The sensation of a level up was new to Verity. The change was subtle, but it was definitely present. When he drove that sword through the goblin’s throat, Verity suddenly felt a little stronger, a little faster, and his mind was a little clearer. His grip around the handle of his weapon grew more confident and he sensed that if another one were to attack, he would be able to defeat it as well.
‘Amazing…’
Verity understood that if he wanted to experience the same sensation once more, then he needed to slay more goblins. How many would it take to reach level 3? Verity wanted to know, and there was only one way to find out.
He pulled the sword out of the goblin and it spilled green, putrid blood. Its smell was horrifying, worse than anything Verity had experienced before.
‘Is that… poison?’
He did not know, and was not willing to test it out, but it was something worth investigating at a later date. Doing his best to forget the smell, Verity stood tall and inspected his surroundings. He had not expected otherwise, but he was disappointed to see that most were not doing as well as he was. Many had already died, and many more were on the verge of suffering similar fates.
The goblins were rejoicing in the massacre, some even feasting on the remains of fallen humans. Still, throughout the carnage, Verity understood something.
‘Wait…’
The scene was gruesome, almost unbearable to watch, but Verity was able to look past that. It may have been because of his increase of power, but he was now easily able to analyze the horrific sight before him, and he identified one glaring detail that others seemed to have missed. He had wondered briefly before, but he now understood why no other goblin had interrupted his duel, and why still no other goblin was attacking him.
‘There’s so few of them…!!’
It was so obvious, evident at a glance. In comparison to the humans, the goblins were very few in number. Even considering that they wielded weapons, there was no real reason for the human side to lose this battle. The only reason they were was because they were afraid, and the goblins likely knew that very well.
“AAAHHH!!”
Pulling him out of his thoughts, a woman was screaming to the right, and Verity whipped his head toward her. She had fallen to the ground, a gashing wound on her forearm. A goblin warrior was not too far away, licking the blood off of its blade, and slowly approaching her. Its steps were slow, measured, it wanted to enjoy the moment.
The old Verity would have hesitated for a moment, maybe longer, and that moment could have cost her her life. However, when he saw it, he moved almost instinctively. If after his initial scuffle with the goblin warrior, Verity’s fear had faded, the level up had made it completely disappear. Because of that, and the fact that he believed that was what the protagonist should do, he did not think twice about rushing to her aid.
Before the goblin warrior could lunge at the woman, Verity shouted. “MOVE!!!!”
Thankfully that seemed to have woken her up, if only a little. Crawling as fast as she could, the woman created distance between her and the goblin, and it missed its strike by a hair’s breadth. It really wasn’t much, and the next attack would have killed the woman for sure, but that gave Verity enough time to reach them. With his newly acquired sword, he swung at the goblin, and surprising even himself, his strike landed. A large incision appeared on the goblin’s chest, and green blood leaked from it. The wound was deeper than even Verity had predicted. The goblin patted its chest, dragging its fingers across the incision, and a trickle of blood spilled from its mouth, before it fell face first to the ground.
[You have slain an enemy.]
[You have gained Exp.]
Verity wiped beads of sweat from his forehead, and took a few heavy breaths, before turning to the woman, who still seemed to be in shock.
‘Isn’t that…’
He remembered because she was pretty to a point where he was forced to look away when she smiled. It was the woman who had approved his loan at the bank, or rather declined it, well both really.
Verity extended a hand to her, but she was clearly still in shock, understandably so. Moments prior, she had been behind a desk in a well-ventilated building, helping customers with their financial requests. Now, after being struck by lightning and listening to a demon-like creature speak nonsense, she was in a colosseum, running from even stranger creatures who wanted nothing more than to kill her.
‘W-What the hell is going on!!!’ She thought, clutching her head in despair.
She wanted to believe that it was a dream, that perhaps she had dozed off during work hours, but when that green creature had cut her with its sword, pain she had never experienced before forced her to face reality. But who could accept this kind of reality? She could not.
“Hey! It’s alright, the goblin is dead!” Verity shouted at her with his best attempt at a smile.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Her eyes did move to him for an instant, but ultimately it was useless, she wasn’t listening. “T-this can’t be real…it can’t…!!” She mumbled to herself, completely ignoring Verity.
‘Damn, it’s bad…’
He understood how she must have been feeling, but he did not really know how to calm her down. He was no therapist, and he was not that good with people to begin with. He also didn’t feel right about just abandoning her here, especially after the effort he exerted to save her. He thought hard about what to say, or what to do. He could try his hand at consoling words, but he sincerely doubted that would help, if it did not make it worse instead.
He also thought that maybe he could hug her, like in those emotional scenes in movies and books, but he did not know her, and he felt that this would make him seem like a creep. Truly, he was stumped, but then suddenly, an idea opposed into his mind. He had seen it many times before in those stories of his, and it always seemed to work.
‘Of course! How could I forget about that!’
The method he had thought of was unconventional, but he was certain that it had a high chance of success. Slowly, he crouched before the woman, and opened his palm. Then, he slapped her across the face with it. The sound resonated like a thunderclap, and a red imprint in the shape of Verity’s hand appeared on her cheek. The woman fell silent. She was no longer mumbling and her gaze really met Verity’s this time. Still in stupor, she brought her own hand to her cheek, where the blow had landed, and rubbed it slowly.
“Did you just slap me…? Even my parents have never slapped me before…” She said, in disbelief.
Verity scratched the back of his neck and took a step backward. He was afraid that she might lash out in anger.
‘Did I mess up? Should I have tried shaking her first?’
He stumbled over his own words. “Yes... I slapped you… but you were-”
She knew what he was going to say. “I was panicking, right. But still… You could have held back a little….” She was still rubbing her cheek. Had Verity slapped her harder than he meant to?
‘I’m sure I didn’t slap her that hard though… Is it because of the level up?’
The woman suddenly stood up, and the hand that was not rubbing the zone of impact was outstretched to Verity. “Regardless....I’m Felicia, and… Thanks for saving my life.” She said with a deep bow.
Verity shook her hand, embarrassed. “I’m-”
Felicia interrupted him. She already knew who he was. “Yes, Verity, I remember you from the bank.” There was a faint smile covering her lips. The one at the bank was professional, practiced, but this one was genuine, at least that’s what Verity believed.
The latter was even more enthralling than the former, and Verity was forced to look away, lest he wanted to be bewitched.
After offering her thanks, Felica approached the dead goblin and freed the sword from its lifeless hand. The poor sight she had shown earlier was now gone. Her hands still shook as they wrapped around the handle of the sword, but her grip was firm.
“You looked like you knew what you were doing...” She said to Verity, her voice steadier than she expected. “I’ll help you... If you’ll have me, I'll help you kill them all...!” Her eyes were different.
They were now filled with determination. Her whole atmosphere had shifted. It was as though a new gear had taken position in her head, shifting her train of thought and her understanding of common sense. She had now accepted that it was killed or be killed. Forget the bank, the modern world, laws and regulations. She had to kill those creatures or they would kill her, and that suddenly became all that mattered to her.
Even Verity was taken aback by the sudden fire burning in her eyes, but he couldn’t say that he was displeased. Rather, he was glad that she did not need any further convincing, and quite grateful for the time that was saved.
Now that they were introduced to each other, Verity got to the point, and shared what he was thinking. “I noticed that there’s many more of us than there are goblins. We’re dying for no reason!” He was speaking with many hand gestures, a habit of his when speaking of things he cared about that he did not know he had. “If you and I can come to other people’s aid, we can slowly gather allies, steal the monster’s weapons, and eradicate them!” He said, confident.
Felicia thought that the plan was simple, but it made perfect sense. She did not know how to wield a sword, but she was certain that Verity was in the same boat, and yet, he killed that goblin with incredible ease.
If he could do it, then why couldn't she?
She had at least seen movies before, so she raised her sword with both hands, and placed it in front of her. Her reach was longer than a goblin’s and they bled just as easily as she did.
‘I can do it...!’ She thought, her resolve steeled and her body ready.
Verity explained to Felicia how exactly he planned to help others in their fights with goblins, and how he would recruit additional allies. At times, Felicia would add her own input, improving upon the plan, but they both knew that they had little time to discuss, a minute, maybe two. So, in the end, the plan was rough around the edges, but still, it could work.
Together, they would rush toward someone in need of help. While the goblin was preoccupied with its prey, Verity would execute the first strike. If it landed, then the fight was as good as won, if not, it was Felicia’s turn. In a one on one duel where the goblin had all of its attention on Verity, the smallest mistake could spell his death, but thankfully, he was not alone. When that happened, Felicia would catch the goblin off-guard and swing her sword, and if even that did not kill it then… then they would have to improvise.
There was nothing else to discuss, really, and so both of them tightened their grip around their swords, and searched for their first ally.
“That guy over there!” Felicia said, pointing to a man who was wrestling with one of the goblin archers. When Verity turned to where she was pointing, he saw that he had evidently not been as lucky as they were. While he was busy with the archer, right in front of him, there was another goblin waiting for the chance to slay him, and Verity doubted that the man would survive if he did not receive any help.
“Perfect! Let’s go hel-”
BOOM
[Pfff.]
“Damnit! Don’t lau-”
***
Thanks to his only skill, Verity was able to defeat the goblin warrior and take its sword. Then, he rushed to a nearby woman’s aid after hearing her screams and recruited her as an ally. Verity remembered her from the bank, and she introduced herself as Felicia, a name as pretty as she was. Together, they concocted a plan to help more people and push back the goblin force.
At one point, there was nothing else to discuss, really, and so both of them tightened their grip around their swords, and searched for their first ally.
“That guy over there!” Felicia said, pointing to a man who was wrestling with one of the goblin archers. When Verity turned to where she was pointing, he saw that the man had evidently not been as lucky as they were. While he was busy with the archer, right in front of him, there was another goblin waiting for the chance to slay him, and Verity doubted that the man would survive if he did not receive any help.
“Perfect! Let’s go hel-”
[The skill Lesson Learned is being activated.]