Chapitre 24: Finger Digits

The axe man was sent flying backward, not expecting the little boy to be a mage. Archer continued the rhyme as he slaughtered more bandits. That's when he spotted a bandit archer aiming his bow at one of the caravan guards.

''When she sleeps, she can't be woken.

She loves it when you leave the window open.

She hides like a spider but bites like a mouse.''

He Blinked behind the bandit, thrusting his blade into his spine. Looking around, he saw another bandit and ran over to slice his calves. The man dropped to the ground, and Archer plunged his sword into the man's throat.

''She's already been inside your house.

And when she's alone, to lift her spirits.

She finger paints with children's digits.''

He finished the rhyme as he shot an Eldritch Blast into another bandit's back, searing right through his body. Archer stopped to collect his thoughts for a second and examined the situation but fated a cruel bitch.

At that moment, Archer got hit with a Wind Blast and was sent flying through the air, waving his arms around like a baby bird taking its first flight. He smashed into a tree and fell to the floor with a thud. He looked up to see a tall, muscular man holding his hand up with a smile.

That's when Archer thought to himself. 'A mage!'

It hurt, but his regeneration kicked in and started to heal him. He slowly got up as the mage walked towards him with a grin.

But that's when a giant flame slammed into the man, burning him to ashes. The fighting died down quickly once the mage was taken out. That's when the caravan guards started looting the bandits.

Archer got up and went to loot the three bandits he killed. Approaching the first body, he started to search through their pockets. He discovered 13 silver coins and some random papers written in a language he couldn't read.

He stashed them in his box before continuing his search; he uncovered 3 gold coins, 100 silver coins, 23 copper coins, and an extra heart. Satisfied with his findings, he stored them all and turned his attention to the blood-stained road, scanning the area for any additional clues or items of interest.

Archer looted the three hearts and stored them before anyone could notice. Rowana walked over with a panicked look on her face. The woman started to check his body like a worried mother. She asked in a worried voice. ''Are you okay? You took that Wind Blast directly and only have a few wounds.''

He stared at the woman fussing over him and didn't dislike it. Archer only experienced this type of care on earth. ''Yeah, I'm fine. It hurts a little, but I'll return to normal in an hour or two.''

She sighed after hearing his response and started talking. ''I told you it was getting dangerous. Bandits have infested the empire, and the merchant companies have started hiring loads of adventurers to guard their cargo, but the attacks are increasing either way.''

Archer tucked away the information for future use. The thought of encountering more bandits excited him, anticipating the potential for even more gold and loot.

He changed his ripped shirt and started eating some elvish cake. The witch was looking at him and thought to herself. 'How can a child eat at this time, especially after he brutally killed those men.'

Archer offered to share some of the cake with her, but she declined with a shake of her head.

"Your loss, it's really tasty," he remarked.

Undeterred, he wandered off, settling on a log off the road. From there, he observed everyone doing business as he ate the hearts.

***

[Ella's P.O.V]

Just after kissing Archer, she hurriedly ran back into her room. With bright red cheeks, she jumped into bed, a flurry of emotions evident in her hurried retreat.

Ella saw herself in the mirror across from the bed and noticed her ears were also red. She couldn't believe she kissed him.

The thing that shocked her the most was that he reciprocated her kiss. She was sitting on her bed playing with the gem hanging from the necklace and loved it.

That's when the door opened, and her mother, Shiera, walked into the room and looked at her.

She noticed Ella's ears were red and was playing with something in her hands. ''What have you got there?''

Ella jumped as she did not expect her mother to enter the room. She calmed down and looked at her mother. ''A gift, Mama.''

Sheira's head tilted to the side, and she wondered where her daughter got it from; that's when she remembered the white-haired boy her daughter served. ''You've met him?''

She nodded her head and answered. ''He came here to visit me and gave me this necklace.''

Ella presented the sea stone, and her mother's eyes widened in surprise. "A sea stone, how did he get it?"

Recalling Archer's earlier story, Ella spoke. "He bought two of them for two gold each!"

The older woman was perplexed and questioned, "Where did he get the coins for that? He got kicked out nearly a month ago and now has gold coins."

But the half-elf explained. "Mother, he is an adventurer and has completed two quests."

She was on the verge of sharing the news about the kiss, but her face and ears turned bright red, her brain seemingly short-circuiting at the thought.

Observing her daughter's reaction, her mother recognized that something significant had occurred between the two youngsters.

Sitting beside the girl on her bed, she asked, "What's happened?"

Ella grew even more nervous, unsure what to say, and remained silent. Noticing her daughter's hesitation, her mother asked, "Did he kiss you?"

She quickly shook her head, which made Sheira worried. ''Did he touch you?''

Nodding her head made Sheira's stomach drop. Her temper took over, and she raised her voice. ''What did the boy do, Ella!!''

The half-elf was startled at the tone in her voice, but she quickly realized what she said.

Ella remained quiet because she didn't want to tell Sheira she kissed the boy. Her mother took her silence as the answer and quickly stood up and barked out.

''I'm going to see the duke to see if he can punish that disgusting brat for touching my daughter!''

When Ella heard what she said, she panicked and jumped out of bed before telling her what happened. ''No, Mama, don't do that. You got it wrong!''

She approached with her head down and told her. ''He only returned the kiss when I kissed him first.''

Her mother let out a deep, relieved breath before speaking. ''Why not say that, young lady? I was going to complain to the Duke!''

Looking down in shame before whispering what happened. ''Sorry, I was just embarrassed.''

Sheira brought Ella over to the bed and hugged her. ''You have nothing to be embarrassed about, darling.''

That's when a warm smile appeared on her face. ''You two have always been adorable together; I'm glad it happened.''

Ella heard her mother speak and looked up to see her with a happy smile as her mother continued speaking.

''Did you think I'd be angry with you? You've liked the boy for years now, and by the way, he looks at you and likes you.''

When she heard her mother say that, her face, neck, and ears turned red like a tomato.

Sheira smiled and was happy when she saw her daughter act like this. ''Just take things slow between the two of you, and leave this place when the times up and join him, my darling.''

Ella smiled and nodded before her mother wished her goodnight before leaving her room.

***

[Back to Archer]

The caravan guards didn't take long to loot everything, and Rowana joined him on the log. An old portly man with two children came walking up to the two and thanked them. ''Miss Rowana and your little friend there, thanks for your help.''

Archer nodded while the witch spoke. ''That's okay, Mr. West. It's why you hired us, and this little guy's name is Archer.''

The older man smiled, nodded, bid farewell, and walked away as the little girl stared at Archer. That's when he noticed her looking at him and waved at her. When he did that, she turned her head back around.

Archer started laughing when he saw her look away after greeting her, but the boy beside her gave him the stink eyes. So he just stuck his tongue out to the boy as he pulled out a meat wrap and started eating again once he finished the eight hearts he ate when no one was looking.

Rowana saw all this and shook her head when he pulled out some meat wrapped in a leaf. She wondered where he got it from. ''Archer, where did you get that food from?''

L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS
NegansPalace

Leave some comments, power stones, and gifts. It all helps support the book. Artwork in the comments or discord

https://discord.gg/rkyQyz85DJ

Editor: Ayce-o-Spade.

[Check out my other novels, The Runner's Odyssey and Darkness - A Tale Of The Lost One's Journey]

commentaire Commentaire 6

Voter

ENVOYER LE CADEAU

Chapitre 25: The Camp

''My storage skill.''

After answering, he went back to eating. Just as he finished, they noticed the caravan started to move. They both made their way over, walking along the dirt road. The summer breeze gently brushed Archer's face as he took the opportunity to check his status.

[Experience: 1300/3000]

[Level Up: 25>26]

[SP: 6>12]

[Eldritch Blast: 1>2]

[Cosmic Sword: 1>2]

Archer was happy that he leveled up two of his spells and gained a new level. The caravan moved along the road for a few more hours before seeing a village in the distance. Not long after, they arrived.

Rowana, Ephrain, and Ludo bid farewell to Archer as the caravan passed through without stopping. She quickly approached him and hugged him so hard that he was getting suffocated between her two mountains, managing not to poke her with his horns.

''Look after yourself. We will see each other when I've completed this quest. Be careful while you're traveling,'' the blonde woman said.

She rejoined the caravan just before it passed through the southern gate. After that, Archer set off to find the village chief. Surveying the area, he identified the most prominent house. Making his way towards it, he reached the door and knocked to announce his presence.

After a few minutes, a young man in his early twenties answered the door with a cocky look on his face. ''What do you want, boy?''

Archer knew where this was going. 'He's the young master type.'

Before the young man could say anything, Archer stared into his eyes and spoke. ''Fuck this and fuck you. Tell the Chief I'm here to clear out the goblins.''

Not giving the man a chance to speak, Archer went to look for any villagers roaming around. After searching for a while, he found a woman outside a house hanging up clothes. He approached and greeted her with a smile.

''Hello, miss. Do you know where the goblins have been seen?'' She turned around and looked at him.

Her eyes widened as she had never seen anyone who looked like him; she could tell he wasn't human but couldn't figure out what he was. She nodded and answered him. ''Yes, leave through the west gate and head towards the ruined farm. They were seen there yesterday.''

Archer thanked her and headed to the western gate. He walked for an hour and arrived at the ruined farm the woman spoke about. After looking around for a while, he couldn't find anything, so he searched the forest.

When he entered the forest, the afternoon sunlight got blocked out, but it didn't affect him because of his dragon senses. As he strolled by a peculiar-looking tree, he was ambushed by a gang of mischievous monkey-like creatures.

These pesky troublemakers from the treetops continued their assault, hurling things at Archer. Despite his impressive dodging skills, a particularly cunning monkey seized the opportunity to get up close and personal, launching a surprise attack.

Wham! It smacked him straight in the face, forcing Archer to come to a sudden halt and deal with whatever bizarre object they had thrown at him. Fueled by anger, Archer chased down the mischievous beasts, ranting and raving.

Archer caught two of them and proceeded to butcher them right in front of the other ones. His brutal retaliation sent the remaining monkeys into a wild panic. Witnessing him tear apart their kin.

He cast Cosmic Sword and chased the things down, slaying them one by one as he stored them in his Item Box. After killing four more, he stopped chasing them and returned to his goblin search.

A few hours later, he came across a clue: loads of little footprints heading further into the forest. An intense desire surged through Archer. As he followed their tracks, he entertained the idea of slaughtering everything in his path.

The thought of tearing the goblins apart and consuming their hearts overtook him. Archer felt a growing madness, fueled by the anticipation of the experience points he could gain.

The taste of victory threatened to overwhelm him. Looking up and finding the perfect branch, he climbed higher to get a better view.

What he saw shocked him. It was a big goblin camp. Hundreds of them were walking around, and that's when he felt his heartbeat getting quicker. Archer was losing his mind thinking about all the hearts he could eat and how much experience he would gain.

Using the Cosmic Sword's power, Archer plunged the blade into the first goblin's chest with a double cast. Swiftly casting Blink, he materialized near the nearest adversary, smoothly extracting the blade from the fallen foe.

As Archer rushed forward, he began to rhyme, the rhythm of his incantation matching the fluidity of his movements.

''Goosey, goosey, gander.

Where shall I wander.''

He ran toward another goblin, slicing its throat, and then he shot four Fire Missiles at two groups of goblins who were running toward him. Archer went back to rhyming as he butchered every goblin he came across.

''Upstairs, downstairs.

And in my lady's chamber.''

Blood was flying everywhere as he slashed and stabbed everything he got close to. The goblins were clueless and didn't know how to react. They were panicked as all they could see were white and black streaks, and more fell to the floor.

Archer cast Blink to get around the camp, not letting any goblins catch him.

''There I met an old man.

Would not say his prayers.''

Archer was out of breath, so he started using magic. He cast a lot of Void Blasts, Plasma Shots and Fire Missiles while he finished his rhyme with a big smile.

''Take him by the left leg.

Throw him down the stairs.''

Archer smiled as he looked around at the carnage he had caused. A little under a hundred goblin bodies lay motionless. He thought to himself with a chuckle, 'Loads of hearts.'

His senses screamed out to him to block quickly, so he did just that and was sent flying as a massive great sword swiped at him. Archer landed gracefully on his feet and looked up. His gaze met a formidable opponent — a large goblin.

Unlike the skinny ones, this goblin boasted formidable muscles and wielded a decent weapon. Smiling as he prepared, he charged forward as the big goblin swung its sword again, but Archer cast a Plasma Shot at the blade, directly hitting it and causing it to change course.

When he dodged the swing, he sliced its wrists, making it scream out in pain. He kept firing Plasma Shots and Fire Missiles at it, getting another dangerous feeling he was used to. Reacting swiftly, Archer cast Cosmic Shield, and just in time.

The shield deflected a sudden axe strike from behind. Without missing a beat, he turned around and stabbed the goblin before effortlessly flinging the lifeless body aside.

Archer shifted his attention to the big, half-burnt adversary. As he witnessed the goblin's miserable state, a sinister smile played on his lips, and he launched another attack without hesitation.

Speeding forward, he fired a Plasma Blast at the goblin. It blocked the attack, but Archer slashed its leg, bringing it to the ground. With a swift spin, Archer leaped towards the goblin's back, driving both swords into the base of its neck.

As the large foe crumbled, Archer, ever vigilant, noticed the surviving goblins attempting to flee. Chasing after them with the fervor of a police dog, he resembled a relentless hound on a hunt, swiftly dispatching numerous goblins in his path.

Archer stopped because he was out of breath. He dismissed his swords and slowly walked back. Upon reaching the camp, he diligently collected all the goblin hearts, bodies, and loot scattered across the scene.

Hours of thorough looting passed, and when he finally looked up, he realized that night had fallen. Collecting the aftermath of his battle, Archer amassed one hundred forty-seven goblin corpses, one hundred fifty-six hearts, two hundred gold coins, two hundred silver, and one thousand and twenty-three copper.

Exploring further, he stumbled upon human and demi-human corpses within one of the ramshackle huts, indicating a recent ambush on a caravan or adventurer's party. Driven by the desire for experience, Archer started consuming the goblin hearts.

Once he finished the grisly feast, he planned to check his status. After gathering everything he wanted, he left the camp, not before casting Fire Missiles at all the shacks and burning them to the ground.

Archer strolled away, searching for a tree to rest in. For some inexplicable reason, he had become quite comfortable sleeping in them. Before long, he found a tall, sturdy tree that seemed perfect for a night's repose.

Climbing it, he took out his water skin and drank. He watched the stars in the sky as he ate. Before long, he felt sick and stopped after eating thirty hearts. Archer laid down and fell asleep, hoping he didn't have any more nightmares.

The following day, he opened his eyes to see a bird-looking creature before him. When the beast saw him looking, it quickly flew. Archer rose, scratching his head as he surveyed his surroundings. It took a moment for him to recall that he had fallen asleep just outside the goblin's camp.