Chapter 12 Town
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The handmade raft—simple, yet full of a craftsman’s touch—had been drifting steadily along the wide river for three days straight.
At first, tension ran high. The unfamiliarity of this otherworldly landscape kept him on edge, hands clutching his weapon, eyes scanning the banks. Anything could’ve jumped out of those woods. But as time passed and no threat appeared, that ever-present tension gradually unraveled.
The scenery, too, had slowly changed—from dense mountain forests to rolling hills, and now, finally, an open plain stretched endlessly before him, dotted sparsely with wild grass swaying in the breeze.
He shaded his eyes and pointed, “Hey, look at that dot over there.”
He squinted into the distance, staring downstream as a black speck slowly took form.
”That’s a town! There’s boats—and buildings!” he muttered excitedly to himself.
It looked like the river was finally reaching its end… and just beyond the town lay the sea. Suppressing the surge of urgency in his chest, he scrambled to grab the wooden pole and steered the raft toward the distant riverside settlement.
After three long days, he finally set foot on land.
It felt like dropping a boulder from his back.
But just as he took a single step toward town—
”Sahuagin!” a voice screamed.
He turned sharply, eyes locking onto a figure rising from the water—a creature with a fishlike face, gills on its neck, and fins along its limbs. Bipedal, humanoid, and unmistakably monstrous.
He gasped, “Is that a Sahuagin?!”
He’d only seen monsters like this in games and manga—but this one was real. No doubt about it. The creature’s throaty screech practically came with a mental subtitle reading ‘Sahuagin!’—a moment worthy of comedic tsukkomi, if it weren’t for the very real danger.
He tried awkwardly, “Ah… um, how are you doing?”
The creature barked back, “Sahuagin!!”
No room for diplomacy here. The Sahuagin gripped a wicked-looking spear.
It definitely wasn’t here to chat.
He yelped, “A-ahaha… well then, guess I’ll be going now!!” He hurled the rusty axe he’d picked up back in that creepy hamlet straight at the monster—and bolted.
Thunk!
The axe hit dead center.
”Sahuagin!!!”
But instead of collapsing, the Sahuagin staggered, cracks forming along its scales—but it kept coming.
He shouted, “No way!! I hit it dead-on! This guy’s way too tough!!!” breath ragged.
The creature, now in full You dare attack me? I’m gonna kill you mode, chased after him with murderous fury.
He begged desperately, “I’m sorry!!! Please spare me!!”
He pleaded for his life while sprinting full-speed—but the Sahuagin wasn’t having any of it.
”Sahuagin!!!” it screeched again.
No forgiveness in those cold fish eyes.
Luckily, it was slow. Slower than him, at least.
But if it caught him?
Game over.
After what felt like hours—but was really just three adrenaline-fueled minutes—stone walls finally loomed into view. A castle gate.
He screamed, “HELP ME!!! PLEASE HELP ME!!!!” waving frantically as he tore toward the guards.
One of the guards blinked at the sight, momentarily stunned.
Then, cool as ice, he barked, “What’s this?! Someone brought a monster! It’s a Sahuagin! Bowguard! Ready! Fire!!”
The archers atop the wall didn’t hesitate.
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
A volley of arrows soared overhead, whistling past with terrifying precision.
Thud! Thud! Thunk!
The Sahuagin stumbled, impaled multiple times, and collapsed to the ground without a single death cry.
He collapsed too—just… the other way.
”Hahh… huff… haah… that was seriously close…” he wheezed, falling onto his backside, legs jelly.
”Anyway… I should just go inside now…” he muttered, dragging himself toward the gate.
”Thank you… you saved me,” he said, turning to the guard with a grateful smile.
The guard scowled.
”So, you want to enter the town?” he asked, voice flat.
”Yes,” came the cautious reply.
His eyes narrowed.
”You’ve got an unfamiliar face. Where are you from?” he asked, suspicion thick in his voice.
Uh-oh. He was wary.
Lying would probably backfire. But telling the truth wasn’t an option either.
”I’m… sorry. I came from far away. I… don’t even know the name of my village,” he said hesitantly.
The guard tilted his head.
Then raised his spear.
”You’re suspicious as hell!! Came from far away? Don’t know your own village name? Don’t give me that nonsense!! There’s no one like that around here! You’re under arrest!!”
”Wha—?! Wait!! Hey!!” he shouted, stumbling back.
No good. He messed up. That was the best excuse he had.
Before he could explain anything else—
CRACK!
Pain exploded across his head.
And everything went black.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply