Cursed Explorer of the Arcana

“I have a plan.” Valka pulls me back just as the absurdly buff goblin smashes through my earthen barrier.

The big green bundle of muscles only has its eyes on me which proves to be a painful mistake when a fist much smaller, Valka-sized, slams into its side.

“You said the goblins are somewhat like the rats right?” She asks, casually grabbing a goblin by its leg and using it as a club to smash the other ugly green pests.

“You mean the horde mentality? Yeah, they should be similar.” I confirm although I’m no expert on the topic.

It’s cool and all having a conversation in the middle of a heated battle but splitting my concentration doesn’t really help with killing. We might’ve reduced the goblins’ number by about half but with two of the dangerous ones now active, I doubt things will get any easier.

“Then I hope you’re as tough as you act and don’t need me to hold your hand.” She basically roars in excitement before rushing off. “Keep these ones off me!” She adds and I finally realize what she’s planning. And I don’t like it.

With that said, complaining now would seem weak and scaredy on my part, basically admitting to having no confidence in my abilities. I can do this, killing things is a mage’s specialty, it’s just… There’s no way I’ll end this fight unscathed without Valka to act as the vanguard.

I’ve grown soft.

“Fine,” I growl and the elements ready themselves at my command. “Let’s do this!”

The whitehead brute dives into the goblin ranks clearing a path with baffling ease, using her fists and entire goblins as weapons of mass destruction. She alone could take on all the small ones, I have no doubt about that, and if not for the five generals or leaders or whatever the goblins have than I’d be nothing more than a hindrance. Deadweight…

This won't do.

In a second of lull created by Valka's reckless assault, I grab the white crystal of nigh-infinite power from my trusty bag and prepare to unleash destruction like never before. The spear, or rather javelin-hurling goblin has already set its sights on Valka while the burly one is dead set on squashing me. Maybe dissecting it would reveal the conversion rate between muscle and brain matter among the goblin race… not that I plan on keeping the body intact.

Despite the danger in the shape of a massive fist coming right toward me, I elect to take down the ranged threat first. I step to the side and allow the massive fist to sail past me, moving swiftly behind the sluggish creature and delivering a kick to the back of its knee along with an explosion, bringing it to the ground.

I begin to form a spear of solid stone as a gift to the lanky ranged goblin aimed at its throat when Martial Instincts blows the horns of danger in my head. I still don’t completely understand how the Skill works but it should work somewhere along the lines of decades of combat experience. Pretty handy.

I jump high up into the air as if possessed, bringing my legs up without stopping my preparations while watching a treetrunk-sized green arm whip around below me.

Aggression is always the answer, especially if the brain is clearly the weakest muscle. Is it even a muscle?

I land on the buff goblin’s shoulder now with a fully hardened spear of stone and let it fly to stop the creature from interrupting Valka’s advance, like a side character. I don’t like my role.

The weapon flies through the air like a tool of judgment yet when it’s just about to deliver a devastating blow the lanky goblin’s hand snatches my creation out of the air. The skinny green thing sneers my way before hurling the tool I made after the bogged down Valka along with the javelin already in its hand. All I did was provide it with another tool, one it specializes in, to do exactly what I was trying to stop.

The speed of both throws leaves whatever my magic is capable of in the dust, making the weapons basically fly in a straight line and strike true, lodging into Valka’s back and thigh. Unlike any attacks until now, or even the spike trap we encountered these things deal serious damage and manage to take down the seemingly unstoppable force with little effort.

[Goblin lvl 87]

The level disparity isn’t too outrageous which means that particular opponent is all damage, no mobility, no resilience, no nothing. I can’t imagine garbage weapons like those taking on a Blessing otherwise.

Valka falls to the ground with a pained grunt, quickly dogpiled by tens of ugly green children-sized devils trying to tear her apart. And although she really could’ve paid more attention I do feel a little responsible. And so I hop down from my fuming green flesh platform, ordering the earth to lock its legs and slap it on the bump making the burly bundle of stupidity kiss the ground and leave me be for a second.

No more slacking.

I rush after my Warrior comrade, diving into the sea, or rather a puddle of goblins unleashing dancing sparks of lightning and ruthless bursts of fire as I advance. Some fall unconscious, others hit the ground crying in pain while the luckiest ones just die right away without the need for a follow-up strike.

My eyes jump from enemy to enemy observing all their movements, reactions, their gaze, weapons, center of gravity… everything. The sound of carnage gets completely muted as only my thoughts of the next step and most efficient response remain, fighting with more efficiency and deadliness than I’m used to.

This state of concentration sadly isn’t something I can achieve whenever I wish. It’s a fickle thing appearing when my heart starts racing and my mind does things I can barely even comprehend, processing information faster than I can understand. Martha told me this isn’t a Skill or Race thing but rather a sort of mentality, one usually observed among warriors in their fiercest battles. It also makes my head hurt like hell afterward.

After twisting my body to the point where I can feel my muscles protesting I counterattack again with waves of sharp rocks bursting out of the ground and bringing a gory end to a handful of the remaining goblins. Despite only about twenty or so of them still kicking I still need to dodge constantly, with danger closing in from all sides and the javelin thrower constantly eyeing me for a lethal throw.

When the goblins charge as one in a surprisingly coordinated effort I rely on Elemental Burst to push them all back slightly except for the slightly heavier steps right behind my back. When I turn with open palms and fuming balls of fire in hand to face the thing down a face I’ve almost forgotten about meets me close enough so I can feel her breath.

“Thanks.” Valka grins before resuming her advance as if nothing has happened.

I can only gape like an idiot as she rips a goblin's throat out with her bare hands and returns to her path of slaughter without any sass or any normal human reaction after suffering such serious wounds. A weirdo.

My astonishment completely shatters my previous absolute state of focus yet even without proper concentration I know, no, feel danger running its finger down the back of my neck. I’ve been looking forward to it actually.

Mid-turn I catch a glimpse of the pointy weapon approaching flying at me with the promise of a swift death, fast and accurate just like before. It takes all my self-restraint to push myself out of the way with a blast of wind instead of trying to catch the weapon to prove myself but the moment the hurled javelin slams into the ground right at my feet… It’s mine.

The green brute has been chasing me for a while now, pushing itself through its brethren without much concern for their safety and letting out deep guttural roars wherever I sent a lightning bolt at its face to keep it at bay. Now however I pick up the gifted spear, all the while holding perfect eye contact with the lanky goblin, and throw it up in the air for the winds to grab it for me and do the aiming while I prepare the throw.

My hand forms a claw, concentrating the raging power or a fiery burst in the middle as I pull the arm back.

“You went after my knucklehead,” I grin wildly at the spear-hurling goblin. “Eye for an eye.” And slam my palm against the butt of the spear.

Half of the shaft gets shattered to splitters, unable to endure the force of the deafening explosion while the remaining bit… Well, I can only confirm its aftermath. A hole wide enough so I can see a goblin blinking on the other side gaping in the chest of the burly green freak with blood gushing out of it wildly.

The massive body by goblin standards hits the ground right away, likely still breathing but bleeding out by the second. The rumbling of the explosion followed by one of their mighty fighters being subtracted from their fighting force freezes the remaining goblins long enough for me to freely dash past them to my next target.

There’s already another javelin ready to strike me down in the lanky green skin's hand but my magic is faster, lightning is faster. The bright arc sends my opponent crashing to the ground and by the time it comes to I’m already right in its face with an earthen spear of my own in hand.

“You won’t get to see Malor that easy.” I mutter and thrust the weapon through its left shoulder. The green creature probably taller than even me screams in pain and lashes out but I simply pull back before lunging again and making its other arm just as useless. “Where’s that sneer now, huh?”

For some reason, I’m extra angry at this one. Maybe because it mocked me but that’s usually not enough for me to stoop this low.

I pull my weapon dripping with yellowish-green blood out once more only to thrust it back again straight through its stomach.

Usually, I’d just kill it swiftly for the sake of efficiency and to play things safe but this time I feel like that’d be too lenient.

My weapon strikes again and again and yet I feel no remorse or pity for the green abomination wiggling and weeping under my feet, probably begging for mercy in its disgusting tongue.

It went after something that I consider mine. The throws were aimed to immobilize Valka, to let countless claws and teeth tear her apart, to make her suffer an excruciating death. Her sass, hardheadedness, stupidity, and compassion have all grown close to me… she has grown close to me, and so I simply cannot let this slide.

So I keep sinking the spear through its flesh repeatedly with my gaze completely devoid of any emotions boring into its soul to teach it one last important lesson.

Don’t fuck with what’s mine!

About eleven thrusts later the body goes completely limp and the screams finally stop. A gruesome death, probably worse or about as painful as being burnt alive but I’ve grown used to taking lives with such cruelty so this much doesn’t affect me in particular either. It felt right.

With the grudge finally settled I finally turn my eyes to the remainder of the dozens of goblins that surrounded us just less than a minute ago. There are about ten of them, all staring at me with terrified gazes and keeping a respectful distance all the while trying to seem intimidating with knives raised in their trembling arms.

They no longer pose a threat. But leaving loose ends is one of the things Martha warned us about the most often. Violence breeds violence and even if not necessarily against the two of us these green pests might gather their strength and come back for revenge one day. Not my problem I know but it’s little work for some peace of mind.

“Stay still and I’ll make it quick.” I spin my spear splashing blood everywhere.

And they flee. Of course they do.

A quick glance at Valka and her own brawl is all the reassurance I need before bolting after my prey, eager to test some of the tricks I came up with in the past days. It’s hard to find suitable targets weak enough to pose little danger. Goblins are just the best.

***

The experiments went well, although the goblins really could’ve lasted a little longer. Turns out I can still shape the tip of my stone spear even after it is firmly in someone's abdomen, a water stream thin and powerful enough can cut through bones easier than skin and flesh, and that differently shaped explosions have different impacts.

The cone-shaped charge made quite the hole- Ah, she’s finally got an opening.

Valka has been going at it for a few minutes now, fighting against the chief and its last servant relentlessly. I offered to help but she firmly refused it twice already and I can’t blame her. I brought down two of the big ones along with the small army of fodder so it's only fair if she does at least this much. She needs to work for her meal.

The chief swings around outrageously massive clubs of scrap metal mostly relying on magic instead of brute strength while his aide, a similarly large specimen hoisting a tower shield adorned with rusty spikes and blades does its best to act as a nuisance. The two have considerable battlefield control and would be able to corner any opponent swiftly or wear it down without receiving a scratch.

Long story short, Valka exploits their meager intellect and the little regard the big gobs have for each, maneuvering so that when the chief swings for her she simply hugs the ground and lets the pile of trash crash into the tower shield right at her back. I think to everyone’s surprise it’s the weapon that loses out, falling to pieces and leaving the chief green fatty defenseless.

Valka goes in, breaks an arm, and helps a knee learn how to bend the other way before turning her attention back to the shieldbearer.

“A little help with this one?” She yells and I oblige with a satisfied smirk.

She made the right choice. If two people both adept at defense go up against each other then the fight might as well last for a day. I’m happy Valka proved smart in this situation because I would’ve done the same and would’ve been just as proud of myself. A lazy zap does the thing, stunning the tower shield goblin just long enough for Valka to break its neck with a single strike.

Now it’s just the incapacitated chief, groaning on the ground and drowning in its own snot and tears however one opponent we mostly forgot about suddenly swings into action. The collector hiding its face behind a mask springs up from the ground and lunges at Valka with two proper daggers in its hands.

The surprise attack works… to an extent. Val does manage to raise an arm and protect her face but the weapons leave deep grooves in her flesh, returning and sinking into her side before either of us can finally react. Wounded but still kicking Valka literally kicks the goblin away and I crash a ball of fire into its chest, followed by a rain of icicles until the body twitches no longer.

“Fuck that hurt.” The girl hisses as blood gushes from her newest injuries. “No wonder that bastard killed so many people, those cuts almost reached the bone.” How she can say things like this so casually I will never understand. “Anyway, you can kill this one, you probably need the levels more than I do.” She points at the chieftain, the most disgusting of them all.

[Warrior lvl 83]

She sure is stronger than me but once I advance my Class…

“No need.” I wave off the offer. “It’s your prey. Besides, I’m pretty sure I have quite a few levels in the bank.”

“Fine by me.” She stomps the throat of the last remaining green skin. “But what are you waiting for, a dragon to bless you or something?”

[Your group has triumphed over the enemy [Cave Goblin - Earth lvl 57].]

[You have triumphed over the enemy [Cave Goblin - Earth lvl 46].]

[Your group has triumphed over the enemy [Gobling - Dark lvl 32].]

No.

…

[You have triumphed over the enemy [Prowling Green Fiend - Life lvl 83] - [Javelin Hoarder - Wind lvl 23].]

Nasty thing got what it deserved.

[You have triumphed over the enemy [Verdant Flesh Brute - Life lvl 87] - [Stone Crusher - Earth lvl 16].]

[Your group has triumphed over the enemy [Feral Nilbog - Nature lvl 96] - [Herald of Slow Death- Life lvl 32].]

[Your group has triumphed over the enemy [Lord of the Cave Hoard - Metal lvl 98] - [Goblin High Chieftain - Dark lvl 51].]

[The Class Skill [Arcane Focus] has reached lvl 70-> 71.]

[The general Skill [Premonition] has reached lvl 65.]

[The general Skill [Maintained Magic] has reached lvl 45.]

[The general Skill [Martial Instinct] has reached lvl 8-> 11]

Well… she’s not entirely wrong. All my Class Skills besides Chaotic Touch and Elemental Burst are already maxed. And Arcane Focus, but one level is basically nothing. General Skills matter little and as for achievements… I think we did pretty well on that front as well.

“Nothing really.” I nod. “Find me a quiet spot and I’m good. But before that…” I turn back to the collapsed mouth of the tunnel we emerged from. “Can you help me with something?”