I Somehow Got Tasked With Managing A Realm

Slosh Slosh Slosh.

Humidity filled the air. A heavy, sticky heat blanketed the duo, who found solace only in the shallow water they were wading through.

"Come on, Ingo! It is going to storm any minute now! Can we just look at them tomorrow?"

Ingo glanced back at his complaining little brother, not slowing his march through the permanently flooded ground.

"I already told you, Iko, they will be finished hatching tomorrow! If we do not go now, it could be months before I can find another path!"

"You told me you found one last week!" Iko countered, stomping in the water with a splash.

"I got lucky. It is not like the buggy boys lay eggs every day- there is a big gap between when the eggs hatch and when they mature, where there is not even a chance of seeing anything."

Contrary to his brother's arguments, Iko simply rolled his eyes, not buying a second of it, "Yeah, but there are thousands of buggy boys here! And they lay like a million eggs. If you just look harder, you can probably find hundreds of paths."

"They lay twenty eggs, Iko," Ingo corrected, "I am taking you with me to teach you that."

"Huh? To teach me?"

Ingo nodded in response to his little brother's question, stopping next to a mature swamp vine pillaring out of the water with a stem-y trunk, large enough to easily engulf a chicken.

"Yes, to teach you," Ingo patted the green stem and turned back to look at Iko, "Both the buggy boys and the swamp vines were rescued from the last invaders' home by Oracle Ruglace. Since there were so few of them brought back, the creator of the world entrusted our village with protecting and taking care of them while they grow."

"I already knew that, but look around! There are hundreds of swamp vines just in this lake, and they are all covered in buggy boys!"

Ingo looked blankly at Iko as a buggy boy crawled off the swamp vine and squirmed onto his outstretched hand, "... I do not know what you mean."

Iko rolled his eyes, "I mean, we do not need to protect them anymore! There are already so many buggy boys that we can eat them as snacks!"

"You eat these cute things!?" With a dramatic gasp, Ingo held the buggy boy that crawled onto him and took a step backward to create more distance from his little brother.

"YOU EAT THEM, TOO! AHHHHH!"

Splash!

Iko flopped into the water after seeing his older brother stick out his tongue at his yell, before resurfacing moments later.

"Yes, we eat them, but we do it in moderation. If we eat too many of them, they will eventually all be gone, so we have to make sure we eat much less than what hatches every month. It is my job to teach you how that works so you can be mindful when you are hunting them. That is why I am dragging you out here to learn today," Ingo grinned, "Besides, since you are already wet, you do not have to worry about the storms!"

"Ugh. Fine, but the sky is already getting dark, so can we do this quickly?" Iko groaned reluctantly, picking wet twigs out of his hair.

"Good. Follow me, then- I see the swamp vine right over there!"

"..."

After plopping the buggy boy back on its swamp vine, the duo continued splashing through the water until they reached their destination.

"Here we are!" Ingo cheered, patting the swamp vine with a smile.

"... You found the path on this one? This looks disgusting."

"I think you meant to say that it looks amazing," Ingo corrected, joining Iko's gaze up at the amalgamation before them.

Swamp vines were pretty unpredictable plants. When one of their seeds germinated from the mud under the water, it would eventually sprout out of the water with a straight stem that would thicken and grow taller. Eventually, this stem would collapse under its own weight and flop back down into the water, forming what resembled small arcs. After making contact with the mud once more, it would then form a new set of roots in this new area of contact, before emerging again to repeat the process.

In open areas, these arcs would usually be pretty neat, varying only in height, thickness, and green hues. Once the area became crowded, however, things became more complicated.

"There are like four swamp vines growing on top of one another..."

Ingo smirked at his younger brother's mutter, "Yep! I think it is a record!"

As in the case of the swamp vine they were observing, sometimes nearby swamp vines would use one another as supports in their effort to grow taller. Obviously, this results in thick, tangled messes that could be considered a pain to follow to the untrained eye.

"Just trying to track which stem is from which vine is giving me a headache," Iko groaned, rubbing his temples.

Ingo shook his head, "You are having trouble with that? It is pretty easy, though. Every swamp vine is a slightly different shade of green- just look carefully at the colors and it should be pretty obvious."

"Really?" Iko squinted his eyes and observed the stems, quickly widening his eyes, "Whoa- you are right! They really are different!"

"I told you~" Ingo gloated, looking over the stem, "Swamp vines stacked like this are actually really good for the buggy boys because it lets ones from different vines meet easily without having to crawl underwater and sneak past whatever small fishies are under here."

"Huh..."

While Iko processed all of this, Ingo locked his fingers and feet into the grooves on the thick stem and began climbing the swamp vine.

"Come on!" he called down to his brother, "We can probably find all of the stages I wanted to show you in this thing!"

"Okay... fine."

Iko followed his older brother up the swamp vine with a reluctant sigh. Soon enough, they reached near the top of the lowest arch, nearly flattened by the weight of the other swamp vines stacked upon it.

"I knew it! Look, Iko- I found a new path!"

Shifting on the vine, Iko looked toward where Ingo was pointing, quickly spotting a small hole in the middle of the stem that was wide enough to fit two fingers inside.

"It is still pretty big! It must have been dug last night!" he continued.

Contrary to his excitement, Ingo was met only with Iko's blank expression when he looked back at his brother.

"You said it would take weeks to find another one, but you found one in two minutes."

"Wow. Someone is grumpy...."

"It is not grumpy to not want to be caught in a storm for no reason!"

"Anyway, speaking of two minutes," Ingo began, fully ignoring Iko's complaints and groans by his side, "Now is a good chance to go over the buggy boy rules of two!"

Since Iko stayed quiet, Ingo continued as the sky darkened.

"Either because it is a nice coincidence or because the creator of the world wanted to keep it simple for us to keep track of, most of the stages for the buggy boys come in twos. You already know that they dig into a swamp vine when it is time for the buggy boys to lay their eggs. After they lay their twenty eggs, though, it takes about two days for the path they make into the swamp vine to close up as it heals. The eggs hatch two weeks after they were laid, and the baby buggies then chomp their way through the soft, newly healed pathway."

"And then the buggy boys go free?" Iko asked, attempting to finish, only for Ingo to shake his head.

"Not yet. The baby buggies still have to turn into buggy boys. I brought you here because I think we can see that happen today."

Ingo stood with those words and hopped onto the second swamp vine stacked on top of the one they were sitting on. Now slightly curious, Iko followed his brother up the stem as the wind picked up around them. Their target was the point where the second and third swamp vines intertwined.

"Yes! I knew it!"

Since Ingo reached it first, he grabbed his brother's hand and hoisted him up onto the stem with him. Although Iko was a bit confused about what he was talking about, he quickly glanced in front of his brother and noticed what looked like twenty silver-tinted fluffy balls stuck on a flat portion of the swamp vine.

"What are those things?" Iko asked, pointing to the fluffy balls, roughly the size of his clenched fist.

"They are the buggy babies' home," Ingo explained, "After the buggy babies eat their way out of the swamp vine, they are all super full. They use the stuff they ate up to wrap themselves in this weird, soft material. After two weeks, they wiggle out of it looking like proper, but small, buggy boys."

Iko looked completely confused, "So they change inside of that thing?"

Ingo nodded, "Yep. It is actually when they are in those things that their color changes. They match the color of the swamp vine they munched out of nearly perfectly after they come out!"

"That is weird... why are they wiggling?"

"The shaking is from the buggy boys trying to break out of their homes," he explained, "It means I really timed this perfectly! It should only be a few minutes until they are out!"

Drip. Drip.

Iko stuck out his palm, quickly catching a drop of rain falling from the dark clouds above.

"I do not think we have a few minutes," he muttered, glancing at the clouds, then back at his brother, "You just taught me everything, right? I really do not need to watch them hatch, so can we go before it really starts pouring?"

His brother flatly denied his request, "Not yet! It would be such a waste to leave now."

More raindrops fell onto Iko's head, "What waste!? The storm is almost here- we need to get off this thing now!"

"Ugh-" at this point, even Ingo couldn't ignore the drops that began dripping off his long hair and into his eyes, "J-just a bit longer! There is still more I need to teach you!"

"Huh!? Like what!?"

"I did not even tell you how long it takes for the buggy bois to grow up and how often they lay their eggs once they are fully grown!"

"I already get it- the rule of twos or whatever explains it all. You can tell me as we run home, but we need to go!"

"No." Ingo denied.

"What do you mean no!?"

"They are almost hatched!" Ingo pleaded, "Do you not want to see them break out of their homes?"

"I do not need to see it all today!" Iko argued.

Still, his brother's eyes were locked onto the buggy boy caccoons, as flashes of light shot through the far skys.

"If you really want to teach me so badly, then just tell me now so we can get out of here! How long does it take for them to grow up?"

"Two months," Ingo answered.

"So it is the rule of twos!? Why are we wasting time! They probably also lay their eggs every two months! Can we go now!?"

"No."

Iko punched the swampvine he was sitting on, "Why are you saying no again!?"

"One month," Ingo stated flatly.

"... Huh?"

"They lay eggs every month," he corrected.

"... Really?"

"Mhm," Ingo nodded, "It is the one exception to the rule of twos."

Iko paused for a second, "Well, that is weird. Why would-"

Crack!

A sudden large flash of lightning, followed by a deafening roar of thunder, struck a tall swamp vine in the distance, putting a quick halt to their conversation and bringing Iko back into focus.

"What are we doing!? We need to get out of here, Ingo!"

The drizzle had escalated into full rain now. Still, his brother's eyes were locked onto the silver cacoons. A shiver went down Iko's back as he saw the shine in his brother's eyes.

"Wait a minute... that look on your face.... are you just waiting for them to hatch so you can eat them!?"

"What!? Of course not!" Iko's accusation was enough to snap Ingo out of his focus, "I would never do that! It is not the buggy boys I want- it is their homes!"

"Huh!?"

Ingo pointed to the silver cocoons attached to the swamp vines.

"They are made of this super soft material that I have not felt anywhere else. I started collecting them recently~" he explained, pulling out a small pouch on his side.

"So you did not come here to teach me!? You just wanted those weird things!?"

"No! Well, it was both! You know- whacking two chickens with one branch."

At this point, the rain was gradually turning into a downpour.

"Just come back for them later!"

"No way!" Ingo refused, "They loosen from the swamp vine and blow away only about two hours after they hatch!"

"UGH!" with a groan bordering the volume of a scream, Iko went to the connection to the lower swamp vine and grabbed onto it tightly, "Why are we risking our lives for a collection!? I am getting off of this thing! Stop being stupid and come with me before you get struck by lightning!"

"I will join you in a few minutes! I can see some of their heads breaking through!"

Soaked and out of energy to continue fighting with his brother, Iko began carefully descending the slippery swamp vine- soon splashing softly into the flooded, yet still shallow lake on the ground.

Drip drip drip drip drip!

Rain poured into the lake loud enough to be nearly deafening, as Iko shielded his eyes and looked back up to where he had left his older brother.

Should I leave or wait for him?

As he was pondering what to do, he finally saw his brother begin making his way down the giant swamp vine.

"Come on, Ingo!" Iko yelled up as a gust of rain-filled wind shoved his back.

Whether unable to hear him or fully focused on descending the swamp vine, Ingo continued descending. Although the rain and weather were ferocious, Iko's tension relaxed a bit with every groove his brother descended.

But then it happened. Within a split second, Ingo who was steadily climbing down the vine had entered a free fall straight to the ground.

"INGO!"

Iko saw the whole thing; as if in slow motion, he watched his brother fall into the shallow lake below.

It wasn't from a sudden lightning strike or a heavy gust of wind that sent him falling- even those with the worst fortunes rarely succumb to those fates. Rather, it was just a small accident- a careless mistake where his brother's foot slipped on the slippery stem as he was lowering himself down one of the grooves.

Yet whether caused by a personal mistake or by an unlucky series of events, the outcomes of such accidents care little for the circumstances surrounding them.

SPLASH!

Water splashed everywhere as Ingo made contact with the waist-high water, vanishing into the darkness. Iko was less than ten steps away from where he fell, and his already soaked-through clothing was once again submerged by the splash.

Desperately, Iko trudged through the water, reaching into the spot where Ingo fell and pulling him above water by the front of his shirt collar.

Although fear filled his eyes, a sigh of relief washed over him as his brother coughed up some water, still clearly breathing.

"T-thank you, Iko," he coughed, still limp, "I fell."

"I saw, you idiot!" Iko yelled, shaking his brother, "I knew something would happen if you stayed up there!"

With a shaky hand, Ingo reached to his waist and weakly lifted up his pouch with a smile, "I got the homes, though."

"Who cares about the homes!? You should be happy you are alive after that fall!" he snapped.

In response to his yell, Ingo paused, "Well... about that..."

"Huh?"

Iko followed Ingo's pointed finger down to his side. His eyes widened in horror.

"Y-you-"

A large, broken branch, likely washed into the shallow lake by the frequent storms, was impaled deeply into the side of his brother.

"It is kind of funny," Ingo continued, "You were too young to remember it, but this is the same way grandpa died."

"GRANDPA DIED THE SAME WAY AND YOU STILL WOULD NOT COME DOWN!?"

Iko was tempted just to kill his brother himself at this point, but he knew he couldn't do that.

"Yeah, I thought it would be fine," he smiled through the pain, "I am probably dead anyway, so you can just leave me here. There is no point in risking you getting struck by lightning waiting for me to die."

True to his words, more bolts of light flashed in the sky above them as the rain continued to pour.

Iko's eyes wandered to the branch sticking out of his brother's side and back toward the sky.

If grandpa really did die from this, is there any point in-

"Iko, just take this with you."

His thoughts were interrupted by Ingo's outstretched hand, clutching the small cocoon-filled pouch.

"I DO NOT WANT THOSE STUPID THINGS!"

Plop!

Feeling something pop in his forehead, Iko smacked the pouch out of Ingo's hand, sending it splashing into the water. After seeing his older brother's sad expression, however, he reluctantly retrieved it with a sigh and put it in a small gap in his clothing.

"I am not letting you die before I get to smack you!"

"Ugh!"

Rain poured around the brothers as Iko hoisted his older brother onto his back. With their height difference, the most he could do was drag him through the waist-high water.

The two advanced through the stormy lake, one step at a time, with Ingo letting out a painful groan with every movement.

"Just leave me here... it hurts too much!" he whined.

Of course, Iko wasn't having any of it.

"Good! Suffer, you idiot! I will drag you all the way back!"

They continued on as the storm raged on, yet by the time they reached their village, the storm was already moving off to the east, leaving only a drizzle behind.

The village was empty despite it being late afternoon, as everyone was still taking shelter from the storm, letting the two brothers go straight home without interruption.

"Mom! Dad!" Iko called out, pushing aside the tied wooden planks that covered the home's entryway during storms.

A woman's voice immediately responded.

"Iko!? Where have you been!? And where is-"

"H-hi, Mom. I am here, too."

SLAM!

Their mother immediately collapsed onto the floor upon seeing the branch sticking out of Ingo.

"Huh? What is going on?"

Their dad, who was resting on a pile of corn husks in the corner of the home, rustled awake at the noise. He looked at his partner on the floor, then at his sons, then back at the floor.

"... This does not look good," he finally declared.

"You think!?" Iko rebutted, handing his brother over to his father, who finally approached them.

"I do not just think that. Did you know that your mother's father- your grandfather- died from the exact same thing? You could ask your mother to tell you more about it, but well..." he paused, gesturing to the collapsed woman on the floor.

"I heard," Iko sighed, "What should we do?"

"Well, his leg should be easy to fix."

"His leg- whoa!"

Iko looked at his older brother's leg, which was swollen and twisted in a disturbing way

I did not even see it under the water...

"Mhm. It will be painful, but we just need to bend it back to normal, hold it in place with wood and rope, and let it heal for a season. It would be a pain for Ingo, but luckily, he might not need to worry about it because of the branch."

"How is that lucky!?"

Their father ignored Iko's question and looked closer at Ingo.

"I was one of the people who was trying to save your grandfather when this happened to him, so I know more now than I did then. You are smart for not taking the branch out after you fell- the second we pulled it out of your grandfather, he lost way too much blood."

"So will I just have to live with a branch in my side?" Ingo finally asked.

His father shook his head, "No, that would look stupid. Also, it will probably make it impossible for you to eat properly, and you might die a slow and painful death."

"Hmm... yeah, that would not be good."

Iko looked back and forth between the two of them.

... Am I the weird one here? There is no way this is normal, right?

"So, we just have to pull it out?" his brother asked again.

"After we are prepared, yes," his father explained, "I have no idea if you can heal from such an injury, but we will not know that unless you can survive the blood loss. I was thinking about maybe stuffing the wound with something soft that we can take out later when it is more healed."

"Something soft..."

With an evil grin, Iko looked toward his brother.

"No... no! Not that! Do not touch those- I would rather die!"

Despite his pleas, Ingo was far too weak to resist Iko snatching the cocoon-filled pouch that he returned to his brother on the journey home and tossed it to his father.

"Here you go... what else do you need?"

"Well..."

.

..

...

After quickly grabbing some clean corn husks, rope, and filling a wooden bucket made from hollowing out a young tree trunk with water, Ingo was laid down to begin his primitive operation.

By the time he had finished getting these supplies, his mother had recovered from her shock and joined in on the preparations with some ideas of her own.

"I spent countless nights thinking about ways I could have saved my father after he passed," she said, "Now I will see if my energy had meaning."

Rather than simply stuffing the wound, she instead wanted to sew it shut, similarly to attaching two different corn husks together for their clothing. As she emerged from their home with a chicken-bone needle and an unwound cocoon threat in her hand, it appeared her idea was a success.

"Did it work?" Iko hesitantly asked his mother, who looked awful and was covered in.

"We got the branch out and stopped the bleeding," she replied bleakly, "But maybe only the creator of the world would be able to help him recover."

As dreary as her outlook was, it seemed to be proven right at first. For the entire first week after the operation, Ingo couldn't eat and frequently vomited up blood- losing enough weight to make his full ribcage visible from afar.

Things began to take a turn on the second week, however, when he was able to finally eat some crushed cherries diluted in a large cup of water. His weight loss began to plateau.

On the third week, his face regained color, and full cherries could be eaten without assistance. He could also finally sit up on his own.

Hopefulness returned to the eyes of the family who watched Ingo stand to his feet on the fourth week and take his first unassisted steps on the fifth, stiff from the wooden brace on his right leg.

The family watched in awe as Ingo gradually began to recover and retain his food, and around the time the new season reached its end, Ingo was back on his feet and eating as if there was never a branch in his side or a broken leg to begin with.

"It really must be a blessing from the creator of the world," his mother muttered as she watched Ingo running out of the village, pulling Iko by the hand.

It wouldn't be for another few months that a messenger from Rygard would finally reach the village, spreading word of the gift of healing that the creator of the world had gifted his humans as gratitude for the victory against the last invasion.

A figure who once only watched over them and offered guidance in times of danger now directly saved a human with his gift's intervention. With this now known and similar stories to be told around the realm, Ingo's mother and millions of others would begin viewing the world's creator in a new light. A new wave of change had started its motion.

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Very Rough Swamp Vine Concept Art:

(If you can not see this image, you are likely not reading this story on its intended site)