The deeper I walked, the more I stared at what I’d been given.

  A book and a hammer.

  Neither looked legendary.

  Or cool.

  I gave the hammer a few swings.

  —SWOOSH—

  no glow or lightning came out of it.

  …Great.

  I lowered the hammer slowly, eyeing it with deep suspicion.

  “Very impressive,” I muttered. “Truly the weapon of a hero.”

  Next was the book.

  I stared at it for a long moment.

  Yeah… I wasn‘t opening that.

  Not yet.

  Maybe not ever, preferably.

  Satisfied with this perfectly reasonable decision, I finally looked up.

  The cave entrance loomed ahead of me, dark and quiet in a way that made my instincts start filing complaints.

  I took a slow breath.

  “Okay,” I muttered under my breath. “Not scary. Just… dark.”

  With that confident analysis, I stepped inside.

  Immediately, the air changed in a thick, warm, humid air that filled the cave.

  It wasn’t long before a faint flicker of orange light caught my eye.

  I squinted.

  “…Is that fire?”

  My footsteps slowed as I moved further in.

  “Why is—“

  I stopped immediately as a deep, wet gurgle echoed through the cave.

  Every muscle in my body reacted instantly.

  I dove behind a giant rock and put a hand over my mouth as my heart started beating harder.

  Slowly…

  Very slowly…

  I peeked around the edge of the rock.

  And there I saw it.

  Big.

  Red.

  Broad shoulders hunched near a small fire.

  The creature moved with heavy, careless steps like nothing in the world had ever threatened it before.

  Honestly?

  I suddenly felt worse for my supposed companion.

  Whoever they were… they were stuck in here with that.

  Just then, a stupid thought slipped out before I could stop it.

  “Ooo… am I supposed to do a rescue mission?”

  I froze and ducked behind the rock again.

  “…is this where I meet my soulmate?”

  My face lit up as I imagined every scenario—

  I slapped both hands over my face.

  Focus, Elias. Focus.

  After a few seconds of self-discipline that was not working, I stepped out from behind the rock and cleared my throat.

  “Ahem.”

  The creature slowly turned.

  And in that exact moment…

  I realized I had made a terrible, terrible decision.

  Massive horns.

  Teeth the size of hands.

  Muscles that looked like they bench-pressed boulders for fun.

  Yeah…

  Definitely an Oni.

  The creature blinked slowly as its gaze settled on me.

  “…Human?” it rumbled.

  My brain did what it always does best, run several simulations on how to win.

  None of them ended well.

  Still… running now would feel very un-protagonist like.

  And if there was actually a captive in here…

  I slowly straightened my back.

  Right.

  Time to do what any responsible hero would do.

  Bluff.

  I cleared my throat again and lowered my voice as much as I could.

  “You, release the captive you took immediately.”

  The Oni blinked as silence filled the cave.

  Encouraged by the lack of immediate violence, I continued.

  “You should surrender peacefully before things become… unpleasant.”

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  For a moment nothing happened.

  That gave me a small amount of confidence.

  “Alright—“

  “HAHAHAHA!”

  Laughter exploded out of him like a thunderclap.

  The cave practically shook as every animal in the area fled.

  He bent forward, clutching his stomach as he laughed.

  “Human… funny!”

  My eye twitched as the Oni continued wheezing.

  Okay… rude.

  I coughed and tried to salvage what dignity I had left.

  “Laugh while you can,” I said stiffly.

  This was time for a heroic moment.

  Every protagonist had one.

  I would draw my weapon dramatically.

  Yes… that would restore everything.

  Slowly, I reached behind me.

  “For this will be your last!”

  And with one swift motion.

  I pulled out the ham—

  …

  …hammer…

  Right.

  I forgot.

  The Oni stared at it.

  Then at me.

  Then back at the hammer.

  I chuckled nervously.

  “Soo… do you—“

  The laughter returned instantly.

  And this one was worse than the last one as it made me hold on to the rock for dear life.

  “HAHA! Human bring rock-stick!”

  Rock-stick?!

  “Okay,” I muttered. “You know what? That’s it!”

  I looked around for something to throw.

  My eyes landed on a loose rock.

  Perfect.

  I picked it up and hurled it at him with all the strength I had,

  The rock smacked directly at his forehead.

  THUNK.

  The Oni blinked as I landed on my feet.

  For a moment, the cave went quiet.

  Hope flickered inside my chest.

  Maybe that actually—

  “HAHAHA! Human angry now!”

  I clenched the hammer harder.

  This was not going how I imagined.

  The Oni wiped a tear from his eyes and finally straightened up.

  Then his laughter slowly faded.

  His gaze settled on me again.

  This time… it was a little more serious.

  “Human brave,” he said.

  Then his massive arm reached behind his back.

  And slowly…

  He pulled out a gigantic club.

  “Human fight Rok?”

  My stomach dropped.

  “…Oh… so that’s how today was going to end…”

  My brain processed the situation carefully.

  Large Oni.

  Massive club.

  And me.

  With a hammer.

  Naturally, there was only one logical decision.

  Charge in and hope for the best.

  I locked onto its head

  “AHHH—“

  My foot immediately caught on a loose rock as the world tilted for a split second.

  I slammed face first into the cave floor.

  Behind me, I heard a pause.

  “…Human fall.”

  I scrambled back to my feet, clutching my hammer with what little dignity I had left.

  “That was a tactical maneuver,” I muttered.

  The Oni tilted his head.

  Not long after, he swung the club.

  The weapon smashed into the ground where I had been standing moments ago.

  BOOM.

  The cave floor cracked as pebbles rained down from the ceiling.

  My eyes widened.

  That… that is not good.

  I dove sideways as the club came down again.

  BOOM.

  Another crater formed on the floor.

  The Oni lifted the club again and slammed it into the rock.

  At this moment, I abandoned all pride and dignity and ran.

  The cave quickly turned into a chaotic obstacle course.

  I jumped over stones.

  Slid across gravel.

  And nearly got flattened three separate times.

  Each time, the club kept crashing down behind me.

  BOOM.

  Each strike shook the cave harder than the last.

  And this creature was still walking after me like this was a casual afternoon activity.

  “Human run fast,” he observed.

  “THANK YOU!” I shouted back. “I’M FOND OF MY BONES!”

  The club came down again as I dove behind another rock.

  But it was useless as he shattered it instantly.

  “Fine… new plan.”

  I spun around and swung the hammer at the Oni’s arm with all my might.

  CLANG.

  My body started to vibrate as it felt like I had just punched a brick wall.

  It blinked.

  “…Human hit Rok.”

  For a second, he sounded mildly surprised.

  Then he lifted the club again, evaporating my last bits of confidence.

  I turned and bolted again.

  It wasn’t a fight at this point, it was survival.

  Every swing of that club could end me instantly.

  And this creature wasn’t even breathing hard.

  Meanwhile, I was one bad step away from collapsing.

  My foot caught on something.

  …again.

  I stumbled forward, sending me crashing into the ground.

  My arms shook as I tried to push myself up.

  But I just couldn’t.

  It wasn’t long before a shadow fell over me as I looked up.

  The Oni stood above me, club raised high.

  “…Human fall,” he said.

  Time seemed to slow for me as I saw the club begin to descend.

  My brain screamed at my body to move.

  Move.

  MOVE.

  But nothing… nothing happened.

  My muscles refused to cooperate, either out of fear or exhaustion.

  The massive shadow of the club grew larger.

  … So this is how my heroic adventure ends?

  Killed in a cave?

  By a creature who called my weapon a rock-stick?

  Fantastic.

  My hands tightened instinctively around the hammer’s handle… maybe for comfort, I don’t know… maybe—“

  ZZZZ.

  I blinked.

  For a moment, I thought my arm had just gone numb.

  But the vibrations grew stronger.

  The hammer trembled in my grip as a strange warmth spread through the metal.

  Tiny sparks flickered along its surfaces.

  CRACK.

  A thin line of lightning crawled across the head of the hammer.

  My eyes widened as the club was still falling.

  I didn’t have time to question it. My instincts just took over as I swung up to block.

  The moment the hammer moved, it scraped slightly across the ground.

  And in that moment a violent bolt of lightning burst from the hammer's head, tearing through it with a deafening crack.

  BOOOOM.

  The strike slammed directly into the Oni.

  For a split second, his massive body froze in place.

  Then he was launched backward like a boulder, smashing him straight into the far wall of the cave with a thunderous crash.

  The only sound left was the faint crackle of electricity fading from the hammer.

  I sat there on the ground, frozen.

  Slowly…

  I looked down at the hammer in my hand.

  “Did I… did I do that?”

  Across the cave, rubble shifted as a low groan echoed out.

  “…Human…” the Oni muttered faintly.

  “…interesting.”

  Then he collapsed.

  For a few seconds, I just stared.

  Half expecting him to suddenly leap up.

  As I waited longer, nothing happened.

  “…Okay.”

  Slowly, carefully, I pushed myself to my feet,

  My legs trembled from the fight as I dusted off my clothes. The hammer hung loosely in my hand now, its earlier lightning completely gone.

  I glanced at the Oni before glancing back at the hammer.

  I straightened my back and tried to look heroic again.

  Because technically… I did win.

  The Oni barely had time to breathe before I stepped forward, raising the hammer above its face.

  “Alright,” I said, my voice still tight from the adrenaline, “no more jokes, where is the companion you took?”

  The Oni groaned beneath me, eyes open to focus on the hammer hovering closely to its nose.

  The Oni stared at me, confused more than afraid. Before slowly, very carefully, began reaching one massive hand toward its side.

  My grip tightened instantly.

  “Human,” it rumbled quietly, “if I move… you strike again?”

  “Only if you give me a reason to.”

  The Oni nodded once.

  With great gentleness that did not match its size, It reached behind itself and pulled out… a small glass jar.

  I blinked. “What,” I said slowly, “is that?”

  The Oni’s voice dropped, softer than I expected.

  “...My friend.”

  Before I could process that answer, it twisted the lid open.

  And a tiny green frog hopped onto its chest

  It croaked.

  The sound being absurdly small. Soft.

  “I’m sorry,” it whispered, voice dropping low and uneven as one enormous finger moved with such care to stroke the frog's head.

  “I told you… I always protect you.”

  I stared at them both, waiting for the reveal, the twist, the hidden captive stepping out from behind the rock to applaud the performance, but nothing.

  The Oni didn’t even look at me.

  “Rok find it by river,” he continued, gaze fixed on the frog like nothing else in the

  world existed.

  “It look lonely. I think… I let it go.”

  The frog shifted closer to its face.

  “But when it hop on Rok foot…” it swallowed once, “… Rok could not.”

  Another soft croak.

  “I… I failed.”

  The word fractured at the edge, barely held together.

  For the first time since I’d stepped into this cave, since I’d raised a hammer over its skull, since the lightning exploded between us.

  The Oni didn’t look big anymore, didn’t

  look terrifying.

  Instead, it looked… small.

  Something in my chest sank hard.

  This was my companion.

  Just… him.

  The frog turned its tiny head, its eyes locked onto me.

  And in that moment… I felt it, the attachment.

  I looked back at the Oni.

  No hostage waiting to be rescued.

  Just a horned giant sitting in a cave, gently petting a frog like it was the most precious

  thing in the world.

  My chest tightened. “…You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered.

  The Oni finally lifted its gaze to meet mine.

  “…Human…angry?” It asked.

  The hammer in my hand suddenly felt heavier than it had during the fight.

  I lowered it slowly, the head dropping toward the stone floor.

  “You live alone, don’t you?” I asked quietly.

  The Oni hesitated for a second before nodding.

  That was all I needed.

  This was my companion. Just… him.

  I stepped off his chest slowly.

  Rok blinked at me, clearly surprised, before getting up, the frog hopping onto his shoulder.

  An awkward silence settled in between us.

  The Oni scratched the back of his head. “So…uh… human come to kill us?”

  “No,” I said quickly, rubbing the back of my neck. “Not really. I thought you kidnapped someone. Turns out I’m just… bad at

  jumping to correct conclusions.”

  “…Humans strange,” the Oni muttered.

  “Tell me about it.”

  I exhaled slowly and leaned against the cave wall, finally setting the hammer down beside me.

  “I came here looking for my companion,” I said. “… I just didn’t expect it to be you.”

  Its shoulders sank a little.

  “…Less horns. Less muscle. Definitely fewer teeth.”

  Its posture dropped further. “…So human leave?”

  Something in his voice made my chest tighten.

  I glanced at him again, really looking past the horns, past the size.

  Just a guy sitting in a cave with a frog, alone.

  I sighed, “No,” I said.

  His head shot up.

  “I didn’t say that,” I added, rolling my shoulders slightly. “I’m new here. I’ve almost died an extremely embarrassing number of times today.”

  “And honestly,” I admitted, glancing at him sideways, "having a giant Oni on my side sounds… good.”

  He stared at me blankly. “Huh?”

  I sighed again. “I’m asking if you want to team up.”

  For a second, he froze.

  “ROK GO WITH YOU!”

  “…Okay,” I said, “that was fast.”

  He straightened up, “my name is Roku,” he said carefully. “But human may call me… Rok.”

  “Elias.”

  Rok broke into a wide, toothy smile that was still terrifying but now less life threatening.

  “Then Elias,” he said proudly, “Rok be your partner.”

  “…Cool,” I said.

  The frog suddenly hopped from his shoulder onto mine.

  I froze instantly, “…is this thing friendly?”

  Rok tilted his head. “Oh. Yes. Very friendly.”

  “And its name?”

  “Rocky,” he said with deep pride, “Mr. Rocky.”

  The frog croaked.

  “…Great,” I muttered. “I’ve been in this world less than a day and I already have an Oni and a frog. Progress… probably.”

  I bent down and picked up my hammer again, giving the cave one last look before looking at the exit.

  “Well,” I said,” where’s the nearest adventure guild?”

  Rok nodded enthusiastically. “Town near. Rok show.”

  And just like that, we walked together.

  Maybe this is finally the start of my adventure.

  —

  “I’m sorry, sir, but due to unknown circumstances, your adventurer registration has been denied.”

  “…Huh?”

  She calmly slid the paper toward me.

  Across the top, stamped in red.

  DENIED.

  My brain stopped processing for a few seconds.

  “Reason?” I asked, blinking.

  The clerk adjusted her glasses politely.

  “Species classification undocumented.”

  “…Undocumented?”

  “You do not appear in any recorded registry."

  “As far as our records show,” she continued pleasantly, “you are not recognized as a species.”

  “And you, sir,” she added, already turning toward Rok, “congratulations. You are the first B-tier adventurer this town has seen in quite some time.”

  My jaw dropped.

  This mountain with horns was B-tier?!

  Meanwhile I was getting rejected?!

  I opened my mouth.

  Closed it.

  Opened it again.

  Nothing came out.

  So I walked out of the guild.

  The word denied kept echoing in my mind.

  My hands curled slowly into fists.

  Not because I wanted to punch something.

  But because I didn’t know what to do with them.

  “…Human!”

  I stopped and turned.

  Rok came running toward me.

  “Rok?” I frowned. “Why are you here?”

  He stopped in front of me, breathing hard.

  “Human,” he said seriously, “you not abandon partner.”

  I blinked.

  “…Partner?”

  I huffed quietly.

  “Rok, I couldn’t even register. You’d be better off joining literally anyone else.”

  “Rok go with Elias.”

  I stared at him.

  “…You don’t have to do that.”

  Rok shook his head firmly.

  “Rok go where Elias go.”

  For a moment, I just looked at him.

  Then I laughed.

  “You're ridiculous.”

  Rok tilted his head.

  “Huh?”

  I sighed, smiling despite myself.

  “Fine, if you're serious then let’s go.”

  Rok grinned.

  Rocky croaked like it had won something.

  And yet..

  Something kept bothering me.

  Why?

  Why was I rejected?

  Deep down, I didn’t think the world rejected me because I was weak.

  I think…

  It rejected because it didn’t know what I was.