章 12: Group Battle

It was early in the morning, a faint glow on the horizon hinted at the sun's imminent arrival, casting a soft, ethereal light on the night. The deep blue sky began to melt into shades of purple and pink, but for now, the night still reigned, filling the canvas with dark tones and a few flickering stars.

Nikos's group stood ready at their camp as the approaching monsters' sounds grew clearer and louder. It wasn't a small packs.

Each member of the group had been given four potions by Nikos—two health and two mana potions.

This will be our first test in battle as a group. Nikos thought as he turned to Jarek and gave his order, "Jarek, you'll be on the front. Don't let any monster get past you."

"Yess, Mashter," Jarek nodded, accepting the order. He moved forward, holding his greataxe in a ready stance.

Nikos's hand rested on the sword at his left hip. Then He glanced at Marielle, who was standing at the back, gripping her magic staff with shaking hands. This was her first battle against monsters, and she was clearly nervous.

He approached her and placed a reassuring hand on her shaking hand, "Don't worry, nothing bad will happen."

Marielle looked at him, nodding weakly as she tried to focus on the approaching monster sounds. On his other side, Liriel held two daggers in front of her, guarding Nikos from any danger.

"Liriel, don't attack yet. We will observe the monsters' activity first," Nikos instructed.

Liriel nodded in understanding.

Suddenly, the forest erupted with a uproar of hisses, growls, and clicks. All eyes turned towards the sound source as a horde of slimes, goblins, horned rabbits, and cat-sized ants surged forward, their eyes gleaming with predatory hunger.

As soon as they emerged, Jarek dashed towards them, immediately cutting down the monsters in his path.

— Boost Stats

From behind, Nikos buffed Jarek to help him reduce the number of monsters.

Jarek held the monsters back, preventing them from reaching his master position, but the sheer number of enemies was overwhelming.

One, two, three, five, ten, twenty—there were more and more monsters appearing. Around fifty or more; this was far more than I had seen previously. There could be even more, this situation is too dangerous.

Nikos turned to Liriel, "Liriel, move past Jarek and scout the surrounding 300 meters. Check if there's another horde of monsters," he ordered, handing her two speed potions. "Drink this to boost your speed."

Receiving the order, Liriel nodded. "Yes, sir." She quickly drank one potion and activated her skill.

— Shadow Step

She dashed forward, using Jarek's distraction as he took all the monsters attention to himself alone. Liriel slip past the monsters with quiet, swift steps. However, some goblins noticed her as she sped past them, the creature turned towards her.

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!Change Class

{Class: Support} ⇄ {Class: Archer}

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— Steady Aim [Passive] + Quick Shot

Whoosh whoosh whoosh

Nikos fired three arrows in quick succession. They whistled through the air, perfectly striking the goblins' legs. The creatures screamed as they fell, clutching their leg.

Taking advantage of this small window of opportunity, Jarek used his skill.

— Double Cleave

Jarek swung his greataxe twice, slicing through the creatures' bodies swiftly as if they were made of tofu.

The fight continued with Jarek holding most of the monsters at the front, slaying slimes and horned rabbits mainly. Nikos moved slightly forward, helping to eliminate the distracted enemies with his arrows.

Jarek's potions were exhausted, but he continued to hold back the onslaught of monsters with all his strength, following the orders to the best of his ability.

Marielle, positioned at the back, tried to heal Jarek and Nikos, but many of her spells were abruptly canceled. Her hands trembled uncontrollably, the staff she clutched feeling unfamiliar and heavy. Sweat trickled down her brow, stinging her eyes and blurring her vision.

Nikos noticed her struggle and glanced at her. She's too nervous; I can't let this go on for long. Suddenly, Nikos's eyes darted to the shifting underbrush behind Marielle. He sensed subtle movement in the bushes.

There's something hiding in the bushes.

Nikos turned around, firing arrows toward the bushes. Moments later, screams echoed as two archer goblins fell forward, struck down.

Marielle stood there, her mind a chaotic jumble of fear and doubt. Suddenly, a trio of goblins lunged at her from behind, rusty daggers flashing in the dim light.

Nikos pulled his bowstring back with three arrows aimed at Marielle, as she stood there.

— Eagle Eye [Passive] + Piercing Arrow

With one snap he release them all.

Swish swish swish!

The arrows flew past Marielle, one piercing a goblin's throat, another hitting the second goblin's heart, and the last striking the third goblin in the eye. All three goblins dropped to the ground.

Marielle's breathing was shallow and rapid, her chest constricting as if the air around her had thickened. She could faintly hear the clash of weapons and the sounds of battle, but she couldn't find focus.

Nikos dashed towards her. I need her to focus again; we'll need her for the future fights. However, two large ants descended from the tree above, their jaws clicking menacingly. He rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a barrage of bites.

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!Change Class

{Class: Archer} ⇄ {Class: Warrior}

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Nikos quickly got to one knee, drew his sword, and released cleave in a steady slash.

— Cleave

His skill sliced through them. Both ants fell, their legs twitching as their bodies were slashed.

Nikos stood up and grabbed Marielle's shoulder. "Marielle, focus, we ugh—" A rusty dagger stabbed into his side through a gap in his armor, as one goblin clung to his side. "We… we need you," he said, wincing in pain.

The one-eyed goblin wasn't dead from the previous attack. It had played dead, waiting for the right moment to strike back.

Jarek glanced back for a moment to check on Nikos and saw him get stabbed. "Masster!"

"Focus! On your task, Jarek!" Nikos shouted.

Marielle snapped out of her trance at Nikos's shout. She saw the blood seeping from the gap in his armor and the goblin clutching him.

"I-I'm so… orry, Master," guilt overshadowed Marielle. Her incompetence had caused this.

Nikos looked deep into her eyes and reassured her, "I understand it's hard, but we need you. Show us your ability. I believe in you," he said, wincing in pain.

Marielle looked at her party members. They were starting to tire and were wounded. She needed to help them. She needed to show her worth.

She nodded weakly, biting her lips, and with shaking hands, she raised her staff high, closing her eyes to gather all her focus and casting a healing area spell for her allies.

— Healing Area

The goblin leapt back to the ground, laughing maniacally at its successful revenge on the one who had blinded its eye.

Nikos turned back to the goblin, grabbing its face. "Kreak rck!" The creature's nail dug into his arm, trying desperately to escape.

However, Nikos quickly drew his sword and slashed its neck before it could gave more resistance. Its body and head separated as the creature's body fell to the ground.

At the front, Liriel had returned.

She moved swiftly, slashing the vital parts of many monsters in her path. She quickly moved to Nikos's side. "It's safe, sir. There are no more monsters nearby. This is the only pack within the radius," she reported, noticing blood on Nikos side, she asked in a worried tone, "are you okay, sir?"

Nikos heard her report while drinking a mana potion. "I'm fine. No need to worry." He then raised his sword, "Now, let's finish off the rest of these ugly monsters."

Liriel nodded and fought beside him.

The group continued fighting, killing all the remaining monsters. Nikos alternated his class between Support, Warrior, and Archer. The healing area spell healed most of Nikos's wounds, and Marielle gradually became better and less nervous. Their fight as a group slowly became more harmonious.

Finally, it was all over as Jarek cut down the last monster. The sun had started to rise, illuminating the world and dispelling the night's darkness.

"Gather all the usable parts from the monsters," Nikos ordered them.

Panting, Nikos stood in the middle of the monster corpses, his keen eyes scanning the area for any signs of life. This is so unusual—all these different monsters banding together to attack adventurers.

There's something more to this.

The sounds of monsters had faded, leaving the forest to its usual atmosphere. With a final, wary glance around, Nikos slung his bow over his back and sheathed his sword at his hip.

Liriel approached Nikos. "Sir, it's all done."