The young warrior behind them remembered that Lin Yun had told him to watch their backs. But the cave was simply too narrow, and the Goddess Priestess was standing in front of him. He couldn't exactly shove her aside and rush past, so he could only follow Lin Yun's instructions and keep watch behind them.
Besides, he had just seen it. He had seen the man with the longsword. If Lin Yun hadn't stepped on the man's wrist, he might have cut the Female Fighter with his sword.
Though he might have missed.
The young warrior began to see things differently. At the very least, the once utterly naive boy now realized that not everyone in this world was good. He understood Lin Yun's warning to watch their backs a little better now. It wasn't just goblins that might appear; there could also be adventurers like that man. He was their steadfast rear guard.
Well, this guy sure had a lot going on in his head.
As for the Thief, the moment they entered the cave, he had disappeared without anyone noticing. No one knew what he was trying to do—or whether he had simply chickened out.
The young warrior was naturally a little indignant about it. But with everything suddenly descending into chaos, and him being the only one who knew what had happened, he found himself unable to speak up.
Meanwhile, after the Goddess Priestess healed him, Lin Yun had just about managed to catch his breath. He hadn't really needed the healing in the first place. Of the five goblins in front of them and the two with shortbows farther back, three of the seven were already dead. At this rate, things were going pretty well... Not.
Lin Yun seemed to have forgotten that this wasn't a Dungeons & Dragons game in the strictest sense. This was a real world—and this was a goblin cave. Three of the five goblins in front of them had died, but then three more goblins came sprinting out of the darkness toward Lin Yun. At least he managed to get one attack in before they reached him.
Watching the three goblins charge out again, Lin Yun felt a throbbing ache in his teeth. He wasn't unused to brawls, but this situation was seriously disgusting.
He swung the Lantern Staff in his hand again. This time, he aimed for the goblin that had wounded him with a little knife earlier.
"D20+2+2=14, hit."
His accuracy had been a little questionable, but at least he'd landed the hit. And this time, Lin Yun finally got lucky. The goblin had tried to dodge the Lantern Staff, but the corpse of another goblin happened to be in the way. His evasion failed, and it looked as though he'd slammed his own head right into the staff.
"D6+2+1=8"
He'd almost rolled maximum damage. The goblin was sent sprawling, its head slightly deformed. The flames from the spilled lamp oil kept it from letting out even a single scream, though its body still twitched involuntarily.
Meanwhile, perhaps seeing Lin Yun and the Female Fighter showing off their prowess had finally given the Female Mage some courage. Facing the goblin in the shadows, she rested one hand on her staff and began chanting again. "Nock and kindle, Flame Arrow." A ball of fire formed at the tip of her staff, became a flaming arrow, and shot toward the distant goblin as it was preparing to draw its bow. Only...the fireball struck the cave wall beside the goblin.
Lady, can you actually do this? Could you please stop?
The Female Mage's Flame Arrow had almost hit him just now. Lin Yun had felt a flash of heat graze past him, and a cold sweat broke out across his face.
(Hahahaha, I can't take it! This time, the Female Mage rolled a 2. She almost got a critical failure.)
After firing that Flame Arrow, the Female Mage seemed utterly drained. But the way she clenched her teeth made it clear she was deeply frustrated.
She was supposed to be the best. She was the most talented mage of her year at the Magic Academy! Why? They were only goblins, so why couldn't she even hit one? How was that possible? It made no sense at all. It wasn't magic!
The first goblin to reach Lin Yun saw that all the others around it had fallen. It looked around in confusion, then began to grow afraid.
It was, after all, only a goblin. It wasn't exactly brave, and there were still plenty of reinforcements behind it. Charging in now would be suicide. So it turned around and instinctively tried to run—apparently forgetting that Lin Yun was right behind it. Seeing the goblin turn tail, Lin Yun swung his Lantern Staff without thinking.
"D20+2+2=14, hit."
The goblin looked utterly terrified, fleeing in blind panic. Lin Yun struck it right in the back, and it let out a scream before tumbling forward.
"D6+2+1=4" It came up as the minimum damage.
Well, perhaps because it had been running so fast, the Lantern Staff had only grazed it. The goblin had actually survived. Then it joined the main group—well, there were really just three goblins together—and all four of them charged at once.
Just then, the Female Fighter saw one of the goblins charging toward them with a Wooden Club and rushed to meet it, eager for a fight. Perhaps daggers just weren't her style after all. Fists were more manly—???? No, that wasn't right. More like a fighter, perhaps.
Her first punch landed squarely on the goblin's mouth, nearly knocking it sideways. It might even have given the goblin a concussion. But when she threw her second punch, the goblin was still reeling from the first heavy blow, swaying unsteadily—and somehow it dodged her. The Female Fighter didn't want to back down just like that. She gritted her teeth and... kicked again.
Girl, are you the legendary greedy-for-an-extra-hit maniac?
Then something incredible happened. Her kick struck the goblin in the head, nearly knocking it clean off, and sent it flying into another goblin behind it—the very same one Lin Yun had just sent tumbling forward.
As the kicked goblin landed in front of the other one, that goblin instinctively caught it. But when it looked down at the goblin in its arms, it found that the creature was already barely breathing. It... was dead. The only goblin there to have been thoroughly killed had finally appeared.
The goblin dropped its fallen comrade and charged toward Lin Yun again with a shrill cry.
Far away, the two goblins lurking in the darkness with shortbows began shooting as well.
Perhaps because they had seen how fierce the Female Fighter was, both shortbow-wielding goblins fired at her this time. But their archery was... well, it was hard to look at. They loosed two arrows in succession, but neither even reached the Female Fighter. Both dropped to the ground. At least they hadn't hit their own side.
There wasn't enough room for the Goddess Priestess to stand anymore, and Lin Yun and the others hadn't been hurt, so all she could do was watch the fight anxiously, waiting for someone to get wounded so she could rush over and heal them.
The warrior was still only able to stand there with an expression of... well, heroic self-sacrifice, watching their backs. It was as if he would rush forward the instant anyone dared attack them from behind, even if it meant dying together with them.?????
After two attacks in quick succession, Lin Yun was a little tired. By the time another group of three goblins reached him, he had finally recovered enough strength to attack again.
"D20+2+2=21, hit."
He swung the Lantern Staff in his hand. Perhaps because Lin Yun was getting tired, his grip faltered and the staff wobbled slightly—completing what could only be called the legendary Wobbling Spear style. All right, that was a joke. He had been aiming for the goblin's head, but the wobble sent the staff downward, and it happened to hit a goblin wielding a Stone Spear. The goblin hadn't been hurt yet and was thrusting its spear at Lin Yun. There was nothing he could do about it; the goblin Lin Yun had wounded earlier was still a little farther away after the Female Fighter's kick, so this was the only one he could hit.
"D6+2+1=7"
The damage was fairly consistent this time. The goblin with the Stone Spear, which had been about to charge in and attack Lin Yun, was struck. But... how should he put it? History always repeated itself. This goblin was also wielding a Stone Spear and charging forward, and it just so happened to strike the arm holding Lin Yun's Lantern Staff—the very same arm. That was downright bizarre.
"D20+6=9, saving throw failed."
Before you continue