Mature Content Warning: Graphic violence, though limited in length.

Author's Note:

Chapter 2: Camping

The intermittent rays of light that shined down through the branches of the forest perfectly enhanced the beauty of the scenery. A true old growth forest, as Scott would consider it, the forest north of Meaden was easy to navigate and lacked excessive undergrowth. There were occasional briar patches and holes hidden by roots and leaves, but they did not detract from its natural beauty.

“So, what made you want to become an adventurer?” asked Scott.

Rhea pondered the question for a moment as they continued to walk in the general direction of the Red Rock Mine. Their current destination had been largely forgotten by most people, but it was a source of revenue for Meaden and even Victory station in a bygone era.

The elf girl nodded after deciding on her answer. “I wanted to see more of the world, and perhaps find people to see it with.”

“That’s a good answer, I think.” He smiled at her and she smiled back. They had stopped discussing their various difficult topics such as the elf stuff that she would have to do on occasion. Instead they had turned to topics that were a bit more mundane.

“How about you? Why did you want to start adventuring?”

Scott did not have to think about his answer, much. “I have led a life that is largely sedentary since ending my time in the military. Even when I was in the army I rarely did any sort of traveling that I enjoyed. I mostly went to the shittiest places imaginable and sat there trying not to bake or freeze.”

“I see.” His tone was a little off-putting, but she could understand the sentiment.

He looked toward her and smiled a little. “Yeah, well... Mostly, I just want to see what there is to see in this world. Having a few comrades along would be nice as well.”

Rhea perked up a little after hearing that bit of information. It seemed like he truly wanted to explore the world and make friends. That was exactly what she had hoped to hear.

The day wore on as they walked. The blue haired duo chatted about many different topics and continued to enjoy being together on their trip. Soon there would be fighting, screaming, and blood. At the moment, however, there was only pleasant conversation and a desire to learn more about each other.

After a few hours had passed Rhea casually asked, “So, do you have someone special in your life?”

He pointed at her then smirked. The elf maiden’s face turned bright red and she shook her head back and forth. “No, I mean... a girl friend or something like that.”

Scott sighed and then shook his head. “No, I am not exactly looking for something like that right now.”

“Oh.” Her shoulders drooped a little and she unleashed a soft sigh.

He leaned over and bumped her with his shoulder. “What about you? I find it difficult to believe that someone who is as sweet and interesting as you does not have a boyfriend.”

“Well no, I guess I don’t. There is one guy, but he isn’t interested in relationships right now.”

Scott laughed softly then looked at her with a soft smile. “He sounds like a total dumbass.”

“Yeah, he doesn’t know a good thing when he sees it.” she replied with a smirk.

They laughed and carried on for a while, as the journey continued. Scott and Rhea grew a little closer as the miles passed. Soon, however, the journey came to an end.

A harsh cry pierced the air. They turned quickly to see that three people were racing toward them. The term people might be used loosely in this instance as they were about the size of a dwarf in height, but skinny and their skin was dark green. Their noses were three sizes too large for their faces, and they each had a severe under-bite that exposed sharp green fangs.

Rhea and Scott immediately went on the offensive. The elf instinctively added a lightning elemental magic to her blade.

Scott rushed toward the oncoming attacking group while focusing on his mental image of an iceberg. He held that image in mind and kept it in focus even as he leapt toward the closest goblin. He moved into a forward roll and just before he reached the monster he unleashed a powerful spinning leg sweep that used his forward momentum to add strength to the blow.

The goblin was completely unprepared for the sudden movements and was knocked off its feet. The second closest goblin was within striking distance and whipped its pitted and scarred machete down with lethal intent. It was too slow, however. Scott blocked the strike with his left rat-fang gauntlet then turned quickly to the side.

The goblin was forced off balance and could not recover before its human opponent unleashed his freeze spell. A bright red number twelve rose up from its ice-rimmed body.

Rhea intercepted the third goblin before it could reach Scott. She deflected a strike that it had attempted to land on the sorcerer’s exposed back then followed it up with a forward push that knocked it off balance and forced it to the ground.

The goblin received very little damage from the strike, but it was at a terrible disadvantage.

The Arcane Blade and the Sorcerer fought back to back for a moment, while they kept their opponents separated. Despite the fact that they were probably at a higher level than the goblins, the creatures were agile and had a lot of stamina.

The main saving grace in the fight was that goblins were not especially resistant to magic. Their innate intellect was the only thing that allowed them to resist a spell or spell effect. Suffice it to say, they could lessen the damage but they had little actual resistance to the effects of a given magical attack.

Scott batted away another hard strike from the frost covered goblin and stepped in to deliver a hard strike to its armpit. The attack met with less resistance as the creature only wore a leather vest as armor. The fangs of the rat tore into its exposed armpit with great force and the creature cried out in agony.

At the same moment that Scott had chosen to overwhelm his opponent by striking the nerve cluster located in its armpit, Rhea raised her sword then slammed it down on top of the goblin that Scott had knocked to the ground earlier. It penetrated deeply into the stunned creature and caused considerable damage. However, she was not able to finish it off. The other goblin had regained its feet.

The elf met the goblin’s renewed attack by whipping her blade up while keeping it pointed toward the earth. She neatly deflected its crude assault, opening its stance up for a follow-up strike. She lashed her sword sideways with great force and took and step back in the process. The combination of simple attack and instinctive footwork allowed her to strike a third time by stepping forward and delivering a brutal overhand strike that bit deeply into its shoulder and crushed its clavicle.

The goblin fell to its knees and screamed out in agony, but its cry was cut short when a leather clad elven foot slammed into its blood drenched chest. It fell back and began to flail its only working arm in a wild and spastic manner.

While Rhea performed her expertly honed sword skills, Scott slipped under another attack by the goblin that he was facing. He wrapped his arms neatly around the monster’s torso then leapt hurled them both backward in a powerful arc movement that forced the creature to slam into the ground head first. A loud *crack!* radiated from the point of impact and the creature immediately went limp. Though it had not yet died, its neck had been snapped by the brutal and efficient attack.

The sorcerer flipped over to complete the attack and then reversed direction before slamming his elbow down atop the paralyzed beast. A follow-up punch to the face ended its life. By the time Scott looked up Rhea had finished off the other two goblins with simple downward thrusts.

The elf girl panted softly then looked at him. He looked at her for a moment as well.

Scott blinked. “I don’t know whether to feel emasculated and turned on right now.”

She snorted at him then shook her head. “You should feel both.”

Rhea had taken down two goblins to his one, though he had majorly assisted in one of those kills. His first attack had heavily stunned the lead goblin, after all.

No more opponents appeared for a few seconds and the battle music changed back to a normal traveler’s tune.

VICTORY!!

Your party has slain three goblins!

+ 45 EXP

+ 105 Fayth

+ 3 Ability Points

Item(s) acquired:

Ragged Leather Vest X 1

Rusty Machete X 1

Soiled Briefs X 1

Scott started to say something about how much of an improvement that was over hunting a grass rat, but he was distracted by a sudden and loud fanfare that radiated from his position.

You have worked long and hard on mastering your spells!

The Freeze spell has reached level 1!

Force increases by 1.

Mana requirement is reduced by 1.

Range increases by 1.

“Oh, neat. My spell just gained a level...” said Scott. It had finally happened. He could scarcely believe it, personally.

“That’s great news. Congratulations.” said Rhea. She was happy for him. Training new spells and abilities could take quite a bit of time.

Scott checked his spell then sighed. “Fifty more uses and it will level once more.”

“You should train it while we hunt. We have a tent so that would help a lot.”

“True, from what I hear it will act the same as sleeping at an inn?”

“Sort of, tents and other consumable items that are used for lodgings in the wilderness are enchanted to provide a lot of benefits. Resting for one hour inside the tent’s influence is equal to sleeping for an hour. Better tents and higher grade lodgings provide better effects.”

“Wait, so if I were to simply sit inside the tent I would get the same benefit as sleeping for an hour?”

“Sure. If you actually go to sleep, you’ll receive about twice the recovery that you would normally when sleeping. If we can save the money to buy an infinite use travel house, it ends up as a ten to one rate of recovery. You still have to get a real night’s sleep to recover actual stamina or to remove minor status afflictions, though. The enhancement recovery rate is just for health and mana.”

Scott immediately understood another important facet of the world. “That’s it, isn’t it? That’s how adventurers manage to stay in the field so long without spending a fortune on potions.”

“Yep, that’s one way. There are also special areas in some zones that will rapidly restore your health and mana. There are also skills and other things that can be used for that purpose.”

“A permanent travel house sounds expensive, though.”

“They are. They cost more than some mansions in the larger towns.”

“That makes sense. A house that you can pack up and take with you would be in high demand.”

They chatted freely for a few minutes then scouted the area in order to find the entrance to the mine. During their patrol of the area, they ran across a few random monsters and another trio of goblins.

Eventually, they found the mine entrance then pulled back to a relatively safe distance and set up their tent. Rhea showed Scott how to use it. He took the crystalline orb from his inventory and at her direction; he shook it like a snow globe then sat it down where they intended to place their camp.

They moved back about twenty paces and watched as the globe began to rock and shake. After a brief few seconds passed the crystalline structure cracked and a wave of energy spread outward from the destroyed device. The energy wave stretched out for about one hundred paces from where it had begun and a curtain of light appeared in a perfect circle around the new camp.

Sanctuary Point!

You have erected a sanctuary field! This location is now deemed safe from aggressive monster encounters. Monsters will not notice your presence or enter the field while you remain inside its influence. Health and mana restoration is increased.

As the Champion of Origin you can designate this location as your point of restoration if you are slain in battle. Do you wish to do so at this time? [Yes | No]

Scott grinned then pressed the yes button. He did not want to respawn all the way back in town that was for certain. It was a lot like saving his game in an old RPG. When you used a tent or set up camp, you would get the option to save in many of those older games. He wondered for a moment if there would be save points and similar things that would occur in dungeons.

The tent that appeared at the center of the sanctuary area was a simple affair. There were no costs provided, but they had bedrolls so there would be no issue there. Another thing that he found useful was the little fire pit that came with it.

There was no need to start a fire, as it started on its own and burned merrily without giving off smoke.

“Now, that’s neat.”

“Yeah, it’s a magical flame. You can’t be burned by it or cause a wildfire to start, but you can still cook food and stay warm.”

“Weird, and useful at the same time.” A fire hot enough to cook with yet be unable to burn you, was not something that he had expected to see.