Tabitha’s Point of View:
What was this feeling in my chest? Was it doubt; or fear of what was about to happen next?
No, Master taught me there was no place for doubt during a battle. A warrior always needed a healthy sense of fear; not all battles were glorious after all, and whenever a person stopped fearing death, it usually meant they were soon to be embraced by it. But doubt? Never.
Maybe I was worrying about Aaliyah? I had just enough time to look over my shoulder and get one last look at her before I disappeared out of sight. She wasn’t facing me, already preparing to start her chant, so I could no longer see her expression, but I was sure it was one of resolve.
I would be a horrible mentor if I didn’t notice she was using her mask of resolve to hide her fear, but again, fear was needed in a situation like this, and I wasn't going to fault her for trying to hide it, no one wanted to appear weak.
We were up against a force with superior numbers, and I dare say the goblins below us were higher leveled than a human battalion of their size would typically be. If she were an average person, she'd be running for the hills, and with her skills, that was a valid tactic.
And I could not help but think that this situation might be more manageable if I was by myself, and I didn't need to worry about Aaliyah's safety. Then I could.....
I almost miss my footing as I realize what was eating at my nerves. I wasn't worried for myself; if I died here, it would be a glorious death that would make Master proud. But when I think of something happening to Aaliyah, I feel a pain in my chest, one I’m not used to feeling.
I didn't want anything bad to happen to her, not because Master ordered me to watch over her or because she was my junior, but because I genuinely cared about her. At some point, I’d grown attached to her as if she were my little sibling.
No, that was a bad comparison, I had siblings, and none of them elicited the same feelings. On the contrary, my family was always distant towards me, especially after I pledged myself to Pacore rather than return home after my initial service to the kingdom was up.
Every person born to a noble family in Scholl was expected to serve a few years in the military to level and learn how the world worked. But I was different; I was the black stain of my family. I never enjoyed politics and always felt detached from others. But when I crossed swords with Master for the first time, I knew exactly where I needed to be.
That same day I had pledged myself to Master Pacore the Deathless and written home to my family that I’d be staying in the military indefinitely.
I received angry letters from my family to no end, but thanks to Master's clout, they couldn’t formally renounce me or do anything publicly.
In the end, it has been years since I last saw a family member outside a formal setting, and it didn’t bother me in the slightest.
But here and now, I was nervous, not for myself, but for another.
At what point did I start caring more about Aaliyah than I did about my family? How did she work her way into my heart the way only Master has done before?
Was it because I wanted her to succeed for the sake of Scholl? For Master? For myself?
As I swiftly descend the tree we were hiding in, these questions fill my head. But just because I was experiencing emotions I wasn't familiar with, it didn't mean I’d forgotten our plan.
Stealthfully, I take up position away from the tree Aaliyah was still hiding in. Fire javelin was a flashy spell, usually only used when a mage had sufficient cover; the fire would draw in the goblins like flies are drawn to shit.
And on cue, almost as soon as I find a decent hiding spot, I spot a sphere of fire forming in the treetops. As planned, the goblins immediately notice Aaliyah, and part of them break from the group to charge the tree she’s hiding in.
It was time to see if she could pull the spell off. All I gave her were the words, but if anyone could learn a tier 3 spell in under an hour, it would be Aaliyah. The kid had more talent than Master and I combined. So much so that I often have to remind myself she's only fifteen.
The sphere of fire in Aaliyah's hands elongates, signaling she is almost finished with the spell, so I draw my sword in anticipation.
Roughly a third of the goblin horde was climbing up into the trees while the rest were closing ranks, which was good for us. Fire javelin wasn’t an area-of-effect spell, meaning depending on where she launched it, she’d only take out one or two goblins max, but I was okay with that.
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She was already drawing more away than I was comfortable with, but with her movement skills, it shouldn’t be hard for her to avoid them. Originally, Aaliyah suggested she take a more hands-on approach in creating a distraction, but I wasn’t going to allow her to put herself in that much danger. Even if I fall here, Aaliyah's more than capable of leaving the forest alone, so I'm sure she's okay. She's shown great promise this last week, making me proud to call her my student.
Though I would never say that to her face, the kid already had a big head when I first met her, the same problem many high leveled people suffer from. Reaching a high level requires a lot of success, so a person over level 50 can often be arrogant. Honestly, it's a miracle that Aaliyah is as grounded as she is, reaching her level at such a young age. It must be why Master favors her as he does.
Part of me was happy she had a hard time against that first bird we ran into; it reminded her she wasn't invincible, a lesson we all have to be reminded of sometimes. I grit my teeth, remembering the water dragon and the crushing defeat we suffered that day. Shaking my head, I cleared those thoughts from my mind; they had no place here.
Losses build character, but we weren’t losing today!
I was ready to rush in, knowing Aaliyah should be firing her spell any second now. But my pulse races when instead of launching the spell, it rapidly grows in size and magnitude.
Damn it, I curse and mash my teeth. She’s using more mana than she’s supposed to. I’m thankful for her wanting to help, but now she’ll have less to draw on while defending herself.
I want to shout at her to hurry up and launch it, but that would ruin everything we’ve prepared for, so I'm forced to silently watch as Aaliyah pushes her limits while dozens of goblins converge on her.
Finally, she launches her magic at the arch goblin, a good choice on her part. He looks like he’ll try and deflect it, but doing so will harm those immediately around him, making targeting him more manageable in the long run.
Once again, I prepare to sprint toward my target, and once again, I’m forced to stop as my Danger Sense skill warns me against it. I trust my skill, and it's a good thing, too, because no sooner than my skill goes off does Aaliyah's fire javelin spell explode midair into a hail of smaller attacks.
Gods help me; I almost wanted to complain that the girl was too talented. She should’ve been born in the past when things were greater and not in this waning age. To augment any spell is challenging; to augment a spell learned less than an hour ago is impossible!
My mouth drops in surprise as pandemonium breaks out amongst the unprepared goblins. I counted four dead from the initial barrage, but that wasn’t where the modified fire javelin spell excelled. The fire arrows pelted every group but the one containing the arch goblin.
Some goblins were running around on fire, while others were trying to regain order. The arch goblin was looking up at the tree that Aaliyah was fighting in with a scowl of unbound rage. I watch as she sends two goblins flying over the edge with a single beautiful swing empowered with one of her skills.
Instead of fleeing as I told her to, she's standing her ground, leaving me both proud and frustrated simultaneously. When this is over, I’ll have to remind her who’s in charge and that she promised to follow my orders to the letter, not bend them how she likes.
I should’ve seen this coming, but I can do nothing now.
What am I thinking? Of course, there is! I can kill all these foolish goblins, and we can continue with our journey. Like Aaliyah, I wanted to see what the Endless Forest offered. There hasn’t been a danger zone such as this in Scholl for a long time, the nobility having long turned them into training grounds. There were still dangers to be had, but nothing unexpected such as a goblin tribe of this magnitude.
But that didn't matter; as usual, Aaliyah went beyond my expectations and produced the best distraction possible, and I wasn’t going to let it go to waste.
Not needing to conceal myself any further, I rushed at the closet group of goblins who were busy trying to put out their comrade who was on fire.
Immediately a handful of goblins in the greater group turn towards me despite not looking in my direction. I note each of them, as they most likely have a form of Danger Sense. But though they can sense my approach, they can’t act fast enough to keep me from beheading two hobgoblins and stabbing a third through their chest. The fourth I leave on fire.
The hide armor they're wearing is challenging to cut through but not enough to stop my enchanted blade. I carve through another three goblins before they're able to mount an effective defense. Surprisingly the goblins formed ranks instead of blindly rushing toward me, proving they were much more intelligent than I was giving them credit for.
Goblins with spears level them at me to keep me from rushing in, while goblins with handmade and human-made weapons flank them.
Swinging my sword, I easily deflect seven arrows aimed at my chest, then sidestep a goblin’s overhead swing with a human’s axe. Then, with a flick of my blade, I disarm the goblin, literally. He howls in pain as his two arms fall to the forest floor.
Not one for letting a creature suffer, I stab the goblin in its throat, silencing its screams of agony and taking its life in a single movement. Unfortunately, I only have time to count seven before I dance backward to avoid a revenge swing from another hob.
The goblins do their best to try and pin me down, but a few minutes later, the count in my head reaches twenty-three.
By this point, all the goblins still on the forest floor were focusing on me, including the arch goblin, who was staring at me while hungrily licking its lips. The regular hobs were doing a good job keeping me away from him, but I was slowly closing the distance, waiting for my chance to strike.
While moving around, I could sneak a few glances up at Aaliyah, who's valiantly fighting in the treetops. She was being swarmed but still holding her own. Though the best sign she was still holding her own were the thumping noises of goblin corpses as they crashed into the ground.
Using Flash Step, I circle the group of goblins in front of me, but instead of attacking from the back, I shift my attention to the goblins beyond them, the ones flanking the arch goblin. Besides the arch goblin, there were four other hobs wearing armor that were probably looted from human adventurers.
I single in on the one holding a halberd of all things. I try to disguise my attack as me targeting the hob next to him, but the halberd-wielding goblin still takes a defensive stance rather than an attacking one—pesky danger sense skills. Tied with Poison Resistance, Danger Sense was the most versatile skill.
I had hoped I could help Aaliyah obtain it or one of its offshoots by playing with her sneak attacks and retaliating suddenly, but that was a bust. The problem was the girl was too vigilant for her own good.
Danger Sense heightens a person’s ability to sense minute changes in their surroundings, especially the ones they aren't aware of. After being ambushed a few times, that’s how people usually obtain the skill. But Aaliyah, even when I catch her off guard, she isn’t truly off guard thanks to her particular skills. Making it nearly impossible she obtains it.
The halberd wilding hob stabs at my exposed neck. I guess I killed enough of them at this point that they aren't going to try and take me alive for fun later. I dodge to the left and move to cut off his predominate arm, but surprisingly he guards against my strike by twirling his weapon.
For a brief moment, we're locked together, and now that I'm close enough to look at the hob in his beady red eyes, I can see the horns on his head. They hadn’t yet sprouted in a full circle, but they weren’t far off. A glance over my shoulder lets me spot one of the other four rushing at me from my blind spot, and again I see that its horns, too, are close to forming a full crown.
All four armor-wearing hobs were coming up on level 80, close to becoming arch goblins of their own.
And the real deal, he was standing off to the side grinning at me, content to let his men test the waters, examining me. There was a dark intelligence behind those red eyes that I did not like.
Well, I wanted a battle, and it looks like I got it. I grin back at the arch goblin causing his smile to slip.
He won’t be grinning in a second when I show him what I’m capable of!