Expanding Horizons
"Our coordination with the other teams is all wrapped up. Yeonhee, you just need to stick to the role we discussed earlier."
Yeonhee nodded at Helen's words and nocked an arrow. About thirty meters ahead, a cluster of crude huts stood without even proper barricades—a small village still in its early construction phase, yet already home to a sizable group. A robed mage straightened from a crouch, slowly raising his staff. A faint incantation began to drift through the air as Yeonhee drew her bow and locked onto her target.
Moments later, the mage gave a nod. Every tank with a shield charged toward the village at once. Nearly twenty hunters surged forward, closing in on the goblins' territory before the creatures even realized what was happening. Only then did the goblins scramble for their weapons in a panic.
That was when it happened.
Chrarararak—!
—Kerk?!
—Kieeeek?!
The mage's binding spell activated, and vines erupted from the ground to snare the feet of the ten or so goblins at the front. At the same time, Yeonhee's arrow traced a graceful arc and pierced the eye of one of the bound creatures.
—Kehk—!
—Uwaaaah!!
—Charge!!
—Die, you filthy bastards!!
Now that the goblins knew we were here, there was no need to stay silent. We shouted at the top of our lungs to draw their attention and sow chaos.
'If I take down just a few more, I'll level up. I'll push a little farther ahead.'
My job was to guard Yeonhee, but I had no intention of ending the fight empty-handed.
'I picked up plenty of rocks while we had time earlier.'
They were only slightly smaller than my fist—my strength was still too low for anything bigger—but even these could earn me experience if they hit. And I had the Throw skill, after all.
[Dagger Throw]
Whoosh— Thwack—!
—Kihit?!!
The goblin staggered after taking a rock to the back of the head and turned toward me—only to be met by a manhole-cover-sized shield slamming into its face.
'You should've watched your surroundings, you idiot.'
Thud—! Bam!
The real clash between the goblin horde and the hunters quickly turned into a messy brawl. Compared to the Shield Guild hunters from the last incident, these fighters earned slightly better marks, but they were still bottom-tier hunters at the end of the day.
—Kyashaha!
—Eek!!
—Eat this!!
Blue mana flashed repeatedly across the tanks' shields—their main weapons. The agile swordsmen and thieves darted in with longswords and shortswords, finishing off the bound goblins first.
Clink-clink—
The thieves' passive skill [Steal] triggered, and goblin silver coins vanished into their pockets.
Twang— Twang—
Yeonhee's old bow kept firing, and her arrows found their marks with impressive consistency.
'Hitting only goblins in this chaos isn't easy, but her focus is incredible. Still, it should be about time…'
Sure enough, a small detachment of goblins broke off and rushed toward her—only three of them, but clearly the most agile ones from the village. I had already spotted them circling the perimeter earlier. I slipped into stealth, spat acid at two of them, then drove [Smash] into the back of the last one's head.
—Krhehhhek!!
—Kkyaha…!
The two drenched in acid panicked, leaping about wildly, while the one struck by my club had brain matter leaking from its skull.
Crack!! Crunch!!
The blinded goblins couldn't land a single blow before my club ended them. Their desperate swings missed; my rising agility had sharpened my reflexes, and the boosts to strength and mana had made my movements faster. A faint blue mana barrier shimmered around me.
— Your level has increased!
'I should invest in Perception too.'
Skills: Smash, Stealth, Dagger Throw, Acid Spray, Basic Transformation
Equipment: Roughly Carved Wooden Club
I allocated points into Agility, Vitality, and Perception—the last of which I expected would expand my movement range. As expected, reaching level 10 added an extra +2 to the gains.
'Let's see… how far can I go now?'
Step, step—
Stop—
I moved about twenty-five meters away from Yeonhee before my feet refused to go any farther.
'Can't move past this point. Alright, I've got a feel for it.'
When my Perception had increased by one as a skeleton soldier, my range had only expanded by a single meter. This time it had grown by nearly twenty meters. It seemed the higher the stat, the greater the increase in movement range.
'This is plenty for now. Unless something comes up that requires me to leave Yeonhee's side entirely.'
The sense of being slightly freed from my shackles made my steps feel lighter.
"Nice one, Ilwol!"
"Clack clack clack!!"
Even while firing arrows in rapid succession, Yeonhee found time to cheer me on. I turned my attention back to the battle at the village.
Augh—!
'That must've hurt.'
One of the swordsmen finishing off the bound goblins took a wild swing from a goblin's rusty axe to the thigh. Blood sprayed.
Thwip— Thunk—!
After shoving aside the goblin Yeonhee had just killed, the man limped toward us.
'So that's the guy who was arguing with the woman named Kyungjin earlier.'
He positioned himself behind me, pulled a lowest-grade potion from his inventory, and poured it over the wound.
"Kgh… That damn bastard really— Augh! It hurts."
In my opinion, "damn goblin bastard" would have been the more accurate insult, but I supposed it was just an expression. No point arguing semantics.
"Hey, Skeleton Soldier? Do your job properly, alright? I'll introduce you to a pretty female skeleton later! Puhahaha!"
'Would he still be joking around after taking a Smash to the head?'
With that thought, I looked back at the battlefield.
'A single mage really does make a huge difference.'
Half the reason the fight was so one-sided could be credited to the mage's support. What I didn't like was that the same mage who had started the battle had also taken up position behind Yeonhee.
'He said he only needed help with ranged attacks, but apparently babysitting is part of the package too. I should charge extra for this…'
I glanced at Yeonhee. Despite the growing number of injured hunters gathering around her, she showed no sign of discomfort and focused solely on her task. I turned forward again.
A shield bearer, looking slightly exhausted, clashed with a goblin.
Whoosh—!
The shield cut through empty air.
Thwack—!
The goblin's club slammed into his exposed side.
"Ugh—!"
A hit to the abdomen like that would knock the wind out of anyone and drastically reduce mobility. Unfortunately, the nearby teammates were all tied up fighting two or three goblins each. With a sigh, the waiting mage began casting his second spell.
Puetchwi—!
—Kihik?!
The goblin that had been relentlessly clubbing the kneeling man suddenly sneezed and began to stagger. A plant the size of a five-year-old child had grown nearby and scattered sparkling white powder before withering away.
'Talented mage, huh.'
I couldn't recall the exact spell name, but it was an efficient magic that induced sleep in monsters. Taking advantage of the goblin's stumble, the man behind me limped forward, dragged the fallen hunter by the collar, and pulled him back.
'Might as well advertise that there's delicious prey right here, you idiot.'
Instead of finishing the sleeping goblin, he had chosen to haul an injured man over, drawing every goblin's attention our way. Still, the goblins couldn't charge immediately. At least seven of them had been directly or indirectly affected by the mage's spells, and the momentum of the goblins who had been ambushed earlier had already been broken.
The hunters still held overwhelming control of the fight. The wounded who had retreated to us were clearly the least combat-talented among the F-rank hunters.
— Kihyaaaaah!!
One goblin that had somehow slipped past the hunters came charging at us, club raised.
"Aaaah! Skeleton Soldier, go! Body slam!!"
'Damn it, I was going to body-slam him, but now I can't because of you.'
Sighing inwardly, I grabbed the injured man's shield and stepped forward.
'Heavy. Sword-and-shield combos are still a bit much for me.'
Clang!
The goblin swung its club at me with the same momentum it had used to charge. Thanks to my Agility breaking into the thirties, its movements looked sluggish, like a worm's. I leaned back lightly, then drove the edge of the shield straight into its throat.
— Kkek—!