Chapter 38

The goblin camp was exactly in the direction Ryker had pointed us in. It took roughly thirty minutes to get there, walking through rolling grassy fields, with only the occasional cow as different scenery. With the breeze in the air, the whole trek was extremely peaceful. The air smelled sweet, and we figured it was due to the vast field of colorful flowers to one of our sides.

“I feel like calling that a camp is an overstatement.” Lyn said as we pulled up short. There were no walls. No guards. Other than the large building in the center, where the Mini Boss resided, the ‘camp’ was nothing more than goblins milling about or laying on the dirt. They’d torn the grass up, creating a massive, muddy field, and were filthily rolling in it, or sniffing it, or who knew what else. Whatever it was, the smell was terrible.

Even mud covered, the green skinned creatures were impossible to not recognize. Their long floppy ears, their angled faces, and the tattered clothes all screamed goblin. Compared to the Goblin Warriors that had killed me on the second floor, these were laughable excuses for the creatures. I remembered how easily I’d killed the two yesterday. This was going to be over quickly.

“Twelve, and we’re done.” I said, looking for a good place to fight the creatures from. There were sadly no good options. It was open grass and then the goblin mud field. There had to be about thirty of the creatures, all hooting and howling and muttering amongst themselves. Interestingly, there were large, bulbous, pink creatures snorting in the mud with them. They had little curly tails that spiraled in a strange way, and what looked like hooved feet. Some were even rolling around in the mud with the goblins. As we watched, a few of the goblins rode the pink creatures towards each other, before batting each other off the creatures with their clubs. The others cheered, while their comrades flopped and slid across the mud.

“How weak are they?” Nyle asked as Lyn drew her bow. I had my scimitar and dagger at the ready. Nyle had his rapier drawn along with Lyn’s short sword.

“I decapitated the first one with a single blow,” I said, remembering the fight. “And the second one died to a fireball.” I thought about the creatures. “Watch out though, I think they’re stronger than they are tough. The first one hit me with its club, and it hurt.”

“Alright, well, silver lining about us dying,” Nyle smiled and sheathed the short sword. “My MP filled back up.”

I doubled checked my stats, and sure enough, my MP was back to 101. I looked at Lyn, and she nodded as well.

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“So, should we just burn them all and call it a day?” I asked, moving to sheath my dagger.

“It’s tempting,” Nyle added. “It really is.” He looked at the creatures, his eyes searching.

“We probably shouldn’t be too reckless.” Lyn cut in. “I don’t think I can stand another Ryker speech today.”

She had a point. As tempting as it was, just throwing a bunch of fireballs at the creatures, while probably effective, would be reckless. That wasn’t a plan. Well, technically I guess it was a plan. Just a short sighted, reckless one.

“I’ll stay back and provide cover.” Lyn nodded towards the muddy expanse. “Ash in front, and Nyle, a mix of fireballs and melee?”

“Seems like a better plan than just burning everything.” Nyle admitted. He grinned at me. “I’m really a fan of any plan that has Ash on the frontline too. After dealing with the Den Mother, and then Ryker’s speech, I think Ash more than deserves whatever happens down there.”

I looked at my supposed best friend. “Hey, I’m only human. Mistakes happen.”

“True. But I still feel you’re due for front line duty for the rest of the day.” Nyle replied.

“Oh yeah, because even if none of that had happened, you’d be fighting me for the chance to be a front-liner?” Front-liner was a term we’d learned during training. It applied to Climber’s who focused on melee attacks and tactics. They could be the tanky, or heavily armored like Ryker, or simply rely on melee weapons like I was. During training we’d all acted in different roles, to get a feel for every possible position we may find ourselves in within the tower.

Furthermore, by taking part in every role, from front liner, to ranged attacks, or even a healer, we learned the importance of each type of role. It also drilled within us the importance of finding balance. Even if you were alone in the Tower, knowing the different roles, and how to adapt and fill each, would grant you the best chance of survival.

“Nope. After the fight with the Den Mother, I’ve really decided I don’t like getting torn in half. Leaning more and more towards just using spells if I can wing it. I’ll just have to figure out how to afford the supply of potions to keep my MP up.” He shrugged, “but hey, by the time I hit level 21, I’ll have enough mana to cast six fireballs before needing to chug one, instead of five.”

“Good luck with that,” I said as I started making my way towards the goblin camp. The stench got worse with every step. “Considering we can only hit level 7 on this floor. Enjoy being broke.”

We all laughed as we prepared for the battle. The grass here was short, offering none of the chances at sneaking up on the camp that the tall grass of the second floor would have offered. And with how flat the space was around the goblin camp, they would have a clear line of sight to us. Right now, they were so preoccupied with…whatever it was they were doing, that they hadn’t seen us. The moment arrows and fire started flying, they’d figure it out quickly. And while I figured this would be over extremely quick between Nyle’s flames and Lyn’s arrows, I couldn’t help but want to make sure I was close enough that I could join the battle. After my death at the fangs of the Den Mother, the helplessness I’d felt at the end, I was itching to fight. I needed to fight some monsters and remind myself that I was suited for the Tower.

What type of Climber do you wish to be?