"Kiiek! Kill them!"

"Kyaak!"

The hobgoblins did not wait for any conclusions to be made. Six hobgoblins rushed at them, wielding clubs and blunt swords. Justin, who had been ready, shouted immediately, "Black Missile! Black Missile!"

Thud!

"Kiiek!"

"Ugh...!"

Two of them fell backward after being struck in the head by the Black Missiles, their skulls pierced, dying instantly. However, the other four showed no signs of panic. It wasn't that they were prepared for this; rather, they simply didn't care what happened to their comrades.

Standing before the advancing hobgoblins were Cooper and Derek.

"Hrup!"

"Kraa!"

With very different battle cries, both of them swung their weapons. The sword and the mace struck the hobgoblins simultaneously. One had its head severed, while the other's head was crushed.

The remaining two took the opportunity to attack from both sides.

"Kiiek!"

Clang!

"Where do you think you're going?" Cooper grinned as he easily blocked the blunt sword with his shield. Thanks to leveling up alongside Justin, this much was nothing for him.

However, Derek was a beat late, fumbling as he tried to wield his mace.

Thud!

"Ugh!"

The club struck Derek's arm, causing him to stagger. The hobgoblin grinned cruelly as it raised its club to finish the job. Just before Derek could scream, Justin's voice rang out.

"Black Missile!"

Thud!

"Kieeeek!"

The Black Missile pierced the hobgoblin's leg, making it collapse with a shriek. Justin approached the immobilized hobgoblin and ended it with Energy Drain. The last one attacking Cooper also fell, its neck pierced by his sword.

After the battle ended, Justin approached Derek, who had been hit by the club.

"Hey, pig, you alright?" Justin asked.

"Grr... I think it's broken...!" Derek groaned.

"Don't make such a fuss about it," Justin replied.

A level 3 warrior wouldn't have his bones broken from just one hit like that. It must hurt, but it wasn't a serious injury. With a nod from Justin, Cooper approached Derek, who was groaning, and murmured, "Minor Healing."

Fwoosh

The green light of the paladin's skill enveloped Derek. A moment later, Derek moved his arm with a surprised expression.

"Oh, wow! It doesn't hurt at all!" Derek exclaimed.

"It's a healing skill, after all. Even if it's minor, it's more effective than you think," Cooper said with a smile, still using respectful language despite Justin's earlier comment.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"Hey, Nathan! Come over and collect the mana stones!" Justin called out.

"Uh, yes! Right away!" Nathan, who was half out of it, finally ran over. Despite witnessing plenty of battles yesterday, he still seemed amazed by the fight. Fortunately, it was closer to excitement than fear.

Nathan looked over the corpses and spoke hesitantly, "Um, could you help me make incisions? I don't have any tools."

"Wait a second. I'll give you the sword I used before," Cooper replied.

"Thank you!" Nathan said gratefully, taking the sword from Cooper and starting to cut into the corpses. He then reached into their hearts, digging around to retrieve the mana stones. Despite dealing with safe, dead bodies, his movements were remarkably bold.

After a while, Nathan pulled out a small gemstone and looked at Justin. "Is this a mana stone?"

"Looks like it," Justin replied.

The gemstone had a color similar to half-mixed paint, just as it did in the game's image. Justin took the gemstone from Nathan, and a description appeared before his eyes.

〈Mana Stone〉

Category: Exchange Item

Details: A low-quality mana stone extracted from the heart of a weak monster. It serves as the basic currency used in shops and is the standard for all transactions. Its low quality means it doesn't have much value.

"Bingo."

After confirming it, Nathan moved from corpse to corpse, collecting mana stones. When the task was done, he wiped his blood-covered hands and smiled.

"All done!"

"Good job. By the way, don't you have a weapon? Didn't you choose a class?" Justin asked.

Considering how quickly Nathan had adapted, he must have chosen a class in the beginning. Yet, for some reason, he didn't even have the basic weapon that should have been provided. At Justin's question, Nathan's expression darkened.

"Actually, I chose the warrior class. I did have a sword," Nathan explained.

"But you didn't have it when you came with us?" Justin asked.

"My parents thought it was dangerous and made me leave it behind..." Nathan replied.

"Hmm, if that's the case, there's nothing you could do," Justin said.

The more Justin heard about Nathan's family, the harder it was to say anything against them. Their responses were perfectly reasonable, but being bound by common sense in this world was not a good thing. At least Nathan was moving forward quickly, which was a relief.

'Come to think of it, we're working well together.'

Justin and Cooper were a given, and even Derek was holding his own. Nathan, instead of being disgusted, took the initiative in collecting the mana stones. The cycle would change as they leveled up, but for now, there didn't seem to be any major issues.

'If things go well, this could become a long-lasting team.'

Normally, a newly formed team would have problems here and there. The fact that there were no issues even after engaging in combat was a good sign. Justin hid the smile forming on his lips and moved forward.

"Humans! Humans!"

"Kill them! Kill them! Kiieek!"

Once they crossed a certain distance, monsters continued to pour out. The earlier boredom now felt like an illusion. Fortunately, although the frequency of encounters was high, the number of monsters at once never exceeded six.

"Black Missile! It's coming from the side!" Justin shouted.

"Kraah!" Cooper yelled.

"Just protect the vital points! If you get hurt, I'll heal you!" Cooper encouraged.

After several battles, they had started coordinating effectively as a team. The only one excluded from combat was Nathan, whose level was still low. But that didn't mean Nathan was a burden.

"All the mana stones are collected! Let's go!" Nathan said.

"Good job," Justin replied.

After a few repetitions, Nathan's collection speed had increased significantly. The task that initially took some time was now done in less than five minutes. It was after they finished their fourth battle that it happened.

"Ding! Your level has increased. One ability point has been added."

"Ding! You have reached level 10. A new skill has been automatically acquired."

"Ding! Skill [Imp Summon] has been acquired."

Justin's eyes lit up as he heard the message. His level had been stagnant since reaching level 9, but now it had finally increased. He immediately opened the skill window to check his new skill.

〈Imp Summon〉

Category: Summoning Magic

Details: A skill to summon the lowest-grade demon, an imp, for one hour. The demon, bound by contract, cannot cause harm and will obey the summoner's commands. Even if killed, the demon will resurrect in the abyss and can be re-summoned immediately. The skill can be used three times a day.Additional Information: Daily usage limit (3/3)

As Justin read the skill description, a smile naturally appeared on his face. One of the reasons he had chosen the Warlock class was precisely for this skill.