Part Five

While Kalia and Gwyn knew about each other's abilities, Alicia and I did not. We were not yet at the stage where we felt comfortable sharing our Statuses, though that might change soon. And so, we decided that the best way for everyone to gage each other was for us to find several small groups of weak monsters to challenge. Depending on the number of monsters involved, we might even take them on solo. We also wanted to let Gwen get a taste of fighting while the stakes were still low.

That all meant that Alicia would take the spotlight. Her scouting abilities had grown in the Dungeon, so she now made for an excellent scout. I kind of wanted her to train Stealth more, but she wanted to focus on her magic and Imbuement instead. Though since she still used it, the Skill would inevitably see some growth.

“Gah!”

“Gagagagaga!”

“Gyahahaha!”

Really? Goblins? Are these guys literally everywhere?

It didn’t take long for us to find our first group of monsters, though there was more than I’d expected. Goblins usually preferred larger groups, so it wasn’t really a surprise to see so many of them here. Neither was the fact that they were all F-Ranks. That fact caused me, Alicia, Kalia, and Gwyn to ever-so-slightly relax, as we all knew that these monsters wouldn’t be much of a fight. But Gwen, who didn’t know that, tensed up.

“Uh, are we really fightin' ‘em? There’s over two dozen of those….things.”

“Yep, we are. Weak Goblins like them aren’t really anything to worry about. They don’t even have proper weapons. Heck, Kalia could probably just bludgeon them to death with her staff.”

“I’d never do that! Their skulls could damage my staff. Then I wouldn’t have anything to cast with.”

“See?”

“Uh, sure. Okay Gwen. Time to get yer butt in gear.”

“Haha. Good. So, how we splitting them?” Gwyn took a minute to mull over what I’d said.

“You go left, I’ll go right? I don’t think we really need anything more complicated for this fight. Gwen, you come in once we start fighting. Just focus on getting used to fighting for now.”

The two of us moved into position to flank the Goblins, which were too occupied by whatever was suspended over a makeshift fire-pit. This was probably the spoils of some hunt, and it made an excellent distraction for us.

Once we were in place, Alicia opened fire on the Goblins, sending a Grenade Arrow right into their midst. The explosion killed four of them, and flung the rest backwards. Also, we now had verification that the Fairy’s Whisper’s silencing effect worked on explosions caused by projectiles. Though is it an explosion if its silent? Wouldn’t it be a shockwave then? What’s the difference?

With the monsters now in disarray, me and Gwyn rushed towards them. Each Goblin we passed soon had its life snuffed out. They were just no match for us. By the time Gwen joined us, half of them were dead. She’d apparently chosen to use a mace, and was swinging it around wildly, cracking open Goblin skulls with every other swing.

Hm, well, I knew this wouldn’t be much of a fight. Me, Alicia, or Gwyn could’ve done this on our own. At least I can get a glimpse of his fighting style from this.

Gwyn fought almost savagely. Instead of going for the vitals like I did, he seemed to prefer cutting off limbs and bashing in heads while he fought. He also seemed to be using some sort of Skill, as he knew immediately when a monster came up from behind him. Survival Instinct wasn’t that accurate when there were this many monsters around.

Two minutes. That’s all it took for us to kill twenty-odd Goblins. Considering how much they began running around after we’d killed quite a few of them, it was an acceptable time, but I’d like to shoot for quicker. If we could get a few stronger AOE Skills, then enemies of this level would die in a single attack.

I sighed, coming down from the adrenaline high, and looked around. Gwen’s face was pale, and it looked like she was trying not to throw up. Gwyn was rubbing her back and trying to soothe her. I wouldn’t judge her too hard for this. Even I didn’t enjoy the feeling of flesh parting under my blade. It was probably worse the first time. I’d had one or two moments like this in the Labyrinth.

Well that was easy. I didn’t even use any mana in that fight. Alicia’s preemptive attack really crushed any chance of them resisting us. Well that, and the fact that they were using stones tied to sticks as weapons. Seriously, and I thought the rusted blades other Goblins used were bad.

Alicia and Kalia had joined us by the time Gwen recovered. Poor Kalia hadn’t even had a chance to cast a spell, so she looked a bit bummed.

“Shouldn’t it be a good thing you didn’t have to cast any magic? That means no one got hurt.”

“Well, yeah. But I didn’t even have time to cast [Bless] either. Though I guess I could do it now.”

“I don’t see a problem with that. I know Michael likes it when you cast that spell. Hehe, what was it he said again? ‘Buffing spells are essential to any good party!’ or something along those lines. He wouldn’t stop talking about how buffs can make or break a party.”

“Hey! What nonsense are you spouting this time!?”

“Nonsense? Whatever could you be talking about? I’m just chatting with Kalia about the viability of her spells.”

“Mn-hm, sure. And I’m the Duke of Lichtenstein. Yeesh, the nerve of some people.”

Considering the way she was smirking at me, she knew exactly what she was doing. But unfortunately, someone interrupted before I could retort further.

“Erherm! Do you always flirt like that?”

“”No!”” “Yes. All the time.”

“Uh-huh. Well, I’d say this was a successful first battle, though our opponents were rather lackluster. But I do have one question I feel that I must ask. That bow, is it not the Fairy’s Whisper?”

Ah, oops. We should’ve explained that before. All three of us flinched at the realization, before hurrying to explain. Considering how he used to be on the same team as Jansen, it was likely that he’d recognize the bow. Thankfully, he wasn’t being too suspicious, probably since Kalia was with us. He might even put what happened together all ready, though it wouldn’t be all that hard.

“I must say, I’m surprised that Jansen gave you his bow.”

“You mean you don’t believe us?”

“No, no, I do. It just makes me wonder what his current weapon is capable of if he was willing to give his old one away. Though given what else you’ve told me about the events in the Dungeon, I must admit to worrying for him. We weren’t close, but I considered him to be a good man. He’s one of the main reasons Braddock was able to build such a large group so quickly. I’m also curious about this Sampson.”

“Oi, that guy. Conniving would be a good word to describe him. Also arrogant, brutish, and vulgar. But he’s definitely strong.”

“Hm, well then. Another character to keep an eye out for. Well, shall we be moving on?”

“Yeah, let’s go before those Goblins start to stink.”

***

“KIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!!!!”

“I don’t think mantises are supposed to shriek like that!”

“Nor are they supposed to be this big! Shit, these things are tenacious!”

After dealing with the Goblins, we’d gone on to fight several groups of other weak F- and E-Rank monsters, easily beating each one. However, just when we started to consider heading back to the cottage, a group of praying mantis-like monsters had swarmed us. Unlike Beast or Demi-Human monsters, insect-type monsters possessed troubling levels of vitality, enough that they’d survive decapitation for several moments.

Still, the mantises had neither the numbers nor the power to overwhelm us. Only Gwen really struggled during the battle, and that was mostly due to her inexperience with killing. Insects were not the best choice of opponent.

Ugh, what the hell is with this liquid on my swords? It’s both runny and sticky at the same time. Blegh!

“Well, that was… something. Should we be worried about-? Ah, never mind! There’s more mantises incoming!”

“”“KIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!!!”””

Another swarm of mantises, this one far larger than the last, emerged from a nearby cluster of trees. Considering how fast the insects moved, we had about a minute before they’d be on us. Running away probably wasn’t an option.

“Tch, guess it’s time to get serious. Alicia, give ‘em hell!”

“Aye, aye!”

Given the mantises' vitality, Alicia’s arrows hadn’t been all that effective against them, even the Magic-Infused ones, and she couldn’t use the explosive ones so close to us. However, now she could bombard them without worrying about friendly fire. And based on her manic grin, she was relishing this chance.

Uh, is it just me, or is Alicia slowly becoming a pyromaniac? Or is this just some form of stress relief for her?

Alicia’s worrying tendencies aside, the intensity of the explosions seemed to have improved since the Dungeon. Each arrow accurately struck a mantis, causing the damn bugs to blow apart. Pieces of the insects splattered about as the swarm was mercilessly crushed. Except….

“Uh, guys? That’s a big bug.”

Once the smoke cleared, almost every mantis had been slaughtered by Alicia’s bombardment. Only a single monster made it through the explosions to reach us. It was just that that monster was much larger than the others we’d fought.

Sentinel Mantiz

Rank: C

Description: An Evolved Mantiz specimen that is usually assigned to guard either specimens in charge of reproduction, or the perimeter of a Mantiz nest. Unlike other insect-type monsters, a Sentinel's carapace is highly resistant to fire, making them irritating opponents to fight against.

In addition to what the description said, this particular bug was about as large as us, and had four arms instead of two, each equipped with large scythes. Honestly, if you told me this thing was related to the smaller mantises, I would’ve laughed about it. Even its shriek was more menacing than theirs.

“KRRRRRRRAAAAGHH!”

“Crap! Ugh, scatter!”

The mantis came down where we’d all been standing seconds before. Its speed and jumping power, combined with its size, made it seem like a meteor had just landed near us. The impact caused the ground to shake, and I saw Kalia and Gwen fall out of the corner of my eye. However, the bug had just put itself into the perfect place to die.

Alicia bounded backwards, firing arrows as she went. She was using regular arrows this time, and aiming at the insect’s joints to impede its movement. Gwyn had thrown one of his axes at it, which dug deep into its carapace. I knew his axes had some ability of their own, but not what it did. But at the very least, the impact caused cracks throughout the mantis’s exoskeleton.

Using the distraction provided by the two of them, I was able to sneak in close and cut off one of the bug's legs, causing it to topple to the ground. From there, the three of us took our time finishing the monster off. Two minutes later, and we’d picked it apart.

Fuck, that thing was tough. We would’ve had a much harder time dealing with it if any of us weren’t here. Was Gwyn seriously going to try and deal with situations like this on his own? Hmm. Guess we should focus on clearing out before any more bug’s show up. We’re not prepared to deal with more than this.