- Isabel Rylan

  Nick ran. Isabel followed. Goblins screeched and their momentum accelerated. Their chests burned with pain, heaved in anxiety. Only after confirming nothing chased them anymore did they halt, found a gigantic ancient banyan tree, and decided to burrow themselves into its hollow trunk. Making sure that nothing lurked within, Nick shoved Isabel inside before entering himself.

  The tree cavity was dark and damp. Isabel sniffed rotten wood and flesh and dung. The dweller might not be present at the moment, but the spot was definitely inhibited by an entity. she brooded with a grim expression.

  As they huddled against each other, footsteps resounded, wiping on the wet turf, advancing in their direction. Isabel tensed. She eyed Nick and glimpsed fear on his face. However, there was something about him. The gleam in his eyes. Certainly, he was terrified, but he never lost his wits. He was always musing to find a way to live a moment longer.

  The footsteps and whispers grew louder. Her heart thumped, panic rising to her face. Nick, at this moment, commanded his monster. Three vines grew out of the tiny sprout, sealing the hollow entrance. A marvellous idea. At least until the goblins found out about his ruse.

  The whispers shifted into voices. Fear grew, sweat rolled off her smooth cheeks and body tensed. But a warm grasp, suddenly, held her wrist. Nick nodded at her and muttered, .

  That small gesture was like a warm hearth on a cold winter night. Taking a deep breath, calming her throbbing heart, she eyed her sword tinted with goblin’s filthy blood, and a smile bloomed across her perfect face. Finally she wasn't completely useless. She had saved Nick's life. Not worthless like those people had told her. An asset, not a liability. Yes, she was an asset. Her eyes became wet, and unbidden sobs escaped her mouth.

  Nick tightened his grip over her hand. She raised her head to find two large horrified eyes gawking at her. That was written all over his face.

  Isabel felt embarrassed. She wiped her tears and apologised. Nick did not respond. His eyes were pinned on the entrance.

  I Her insecurities clawed her heart and mind and soul. Fortunately, Nick was not as important to her as her former companions. She could take his rejection, right?

  Something thumped on the tree trunk. The duo was startled, but neither dared to make a squeak. Isabel had gone pale from fright. Nick peered at the entrance, ready to dash out at any moment. That was, fortunately, the end of it.

  Two furious guttering voices talked outside. It seemed one of them had punched the tree in rage after failing to locate the murderers of their fellow goblins. She’d never heard that language before, so whatever they spiel about made no sense to her. Though, she’d an inkling about their origin, but dared not linger on that idea. It was too dangerous and disconcerting.

  After throwing unknown words at each other for a moment, the goblins chose to leave and frisk other places.

  Isabel eyed the vines blocking the entrance and felt grateful that Nick was by her side. However when she hoisted her head and stared at him, she found a pale face covered in sweat. “What happened to ?” she asked with an agitated voice.

  “I'm fine.” Nick squeezed a smile. “It seems Dream's skill takes too much mana to maintain. Last time it was for a brief moment so I failed to notice it.”

  He unsummoned his monster and reclined his head against the wooden wall.

  “Are you sure you are fine?” she asked again, worried.

  “Yes,” Nick nodded and then a water bottle appeared in his hand.

  Maybe Nick noticed her surprise; he grinned and flaunted his ring. “This is the artifact that Jack bought me last time.”

  Isabel nodded, but clear amazement was evident across her face. Dimensional Ring. That was a Dimensional Ring! In the whole Aston, the governor might be the only one who possessed it.

  Time passed, minute by minute, neither of them dared to talk, only whispering now and then. Isabel started feeling claustrophobic and agitated. Wiping her sweat, from time to time, off her temples. She eyed Nick and asked in a tired voice for the fourth time in an hour, “Should we go out?”

  Nick was silent momentarily before nodding. The duo exited the hollow.

  Nick eyed the hundreds of goblins surrounding a pit that was filled with monster corpses and blood and reek. He scrunched his nose in disgust. Even so far in the bush he could whiff the nauseating stench in the air.

  However, what attracted his gaze was not the corpses, but the creatures hooting around them. Goblins. The yellow goblins that he had fought previously were the largest in number. They were the lowest of the low. After them came light green goblin brutes and hobgoblins. The brutes had axes strapped on their backs while hobgoblins led numerous packs of goblins. Though, it seemed, not every goblin was willing to accept them as their leaders, so they formed their own smaller parties.

  And finally, Nick’s gaze fell upon the biggest goblin in the crowd, perched at the throne of carcasses. Goblin Warlord. His skin was that of majestic wine colour. His muscular and stout frame was wrought in veins. He was as tall as eight meters. A giant among goblins.

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  As Nick stared at the creature, his eyes widened in horror.

  “We need to leave!” Nick uttered. His hands trembled in fear.

  “Wh-what happened?” she asked.

  “No time to explain,” Nick turned and began sprinting. Isabel was confused, but complied with him, nonetheless.

  "No way monsters like these would go unnoticed.” Nick could not maintain a calm expression even with his willpower.

  As he continued to rush through the narrow openings between the cedar trees, someone abruptly grabbed him from behind. Nick halted and eyed Isabel. “What happened?” he asked confusedly.

  Isabel lifted her hand, pointing towards the direction they were sprinting. Nick frowned and followed her cursor. His heart raced and a clear expression emerged over his face. Two goblin brutes stared back at them. Both of them were at level 11.

  Nick grasped his bow. Isabel unsheathed her sword. Both of them got ready for another battle, prepared for another life and death struggle. However, then a confused expression appeared on their faces. The goblins did not advance at them, but changed their direction, escaping. They appeared afraid, frightened even.

  Nick's confusion did not last long, though. As a large crimson crane descended from the sky and threw dual fire arrows out of its honed beak, burning fleeing creatures into two crisp skeletons.

  Then the avian turned towards Nick and Isabel. The duo peered at the creature in fascination and fear. Not knowing what to do.

  Just when Nick turned to flee for his life, two shadows scrambled out of the shrubs. Their gazes met and bewildered looks were shared.

  Nick blinked. “Jack?”

  Jack stood there with a gobsmacked expression. “What are you doing here, Nick?”

  Nick eyed the charred corpses of the goblins and chuckled. “I think we are here for the same reason. Hasn't this place become quite interesting?”

  “It really has,” Jack nodded. “Do you know what's going on?”

  “No idea,” Nick shook his head, and eyed Kate, who stood behind Jack, silently. Her face was grim and her body was tense as she eyed her surroundings vigilantly. .

  Jack shook his head. “We also don't know anything.” He lifted his gaze and looked at Nick and Isabel before asking, “Do you want to come along with us?”

  Nick smiled. “No. We are leaving the forest.” As he spoke he eyed a sack hanging on Jack's shoulder and clicked his tongue. Definitely filled with numerous artifacts. They would have been his possession if he had money. That damn money.

  “Alright,” nodded Jack. “Then… take care of yourself.”

  They parted ways. Nick eyed Jack and Kate's fading frames and turned towards Isabel who stared back at him. “You should know that we can't trust anyone out here, right?”

  Isabel nodded. She was, once, a part of a hunting party after all. She had seen people die in cold blood because they were too naive to trust strangers. And she might be weak and honest, but she most certainly was not naive.

  Nick turned and started walking away. He did not share information about the Goblin Lord, because then, he would need to reveal things about his Talent. It might not look anything significant for the moment, but it could be fatal in the future. No way he’d take a chance. It would bring only troubles. He hated troubles.

  Obviously, they did not leave the forest. They continued to wander while avoiding large goblin packs, engaging only with drifters. After roving for half an hour, they came across a level 2 goblin. Alone.

  With no hesitation Nick sent the arrow bolting at the creature. The goblin squealed something in his—her?— incomprehensible language and tilted himself, evading the bolt from penetrating his neck. Though he failed to dodge it completely. The arrow grazed by his neck, spilling his grey blood.

  The monster uttered only God knows what and lunged towards Nick. However, Dream hiding inside the soil made her move at Nick's command. Three vines burst out of the ground, taking the goblin by surprise and ensnared him. The beast roared. Nick ignored his furious yellow features and pulled the string of his bow. This time he aimed for the heart. And this time he did not miss.

  Nick grinned. At last he advanced to level 2. How many times had he dreamed of this happening? However, previously he was alone. He could not go after level 2 creatures and be content with only level 1. But now he had hunted numerous level 2 already. It was only a matter of time he advanced. That time was now.

  Nick's confidence boosted. He wanted to hunt more. He wanted to become stronger. Mightier!

  Before that…

  Nick lanced through the skull of the goblin, and pulled out a tiny purple bead from inside. Unfortunately, he had no time to collect blood and skin and eyes. The disturbance caused by their battle would attract others.

  They continued their wandering, and fifteen minutes later came face to face with a pack of three level 2 goblins. With Dreams' help Nick trapped the two of them and engaged the last one by himself. Then told Isabel to finish the goblins who were trying to escape from the vines. After all, she was his only teammate. He needed to make her strong.

  As Nick finished his opponent, another three level 2 goblins scrambled out of the undergrowth. No time to rest. Needed to keep fighting!

  This time, however, the battle did not go as smoothly as before. After all, Dream could not ambush them like in previous fights. Furthermore, the goblins refused to engage with her in battle. Dream was a plant type monster so she could not move. Her vines failed to reach where Nick battled.

  Nick's bow was completely useless in close quarter combat, so he held daggers in both of his hands and fought against the two creatures by himself. Alone. One of the goblins went after Isabel. He wanted to unsummon Dream, but unfortunately she was out of his spiritual range. He needed to take down his foes as soon as possible. Isabel would not be able to hold the creature for too long. She—

  “Ahhh!!” Then he heard her scream, followed by the screech of the goblin. His heart thumped, but he dared not lose his focus on his opponents. He intensified his attacks and gradually moved toward Dream. When she came into his spiritual range, he immediately unsummoned her before summoning her again!

  The vines exploded out of the ground, penetrating the shoulder of one goblin. The other monster was distracted by this sudden attack. Nick took advantage of the situation and plunged his dagger into his eyes. He wrested his dagger free and blood flew towards the sky. Nick cared not and ended another creature who was on the brink of death, slicing through his neck.

  Then he turned towards Isabel with his palpitating heart. His face turned pale after spotting her body lying in a pool of crimson blood. Her one hand lay a few meters away, detached from her body.