Reborn as the First Boss, Book 2 Prologue (Patreon)

Prologue – New Hero

“WATCH OUT!”

Melisant cried out a warning even before she realized what she was seeing. Movement from the sides was never a good thing in caves, especially when you were hunting goblins. The vicious little beasts were clever, in a brutish sort of way, and fighting them on their home ground, in these caves, was never a safe thing. But if they weren’t culled regularly, their populations would explode, and the nearby villages would get overrun.

Their Knight, Noah, cursed as he brought his shield up just in time to block the arrows that a hidden Goblin Archer launched at him. A Goblin Fighter tried to take advantage, but the Knight knew his business too well for that, intercepting the crude sword with his own piece of forged steel. Looking over his shoulder, he called out, “Gerolt!”

“Aye!” the Ranger answered as his bow twanged. The Goblin Archer fell to the ground, arrow through his eye, but more goblins were already moving up through the side passage, looking to flank the party. “Jennet, could use some help blocking the door.”

Jennet was already moving as the archer fell. Taking a defensive stance, the monk began easily blocking and deflecting the incoming attacks. So long as no goblins got past Noah, or found some third route to attack them from, she could hold that gap for as long as her SP lasted, no problem.

“Quite a lot of them. Might have spawned a Goblin Lord already,” she called out. “Gerolt, shoot when you can. Melisant, see if you can help Noah with your spells. Isolde, ready your healing as needed. They’re all level 10 to 12, so we should be able to take them if we keep it to just these two paths, and don’t screw up.”

“But a Goblin Lord is always at least Level 20,” Melisant said, as she used [Flamebolt] to roast a goblin that had attempted to get around the Knight. As a Flame Sorceress, she had fire magic aplenty, which was good because goblins were almost universally weak to being set on fire. The only ones who were resistant to flame were some elemental variants, and those were never seen outside of areas with aspected mana flows, like volcanoes.

“I know,” Jennet said, her voice calm, despite the fact that a creature over level 20 would be hard for their group of level 15 adventurers to kill on its own. And a Goblin Lord was never on its own. It always had minions to fight with it, softening up targets.

Noah grunted as he cut through another goblin, while tanking a blow with his shield. Isolde, their Cleric, cast a simple healing spell, restoring a portion of his HP. Noah called out a simple “thanks,” and continued fighting. That he had the time to do even that much said that he wasn’t too concerned with the tide of battle in front of them.

Global   Announcement:

Andrion,   Hero of the Sword, has fallen! His heroic soul now empowers the one by his   side as he died! The Hero’s Mantle passes on to a new Hero, somewhere in the   realms!

Melisant cursed as the Voice of the World chose that moment to send up a global announcement. “Eyes out! [FLARE BURST]!” That was the only warning she could give the rest of her party as she shut her eyes, before unleashing the fire-based light explosion to blast their position. The spell did no damage, but blinded everyone who looked at it temporarily. But it was better than having to read messages during a fight.

Looking around, she saw that none of their party had been caught looking at her spell. Good. Quickly, she wiped the Global Announcement away. A Hero went and got killed. Not their problem. They needed to kill the goblins, or at least get enough of them that they would stay quiet until the next team came to cull them.

That was when she noticed a glow, further down the tunnel ahead of Noah. Glowing was not a good sign. “[Overcharge]! [Fireball]!” Pumping double the normal mana into the fireball spell as she normally used, thanks to the [Overcharge] skill, she threw the flaming orb over the top of the goblins’ heads, before letting it explode well back in their midst.

Goblins screamed as they burned in flames, but the fire showed a new figure, the source of the glowing light. Larger than any normal goblin, this goblin was easily three meters tall, and at least two across! There was only one thing that the horrible thing could be.

Pikx   the Violator

Goblin   Lord Male

Level   23 Fighter / Brute

Titles:   Violator, Cannibal, Hero

Melisant gasped as she looked over what [Appraise] told her. Even as she threw up a [Flame Wall], bringing her MP desperately low, she screamed, “GOBLIN LORD! LEVEL 23 FIGHTER/BRUTE! HE HAS THE HERO TITLE!”

Everything stopped for a second, or at least it felt like it. Then Jennet spoke, [Disciplined Mind] giving her a calm tone despite the tension in her voice, “Noah, fall back. We make a fighting retreat to the mouth of the cave. Melisant, MP potions, and save your strength. We’re going to need more of those [Flame Wall] spells before this is over. Everyone, fallback formation. MOVE!”

They began a fighting retreat, backing up through the cave. Gerolt led the way back, keeping an eye out for any goblins that might have found their way around, and still turning to put an arrow through a goblin’s eye when he had the chance. Isolde had her mace and shield at the ready. The Cleric was not suited to being a tank, but she was still better at the job than the Ranger or Flame Sorceress.

Noah and Jennet covered each other in a leapfrogging retreat. They were no longer trying to kill goblins, but to wound and maim them. When enough goblins died, they would make way for the Goblin Lord to charge forward. But when they were just wounded, a Goblin Lord would keep forcing the goblins forward. They might get an Enraged buff, but if they could keep the goblins from swarming, then that was nothing they couldn’t handle.

“Last room!” Gerolt called from the rear.

“Gerolt, get to the horses, get them ready. Isolde, with him! Melisant, when we’re through the door, [Flame Wall], as deep as you can make it. Put all your MP into it, if you have to. Noah, be ready.”

“Aye!” they all called out, as their leader counted out their jobs. Melisant stopped at the far end of the last room, the first room of the dungeon, just inside the entrance. She didn’t turn, because the light of midday would ruin her ability to see in the dim light of the cave. Behind her, she could hear Gerolt and Isolde getting the horses ready. In front of her, though, she could see the Goblin Lord, towering over the rest. Closer than it had been.

Noah and Jennet stepped back, into the room. As Noah stunned an enraged Goblin Fighter with a [Shield Bash], he called out, “NOW!” At the Knight’s call, she unleashed an [Overcharge]d [Flame Wall], angling it so that the wall of flaming death, which was normally only a foot wide, and however long she could make it, was instead five feet wide, and extending down the cave as far as she could reach.

She staggered as she felt all her MP leave her. But Jennet was already there, with Noah a step behind her. The Monk carried her out to the horses, practically throwing her onto Fleetfoot, her mare, before swinging into her own saddle. “RIDE, NOW!”

Pikx   the Violator

Goblin   Lord Male

Level   23 Flameblade / Brute

Titles:   Violator, Cannibal, Hero

As they kicked their horses into motion, running back down the path they’d taken to the dungeon, Melisant heard a roar behind her, and looked back. The Goblin Lord, still on fire from having charged through her flames, roared as it saw them fleeing. But she saw, to her horror, that the massive hunk of iron it called a greatsword was on fire. The Goblin Lord had not only become a Hero, but he’d gotten a Class Shift as well!