Chapter 16: The first trial – Cassis

Benny flew through the air like a ragdoll, his body colliding with a tree before crumpling to the ground in a lifeless heap. Cassis barely had time to register it—he couldn’t afford to. Every ounce of his focus had to remain on the fight. The only reason he could keep up with the hobgoblin at all was the decade of battle experience burned into his mind from the past/future. Even so, its strength far outstripped his own. A single mistake would mean death.

He slashed forward with Fire Blade, his attack carving into the monster’s flesh. It roared in pain, but before he could press his advantage, its attention shifted. Cassis hesitated just a fraction of a second, then risked glancing away. Ice shot through his veins.

Arianna was kneeling beside Benny, golden light pooling around her hands as she healed him. His stomach dropped.

“Run!” he shouted, voice raw with desperation. But the warning came too late.

Blinding pain erupted across his torso as the hobgoblin’s claws tore into him. He barely had time to register the strike before a massive kick sent his head snapping back. Darkness swallowed him whole.

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A strangled breath ripped through his throat as consciousness slammed back into him. The world was spinning, his body aching from the brutal blow. He forced himself up, swaying as his vision blurred. A few meters away, Arianna dangled in the air, her legs kicking weakly as the hobgoblin’s massive hand squeezed around her throat.

No.

His body screamed in protest, but he pushed himself forward. He tried to run, but his legs refused to cooperate. His head was still spinning. If he didn’t act fast, she would die.

Fire. He had to use his fire. But not on his blade—no, he needed raw, burning flames. He forced his will into the mana, shaping it with frantic desperation. He had learned this ability in the past, but his current body was unfamiliar with the strain, his mana saturation pitifully low at only 5%.

Then the hobgoblin reared its free hand back—and drove it straight through Arianna’s stomach. She didn’t even scream. She couldn’t scream.

Blood poured down her body in thick rivulets, staining her clothes, pooling onto the broken ground below. The monster grinned, cruel and satisfied. It raised its hand again.

Rage ignited in Cassis’ chest. Not her. Not her.

With every ounce of strength he had left, he pushed his fire forward, unleashing it directly onto the hobgoblin’s head.

Flames roared to life, engulfing the creature’s face. It shrieked, its grip loosening as Arianna slipped from its grasp, falling limply to the ground.

The moment she hit the earth, his mother, Liam, and Benny surged forward, weapons flashing as they struck at the now-blinded monster. Magic missiles and arrows rained down from the mages and rangers, forcing the beast back. They were buying him time.

He stumbled to Arianna’s side and dropped to his knees. She was still alive, but barely. Her throat was mangled, crushed under the hobgoblin’s strength, and her stomach wound gushed crimson. Blood bubbled at her lips as she struggled to breathe, her body trembling. She wouldn’t survive much longer.

Panic clawed at his chest. She couldn’t heal herself in this state. There was only one chance.

He grabbed her hand, squeezing gently. “Arianna?” His voice was shaking. “Arianna, look at me.”

She didn’t react.

“Don’t leave me. Stay with me. Come on, Arianna.”

At last, her lashes fluttered weakly, her unfocused eyes barely managing to find him. Tears streaked down her pale face. She was in agony.

“Cassis… it hurts…” Her voice came through their private party chat, faint and trembling. “I’m cold… it hurts so much.”

His heart twisted violently. “I know,” he whispered, voice raw. “But listen to me, you need to open the Patron Shop. Buy a healing potion and give it to me. Can you do that?”

She didn’t respond. Her body was growing colder.

“Arianna, please,” he pleaded, voice breaking. “A potion. Just a potion.”

Her eyelids drooped. No. No, no, no.

Then, suddenly, something small and cool pressed into his palm. A vial. She had done it. Even in this state, she had managed to buy the potion.

He tore the cork off and pressed the glass to her lips. “Drink. Come on, please, drink, Arianna!”

A weak gulp.

“That’s right, drink.”

A few more swallows. Then, at last, a golden glow enveloped her.

Relief crashed over him so hard he almost collapsed beside her. She was going to be okay. She had to be.

Arianna’s eyes flutter open, hazy with the lingering echoes of pain and shock. Her breath comes in shallow, uneven gasps, and for a moment, she seems lost—disoriented. But there’s no time for recovery. The shrieks of the hobgoblin still tear through the night, mingling now with the cries of their team. Even blinded, even wounded, the creature remains terrifyingly strong.

Cassis forces himself to his feet, though his body protests with every movement. His limbs feel heavy, sluggish from exhaustion and injury, but he grits his teeth and pushes forward. There is no other choice.

Across the battlefield, Benny was struggling to stay upright, fresh blood streaming out of new wounds. Nadine and Joseph loosed arrows with precision, but the hobgoblin shrugged them off as if they were nothing more than pinpricks. Marcus and Elena were casting spells with frantic determination, but their magic was running dry, their hands already trembling from overuse. They were well on their way to mana depletion.

His mother lunges forward, her blade flashing under the moonlight as she aims for the monster’s exposed side. It barely reacts. With a feral snarl, the hobgoblin lashes out, sending her flying backward with a brutal swipe of its arm. She crashes into the ground, her sword slipping from her grasp.

"Mom!" Liam shouts, his voice raw with panic. He surges forward to cover her, swinging his weapon in a desperate bid to drive the beast back. But it barely slows.

Cassis doesn’t hesitate. He summons fire to his blade once more, the flames flickering wildly as his own energy dwindles. He rushes into the fray, weaving past the creature’s lumbering strikes, searching for an opening. Every movement is a calculated risk, every step carrying the weight of life or death.

The hobgoblin roars, its fury undiminished, and Cassis knows they are running out of time.

Cassis pressed forward, engaging the hobgoblin with renewed focus. The fire on its head had burned out, but the damage was done—it was blinded. Even so, it moved with eerie precision, avoiding most of his strikes as if sensing them rather than seeing them.

Frustration built in his chest. He was tiring. Every second that passed chipped away at his strength, while the hobgoblin, despite its wounds, remained terrifyingly strong. Time was not on their side.

Then he saw it—its focus posture shifting. Its attention was no longer on him. It was looking toward his mother.

A sharp pang of dread coursed through him. No. Arianna couldn’t have—she wouldn't have gotten up and healed her. Not after what had happened. Not after she had nearly died.

But before he could fully process it, the hobgoblin moved.

It lunged toward his mother, faster than he could react.

Cursing, he sprinted after it, and his worst fears solidified into reality—Arianna had healed her.

And now, she was in danger. Again.

The hobgoblin’s massive hand reached for her, ready to crush the life out of her once more, but this time, she was prepared. She barely managed to swing up her baseball bat, knocking its arm just enough to deflect the blow. Then, using the force of the impact, she twisted away, throwing herself backward to gain distance.

That was all the opening Cassis needed.

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He reached them in an instant, fire blade flaring to life as he drove it into the hobgoblin’s side. The creature snarled in pain, but when he pulled back, his heart sank. The wound was shallow—barely more than a scratch. Its skin was too thick.

Liam and Benny rushed in, reengaging, while the mages and rangers continued their sporadic attacks whenever their mana or arrows allowed.

Cassis turned sharply to Arianna, fury burning in his chest. His voice came out in a furious whisper, sharp and cutting, his mother looking at him in shock—she had never seen him like this before.

“What were you thinking?! That thing nearly killed you, and you’re healing again? Stop making yourself a target!”

Arianna’s eyes flashed with defiance, her voice firm, unwavering. “I won’t.”

He stared at her, incredulous. “Are you crazy?!”

“I’m not.”

Before he could argue further, she pressed on, her voice urgent. “I have a plan. Listen.”

He nearly interrupted her. He wanted to. But then he saw it—her hands, trembling. She was still afraid. And yet, she was going to fight anyway.

His anger wavered. He exhaled sharply. “Fine. I’m listening.”

“The hobgoblin targets me every time I heal. We can use that.” She swallowed. “If I heal again, it will rush at me. If you wait near me, you can get it from behind—like just now.”

Cassis clenched his jaw. It was a solid strategy. It was also reckless. He wanted to tell her no. He wanted to tell her they weren’t using her as bait. But he knew, deep down, that she wouldn’t listen.

Instead, he focused on the real issue. “Even if that works, my sword barely cuts through it.”

Arianna pulled out a new weapon. She held it out to him and spoke over their private party chat. “It’s the best one I could find. It cost 200 CP, so it should be sharp enough.”

Out loud, for his mother’s benefit, she added, “From Sapphire.”

Cassis hesitated only for a moment before taking the weapon. Now wasn’t the time to argue. He switched swords, immediately feeling the difference. This one was sharper, better balanced. If he couldn’t deal real damage with this, they had no chance.

He summoned his fire blade once more.

And just in time.

A scream tore through the battlefield—Liam collapsed, clutching his leg in agony.

Without hesitation, Arianna rushed to him. Cassis’s mother grabbed his arm, eyes hard with determination. “I’ll step between her and the hobgoblin when she heals. I have a better chance of blocking it.”

Cassis gave a single nod, then hung back, biding his time. Benny engaged the monster alone, but he was faltering, taking heavier and heavier hits.

Then, the moment came—Arianna knelt beside Liam and pressed her hands to his wound.

The hobgoblin roared and charged at her.

This time, it didn’t reach her.

Cassis’s mother intercepted the attack, meeting the monster head-on, blocking it just long enough.

That was all the time he needed.

Cassis sprinted forward, leaping onto the hobgoblin’s back. He brought his new blade down, aiming for its chest. The sharpened edge sank deep.

The hobgoblin roared in agony, trying to twist around, but newly healed Benny and Arianna threw their weight against it, holding it in place.

Cassis gritted his teeth, forcing the sword in deeper, aiming for the heart. He felt resistance—then, finally, a breaking point.

With the last of his mana, he flared the fire around his blade, sending a burst of flames through the creature’s chest.

The hobgoblin let out a terrible, ear-piercing screech.

Then, at last, it crumbled.

Cassis stumbled back from the hobgoblin’s crumbling corpse, his chest rising and falling in ragged breaths. His body ached with exhaustion, the last strike having drained him completely. A wave of nausea rolled through him, and a sharp pain throbbed behind his eyes—mana depletion. He had nothing left.

Then, a system message flashed before him.

[Congratulations. You have slain Hobgoblin (Rank-E). Experience gained. Level up.]

He barely had time to process it before another message followed.

[Congratulations. You have survived the first monster wave by eliminating all hostile creatures within a 1 km radius. Level gained. Title: Monster Bane I gained. Title: Superior Survivor gained. Title Giant Slayer gained.]

Before he could react, another notification appeared—this one more shocking than anything before.

[World Announcement: Cassis Walker, Arianna Sloane, Danielle Walker, Liam Walker, Marcus Walker, Benjamin Morrison, Elena Morrison, Joseph Morrison, and Nadine Bristol have overcome the first trial.]

The words sent a ripple of disbelief through him, but what came next was even more staggering.

[World Reward: The sapient species human have demonstrated their dedication to their dependents by protecting them through the first monster wave. As a result, all dependents worldwide under the age of 14 will now be protected from monster attacks by the System.]

Cassis’s breath caught. His exhaustion momentarily forgotten, his mind reeled.

Children… protected?

His thoughts raced back to the other future—the one he had lived through, the one that had led to humanity’s near-extinction. By the third wave, there had been almost no children left. None, to his knowledge, had survived it. The world had grown cold and empty, devoid of laughter, devoid of innocence. And no one had dared to bring new life into such a cruel existence. Even without the waves humanity had been doomed—there simply weren’t enough of them left to rebuild.

But now… now the System said the children had never needed to die. That there had always been a way to protect them.

Rage flickered beneath his skin at the sheer cruelty of it. The System had let them perish. It had allowed an entire generation to be wiped out.

But now… Now, things were different. They had changed something.

For the first time since returning to the past, true optimism bloomed within him. The future could be different. No—it would be different.

More system messages pulled him back to the present.

[Personal reward calculation based on contribution…]

[Level gained.

Level gained.

Level gained.

Advanced Warrior Fire Mana Circuit Pattern gained.

Skills: Parry, Deflect, Counter and Spell: Flame Burst gained.

Title: Warrior of Flames gained.

Title: Protector of the Weak gained.

Item: Experience Sharing Bracelet gained.

Item: Flaming Sword gained.]

[Recorded in Avaria’s Hall of Fame.]

Cassis exhaled sharply. The rewards were incredible. He had gained four levels, bringing him to Level 10 (+2). That meant he was at the threshold—the system would not grant him further levels unless he evolved his class. That would depend on how much his skills had developed or how much he wanted to develop them further. But that could wait.

Right now, he was exhausted.

He looked around at the others. They stood in stunned silence, wide-eyed, some sitting, some barely holding themselves upright. The weight of what had just happened pressed down on all of them.

But the System had confirmed it—every monster in the area was dead. And the System never lied. It didn’t tell you everything, but when it spoke, it spoke the truth.

For the first time since the apocalypse began, they could breathe.

For a long moment, they all just stood there, the weight of everything that had happened pressing down on them. The battlefield was quiet now—no more monstrous screeches, no more desperate clashes of steel and claw. Only the sound of ragged breathing, of exhaustion settling into their bones.

Cassis blinked, finally noticing just how filthy they all were. Blood streaked every inch of them, their clothes hanging in tattered rags. The scent of sweat, dirt, and iron filled the air. They looked as though they had crawled out of hell itself.

Before he could say anything, a choked sob broke the silence.

Elena.

Tears streamed down her face as she clutched her hands to her chest, her entire body shaking. “My babies… my babies will be safe now.” Her voice wavered, breaking with emotion. “Thank you. Thank you, everyone.”

She dissolved into full-blown sobs, and Benny was there in an instant, wrapping his arms around her, both of them crashing to the ground on their knees never letting go of each other. Tears glistened in his own eyes, running down his battle-worn face. Joseph sank to the ground beside them, shoulders shaking as he let out quiet, unrestrained cries of relief.

Nearby, Nadine swayed where she stood, looking as if the weight of her own exhaustion might finally drag her under. But it wasn’t her own survival she was processing—it was Violet’s. The little girl was safe.

His mother stepped forward without hesitation, pulling Nadine into a tight embrace. The two women, bound by the same fierce love for their children, clung to each other in shared relief. Nadine now had the security that her daughter would be protected for years to come and his mother must have been feeling relieved that her family was still alive.

Through it all, Arianna moved without a word. She walked straight to Benny and knelt beside him, pressing her hands over his wounds. A faint glow of healing light shimmered around her fingertips, sealing the worst of his injuries.

Before she could step away, Elena and Benny turned to her, their gratitude overflowing. They pulled her into their arms, holding her tightly between them.

"Thank you," Elena whispered. "Thank you, Arianna. Thank you, Sapphire."

Benny’s voice was thick with emotion. “You saved our son. You saved all of them.”

Arianna stiffened at first, clearly unused to the affection, but after a moment, she relaxed, allowing them to hold her.

Meanwhile, Cassis made his way toward his father and Liam, scanning them for injuries. They were both battered but still standing, still alive. He exhaled, a deep, unsteady breath of relief before wrapping them both in a tight embrace. He couldn't believe it—they had survived, all of them.

Cassis let them go when a gentle hand pressed against his shoulder. A familiar warmth spread through him as healing energy seeped into his wounds. He turned his head and found Arianna standing beside him, her expression focused.

As soon as the magic settled, her body swayed slightly.

Cassis narrowed his eyes. “Did you just deplete your mana again?”

She glared up at him. “Of course. It will recover, and I’ll only feel sick with a headache for a bit. When I meditate, it’ll be over soon. That injury would have taken you a lot longer to heal.”

Cassis didn’t like it, he remembered how the mana depletion had weakened her only hours ago but he now knew better than to argue with her when she had determined that something needed to be done.

“And when I get a little mana back from dissolving the water barrier around the office, the nausea will vanish anyway,” she added, though her attempt at reassurance was undermined by the way she gripped his shoulder to keep herself upright.

Cassis sighed. She’s going to collapse at this rate.

Before she could protest, he bent down and scooped her into his arms.

Arianna let out a startled squeak, her wide eyes snapping up to his.

“Then let’s go get your mana back,” he said matter-of-factly. “I’m carrying you because you’d take forever to get there by yourself.”

She opened her mouth—likely to argue—but he had already started walking.

A moment later, he caught sight of the massive grins spreading across his father’s and Liam’s faces. He ignored them.

Arianna muttered something too quiet for him to hear, but he wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of stopping to ask. He simply carried her through the ruined living room, stepping over broken furniture and scattered debris.

The others followed, silent but weary, their steps slow with exhaustion.

Once they reached the water barrier, Arianna lifted a trembling hand and dissolved it. Instantly, some colour returned to her cheeks, and she straightened, her strength returning as some of her mana replenished.

Cassis hesitated but eventually set her down, watching to make sure she could stand on her own.

She did. Barely.

Meanwhile, Violet launched herself into Nadine’s arms, clinging to her mother as Nadine sobbed in relief, pressing kisses to the top of her daughter’s head.

Benny, Elena, and Joseph rushed toward Noah, who still cradled baby Jessica in his arms.

Cassis watched as the three of them hovered anxiously over the infant—Jessica, who was no longer crying, no longer in pain. Instead, she lay peacefully in Noah’s grasp, her tiny chest rising and falling in soft, even breaths.

The System’s protection.

She was safe.

For the first time since his return, Cassis let his shoulders relax.

They had made it.