Silence.
I lost track of time.
Then I opened my eyes.
I tried to sit up… but a sharp pain exploded in my thigh. I gasped, as if someone had just stabbed me. Then I remembered.
I was the one who stabbed myself.
My hands trembled. I placed my hand over the wound… the bleeding had lessened, but it was still there. I didn't dare look too long. I didn't want to face the fact that I had hurt myself this badly—just because I was afraid.
I looked around. I was inside the wagon. The workers were scattered about, some watching through the rear opening, others whispering softly to one another.
I saw the employer standing, shouting:
"Don't drop your guard! We don't know what might happen!"
I followed their gaze… and there it was—the monster.
Dead.
Its corpse lay near the trees. Disgusting. Its body was mangled, covered in blood—most of it likely its own. I didn't see anyone else injured but me.
But its head… I couldn't describe it properly. Just something you never want to see—not even in your worst nightmares.
I was silently shocked.
Did it die from a single strike?
Was it the employer who did that?!
How strong is he… to make such a creature look like a slaughtered sheep?
Then his voice broke through my thoughts:
"Now that the monster is dead, there's something you should all know: monsters aren't weak. What you saw here… was one of the weakest kinds."
I froze.
One of the weakest?!
That thing… the one that made me stab myself out of sheer terror?
The one that filled my body with a fear I still can't explain?
That was the weakest?!
I looked at it again—but this time with different eyes.
Eyes clouded. Confused.
What do strong monsters even look like?
How can anyone face them?
How can I… someone who broke down before the monster even arrived… survive in this world?
I felt pity.
No… more than pity. Self-disgust.
Everyone else held it together.
Even Luxian, the one always making sarcastic remarks, stood there smiling.
The quiet kid—Knox—showed no tension.
And me? I crumbled from the inside before anything even happened.
I heard footsteps approaching.
"Oh, the hero is awake," Luxian said mockingly.
I didn't answer. I didn't even look at him.
He came closer, glanced at my thigh, then let out a soft whistle.
"You really stabbed yourself? Man… you've got a unique fighting style."
He walked off laughing, but his voice kept echoing in my head like an annoying buzz.
Knox approached. He didn't say much. He looked at the monster, then at the employer, and quietly asked:
"Do you expect more to appear?"
The employer replied in a low but firm voice:
"I don't know… but we won't wait to find out. We'll rest a bit. But remember… this is only the beginning."
A heavy silence settled over us.
The workers started getting ready—some cleaning their weapons, others whispering to one another.
As for me, I stood up with difficulty. My thigh still hurt, and my insides were screaming.
But I said nothing.
I just stood there… watching them… feeling like I didn't belong in the scene.
Like I was the only one who still hadn't grasped what this world truly meant.
I was thinking about so many things…
My fear… my weakness… the truth that I'm not like any of them…
But I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself.
I told myself:
"It's okay… everything will be alright."
But that calm didn't last long.
The employer shouted loudly:
"Now that you've rested, we need to go deeper into this forest. Because that monster is only worth a few hundred dollars… and that's not enough to pay your wages."
I froze.
I was scared… I mean, isn't it normal to be scared?
I'm just an ordinary human. Nothing special. No superpowers. No combat skills.
And that monster… was one of the weakest?
If we go deeper… who knows what we'll face?
What kind of monsters are waiting for us?
But…
I have no choice.
The decision isn't mine.
I can't run away now—not after all this.
How much shame would I feel if I backed out now?
All I hope for…
Is that nothing like that happens again.