“Mister, I have the plants you wanted,” I knock loudly on the door to the hut belonging to the man responsible for sending us on a quest to fetch the goods he so desperately needs.

From inside, loud shuffling noises break the silence, and the door frantically opens, revealing an excited man. “Please come in,” he greets us with open arms.

We enter the hut; the darkened room lit only with the faintest of candlelight. All is quiet, and his little girl is sleeping softly in her bed.

“Would you like to watch me make medicine? It will only take a short while to brew,” he starts setting up the table with various tools.

“Of course, mister. I’ll let you work your magic,” I say, nonchalantly.

He does not respond; his face is unreadable by the shadows of the candlelight.

Hm? Right, he is busy making the concoction. I brush aside the unexpected silence coming from him.

My slave watches the man intently as he grounds up the ingredients and mixes them in various liquids. The color changes wondrously from green to red, then purple, and finally a shimmering orange.

“This is it,” he holds onto the beaker tightly. He leaves his makeshift worktable and moves to his daughter’s bedside. “Wake up, darling,” he softly shakes her shoulder.

“…. Mmmm… five more minutes, papa,” she groans out but opens her eyes. She sits up on the bed and gives a cute yawn. She is handed the beaker, and she drinks it. “Bleghh,” her face scrunches up at the taste.

He tucks her back into bed and faces us. “That should do the trick. My daughter’s life is saved,” his face breaks into the happiest smile. “Oh, I almost forgot,” he reaches into his trouser pocket to pull out a small worn-out pouch. He extends his hand out to give me the pouch.

I shake my head, “It’s fine. We only helped because we wanted to see your daughter get better.”

“Then, if it isn’t asking too much, would you like to visit my daughter from time to time? You will definitely be able to see her back to good health,” his eyes light up hopefully.

“Yes, we will,” my slave answers.

What the…? Since when has she started speaking for me? I mean I would have said ‘yes’ anyway. I dismiss her behavior, “No problem, what time should we come, mister?”

“In three days! She will be running up and down the walls by then,” he nods confidently. “And please, don’t call me ‘mister.’ My name is Robby Koch, so please call me by that.”

“Well, expect us soon, Robby,” we bid him good night with a wave, and exit the hut.

--- --- ---

I cannot sleep.

The moonlight gently shines on my slave’s sleeping figure. It is yet again another night we are staying at an inn. Another bed, another unfamiliar place.

I turn to lay on my back and stare at the ceiling. It's like the sky because no matter how long I look at it, there is no one I face or answer, except myself. Speaking of myself, what the heck happened today? I am physically strong, yet I made a fool of myself back in the forest. I have to protect this body now that I finally have a chance to succeed in a life worth living.

“Are you awake?” I speak to the girl lying in bed next to me.

“What is it?” she responds in an instant.

So, she wasn’t sleeping. Now, I really have to do this. My breath quickens, and I can feel the unwanted anxiety manifesting in my heart. The squeezing in my chest bothers me.

“…About earlier… thank you. For being there. If it weren’t for you, I surely would have died,” I confess.

“It's my job as a sl-” she speaks.

“What is your name?” I interrupt her.

. .

. . .

I wait, but no answer comes. Did she fall asleep? Ah, fuck why am I being so stupidly emotional? Nights like these-

“Grea,” she whispers out.

She is quiet once again, but I do not face her. “Thank you for saving me, Grea,” I whisper back, feeling suddenly tired.

--- --- ---

We check the guild for any new quests, and upon seeing none, we hang out at the marketplace to explore what the city has to offer. We walk around aimlessly for many hours; mostly window shopping, and eating lots of street food. Grea is eating sweets from a sticky candy vendor. As for me, I am munching on skewers of delicious meats.

That is until screams fill the marketplace, and the people around us stop to wonder what is going on. All of a sudden, the dam breaks, and a wave of people come rushing in from one direction; the fear and sweat clearly outlined on their faces. They push past Grea and me to get away from the unknown threat. Moments later, a resounding crash echoes and dust clouds form over our heads. The looming danger above us becomes more anticipated with each toppling building.

The shrills of people reach impossibly higher decibels with each stomp of an approaching mass. Then, it appears; a huge cow-like monstrosity towers and tramples over the citizens who are too slow to escape its hooves, which tears bloody holes into the bodies it crushes. And if the citizens were lucky to avoid the hoof imprint of death, they would then have to face the cow’s impressive sized horns, which bulldozes through multiple people at once. Some limp bodies hang on the horns like drying laundry before the cow flings the dead weight aside.

Stocky built dogs enter the scene, biting at the ankles belonging to children and the elderly. Upon sinking their teeth into a less-than-complying human, these beasts drag their victims down to the ground so that the humans' soft necks are vulnerable to their locking jaws.

An attack.

How did these monsters get inside the city? But it clear that security messed up, and now this city is fucked unless there is anyone who can stop these monsters.

A man rolls away, managing to escape from the hooves’ trajectory. He is bruised up, but brushes it off, choosing to run in a random direction away from the cow, only to be grabbed by the claws of a bird-like monster swooping in from the sky. He kicks and screams as its claws dig deeper into his shoulders. And just like that, he is airborne, along with the dozens of other civilians who suffer the same fate.

Sure, a monster or two can sneak into the city, but these many monsters at once? Who planned this attack?

The cow sets its crazed, red eyes on me. Blood weeps down from its horns and face, dripping down to its chest fur, which is now matted and heavy with gore. Its bulbous nose snort and twitch as it eyes the skewer in my hand.

Don’t look over here! There is plenty of fresh meat on the floor!

*Shrrriiiiiinnnng*

At once, six soldiers stab at the cow's thick neck. The monster snorts in pain and the mass of pure muscle collapses on the ground, dead. Its red eyes can no longer witness the devastation it caused once the soldiers pull out their spears from the fallen beast.

More soldiers drop down from the buildings above us to ambush roaming monsters. Many units jump from rooftop to rooftop like ninjas. On all sides, battalions march through the streets, meeting at the focal point of all activity; the heart of the city. This is where the monsters are driven to, only to be eventually cornered and picked off by the soldiers closing in from all directions.

It's pretty exciting watching trained soldiers move and perform like clockwork. By taking advantage of the city's pizza pie layout, and implementing a simple strategic move, the humans completely overwhelm the mindless horde of monsters acting without a leader.

*ROOOOOOAAAAAARRRRR*

Wild gusts of wind send debris from the remains of broken vendor carts flying through the air. The large pieces of rubble from the fallen buildings split further, and the boulders are thrown into still-standing structures. The entire city is now engulfed in clouds of dust formed from disturbed piles of its ruins, making both breathing and seeing impossible. Screams are carried through the intense tornado-level winds, and the hopeless citizens grab onto whatever they could lest they are blown off and impact the very same buildings they previously shelter themselves with.

From above flies a giant, red fire-breathing dragon heading straight for the castle in the distance.

It’s too soon for me to fight a dragon, … or is it, now? This is a perfect opportunity to redeem myself from that embarrassing encounter with that thing in the forest. I can fight, be it the spooky ones or colossal ones. You will watch me, Gods! Witness my greatness!

“Grea, let’s go!” I grasp her hand while we run through the madness that was once the peaceful city streets we walked on earlier eating sweets and meats.