Chapter 49 - Trauma (Patreon)

Only three days left until we complete the [Floor quest]. As it draws nearer, I realize that we've actually spent almost 30 days here, in the forest full of monsters.

But the monsters are getting stronger and attacking even during the day now.

I dodge a stab with a spear and kick a goblin's head, completely evaporating it in the process.

[You have defeated the Goblin - Lvl 4]

Even normal mob monsters are getting stronger. The highest normal goblin from before only reached level 3, but now? They range from level 4 to 6. There are no animals anymore, either eaten by monsters or having run away, so we are surviving only on the food we were able to save up. We don't even have time to boil water, and just drink it straight from the stream. And our base? Gone. Oh, and two more after that. Every time we stop to build some defenses, monsters attack us in bigger and bigger waves, so we keep moving.

I coat my dagger in [Oscillation] and cut off a troll's leg, then do the same to two more trolls. The fourth one dodges and swings at me, but I absorb all the kinetic energy of his hit and shoot it back at him, making him stagger backward. With the remaining energy, I propel myself toward him and create a terrible wound across the entire length of his chest. I dash again, this time jumping right into a group of five goblins. In the back of my mind, I hear notifications:

[You have defeated the Troll - Lvl 7]

[You have defeated the Troll - Lvl 9]

[You have defeated the Troll - Lvl 8]

…It keeps going on as others continue finishing them as they fall down.

Kevin has learned to coat the tip of his spear in his [Combustion] and just stabs the spear at someone, then activates it, usually blowing off a massive piece of his target. Of course, the weapon gets destroyed, but with so many goblins around, he just grabs another one.

Kim, meanwhile, found a massive piece of iron ore or something. Unlike stones, it doesn't get destroyed when he hits more durable enemies with it, so he continues to move it around. To be honest, it's a kind of terrifying technique against bigger and slower enemies.

I absorb some energy and jump into the air, then throw it in front of me. It pushes me backward, and I stab the neck of the goblin behind me.

[You have defeated the Goblin - Lvl 5]

After a few more minutes of fighting, there are far fewer monsters, and we're finally able to breathe a bit. Judging from previous experience, we have around three hours before another large group finds us and attacks. But it's not like we'll be totally left alone; there will still be smaller groups attacking, but compared to the big ones, they feel like a joke.

Kim's lump of iron ore slowly passes by me, completely covered in blood, guts, and some brain matter.

That's quite metal.

Anyway, Biscuit is already eating. The dog is an advocate of absolute equality - he eats everything without caring about size, gender, or skin color.

Dark purple tentacles reach out from behind his shoulders and hold the cut-off goblin legs while the dog munches.

The amazing skill he somehow acquired has turned into a glorified fork.

Why do I even bother?

"I need to sleep a bit," Tess says wearily as she approaches me, her movements sluggish. Behind her back hover ores similar to Kim's, but hers are a bit flatter and with some sharp edges, slightly elongated. While using a ton of mana and with a loud, terrifying noise, she was able to flatten out two pieces of ores and stretch them a bit.

I won't lie, it was as cool as it was scary.

Thankfully, her skill doesn't work like that on beings with mana in them, at least for now.

"I'll keep watch," I agree pretty easily. She did the same for me when I went to sleep some time ago. She nods gratefully, places a piece of leather down near a tree, and lies down. Within a few seconds, she's asleep. Another useful skill we were forced to learn to get at least a bit of sleep here and there.

"I'm sleepy as hell," Kevin says without waiting or asking, lying down near Tess and falling asleep immediately.

"Thanks," Kim adds and does the same.

What the heck?

Kevin slept last time too! If I can't sleep, he won't sleep either.

I grab his leg and pull him towards me while he complains, but he does so quietly, still sane enough not to wake up a tired Tess. She can be really grumpy, and he still remembers the last time he did that.

"God damn, Nat, it wouldn't kill you to let me sleep!" he whispers. I just point towards the tree where I sense the mana signature of three goblins. By focusing a bit more, I can tell that they have similar signatures to level 4 to 5 goblins.

"Three goblins, kill them and this time only with [Combustion]."

With Tess and Kim being so strong, he's already starting to fall behind, so he'd better level up and gain a bit more experience. Grumbling, he goes there, but I notice that he's ready to fight and his mana fires up inside his body. A few minutes later, he comes back, having successfully finished his task.

Good boy!

"It's annoying without [Reflection]," he complains.

So? It's not about having fun; you have a pretty nice skill, so you'd better learn it!

Tsk, tsk, ungrateful brats...

Then, during the next two hours, I continue sending him against small groups of goblins to practice his skills. After some time, I find it kind of fun and give him different orders:

Use your legs only.

Continue reflecting their attacks for as long as you can.

Don't use mana now.

It's like having my own Pokémon. I'm starting to understand why so many people liked the games so much.

Halfway through, Lily joins us, having finished healing some small injuries around the temporary camp. As she's done a few times before, she sends her healing mana through my body.

And me? I just stand near our two sleepyheads and only help out when there are stronger monsters while trying not to stray too far.

When it's almost time to go, Hadwin comes to us.

He looks... good. His body has gained some muscles, like all of us; the stats do that, and I swear he looks healthier than at the start. It's hard to describe. The way he moves energetically, the strength of his voice, his skin – he looks a bit younger than before.

Is it the effect of the stats, or something else?

"It's almost time to go," he says shortly, and I nod. To be honest, he's doing a pretty good job organizing all this stuff and still finds some time to level up while giving orders to his "group".

There are three groups:

Me, Tess, Kim, Kevin, and Lily.

Sophie, Isabella, Leon, and Maya.

And Hadwin and the remaining six people, including Biscuit's owner, three school kids, the bus driver, and one more woman.

Hadwin's group doesn't feel that strong, but from what I've seen, they have pretty good coordination. The older man finally leaves, and I send Kevin to wake up Tess.

While he does so, I sense a hint of mana near us.

Without letting it show, I stop probing and just walk towards the spot while acting as if I'm going somewhere else. I even yawn and stretch while walking, trying to appear as careless as possible.

When I'm passing by the spot where I felt the presence, I get ready. My mana flares up, and I send a probing pulse, quickly finding that the presence is still at the same spot but starting to run after sensing my mana probe.

Mana roars through my body, immediately strengthening it, and I dash the remaining distance, kicking the enemy.

The Phantom Goblin's camouflage deactivates, and it rolls on the ground while screeching.

Its arms are bent and broken, with bones sticking out of them. The green asshole had time to try to block my attack.

I slowly move closer, and even through the [Focus], I feel terrible memories and feelings come back.

I step on its leg, breaking it as it tries to crawl away from me.

It screams again and turns on its back, trying to kick me with its unbroken leg and swinging its broken arms at me.

I stomp on its chest with my bare feet, denting it, breaking its ribcage, and with the force I applied, nearly going through its entire body.

Bloody foam forms on the monster's mouth, and I step again, this time on its head.

Splat.

Notification.

Stomp.

And again.

Again.

Once more.

I stop only when there's nothing left but a bloody mess where the small green monster once was.