Rebecca glances at me, beckoning me to sit by the twins near the flickering flames of the campfire. Her sharp eyes drift down to my hands, which are still covered in sticky, golden sap. Her expression twists into something between disbelief and exasperation.
"Why were you playing with sap?" she asks incredulously, her voice carrying a slight edge.
"We are making a net to trap the birds, and I thought we might need something sticky," I responded, a bit defensively. My explanation earns a brief nod of approval from her, though her eyes still linger on my hands, clearly unconvinced of my brilliance.
She brushes past it and begins recounting her earlier reconnaissance. "Twenty. Twenty birds. The flock isn't as bad as I thought. The birds are quite big, though, about the size of vultures. Thankfully, they're slow. I can outrun them. Don't think you two can, though."
Anna, the quieter twin, tilts her head back to gaze at the sky, her lips pursed in thought. It's easy to imagine the gears turning in her head, formulating one of her meticulously detailed plans. There's a lull in the conversation, the kind of silence that feels awkward and heavy. I decide that maybe it's my duty to break it, but before I can blurt out something,anything,Anna speaks.
"Alright. First things first," she says with a commanding tone, gesturing toward a massive net laid out beside her. "I made the net. It should be large enough."
I glance at the net, and to my surprise, it's enormous. The thing could easily hold all the birds with room to spare. My earlier contribution suddenly feels embarrassingly unnecessary. Sap, really? Who was I kidding?
"Unfortunately," Anna continues, "I overestimated how large the flock would be. That means the sap is necessary, Shawn. We can't let them get loose, after all."
"Oh," I mutter. "That's… unfortunate." I'm not sure what else to say. My genius idea is reduced to an afterthought, and now I'm stuck as the guy who "helped" with sap. Still, I nod dutifully. Best to trust the strategist here.
Anna's gaze shifts to Rebecca. "Bex, you need to attract their attention. Be loud, be annoying, get them to chase you, then lead them to the net."
Rebecca squints at her sister. "Um, Anna, what if… what if they're scared of sounds instead?"
For a moment, Anna's face hardens. Her jaw tightens, her brow furrows, and she looks at Rebecca like she just suggested befriending the birds instead of catching them. The tension is palpable, and I'm not sure if I should step in or stay silent.
"So you're telling me," Anna says slowly, her voice dripping with irritation, "you didn't even check if the birds were scared of noises?"
Rebecca shrinks slightly under Anna's glare, scratching absently at the stump where her arm used to be. "I-I didn't think about it," she admits, her voice barely above a whisper.
Anna exhales sharply, her frustration evident. "Haah. Never mind. If they're scared of noises, then use the noise to drive them toward us. Is everyone clear on the plan?"
Rebecca and I nod, though I'm not entirely convinced of my own competence at this point. Anna seems to notice but doesn't comment.
"Good. Now we need to sleep. We'll commence the plan at midday tomorrow." Without another word, she turns and strides into her tent, Rebecca following close behind.
Left alone by the fire, I stare at the flickering flames, trying not to overthink everything. Did I really think sap would be revolutionary? I shake my head and crawl into my tent, muttering a silent prayer that tomorrow goes well.
I was jolted awake by a deafening noise, a sound so piercing it seemed to shake the very fabric of my dreams. Startled, I scrambled to sit upright, my heart pounding like a war drum. It took a moment for me to remember where I was,inside my modest tent, nestled amidst the wilderness we'd been traversing for weeks.
Still half-asleep, I fumbled with the tent flap and poked my head outside. Standing there, with a grin that stretched ear to ear, was Rebecca, the group's ever-enthusiastic archer. Her face was alight with a mixture of mischief and pride.
"Damn," she began, her voice loud enough to rival the noise that had woken me. "That was louder than I expected!" She chuckled, brushing a stray strand of hair from her face. "If it worked on you, the guy who sleeps through just about anything, it'll definitely scare off some birds."
Before I could muster a coherent response,or scold her for the assault on my ears,she turned on her heel and marched off, presumably to test her trap on the actual birds.
I groaned, rubbing my temples as the ringing in my ears persisted. The noise had been bad enough to disorient me, and I stumbled out of the tent, feeling as though the ground beneath me was swaying. My balance was off, my senses dulled. Was it really necessary for me to be her unwitting test subject?
Grumbling under my breath, I made my way to where Anna was working. I had a question burning in my mind, one that had been gnawing at me for weeks now. It wasn't just the noise or the exhaustion that had been weighing on me. No, it was something deeper,an ache in my soul, a nagging sense of inadequacy that refused to be ignored.
The truth was, I felt useless.
From the mole rat incident to the chimera attack, and even the labyrinth trial, every chance I'd had to prove myself seemed to slip through my fingers. Each time, someone else rose to the occasion, outshining me in every conceivable way. Hudson, with his unshakable confidence and raw skill, always gave me opportunities to step into the spotlight. But Anna… Anna made me feel like I was just there. A bystander. Maybe she didn't mean to, but her actions often left me questioning my worth.
The only thing I had going for me was my strength and my ability to endure. That was it. I was the shield, the brute force, the last line of defense. But deep down, I wanted to be more. I wanted to matter.
As I staggered to where Anna was setting up her trap, I steeled myself. I couldn't let this self-doubt consume me. If I wanted answers, I had to ask. Even if the question made me seem vulnerable or desperate, it was better than remaining silent.
When I found Anna, she was crouched near a pair of towering trees, her hands deftly tying knots in a nearly invisible net. The trap was a masterpiece of ingenuity,cleverly camouflaged, yet undeniably effective. The glisten of my sap on the net confirmed that my contribution hadn't been entirely useless. At least I'd helped with something.
"Hey, Anna. How are you?" I asked, trying to sound casual. My voice betrayed me, though, cracking slightly under the weight of my nerves.
She didn't look up, her focus entirely on her work. "I'm preparing the trap, as you can see," she replied, gesturing to the intricate setup before her.
This was it. I couldn't hold back any longer. I took a deep breath, willing my voice to stay steady. "Listen, I was wondering… what do I have to do? What's my role in all this?"
She paused, her hands freezing mid-knot. For a moment, I thought I'd offended her. Then she muttered something under her breath before turning to face me with a sweet, reassuring smile.
"Oh, Shawn, you are the most pivotal person in this plan," she said, her tone warm and sincere.
Her words caught me off guard. "I am?" I asked, blinking in disbelief. How could that be true?
"Yes, you are," she continued, her voice brimming with conviction. "We need your strength. Once the birds are trapped, we can't afford to waste any time. We need power,raw, unrelenting power,to finish them off as quickly as possible. And that's where you come in. You're the one who can do it, Shawn. Kill as many as you can for me."
Her confidence in me was almost overwhelming. For the first time in what felt like forever, I felt seen. Appreciated. Anna wasn't so different from Hudson after all,kind, supportive, and willing to trust me with an important task.
But as her words sank in, so did the weight of my responsibility. I glanced at my greatsword, its blade gleaming faintly in the sunlight. Could I really do it? Could I single handedly cut through a flock of Stymphalian birds? A hammer would've been better suited for the job, but I didn't have that luxury. All I had was my sword and the strength I'd been honing for years.
As I stood there, grappling with my doubts, a notification flashed before my eyes:
A deity is interested in your plight.
The message was cryptic, but its timing was uncanny. Was this some kind of sign? An acknowledgment of my struggles? If even a deity recognized my turmoil, maybe I wasn't imagining things. Maybe I really had been falling short. The thought weighed on me like a crushing burden, but it also sparked a flicker of hope.
Perhaps this deity,whoever they were,could guide me. Perhaps they saw something in me that I couldn't see in myself.
Before I could dwell on it any further, Anna called out to me, snapping me back to reality. She instructed me to hide behind one of the trees, ready to strike when the time came. I obeyed, positioning myself out of sight but within striking distance of the net.
Moments later, a familiar deafening noise filled the air. I turned toward the source and saw Rebecca sprinting toward the trap, banging on her chestplate with her one good arm. She was grinning wildly, clearly enjoying the chaos she was creating.
Behind her, the flock of Stymphalian birds surged forward like a living storm. Their wings beat the air with a thunderous rhythm, and their shrill cries added to the cacophony. They moved as one, a chaotic mass of feathers and fury, their beady eyes locked on Rebecca.
She pushed herself to the limit, her breaths coming in ragged gasps as she neared the net. Ten meters. Five. One. At the last possible moment, she dove out of the way, rolling to safety as the birds barreled straight into the trap.
The net snapped shut around them, ensnaring the entire flock in a writhing, screeching mass. They thrashed and clawed at their bonds, but the more they struggled, the tighter the net became.
This was my moment.
I stepped out from behind the tree, gripping my greatsword with both hands. My muscles tensed as I raised the blade high above my head, my body coiling like a bowstring. Pain shot through me,sharp and searing,but I didn't let it stop me.
With a primal roar, I unleashed all my strength in a single, devastating strike. The blade came crashing down, its impact resonating like a thunderclap. The ground beneath me trembled, and a shockwave rippled outward, silencing the cries of the trapped birds.
The aftermath was a blur. My body screamed in protest, every muscle cramping as the backlash of my attack hit me like a tidal wave. Anna rushed to my side, her hands glowing with healing magic as she worked to ease my pain.
"Are they… are they all dead?" I managed to ask through gritted teeth.
She nodded, her eyes filled with a mixture of relief and admiration. "You did it, Shawn. They're all gone."
A new notification appeared before me:
Trial Complete.
22 Stymphalian Birds Slain.
Contribution:
Anna Harris: 35%
Shawn Alexander Adams: 34%
Rebecca Harris: 31%
Allocating Rewards…
New Skill Unlocked:
One Smash:
The user channels every ounce of their strength, energy, and resolve into a devastating downward strike that delivers unmatched destructive power. This single, focused attack unleashes a shockwave that shakes the ground and obliterates anything within its impact radius. However, the immense strain of executing this move leaves the user paralyzed for 5 seconds, rendering them vulnerable.
A sense of pride welled up within me. I'd done it. I'd not only proven my worth but also unlocked a new skill,a skill that embodied everything I'd been striving for.
As the trial's magic whisked us away to the throne room, I couldn't help but wonder what awaited us next. Hudson was already there, laughing with the king like old friends. What had he faced in his solo trial? What had he learned?
Whatever lay ahead, I knew one thing for certain: I wasn't useless. Not anymore.