. The whole fight took less than eight seconds, but it just shows how rusty I am after retirement.

I sighed and continued forward. I could hear the moans and groans of the undead off in the distance. I should be coming close.

Suddenly, off in the distance, I spotted a sight that sent fear deep into my very being. A boss monster. It was a dullahan, a headless undead knight of great power. He alone was driving Miranda and her team into a corner. The priest was already gravely injured and was in no position to heal or buff her teammates. Without the holy attribute buff, the fight will drag on until her team runs out of stamina.

I must do something. I must save her. But with my meager strength, there was little I could do. If I were to suddenly barge in, I may ruin the rhythm of the fight and further send Miranda and her team to their demise.

Suddenly, something happened that made me spark into action. Due to fatigue, Miranda couldn’t keep her usual keen eye on her surroundings. She tripped on a tombstone and was now vulnerable. The skilled undead knight didn’t let this chance go. He took his broadsword and was already swinging it down on her cranium.

I dashed after activating a mobility skill. It propelled me straight into the path of the upcoming blade. I took my trusty sword and tried to block. The metal on metal collision rang out with a sharp screech. My entire arm could feel the pressure as it buckled under the strength of the boss.

“Run!” I shouted as I saw Miranda still in a daze.

Thankfully, her experience allowed her to recover quickly from shock and got back into a combat stance.

With me joining the fight, the battle became a stalemate. With each swing of my blade matching hers, we danced around the dullahan. But we could do no damage. We needed the priest to bless our weapon. While the monster couldn’t land a hit on us, we couldn’t hurt it.

With our waning stamina, we could only begin chugging the potions the thief snuck from a tomb. It was bitter but provided a burst of energy.

I told the thief to go look for some potions to help the priest wake up. He nodded and left in a hurry, leaving just Miranda and me alone to fend against the knight.

The priest was out-cold, the tank was blown away to somewhere far away, and now the thief had left to find a source of hope.

Miranda sighed and finally asked for my name.

“What is your name?”

“Rebus,” I replied with anticipation.

“Thanks for helping me earlier,” She said with a melancholy smile. Perhaps knowing that we may be doomed.

“I will always help someone I cared about.”

“But we just met?”

“It was love at first sight.”

“Are you really confessing to me in such a situation?” She laughed.

Thankfully we were both agile enough to continue our conversation as we dodged the dullahan’s blows.

“I can’t tell whether you’re just an idiot or I’m just clueless about the culture around here,” She sighed. “Either way, I will give you an answer if we make it out of this alive.”

I smiled with glee. She didn’t reject me immediately. This means I had a chance!

With renewed vigor, I began to up my performance. Honestly, I was just trying to impress her.

But soon realized that she was more skilled than I am. As rusty as I am, I was still not her match even at my peak.

We fought the monster for what seemed like an eternity. Our coordination got better and better.

Suddenly, in the corner of my eye. I spotted a chance for salvation. The thief had returned with a purple bottle. It was an elusive mana potion.

He drank some of the potion and passed it to the priest's mouth-to-mouth. The priest coughed and woke up in shock. Her eyes were in a daze at the smooch, and a faint pink mist loomed over her head.

“W-what?” She panicked.

“Wake up, we are still in a tight spot!” The thief said.

The priest looked over at where Miranda and I was. She nodded and chanted the blessing.

“Goddess of light, caress their weapons with your holy light so that they may smite the evil before them!”

A golden light enveloped our swords. The dullahan started to make painful groans with each of our blows.

We were winning.

Soon a large cloud of dark energy escaped from his exposed neck and vanished into the grotto. He was defeated for now. As a boss monster, he can never truly die. Once the negative energy reaches the saturation point, he will return.

Miranda collapsed onto the ground with a smile. I was barely standing since I arrived later than they did.

“We did it!” She cheered.

I couldn’t forget that smile, no matter what. It was like the rise of the morning sun. I wanted to see it every single day for the rest of my life.

I got down on one knee and looked her straight in the eye.

“Miranda, will you marry me?”

The thief and the priest gasped. Miranda just stared at me wide-eyed.

“T-this… For fuck sakes. First, take me out to dinner!”

______

I closed the photo album as I smiled at my two kids.

“And that is how I met your mother.”