The Gold Coins

''He is awake!" 

Phew!"

"Thank the Almighty!"

Whispers surrounded him. Attempting to sit up, he instead tumbled to the ground. As he surveyed his surroundings, he was astonished by the terror-stricken expressions of the locals. Despite some exhibiting disgust, fear still lingered in their eyes. It had only been a few hours since they had laid eyes on him, yet they were already terrified! How irritating. They had only witnessed him hauling the monster's head to their king; they hadn't witnessed the actual act. What would they do if they saw that? Flee?

"Where might the healer be?" he queried the self-proclaimed king, who stared at him in shock. When he had dispatched him to confront that water monster, he had anticipated his demise; he hadn't expected him to return with the decapitated heads of the monster and all of its offspring. They had tormented them for years, and when the monster finally emerged from the river and proposed that if he delivered the monster killer, he would cease preying on their people, he readily agreed.

"Umh, uhmn," he stammered, glancing about.

The slayer remained prostrate in the spot where he had blacked out. He had heard the king instruct his men to transport him to the house, yet none of them had done so. They all stood at a distance, their faces etched with fear as they observed him. Even when he struggled to rise unaided, the group of individuals gathered beside him receded, fearing he might transform into one of the monsters he had dispatched.

"I merely require the healer and my payment, and then we can depart from this place," he murmured to his wolf, who was growing restless. News of a young, handsome lad known to the villagers as the monster slayer who had exterminated the water monster and its entire lineage spread like wildfire. Shortly thereafter, before he could rise from his unconscious state and find a chair or take cover, he found himself surrounded by thousands of people who, as he had anticipated, had come to witness the monster he had just vanquished.

"Where is the king?" he inquired when he lost sight of him amidst the throng. Thankfully, his wolf had detected his distinct woody scent; otherwise, he might have absconded without delivering his payment. Before embarking on the hunt for the water monster, he had identified a particular stall in the heart of the small village that sold some rather decent clothing. Although they weren't exceptional, they were far superior to his current attire.

With a disgusted expression on his face, he ran his fingers through his hair, feeling the greasy and blood-covered strands. "I urgently need a bath since it seems I won't have the chance to see the healer," he muttered under his breath. Slowly rising from the ground, he followed the scent of the king and found him seated on the library floor, clutching a book tightly in his hands. When the king saw him, fear was visibly written all over his face. He had entered so silently that the king only noticed him when he cleared his throat.

"I know you sent me to that monstrous creature intentionally," he accused, his lips curling in anger. "You planned to use me as a sacrifice, letting it take my blood while you gained your freedom. But don't worry, I won't do you any harm. Just give me the gold coins we agreed upon, as you have seen the severed heads, and I'll be on my way." He spoke rapidly, his words flowing without pause. The king's hands trembled as he rushed towards a metal box, opening it and retrieving a few gold coins which he handed over. After counting and verifying that they amounted to the exact price they had agreed upon, he bid his final farewells and exited the office.

"It's quite enjoyable when people fear us," his wolf spoke, expressing amusement as it nuzzled against his ears. People quickly made way for him as he walked among them.

"Whether it's enjoyable or not, we will leave this place as soon as we find a bathhouse and some clothes," he whispered to himself, scanning the surroundings for any sign of a bathing facility.

"Excuse me, miss, do you know where I can find a bathhouse?" he asked a beautiful girl who was tending to a herd of cattle. The girl started to raise her hand to point, but a woman next to her slapped it away, shouting, "If you dare open that filthy mouth of yours, pig, I will sell you to the one-eyed monster who came to buy you yesterday!" The girl seemed threatened, and tears welled up in her beautiful brown eyes.

"Strange... selling your daughter to a monster just because she wants to help me," he retorted to the woman, flashing a half-hearted smile before walking away. Although the town was not much larger than the one he saw in his dreams, it bustled with hundreds of people, making his way through the crowd challenging. Even though many seemed absorbed in their own affairs, he still managed to attract their attention, and their piercing gazes began to irritate him. Nevertheless, he was accustomed to being the center of attention, as he appeared even worse off than the beggars lying on the streets.

Reeking of the blood of sea creatures and exuding a repulsive odor, he gave the impression that he had never washed himself since birth.

Unbothered by the horrified and disgusted looks directed his way, he pressed on and hurried towards one of the bathhouses he had spotted in the distance, distinguished by their pristine white exterior. Before he could even lift his legs to climb the few stairs leading up to it, cries for help and terror reached his ears. Turning around, he was taken aback to see a gigantic bird, a species he had never before encountered, clutching a young girl in its talons.

"Someone, please help my daughter!" a woman wailed at the top of her lungs, but she was met with pitying stares as everyone fled to save themselves. Fixated on the sight of the bird carrying the girl away, he was dismayed to realize that it was the same girl who had been pointing out the bathhouse location to him before her mother silenced her.

"We must help her!" his inner wolf howled.

Emitting a deafening roar that drew all attention to him, he dropped to the ground and, with a mighty leap, sprouted magnificent golden wings from his back as he transformed into a majestic dragon. Ascending into the sky, he confronted the bird head-on. The colossal bird, caught off guard, attempted to peck at him with its beak and slash at him with its claws, inadvertently releasing the injured girl who plummeted onto a cart filled with tomatoes. The girl's mother scooped her up in her arms, showering her with tears of joy. Spectators gathered around, their eyes fixed on the heavens as they witnessed his battle against the monstrous bird. It took another twenty minutes for him to finally bring down the enormous creature.

With a resounding thud, it crashed to the ground, sending shrieks of fear through the onlookers. Reverting back to his human form, he witnessed the bird abruptly transform into something even more massive—a snake-like monster—only to direct its aggression solely towards him. Having slain a similar creature on the mountain, he knew its weakness and thus didn't prolong the fight. Fire.

Exhaling a gust, his breath materialized into flames that engulfed the monster until it disintegrated into ashes. Before the monster was completely incinerated, he caught a glimpse of one peculiar feature—its true form was that of an eye monster disguised as a human.

"So, this is the monster who intended to purchase that beautiful girl," his inner wolf reminded him of the girl's mother's words when she had tried to assist him.

"Please be quiet," he pleaded, "I don't want people to give me strange looks while I have a conversation with an invisible entity." Irritated, he rolled his eyes and hushed his wolf.

"Like we don't already attract enough attention," his wolf retorted, prompting him to roll his eyes in annoyance.

"Yes, people are already giving me strange looks, but for how much longer?" he chuckled. "Soon, I'll be on my way and return to my secluded dwelling." With that, he turned to head back to the bathhouse. Before he could leave, the mother of the girl rushed over to express her gratitude for saving her daughter. She explained that the one-eyed monster had been pursuing her for a while, and just the other day, he had even approached them with an offer to purchase the girl, which she naturally refused. Little did she expect that he would return the following day in the form of a bird, attempting to abduct her.

"There's no need to thank me," he replied. "Your daughter is now safe," he assured the grateful woman, who beamed and led her daughter away after offering a token of appreciation in the form of a packet of chocolate. As he watched the woman and child disappear into the crowd, he turned around and found himself confronted by a group of men dressed uniformly in blue attire, donning golden caps and carrying swords on their backs, effectively blocking his path.

"Our king desires an audience with you," one of them informed him.

"Oh dear, not again!" exclaimed his wolf in such a loud voice that the men couldn't help but search for its source.