Chapter 2 - The First Battle

As I ran towards the western sector of Copperhold town, the sounds of fighting became more distinct. Angry yells, cries of pain, and inhuman shrieks - which I dearly hoped came from the goblins.

“The gate has been breached! Quickly, block them!”

“Some of them are trying to scale the wall. Archers!”

“There must be hundreds of them! Where did they all come from!?”

Once the gate came into view, I could tell that the situation was turning grim. The goblins had somehow managed to break open the iron gate, and only a human wall of shieldbearers and pikemen was holding back the green tide. This looked like a residential area; if the goblins were able to get through the defenses, many civilians would get slaughtered.

Adventurers began taking their places along the walls, or stood waiting behind the gate, ready to relieve the guards who were currently blocking the opening. At the very front of the carnage, I could vaguely make out a head of black hair with two wolf ears. She was valiantly leading the defense, her sword cutting goblin heads off with every swing.

“Hold for as long as you can!” A commanding female voice rang out. “On my signal, unleash an all-out attack then pull back to swap with the relief units!”

That wolf girl is Captain Esterhold, I presume.

A war of attrition was the only option thanks to the breach, but even with the newly arrived adventurers our numbers were pitiful. Only fifteen heavily armored guardsmen, counting the captain, and twenty fighters of varying skill. That’s against a seemingly endless number of goblins. If another group attacked the town’s other entrances, we would quickly be overrun. Where is the rest of the Adventurer’s Guild?

I looked around for a good vantage point, then smiled, seeing an empty watchtower along the walls. Time to join the fight.

*  *  *

Lisa Esterhold, Captain of the Copperhold Guard

Shit, the captain thought as she bashed another goblin’s head in with her shield. This is bad. My men are heavily wounded and exhausted. Switching with the relief units will let us rest for a few minutes, but they’re too green and won’t be able to hold for long. Should I call for reinforcements?

Lisa shook her head. The town’s other entrances were barely defended as it is. If she called those few guards over here, the other sectors would be wide open for assault.

This was the worst timing possible. The largest monster wave in decades, right when most of the guild’s veterans were out on a wyvern subjugation mission? Dogshit luck. None of them would be back before nightfall, and by then the town would be in flames, countless lives lost.

Gritting her teeth, Lisa resolved to hold the line with her life if needed. A female demihuman commoner, it took her years to earn her position in this cesspool of a kingdom, and she’ll be damned before she disgraces it by retreating. Not a single civilian would be harmed while she drew breath.

Seeing that her guardsmen were on the verge of collapse, Lisa prepared to give the order for an all-out attack, hoping to create enough room to swap places with the waiting adventurers. However, before she could say anything, two of the goblins in front of them were suddenly ablaze.

Lisa stared dumbfounded at the shrieking green runts as they ran around in a panic, shoving and scorching their brethren. Then more of them were ignited, and she finally saw what was causing it. A veritable barrage of small fireballs was raining down upon the green tide.

She looked up at the source, and saw a young man in one of the watchtowers. Dressed in simple leathers, he looked just like any other traveler at first glance. However, his eyes were blazing with wisps of mana, and there were eight fireballs floating around him. He was creating them as quickly as he shot them!

A mage!? The captain thought in disbelief. How? There is no Mage’s Guild here, and I know that none of the local adventurers are capable of magic. Is he an honored guest of... nevermind.

There were more important things to focus on than his identity. He had created an opening for them, and the troops’ morale had soared. Shaking her head to get rid of her distracting thoughts, Lisa quickly commanded her guardsmen to pull back and switch with the eager adventurers behind her.

If we survive this battle, I owe you an ale, mage. She thought, sighing in relief as she began checking the wounds of her guards.

*  *  *

Ezekiel Hawk, The Spellblade of Jure

This is fucking amazing! Holy shit!

I was absolutely ecstatic, and couldn’t help but laugh madly as I cast fireball after fireball at the goblin horde below. What was once a terrifying menace had turned into convenient target practice for me. I had never felt this free and alive. Was this what my ancestors felt like before Earth’s loss of mana?

This was a very pleasant surprise. When I had finished climbing up to the top of the watchtower, I began to gather the world’s energy within me - and almost fainted. It was like an unstoppable torrent that overwhelmed my senses, causing me to feel dizzy for several seconds. Once I had gotten used to it, though, the feeling was pure bliss.

Jure had warned me that using magic would feel very different once I was in Ethna, but this was beyond my wildest expectations. The air was so heavy with mana that I could almost choke on it. My spell is a magic of the first Circle, and I used to struggle for minutes just to make it maintain form back on Earth. Controlling one took all of my attention. But now, I could practically just will them into existence, and have up to eight out at any time.

I must have thrown at least fifty of them by now, yet I was only slightly tired. This was ridiculous. If we had this kind of power back on Earth…

No. Don’t think about it. Right now, I have a job to do.

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I could see the goblins start to waver. Dumb little bastards, they have almost no fear of death, but even the stupidest life forms would fear being roasted alive. There were a few bigger goblins who were unaffected and shouting at their brethren, trying to urge them forward. I assumed these were their leaders.

Taking aim, I unleashed another salvo, this time aiming specifically for those giving orders.

The result was predictable. As their leaders rolled on the ground, shrieking in pain, the most cowardly among the goblins began to break and run. Victory was almost within our grasp.

Just as the adventurers and guards started to cheer, though, heavy footsteps shook the ground.

From among the trees emerged a massive creature. Over three meters tall with a disproportionate frame, it lumbered towards us, dragging a fallen tree that it probably used as a club. One look at its ugly face and long nose confirmed my suspicions: it’s a forest troll.

“Archers! Focus on the troll! Aim for its eyes and joints!” Captain Esterhold shouted, waking me up from my surprise.

A rain of arrows fell on the creature, but every single one bounced off harmlessly - even those that struck its dumb looking eyes. The troll is a creature with extremely tough, rock like skin and a very high resistance to magic - the worst possible foe we could face right now.

Curse my luck. Jure, this is the starting town, isn’t the difficulty a little too high!?

Then I remembered that they didn’t even want me to go here yet, and that Chavok repeatedly warned me about the dangerous creatures in this territory. Okay, I don’t get to complain.

Taking a deep breath, I sent all eight of my fireballs at the troll, aiming for its face. Predictably, the dumb brute completely ignored the barrage. I cycled through my other four offensive spells - , , , and - but it was useless. They were all 1st Circle spells. The troll just kept walking slowly towards the walls.

Shit. He’s planning to create another opening in the wall, isn’t he?

There were still hundreds of goblins outside. If another breach was created, then they would come flooding in. It was impossible to kill all of them without countless townspeople dying first. Then there’s the troll, which we do not even have an answer for.

As if reading my thoughts, Captain Esterhold rallied her troops - the ones who could still stand, anyway.

“We sally out! Stop that troll at any cost!” She looked up at me, seemingly requesting my support. “Lord mage, I beg you, please try to clear a way through the goblins with your fireballs as we approach the troll!”

It was a suicide mission. With the troll’s tough skin and massive strength, most of them would die before they could even wound it. Even worse, it had insane regeneration, so their only hope was miraculously landing a vital blow. The captain might be able to do it, but it would probably come at a heavy price.

Foolish, but not a single one of the guardsmen looked unwilling. All were ready to die. Several adventurers had volunteered as well.

I sighed, then quickly jumped down from the tower to the walls, and took the stairs down. Captain Esterhold was looking inquisitively at me; wasn’t my previous spot the best place to provide fire support from?

“That’s not a bad plan, but let’s switch roles.” I said, smiling as I drew my sword - the Hawk’s Talon, specially designed to withstand and channel mana. “Please protect me from the goblins while I handle the troll.”

They looked at me like I was insane. Figures.

Well then, looks like I’ll have to test in the stupidest and most dangerous way possible.

*  *  *

After a short argument, I finally convinced them to go along with my plan. The guard captain in particular was very reluctant to risk the life of a mage, especially one who had already contributed so much to protecting the town. However, she relented when I reminded her that if the troll breaks through, I was pretty much dead anyway.

There were nine of us: Me, Captain Esterhold, four guards, and three adventurers. The rest of those who could still fight would protect the gate and walls while we were outside.

I sent a barrage of fireballs at the goblins moving towards the gate, causing a cacophony of screaming. Then we charged forward, shieldbearers first, into the fray.

I quickly realized that Captain Esterhold wasn’t just a good leader. Her skill with the blade was amazing, and I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I wouldn’t be her match if I wasn’t allowed to use any magic. Her strikes were simple, yet fast, precise, and overwhelmingly powerful.

Demihumans tend to have better physical capabilities than humans, though they have much fewer mages to compensate. And even among them, the wolf race is one of the strongest and most agile, as Captain Esterhold was currently demonstrating.

She led the way, cutting a swath through the horde. We were advancing very quickly, and soon we were just meters away from the troll.

“Please do your best to keep the goblins from interfering.” I repeated, then before anyone could stop me, I attacked.

Casting one of the three 2nd Circle spells I knew, , I burst forward with extreme speed and arrived in front of the troll. It gazed at me dumbly and slowly raised its weapon, but before it could attack I used to infuse my sword with mana. Slashing at the wrist holding its club, I cut the entire hand off in one amazing swipe…

Or so I would have liked to say, but unfortunately, my wasn’t that strong yet.

I merely made a shallow gash, causing troll blood to spurt out like a fountain. Damn. However, that small nick was enough to make the creature enraged - trolls felt that any physical wound was an insult to their pride. Howling, it lunged at me, trying to crush me with its massive body.

Not good. I dodged to the side, barely avoiding getting flattened by its stomach.

I cursed under my breath as I immediately distanced myself from the troll, watching it get up. Captain Esterhold and the others were watching anxiously as they held back the wave of goblins; the runts had sensed weakness in us, and were attacking in a frenzy.

Change of plan. Let’s try to cripple its movement first, then go for a lethal blow.

consumed a lot of mana and only lasted for a second. It was also very hard to control - I could not change directions or swing my blade properly during the rush. However, the extra momentum was necessary for what I was planning.

The troll glared at me, and broke into a lumbering run. I waited until I had a clear path, and then cast the spell again. Feeling my body become weightless, I blitzed forward at three times my usual speed, and held my imbued blade out. The satisfying feeling of cutting through flesh and the troll’s angry, pain-filled roar confirmed that my attack had connected.

It staggered, the cut ligaments in its right leg making it fall to the ground in a massive thud. I was somewhat tired from using twice in a row - fortunately, I was only slightly drained. Back on Earth this spell was useless in battle, since it took five seconds to cast and would leave me completely exhausted, if not injured afterwards. Only my dad had mastered it enough to make it usable.

Not missing my chance, I jumped onto the troll’s back as it struggled to get to its feet. I climbed up, then raised my sword and drove it with both hands into the creature’s neck, where I hoped its carotid artery would be. Chavok didn’t exactly go into the specifics of troll anatomy.

Hawk’s Talon sunk into the monster's flesh, and I was rewarded with a huge burst of troll blood. Success! Noticing its free hand moving to grab me, I quickly jumped off, taking my sword as well. Even a dying troll could easily crush my body. But was that blow enough to end it?

The creature stood unsteadily, looking as if it would keel over at any minute. All of a sudden, an armored blur slammed into its torso, knocking it down to the ground. Captain Esterhold was kneeling on top of the fallen troll, her sword piercing through the creature’s heart.

Ah. That’s probably what she was planning to do when she rallied the troops earlier.

It was over. The goblins, seeing their troll dead, lost what little was left of their morale and fled back into the forests, shrieking in terror. We were far too tired and injured to pursue them, but that could wait. Right now all I wanted was to go back and grab a room at the inn.

Captain Esterhold stood up and walked towards me, then saluted.

“My apologies for stealing your kill, lord mage.” She said humbly. “But you looked tired, and I was worried that the troll would land a blow on you if you had tried to finish it off yourself.”

I smiled and shook my head. “No apologies needed captain, your help was very welcome. Let’s head back to the town, though. The gate needs to be fixed, right?”

She nodded, and our weary party walked back to the safety of Copperhold, bathed in the deafening cheers of the defenders and townspeople. None of us had died, though everyone was wounded and one rookie adventurer had lost a hand. All in all, my first battle in Ethna could have gone much worse.