Even so, I knew that if I didn’t fight tooth and nail here, I wouldn’t live to see tomorrow. So I fought like my life depended on it.
I fought dismally. I was dragged through the muck and beaten with clubs. Tree branches cut my skin and rocks scraped my knees. I was in pain from head to toe. But I was fully aware that if I stopped moving for even a moment, the monsters would kill me without mercy.
How long did I fight for? I lost my sense of time passing. The goblins’ attacks finally stopped once I was at the point where I couldn’t even tell if I was breathing.
The reason why was clear enough. As I panted for air, at my feet lay the three goblins, now nothing but silent corpses.
I’d killed the monsters.
This was a first for me.
I wasn’t completely new to killing creatures. Bach had ordered me to help butcher livestock before, to get me accustomed to dismemberment. I don’t think many sons of nobility were made to do that kind of work, but Bach apparently used to be an adventurer, so he was more strict about these kinds of things. That experience certainly must have paid off, because even though I’d just killed living beings by my own hands, I hardly felt any shock. The fact of the matter was that the goblins were dead, plain and simple, and the immediate danger had vanished. That gave me relief.
“Wait, that’s not the only thing. Is it still alive?” Once I’d realized that the battle was over, I finally came back to my senses and remembered why I’d decided to pick a fight with the goblins. It was because the goblins had been inflicting harm on what looked to be a small animal. It was still lying there on its side. I rushed over to it and checked to see if it was still alive.
“Is it breathing? Yeah. It doesn’t look too badly injured, actually. No broken bones either.” When I placed my hand to its mouth, I definitely felt the flow of air. I ran my fingers along the small body’s front and hind legs to be sure, but it didn’t feel like anything was broken. Of course, I wasn’t a doctor, so there was no guarantee my diagnosis was correct. For the moment, though, it didn’t seem to be in critical condition.
“That’s good...but I shouldn’t just leave it here. Besides, I should probably get away from these dead bodies. But first, I’ll take whatever materials I can get. No telling what there’ll be,” I said to myself. There was no real need for me to say it out loud, but I hoped it would help maintain my sanity. I certainly would’ve hushed up if there were any monsters around.
I mentioned “materials” because monster carcasses, including those of goblins, were valued for being used to make weapons and magic tools. That said, there was only one common material that goblins and their ilk were good for. Using my short sword, I carved close to the goblins’ hearts. When I did, a small pebble-like object came loose.
“It’s a mana stone. So they really do have them. I never would’ve imagined that I’d be vanquishing my first monsters right after getting exiled from home, but I’m actually feeling pretty thrilled about it. Maybe I can survive this after all?” I tried to encourage myself, but I understood perfectly well that reality was harsh. Killing a mere three goblins wouldn’t guarantee my survival in the Purgatory Forest. Still, coming out of that fight the victor was definitely preferable to the alternative.
That’s enough pessimism. I’ll start by doing what I can.
“I’ve got their mana stones, so for now I’ll go back to base camp where the spring is. I should probably move from that spot soon too. Oh, and I better take this little guy along.” I gently picked up the animal, still lying unconscious, in my arms.
It was an adorable creature. Why it was in this forest, I didn’t know, but...it was a kitten. Unmistakably a kitten.
“Both you and I are out of place in this nasty forest. Let’s both try our best to survive, okay?” It shouldn’t have been able to hear me anyway, but I thought out loud to the kitten as I headed back to my camp.