She walked back over to the board and waited till it was finally her turn. She swiped her finger along the smooth crystalline surface, once again browsing through the array of quests available to Copper-ranked adventurers.
Something fast. The faster I complete it, the faster I can rank up.
She continued perusing the selection of quests.
This should be fast, her eyes landed on the latest quest to cross her vision.
Rank: Copper
Details: Goblins have been harassing the farmlands near Wintrell. Defeat 50 goblins.
Optional: Find the source of the goblins
Rewards: 50 gold. (200 if the source is found)
She placed her guild card over the board, there was a brief glow of light around the car which quickly dimmed. She walked back over to Leilani to get her quest officially registered.
"So decided on your next quest?"
"Yup," she passed over her guild card.
"Goblin extermination. Good choice. They've been a real problem lately, more goblin attacks than before and we haven't been able to find out why."
"Well, that explains all the goblins I've been encountering lately. Can't you get higher-ranked adventurers to help?"
"We tried, but these are goblins. Not much glory in getting rid of a bunch of goblins," she sighed.
"Can't you set a higher reward then?"
"The higher-ups don't find the goblin issue that pressing, so they won't offer a higher reward, so all that's left is to rely on Copper adventurers to help cull their numbers and be lucky enough to stumble upon wherever they're coming for," she shook her head
"Let's hope I'm lucky enough."
"I hope so too, Elaine. Here's your guild card back and I wish you all the best on your quest."
"Thanks. Farmlands are still on the East side, right?"
"Same as they've always been."
"I'll see you later."
Elaine left the guild and headed for the farmlands, once again cutting through the marketplace making a beeline for the gates. As she reached the east entrance of Wintrell she could see the familiar sight of farmlands. Having often passed it by whenever she accompanied her father when he performed his routine inspection of the lands surrounding Wintrell. The large expanse of land on the left and right side of the gate was dedicated just for crops, most for human consumption and others used for rearing Monsters. She could see farmers dot the field, they toiled away under the hot midday sun rubbing away any sweat that fell into their eyes. The straw hat that almost all wore did little to mitigate the harsh rays of sun pounding away at them, the occasional cloud passing by providing much-needed shade, albeit for a short while.
Still looks the same, Elaine gave a nostalgic sigh.
She continued her way down the road that separated the neighboring plots of land, another dirt path. Along with farmers, she spotted adventurers donning their fur armor typical of those in the lower ranks of the guild. They helped the farmers defend their crops from whatever monster would waltz up to the field, hoping for a free lunch. Elaine strayed from the path crossing into the fields taking extra precautions to not accidentally trample over any of the growing produce. She found an area where a group of goblins were digging up the crops in the area and without any adventurers to intervene.
Casting 'Chameleon Cloak' she blended into her environment before casting 'Conjure: Bow'. The magical bow appearing in her hand blended with her surroundings as well. She let loose a barrage of arrows, rapidly firing them. The arrows soared through the air, only becoming visible once they traveled far enough from Elaine. The added visibility did nothing to alert the distracted goblins. The arrows found their targets, the heads of the soon to be deceased goblins. With an extra orifice added to their body, they fell limp onto the floor, bleeding into the ground, helping to provide extra nutrients to the soil around them.
She stopped pouring mana into her spells causing their effects to fade while walking over to the seven bodies on the floor.
Maybe I could try practicing 'Sanguine Harvest'? She pondered.
She crouched down and used her dagger to cut off the hand of one of the goblins. The small green thing was dripping with fresh crimson blood. A drop of blood landed on her leather boots causing her to grimace and immediately regret her decision.
Suffer now, enjoy later. Right? She psyched herself up.
She concentrated on the mana in her body, letting it pool into her palms. She molded it into the familiar pale blue mana similar to the 'Cleanse' spell before guiding the mana over the dismembered limb, surrounding it in a pale blue dome.
She clicked her tongue. The spell worked but it was the wrong spell. She had just cast 'Cleanse', the mana had picked up whatever dirt and blood that was on the exterior of the hand and clumped it all together. Whatever filth that she had accidentally collected was discarded onto the tender soil below as she released the spell, cutting the supply of mana.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Once more letting the mana pool in her hand she shaped it, formed it, molded it, framed it, configured it. She visualized the desired effect, manipulating the agglomeration of mana she held in her hands, slowly tweaking its properties, its functions.
It failed.
She tried again and again, making adjustments with each try. Some minute, some substantial. Each attempt failed to achieve the desired effect, but getting ever so closer. She knew it. She could feel it. She could smell it. Or maybe the smell of decomposing goblin was getting to her after all.
After some time, she shouted in glee, "YES!"
It was a small victory but a victory nonetheless, while previously she was only able to encompass the limb within the mana and extract any would be filth on its exterior, but now she had finally succeeded in letting some of the mana seep through the hand and bring out tiny droplets of blood.
Just a bit more changes here and some there, she focused on her mana again.
Every attempt got her closer and closer to the intended effect. More and more blood was being extracted from the limb till the mana emerged spotless.
Did I mess up somewhere or is the blood in the hand fully drained?
She cut off the remaining hand of the goblin and compared the two. One was slightly smaller and than the other, the one she had experimented on.
She focused again and made another attempt. The pale blue mana passed through the hand and emerged from the other side filled with crimson red blood. She stopped the flow of mana causing the mana she held to disperse, the blood splattered onto the floor, some of it on her leather boots again.
“Urghh,” she groaned.
Without any modifications, she redid the spell and made another pass through the hand, this time the mana emerged unchanged without any blood contaminating the mana she held.
"Yes!" she yelled, jumping with glee, "I did it."
Well just to really make sure.
She grasped her dagger and brought it above the ankle of the lifeless goblin before her. She brought the blade down, slicing through the green flesh. With a sawing motion going back and forth, the blade easily cut through the flesh, tendons, and muscles of the corpse before her, only meeting some resistance when she had to cut through the bone.
She held the foot in her hand, still grimacing at the disgusting little thing she was holding. Pooling mana in her palms, manipulating its shapes and properties, it entered into the goblin leg from the stump, flowing through veins, tissues, and cells. It exited out the toes, five small faucets leaking blood and mana out. She made another pass just to double confirm if she had succeeded. When the mana came out with its distinct pale blue coloration, she shouted out, "Yes!"
She threw the dismembered body parts back onto the goblin, her face still wrinkled in disgust as she handled the pieces, only willing to hold them with the tips of her fingers. After casting ‘'Cleanse' one too many times on her hands, even though her mastery of the spell warranted only a single cast to be enough, she began to wander around the farmlands hoping to find more goblins, a slight spring in her steps. She smiled and waved at the farmers she passed by, they were hard at work watering and maintaining the field.
As she was navigating the field, keeping an eye out for any goblins so that she could complete the quest as soon as possible, she heard a scream. Her head immediately swung in the direction of the scream. She could make out a faint silhouette, five figures all running in the same direction. A larger one in front and four smaller ones, each half the size of the larger one.
She cast 'Enhanced Vision'. Elaine concentrated and directed the flow of mana to her eyes. It gathered in front of her eyes, forming a lens that covered her corneas. The lens enhanced her vision allowing her to see further and effectively zoom in on faraway targets. With 'Enhanced Vision' active she could make out the figures that ran across the horizon. It was the girl in a maroon cloak who was speaking with Leilani the other day but this time being chased by four goblins.
Sensing the potential severity of the situation she deactivated 'Enhanced Vision' and casted 'Agility'. Mana poured out of her body concentrating on her feet, enhancing her speed. Each step propelled her further and faster than it normally would have. She darted towards her targets making sure to aim further ahead of them so that their eventual paths would intersect. As she ran closer and closer to the group the screams were getting louder and louder. The girl had her arms flailing wildly in the air as she screamed and cried, begging for help. The goblins responded in kind by shrieking in their goblin tongue as they continued their chase, their pace never letting up.
Aiming while running is hard, she thought as she clicked her tongue.
'Conjure: Knife', a light blue blade made of magical energy appeared in her hand. She focused on the goblin group, winding up her arm, and taking aim at the one at the back. In an instant, she swung her arm forward launching the knife, a flick of her wrist providing the final bit of power in the throw.
The knife sailed toward the goblin, unwavering in the light breeze. It pierced through the goblin's fleshy green head, penetrating through the skull, piercing the brain, and finally losing all momentum as it tried and failed to exit the skull. The goblin instantly died, collapsing on the ground. The goblins in front continued their pursuit of the maroon-cloaked girl, their screams masking the sound of their companion hitting the floor.
Elaine repeated the casting and throwing action, making sure to adjust for wind speed, the speed of the goblin, and the extra momentum provided by her running. Her aim was on point as the knives penetrated their heads and gave them a swift death before it disappeared leaving only a small slit in their head which leaked out blood, small fragments of blood, and bits of brain.
The girl didn't notice that she was saved. She just continued running, fueled by the delusion that she was still being hunted.
Elaine shouted, "You're safe!"
"Hey!"
"You're not being chased anymore!"
Her shouts fell on deaf ears being canceled out by the indecipherable screams of the girl. Elaine gave up shouting and chose to focus her energy on running. As their paths started to converge, Elaine tried to call out to the girl again.
"Hey! You're safe now! There are no more goblins!"
Once again, her cries were ignored. The girl was too focused on running for her life, running from the faux monsters that she was absolutely certain still lingered behind her. She was hell-bent on running forward and was completely oblivious to whatever was occurring around her, including Elaine approaching from the side.
When Elaine was finally within reach of her, she reached out and grasped at her shoulder. The girl shocked by the sudden touch of unknown origin tripped. She tumbled and rolled on the ground. Elaine slowed down her approach and released 'Agility'. The girl had her eyes shut and hands held up in front of her in a feeble attempt to defend herself from whatever onslaught of attacks that she thought she had the fortune of being blessed with. The waterworks were running as she desperately begged for mercy from her imaginary assaulters. Her cries were so muffled and choked that Elaine could only make out a few words.
"Don’t..."
"Help..."
"Mama..."
"Hello!" Elaine shouted.
Again she was ignored.
Elaine exhaled heavily thinking, Wow, this is annoying.