The Ice wall was so massive that it looked like it tried to connect to the moon. The spiky, jagged part in the middle especially resembled an ice hand trying to reach above.

  Right moon. Why is there a moon? It just seemed so natural, Rue had thought nothing of it.

  “Rue,” Emily called. She was beside him, but he did not even realize she was there. “Is this from the stag we're supposed to save?” She asked, her voice quite so that the other five newcomers did not hear.

  He looked around, and everyone's gaze was still transfixed on the sudden Ice Wall, which towered over the forest, making the already dark forest look like just a shadow of nothing.

  The cold the wall emitted spread across his body. It was far, yet the calm freezing sensation engulfed him; this is familiar, this is Cel’s ice. Rue checked his Magic Vein.

  Magic Vein (Wood): 94%

  It’s going down; his cold healing responds to this cold. By just a mere percentage, but no doubt getting close would speed his recovery.

  “It is. This is the current Cel,” Rue answered. But how? He had thought Cel was no longer able to walk among them; he was supposed to have gone through with his reincarnation. Did he stick around? For what?

  A cracking sound echoed through the air. The sound of ice breaking is unmistakable; it sounded like thousands of plates shattering, yet the Ice stood tall and proud without any sign of weakness.

  “Al! Any plan?” Rino asked. Alquin crossed both his arms, leaned against a trunk, and sat down again, picking up a skewer and eating.

  “Eat and Rest,” Alquin said. “We stay and wait for the Paxwell team.”

  “I don’t think this cracking sound is friendly, Al,” Rue said.

  “All the more reason we stay here to wait for a bigger number.”

  Rue could see what he meant, but still, he would recover his Magic Vein faster if he went closer. As he was about to insist on going, two shadows limped their way from the dense, quiet forest.

  Bow string drawn in an instant by Emily, snapping the situation to everyone. Rue's hand went to his LongBone, holding it in his right. He rested his staff on a patch of grass. On second thought, he holds it by his left; he should be able to cast some magic with this. And what else…, he scanned the item lying on the ground. Rita had unloaded them just earlier.

  The camp went into a silent preparation, but their movement is anything but silent. There’s a lingering anticipation among the five newcomers; their fear couldn’t be more obvious.

  “I know all of you are scared,” Alquin said. Eve had helped him to tie another Skeletal shoulder shield on his other arm. He especially addresses the newcomers and both Eve and Yom. “But, remember, we won before, we will just have to repeat it. Now, with many more members, we’re much stronger.”

  “Yes, we do,” The scout said. He patted his own group back, giving an encouraging smile to each of them.

  Yom and Eve shared a grin, like they’re excited for this.

  Rue knew what Alquin said was a lie. They’re not stronger. He cannot use much magic, nor can Emily and Rino. They’re much weaker than before, proven by their grim expression. Most of his party are amateur fighters, but their condition is obvious.

  “Can someone help me tie one of those shoulder shields, please?” Rue called out, snapping himself out of his daze. Yom moved and took the shield, examining it.

  “Is this bone thing a shield?” He asked, then proceeded to fit it to Rue’s left shoulder. He fastened it tightly, almost cutting Rue’s blood flow. “You want the other one, Rue?”

  “The other one?” Oh, right. He had taken down three Bone Warriors. Alquin borrowed the other, so there’s one left. “No, I think, I don't want my right hand to be heavy, so I can wield this better.” Rue tapped his Bone Sword. “You should take it, Yom, and the Bone Sword too.”

  “Are you sure about this?” Yom raised his eyebrow. It is painfully obvious he wanted it.

  “Yes, and oh, hand Eve this staff,” Rue thrusted the Elderwood staff to Yom. Having constant healing probably would be better in the long run.

  “Alright, got it,” Yom grinned, and began running toward Eve, who had Mana potion sorted out on the ground. Rita had given those to her.

  “It worries me they’re so excited,” Rino muttered beside him.

  Rue watched as the shadow grew closer and closer. He let out a hitched breath. Alquin and Rita had brought up the front.

  “Rita,” Emily called, with her bow still drawn. She and the other aging archer went in front of the warrior and knelt, aiming at the two shadows. “Can you fight?”

  “Yeah, no problem,” The HuGoblin said. “I will find Yomi after this.” Her tone is quiet and depressing. She had always been cheerful even under a grim situation.

  A fireball materialized from behind them. Rue turned to see a mage holding the spell in front of her palm.

  “Wait! What are you doing!” Rue shouted. He ran toward the Mage, whose eyes widened in panic. Rino also noticed this followed close behind Rue.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  His hand shot out, trying to get the mage to redirect the spell toward the sky, but the spell lurched straight toward the shadowy figure.

  Fire banished the darkness as it flew, highlighting two figures, Benedict and a HuGoblin.

  “No!” Emily, who had seen them first, shouted. Rita screamed Yomi's name and rushed forward hopelessly.

  Benedict grabbed Yomi tightly, then he jumped straight to the spell, shadow flickering from his shoulder, covering their entire body in a heartbeat. The Fireball kept going forward, passing over both of them completely. They both fell to the ground, with a completely beaten-up body, streaked with dirt and blood. Eve ran forward after Emily and Rita, with the staff in tow.

  Rue felt like an entire year had passed. He turned and glared at the woman mage, who covered her gaping mouth in horror.

  “I-Im so sorry!”

  Various insults formed in Rue's mouth for such stupidity. But he shoved them down his throat and let out a big sigh.

  “That was stupid,” Rino growled beside him. He stepped closer with his fist clenched.

  “Whoa, there, let's take it easy.” A youthful Warrior stopped him with the middle-aged scout, who is their leader.

  “Take it easy? You almost killed them!” Rino shouted. “If they didn’t-“

  Leaving the group behind, Rue ran toward where Benedict and the Hugoblin were. Emily, Rita, and Alquin were there, talking to them as Eve pushed the green glow of mana into their body.

  Seeing Rue coming, Benedict wiped his mouth from the stain of the health potion. “Which idiot shot that spell?” He asked Rue.

  “It’s not me,” Rue raised both of his hands. He pointed to the woman mage. “She was part of the group we just saved, with him.” Rue nudges the archer who’s close to them.

  The archer gulped and eyed Benedict nervously. “Sorry, Jessica is traumatized by monsters.”

  “Aren’t we all?” Emily grumbled.

  “What happened to the others?” Rue asked. His stomach tightened at the possibility; the thought of Paxwell dying churned his entire being.

  “I’m the one curious about that,” Benedict said. “Last time I left them, they were on their way to this camp.”

  “You left them?” Emily asked pointedly.

  “Yes, I got a quest to get the most Kobold kills. So when I confirmed they would join you guys, I left. With Yomi here.”

  “Well? What happened then?” Yom said, pushing for an answer.

  “I don’t know! There should not be any kobolds behind us; we both killed plenty of them. Even their king and those Mages have to chase us, to stop killing their normal one.” Benedict drew both of his long knives and turned to face where he had just run from, signalling he was done with the question.

  “Look-“ Yom grasped Benedict’s collar, forcing him to look into his eyes. “Why would you leave them like that? Is your quest much more important than their lives? You’re the highest level here!”

  Sweeping Yom off his feet, Benedict slammed him down in a sickening crunch. Yom let out a yelp, trying to claw at Benedict's face.

  “Stop it, you two!” Alquin tackles Benedict down. The archer helped him pin him down. But, the difference in level is obvious; Benedict slowly pulls their body from him with one hand each.

  Yom, on the other hand, is easily held by Emily and Rue; even now, he still tries to lunge at Benedict.

  “Dammit! Stop it, Yom!” Emily shouted. But Yom did not stop; he kept flailing, trying to stand, and Rue almost felt bad for having to hold his back down.

  “Yom,” a chilling voice called. Eve, for some reason, smiled down at him. “They asked you to stop. You will, right?”

  Yom gulped, all fight gone from his body, left under Rue’s arm. “Y-yes,” He stuttered.

  Benedict, who had already thrown off both Alquin and the archer, sneered down at Yom; his eyes were cold; the smiling Benedict was nowhere to be seen. Yom is much bigger than Benedict, where he’s bulky and muscular, Benedict is lean and slender, but if the two fight, it's obvious who will come on top.

  Rue's eyes flitted over those two long knives, both of which were drawn. His hand went down near his Long Bone, if the worst happened… He and Emily will have to deal with him to protect Yom.

  “Relax,” The rogue turned, facing where he had just almost died, “We will need everyone.”

  At once, three blurring shadows burst out of the darkness of the forest. The Kob- No, Goblin?

  Their green skin and childish figure are obvious; behind them, another dozen follow, licking their rusted weapons. They wield all kinds of spears, swords, and knives. Their red eyes are gleeful with murder, ears are jagged like they have been cut with a knife.

  “What a goblin is doing here?” Emily demanded, drawing his bow on the green creature.

  “What? Goblin? They’re goblins?” Rita asked, and she was nursing Yomi's head in her lap. The former looked like he had already regained his strength from the Health potion and Eve’s healing.

  “This couldn’t be. They look nothing like us.” Yomi stood, his jaw slackened, his entire posture crumbling like wrinkled paper.

  Alquin scanned goblins kept trailing out, in a low voice, he spoke, “Back up, everyone, join the others, Eve get them in battle formation, Rue and Rino will join the warriors, the scout will fight on the front line too, archers and mages will take care of themselves if any get past us.”

  Eve nodded. She skittered back, getting those who were still around the campfire ready. As they got closer and closer, the Goblin also slowly stepped forward, each passing second, a new goblin appeared.

  “Does this mean there’s no other survivor?” Emily asked Alquin. “We’re the only ones left, so they came here? The system points them toward us because of our number? Just like in the very first camp”

  “That couldn’t be true,” Rue started. The boar would also have-“ Before Rue could finish, a deep rumbling sound off from the forest. A boar bigger than the goblin easily towers over them; each of them is as big as Rue himself. Their tusks gleam under the moonlight as they pass over the shadow of the forest. With that bulky body, they looked more fearsome than normal Kobolds.

  “I guess I’m right,” Emily breathed out. Rue noticed the group went faster and faster to rejoin the others. “Al? How do we defend against that?”

  “Calm down,” The old man said. “Most of them are level three to five. So does the Goblin, don’t let their size fool you.”

  The Boars, ten of them, overtook the goblin, and they raised their hind legs, ready to charge. They're waiting for something. The ground shook slightly as a loud thumping took place. The Boars open a path right in the middle, they bow their hand and bend their legs. The Goblins simply cheered, jumping up and down like children.

  A creature bigger than any Rue seen appeared, a boar with tusks as long as a spear, a body so big it reached half of the tree trunk beside it. That thing looked like a mammoth to Rue.

  (Queen of Boar, Gneliant. Lvl 20)

  “We charge”

  “What?” Rino guffawed. He has joined them along with the other survivors, who all looked purple and one leg away from running. “Are you sure we shouldn’t retreat?”

  “No, look properly.”

  Rue did. And he let out a smile. Paxwell was crouched by a branch, beside him are Gilbert and Clerence, who each stared incredulously at the hulking boar.

  Paxwell drew his bow, and Rue could make out a flicker of blue go through his arm.

  “We should go now!” Rue shouted.