Part Sixteen – The Forest

It was a good thing we had the compass, as there was no way we’d be able to find our target without it. The forest seemed to go on forever, without so much as a single distinguishing feature. Every tree looked exactly the same and there was minimal undergrowth. It feels like I’m playing some low-budget procedurally generated game. Everything looks the same!

It didn’t help that we’d begun to attract the occasional monster, usually Goblins. Since they were so weak, we dealt with them quickly, but the fear that something stronger would appear had gripped us all. Or almost all.

“Get moving. If we don’t finish this quickly, we’ll easily get surrounded.”

Sampson had more or less taken charge. Ever since he’d completely smashed a Goblin into the ground, no one had complained about his leadership.

“Gyaaa!”

“Gyaga!”

“Mraaa!!”

Oh damn! They actually showed up! A small group of goblins had led a Minotaur right towards us, though it appeared to be a cub. The second it saw us, it roared in anger and charged straight through the goblins in front of it.

“MRAAAGH!”

“Hmph!”

*Crash!*

What the hell? How did he do that!? Sampson had actually matched the Minotaur’s blow with his great hammer. The impact was enough to push the two backwards. Everyone, including the Minotaur, was shocked.

“What’re you all doing! Kill the small-fry!”

You don’t need to tell me twice. Free prey. I’d already descended amongst the goblins, my blades cutting off heads like I was harvesting crops. For a moment, I felt really good.

““MRAAAAAAAGH!””

Oh you’ve got to be kidding me! There’s another one!? Oh shit, it’s not one, it’s two!? Why world, why!? Whining wouldn’t kill them and the others were either fighting the goblins, or too busy panicking to be of any use. Except Sampson.

“Mraaaa.”

The first Minotaur was down on one knee as he loomed over it, looking to strike the final blow. If he’s almost done there, then I’ll try doing that. I hope Alicia doesn’t find out about this.

I charged straight at the approaching Minotuars, fully intent on preventing them from proceeding any further. Both carried large clubs easily thicker than my head. If they hit me once… let’s not think about it.

I swerved around the first one, dodging the overhead swing of its club, and lunged for the second. I’d already sheathed one of my swords and held the other with both hands. Cloaking the blade in as much Aura as possible, I slashed at it with all my strength.

“Mraaaaa…aaa….aa.”

The Minotaur’s torso slid off of its body, having been cut clean in half. I took two steps before my legs gave out from the recoil. As I fell to the ground, I used my momentum to roll away from the second Minotaur. Though I was certain I didn’t need to.

“MRAAAAA!”

“HAHAHAHAHAH! Big stupid bull! Don’t turn your back to the enemy!”

Sampson had snuck up on it while it was preoccupied with me. Since he’d gotten in a preemptive attack, the poor thing didn’t stand a ghost of a chance of winning. Meanwhile, I could only just now stand back up.

The attack I’d used was an application of Dual Sword Aura, and frankly it was shit. Or at least my skill in using it was. Let me explain it better. While I didn’t know the particulars, mostly cause the System wouldn’t tell me, everyone had a maximum mana output. This was based off both your total mana pool, along with your efficiency in using mana as well as some other factors. What it boiled down to was that there was only so much mana you could use for a spell or Skill at once.

Aura was generated by burning your mana, so there was a clear limit on how much you could generate at once. I had to push myself to be able to use that slashing attack, so the blowback from it was quite intense. Hopefully I wouldn’t have to do it again, since that would exacerbate the problem. When I was testing it out, I’d discovered that using it too many times could leave me bedridden with intense muscle pain. It was fairly similar to overexerting yourself.

Regardless of the particulars, I’d only used the attack because I figured Sampson wasn’t the kind of person to let an opportunity to kill a monster go to waste. Trying to gather that much Aura or an enhanced slash was foolish if I didn’t have back-up. I did hope that in the future I could use this attack however I wanted. During my tests, the performance of my swords had almost tripled by using this technique.

With the monsters wiped out, we moved on. Everyone here was at D-Rank, so dealing with a small group (though there were close to a hundred) of goblins wasn’t a big deal. I was starting to suspect that Sampson was C-Rank, which would make him the only other C-Rank I’d met. Either that, or he had a good weapon.

“We should almost be there! The compass says we’re close.”

That was good. I didn’t like our chances if we ran into too many more monsters.

*Shiver*

“Oh shit! Get down!”

My warning was a little too late, as while most of us dived out of the way, one poor soul was grabbed and dragged away. Shit! What the hell was that!? I couldn’t even see it move!

Survival Instinct was screaming that whatever it was, was extremely dangerous, though the reaction wasn’t as bad as the one for the Weregoblin and it was already weakening. Probably because I was now aware of the threat, meaning it couldn’t ambush me as easily. Which was little consolation in this situation.

“Kyeeeeeee!”

It came screaming out of the trees at us, moving at insane speeds. Since I was expecting it this time, I was able to Analyze it.

Sonic Wolf

Rank: D

Description: A Wolf monster suffering from a mutation. It metabolism has skyrocketed compared to before, so it must constantly hunt to sustain itself. Aside from its Speed, there’s not much difference between it and regular wolves.

Well that’s reassuring! So if we can deal with its speed, we’ll be able to deal with the monster? Yeah right! Deal with a monster that can move much faster than me? How do we do tha-. Oh, could that work?

I needed to get the timing on this just right, as I’d only have one shot. If I screwed up, there was no telling how many of us would die before we killed it. So no pressure. If only Survival Instinct was of more help in these kinds of situations. I need to make sure it comes as close to me as possible. Ugh, so annoying.

“Group up! I’ve got a plan, but I need to make sure it comes close to me or it won’t work. If we’re all spread out, then it’ll just keep picking us off.”

There was some mild grumbling at my command, but the wolf almost grabbing another guy by the throat put an end to any dissent. Convenient how the threat of imminent death can motivate people.

Everyone grouped together back-to-back, with me and Sampson circling the edges of the group. He’d insisted that he wasn’t going to sit back and let someone fight for him. I’m definitely starting to like this guy. Not only is he competent at fighting, but he won’t back down if we’re in danger. Though his ego might mean that we could butt heads.

The tension was palpable. We were all holding our breaths, looking for the slightest sign of the monster. The most terrifying thing about this monster was that it could maintain its high speeds even in terrain with plenty of obstacles. If we tried to fight it on flat, open ground, it would make this fight several times harder.

*Shiver*

“It’s coming! Get down!”

Everyone crouched down as the wolf came at us again, protecting themselves with whatever they could. It was coming right at me, which was exactly what I’d wanted it to do. Here we go, Bloodthirst!

The Skill forced the wolf to flinch, even if only for a moment, which would be fatal. I dodged to the side and slashed at it, leaving its momentum to carry it through my sword. I flicked the blood off the blade and watched as the wolf fell in half, before dissolving into light. Huh? It really was like a regular wolf except for its Speed.

::Special Skill: Bloodthirst has become Rank E.::

Oh, that’s nice. It’s always a help to get any kind of bonus, especially if it’s a Skill I like using. Though, I’d actually like for my other Skills to rank up instead.

“Well that’s done. Let’s get moving! We shouldn’t stand around here much longer!”

They’re still gawking at me. Have they never seen someone kill a monster in one hit like that before? You’d think they wouldn’t be surprised by something so simple.

***

“Make sure to soak the crates with the oil as thoroughly as possible. We need to make sure that it all burns evenly and doesn’t spread to the forest.”

We’d finally found the supplies and were preparing to dispose of them. We’d split into two groups, one keeping an eye out for monsters and the other sabotaging the supplies. Jansen was in charge of the saboteur group, while me and Sampson were leading the guards.

Though I do have one question. Why would monsters keep their supplies inside crates? Most of it seems to be miscellaneous meat chunks, which I’m trying not to think too hard about. Maybe it’s one of those weird Dungeon things that just don’t make any sense.

Every so often, some Goblins or low-ranked beasts would come running up to us. They were at least enough to keep me from getting bored. Even if they died with a single attack, they could still provide me with valuable drop items.

“More Goblins are coming! There’s something big behind them too.”

“Those are Orcs!”

Multiple large humanoid monsters were lumbering behind the Goblins. Large bodies, with pig-like faces and thick limbs made these Demi-Human monsters a serious threat. While they didn’t have a Minotaur’s brute strength, or the overwhelming numbers of Goblins or Kobolds, they possessed an intellect the other Demi-Humans didn’t have.

“Been awhile since I had pork. Lookin’ forward ta this.”

Sampson was the first to rush into battle, swinging his hammer around to crush the Goblins. The others behind me began to launch projectiles ranging from arrows to knives. I threw myself after them, eager to kill monsters.

I slipped through the Goblins, cutting them down as I passed by them. I soon ran into my first Orc, which swung at me with the large sword it held. I parried the slash, then stabbed at its throat.

“Squee…ee…e!”

It collapsed backwards while holding its throat as blood squirted out. Hmph, too tepid. You’ll need to try harder to kill me.

“OIIIIIIINK!”

“SQUEEEEEEEE!!!”

Two more Orcs charged at me. Seeing one of their own killed had riled them up. I threw out a fan of knives at them, which they blocked with their weapons. Except for one.

“SQUEEEee!”

My Gleaming Dagger had stabbed deep into one of the Orc’s eyes. Because of the way it would zip along its trajectory, it was incredibly difficult to defend against. Even more so when included among several other knives.

The wounded Orc was nothing but prey to me, as I quickly cut its throat. The second one though, had managed to deflect every knife I sent at it. It’s actually annoying that I only have one of those. I’d love to pull that trick multiple times in a row.

Just as I was getting around to dealing with the remaining Orc, something big barreled past me. It quickly crushed the head of the Orc, before turning on the remaining Goblins. Looking around, nearly every monster that I hadn’t killed had been crushed into a bloody mush.

That’s… Sampson, right? What the hell happened to him. His muscles have swollen up to twice their normal size and he's indiscriminately killing the monsters. He isn’t even trying to keep his guard up. It doesn’t look like he’d attack any of the mercenaries, so he should still have some of his mental faculties.

It’s like he went berserk. Hm, could it be a Skill? I really want to know, but it would be bad manners to ask about someone’s Status. Especially if we don’t work together. Eh, whatever.

It didn’t take long to finish off the remaining monsters, or to finish our sabotage. Just as I was thinking we were in the clear, it happened.

“OOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNK!”

I have a sinking feeling we just pissed off the world’s biggest and angriest pig.