A Tight Predicament

"W-what the hell is that?"

In a small cramped burrow beneath a dead hollow tree, Thomas whispered under his breath. Out of instinct, he had used his [Quick Concealment] spell to hide Sofie and him from the monstrosity they faced. And now that they were in a relatively safe distance, he managed to get a good look at it.

Rabid Jackals are known for their large dog-like appearance. They were highly territorial, and are equally as aggressive. This monster clearly fits none of those descriptions. It looked more like a rodent with its large frontmost incisor teeth and long tail, but one whose size is larger than Thomas even when it was on all fours. The most distinctive quality, however, is its pitch-black color, the thin spikes on the tip of its tail, and its two additional eyes. From a short distance, he watched as it tries to sniff out their location.

Thomas waited patiently for an opportunity, clutching his dagger tightly in preparation for the worst-case scenario. Meanwhile, his mind desperately searched for solutions as he considers his options. The concealment potion he had left is just enough for one person, but it's not perfect. The best thing the potion does is mask someone's scent and shield them from low-level detection spells, but that won't work if the creature can actively see them trying to sneak away. Though his [Quick Concealment] spell will be able to give him that invisibility, it could only do so for a very short amount of time.

"Umm, I'm not sure if I'm in any position to complain, but couldn't we have hidden in a more spacious place?"

The girl breathing down his neck didn't help much either.

The claustrophobic space they found themselves in did not come with a fair share of comfort whatsoever. Occasionally, it creaked as its bare trunk gets hit by a strong gust, barely keeping itself from toppling over. It was barely spacious enough to hold two people, resulting in them being squeezed in a rather uncomfortable manner. Sofie sat opposite Thomas, hugging her knees while giving him a pout.

Thomas turned to cover her mouth with his hand and quietly scolded: "Shh! I don't know if you have a death wish or anything, but frankly, I really don't want to die today,"

"I-I don't either!" Sofie, taking his hand away also whispered. "That monster outside looks pretty strong, but I think I can he-"

"No, NO! I'm not letting you kill both of us. You've been way too much trouble as is,"

"But-"

"Just shut it! This isn't what I signed up for. NONE of this wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for you!"

Despite it being a whisper, Thomas' words seemed to echo on the hollow tree. His anger overwhelmed him, and before he knew it he had lashed out on the girl.

Sofie was taken aback for a moment, before reclining back with a saddened expression, burying her face in her arms.

"I'm sorry..." she said without looking up at Thomas. "You're right, I'm a screwup. I always make things worse for everyone else. I'll be quiet from now on,"

Unlike earlier, she just fell silent in her place. Shedding not a single tear, but was undoubtedly depressed.

Thomas watched her, then couldn't help but feel a little guilty. He didn't mean to upset her that much, it was just his frustration getting the best of him. He knew she wasn't completely to blame. After all, it was he who carelessly put the "trap" she got stuck in, and there was absolutely no way anyone could've expected encountering a monster like the one now.

The situation he found himself in is not what he can escape alone. It didn't matter who started it, what was more important is to find a way for both of them to make it out.

He leaned back on the damp wood and took a deep breath. It was uncharacteristic of him to panic at a time like this. Back in his old life, he faced far worse monsters, though all of them were human. Still, this is nothing like the high-security bank and jewel heists he managed to come out on top of. He just needed to calm down and think of the best solution.

"You are a handful, that much I know," Thomas sighed. "But look, I'm sorry for what I said. I'm not used to working with other people, so this situation is fairly new to me,"

Apart from healing potions, the remaining concealment potion, some random junk he collected in the past, and his camouflage cloak, there wasn't much else he had packed. He rarely relied on magic on his quests, so in turn, his affinity to it was not that great. After casting three spells earlier, he can only use two more before he is completely drained of magic and in need of a long rest. Reaching into his pockets, he found four flashberries. Thankfully, they hadn't detonated yet.

"Sofie, what were you gonna say earlier?" he asked Sofie.

There was no response.

"Hey, are you hung up about what I said? I didn't mean it. I was just mad that-" he peeked from underneath her arms to look at her.

With a face completely devoid of emotion, Sofie had a small knife aimed at her neck.

"Woah there missy," Thomas, breaking into a cold sweat, gently took the knife away from her stiff hands. "How about we dial it down a bit,"

"You're right," she mumbled. "Everything you said was right. I'm a complete failure. I only had one opportunity to be of use to my empire, and I completely messed it up today. If you'd like, you can make me bait so you can escape. Perhaps then I can at least pass away having done something,"

"Don't say that. It was partly my fault too. I just got carried away earlier. I'm an Adventurer, it's my job to keep people like you safe during these situations,"

Thomas was no therapist, but he tried his best to console her.

"Also, you said something about an Empire? No wait, that's not important right now. You were gonna say something else earlier weren't you?"

"Ah, that's right," she answered with a fake smile. "I have a little bit of rope from earlier that I found dangling in my skirt, perhaps it will be of use. Also, I can use [Sleep] magic,"

"[Sleep] magic? That's good!"

"Please don't expect much. I need a bit of cast time and I can only use it on a target that is already down. I can't instantly put creatures to sleep that are highly active and mobile,"

In other words, they needed some way to immobilize the monster first.

Thomas looked at the creature again to try and find any weaknesses, and soon enough he came to an assumption.

"You don't suppose this thing is nocturnal, do you?" he asked.

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, it's just a hunch. No matter where you look at it, this thing is just an oversized rat,"

"I suppose, but I don't recall there being ones this size,"

"Maybe not," Thomas held out a single flashberry in his hand. "Remember this?"

"Ugh, please keep that away from me. My eyes are already itching at the sight of it,"

"Rats are generally known to be nocturnal animals, so they can match their would-be predator in the darkness. If this thing is what I think it is, then this flashberry here would test that out,"

Thomas takes a long piece of loose string that was dangling off his clothes and attached it to the flashberry. At the end of the string, he held out his left pointing finger.

"[Ignite],"

Elementary magic, but handy nonetheless. A tiny flame emerged from the space on the tip of his finger, causing the string to catch fire. As it burns, he poked his arm out from the tree and took aim at the monster.

"Sofie, you might wanna close your eyes," he suggested before throwing the flashberry at the monster's direction.

The berry caught the monster's attention, who then approached it where it landed. After a brief delay, the flashberry caught fire and detonated with a blinding light, followed by a loud bang. The monster stumbled back, screeching while it scratched its eyes. Its tail swung wildly, nearly felling a tree it hit.

"That confirms it," Thomas said. "Rats, and many nocturnal animals, are sensitive to bright light. This could be our escape tool,"

[Ignite] was a basic spell. It consumes a minuscule amount of magic, so he could cast it as many times as he can. And lucky for them, there's a bunch of it not so far away.

"Sofie, I have a plan. And I'm gonna need that sleep spell of yours," he smiled.

...

The time was 4 in the afternoon. In a couple of hours, the sun would set, taking what little protection the sunlight has given to the two misfits. If they wanted to escape the beast that haunted the peaceful forest, their only chance is now.

"Oi, freakshow,"

As if to provoke the monster, Thomas stood menacingly in front of the hollow tree. He held his dagger nonchalantly with a mocking grin in his face. The rope that Sofie had given him was tied to the dagger's hilt.

"You good with the plan right?"

"Yes, I won't let you down!"

Wearing the camouflage cloak behind him, Sofie curled her fingers into a fist in determination.

"That's what I like to hear,"

In response to his taunt, the monster let out a loud hiss before dashing towards Thomas. It's mouth foaming with some form of dark liquid. Its movements were swift and savage, crushing branches it came across as if they were twigs.

Thomas waited patiently with his left hand in his pocket with a drop of sweat dripped from his forehead. And finally, when the monster got to just a couple of meters away, he took out a flashberry and closed his eyes as tight as he could.

"[Ignite]!"

With a flash of light, the fruit exploded in his fingertips, stopping the monster on its track.

Thomas opened his eyes just in time to avoid a whip of its tail as it screeched desperately in place. On its second swing, it stuck the hollow tree, splitting it along the base of its trunk. As soon as the tree began to tilt forward, Thomas leaped into the air and threw his dagger at its bare crown.

"[Ambush]"

He whispered a spell and in a blink of an eye, he appeared behind the monster, coming dangerously close to its deadly tail. As he landed on the ground he brought the falling tree along his direction, sending it crashing down on the beast. The force of the impact was strong enough to bring it the ground but falls short in keeping it there. It struggled to get up, then glared as it saw Thomas.

One major spell. He could only cast one major spell left before he is completely out of magic.

With a scoff, he turned around and ran for the clearing, with the monster not too far behind. Though it had slowed down from the hit it took, it was rampaging with a murderous aura. When it came too close, Thomas detonated another flashberry.

He shuffled past the foliage with finesse, filled with both adrenaline and the sheer thrill. Before he knew it, the smile in his face wasn't just for show anymore. This was the excitement he was missing since his first arrival in the world of Engkt.

Soon he had reached the clearing. Sofie had popped most of the flashberries on one side of the perimeter earlier, but there were still some on the other. He grabbed hold of the loose end of the rope he had cut earlier and quickly detangled some parts of it from the nearby trees.

He only had a single flashberry remaining in his pocket, and the rest are tied on the rope. It would be no trouble igniting them without damaging the rope. His only issue is keeping its tail from just severing it. Looking around him, he found the boulder he had hidden on before he met Sofie and out of impulse struck one of its existing cracks with his dagger. The blade was temporarily caught on the crack before Thomas was able to retrieve it.

"Let's hope that troublemaker can keep her end of the deal," he whispered.

A small tree in front of him bent violently as the monster raged forward. It's savage eyes searched the surroundings until it caught sight of Thomas on the other side of the clearing. It screeched as it charged towards him, baring its vicious fangs.

[Quick Concealment]

But before it could reach him, his image faded into the surroundings, leaving neither sound nor scent behind. His sudden disappearance halted the monster as its eyes darted around in place to look for him. But in the few seconds that followed, there was only silence.

Then suddenly-

"You know, I won't get paid much for all this work. That makes me hate you more," Thomas, sounding out of breath, held the end of a piece of rope sat atop the boulder behind the monster. Sensing this, it tried to turn to face him. "Oh no, you don't,"

The monster fell to the ground. Out of nowhere, its legs had been ensnared by the rope Thomas was holding. It struggled to break free, but each time it did the remaining flashberries still attached to the rope detonated, sending it into a painful frenzy. It swung its tail wildly once more until it eventually struck the boulder, getting its spikes snagged in its many deep cracks. With its most dangerous arsenal caught, the monster was essentially immobilized; at least for now.

"Sofie now!" he shouted.

A gleam of purple light flashed from a nearby bush. Sofie, who had been patiently watching the events unfold, extended both her arms and began chanting her [Sleep] spell. A surge of magic surrounded her before shooting out a small bubble towards the monster which popped upon contact.

The monster writhed to fight the intense feeling of drowsiness. But before long, its body went limp as it fell into a deep slumber. As a test, Thomas went over to the sleeping monster's head and kicked it on its cheek.

"We're good. The spell worked perfectly," he said as he turned to Sofie. "You did good kid,"

Sofie rose from the bushes with a look of astonishment in her face, then approached the mysterious beast that lay seemingly harmless in front of them. She turned to face Thomas, who he gave her a thumbs-up as a sign of approval. Realizing what she had accomplished, Sofie lit up with glee.

"Still," Thomas said as he looked back at the monster. "What in god's name is this thing?"

He tried to study the monster's features but failed to identify it. It was nothing he had seen nor heard of. Jylle palace would certainly call for a military operation against it as soon as he files his report.

"Maybe it wouldn't hurt to get a piece from it..." his eyes seemed to sparkle at the thought.

"Piece? What do you mean?"

"How much would say, a tooth or a tail spike of an unknown monster cost?"

Sofie didn't seem to like where he was going with the thought.

"I don't think it's safe to mess with it even at its state," she voiced a suggestion, but Thomas didn't listen.

"Kali warned me about you adventurers, I didn't think this would be the only thing she was right about..." she breathed a sigh.