Hold your Soul

Swifthill

"Hup!" Takai huffed as he carried his stuff up a hill. He's been adventuring for a month now. He had a few scars already, but he didn't care.

"Alright, break time." He said to himself, taking a seat by a tree at the top of the hill he was climbing. He was taking a few heavy breaths. The hill he had climbed was quite big, but it was nothing compared to an actual mountain. Takai caught his breath as he stared up through the leaves above him. The sun barely got through them. He sighed.

"I guess I can have some food before I start going again." He decided. He opened his bag and reached in to pull out a small packaged food. As he did, he looked into his bag again.

"The last one?" He asked himself. He sighed, then pulled out a map. He started eating a small steak and some fruit he found. He looked at the map and tried to find the nearest town or city.

"Here... alright. That way... I think." He said to himself. He got up and packed his stuff. A month of traveling. He wasn't very skilled with the katana he had yet. He practiced a few times with it. It couldn't be that hard, or so he thought. However, the strongest thing he's fought as of now were slimes. He made his way down the hill with his bag now on his back...

"Can't be far now." Takai said to himself. He wiped his brow of sweat as he walked through the thin forest. The katana on his hip bobbed up and down with each step. Suddenly, he heard a bush move. He turned to look for the movement. He didn't say anything, then began walking again. More movement. He instantly dropped his bag and placed a hand on his blade's hilt.

He still didn't say anything. There was no movement or any more sound. Takai kept one hand on his blade, then reached for his bag. His heart was pounding. He grabbed his bag, then broke into a full sprint. That's when he heard more movement, then steps. He looked back to see two figures following close behind. He turned back to see the opening of the forest. He picked up his speed, however he wasn't losing the figures. He threw his bag forward, out of the forest, as he stopped and turned. His feet slid along the ground as he pulled out his katana. That's when he could see the figures. They were green with tan rags on them. Goblins.

He swung his blade forward as one of the goblins pulled out two curved knives. It clashed against his katana. That's when the other goblin went to stab him. However, he jumped backwards and dodged the attack. He was freaking out, being in a situation of life or death. He never did this before. Takai played defensive, blocking and dodging until he found an opening, which didn't take long.

He blocked one of the goblin's knives, then pushed it back. It hit the ground as the other one charged him. He sidestepped and swung his blade, slicing him across the chest. He then turned to the other goblin on the ground and stabbed the blade into its stomach. He pulled the blade away and took a few heavy breaths. He watched as blood dripped from the tip of his katana. Then he smiled and started laughing. This was new to him.

"I... I did it... haha!" He laughed to himself. An experience so close to death. It was something that got his adrenaline rushing. His once normal and boring yet happy life turned into a thrill. He laughed some more before stopping at the sound of his bag. He turned his head to see a kid digging through it. The black haired kid stopped then turned his way. The two made eye contact and stared at each other. There was a moment of silence.

"Hey—" Takai was saying before the kid grabbed his bag and ran.

"What!? H-Hey! Get back here!" He shouted, running after him. As he exited the forest, he squinted his eyes from the exposure from the sun. As his eyes got used to it, he saw that there was a large mountain nearby. They weren't near it, but the base of the mountain was still close enough to get to within a day. He turned back to the kid, who he was catching up on. The kid looked to be around twelve with his short figure attempting to get away from Takai. He didn't get far. Takai pulled his bag away.