Chapter 20: No Surprise attacks

Having had a night of rest and feeling completely refreshed, I wake up along with Kelsi, who was sleeping next to me in front of the bonfire.

The first thing we do every day is washing up before having breakfast, which as you may have guessed, is cooked by Rize. Walk to the river, jump into the water, clean ourselves. We go out, dry like dogs do, and walk back to the camp.

Kelsi takes on her more human form and puts on some clothes.

"You really seem to be enjoying that form" (Doraig)

"Do you not like it, in the end?" (Kelsi)

"That's not it, I like however way you look. I just didn't expect you to want to look different compared to the rest of the slimes" (Doraig)

"Oh no, that's not it. I just really want to use the clothes you gifted to me" (Kelsi)

What is it with this cute creature

"Today we're having porridge with some bread for breakfast, sit down and eat while it's hot" (Rize)

Says Rize, as he serves a plate to Kelsi, Rob, and himself. When he's done, I grab the pot and eat from there— I obviously have to eat more than them.

"You're going to get fat" (Rob)

...

I'm bigger, It's not that I'm a pig that knows only how to eat!

I don't say that out loud and instead, make it seem as if I've ignored Rob's hurtful words. I'll get you someday, Mister Robin Caster...

About the Half-way point in our meal, Rize speaks up of the two important matters for today—

"I'm sure you guys already know, but let me say this again, we are here mainly to fill the quota for the king of this zone to appear, and secondly to level up. that said, with Robin having gained so many items, to the point where he can solo a big group of enemies, Kelsi having joined our group with a specially tailored set of skills which allow us to take on more risks, and Doraig and I having enough damage, we will stop doing any form of surprise attacks" (Rize)

He looks at Rob and Kelsi and waits for a few moments before continuing.

"The reason being that while it is an extremely useful tactic to quickly take out a group of monsters and avoid much risk of damage getting returned to us, I can see both Kelsi and Doraig are extremely uncomfortable when we're doing the surprise attacks. My guess is that in their minds, killing the monsters without allowing them to put any resistance makes it so they stop thinking of it as a fight between two sides, who have their own motives and reasons to fight, and instead it has them feeling as if they disregard the importance of life, becoming instead just kids who step on ants for fun"

"I will say that I don't intend for any of you to risk your lives fighting a meaningless fight, taking more risks just for the sake of it. I instead want us to use this chance to put ourselves on 'what if...' situations, to temper ourselves as a team and work on our combinations. Right now we're having an easy time, as we're at a point where most enemies as squishy and easily killable, but in the future, it won't be like this. Rob, you probably know as you've been in the knight's academy, but Doraig and Kelsi might not know this"

"By the time you hit level 100, the focus of most people stop being on evading damage and dealing quick hits to end the battle soon after it begins. Instead, by having better gear and more stat points to spend, along with skills that improve defense and perception, battles become long and tedious exchanges of wit and experience. Yes, it is still a long way to that point, possibly a few years or maybe even a decade if we don't go to a more specialized place, but I imagine none of you will stop grinding anytime soon. Rob has no longer a place to go back, and nobody knows how high things will escalate in the future. Kelsi will follow Doraig on his adventures, and Doraig will need to be strong enough to explore the world without dying to a random monster in a more dangerous area"

"Anyways, I think this is good zone to begin working on such things, we're in better shape compared to most other parties that would come to this place, both gear-wise and skill wise and also, Robin could use a bit of tempering on his fighting skills when against multiple foes, as you get crapped on in pretty much every fight that involves you against more than 3 foes" (Rize)

Everyone finishes listening to Rize's thoughts.

I obviously agree. I am the reason why Rize is saying what he said, and doing this in the first place.

Kelsi doesn't seem to mind, and in fact, seems pretty eager to do more for the rest of us, as she hasn't been able to have much presence so far.

Robin thinks about it for a few moments, before finally sighing and saying—

"Hah... fine, It's true that if this had continued, at some point it would have been too late to start gathering real fighting experience, and I would have died without even knowing how" (Rob)

And like that, it got settled that we would no longer do surprise attacks to take out a large number of enemies at once.

The porridge inside the pot is no longer very hot, warm at best, and I think the food in the other plates has gotten cold already. Whatever, food is food.

We wolf down the rest of our food and put down our plates (and pot) at the same time.

"Don't forget we have to spar today too" (Rob)

"Of course, hopefully, you will do better this time" (Rize)

"I'll wipe the floor with your ass this time mate, just watch me" (Rob)

"I'll bet money the floor will be wiped with your face again, just like last time" (Rize)

While Rize and Rob walk away, still bickering with each other, I and Kelsi gather the plates and pots used for breakfast and take them to the river to wash them. we don't go and spectate the spar today because we both know they're going to use what are basically non-lethal weapons to fight. At best, Robin's face will need some band-aids after kissing the floor one too many times.

We spend the next few minutes washing the dishes while talking.

"So when I was younger, I was traveling around this kingdom that was filled to the brim with humans. There were no other dragons in that place so I was something of a national figure for them. The King and I were good pals, and I remember this one time we were drinking and he got drunk, like really really drunk. he must have been seeing double, because I remember his wife entered the room we were in and she told him 'I can't believe you're still drinking, it has been 8 hours now!' and don't ask me how, but the king panicked and jumped in front of a tall plant that was used to decorate the room"

"He began flailing his hands trying to block the plant from his wife while yelling to her 'this is not what it looks like love, she's just a friend, just a friend!'. I was in stitches while the wife also lost her cool. Apparently, the wife thought the King was confessing his wrongdoings while drunk and so she started slapping the King's head while yelling to him 'I can't believe you! we've been together for 50 years, and you dared to cheat on me!'. the guards heard the mess inside and thought there was an assassin trying to pull out a funny move, so they ran inside to watch the King trying to protect a plant while his wife was hitting him while bawling her eyes out. Once the mess was cleared it turned out the King had cheated on his wife, but not like you might think"

"He cheated' because this one other time we were drinking until he was reaaally drunk, and after I left to do my own thing, the King left his room and approached a maid. while being drunk he thought the maid was his wife so he took advantage of her. the maid panicked and ran away, and that was where it all finished. the drunk King panicked at her 'wife' running away from him and it seems that memory had resurfaced when the wife entered the room while he was drinking with me. Anyways, that poor plant was used to feed the pigs" (Doraig)

Kelsi giggles and we soon finish washing the dishes, so we head back to see if the spar between Rize and Rob is over.

We approach the area used for the spar and the first thing I can see is the last raining arrow falling down before Rize runs out of mana. It looks like today's start of the round is a repeat of yesterday's match. Today, too, Rob makes use of that to begin closing the distance, but this time, he doesn't try to headbutt himself into Rize.

Robin is running while Rize escapes. from time to time, Rize turns around and shoots two to three arrows, before turning around to continue running. Rob zigzags and evades the arrows, before quickly trying to catch back up. slowly, the distance closes up and they hit the same point as yesterday, where Rob has the option of making a final sprint to try and hit Rize. they both stop and Rize turns around to face Rob while pointing with his bow at him.

Rob raises his guard in preparation of a random hit from Rize's bow, and they begin walking, mirroring each other's movement. Rize moves to his right, Rob moves to his left.

Rize moves to his right, Rob moves to his left.

Rize back away, Rob follows up by the same amount.

Rize stop, moves to his left, Rob moves to his right to follow him.

They hit an impasse, but it doesn't last for long.

Rob, kneels down to maximize his grip on the floor, and sprints. today, he doesn't use his second jump instantly and instead runs with his sword up. his grip is at his left shoulder level and the sword is parallel to the ground. Rize shoots one, two, and a third arrow at different parts of Robin's body, then turns around to continue running away.

the first arrow, aimed at Rob's right shoulder is easily evaded by him, which makes the arrow continue to fly coincidentally in the direction I and Kelsi are in.

HP received damage, HP 96.5 -> 74

The second arrow, which was shot by Rize who seemed to have perfectly predicted the way in which Rob would dodge, is now about to hit Rob's left leg, but right before it makes contact, Rob utilizes his second jump to quick the floor twice and dodge the arrow. the third arrow misses Rob by this unexpected action as well.

Rob, with no more arrows coming his way continues to chase after Rize, who has extended their distance by a few more meters.

"Doraig?" (Kelsi)

Kelsi speaks while we're watching the spar, does she want to go to the bathroom?

"Hmm?" (Doraig)

"Um, your... shoulder has an arrow sticking out of it" (Kelsi)

"My shoulder?" (Doraig)

I lower my gaze and indeed, I have a new spike poking off my shoulder

...

"AHHH!" (Doraig)

"Calm down, I'll take it out now" (Kelsi)

Oh, it doesn't really hurt a lot, now that you mention it.

Anyways, how is the fight going?

Rize is still running after Robin. wait.

Why is Rize now chasing Robin?

Where is his bow?

Rize is holding a dagger in his hand and is running after Rob, who after a few moments stops running away, turns around and blocks Rize's dagger with his sword.

Rob tries to kick Rize's stomach but Rize dodges to the side, making Rob's foot to continue moving past. Rize goes in for the 'kill', but when Robin's foot that had missed the attack moves a bit more, he kicks the air using his double jump skill, making his body jolt backwards, thus evading the dagger that would have hit him in the face.

He lands on the ground and stands his ground against Rize, who is by now staring daggers at him.

They begin an altercation, Rize aims for a hit from above, and Rob promptly blocks his hit. Rize goes for a stab in the chest, and in response, Robin blocks with the flat of his sword. Rize begins dancing with Robin but having the lighter weapon, quickly begins to push Rob back.

Rize strikes forward and Rob blocks with his sword, but not having had enough time to completely parry his sword by placing it perfectly perpendicular to RIze's attack, the dagger slips past and hits Robin in the shoulder.

Rob backs away and drops his sword, thus admitting defeat.

We walk towards them and Kelsi walks towards Robin, who is kneeling in the ground holding his bleeding shoulder. she kneels down to his level and heals his shoulder.

the first thing I do is ask—

"So why did you stop using your bow?" (Doraig)

"I ran out of arrows" (Rize)

"And so you continued by using your dagger?" (Doraig)

"Yeah, that's what happened" (Rize)

"Ah, I see" (Doraig)

"Can't believe this guy is so strong with his dagger, I couldn't even begin my offensive" (Robin)

"It's fine, at least you beat him" (Doraig)

Both of them look at me as if I just said the most stupid thing they've ever heard before

"Of course you won man, what is an archer that runs out of arrows if not dead meat? you were sparring with Rize's Archery, not Rize the bastard that has had centuries of time to train in every damn weapon there is" (Doraig)

"...Fine, you win this round then" (Rize)

"Yay! Ouch..." (Rob)

"Sit still, I'm still not done with your shoulder" (Kelsi)

"Thanks for the hard work" (Rob)

"No problem, anytime!" (Kelsi)

"Well then, let's go have lunch before heading out to continue grinding for today" (Doraig)

"Can we have meat today? I want to eat meat" (Kelsi)

"Sure, help me go look for something that we can grill Doraig" (Rize)

"Meat? Alright, Let's go search for a deer or something in the forest" (Doraig)

"Good, in the meanwhile Robin and Kelsi will go get things ready, but since we will take about an hour and a half to get the meat you guys can take your time" (Rize)

"Ok!" (Robin & Kelsi)

I look at Kelsi and pat her on the head while smiling

"I'll be right back sweetie" (Doraig)

She smiles back and nods

"Find a big one, so we have plenty of energy today" (Kelsi)

She says while lifting her arms and making a pose of showing off some muscle.

"Haha, Silly girl" (Doraig)

"Let's go" (Rize)

I wait for Rize to get on my back before jumping and flying towards the nearest forest. Kelsi looks at us before walking away with Rob towards the camp to begin setting things up.

Meanwhile, Parlor town.

Prince Harliq, the person who Robin served was second to the throne, instead of its heir. As such, he was just ever so close to becoming the King of the humans, if not for his Older brother, Marcus. Harliq, not wanting to be forever the second started many plans to gather the commoner's love. building orphanages, raising the security levels, building schools, leaving the castle to buy from the posts commoner's put up to have more presence between them, etc.

As such, he slowly garnered the love of his people.

One of the first plans he put up, was to get rid of the Thieve's guild in Parlor town, which possesses one of the central quarters of the Adventurer's guild. His plan had to take into account the people who tended to ask for their services, like for example, nobles.

The plan he came up started when he met Seras. he made it seem as if he had fallen in love at first sight and made that fact known to the people. then the rest was easy, just make it look like the Thieves' Guild was requested to murder her fiance, and then take revenge. this action, which would seem to be fueled by rage would then appear justified to the other nobles and thus avoid garnering their hate and opposition.

Too bad his plan was unveiled by them. The thieve's guild found proof of the deal made between the king and some random hooligans that had lost their parents and promised them an item that could bring back the dead. such item obviously couldn't exist, and so you can probably guess the level the hooligans were at.

to avoid failing, Prince Harliq had set up one of the knights that had just come out of the academy, but to avoid drawing suspicion he made it seem as if he was hiding the tree in a forest, telling the academy recruit that he planned to secretly bring out his fiance.

The rest is history.

"Troops, ready!" (Captain Gladius)

And with this shout, 50 men who were set up in a square formation, enter attack position, while at the same time shouting "Ready for attack!"

"At my mark"

The soldiers are all ears, waiting for the final confirmation before running head-first in the direction of the enemies' nest.

"Attack!" (Gladius)

And with the final shout, the Soldier begin their raid.

Somewhere inside the nest, Barque is grumbling at the incompetence of his subordinates, who took a bit too damn long to find out the truth.

'These f... idiots. I can't believe it took less time for the information to get out than for that group to find out what was happening. in the end, it was Sergio who once again heard the conversation of some of the men in Gladius' group to find out what was happening'

Amidst the grumbling, Sergio comes into the room to let him know of the happenings in the outside.

"Leader, the men are ready to defend, but I'm not sure if trenching ourselves is the best option, they could continue throwing in reinforcements while we fight, in the end wiping us all out"

"How many guys did Gladius bring with him?" (Barque)

"About 50, is what the scout said" (Sergio)

"We should be able to hold this one perfectly. I want half the men to hold their ground and the other half to begin moving things towards the secondary hidden exit" (Barque)

"Leader?" (Sergio)

"We can't just run away empty handed, can we? we are so many we'd just die by starving to death, and since we can't really enter the city by normal means either, lest we want the personal feud the prince has with us be spread to every other noble family in the country" (Barque)

"Then..." (Sergio)

"We'll leave, hide the men and then send a select group of people to spread the truth between our sponsors. we will not die off, and we will pay back our debt to Harliq" (Barque)

"Yes, Sir!" (Sergio)

"Drop it, you're not a soldier" (Barque)

"...Yes, Leader" (Sergio)