Capítulo 51: Change of Plans
Jack groaned as his consciousness returned. His MP had dropped to zero thanks to his bloodline skill, exhausting himself so quickly that he weakly fell unconscious. Now that his MP had maxed out thanks to the two elixirs, Jack opened his eyes to the unfamiliar darkness.
"You okay kid?" asked Rydel, responding to Jack's sudden groans.
"Yeah…" answered Jack. "I just used too much mana too quickly, that's all. That was my first time trying that skill, so I had no clue that it would use so much MP."
"How do you feel?" Brunar's unexpected concern startled Jack. "That skill was like your fox's, just not as strong. How'd you do that?"
"Umm…" Jack was hesitant to reply. "It's because of the mutual seal, so I'm just lucky I guess."
"Well it was amazing, know that I'm jealous," chuckled Brunar. "You'll make a great rival after all, but don't expect me to make it easy for you to pass me. I'll do whatever it takes to stay stronger."
Not sure how to take the sudden compliment, Jack asked the group, "We're in the clear now, right?"
"Yeah, they shouldn't be able to find us anytime soon," answered Rydel.
"Good, then you were probably waiting on me to discuss the plan, right?"
"Ya guessed it," said Maynard. "So, what do ya think? Now that we've been found out and the goblins are aware of our threat, what should we do?"
Jack let out a deep breath before he shared his thoughts. "Stick to the plan, that's the best solution. We'll have to alter our expectations and some minor things, but our aim is still the destruction of the goblin city."
"But how can we possibly face the entire goblin city? Just those two captains were lv. 30's. If there is a goblin king, what level would he be? How could we possibly beat so many goblins?" Troni let loose a flurry of questions, somewhat panicked.
"That's simple," smirked Jack. "We just need water."
"Water?" Troni and the others were dumbfounded.
Suddenly, Rydel laughed, "So that's how it is, I knew I'd like the way you do things kid."
While everyone was distracted by Rydel's random comment, Jack explained further, "The key to our victory will be water, or better said the goblin's water supply."
"You mean to poison them?" asked Maynard.
"That's exactly what I plan to do," said Jack. "Why else would I have wanted so much neurotoxin earlier? It won't be enough to fully paralyze a full city of goblins, but if we can successfully poison their limited water supply, I'm sure they'll be slowed or partially stunned. There's no way they'd be able to fight at full strength, making it even easier for us to deliver quick killing blows."
Only Troni continued frowning amidst the small crowd of smiles, but no one could see it. Hearty chuckles and laughs broke the silence that followed Jack's elaboration, changing the party's attitude gradually.
"Well, that's not too bad an idea," said Brunar. "I'll pass you all my neurotoxin too, the more the merrier right?"
Slivia remained silent, but she was relieved. She had mentally placed Jack on a pedestal as a summoned hero, so she was glad that he was able to come up with a solution during dire straights and keep good on the mental image she had created.
"So, will that be a new phase in the plan?" asked Rydel.
"We'll call it, phase zero. It'll have to happen before the actual raid begins, so I think it's fitting." Jack reached into his cloak pocket and felt the soft fur of the sleeping Bowser. To his surprise, the ears perked up and reacted to Jack's combing fingers. "It seems like Bowser's feeling a bit better. As long as we don't start the raid in the next few hours, he should be ready in time for the plan."
"I'm glad to hear that, he was a huge help earlier. If it weren't for him, those lizards would've done more than just poison my leg," praised Brunar.
"Still, it'd be safer to retreat temporarily and return with the branch chief and more reinforcements. Why should we risk our lives now with only slim chances of success?" asked Troni, still bargaining to flee.
"You don't get it, do you?" Jack stared at the source of Troni's voice. "The more time we give these goblins, the stronger they'll get. Of course, I wish that old fart could join us, but we'll just have to make do without him. Any real adventurer understands that there's a risk in every mission and embraces those odds with everything they've got."
Troni remained silent, unsure of how to reply. Jack didn't allot Troni much time to respond before he continued, "I'll admit it, this mission has plenty of dangers and unknowns. But that's why I decided to become an adventurer in the first place, to achieve things that everyone else thought impossible. Also, if the Royal Court is really behind this, then wouldn't they ensure that the association is too occupied to give a full out assault?"
Gasps escaped the party's mouths; they hadn't considered that idea. The Royal Court was openly on bad terms with the Adventurers Association, so why wouldn't they find some excuse to keep the association busy.
"The Royal Court has a hand in this. I've gathered a number of the goblin's weapons and all of them carry the royal crest," confirmed Maynard. "I'm not sure if this was done by official orders or in the shadows, but either way the Royal Court will want this to stay silent. I'm certain they wouldn't let us charge in and blow the cap off the incident."
"Then it's best for us to continue our plan and handle the issue without drawing much attention. If a battalion of adventurers left the capital, the entire city would be on edge without a proper explanation," reasoned Rydel. "We're the best option to complete this mission while maintaining the most secrecy possible. Anyone want to object?"
No one replied, each for their reasons. Jack spoke up, "Good, then let's hurry and find this goblin city. Slivia, where did you find it last time?"
She flinched but answered nonetheless, "It's in the center, but I don't know where we are now."
"Leave that part to me," said Rydel. "I've got a rough idea of where we are, but I can't guarantee that we'll be able to sneak past each outpost on the way."
"We need to attack any outpost we find," said Jack. "We won't be able to tell whether the outposts notice us and notify others to try and surround us. It's best if we just strike first and wipe out each outpost we meet. With you two working together, a lv. 30 goblin captain shouldn't be too much trouble and you can pick him off before the rest of the goblins have a chance to act."
"Great! Then I'll distract the other goblins while Master slays the goblin captain," said Brunar, anxious to grow stronger after seeing Jack's meteoric rise in strength.
"Then it's settled, we'll move forward from here." Jack ended the discussion and slowly stood up, still a little weak after having gained consciousness. As he got to his feet, Jack felt a chill pass over his body as the cloak opened while in motion.
"Oh yeah, and you should know that your special move destroys your clothes. We'll have to figure something out for that later. For now, hurry and change," Rydel commented as he stood up.
Embarrassed, Jack turned away from the party and put clothes on under the cloak. He then turned and asked, "Who should I return this to?"
Slivia answered, "You can keep it. I'm sure it'll come in handy."
With red in his cheeks, Jack nodded and readied himself to leave like the others.
Rydel made sure Jack was tied in like the rest and they set off. They followed Rydel blindly, trusting the hunter's experience. With his eagle eye ability, Rydel was still able to distinguish some shapes in the darkness within a couple of dozen meters. This was very helpful to the party as it let them quickly find a nearby outpost.
"It seems to be almost empty. Maybe it was one of the outposts that ambushed us earlier," deduced Rydel. "Scratch that, it's not empty but all the goblins there are gathered awkwardly to one side."
"They're probably from a different outpost and are investigating the deaths of their allies," whispered Jack. "Do you have a clear visual on the captain?"
"Yeah, he's atop the watchtower. If we don't act fast, he'll be sure to notice us."
"Good, here's what we'll do." Jack then explained a brief battle plan to the party and everyone nodded in agreement.
Atop the tower, the goblin captain was peering into the distance, trying to sense any signs of life. Suddenly, a few bright lights appeared a couple of dozen meters from the outpost. The goblin captain grunted and commanded his troops to charge the invaders, certain that they must be the culprits of their comrades' deaths.
It watched as the goblin troops charged the four lights in the distance and were met with resistance. Not happy with the goblin's chances of victory, the goblin captain activated a storage necklace and retrieved a contact crystal.
Just when it was about to send a message to nearby outposts, a light appeared to the side of the goblin captain. Startled by the appearance of what seemed to be a samurai, the goblin captain drew its sword to block the surprise attack.
The goblin captain pushed back the enemy blade and prepared to inform the other outposts, but an arrow stuck itself through the goblin captain's throat. Unable to speak or communicate, the goblin captain felt fear.
A second strike from the samurai swung towards the captain, who struggled to defend. Like before, the second swing of the katana was followed by a second arrow. It lodged itself in the goblin captain's arm and rendered it unable to wield its heavy longsword. With an easy opening, Maynard's blade glowed red as it was thrust forward into the captain's chest and heart.
Before any other goblin within the outpost had a chance to aid their captain, they watched as their captain fell to the sword. Those goblins quickly met the same fate as a rain of arrows claimed their unguarded lives.
Maynard rushed to the rest of the party, who was holding off the other goblin defenders. The battle wasn't very dramatic, but it proved that the best defense was an even stronger offense.
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES 
TheSilverQuill
TheSilverQuill Thanks again for reading and voting! If there are any questions or ideas you have about the story so far, make it known in the comments.
Capítulo 52: What's in the Pit?
The party gathered back at the outpost since it was cleared by Rydel and Maynard. Rydel climbed down the watchtower to meet everyone below.
"Well, we know how they're communicating," said Rydel, showing the contact crystal to everyone. "It's a good thing we caught them off guard and took the offensive."
Going through the goblin captain's storage necklace, all they found were weapons and dried meat rations. They found some more weapons inside the outpost, but nothing else. It supported the idea that the goblins received some outside help to obtain better materials and hadn't advanced due to their intellectual advancement.
"Is there anything else?" asked Jack.
"Nope, none of the other goblins had anything besides a weapon," answered Brunar, flinging a dagger into a pile of weapons.
"Alright, let's head out. If there's nothing here, then the other outposts are probably the same way. All that matters right now is getting to the goblin city." Rydel took the lead and they tied themselves up to leave.
They used the same ambush tactic on another two outposts without any issues, other than lack of rest. Everyone pushed forward with a few yawns along the way, just waiting for the chance to see the city and take a much-needed break.
The third floor was dark and barren; not a single azure crystal was left to light the way. Not even a single creature could be found anywhere, so there weren't any threats besides the goblin outposts.
Having relaxed as they got in a rhythm, the party was getting tired and were distracted by any thought that crossed their minds. Even Rydel was starting to slack and wasn't quite as sharp as he could've been.
It had been over an hour since they passed the third outpost, but nothing was in sight. It was somehow appearing to get darker. Intrigued by this, Rydel heightened his focus again while the others simply followed along.
Out of nowhere, Brunar ran into Rydel's unmoving back. Jack collided with Brunar's, Slivia with Jack's, and so on until the party was at a complete halt.
'What's going on?' asked Jack telepathically, not daring to speak aloud.
'Don't move, I'm trying to investigate the path. Something's off,' answered Rydel.
'Like what?' asked Maynard.
'I… I'm not sure. It's just like before but for some reason, everything in front of me is an even deeper shade of black. It feels like the world ends right here and stepping any further we would fall off the world's edge. In all my travels in this mine, I've never felt quite like this,' Rydel struggled to describe how he felt.
Jack took a moment to think before he replied in his mind, 'Can we walk around that blackness?'
'I think so,' answered Rydel with a shrug.
'Then that's what we'll do.'
Rydel nodded silently as he whispered, "Everyone, be extremely careful to follow the exact direction I'm pulling you."
The party leader took a few steps and pulled the rope carefully with his arm, making sure to lead the group around that strange darkness. Brunar was extra careful, sensing the seriousness of the situation. He would mirror Rydel, pulling the rope along carefully.
Each step was quiet yet strangely heavy on their hearts like they were silently traversing a cliff. The tension felt unnecessary, yet mandatory by the nature of that darkness.
The party did its best to continue despite a few yawns and the exhaustion that was setting in. Slivia was a good example of this as her footing was clumsy or overlooked at times.
The next person to show their tiredness was Troni, whose feet would fumble on occasion. Since the ground wasn't always even in that region of the mine and the darkness wouldn't let him see his own hand in front of him, Troni was the first person to trip and fall to his knees.
Troni quickly caught himself and tried to get back up, but the sudden tautness of the rope caught Slivia off guard. Maynard remained still, but Slivia's footing was lost and she fell backward.
The next in line was Jack, who heard Slivia groan as she was pulled down. He turned to look back instinctively as he was pulled down face first. When Jack landed, he was surprised to land softly. His head found a pillow-like cushion to break his fall and the ground beneath him felt extremely smooth to the touch. Enjoying the awkward circumstance, he let out a sigh of relief.
"Ow!"
Slivia's sudden cry caused Jack to widen his eyes and activate the kari stone out of reflex. Jack was dumbfounded to find himself on top of Slivia with his head resting on her ample bosom and blush on her nervous face.
"Sorry!" Out of fear, Jack tried to push himself back off but collided with the falling Brunar instead. They pushed each other to either side of Slivia, Jack to her right and Brunar to her left.
It wasn't too big a deal until Jack looked down and couldn't find the ground, despite having his kari crystal lit.
'Jack!' Rydel mentally shouted as he grabbed Jack by the back of his cloak and pulled him back, returning the blushing hero atop Slivia.
Originally, Jack thought Rydel would be furious about him using the kari crystal, but everyone was glad Jack had in that instance. The party looked to their right; the same direction Jack had fallen.
There was no ground, only a sheer cliff shrouded in darkness that appeared to easily overwhelm the light of the kari crystal. They could only look about two meters before the remaining light was engrossed in complete darkness; the same deep darkness that Rydel had seen.
"This…" The party was speechless at the abysmal scenery in front of them, especially Jack who immediately put out the kari crystal's light.
Other members of the party activated their kari crystals out of curiosity, but Jack tried to stop them and yelled, "Get back and no lights!"
Amidst Jack's yells, the rolling darkness expanded and flowed towards the party. Jack jumped away but didn't get very far with everyone being tied together. By the time the others followed his example, the darkness had surrounded them.
The light from the kari crystals was dimmed and overpowered, not letting anyone look beyond their hand's reach. Suddenly, Jack was being pulled off the cliff. He tried to fight it and tried to find the source but was scared stiff to see the rope around his waist pulling him into the abyss.
Without any other choice, the party was pulled into the abyss one-by-one. They felt like they were falling but at an extremely slow speed, as if the darkness was so thick that it was tangible enough to slow their descent through the air. Everyone was still connected by the rope, but they couldn't see each other.
Everyone was screaming, yelling, or shouting, everyone except than Jack that is. Jack was stiff and hyper-focused on the situation like his gaze was sharp enough to cut through the rolling darkness. Soon, something came into view and everyone stopped screaming.
Black tendrils lashed out from the darkness, embracing each unsuspecting party member as quick as lightning. They were firm yet felt ghastly to the touch. As they wrapped themselves around the party members' limbs and torsos, a ghostly chill filled their lungs, making it even harder to breathe and concentrate on the situation.
Jack managed to avoid them with the help of the gladius that he had pulled out of storage, anticipating the sudden seizure of dark tendrils. Rydel and Maynard were able to avoid most of the tendrils and managed to free themselves quickly with their strength.
'Are you free?' asked Jack telepathically.
'Yes,' answered Rydel.
'Ya know it,' said Maynard.
'Good, we'll have to take this thing on together,' said Jack. 'It's a Nightmare Lily, are you familiar with them?'
'Nightmare Lily!' Both Rydel and Maynard were shocked by the announcement.
'I'll take that as a no,' continued Jack. 'It emits pheromones that can darken night itself, letting it hide in holes, pits, caves, and other shaded places. If you can close your eyes and focus hard enough, you'll notice that you're actually on the ground and no longer in the air.'
Hearing that, the veteran adventurers didn't know what to think. Taking some deep, focusing breaths, they closed their eyes and physically felt around them. Like Jack had said, they somehow felt the ground beneath their feet. Amazed that they were upright after having thought they spun around in the air, they both opened their eyes to see more tendrils creeping up on them.
'The Nightmare Lily is known for disorienting its prey before its tendrils drag it towards the mouth within the main bulb. If we're not fast, we'll lose someone,' Jack's voice wavered as he announced this. 'I'm too weak to fight it, but you can follow the tendrils back to the bulb and attack its brain, just above where the tendrils are connected to the main body. Make it fast!'
Not wasting another second, Maynard and Rydel dashed into action. They quickly followed the tendrils back to the main bulb and found Slivia and the two young samurai being pulled towards a gaping maw within a mass of giant, dark-purple flower petals.
Just as Slivia's feet neared the opening and she could feel an acidic breath against her leg, the veterans slashed through the base of the bulb-like Jack had described. A shrill whine was let loose as the tendrils were loosed and the frantic bodies of the trapped adventurers fell to the floor. The darkness slowly began to clear, letting everyone's kari crystals shed light across the visibly wilting body of a fully-grown Nightmare Lily.
PENSAMENTOS DOS CRIADORES
TheSilverQuill
TheSilverQuill
Sorry guys, only one today but three tomorrow! Thanks for reading and voting like always. You, my friend, are a fantastic human being, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
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