Chapter 38

Surrounded by eight floating energy spheres. Normally, I would deploy dozens of Fireballs, but this time, due to the dense forest around us, I have deployed 'Explosion.' As it is a 4th Tier Black Magic, with my current magic power (MP), deploying eight at once is the limit. No... right now, that's not the issue.

Suddenly, an explosion occurred, and part of the goblin horde surrounding us collapsed. Looking in the direction of the explosion, I saw three people who appeared to be adventurers. The young adventurer had deployed eight glowing orbs around him, so it was likely that the explosion was caused by his magic. Mimumu muttered in disbelief beside me, but even I, who am not a specialist in magic, could tell that the magic that caused the explosion was of a high level. Moreover, I recognized the man who seemed to be a scout. He was Larit, an adventurer rumored to be about to reach C-rank. This increased our chances of survival even further.

While holding the area where I had been cut by the Goblin King, I glared at Gratz and Mimumu. Gratz, still gripping the front of Rena's shirt, was in a daze, looking at the newly arrived adventurers. From the fact that one of them was Nina, I understood that they had come to save Rena, but the opponent was the Goblin King and a horde of goblins numbering in the hundreds. It might just lead to more unnecessary sacrifices. But the goblins' movements were strange... no, they had stopped moving altogether. The Goblin King's smile had disappeared, and he was not taking his eyes off the young adventurer.

Yu and the others started walking towards Rena, but the goblins did not move. It was clear that the Goblin King was taking more distance and being cautious.

"Yu, that magic was amazing, huh? You're a backliner, not a frontliner?

Still, to be up against a Goblin King... I guess my luck isn't very good today."

Larit said this but did not run away. Yu thought he was truly a good person and was grateful.

"Ugh, why is that guy grabbing Rena's collar!?"

Nina, unusually, was angry. She was angry, but she seemed to understand the situation, maintaining vigilance around her and holding weapons in both hands, ready to attack at any moment.

I walked up to the man who was still gripping Rena's collar, and he said something ridiculous.

"H-Helped! Now we might be able to survive and return alive!!"

"... Yu... don't come..."

I broke the arm that was gripping Rena's collar with all my strength. I don't know why, but I'm in a bad mood and have been irritable since a while ago.

"Aaaaaah!! What are you doing!?"

"How long are you going to keep holding Rena's collar?"

Mmm... I called Rena's name without thinking. Rena must have been in a lot of pain; tears were welling up in her eyes, about to overflow. I checked the status of these scum.

Name: Muga Sekko

Race: Human

Job: Warrior, Heavy Warrior

Level: 20

HP: 504

MP: 73

Strength: 209

Agility: 63

Stamina: 106

Intelligence: 26

Magic Power: 32

Luck: 16

Passive Skills:

Shield Mastery LV1

Club Mastery LV2

Sword Mastery LV1

Strength Boost LV1

Active Skills:

Shield Techniques LV1

Club Techniques LV2

Sword Techniques LV1

Combat Techniques LV2

Unique Skills:

Goblin Killer

Equipment:

Weapon: Steel Sword (LV6): None

Armor: Iron Armor (LV6): None

Iron Gauntlets (LV6): None

Leather Boots (LV6): None

Accessory: Arrest Ring (LV6): Poison Resistance Boost

Name: Gratz Mofu

Race: Human

Job: Warrior, Knight

Level: 21

HP: 456

MP: 102

Strength: 186

Agility: 96

Stamina: 99

Intelligence: 34

Magic Power: 35

Luck: 18

Passive Skills:

Sword Mastery LV2

Spear Mastery LV2

Shield Mastery LV2

Active Skills:

Sword Techniques LV1

Spear Techniques LV2

Combat Techniques LV2

Shield Techniques LV2

Unique Skills:

Beast Killer

Equipment:

Weapon: Iron Spear (LV6): None

Armor: Iron Helmet (LV6): None

Steel Armor (LV6): None

Steel Gauntlets (LV6): None

Tower Shield (LV5): None

Steel Leggings (LV6): None

Accessory: Ring of Strength (LV6): Strength Boost

Name: Mimumu Fyums

Race: Half-Elf

Job: Mage, Spirit Mage

Level: 23

HP: 165

MP: 302

Strength: 49

Agility: 53

Stamina: 43

Intelligence: 106

Magic Power: 136

Luck: 26

Passive Skills:

Staff Mastery LV2

Half-Elf Eye LV1

Chant Speed Boost LV1

MP Recovery Speed Boost LV1

Active Skills:

Black Magic LV3

Spirit Magic LV2

Magic Awakening LV1

Barrier LV1

Unique Skills:

Enhanced Hearing

Equipment:

Weapon: Mage's Staff (LV5): Magic Effect Boost

Armor: Mage's Robe (LV5): Magic Resistance Boost

Leather Boots (LV6): None

Accessory: Healing Ring (LV5): HP Recovery Speed Boost

Elf Ring (LV5): Magic Effect Boost

"What are you doing! We should work together to escape this crisis!!

Nina, please tell that boy as well."

The half-elf man was saying something, putting himself on a pedestal.

"Work together? Are you joking? That guy with the shield, why isn't he protecting Rena from attacks? Isn't it the basic duty of a shield user to protect the backliners?"

Gratz, whose arm had been broken and was on his knees, glared at us with hatred and barked.

"Shut... up! Are you an idiot? Look at the number of monsters around us! We can barely protect ourselves..."

"If you can't protect your party members, you should quit being a shield user.

Next, half-elf, you know Rena can use White Magic, right? If you had used magic to control the situation, we wouldn't have ended up in such a crisis, would we?"

"I'm using magic thoughtfully..."

Mimumu fell silent, as if she had something on her mind.

"Let me make it clear, I have no intention of working together with you. If you want to run, go in the direction we came from."

Gratz and Mimumu were shouting in anger, but ignoring them, they seemed to have decided to run away together.

"Mimumu, the place they came from is where the encirclement was broken by the magic earlier. We should be able to escape from there. There will probably be some goblins, but if I defend and you use your magic to defeat them, it should be fine."

"Understood. That's our only option."

"You guys, I will report this to the leader of the Red Meteor. Even if you manage to return alive, you won't get off easily!"

Gratz was threatening us, but none of Yu's group reacted. Yu even had a faint smile on his face. Gratz and Mimumu, seeing the goblins start to move, hurriedly began their actions.

"Grr... those... shameless bastards..."

"You seem to have some backbone, so I'll let you off."

Muga looked as if he didn't understand what Yu was saying. Yu handed potions and mana potions to Rena.

"Are you so scared that you're shedding tears? Weakling."

"Rena is fine now~"

"... I'm a genius... I don't cry over something like this..."

"You guys, it's amazing you can still joke around in this situation."

Muga picked up his broken arm and connected it with White Magic, healing his body as well.

"What!? You... can use White Magic!?"

It's no wonder Muga was surprised. A severed arm being reconnected in just a few minutes is a powerful healing magic that is rare even among B-rank adventurers. Larit's mouth was still open in the back.

"I think this should be fine, but whether you sit and do nothing or fight is up to you."

Muga, who seemed to have some backbone, stood up, gripped his sword, and was ready to fight. Nina was hugging Rena and wiping her face. She was covered in blood from being hit by Gratz. Well, we probably won't see those guys again.

"I will fight the Goblin King while casting magic. Larit, please deal with the goblins that get past the magic. Rena, focus on healing and support. Nina, protect Rena so she can concentrate on her magic."

"Aye."

"Sure~"

"... Understood."

The Goblin King approached us with a low growl. Looking at his status, I understood why he hadn't attacked us for so long.

Name: Yaven

Race: Goblin King

Rank: 4

Level: 26

HP: 966

MP: 362

Strength: 431

Agility: 247

Stamina: 366

Intelligence: 88

Magic Power: 163

Luck: 22

Passive Skills:

Leadership LV4

Sword Mastery LV5

Intimidation LV2

Physical Enhancement LV3

Strength Enhancement LV3

Active Skills:

Sword Techniques LV4

Black Magic LV5

Combat Techniques LV3

Roar LV3

Unique Skills:

Follower Subjugation LV2

He is the Goblin General who fled in the Great Forest. No wonder he was wary of me from the start.

"Those guys will definitely regret this... definitely!"

"Let's focus on surviving this."

The arm that was broken by that kid still hurts even after drinking a potion.

Mimumu can't use healing magic... damn half-elf, why don't you learn healing magic!?

"I understand. Here come the goblins! I'll use the shield skill 'Provocation' to draw them in, so take them down with magic!"

"Understood. Fire spirit, hear my will, my desire—"

As Mimumu started chanting, I used 'Provocation,' but something was wrong... the goblins weren't being drawn to me... they were attacking Mimumu and me normally.

I tried to block the sword of the goblin leader attacking Mimumu, but I couldn't handle it as usual... 'Combat Techniques' wasn't working properly... something was wrong... something was wrong...

"Mimumu!! Cast the magic quickly!"

"Impossible... the magic isn't working!? The chant and magic power were fine!"

The goblin leader's sword slashed my thigh. Both Mimumu and I were in a state as if we had lost all our skills. At first, there were only a few goblins, but as time passed, they gathered and increased to dozens. It was clumsy... ah... now a Goblin Knight bit my arm. Mimumu's situation was even worse. She was being eaten alive by goblins... no... no...

"Sh... shi... ni... da... gu... no..."

Mimumu seemed to have lost consciousness. I tried to shake off the goblins clinging to me, but more and more goblins kept biting me. As the goblin's wide mouth approached my face, I lost consciousness...