“M-master, wake up!”

“Nghhh? Let me sleep… more…”

 “I’ll handle this, Sis Ovis, Hya!”

“Urk!” I felt a sudden weight in my abdomen. “Can’t… breathe…”

I opened my eyes and it was Scurus. He was sitting on my stomach. I tapped him to say that I give up. He got off quickly after.

“See? It’s effective! I used to do it to the old man every time!”

“M-master, are you alright?” Ovis asked with a concerned face.

“Yes, but what’s the big idea?” I annoyingly asked.

“You already slept for far too long! It’s already dark out. We still need to be ready for those bastards!” Scurus uttered while he pretended he was shooting an arrow in the air.

“It’s night already? Why didn’t you wake me up sooner?” I quickly got up from the bed.

“Sis Ovis has been doing that for a while yet you didn’t budge!”

“Oh you did? Sorry about that. Let’s go out then.” I grabbed my sword then started walking out of the room.

“I-I think they’ll come a bit later. Y-you should eat first, master.”

As soon as Ovis suggested eating, my stomach grumbled out of the blue.

“I guess I’m a bit hungry.” I chuckled.

I went to the common area where a single serving of food was left. I guess they really had been waiting for me while I had my deep sleep. I quickly ate before we went outside to get ready. 0I had Scurus climb a nearby tree so he could snipe the Ratisans from there. On the other hand, Ovis and I waited near the hut. The plan was simple. Ovis and I would fight the beasts head on with Scurus covering us from afar.

 “M-master, are you nervous?”

“A little, but I am also kind of excited. Is that weird?”

“N-no, Master. I-I am also looking f-forward to our victory tonight.” Ovis smiled.

“I guess if you say it like that, that is definitely something to anticipate.” I smiled back.

Rustle rustle

“They’re here.” I whispered. “Let’s wait for them to get closer before we attack.”

“Y-yes, master!”

While waiting for the beasts to go further in the fields, I took a glance at Scurus. He looked ready as he held his bow and arrow. There was a total of five of them. It was a relief that they’re numbers did not grow overnight.

After a short while, I issued the command. “Let’s go!”

I and Ovis started running towards the beasts with our weapons drawn. We began attacking as soon as we were in range. Ovis used her mace to try and knock one out but she failed. I also used my sword with the intent to get rid of one in one strike but it was not effective either. They were just too fast. We pressed on the attack but all they did was jump around.

“This is annoying!” I uttered as I continued with my attempt to kill them.

“M-master, look out!” Ovis warned before she swung her mace at the Ratisan who was behind me.

“Thanks!”

The beasts were really smart. They were using their advantage in numbers to confuse us so that they could have an opportunity to use Shadowbind.

“Hyaaaaa!” I slashed with more force but it did not make a difference.

My attack would not value to anything if it failed to make contact. I was starting to get annoyed so I tried to make my attacks even faster. Going at them at full force exhausted me more quickly but I did not mind it. If I could get at least one of the scoundrels then it would be worth the effort.

“M-master?” Ovis called out but I did not care. All I had in my sights were the Ratisan pests.

“Die!” I was about to slash a Ratisan who was currently in mid air when I suddenly could not move. “Dammit!”

I looked behind me and it was indeed the doing of a Ratisan. It succeeded in using Shadowbind, the clever rascal. Not more than a few seconds had passed when I was able to move again. I looked at the Ratisan behind me and it was now lying in the ground, lifeless. An arrow had pierced it from the back of its head until the region between its eyes.

“Alright! I got one!” Scurus cheered.

He was far from us yet his loud voice echoed to our location. All the remaining Ratisans stopped for a moment then turned their heads towards the boy.

“Damn, this is bad!”

The Ratisans started running at full speed to where Scurus was. Ovis and I pursued them but we were not able to catch up. I picked up the dead Ratisan’s body before I resumed chasing them down.

Scurus took a shot at the approaching beasts but it did not hit. It was not because Scurus was off the mark, the beasts were just able to dodge it before the arrow landed. The boy tried to shoot more arrows but none of them landed. Scurus knew that it was futile so he slung the bow in his back before he got down from the tree.

“Come at me, you bastards!” Scurus went to his fighting stance.

His arms were raised in front of him while his palms were opened wildly. He had the steels claws equipped, ready to rend them asunder. The Ratisans finally reached Scurus. The beasts started attacking him immediately. They jumped at him with their bared sharp teeth. Scurus met them with his steel claws which was able to deflect the Ratisan’s attacks.

“You tricky bastards!” it was evident that Scurus was struggling.

None of their attacks were able to hit him but I could tell that he was already giving it his all just to keep up. Ovis and I were still running to their location. I could not believe that the Ratisans were able to travel the distance that quickly. Scurus dodged and block alternatively. He was nimble himself but he was unable to see an opening where he could counterattack. It looked like he was dancing with a bunch of aggressively bouncing balls.

It was a beautiful sight in a way.

“Hey, you alright?” I asked after we were able to join the scuffle.

“Yeah, no wounds or anything Bro.” He replied without stopping in dodging. “But why did you have to carry that corpse all the way here?”

Just as I thought, Ovis and I were ignored. The rats were already fixated on attacking Scurus. I stopped fighting for a moment then raised the Ratisan’s corpse that I was carrying in my left hand. I thought it was heavy but it wasn’t, maybe because the bulk of its size was made up of fur.

“Hey rascals, look here!” I called.

It was not like I was hoping that they could understand what I was saying, I only shouted loudly so I could get their attention which succeeded. They stopped for a moment then their eyes finally looked at my direction.

“Look here, isn’t it nice?” I smiled while I continuously stabbed the deceased Ratisan.

It was gruesome, I knew that. Not only blood, some greenish fluid also gushed out from its stomach and dripped down through the blade of my sword. Scurus’ and Ovis’ reaction was something that could not be painted. It was like a mixture of disgust and shock. I threw the corpse to the ground then stepped at it with my right foot. The cracking sound of its skull could be heard every time that I stomped on its head. That was when the Ratisans decided to give me their full attention.

“Ovis! Scurus! Focus on one beast at a time! They readily jump to dodge, use that time while they are in mid-air to finish them off!” I commanded while I struggled to avoid the pests.

“B-but!”

“Never mind about me! I can handle myself!”

They did not protest any further and just did what I instructed. While I dodged and blocked the Ratisans’ attacks as I saw fit, they focused their eyes on a single one. I was able to deflect a Ratisan’s teeth with my sword which caused it to lose its balance. As a result, it was not able to land well. Scurus took that opportunity to slash it with his claws. It barely dodged Scurus’ slash by jumping upwards.

What it did not expect was that Ovis was waiting for that moment. She used her mace to do a blow from above. She smashed it towards the surface, crushing its head. Blood stained both the ground and her mace. But during that moment, I let down my guard. The three Ratisans continuously attacked me. I was able to avoid the attack of one then block another with my sword. The third one was where I messed up.

“Shit!” I screamed due to the pain.

“Hey bro, you alright?”

“Don’t mind me! Just attack!” I shouted while the Ratisan was still biting my hand.

I flailed my hand around to get rid of it but it did not let go. That was when I got the idea to prevent it from disengaging as well. Even though the wound in my hand stung so badly, I grabbed its mouth from the inside. I squeezed its tongue tightly with no intention of letting it go.

I then used my sword to thrust its stomach. It tried to remove itself from me but my grip was tight enough that it was not able to do so. My blade succeeded piercing through yet it continued to struggle. I punctured it again and again until I felt that it was no longer moving. At the same time, Scurus and Ovis were able to beat down another Ratisan by ganging up on it. There was only one remaining and it seemed dazed.

The Ratisan looked left and right alternately and repeatedly before it turned its back and started running away.

“Don’t let it escape!” I shouted. I tried to run after it but I was out of its league in terms of speed. All would be fine if it never came back after escaping successfully. The bad thing would be if it actually returned with more of them to try and get revenge.

“Hyaaaaa!” Ovis threw her mace against the running beast.

Ovis’ throw was accurate but the beast was able to avoid it by jumping up high.

“Gotcha!” Scurus took a shot at it.

The arrow flew towards the beast then pierced its body while it was helpless in mid-air. The Ratisan fell to the ground but was still able to move. It got up back and resumed running away, but in a way slower pace than before.

“Damn! I missed its head, this time you won’t get away!” Scurus released another one. The projectile pierced the Ratisan from behind its head while the arrow head came out from one of its eyes. The last shot stopped its movements instantly, completely.

“It’s over…” I sat down to the ground.

 It was as if all my energy left me. I was happy that we ended up victorious but I felt more relieved that all of us were safe. I could not help but be thankful to Scurus. It was thanks to him that the fight became smoother than expected.

“Remove thy pain and restore one’s flesh, Recover.” Ovis used the spell without awaiting my command. The wound was not completely healed but the fact that the bleeding was removed and the pain was lessened were enough.

“Thanks Ovis. I’m sorry for that unsightly act” I patted her head.

“That was unsightly? I even think that you looked cool, Bro!” Scurus said with glittering eyes.

“That was cool?”

“Yeah, bro! You looked like an evil lord in children’s fantasies! You were rocking it!”

“Really?” I then looked at Ovis, waiting for her to join the conversation.

“I think you w-were kind of scary but… It was effective… W-would you teach me how to do it too?”

“No way!” I responded instantly.

I did not think that the kind of act would suit Ovis’ features. I imagined her cute face wrinkled to do a wicked expression, it gave me the chills.

“Anyways, we better collect these corpses. We’ll have a feast tomorrow.”

“Feast? They don’t look appetizing, bro!”

“Well, the book says they are at least edible. There’s no harm in trying, right?”

“If you say so.”

We collected the carcasses before we went back inside to end the night.

First E rank quest, conquered!