It has been a week since The Incident in The Selection Ceremony. I immediately headed back to the county to seek help from my family, but my family...who seemed to have heard of the news before I could ask for help, has decided to banish me.
'This is for the best.'
They said....
I was thrown out of the county as I was stripped off everything, they said that it is better than killing me. Apparently, being a part of their family somewhat saved me and they even helped me escape out of the Empire. So I have to be thankful still....
As for the Academy, I cannot go back there now, since everyone in the Empire had already known about me. After everything that I did, after working so hard....I only found myself crumbling.
I also heard that The Guy, Lucas was the one chosen by Arcanus. Lucky for him. Come to think of it, he always challenged me to a spar before and I always beat him. He is inferior to me, so I did not throw him any glances nor even look at him as someone of my level. Haha...I guess I was being punished for being arrogant? That might be so.
Look at that commoner guy, he is now someone with the Baron title...whereas for me? I am stuck here, surviving in the woods with only nothing but a stick I found while I was wandering out here. I lived off by rabbits or frogs. Unfortunately, I had no equipments for me to use to hunt stags or birds. Not like I can go to the town where my face has already been spread around. So for now, I only lived off hunting frogs and rabbits. I also lived by the Cave.
Oh how the great mighty Rauke has fallen, I am no longer someone mighty as before...Hahahaha.
"Sucks to be me huh, Geoffrey?"
I turned to smile at my only friend in this place....The stick I found. It is currently raining outside, so I am staying here in the Cave as a shelter. Fortunately for me, this cave is not being inhabited by a hostile mob or not to my knowledge.
Staring outside, waiting for the rain to stop, I took something out of my robe, I found the rabbit meat that I just caught the other day and stored, slowly turning rotten. Flies infested it as maggots from who knows where was eating it up. Yeah this is useless too.
Gritting my teeth, I threw the rotten piece of meat away as I entered deep into the cave.
'Sulking around is pointless...for now, I need to survive. I am no longer the third son of Count Enidryll. I am just a rat running from the Empire'
Holding Geoffrey in a firm grip like a sword, I stared straight into the darkness of the cave as I listened to the sounds coming from there. Last night, when I was taking a refuge outside, I heard bats screeching in this place. I mean bats are always in caves, but I heard a lot of them here. I have nothing to eat because of the rain so...I will eat the ones here.
As I was listening to the sounds, I heard the faint screeches of the bats in the cave, the sound of the heavy rain behind me and....a snore? Did I just hear a snore? It doesn't sound like the snore of a human.....or any sentient races.
Exploring deep and feeling the cold air enter my skin, I gritted my teeth to not shiver as I sharpened my vision to get a good look on the surrounding. The light from the outside could still reach here, so I can see clearly too....then as I explored slightly deeper. I saw a fat humanoid creature lying down. It was snoring. Because of the darkness, I cannot see its appearance clearly but only its silhoutte.
Then when I walked closer, as if it heard something, it woke up and slowly rose. It faced me as the small light from the outside poured down on its face.
It was a monster with a pighead and slightly protruding fangs from below its mouth.
It seems like some type of orc?
In any case, seeing the hostile expression of the mob, I could not help but tense up as I keep up my guard. The mob then held its club firmly as it rushed forward towards me.
It was slower than me so I was able to dodge its hack using the club on time, just by shifting to the side and letting the club flow past me. But despite its slow movement, the club that hit the ground after missing me, shattered the ground as I lost my footing because of the tremble that the strike had created. Well, it seems like it has the strength to make up for its speed.
Stumbling, I fell on my rear as I saw the pighead let out a huff and swiftly tried to deliver a second strike towards me with its club...but again, I was much faster, even though I lost my footing...I was faster.
With a quick movement, I ducked my head as I moved forward to dodge the strike to my face and then held Geoffrey on a firm grip. Veins bulged out of my hand as I soon then brandished Geoffrey and delivered a strike to the pighead's underarm. Geoffrey is not sharp, but my strength is powerful enough to deliver lethal blows.
Or so I thought....
The thick shoulder muscles of the monster was able to stop the strike that I delivered as it just scoffed at me. Then without any hesitation, The pighead, as if it was toying with me....it delivered an elbow strike right to my face, and my face, who kissed that elbow....was shattered as I feel blood coming out of my nose.
I feel my consciousness slipping out from that monstrous strength but I recomposed myself. My face was feeling numb because of the pain, I cannot even make out an expression because once I move a facial muscle, it feels like something was prickling me. Fuck, this hurts more than Sir Jamie's strikes....or was he going easy on me?
This fucker.
Somehow, I feel rage boiling inside me as the pighead delivered a punch on my gut....which made me vomit blood.
Fuck, it hurts. Fuck this. This isn't what I learned.....Fuck fuck fuck....
The Pighead just sneered at me as it tried to deliver another strike, but I did not let it happen.
I tackled the pighead as I pinned it down to the ground, gripping its throat with both of my hands. The pighead tried to stop me from strangling it with its strength, and it was working. Its grip on my arms were powerful, I was a loser in a contest of strength....so I decided to do what must be done.
I shook its grip on my arm as I delivered a punch on its face, the punch was filled with rage as it quickly made the pighead bleed shriek in pain the moment my fist made a contact with its face. Its struggle was still there, It is almost breaking my other arm from its grip, so I decided to deliver another swift punch towards its eye. It once again shrieked in pain..
"GRAAAGHHHH FUCK YOU"
I yelled out as I gripped its portruding fang and tore it off its mouth, making it move around to struggle further...I hate to admit it, but I am indeed weak compared to this monster. My febble strength alone cannot defeat it....I cannot even tear off its fang myself....so I shook its head off, I tightened my grip on its neck and pressed on its carotid artery, if it even has one....making it weak and slightly feel concussion from the constant shaking of its head.
After the constant shaking, I could finally feel its fang slowly coming off and the gorey feeling of tearing a mouth off was there....The fang was torn off, and so as its mouth. Then not giving the pig a chance to recover from its cry of pain....I drove its sharp fang to its temple and stabbed it continuously.
And finally killing it.
After feeling its grip on my other arm loosen, I felt it die in my hands as I let out heavy breaths and....groaned with a smile.
"I survived...I fucking survived...."
This will be my dinner for tonight. I lived to see another day.