Yelloy Barrier Fortress (9)

"Uwaagh!"

BlueSky let out an undignified shriek and squeezed his eyes shut.

If I'd known I was going to die like this, I should've just gone to sleep instead of logging back in! The thought had barely formed when something slammed into him with a heavy thud, whipping his head sideways and sending him sprawling.

But he didn't die. When no logout window appeared no matter how long he waited, BlueSky slowly opened his eyes.

"I'm… alive?"

The edges of his vision were tinged a faint red, which meant he was close to the red zone—below ten percent HP—but he was alive, at least.

"Puha! Are you alive?!"

"Y-yes!"

"Then chug a potion and get up!"

At Ho-jin's shout, BlueSky frantically pulled a finger-sized vial from his inventory. The green-glowing liquid was a recovery potion concentrated from five healing herbs, restoring a portion of the user's health.

BlueSky gulped it down, seized his sword, and forced himself upright. In that same moment came a sharp ting!—the sound of an arrow glancing off Ho-jin's shield.

"W-what's going on? What happened?"

"I don't really know either, but Choco's out from mana depletion! The four of us have to handle this!"

Mana depletion? BlueSky turned his head, and sure enough, there was Choco, clutching her head and doubled over as if the world were spinning. Her already slight frame made the sight all the more pitiful.

"Choco, are you okay?"

"Damn it. Sticking my nose where it didn't belong…"

"Hiiing, I'm sorry…"

"It was not thee to whom Yeo spoke—"

"They're coming!"

Another arrow struck home, and BlueSky snapped his gaze toward Ho-jin.

"Kreeeek!"

A kobold archer drew its bowstring while four kobold warriors charged forward.

Yeon, who had been fretting over Choco, lifted her sword and faced the oncoming kobolds as well.

"H-Ho-jin, what do we do now?"

BlueSky's voice trembled. Having once been turned into a pincushion by enhanced kobolds, his body shook on its own. He hadn't felt real pain, but the violent jarring through every part of him was the kind of sensation you never quite got used to.

Unlike last time, their levels were roughly matched now, so it wasn't an impossible fight—but that didn't make the fear go away. And with their strongest asset, the mage, already out of commission, the remaining four had to clean this up alone.

I really shouldn't have logged back in…

Whether BlueSky wallowed in negativity or not, Ho-jin was already making the call.

"Everyone, get behind me first!"

Enhanced kobolds didn't take taunts. That meant the usual tank-draws-aggro, DPS-clears-from-the-outside strategy was useless. Their only option was to wait until the enemy closed in, then pick them off one by one.

The real problem is that archer…

Its attack ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠delay was long enough that a single archer wouldn't have been a major threat on its own. But the fight ahead looked like pure chaos, so it had to die first. Nobody wanted an arrow in the back of the head while focused on the enemies in front.

Ho-jin would have loved ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to break through and handle it himself, but failure would leave a gaping hole in their front line. That meant sending one of the other three on a strike mission. He ran through the faces gathered behind him.

BlueSky was out. Low remaining HP aside—and no offense intended—he was, coldly speaking, the least skilled person here.

So it had to be one of the other two. Ho-jin thought for a beat, then raised his voice toward the rear.

"Yeon! When I give the signal, sprint straight for the archer!"

"What? Me?!"

"If we're going to deal with the warriors, that thing has to go first! You have to do this, no arguments! Got it?!"

"W-wait, you can't just spring that on me—"

"Please. I'm counting on you!"

Faced with Ho-jin's earnest plea, Yeon had no choice but to nod.

"I don't feel confident about this…"

"If it's you, Yeon, you can do it."

"Well… thanks for saying so, at least…"

Even with Pretty Cute's encouragement, Yeon let out a strained little groan.

"Everyone, get ready!"

Thwack! An arrow punched into the shield and spiderwebbed it with cracks. He'd only blocked three shots, and the shield's durability was already failing.

In that span, the kobold warriors closed to point-blank range. If they collided head-on now, the blades wouldn't just be stopped—they'd punch straight through the shield and into Ho-jin's body.

"Hup—!"

Of course he had no intention of standing still. Ho-jin twisted at the waist and hurled his shield with everything he had. The massive disc came flying at the kobolds' faces, and they scattered in panic.

Thoom!Crrrack—

"Krek!"

One kobold too slow to dodge went tumbling backward. The shield shattered on impact, its durability spent, but the kobold itself didn't seem badly hurt—it was already scrambling back to its feet and charging again.

That was enough, though. The front line was down from four to three. Ho-jin pulled a small shield and a short club from his inventory and shouted,

"Puha, stick right behind me! Cute, take my flank!"

"Then what about me?!"

"Yeon, hold position!"

Orders given, Ho-jin slotted the shield onto his left arm and charged the kobolds.

"Hah—!"

Ting! He deflected a descending blade with the shield and immediately swung the club. Thud! The tip struck the kobold's temple dead-on. The creature only shook its head, then bellowed and lunged again.

"Eek!"

BlueSky, watching from behind, let out a tiny scream. Even with durability weakened, night-spawned monsters didn't go down easy. He'd at least expected a stun.

"Ho-jin! Side! Your side!"

"I know!"

Fortunately, both remaining kobolds had locked onto him. Ho-jin blocked the blades coming from opposite angles—one with the shield, one with his weapon—and yelled,

"Puha! Stab now!"

"Y-yes sir!"

BlueSky clumsily raised his arming sword and thrust at the kobold on the club side.

"Keek!"

The creature didn't get greedy. It simply stepped back and slipped the thrust, which at least freed up Ho-jin's club arm again.

"You little—!"

"Gaaak!"

Crack! Stars bloomed over the kobold warrior's head as the club caved it in—the telltale mark of a stun status. Ho-jin smashed the skull one more time to drop it, then spotted the kobold that had fallen behind earlier charging straight at him. He shouted to Yeon,

"Yeon! Now!"

"Got it!"

Yeon shot forward as if she'd been waiting for exactly that.

She's fast!

Ho-jin was startled by the speed of Yeon's dash. What he didn't know was that hunting alongside Choco had pushed her toward quick movement, dodging, and striking vitals rather than raw power—so nearly all her stats had gone into agility.

"Krek!"

Seeing Yeon race toward the archer, the kobold charging Ho-jin tried to change course. Ho-jin immediately flung his club, cracked it square in the head, then slammed a fist against his shield and roared,

"Look over here, you dog-brained bastard!"

"Kreeeek!"

Taunts weren't supposed to work—and yet the kobold glared at Ho-jin with eyes full of pure rage. Meanwhile the stunned kobold and the one that had retreated were both creeping back toward Ho-jin and BlueSky.

Three of them, and I've got no weapon.

BlueSky was behind him, but Ho-jin honestly didn't expect much help there.

He glanced sideways at Pretty Cute. She had one kobold to herself and was doing surprisingly well. He'd figured she could hold her own from the way she'd handled a blade earlier, but once the levels evened out she wasn't just holding—she was dominating.

At that rate she'll finish soon and join us over here. Ho-jin gripped the wrist of his empty, shield-bearing arm and watched the kobolds close in.

"Puha, fall back for a second."

"Huh? O-okay…"

"A lot farther."

BlueSky scrambled backward. Once Ho-jin confirmed enough distance, he muttered under his breath,

"Last Stand Defense."

"I was hoping for agility…"

Ho-jin clicked his tongue.

Last Stand Defense required one of two conditions to activate: either no party members within a five-meter radius, or holding a shield-type item with both hands. Meet either, and the skill would mitigate incoming attack damage up to five times.

Meet both conditions at once, and it granted a bonus stat on top—unfortunately, this time it had rolled durability.

Right now I need to focus on dodging more than blocking…

Still, the extra durability meant a bad hit wouldn't kill him outright.

Ho-jin bellowed at the charging kobolds,

"Come and get it!"

"Krek!"

"Huh?"

Mid-charge, one kobold suddenly pitched forward onto its face. Ho-jin stared in confusion. The remaining kobolds looked just as baffled.

They turned with guttural clicks—and found Yeon calmly pulling her blade free, looking completely unbothered.

Noticing every eye on her, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Yeon tilted her head.

"Um… you're not going to attack me?"

"No, we will, it's just… you got back fast."

"Ah. The archer was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠weaker than I expected."

Ho-jin already knew archers were fragile. But once you forced them into melee, they were supposed to pull a sidearm dagger and put up a real fight—and she'd finished it in one go and come straight back.

Now I get why those two party together.

Choco's confidence hadn't been just because she was a mage. Yeon could hold her own, too. That much had become clear.

"Kreeek!"

The kobold warriors recovered first, shrieking as they charged Yeon instead. A girl who'd just killed one of their own looked more dangerous than the guy standing there with only a shield.

But the kobolds' bad luck wasn't over. Pretty Cute, having already finished her own target, intercepted one of the kobolds lunging at Yeon and latched on hard.

"Se-jin unnie!"

"Yeon! Watch your front!"

At Pretty Cute's warning, Yeon's expression sharpened as she faced the warrior barreling toward her. What followed left even Ho-jin—a ranked player—stunned.

She can do that?

Block, deflect, cut. Simple words for simple actions—but the way Yeon moved was fluid as water, fast and precise.

They looked for all the world like a duo of alt accounts, and yet they were supposed to be brand-new players… Watching Yeon cut down a kobold warrior with an almost bored expression before turning to help Pretty Cute, Ho-jin thought,

What was I doing when I was a newbie again?

…Running around like the protagonist of some novel, dying over and over, until he finally admitted he had no talent for the sword and humbly picked up a shield.

And that was after he'd even gone to a kendo academy, trying his hardest.

Every last gifted bastard can go die. Ho-jin laughed hollowly to himself.