Chapter 3 - Musou Attack 1
I did not know how long I had been walking, but the sun was already sinking toward the horizon. The crows that had been stalking me earlier had returned to their nests, all except the little one perched stubbornly on my head.
I decided to name him Cow-Cow. Not because I was particularly fond of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but because the name was easy to remember.
We rested in the middle of a burned meadow beneath a dead tree. The charred grass looked as though it had been scorched by war or battle. My body cried out for water, yet no source could be found nearby.
Exhaustion overcame me, and I collapsed against a tree root, falling asleep almost instantly.
That night, I had a dream. I saw my own funeral back on Earth, where none of my friends bothered to attend. My parents and siblings were present, but instead of mourning, they argued over my possessions since I had never written a will.
However, a golden crow perched on my corpse. It had a small sun in its mouth, which it then fed to the body. Everybody at the funeral was burnt to a crisp.
Serve them right, I thought.
When everything subsided, a massive flame bird hovered in front of me. It gazed at the golden crow and nodded at me. The dream then ended.
I woke up in a good mood. When I lifted my head, I found Cow-Cow dozing on my stomach. My movement stirred him awake, and he opened his beak like a baby bird asking for food.
"CAAA!"
"Good morning, buddy. Were you in my dream?" I muttered.
"CAAA! DIPSHIT!"
"Okay. That's rude. You're the dipshit!"
The unpleasant reality of the world and my former anxiety vanished with his high-pitched voice.
I rose and surveyed the area. We couldn't see our surroundings clearly last night because it was too dark, but my intention now was to ascertain our location. Thus, I climbed the dead tree to gain a better vantage point.
From the sun's position, I judged that the battlefield I had escaped lay southwest. To the south stretched a line dividing the burned field from a wasteland. The west looked no different from my current location. The north and east, however, appeared fresher and greener. Most promising of all was the northeast, where a thin column of white smoke rose into the sky.
Was that civilization?
Part of me longed for human interaction, yet instinct warned me of danger. The mass grave I had seen earlier and the crude weaponry of the soldiers suggested this world's technology was stuck in a medieval stage. If I stumbled into a bandit camp, I might be robbed or enslaved. If I wandered into the wrong town, I might be arrested and executed. Even in the right town, questions about my identity would surely lead to trouble.
I sighed. Perhaps I could find some magical vase to spawn food. Or better yet, craft clay vases myself, smash them, and summon turkeys endlessly.
"Ain't I a genius?"
Maybe. But would it even work? That fantasy experiment would have to wait. For the moment, water was the top priority.
I turned to Cow-Cow, who had returned to the top of my head.
"Cow-Cow, where do you usually find water?"
"CAAA! WATER!"
"Yes, water."
"CAAA!"
He flapped his wings and darted east.
"Oh, great," I muttered. "He's fast. WAIT, COW-COW!"
I scrambled down the tree and sprinted after him. Before long, the sound of rushing water reached my ears. My legs, previously heavy, seemed to regain strength as I pushed forward.
A small stream appeared before me, its water so clear that grains of rock and tiny fish were visible beneath the surface. Dying of thirst, I plunged my face into the refreshing current. Several mouthfuls later, my fatigue was gone.
Cow-Cow landed on my head and pecked at my hair.
"Hey! What's your problem? I'm busy!"
"CAAA! BAD APE!"
"What?"
I raised my eyebrows and looked ahead.
A man in a yellow uniform and scarf approached, sneering as he carried a bamboo spear.
"Hey! Look what I've found. An Invidia scum!"
Two more men in yellow clothes emerged from the thickets, each wielding rusty knives.
They were short, barely 165 centimeters, the height of an average woman back on Earth. Their smiles revealed broken black teeth, yellow cavities, and diseased gums. Even from fifty meters away, their foul breath reached me.
I gripped the short iron spear I had been carrying, but the bamboo-spear man had already raised his weapon. He hurled it like a javelin.
GONK.
The spear struck my chest, but my leather armor absorbed the blow. The weapon clattered into the stream.
Instead of panicking, the thrower smacked his lips.
"That stupid armor!"
His companions laughed.
"You idiot! Aim for his limbs!"
"Yeah, look at his pants. Wolf-bear leather. You've got to cripple his arms first."
"I know! I'm trying!"
The thrower grumbled and drew a knife.
Meanwhile, I retrieved the bamboo spear. With fifty meters of stream between us, I had a moment to breathe and think. Still, intimidation pressed down on me. I had never PvP'ed anybody in real life before. My hands and feet grew cold, and my knees shook. Could I really fight them?
"CAAA! KILL! EAT!"
Cow-Cow's absurd encouragement snapped me out of hesitation. Surely, dying to random bandits, who served as disposable mobs, would be humiliating for a hack-and-slash gamer like me.
My mind cleared. I wound up like a javelin thrower. Heat surged through my body, and my pores exuded warmth. As I released the weapon, it glowed with iridescent light. Time itself seemed to slow while my movements grew sluggish.
Did time just stop?
The men were still sneering, oblivious to the thrown spear and the slowing time flow. The point entered the thrower's abdomen and emerged from his lower back.
Time resumed its normal flow. The man froze, staring at his belly.
"AHH!!"