Path of the Pioneers

Adeline sprung into action immediately, fluidly drawing both Fangs from their scabbards as she dashed deeper into the mineshaft. I could’ve sworn that I saw a wild grin on her face as she did, but it was all a blur. I quickly activated [Aesthesia], running after her.

I was far slower than Adeline, to put it lightly. The sound of combat rang out around me even as I was only halfway caught up to her. Looking ahead, I saw Adeline swinging low towards a few figures that I could just barely make out. She seemed to be having an easy time of it, moving her swords around rather lazily despite being pushed by multiple opponents. She struck down two of the figures, one after the other. Each one let out a sad-sounding groan, and then burst into smoke.

As soon as I finally caught up, Adeline kicked the last one in front of her, sending it sprawling out onto the ground a few meters back. Then, I finally got a good look at the thing.

Scarlet scales were inconsistently scattered in blotchy patches across its body, with skin like red smoke. Its proportions were odd. The arms were slightly too long, and the legs were slightly too short. As the kobolds described, two branchy-looking horns rose out from its head, though its left one appeared to be broken off in the middle. It was still gripping its dirty, chipped knife in its hand.

As I looked it over, I almost didn’t notice Adeline stepping behind me. She gave me a pat on the back, “Alright, Sybil. Practice on this one!”

I turned back, “P-practice? Wh-” My question was interrupted by the imp jumping up and off of the ground, making a beeline towards me, very clearly intent on gouging me open with its knife. I pointed a finger at it, mana circling around in my hand as I readied to cast [Energy Missile]

It was shockingly quick, and its small shape would have made it incredibly difficult to keep track of if I hadn’t had [Aesthesia]. I was beginning to understand why Adeline had pressed me so heavily into improving my senses. It almost felt like a prerequisite.

About a meter away from me, the imp kicked off of the ground, its knife pointed right at me.

Oh.

I cast [Energy Missile], sending a bolt of raw magical energy crackling through the air. It sounded so much louder in this confined space. It struck the imp in the hip, gouging a coin-sized hole right through it. The spell had dampened its momentum slightly, but it was still rocketing through the air towards me. More intent on stabbing me than ever.

There was no time left to think, only time to act.

Countless threads of mana flew out from my hand as I cast [Telekinesis], wrapping the imp up in them. It may have been too large to manipulate, but binding it would be enough for now.

My hand shook as it struggled against its restraints, and as I struggled to keep it there. It was still floating, now a convenient target for me. I lifted my other hand, pointing a finger directly at the imp’s head. With another cast of [Energy Missile], it was turned into smoke like the rest of them.

Some small part of me thanked the gods that they didn’t leave behind a corpse like the other monsters I had fought. But the sounds they made when they were slain left me with a bitter taste all the same.

Adeline laughed behind me, giving me another pat on the back, “Good work! Well.. Don’t get me wrong, there’s room for improvement. Especially if you could land a headshot every single time with that spell, but that’s just nitpicking.” She walked in front of me, peering around where the imp had burst, clicking her tongue as she looked back up. “No loot.” Turning back, she grinned at me, “I was hoping that luck of yours might give us an advantage in that department.”

I had learned a few things since delving deeper into this dungeon. One: imps were far harder to fight in packs. They would circle around you like wolves, diving in one after the other to try and put new holes in you. My theory about improved senses being a necessity was almost immediately proven correct when one imp jumped at me from behind, very nearly sliding its knife down into my spine.

Two: Despite my very-near-death experience, it turned out I was still rather afraid of getting stuck with knives. Especially ones that looked like they may give me more than a few ailments.

Three: Adeline was a monster. Not in the bad sense, mind you. She controlled the imps with ease, locking down the fight as if it were nothing with just her movements. She made it very clear to me, however, that the imps weren’t exactly valuable to her. That’s why, at almost every turn, I was made to fight the imps for my own benefit.

Four: Fighting a pack of small things led to heavy expenditures on your mana reserves. Though it was much better than my first dungeon attempt, I had still burned through half of my mana after only a couple of encounters. Thus Adeline proposed a simple solution: Learn how to fight without spells.

I struggled to hide my incredulous look. My strength stood at a pathetic six, and my agility was still only thirteen. Going into a knife-fight with an imp did not seem like it would go well for me, to put it lightly.

So I found myself on the opposing end of an knife-brandishing imp, Tanascáil acting as my only tool of defense.

“Most of the time, you’re doomed to get stabbed in a situation like this.” Adeline stated that fact with a flatness that filled me with unease. “But you have a very, very strong skill on your side. You can sense where its knife is. So, just don’t get hit! As long as you don’t get greedy and keep an eye out for good openings, you should be alright.”

The imp was eyeing Adeline, very clearly considering whether or not it would be a good idea to just make a run for it. But, with a clap of her hands, our fight began.

It moved with a shocking urgency, as if killing me meant freedom somehow. As with every other imp I saw, it wielded its knife in its right hand. I had never seen them switch hands, either. All that I could do was focus further on [Aesthesia], trying to glean any openings from its movements.

I managed to side-step its first lunge, going around its left side. My heart was hammering away in my chest. I had fought hulking beasts and survived, yet this thing still frightened me. Or, the idea that I didn’t have my magic to rely upon frightened me.

Adeline spoke out from the backlines of the fight, “Sybil, try grabbing its wrist! You can jab your dagger through its eye-socket or throat if you’ve got its knife-hand tied up like that. Should be a piece of cake with your skill!”

I wasn’t quite so confident, but I steeled myself to follow her advice. I flipped Tanascáil around in my hand in a reverse grip, readying it to be stabbed down onto the imp. It decided that that was the perfect time to charge me once more.

Right. I needed to grab onto its wrist, without letting its knife touch me. I had to rely on my stats, or, more specifically, my meager agility. The imp was closing in on me, knife ready to sink into my defenseless flesh, and I remained still. I was terrified. It entered [Aesthesia]’s range, and I felt exactly where it was relative to me. I felt the way that it moved, raising the knife above its head in the same reverse grip as me, ready to jab down into me.

I ran it over in my mind dozens of times. Grab it by the wrist, stab it in the neck. Grab it by the wrist, stab it in the-

It was in position, its arm primed to swing straight down into me. My left hand shot out almost of its own volition, grabbing onto the imp’s wrist, tugging hard before I drove my own weapon into its neck. It let out a small, timid gasp before going limp. I was breathing heavily, almost panicked as the plume of smoke rose up around me. It had been so visceral, the feeling of stabbing it. Like running my knife through a cut of meat -- it was almost no different.

Why wasn’t it different?

I heard the sound of my status window opening, but I ignored it.

It made sense, of course, logically. Every living thing that wasn’t a plant was made of meat, or at least a great deal of it was composed of the stuff. But there was something shouting at me in the back of my mind, telling me that it was wrong. Another shouted back, how could it be any different from using magic to do it? Every time I sent a bolt of energy out to drill through some creature’s body, it was just like this. Perhaps worse.

A wave of nausea overcame me, and I struggled to steady my breathing. I was fairly certain Adeline was crouched down beside me, saying words that I couldn’t make out. 

The imps we had seen, they were undoubtedly monsters. But they acted with an intelligence beyond that of an animal’s. Though they wanted to end my life, it felt like it was a poor excuse for me to end their own.

Just like those soldiers.

Right. It wasn’t about the imps. It was, but it wasn't.

I had been living in the realm of myths and fairy tales, where a hero “defeats” their foes and “conquers” their enemies. But it wasn’t something so glamorous. Killing somebody was deeply personal, ending their life was-

I felt hot tears roll down my cheeks. The image of smoke was stained into my mind. The smoldering body of a soldier -- the soldier I put an end to. His charred figure laid there, devoid of life.

How had I managed to press down this sight? How had I managed to move on and keep going in spite of the brutality of it? The man had a life of his own. Hopes, dreams, a family and friends who very likely cared about him a great deal.

They would never see him again, just the faded silhouette that I left behind for them.