"Watch behind on your left!" Zerat said as Vanessa gracefully dodged dagger swipes from her sides. "Nice moves. Quite handy on your feet, ain't yah? Get it? Handy?"

"Now is not the time, hat!" Vanessa said as she kicked a few goblins away. "Sir Bates! Are you and Jerten alright?"

"We're managing! Just leave the goblins to me!" Garrett shouted as he sliced through a couple of goblin corpses, watching as a few orbs of Helioxene dropped. He quickly snatched them up and put them in the small pouch that Otris had given him as a crossbow bolt passed behind him, slaying a goblin who was trying for a sneak attack. He turned and gave a thumbs up to Jerten. Garrett lunged forward, stabbing another goblin.

"You know, if you want my help, just put me on," Zerat said, looking around. "I could take care of a couple of gobbos no sweat."

"Like I'm going to fall for that kind of ploy!" Vanessa said, now carrying Zerat with her tail. She climbed up the side of the walls and stared down at the scene. "Ah, look at the way Sir Bates fights! Picturesque!" She found herself a small ledge, pulled a notebook out of her apron, and began to sketch out the scene.

"Wowzers," Zerat said, looking over her shoulder. "That's terrible art."

Vanessa didn't say anything, but she held her tail over the edge. "I will drop you."

"Ey, easy now! Take a joke, will yah?" Zerat said, panicking at the wave of goblins running amok. "Let's not do anything too hasty, now!"

On the ground level, Garrett grunted as a few goblins jumped on his back. He felt a few of them fall off as Jerten shot them, but a couple of them managed to claw at his skin. "Get off me!" Garrett shouted as he slammed his back into the walls, knocking off some of the goblins. He reached his sword back and stabbed the remaining ones, clearing them off his body. "How many more are left?"

"Looks like about maybe six more?" Zerat said, observing the battlefield. "Oh, make that five. The big guy just took out another."

Garrett grunted and forced himself to fight through the pain. He gripped his sword and charged at the remaining five. He brought his sword down on the first one, bisecting it from head to toe. Using its body, he pushed off it and slammed his shield into another, the cracking of its skull echoing through the hallway. It barely let out a cry of agony before collapsing onto the ground. The remaining three all lunged at Garrett from behind. One of them was pinned against the wall, gurgling in pain as one of Jerten's crossbow bolts pierced through its neck. Another one was crushed as Vanessa leaped down from her perch. The third one, however, managed to slash Garrett's left arm. Garrett yelled in pain before spinning around and slicing open the goblin's chest and hearing another orb of Helioxene hit the floor. He sat down on the ground, out of breath from fighting and weakened from the wound.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

'...Right... This is real... All of this is real... Including the pain...'

"Sir Bates!" Vanessa said, rushing over to Garrett's side and examining his arm. Jerten followed shortly after, finishing off any goblins that were still struggling to stay alive. Vanessa removed Garrett's armor to look better at the wound. "It looks like the claws got you. Jerten!" Vanessa quickly said something in Ogerian to Jerten. Jerten nodded and opened up his backpack. He pulled out a vial of clear liquid and handed it to Vanessa. "Okay, Sir Bates, this is going to hurt."

"What is going to- AUGH!" Garrett couldn't even finish his question before Vanessa began to pour the liquid over his wounds. He clenched his teeth as the burning sensation and powerful odor assaulted him. "What is that stuff?"

"A cleaning solution," Vanessa said as she was handed some bandages by Jerten. She wrapped it around tightly. "Okay, I'm not a nurse, but I think that should do it well."

Garrett stared down at his wound, the harsh reality of an adventuring life slowly beginning to sink it. It already had a hold on him after watching Min-Tul, Cerezie, and Jerten die by the Murder Crystal, but this was the first time that he had been wounded since coming to Asuria.

'...Right... I'm not some invincible overpowered hero...'

Garrett slowly got up and began to pick up the Helioxene that had dropped around the hallway. Jerten had begun gathering up the weaponry from the goblins and Vanessa was sketching in her notebook, holding Zerat with her tail.

"Man, so many good effigies that y'all ruined," Zerat said, looking around the carnage. "Still, surprised you took this path, Garrett. I warned y'all this was a dangerous one."

"Danger is part of an adventurer's diet," Garrett said, striking a heroic pose before turning away and grimacing at his own corniness. "Anyways, we had to come this way anyways. You said this was the quickest way to the treasure of Amer-Turul."

"And it is," Zerat said with a wide smile, then turned into a frown. "But that doesn't mean anything if y'all end up dying before we get there!"

"Have some more faith in Sir Bates," Vanessa said, dramatically gesturing to Garrett as he finished picking up the Helioxene. "Our valiant leader will protect us and keep us safe. After all, these goblins perished before his mighty blade!"

Leader. Sure, Garrett had taken charge with Min-Tul and Cerezie before, and now was leading Vanessa, Zerat, and Jerten through the Darge, but being considered a leader hadn't really come to his mind before. Garrett softly smiled at the thought of having a group of trusted companions who would follow and help him.

"Yeah, but gobbos ain't anything compared to what we'll find when we get closer to the treasure," Zerat said, "I'm telling yah, you're gonna hafta use me at some point if y'all ain't wanna die."

"What exactly can you do?" Garrett asked, putting away the pouch of Helioxene.

"Besides complain and criticize the greatest artist the world has yet to know," Vanessa said, shaking Zerat violently with her tail.

"Look, I was created by a powerful mage," Zerat said, feeling a little woozy after the shaking. "I can do some spells and junk, but I gotta have an effigy to cast through. Otherwise, I ain't able to do anything."

Jerten, having finished scavenging the corpses for anything useable, approached the other three and gave a soft grunt. "Looks like we're all done here," Vanessa said. "Sir Bates, shall we progress?"

"Of course," Garrett said, softly massaging his shoulder. "We need to find that treasure. Otherwise, Jerten here won't be able to save his kingdom." Jerten and Vanessa both nodded and followed behind after Garrett's lead. "And hopefully, I can either find Min-Tul and Cerezie, or I can get some answers," Garrett said to himself under his breath.