Chapter 33: Ch 33: Hog-Goblins

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[Unknown Girl's POV]

"That's...terrible" I say crestfallen, not finding better words to express it. 

I have to find out if this guy's story is true. We can't allow a stray sheep to ruin the image of the nobility like that…

But it's lucky I didn't try to recruit him before hearing this story. Surely it would have only served to antagonize us and I don't like the idea. This boy may prove to be very useful to the kingdom in the future.

"I know" says the boy, discouraged "but now it's your turn"

"It's pretty simple. I want to learn how to fight, but my affinities aren't up to the task. Holy affinity is for healing and empowering the body's natural abilities, while spirit affinity's only ability is to summon a bound spirit." I say flatly.

"But if your magic doesn't do what you want, couldn't you learn to use a sword or shoot with a bow?" says the boy, frowning.

"It's not that simple..." I say and, sighing, I add "My mother believes that magic is the future, she sees with bad eyes all activities not related to magic. Therefore, I'm sure she will see it as a waste of my time if she finds me trying to learn to fight with non-magical weapons"

"You understand that your time is yours, right?" says the boy, with a worried face. Dammit! It is evident that my intelligence is being questioned "if your mother really loves you, she should have no problem letting you learn to fight"

This last sentence sinks deep into my mind, sweeping away the anger I felt a moment ago, but, after thinking for a moment, I say calmly "You say that because you don't know my mother..."

The guy interrupts me mid-sentence... "Maybe, but you understand that what I'm saying makes sense, right?" he says, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

 It's refreshing to talk to someone who isn't afraid to speak his mind in my presence. 

"Yeah..." I concede "I guess so." I had never thought of trying to make my mother understand my wishes. After all, I know very well what her wishes are, and no one ever questions my mother. But... what if I could actually convince her? Hmm, I could...

But my thoughts are interrupted by the boy's voice "if your mother wants you to learn magic and you don't dare to tell her your wishes, then... what were you doing in the adventurers guild if your magic doesn't work for combat?"

"Looking for you, I already told you that I thought maybe I could learn from you some way to fight with my spirit, and that way I could follow my wishes without getting in the way of my mother's. Unfortunately, I could already see that my assumptions were wrong." I say discouraged "I had to sneak to come here. The truth is that the first class of the day is quite useless for me, that's why we always came to look for you at this time"

"It was the class of...?" the boy asks, letting the question hang in the air.

"Mana control class... It consists of sitting for an hour manipulating the mana inside the body" I explained, and snorting I added "but it's a waste of time for me"

"I know, it's boring" says the boy, animated.

"Yes, it's also absurdly simple... I don't understand how there can be people who find it so hard to control their mana" I say and, surprised, I see how the boy's animated expression trembles for a moment "the official version that my mother knows It's that I'm practicing empowerment magic, one of the exclusive skills of holy affinity."

"If you have to come back for the other classes...we've already been here for a long time" says the boy slowly, in a monotonous voice "Do you want to continue for another hour or two? Or do you prefer that we leave so you can go back to your classes?"

"I'd like to continue for a few more hours" I say, surprised by his change in tone "I can skip a day of classes without problems, this experience is worth it"

 

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[Xelean's point of view]

We leave the room and fight goblins for a few more hours.

 The plan was to fight for about two more hours only, but since we couldn't find a room we actually ended up wandering for three hours.  

After a few fights, we arrive at a challenge room. I explain to my teammates what challenge rooms are, and as I examine the threshold to identify its difficulty, I ask Vin a question I have about her story.

"There's something I don't understand about what you told me. If you can skip classes, couldn't you learn to fight without your mother finding out?"

"Sure, and when my mother finds out about my armor and my weapon the end of the world would be unleashed..." she says, with a smile "how do you suggest I hide those things from her?"

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"Would that be so terrible? Besides, your mom wouldn't have to see them. You can use an enchanted bag to hide them" I say, fingering the engraving on the frame.

 I wasn't very good at identifying the threshold patterns, and the fact that Sabrina recognized them without much effort didn't tell me that it was worth trying to learn to distinguish them... 

Now, of course, I miss the skill. And a failure to identify rooms becomes lethal, having someone who can't fight in the group.

"My mother likes control. I'm sure she knows exactly what I'm carrying with me at all times...and she can know what I'm carrying even in enchanted bags, she has the means to do it. Thanks for the idea, but if only it were that easy I would have thought of that myself" Vin says, watching my activity curiously. 

Her friend, on the other hand, looks like a statue whenever we're not fighting. I mean, I'm not much of a conversation starter myself, since I am used to being with Joseph who's very good at this; and I understand that the fact that he can't speak is a great inconvenience to communicate, but since we entered the labyrinth I haven't seen him make any gesture to try to communicate with us, it's...strange.

"I think it's safe, it doesn't seem like its difficulty level can change depending on the party members. Vin, if for whatever reason we get separated and you end up alone, don't try to call us or do anything that might draw the attention of enemies. Just wait for us to find you" I say, imprinting in my voice as much seriousness as I can, trying to emphasize the importance of what I say.

We cross the threshold and find ourselves in a cavernous environment.

 It seems to be the corridor of a cave, and around us there are stalactites and stalagmites. 

A blue bioluminescent moss grows on the walls, producing the only, though scarce, source of light in the environment. 

Because of this, our vision is significantly reduced and I can only barely distinguish my companions in the dark.

I remove three night vision potions from inventory and pass two to my companions, explaining in whispers what they are for them to drink.

 Azur doesn't need a potion since, being linked to me, the effect of my potion extends to it.

We advance for a few minutes in silence until we reach a point where we see in front of us how the corridor widens, taking the form of a wide cavern. 

We approach cautiously and see that in the center of the cavern there are three greenish beings around a fire, roasting what appear to be human arms and legs. 

I don't know if they are part of the body of real adventurers, or if they are part of the produced setting...it doesn't really matter. 

The three beings have a sack of fur skin covering their bodies as protection and next to them on the ground, there are daggers, maces, and swords. There are more weapons than creatures, so we can imagine that the excess of these is due to some group of adventurers who have perished facing them. 

The creatures are distracted looking at the flames and don't seem to detect us.

 Once again, I appreciate Ozy's recommendations on potions, if a group approached with a torch or other light source it would surely alert the beings.

"They're hog-goblins" I say whispering, while I think about the best way to face them "I've already fought them in the past, although I was with my usual group that time. Be careful with their high speed and don't be fooled by the resemblance to goblins. They are much faster and stronger, although they die just as quickly as goblins. As long as we don't get overconfident, we won't have any problems. "

"What will the strategy be? You're the one with experience against them, we'll trust your judgment" says Vin, also whispering, although with some tension in her voice.

 I guess she didn't like it at all to see what the creatures are roasting.

"Let's go back a bit and hide behind that ledge. I'm going to prepare a mana bomb and launch it at them when I have it ready. Azur will prepare a second bomb that will fire shortly after I do. We have the surprise factor, I'll use the explosions to try to take them down without having to fight. Elend, you'll stay back and cover Vin. No offense, but I don't think you can keep up with me in that armor, however, if you see I need help try to help me the best way you can." I say and start to concentrate to create the mana bomb. 

I don't have Agustín's ability to think quickly about group strategies, so I'm not even going to try it, especially considering that I don't know the capabilities of my teammates very well. 

Beside me, Azur shifts to its smaller size and into dragon form, since it's more likely to go unnoticed that way. When he does it, I can hear Vin's exclamation but she doesn't say anything so as not to disturb my concentration.

"Well, it's almost ready," I say, slowly as I finish shaping the bomb. The downside to this idea is that two of the hog-goblins have their name in golden color. So, I'll lose the experience bonus by killing them, but I don't think we'll be staying in the labyrinth much longer so I won't really lose anything. "wish me luck"

"Be careful" Vin says, sounding concerned, but she makes no objection to my plan. After all, she said a moment ago that they would trust my judgment.

I nod and run to the bonfire, hands outstretched. In one hand I carry the sword and in the other the formed mana bomb. I can't hold it in my hand for long once it's complete, so I rush as fast as I can in my run.

 As I run, Azur comes flying over me with its own mana bomb. 

When I get to about 6 meters from the hog-goblins, they spotted me and scream while trying to grab their weapons. But it's too late since, a few seconds before, I fired my bomb. 

The explosion smashes them to the ground, putting out the fire and sending the weapons flying. 

I'm still a long way off and the creatures try to get up, but then Azur's bomb hits them, knocking them back to the ground again. 

Without stopping the race, I light my sword on fire and passing next to one of the bodies, the one with the silver name, I decapitate it without stopping running. 

4 notifications appear indicating that both my classes and the Azur skill have leveled up, but I do not pay much attention to them and attack the next enemy by sticking the sword into its chest when it was about to get up. 

As I head in the direction of the last one, I see that it is already on its feet and preparing to lunge at me with a short knife in its hand, but Azur falls on top of it while changing shape and size, bringing the hog-goblin down to the ground, crushed by a drake as big as itself. 

Without missing the opportunity, I jump up and decapitate it, as I did with the first one a moment before.

 

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