Chapter 9: Failure in the Field – The Goblin Ambush
Three days of the same grind blurred together.
Dawn runs. Stance drills until my legs cramped. Sparring with padded sticks—Mira never went easy. I got knocked flat so many times my ribs felt bruised even through the tunic. Blisters turned to calluses. Calluses split and bled. I learned to wrap my hands properly after the second day.
The system ticked up slowly:
Strength +0.7 total. Endurance +1.1. Agility +0.4. Still Level 1. EXP crawling toward 20/100.
On the fourth day Mira took me outside the walls again.
"Real hunt. Three goblins spotted near the old mill. Weak. Slow. Perfect for you to test."
We moved quiet through the trees. Mira in front, me behind with the same wooden sword. My heart hammered—not from fear exactly, but from the knowledge that this time there was no safety net.
We found them: three small, green-skinned things with crude spears and jagged teeth. They were arguing over a dead rabbit, backs turned.
Mira nodded. "You take the left one. I'll handle the other two. Don't hesitate."
I crept forward. Raised the sword. Lunged.
The goblin spun at the last second. Spear jabbed. I blocked—barely—but the force knocked me off balance. I stumbled. The second swing caught my shoulder—shallow cut, but it burned like fire.
I swung wildly. Connected with its arm. It screeched. Dropped the spear.
Then the other two noticed.
Mira was already moving—sword flashing, one down in a single stroke—but the third goblin rushed me.
I panicked. Tripped over a root. Fell hard on my back. The goblin loomed, raising a rusty dagger.
Mira's blade took its head before it could strike.
Silence.
Blood on the leaves. My shoulder leaking red. Breath coming in ragged gasps.
Mira hauled me up by the collar.
"Sloppy. Panicked. You froze."
"I—I tried—"
"You failed." Her voice was flat. "But you're still breathing. That's something."
She bandaged my shoulder roughly with strips from her cloak. No coddling. No "good boy." Just:
"Walk it off. We're not done."
The trek back was humiliating. I limped. She didn't slow down.
That night in the yard, alone under the stars, I did extra laps. Pushed through the pain. Swung the wooden sword until my arms screamed.
Because next time?
Next time I wouldn't freeze.
For them.
For me.