Tutorial #4: The Raider's Arming Sword

The Raider's Arming Sword cleaved through a goblin's neck in a single stroke. The severed head rolled across the ground and bumped into the foot of a resting goblin. The creature's face went deathly pale. Poor bastards.

"Kieeeek!"

The goblins scrambled for their weapons too late. Daro's sword moved relentlessly through their disorganized ranks. He caught one still struggling to rise, drove his blade straight through its throat, flipped the sword into a reverse grip, and stabbed repeatedly into its chest. Blood poured from the punctured leather sack of a body like water from a leaky bag.

The goblins' response was sluggish. A perfect ambush.

Equipment: Rags (lower body, 77%, filthy), Club (88%)

Most of the goblin scouts were armed with clubs; only five carried scrap-metal pikes. Their gear was nothing special. I drew the sawblade from its sheath on my back and charged forward.

A Necromancer's primary weapon is the sawblade—also called the Saw Blade. It's essentially a meat cleaver with a serrated edge, modified for two-handed use. Precision cutting is impossible, but that's irrelevant when your job is carving up corpses on the battlefield. Necromancers use it to sever enemy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠necks and limbs, and occasionally to dissect bodies lying on the ground. Since it's specialized for working with hide and bone, goblins—who wear almost nothing—die quickly once caught.

"Die!"

I swung the two-handed blade upward in a wide arc, using its full reach. The tip caught a goblin in the lower abdomen; I yanked it back with force. The creature screamed in agony.

"Kreeek!"

One goblin hung impaled on the sawblade, its belly torn open as blood and entrails spilled out. It staggered. The sawblade is a heavy two-handed weapon; I used its momentum to decapitate the goblin. With a dull impact, its head dropped to the floor.

Goblins aren't tall. Their heads barely reach a human's chest. If three humans form a wall and hold their ground, the goblins face an impassable barrier. And if blades start raining down from that wall? It's a nightmare.

"Hah!"

Four goblins had latched onto Daro, who had taken the front. "Daro!"

"I'm fine!"

It was four against one, yet he wasn't being pushed back. The secret was his armor—chainmail layered with custom Raider gear. A few club strikes wouldn't hurt him. The leader was handling himself well. I just needed to focus on my own fight.

"Kiaaak!"

Kill one, then the next. Numbers are the goblins' only real advantage; without them, they're nothing.

"Hah!"

Jian was also dispatching goblins without much trouble. In Dungeon Overseer, Mystics were damage specialists. They used a unique weapon called Psychic Gloves to absorb energy from enemies and empower themselves. Jian's punches generated strange shockwaves. As a low-level Mystic, she couldn't yet cast proper spells. The basic Mystic magic is Force—a fundamental spell that creates shockwaves. Those waves crush internal organs and shatter bones, just like the internal energy strikes in martial arts novels.

"Kiaaak!"

Jian's elbow smashed into a goblin's head. With a sharp bang, a powerful shockwave erupted. The goblin's skull burst like a watermelon.

"..."

Seeing it in reality instead of pixel graphics felt strange.

"Watch out!"

While we held the line, Somi came running up and pulled out her whip. When someone once asked the developers why an explorer was swinging a whip like Indiana Jones, the next update turned it into an artifact called the "Sentient Whip"—a bizarre weapon that had been consumed by its own concept. Somi swung it like a fishing rod. The sentient whip writhed like a snake and lashed across goblin heads. As they fell, Daro drove his arming sword into them.

"Kek!"

One goblin collapsed with a hole in its throat, making a grotesque sound.

A four-person party. Four explorers against twenty goblins, yet they showed exactly why they were called explorers. The goblins couldn't mount any real resistance and were being carved apart. The goblins with scrap pikes tried to provide covering fire, but Somi's whip tore through the air with a ripping sound, wrapped around their spear shafts, and snapped them. It was just as fantastical as a Mystic's shockwave—more like a tentacle wearing a whip's skin.

"Jian! Inside!"

Daro, who had just crushed a goblin's head with his buckler, gave the order. The party leader. And a Raider's judgment at that. In battle, few commands are more reliable.

Once the goblins' front collapsed, the morale of those fighting on the flanks plummeted.

"Those bastards are running!"

"After them!"

Jian charged like a hunting dog and struck a goblin in the back of the head.

"Kieeeek!"

She followed up with a clean suplex, then mounted the goblin in a classic mount position. Her hands pressed down firmly on its eye sockets. The goblin screamed in terror, but Jian relentlessly crushed its face with cruel persistence. There was a crunch of breaking bone as its nose caved in. The goblin now looked like Voldemort.

Jian rubbed her Psychic Gloves together as if in prayer. A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠crackling white flame sparked between the gloves, generating intense energy. She thrust both palms forward like a palm strike—

BOOM!

The ground shook as if an earthquake had struck, and a powerful shockwave spread outward along the earth. The fleeing goblins lost their balance and stumbled.

Perfect.

"Get over here, you little bastards!"

Only an idiot would waste this opportunity. I drove my sawblade into the bellies of the fallen goblins. Even a sloppy thrust tore open fatal wounds thanks to the serrated edge. Daro was busy delivering finishing blows with his arming sword to the downed goblins as well.

As I killed goblin after goblin, I felt a surge of emotion. It had been so long since I'd found a proper party. And on top of that, we were racking up experience from the kills. This fight was more than just satisfying—it was moving.

#

Not a single goblin escaped. All twenty were hunted down and killed. A couple tried to flee, but with a Raider and Dungeon Seeker actively pursuing them, they were caught quickly. Both ended up looking like Voldemort—Daro had sliced off their noses to count his kills.

"Anyone hurt?"

While I was carving the nose off a goblin with a cracked skull, Somi wandered among her companions with a face that looked ready to cry. The Dungeon Seeker's Seer Lantern now glowed red. It could also heal injured party members.

She was supposedly in a normal mood, but she looked distinctly displeased. Still, once she confirmed no one was injured, Somi walked around with a bashful smile.

After the battle, we took a short rest.

"Um... Jian? My thighs are cramping from all that running. Do you have any medicine?"

"Hmm. Sounds like muscle soreness. Would you come here for a moment?"

When Jian beckoned, Somi innocently toddled over. Jian removed her outer coat and began stretching her limbs.

"W-what are you doing?"

"This is a special exercise passed down among Mystics. It's called 'Combat Stretching.' It loosens tight muscles and refreshes the body."

Jian's body was incredibly flexible. Somi, on the other hand...

"Aaaah!"

"It won't go down?"

"Wait! Wait a second! You can't just force it!"

"If you can't loosen your own muscles, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠someone has to help, right?"

I wasn't entirely sure what the two of them were doing, but one thing was clear—Jian was folding Somi like a piece of paper.

"Kyaaah!"

"You're being quite dramatic."

"I'm dying! Stop! Stop!"

Somi's screams echoed pitifully. Meanwhile, Daro sat comfortably by himself, writing in his adventure log. Keeping the log was the party leader's duty—recording what happened during the expedition and how they responded. Describing the battle and noting the number of goblins killed was all that was required. If the kill count was high, the expedition team would hand out pocket money for snacks. And the proof was right there in the nose pouch. Daro had entrusted it to me, the Necromancer. Carrying it at my side felt unpleasant as blood seeped through and made it damp, but I didn't complain. Honestly, the earlier fight had been too easy. Our party balance was excellent. Daro tanking in front, Jian and I carving and smashing from the sides, Somi providing whip support and healing from the rear. Clear roles, good equipment, and an experienced leader who didn't make rookie mistakes. I'd never had party members this good before.

At this point, one had to wonder what a Necromancer even does. What does a Necromancer do? Exactly what it looks like—nothing. Once the fighting ends, I just disassemble corpses, loot the spoils, and occasionally read text when needed. But since we have a Dungeon Seeker in the party, I don't even have to do that. I'm literally ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠getting a free ride. In Japanese, that's called sushi. It was the first taste of luxury I'd experienced since falling into this roguelike world.

"Feeling better now?"

"No! It hurts way more than before!"

Jian had subtly asked if I wanted to join the "Combat Stretching" as well, but I'd escaped by claiming I needed to dissect a corpse. Smart move.

"Hmm. That's odd."

Jian tilted her head as if it shouldn't be possible.

"You fold it here and here, like this! Like this! Of course it hurts!"

Somi flailed her limbs in protest, clearly in agony. Jian watched her, then clapped her hands as if realizing something.

"I must have made a mistake."

That wasn't it.

"Let's try again properly this time."

This was it.

Sensing someone nearby, I glanced over to find Daro crouched beside me, asking which part was the goblin's spine. Feeling a bit sorry for him, I pretended to teach him. From a distance, Somi let out an even louder scream than before.