Danmachi: Obligations To The Past

The sun was on its downward path having already crossed midday, but those without a watch could only guess. The clouds were beginning to roll in and an all too unpleasant atmosphere was making its way in.

Craaack! Ruuumble.. the thunder and lightening were here, but the rain hadn't decided to peek its head from the overcast yet. The somber atmosphere was only just beginning to effect Bell. He had arranged in a clearing not to far from where the second and larger group split off from the scouts. What was there could only be described as a massacre.

However, all the bodies were gone. Like the battlefields corpse collector already came to make his due. Scars of a battle remained and some blood. Bell investigated more closely.

'Hmm, looks like whatever killed all those goblins was a bigger creature. Surely only a predator could clear them out so thoroughly. There isn't even any small footprints of fleeing goblins,' thought Bell. He continued searching the area.

Ruuumblee.. the weather wasn't getting any better. Bell was thinking he needed to hurry and deal with whatever finished his mission for him otherwise something bad could happen to the villagers. He knew that those that are too hasty and make prem.a.t.u.r.e decisions die, so he tried to calm his mind. 'Hmm, there are larger footprints headed this way. I didn't see them right away because the depressions are partially filled by some sort of dragged object. Let's follow this,' he deduced.

'Nia, what are the odds of finding a monster that is too difficult to defeat this near the village?' He asked.

*There is a one in four chance you will find a monster you are incapable of dealing with, User Bell.*

Hearing her made him wonder what that 25% chance could be. Surely it wasn't that, but Bell couldn't hear the thought of his own death flag through the sound of his own irritation. "Would you stop with the User Bell? How many times!? You know what, whatever."

Following the trail led him to a cave that was hidden pretty well from the outside. There was shrubs and trees blocking the entrance so if you weren't actively looking and close enough, you'd never even see it. It had the makings of a dangerous animal pit if Bell had ever seen one.

The rain was beginning to fall lightly leaving a pitter patter on the nearby foliage. Bell decided to move closer to try and get a better look. At the mouth of the cave he was assaulted by an unbearable smell of decay yet an unbreakable darkness he could not see through.

Bell was starting to get butterflies in the pit of his stomach. The kind on gets when they're nervous and about to do something that will change everything. Bell had already altered the future just by existing here, but now he felt he was on the precipice of another future altering encounter. Perhaps not for the timeline itself, but for him. He could break free of his inexperience and gain more.

Taking a deep breath, Bell stepped into that darkness. Trying to become one with it, he moved silently deeper. Water was dripping from the stalactites into the puddles beneath masking the movements he couldn't help. Turning a corner, he saw a large silhouette munching on something. This is where the smell originated from. Wafting about the cave. It didn't seem to notice him yet.

Bell decided to consult Nia before he went to attack, 'what is that and how should I kill it, Nia?'

*I suspect that is an orc. Years of breeding outside the dungeon have made them weaker and smaller. However, it will be formidable for you without a Falna.*

Hearing her two cents, Bell slowly unsheathed his knife at his back waste. Creeping closer to try and kill it quickly.

Crack! A bone snapped under his boot. All the air in his lungs froze. Not a muscle moved hoping that standing still would fool the creature that was turning around. He finally saw it up close. Fat was obvious. It's face was piggish with mouth tusks and red glowing eyes. They stared at one another for what seemed like hours yet it was only a second before it charged.

Bell tried to block with the knife in his left hand, but he made the wrong decision. With its right hand it swatted at him like one would a big throwing him across the cave. Bell smashed into the wall.

Cough cough! "Shit!" Bell couldn't help curse looking down at his left arm. There was a stalactite stabbed through his left arm. He was barely still able to hold knife.

'I can't die here to an overgrown pig! God damn it. I've already died once and trained this hard. I've come to far!' Gathering his courage, he stood. Bell felt his blood boil and his eyes burn. The orc has finally arrive in front of him again after strutting over.

It attempted to attack the same way, but Bel knew better now. He dodged while attacking with his katana from the sheathe. He aimed for the tendons of the underarm severing them. The orcs arm went limp but it followed with a kick. Bell's eyes saw it like it was moving slow. It was all moving slow now. Like he was moving faster and yet that wasn't the whole truth. He knew his eyes finally awoke.

He side stepped the kick with little movement to save energy severing the tendon at the back of the foot causing the beast to fall. Now that they were closer to eye level, Bell felt more confident. He began to laugh.

"Hahahaha! This is great. Battle couldn't be more fun. I can't wait to fight stronger creatures if this is what it's like to fight a weakened orc!" Bell was enraptured in the hunt. His blood boiled with excitement. 'Who cares about being a hero. I'll be the bane of monsters. I'll be a walking curse killing them for excitement!' He exclaimed inwardly.

The orc tried to use its one good arm to catch Bell, but he wasn't about to lose this late in the game. He avoided the grab jumping to the forearm using it to jump higher towards the orca face. Reading back, he stabbed toward the weak spot of all living species, the eye. It went in like a hot knife through butter. The orc twitched a few before falling over and exploding into smoke.

"Hahaha, I did it. I killed my first orc," he recounted his success. However his celebration was short lived. After sheathing his weapons he started to feel light headed. "Ugh, what's going o..." before he finished he fainted into a puddle on the cave floor.

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A cloaked figure approached the cave from the outside. His cloak was wet and sticking to his body from the rain that had picked up since Bell was inside. He had watched his whole fight using his mirrors.

"Hah, this boy sure does put me on edge. I might have a heart attack if that continued any longer. I'm just glad his injuries are only to this extent." He approached closer bending down to lift up Bell.

Walking out back into the rain toward the village. "I am proud of your progress. You being able to kill that orc is something not many could do," he said to the unconscious boy.

With that they headed home.