Capítulo 43: Raid (4)

"To the left! By the Gods, they're everywhere! Kira, back up and let Victor take your place!"

Alessia's strained shout filled the clearing as the Talonmaster gave out orders, even as she hoisted her claymore that was shrouded in golden light and cleaved it down into an Ogre's skull, splitting it in two.

We had been making our way deeper into the forest to reach one of the last Dens that we needed to clear only to end up being ambushed by a large horde of monsters thirsty for our blood and hungry for our flesh.

They leapt from the trees and rushed out from behind the trunks, brandishing their primitive weapons and screeching at us as they charged forwards and engaged in a swift, surprise battle.

Of course, it didn't change the fact that they were just Goblins, but the sheer number of monsters streaming out of the forest was enough to make this a severe threat to our group, especially since there were arrows thunking into the earth around us as they shot sharpened twigs at us from afar, though the inaccuracy caused them to hit their larger comrades more often than naught.

Smacking one of the Goblin's over the head with my wooden blade, I earned a sickening crunch as I caved in its skull, before leaping back and avoiding the stone axe that crashed into the ground where I had been standing previously, the Ogre snarling in anger that it had missed me only to howl in pain when an even larger axe lopped off its arm, the Bearkin man growling softly as he took my place.

I couldn't help but grit my teeth as I was pulled from the frontlines, irritation taking root inside my heart as I couldn't shake the useless feeling I felt for having to do so, especially since I had only been getting stronger with each battle.

But... I wasn't getting strong enough fast enough, and currently my lack of strength was being put on display as I stood behind the various warriors, where I couldn't become a liability on that line.

As soon as that thought entered my mind though, I shook my head and cleared it of any thoughts besides how I could be of use to everyone, and that answer was to begin casting spells and support them by restraining and distracting the various larger monsters that were the largest threat to our group.

Already dozens of Goblins had perished beneath our blades, but dozens more were still streaming forwards and trying to kill us, rushing over the bodies of their comrades and trying to drown us in bodies so that they could claim their first victim, but sadly for them the soldiers of Qingrad and the soldiers from Valrock were both incredibly strong and coordinated, especially with the various Talonmasters anchoring them down.

Alessia and Trania were closest to me, the Dogkin swinging her claymore in wide arcs and overpowering the various Ogres that were drawn to her, while the Catkin darted around with her twin swords and sliced the smaller, yet quicker Hobgoblins into pieces, covering Alessia's back.

Paci was stabbing her spear forwards overtop her small buckler, while Victor brandished his axe and cleaved into the earth, ensuring that nothing could stand in front of him for too long - and anything that didn't get bisected was promptly stabbed in the face by Inga, the Aviankin wielding her short sword with incredible proficiency.

So what could I do to be of help behind everyone - I had no ranged weapon, but I did have my magic, and despite my magic not being the strongest at single target attacks or crowd control, I could make it work...

After all, by this point my expertise at wielding [Root Spiral] was only getting higher, and now that I was told to remain away from the melee, I could focus on my magic entirely, so I sheathed the wooden blade and raised both hands, focusing my mind and casting [Root Spiral] not just once, but twice, which I wielded like weapons despite controlling them from afar.

Two separate clusters of roots burrowed from out of the ground and rose into the air, only to plunge back down into the shoulders of an unfortunate Ogre that was trying to raise its trunk club and swing it out across the line, stopping it from doing so.

Three blades pierced its chest and brought it down, freeing my roots and allowing them to begin wandering around like snakes, lunging at ankles and piercing calves as I targeted the legs of all the enemies, controlling each like I would my arms; and when that got too easy, I summoned a third, switching my mind between all three and using them to continue attacking.

It was an odd feeling, having to focus on something outside of your body yet being able to control it without direct contact between you and it, but that was something that I had gotten used to over the years since it was a similar feeling in most games, and my time in the original game ensured I was familiar with the mechanic... even if now I was actually controlling it with real mana and not just casting a spell because it was a game.

Currently it was odd, since each felt like an arm, but eventually - as I got more accustomed to the mana flowing through my veins and understood how to wield it more efficiently - I would be able to compare them to fingers.

Then I could compare dozens to a single finger, should I take the path of magic and tread it very, very closely in the future, but that was not here, nor there.

What was here were a dozen Goblins screeching at us as they stumbled and fell onto a blade, getting killed whenever a root suddenly tripped them or stabbed their calf, which only made them screech louder, though they were silenced quickly enough...

The numbers gradually dwindled, and I reaped a large amount of experience from the assists as I aided from the back, taking to my new role as support after realizing that being stubborn could cause harm to the others...

And if I happened to be responsible for a death inside a forest, away from civilization - one that didn't truly care about me - who was to say that I would make it out alive after that?

This was the best thing for all people involved, and while I would like to assume that Alessia wouldn't let that happen, we weren't that close - and I doubt she could keep me protected from everyone at all times.

No, I just needed to accept that right now, I was weaker than everyone here, and I needed to do what I could to be of help and not be a hinderance - all while they killed things for me and gave me experience.

I wasn't being a leech, but instead a I was mutualistic with them; I offered aid in the form of my magic, and they gave me some experience - this was a win win for everyone right now, and I wasn't going to compromise that just because I felt like I wasn't being allowed to prove myself.

Pride is useless when you're dead, after all...