A True Rhombic Comes in Time

3

I unsheathed my sword.

It was the cheapest sword I could afford, and the owner I purchased from reassured me that it was a one owner sword that was gently used. I couldn't be choosy, and this was the sharpest and most intact-looking sword I could find within my price range.

"Plurrrk!" A labrador-sized goblin shrieked at me. It was small for a goblin, and its color was a lighter shade of green, indicating that it had to be young and inexperienced. The first floor was inhabited by the goblins, and they were considered to be one of the weakest monsters inside the Door.

I gripped my sword with both hands and aimed it at the angry goblin. My palms were sweating, and my legs shook because this was the third monster of the day. I was so sick of facing these disgusting green men wearing tiny flimsy rags I assumed were loincloths.

Even as I huffed and puffed from dodging its sharp fingers, I vaguely wondered some nonsense about why all the goblins were males. At least I assumed they were males because I hadn't seen a single goblin wearing a rag across its chest.

The goblin sprinted toward me with another screech. My body tensed even more in anticipation, and I readied myself to swing. When it got closer, I swung with a shout, "Hup!"

Unfortunately, I was too slow. The monster hopped a step back before flailing its sharp claws at me. The goblin's hands were crusted with old blood and god knows what else. I was sure to get a bad infection if I let it get to me.

It has been four months since I completed the mandatory RAC course that involved three weeks of learning and training. During the first two weeks, I was in a classroom with other newly marked Rhombics learning about the basics of the monsters, Doors, and Pockets. The final week included the same group going inside the Door and hunting on the first floor under the watchful eyes of an experienced Rhombic.

To successfully graduate, a Rhombic had to kill at least ten goblins. The novice Rhombics often used the gems earned from this hunt to buy their first weapons. I, for one, certainly did.

And if you saw my sword right now, you might have guessed how badly I did during this training. I ended up with the smallest low-grade red gems, which was why I could only afford this cheap sword.

The week of in-Door training was supposed to be just a formality. A Rhombic became an amazing hunter with the right instinct, sharp reflexes and unprecedented power the moment she was marked.

But for some reason, I did very poorly during the training. While all the other Rhombics killed their required numbers in the first few days, it took me the whole week to do the same. The class guide, which happened to be RM again, had to help me a great deal extra.

I was basically his "special" project.

In fact, RM had to search the first floor to find me the weakest goblins possible. This was the only way for me to "successfully" kill ten goblins and graduate. Although my speed was only mildly lacking, my strength and my aim with the training sword had to be the worst any Rhombic had ever displayed.

I was essentially that runt you'll find in every puppy class. You know, the one that failed to learn even the simplest commands like "sit" while the other puppies were already acing their agility training.

Yes, I'm talking about THAT "slow" puppy that's always busy smelling everyone's butt while her classmates are on their way to become service dogs and police dogs.

But at this point, you might wonder:

"Dud! Why not just use a gun? Have you heard of this thing called the machine gun? Or maybe even a bomb? Why would anyone go all medieval and use a SWORD?!"