2022-09-13 15:21:00Ghwyr still couldn’t believe the chance that he has. It was like Lady Salidas had smiled upon him and gave him a chance to become an honorary part of one of the greatest parties the Guild has every had. The party of the Iron Bears was most renowned for their recklessness and bravery. Some would call them heroes while partly panned as fools by those whom they have come across.
If they were who they say they were, then, the big man he had talked to earlier was undoubtably Bjorn Bearskin. The only known berserker in the kingdom. A man famous for his crazy deeds as much as the heroic feats he had made throughout his illustrious career.
He felt happy and nervous at the same time to be with such prestigious group. Bjorn assigned him along with the golden-haired healer, Frejr and the mysterious swordsman only known by the name, Arenviel. These members were fairly new to his party. The original members disbanded at the same time that he decided to travel to Evalom.
Ghwyr couldn’t forget that day, three years ago when he arrived at the capital. He saw a huge line of people queueing by the Guild Hall. When he asked about it, he learned that the iron bears were looking for new members and today was their only day of audition.
He remembered lining up and trying to get a form for him to sign up for the audition. Unfortunately, the day ended, and the line didn’t even move for him. He found out a few days later that the audition ended during the day and that there were just those grifters seeking opportunity of the situation that siphoned the people over to their side and tried selling so-called priority numbers to the audition.
He was lucky he didn’t continue on with the audition or else, he would’ve lost a substantial amount of money to charlatans. Well, not that it mattered. He lost all of his money the following day, stolen by some thief while he slept at the open grounds in the park.
Just the thought of that day and the hardships he has been through made him smile. Who would have thought he would find himself in the company of the kingdom’s most famous party? He shook his head and tried to check whether he was dreaming or not… obviously, he wasn’t.
“Mr. Ghwyr…” Frejr called his name, but he wasn’t paying attention. “Mr. Ghwyr—”
Suddenly he felt the cold and horribly smelling liquid splattered into his face.
“Bleeurrgghhh… it almost got into my mouth.” Ghwyr spat the liquid that touched his lips.
“You weren’t paying attention, Halfling.” The swordsman replied.
“Was that really necessary?” Frejr raised an eyebrow.
“Would you prefer a blade on your throat?” He glared at Ghwyr.
The halfling shook his head attentively.
“That’s what I thought.” The swordsman nodded. “Let’s continue and this time, stop daydreaming. It would be embarrassing if you die because you were not paying attention.” He added.
“Arenviel! That’s too much!” Frejr protested. “I just healed him!” She said.
“I know you for your excellent healing prowess.” He said. “I am very confident that you healed him well. So, I know that he’s just not paying heed to his surroundings rather than still being inflicted with some poison.” He explained and continued walking.
Ghwyr and Frejr immediately followed the swordsman through the pathway until they reached the end of the tunnel. As they walked behind the swordsman, he finally noticed the two swords the man was armed with. A regular sword holstered at the left side of his waist, and another sword wrapped in black cloth that he slung on his back.
“We are here. The fourth tunnel.” Ghwyr said. “This would’ve been the one we should’ve been cleaning before that monster showed up.” He said.
“Stand back.” Arenviel said. “I need to check on something.” He raised his hand and chanted under his breath.
A white ball of pulsating light appeared hovering on the swordsman’s hand. It was a beautiful and bright light, even brighter than the fireflies Old Man Logue had. The bright ball scattered on the air and began to trace something. The light swam on the dark waters illuminating it as it sought for something far beyond where they were.
One strobe in particular danced along his feet before dashing towards the last tunnel at the western end of the sewer. Suddenly, the swordsman unsheathed his sword holstered on his waist and signaled the both of them to stay behind him.
“Arm yourselves.” Arenviel whispered. “We have company.” Just as he said this, the strobe of light that ran through the last tunnel exploded.
Ghwyr could hear the monsters screeching in agony as the swordsman made a pre-emptive attack. The monsters came out of the tunnel angrily shrieking. Their silhouettes were closely identical to the same monsters that killed those men earlier, but he couldn’t be sure due to the darkness.
“Stand back, Mr. Ghwyr.” The golden-haired priestess pushed him behind her. “Fiat Lux!” She raised her hand, and a warm golden light illuminated the entire tunnel. “Now, we’ll have a better of them.” She said.
The monsters were more than what Ghwyr expected. The last tunnel was full of its ilk. The rest of the monsters got out of the tunnel and began attacking them, some dashed towards them, while others crawled on the walls like insects trying to get them.
“This is a hive!” Arenviel declared. “Warn the others, Frejr!” He commanded.
The golden-haired healer whistled loudly, a code that was unique to their party. After that, she immediately summoned her staff and assumed her battle stance.
“Halfling!” The swordsman shouted. “Come forward and defend this line!” He drew a white glowing line in the water. “Do not let these creatures get past this.” He stepped forward beyond the line.
Ghwyr quickly did the same and held the axe with both hands as they waited for the monsters to reach them.
“This would be very bloody.” Arenviel said. “Stand your ground, halfling… and make sure not to die!” He swung his sword into the air, releasing a line of bright light that immediately decapitated some of the charging monsters.
“I can’t do anymore spell for now.” The swordsman said. “Frejr, grant us protection… we’re charging through.” He commanded once again.
Frejr simply nodded and began chanting a protection spell at them.
Ghwyr saw a golden light wrapping his body. It felt warm and somehow boosted his strength. He looked at the swordsman who seemed to be content with the spell casted on him.
“Don’t fall behind, halfling.” He said before meeting the monsters halfway at the tunnel.
Ghwyr followed behind him and saw the swarm of monsters jumping into them trying to overwhelm them. However, he wasn’t worried or afraid with what he saw. If anything, he was excited. He swung his axe and struck one of the creatures at it landed in front of him, slicing it into two.
But he shouldn’t celebrate about it. He only killed one of the kin from their overwhelming numbers. His heart pounded violently against his chest as he swung the axe repeatedly while his bracelet glowed brighter with every strike.
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“How many are still standing?” Arenviel shouted to Bjorn.“Couldn’t count ‘em all.” The big man answered while smashing together two monster heads. “But I could sure tell there still a lot of them.” He smiled.“I might run out of arrows.” Tersextes shouted from the back. “Looks like they are far too many.” He reported.“Good! Because I am still warming up.” Bjorn laughed and charged towards the monsters. His strong arms were enough to cut through the swarm. He mowed the monsters and pushed them back. “Keep up, kiddo!” He shouted to Ghwyr, who was fighting earnestly, swarmed by a few monsters of his own.The halfling couldn’t see as much, especially with a small group of the monsters have ganged up on him. However, he didn’t waste the opportunity to showcase the skills he had got from training alone in their wild forest.Using that very knowledge, he tried his best to evade the wide claw slashes and stabbing attacks the monsters did. He dodged one more attack and swung his axe on the c
Half A Hero 9
The morning was unusually cold as Ghwyr opened his eyes. To his surprise, he was welcomed by a very familiar ceiling. The crisscrossing patterns of the dried and weaved river reeds was a staple ceiling in his hometown.He closed his eyes once again, trying to dream about the saga of his short-lived life as a hero.“One stab at the heart…” He thought. “That’s all it needed to put me down.” He sighed in disappointment.He really wanted to become a great hero. That was his very reason why he left home and struggled in the capital. He left his post as a townsguard because of that same reason. He cleaned toilets, scrubbed floors, feed horses, and other mundane stuff that the Guild would request of him, if that was what it took him to get a higher-ranking badge.Wait a second! He should still be in the capital, right?!Ghwyr opened his eyes and realized that after a few minutes of contemplation. He sat up on his bed and looked around the room. He was at his room, but it was a little differe
Half A Hero 10
“I—I… I’m… alive?” Ghwyr asked as he gritted his teeth from the painful wound. “W-what… happened…” He lowered down his voice to avoid painful spikes in his stomach.“Should I start from the very beginning?” The elf asked. “Or do you just need the details of those last few moments?” He asked.“I… I… remembered… everything….” Ghwyr tried moving but was stopped by the elf. “Except those few moments.” He sighed.The elf stared at him. His face wrinkled from trying to figure out what he should say to him.“Well, obviously…” He pointed at the bandaged wrapped around Ghwyr’s stomach. “You got stabbed… through and through… never seen anything like it before. I’m talking about the size of the wound.” The elf holstered back his knife on his leg pocket and ate the apple.“How… b-big… is it?” Ghwyr tried looking down at his wound.“Big enough for me to think you’re a goner.” The elf answered.Ghwyr looked at the elf, then came back to look at the huge bandaged wrapped on him. His face painted a l
Half A Hero 11
The days became torturous to Ghwyr as he waited to be summoned by the guild master once again. He stayed on his bed at the infirmary, trying to put his bearings at ease. Even with the accompaniment of Frejr and Bjorn of the Iron Bears, the days were far from calm. If he was ever given a chance to choose, he would’ve chosen to be done with the verdict, rather than wait for the guild’s intensely slow pace. Frejr made his time worthwhile though, smiling at him and talking to him like a close friend would. She would often make him meals and encourage him to heal faster (not that his body would do that on a whim!) and made him comfortable throughout the painful waiting and healing process. “Cheer up, Ghwyr!” She said while cleaning his wound. “Your wounds are healing better now and just like this; Bjorn and the others should be able to gather the evidence they need to set you free from this predicament.” She sweetly smiled. “Why would they do that far for me?” He asked. “You already heal
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“So, tell me, the events of what happened inside the tunnel...” The inquisitor ordered the so-called witness. “From the beginning, Jonah of Bottom-trodden.” He added. The so-called survivor and witness looked around the room and took a glance at Ghwyr before he began his story. “It started when the guild master posted a job for us on the bounty board…” He began. The man had a long and winding story. It seemed that he had tailored a very intricate lie and thought it be very convincing to the ones listening, it might be but who knows? He didn’t believe in every single word the man uttered. To him, everything was just purely noise. A nuisance blabber that he knew he could crush with his truth. However, he had a very bad feeling about something. He couldn’t place his finger into it but as the supposed witness was speaking, he felt a cold shiver down his spine. The same shivers he had when he was inside that wretched tunnel. In the back of his mind, he could feel his doom, but he remain
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“Agghhhhh!” The monster roared from inside the circle.“W-what are you doing to him?!” The guild master frantically shouted at the inquisitor. “You’re hurting him!” He tried approaching the pained monster.“Him? Can’t you see, he isn’t what he says he is!” The inquisitor said. “Open your eyes, Coytel! This is not Jonah of Bottom-trodden.” He pointed at the miserable creature.“Let him go!” The guild master’s voice suddenly turned shrill and sinister. “Let him go or I kill all of you!” He snarled at them and revealed his inhumanly fangs.Ghwyr froze in shock and terror. Who would have thought that kind of monster could mimic itself into a human? He certainly didn’t know until that point.The guild master’s face started to contort as a portion of his face protruded grotesquely. His cheeks tore from his skin, revealing a woody and mossy bone. His upper body grew and hunched, revealing his pulsating muscles on his back. His veins grew big and protruded from his face down his neck but that
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“You were right, Bjorn Bearskin.” The inquisitor shook his head. “I shouldn’t have doubted you.” He shook the berserker’s hand.“I just followed a hunch.” The berserker smiled widely. “I think you have to report this to the throne.” He pointed at the Guild’s blasted building.It was the aftermath of the fight. Most of the guild members were able to get out in time before the entire Guild Building collapsed. Luckily, the people trapped inside the rubble were alive and unscathed. Ghwyr along with the rest of the men who came out before the collapse stared at the once huge structure crumbled in front of their very eyes.Ghwyr sat in his wheelchair in awe. He couldn’t look away from the damage the fight caused. Bits of the monster’s parts laid on the open street, being picked up by the royal mages while the huge carcasses of the plant-like abominations were chopped into carriable pieces and were carried into the horse carts.It was an intense battle. He has never seen anything like it bef
Half A Hero 15
After the inquisitor passed down the judgement to him, he got into another hearing but this time with the circle of elders from the guild. They have determined to not let him rank up until a new guild master was determined.“Aside from that, the job board would temporarily be closed.” An elder from the guild explained. “The paperwork and contracts are all covered by the rubble. We need sometime to retrieve them before we could start again.” He added.Ghwyr started at them for a minute before accepting their decision. The guild offered him a place in an infirmary nearby for his recovery, but he instead insisted on heading back to his rented place. The guild elders found it more convenient and thriftier for them than what they previously offered. The elders gave him a small bag of silver coins as compensation for his inconvenience and commanded a group of city guards to escort him back into his rented place where he remained while recovering.Weeks turned into a month and Ghwyr still ha
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63
Ghwyr was dropped off at the western point of the dungeon which was a barren hill very far from the main city. The sun was already setting at the horizon the moment they arrived there. During their long and windy trip, they had passed about five towns that he wasn’t familiar. He didn’t even think that there were towns and villages located in such a remote place as this.He looked around the barren land and saw nothing but dead trees and dry boulders lying on the ground untouched by man. From his position, he could see a small visage of the sea below. The peaceful blue sea was a great contrast to the brown and lifeless color of the hill he was standing on.He shook his head and tried to get that thought out of his head. There were some more pressing matters he needed to attend to; for one, it was already dusk, and he needed to make camp immediately.He looked at the sun setting at the horizon and without skipping a beat, he began to make camp. He made a simple tent out of dried branch
62
The following morning was just like any other morning in the capital. The cold breeze and the chirping birds were all the ordinary things that he usually heard every morning. But nothing was ordinary that day. Today was the day of their test, the Dungeon Crawl. Ghwyr woke up early and readied his kit, checking everything was there and making sure that he didn’t leave a thing. One missing item could be a matter of life and death. After checking the bag for the third time, he donned his armor, and checked his weapons. When everything was set and done, he went down to the bar and ordered a hearty breakfast before waving his goodbye to Mama Berta. “Will yah be gone for a while?” The barkeeper asked. “It’s a dungeon crawl, Mama Berta and my first time at it. I am not certain how many days that would take us to finish.” He answered while taking a deep breath. “Why’re yah sounding like yah gon’ die?” The barkeeper sighed and shook her head. “Tip from me… make sure yah finish the crawl be
61
Chills ran down his spine as he thought about what just happened. The sweet old lady, Baba Sheby could be one powerful opponent if you get to her bad side. Now he realized why so many adventurers called her witch.He shook his head and went around the market, trying to kill the last few hours and get himself entertained to relax himself from all the studying he did. Good thing the market wasn’t short of mouth-watering stalls for him to splurge a little bit of his budget on.There were stalls for grilled meats, of all kinds, exotic cuisines from all over the kingdom lined up on one street. He wondered around for a few minutes, checking up the stalls just to know which ones to buy from. After a couple of rounds, he set his eyes on the fried squid stall and the weird yet queued upon green noodles from the Zimazo region.He first went to the fried squid section and ate the butterflied and battered fried squid. It was skewered in a thin wooden stick to easily grip the food while he walked
60
“Hmmm… pretty interesting my dear halfling.” The old woman smiled and sipped her tea.Ghwyr nodded enthusiastically at her. “Oh, I still have more…” He said as he picked the stories he could share in his head.He still has a lot of things he could’ve told her, like those other adventurers that were treating him differently and often shunning him. However, he didn’t want the old woman to worry more than she already was.He noticed how worried she was as he continued to speak about his adventures. He told her how he got his new armor and weapons, and how he learned a new style in combat which he was proud the most. Baba Sheby nodded and smiled at his stories, but her eyes had a hint of gloom in them. He ended his story with the current situation he was at, the Dungeon Crawl.“You fearless little one.” She shook her head. “I have always worried about you ever since you told me what you wanted to be. Not everyone could achieve their dreams in your profession, and I have always prayed to m
59
The petite old woman waddled towards her small round table at the middle of the room, near her cozy and colorful fireplace. The place hasn’t changed for years. There were still those dried herbs and flowers the old woman hung by the counter of her kitchen which he could visibly see from the living room. The furniture all over her house were still the same red lumber, elegantly carved into beautiful set pieces of chairs and tables with mystical animals in the base of each furniture.Baba Sheby pointed him to his seat. Ghwyr thanked the old lady and sat on the chair with a carved unicorn on the base. It was his favorite seat and even without him telling that to her, Baba Sheby seemed to know that it was.While the old woman was preparing her tea, Ghwyr peeped at the counter at the corner of the room. Behind the beautiful furniture carved with a serpents and ivy vines wrapping on its edges was a simple, yet huge shelf filled with items from potions, dried herbs, spices, peculiar trinkets
58
Ghwyr sighed as the one-eyed swordsman stormed out of the room. He turned to the other adventurers who looked stunned at what just happened. Their eyes were staring at the empty doorway before going back to the board with all the diagrams drawn there.“W-what now?” The adventurer with an upturned nose asked.Ghwyr stood up while shaking his head, astounded at their cluelessness to the situation. “We better get studying.” He said while glancing at them. “Or else we die inside that damned dungeon.” He walked out and left the other adventurers mumbling and throwing insults at him like little children having a fit.He wasn’t sure how did they became adventurers. They may not be seasoned like the higher ranks, but they should at least know a thing or two about being tact and insightful towards certain situations. Now, they were left with no one to teach them or explain things from the mini book. Ghwyr highly doubted that Heffer would even return tomorrow, knowing the moody nature of their
57
After a quick breakfast of toasted bread, goat butter, and soft cheese, Ghwyr went up the stairs and into his room where he donned his armor and sling his blade on his side, ready for the day ahead! He locked his room and headed for the Guild Hall with just half an hour to spare.He arrived at the bustling guildhall with adventurers lining up early in the administration desks just before they opened. In their hands were parchments from the bounties they pulled out of the board.Curious, Ghwyr went to the board and was shocked to see the board riddled with a lot of requests. Parchments upon parchments were nailed into the board and he saw a lot of adventurers claiming some of the bounty request, but the board wasn’t thinning.He looked at some of the most recent request and found out that most of them were party related. He turned to the adventurers on the queue and realized most of them were not at a party. He checked at the party bounty requests and noticed the hefty rewards in store
56
Three days had passed, and everyone already had a good hang of the ability they were taught. The armor-searing spell wasn’t as taxing as they thought it would be (until you have to incorporate it with some other spells and moving attacks). Although using it in actual combat might be a little tricky than they thought it might.Not all armors were created equal, and some had high-level enchantments more than others. In fact, not all opponents were built equally! Heffer was very keen on letting them understand about it before they could brag about the silly spells he taught them. After mastering the armor-searing spell, a few days back, Ghwyr and the remaining students of the terror swordsman were taught a few more spells in their arsenal. The firebolt spell for their additional attack, the stoneskin spell for additional defense, and lastly, the enhancement spell for well… enhancing their attributes like their speed, agility, and strength while on battle.It didn’t take them long to rea
55
Another week has passed, and their numbers dwindled even further. After Heffer showed them the dance and the steps that came along with it, five more adventurers dropped out from the program to continue adventuring. The nine students were now down to four.As Ghwyr recalled, he noted one of them arguing with Heffer that the lessons he had taught them up until that point were enough to help them survive attackers and bandits. They didn’t need to know more of it since; they were burning their coins already and they were getting broker by the day they stalled from adventuring.Heffer didn’t argue with them. In fact, he didn’t say a word. He simply allowed them to take their leave and wished them luck with their adventure. However, before they left, the swordsman made them promised something.“Don’t ever show your face in this class again, nor teach this skill to anyone, or else I will kill you.” Heffer threatened. “I have eyes and ears everywhere. If I see you brag about being taught by
