COI C17
Construction happened in the west part of the city, where a deep wide river being turned into a damn. From the supplies of limestone like for sturdy cement from Agatheus City and the ores from Rune Isles. The new form of power station had been made. The construction workers are all from isekai city and with their new redesign machines to improve the manpower during their project. Where closely to the shield as the monsters are outside.
"Do you see those monsters?"
"Countless of them sprang out from the forest last night"
"They look so satisfied eating those insects"
"Can you even seen them being fat before?"
"Just look at their round bellies"
They both laugh and go back to work.
Somewhere within the deep forest, a recognizable seal coming by to see countless monsters actively feasting in the root bites. The employer and the two raker mawn reached outside of the city.
"How can we travel like this?"
"Insects come and go and attracted a lot of other monsters. Yet we were all fine"
"The rat like you did a good job maneuvering the forest. Like why would you run around in the city acting so suspicious"
"I just want to know more of the danger than the peaceful"
"The law is not the danger to you. Why did you test it?"
"Oh, they did, with a goblin no doubt"
They reached where the students were doing their quests. Once was a barren, and now returned back to its natural form.
U'ecin stomps the ground and felt only the roughness of some wood.
"This is where the what the elf wanted to prospect right?"
The employer checks on his device and see where they are now.
"Yes! this is the place, but we need to head to the city for further procedures. Come on let's get going"
He goes on ahead leaving the two checking the soil.
"Multitude of magics being used here. Hearing it to be barren, the marks of their actions remained"
Myrrkei don't believe to be the cause of it.
"U'ecin, the ground. Check it when we come back"
Myrrkei picks up his bottle and pour it to the ground. Then they follow the employer as they finished their quick survey.
Lost the day to work on the simulation room and another half day to find an adventurer for delivery. The Agathean man walks out from school and continue searching in Mihayara district. Leaving the group behind by his own mistakes, but won't stop him anyway. Reaching through the district where there is an event going on, a festival or some party. He can't describe it much, but many are just passing by treating like some kind of a market. He is eavesdropping while he is looking for adventurers.
"The Summer Festival is doing great"
"It helps us distracted during this insect situation"
"There is no people from the other city even coming to this event"
"Yeah, it's because of the lockdown remember?"
"They should . . ."
The Agathean man eavesdrops enough, and saw an arena where people in battle gears. The sign says
"Monster Challenge: Face a simulated battle arena where adventurer faced monsters from the Kinteinou monsters and more"
Then it is also added some warnings
"It is a prototype and will not responsible for any mishaps if the battlefield can't contain your OP abilities"
He thought it should be like a sphere, but he likes to see what it can do. Entering to the area where the simulation took place in an open street where the adventurers face images of monsters they fought from the dungeons. From feral goblins, but why, to the Hounder Elks and they added more to their fictional challenge.
Monsters he couldn't even imagine where mostly from their world. He should know it would be fictional where the contestants repeated the same trick at these monsters. All monsters acted aggressively, and other monsters have their variance of abilities. Not changing in with the same attacks. Like the Hounder Elks won't charge but it flees away, and this version made the elk aggressive and charged like some magic creature. This is far too different, but the crowd loves it. Monsters he won't try to identify but he heard them in each announcement they give.
"Orcs, Goblins (Hah! What will the gobins say about this?), Pigmen, Kobolds, Lizardmen, and Skeletons"
He identifies them all in the same comparison that these creatures have.
"These creatures has the features of other race. All of them has no difference in their techniques and ways of fighting"
Humanesque has different forms of weaponry based on a specific fighting style, Eldesune uses magic through their elven gods' blessings, Rusic use runewords weaponries as their arsenal between magical and physical attacks combine, Gobins used their shamanism as their spiritual weapons, and Daemos with their stolen powers from other sources but their own secret powers will never be revealed.
Then he saw something rather unique within the area as he listened to the announcer.
"Ok, let's bring out the dragon"
Dragon was called out from the size of it that fits the street. The size is too great to exist as it blows fire from its breath. The challenger was brought up his appearance was beyond of a hunter to a more theatrical appearance. Then the challenger begins to strike. The battle was some kind of an athletic performance, he dodges all around with the size of the dragon being slow for the entire time. Every moves the dragon did that the challenger can do twice as more.
It was unbelievable, but entertaining to see. Then the challenger strikes the dragon down with a few hits then it fell and disappears. He starts to wonder
"How ironic of me, to be inspired by this performance. Now I will take my work seriously as before and punished those idiots who played around and face some real challenge inside the sphere"
The challenge was over and the new segment event come forth by the announcer. A familiar goblin coming on the center of the street with the boos coming from the audience.
"Bring back the cute announcer, you are not worth the fun"
"Wohoo, get out of the street you goblin"
The goblin in all sort of laughable reaction by their negative remarks, as he brings some gem hidden inside a special form of rituals.
"Sorry for bringing me, one small little goblin to the center. But I make a deal with your announcer lady"
The goblin is there for some reason but plays oddly to the crowd.
"The deal is simple, beat my beasts to any challengers out there from D to S rank adventurers, to save that lovely announcer to be my escort for a day"
The audience started throwing words at him of being a creep, and his attitude acting all high and mighty.
"If I'll lose, then I'll be heading to jail with all the claims they did on me"
The street changes to fit the settings, it turns into an arena.
The goblin throws the mic to the announcer girl and she didn't catch it, rather summoned a new one from her hand.
"This creep have been eyeing other girls since the day of the swarms, we have failed to report him numerous times. Please anyone to stop this monster"
The goblin laughs with no one to hear as the anger of the audience prosecuting the goblin who maniacally laughs at the accusations. Many people in the audience started to gossip about him.
"That goblin is Sork, I heard a lot of this guy doing multiple jobs"
"Sork? The same announcer from the opening tournament during the city states meeting"
"I heard of him before when he joined to catch the Rat"
"After that, I heard more of him being a pest around the City Guild to the women staff at their offices"
"He is just everywhere, and now is getting to trouble to the girls too"
"I know goblins have their bad sides . . ."
The Agathean man joins along added more about Sork, before even the Isekai City came to this world.
". . . I heard he is one of those double crossers, who take advantage on young adventurers (they thought about young girls, besides the rookies themselves)"
They started to rile up and never thought he got them in a strong rage to a goblin. In truth, he only knows Sork being the Horde Chief's Saboteur.
Sork's secret can be easily hidden in the city, but at the outside of the city. Many guardsmen in Agatheus City know about the goblin tribes’ aggressive battles among each other. The most thriving chief is Ogit Hay'droppah, who declared himself as Horde Chief in the middle of the tribal campaign. Sork is here in the city, the Agathean man tried adding a few bad names on him. Realizing what Sork did made many people mad. From what the audience is acting now, he realized how deep are the rumors that the goblin made. The guards are here as they check on the situation, and they stay there and watch.
Other challengers come to face him, and the goblin brought a few gems with him. He started to summon it and an elk has appeared.
"It's just a B rank monster, Hounder Elk, this is going to be easy"
Agathean saw something different about the elk. It wears some tribal items as it painted in brown, the paint is hiding something and he wanted to see what it can do.
"Alright, if one of you managed to beat this goblin's monsters. Will have a kiss on a cheek to yours truly"
The challengers got excited and five of them are at the street with their best items in hand.
"Alright, let's get ready and give this goblin a lesson. Never mess with our city"
The fight commenced and the look of Sork's face grins so devilishly as the Elk went flying back to the wall of the battlefield. He remains still as the challengers laugh at him.
"Laugh* Is that what can you do goblin?"
Sork didn't let that insult hurt him and stays where he is. It was quick and anticlimactic. The Agathean man ignored the quick victory as they shouted. His magic senses check on the elk and sense something a familiar animal that it shouldn't be an elk.
"Alright, the elk . . ."
The Elk rushed back at them and knocks one of the challengers aside, and one of them managed to catch it.
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The elk moves differently from what he knows. Sork stays the same and the audience were cheering on to the challengers. Loud voices of supports and serious tones to help them focus. The challenger who held the elk starts to pulled off from the ground as the antler of the elk carried him off and slams him to the side. The other challenger quickly draws his bow and fire at the elk. The elk quickly turns its head and used the one who held its antler as a shield. Got hit by the cross fire the challenger let it go and thrown again to the other side. The other challenger uses a strong magic.
"FIRE!" "EARTH SPEAR!" "WATER BULLETS!"
He casts all his variable attacks consecutively.
The magic hits it, and the goblin remained the same as he stands in front of the elk. The elk stands as the power of the magic should obliterate it. The challengers were off what they see. The Agathean man already figured it out, and the magic senses he is getting. A shamanistic presence was around the elk, and surely the elk's overbearing endurance kept its body in one piece. As he is looking more closely where the challengers are getting hype up and prepare another attack. The man with a bow opens his magic on the ground as the elk front legs sink in as the head remained free. The one who got knock back recovers and waited as the one who heals him prepared some buffs.
"Don't underestimate that goblin, the rumors of him being outside of Jail should not take it likely"
The support gives another one some buffs as he quickly empowered his abilities.
"I owe you one"
The man pulls out his magic weapons from both of his hand as he is preparing for the effects of the buffs. The Agathean observed the five challengers where the four of them stick together, one who is standing up after being thrown away is a martial artist (guess), an archer who casts some sort of earth magic, an oversize man who casts a few big spells wears casual clothes, the one who is now channeling to summon a massive hammer, and finally a support who gave both the martial artist and the one who wield a hammer a heal and some buffs.
The man who carries a hammer begins quick summoning his armor with other forms of runes on it, not from Rusic, and swing at the elk. The elk dodges it as it leaps to the man at the side of the wall. He dodges it and dashes to his team.
"This monster, have you face it yet?"
"I have, a quick burst attack is enough of the elk to explode. Its hide is invincible"
The fat man have experienced with it, but he doubts from a goblin summoned.
"My magic contains inner bomb that would blow up internally. This is not some ordinary monster. I don't know what that goblin did to that elk"
The goblin played still as he focus on his summoned beast.
The support and the archer talk to each other as they pointed at Sork.
"It's the goblin, can we hit him? He is not part of the rule"
"Well he is in the middle of the street, and he is in the battlefield so . . ."
The archer aimed at Sork with a strong ballistic shot and the goblin went knock back further away.
"AAH!"
Hit against the magic wall where the audience heard him from behind in a strong thug. The elk didn't change after they hit a powerful blow on Sork, as it rampages itself to the three.
"What are you doing?"
"Trying to check that could break the summon"
The elk manages to pulls itself out from the ground as it back foots started to shake the ground.
It pulls itself out and the ground started to slowly reveal some shaman magic flowing on it. The archer’s magic is used up, and with another cast his spell won't activate.
"Did it nullify the ground?"
The support felt unfamiliar magic flowing around the elk. A shaman spirit is circling around the elk where the painted hide reveals the magic coming out. A number of ghosts like elks coming out from it and began to form a herd as they are all alphas. The goblin kept smiling but his laugh weigh so low from the powerful blow of the archer. The fat man cast his magic and forced back the spirits with his magic.
"BANISH!"
The spirits are banished but the real one started to attack on the man with the hammer, his blocks won't do anything as the blunt hooves only pushes him back. He loses his balance but the support cast his magic to moved him forward from his fall.
"I think we can't stay for long. The elk's aura won't let my mana to recover"
The support figured it out, as the elk's dressed in shamanistic rituals. The paint in full brown hides its special items and charms. As the hide is strong and can't be tear off unless obliterated. The fat man felt something draining away while he casting his spells.
"It's the hide! Something it’s wearing made two of our casters draining their strength away"
The archer didn't figure it out, except the suspicion of its presence cause them to be this weak. The hammer warrior manages to take a hit as the elk bounces it off, and the martial artist grab the hold again with its antlers. In quick succession, the hammer warrior lunges up in the air and slams a fiery drop at the back of the elk. The audience thought they have lost their chances to beat it by hitting on the head, but he knows what he is doing. The back was exposed and started to burn something.
A bone scale on its back carried spiritual property as the mass banish is still in effect. They didn't realize they removed one of the elk's abilities. The elk being burned is shoving off the flames. It continues to stand after that attack, and the martial artist held on its antlers has the opportunity to kick its head. A strong kick on the elk, but the elk recovers as it getting hit. The martial artist forced to let go as he felt hitting its head where something is not right. The archer saw the impact with his keen eye and explained it to the martial artist.
"The elk's head is armored, what was that thing made of?"
"Now that's sick in a horrible way"
The fat man almost puke and he gulped some water down with his water bottle.
"Hey man, when will my mass banish ends? I want it to end as soon as possible, I felt my magic can't recover after using it"
The archer expected of this, he watches the two being low of energy. The fat man was forced to bring up his mana potion, a small sip forces him to vomit.Where the support noticed him
"What happened?"
“I can’t drink my potion without vomiting”
The elk is secretly leaking curses on them, the one with the highest amount of mana will feel the effects of the curse.
The fat man ignored it and drink it anyway and the support can’t drink his own potion as what fat man said. The fat man felt his mana recovering and slowly
"I can't recover my mana, hey! Is something wrong with my potion"
The archer focus firing on the elk, and the support is taking care to the two, up front. The fat man is losing his mana as he uses his spell as carefully draining away his own consciousness. He didn't experience a mana loss before, and he don't know how much mana needed to cast a spell. The elk's rituals are leaking out the curses, where there is one hiding causing the mana around it to stop.
The hammer warrior asks the archer
"Hey glasses with the bow. Do you have any idea how take it down?"
"As a hunter, you'll be disappointed either way"
The elk brings down the hammer warrior as the support no longer put the warrior back in his position where his mana almost gone. The archer saw him down to the ground and the elk starts to lunge at them. The support blocks it with his magic shield, weighing down in a low mana, and using his body to shield the other two. With his last magic to move them back away. The elk used its antlers and hit the support and pushed out flying to the the magic barrier. The support went down and the martial artist quickly dashes at the elk's back.
Its back hind kicks him but duck and charges it and carried it up and perform a wrestling suplex. The elk was off the ground, and it’s the perfect time for the hammer warrior to leap up and slam again to its exposed body. It struck but opens up another shaman ritual item from its painted hide. A cursed silenced item was broken, and the elk started to roar. It never roars since the start of the fight and Sork couldn't see as the ballistic shot kept him down. The audience witness one of the unique powers contained to a shaman elk, even the Agathean man is in a big surprised.
The elk roars in shamanism sound where itself drawn closer to itself by bloodlust. Forcing everyone around it, inside the battlefield into a frenzy as the hammer warrior luckily attacks the elk but along with the martial artist. The archer attacked the fat man with his fists where the fat man loses himself in a frenzy and can't cast any magic but to fight back with his fists. The frenzy kept going, the elk survives the brute force where its hide remained in its protection. If the hammer warrior uses any magic to pass through the hide like the fiery hammer in a few more times. It will definitely lose.
Only by brute force it still fights. On that moment, the martial artist caught in the range by the hammer warrior as he is being flatten both the elk and hammer warrior's frenzy. The two, the archer and the fat man, survives the frenzy but bruised as they can barely fight as their faces are hurt and difficult for them to see. The hammer warrior recovers from the frenzy, and the elk remained lying on the ground. The elk started to roar again, but he countered it with his swing. Too tired to swing another one, the cursed forced him to surrender as he no longer has the energy left to fight.
"I give"
The audience were surprised and Agathean man saw it, he was impressed by the team's best effort with total strangers.
He reviews on the beast
"The Hawldred is not alone, where the rituals and curses put the creature like some host of a big pack. The mass banished help them stop the numbers of them coming out, if only they know about the curses, then they should be fighting a normal alpha elk"
The announcer lady was crushed but didn't lose hope, as the other challengers are still here to save her. One of the adventurers from the audience, had analyzed the situation and they shout out to the audience.
"The challengers nearly defeat the monster, according to the statistics. It only needs another powerful attack to end it"
She presented the data to the audience as they saw the health and the mana they contained. The support lost his senses and lose consciousness, the martial artist was beaten by the hammer warrior's frenzy, the fat man still remains in a painful condition but his mana is closed to depletion, the archer's eyes lose vision and already decided to give up, and finally the hammer warrior who surrenders as his health still as high but the stamina is too low for him to fight any longer. The elk shows in a critically low health, and the last damaged ever took is when the hammer warrior hit it when it was exposed its belly with his fiery slam and then comes the frenzy as it has no effects in itself.
The challengers have another chance with seven more entering. Sork was healed as he gets up and saw his elk was taken care off. He pulls it back to the gem and forever sealed like doll. One of the adventurers who healed the elk ask Sork
"Is the elk barely alive? I can't even heal it"
A few of the audience listen to the adventurer in his regard about his summoned monster.
"No, they are voodoo dolls with the parts of an animal my tribe made"
Sork picked another gem and summoned a different monster. While being summoned, Sork answers him
"They mostly flee when incoming danger, it is easily to see that my elk was made"
Seven new adventurers joined the challenge and take notice of his answer as they face a new form of monster. The seven challengers, all mix of known guild and others who are willing to take a challenged they never face. Four of them is a veteran team group from the city guild, a self-independent group called Team Platinum, as they are a little famous from the other adventurers.
"Look! it's Team Platinum"
"The raiding guild?"
"No, you idiot, they are just ordinary adventurers. They got that title because they join raiding quest which is difficult in some dungeons"
"Are they here to save the announcer?"
"I hope they will"
The two of them who are here for the announcer reward, being experimental with their powers. These two unidentified challengers are experimenting futuristic style items, and hope to win too. Finally, one is actually known for in a guild called Melody. She is a siren who specialized in singing as she says her reasons
"I'm not here to save your announcer, but here to face this goblin's monsters personally"
One of the team platinum’s members, a woman hears her declaration and respects her choice as they are preparing for the next monster. The two nerds summoned their gear in a futuristic fashion as the two men thought it would be a great time to beat the goblin's monster with their new weapons they found and made.
The announcer lady raised again another round with both side sets up. Sork kept his gem until the round started, playing his role again from before. The defeated were relocated and watch the match in the other building with a tv. New audiences were attracted by the competition. They saw five men and two women who are against with Sork, and Sork summons another form of monster. Two nerds changed into their special suits, one in ranged and the other in a combat suit. The Agathean man can't describe the two really, one is in the far distance with some kind of a weird looking crossbow and with a big long stick to it. Then he hits him
"Is that a rusic musket?"
The melody guild member summons special rings or circles around her and sound of her voice enhanced the people around her in a rhythmic beat. Team Platinum is ready where they have no healers, but each of them prepared their special items in their utility bag. This sight made the audience a big surprised, they look too much from a guild than the previous challengers, individually. The announcer lady lets herself loose as she can't let a good curious audience imagine these challengers.
"Alright everyone, these seven challengers are not your ordinary except those two in a space suit"
The two reacted to her as this the first time being on public
"Oh come on!"
"Please welcome to Team Platinum, the small team of its famous raiding party through the most difficult dungeons that the city guild come across. Then finally the one and only member of the Melody Guild, her shows of the iconic music adventurers. Please present your names and . . ." "Sorry, but we are not hear for an introduction. We are here for that goblin"
"But the audience"
The two nerds should introduce themselves but being with this team is more than enough to follow along. Plus, they are planning something with their new contraption. Sork didn't mind to a fellow known adventurers as he is the one to open up to them.
His announcer voice was gold to be heard as he announced everyone to them.
"Now we're facing another match after the goblin was impaled by a ballistic shot and lived, such match like this that he needed a second one . . ."
The audience accidentally laugh from his sudden introduction and started to bad mouth him again.
". . . Facing on the other corner where is the four members of Team Platinum, their records of taking down monsters within the tight corners of the dungeons. Don't be fooled by their lack of supports where everyone has a medkit and with their records of takedowns by sheer teamwork . . ."
". . . With other challengers joined, Team Platinum will have a great advantage where they have a member from the Melody guild. Highly being praised to be the top of the best alternative classes reach to be its top importance. This woman surrounded by magical melody shows her magnificent abilities soon enough and boost all that surrounded her or fight against her enemies through her mysterious skills at the same time . . ."
The Agathean man was kind of surprised to hear a new form of class from Isekai City. A magical melody consists of boosting or fighting its enemies at the same time. He really wants to see this.
". . . Lastly the two challengers with no identification from the city guild. Never underestimate this two as they have neither show nor prove of their success during the days of living in this world. The goblin is more worried on to these three instead of Team Platinum"
Sork shows his concern to the challengers and the audiences were not sure to react. The goblin after his announcement, he summoned a monster under a new form of entrance.
"All of you waited long enough, then here it is, the monster who is going to face these challengers. BEHOLD! The monster of the Gobin tribes' Pride"
Sork don't care of translating name and go along through their race name. A monster was summoned out from the gem as he flying out again by its strong entry. He stuck in midair on the wall as the monster reaches out to the world. It has a totem head, and a body made out wood from the forest itself. This totemic creature has a special orb on to its chest, and the two nerds analyze it.
"This is not fair"
"How did he store that kind of energy?"
Team Platinum check on them and see their scanner. The scanner managed to discover what the totem contained, and the surprised of the two nerds thought they would not identify it so easily.
"The glowing orb that walking piece of a totem is Alga's light!"
One of the nerds shout it out and the audience is as surprised as them now. Alga's light being stored by the totem. The size of the totemic creature is big as an average man, but they know about Alga's light can do different things. They are starting to worry about it. The Agathean man knows about this other shamanism powers as he watches them prepared for another round. The announcer lady hesitated a bit, but the siren soothes her as they are ready to fight. The totem looks at them with its 4 stacking heads, where the orb freely moving around it.
"Alright . . . gulp* Ready . . . FIGHT"
The goblin falls back down as he look less confident than before, probably because those three has their own way of fighting. The two nerds place their position. The range one is with the siren staying side to side. The five of them stick closer together for any chances they get for the upcoming attack. The scanner gathers data while Sork observes them from afar. Don't know if he remained floating or already at the corner watching those three. He can't describe those two and with the woman who uses music. What can she do against the spirits?