Fate's Arrangement

It seemed the dagger was a little too short. Although it had successfully stabbed into the back of the Giant Goblin's neck, it couldn't inflict much damage. Meanwhile, the Female Fighter had rushed up in front of the Giant Goblin and unleashed a flurry of attacks on its head, which was almost as big as an ordinary goblin.

She punched the Giant Goblin in the ear, then in the nose, and finally kicked it right in the eye. The Giant Goblin let out a series of pained howls. In its agony, it instinctively dropped its enormous stone axe and covered its face with both hands, then tried to stand up. But just then, after that brief moment of emptiness and loneliness that followed casting a spell—ah, no, that wasn't right. Something was about to come out? No, that didn't sound right either. Ahem. In any case, Lin Yun had finally recovered, and swung his Lantern Staff at the Giant Goblin.

"D20+2+2=7, hit."

Lin Yun blinked at the numbers, then brought his Lantern Staff down on the Giant Goblin. Come to think of it, since the Giant Goblin had fallen, its AC was reduced by 4. It wasn't wearing armor, wasn't agile, and was a huge target. Hitting it should have been a piece of cake.

"D6+2+1=7."

The oil splattered from Lin Yun's Lantern Staff made the Giant Goblin scream in pain. Its cries had grown weaker, but it was still trying to get back on its feet.

"Whoa!" The young Warrior, who had gotten carried away with his chuunibyou act and leapt onto the Giant Goblin to stab it in the back of the neck, nearly fell as the creature began to rise. Instinctively, he plunged his dagger into the Giant Goblin, trying to steady himself. But perhaps because he had just stabbed the creature, the dagger was slick with blood and fat. The young Warrior was also so panicked that he slipped on the Giant Goblin's back and nearly lost his grip on the weapon. He landed hard on his backside behind the Giant Goblin, the pain bringing tears to his eyes.

The Fighter hurried forward and threw a punch. Since the Giant Goblin was trying to stand, the blow landed squarely on its throat. It seemed to connect with the wound the young Warrior had made moments earlier, because a great spray of blood burst from the Giant Goblin's back. The creature, which had been about to rise, dropped to its knees and toppled toward the Female Fighter.

Luckily, Lin Yun had quick eyes and quick hands. Perhaps it was because the Female Fighter was the MVP of the whole battle, or perhaps it was because she was beautiful. Whatever the reason...

"D20-1=16, Dexterity check, success."

"D20+2=16, Strength check, success."

In Dungeons & Dragons, when an accident happened—for example, when a party member triggered a trap—a companion nearby could catch them in time if they succeeded at a Dexterity check. Since the person being caught had weight and might even struggle, a Strength check was also needed.

Now, all that could be said was... both checks had succeeded, though the numbers were a little uncanny.

(Just to be clear, I didn't do this on purpose. It was all fate's arrangement. My DCs were perfectly reasonable: the Dexterity DC was 15, and the Strength DC was 12. And since this was fate's arrangement, then...)

Lin Yun grabbed the Female Fighter's hand and yanked her toward him, keeping her from being crushed beneath the Giant Goblin as it fell.

But perhaps Lin Yun had used a little too much strength, because he pulled the Female Fighter right into his arms.

"Ah." The Female Fighter was completely stunned as Lin Yun pulled her into his embrace. She caught the sharp smell of blood on him—after all, they had just been through a fairly fierce battle—and looked at the helmet on his head. A blush spread across her face.

Just then, a scream jolted them out of it.

"Waah!" It was the young Warrior. After his failed finishing blow and decidedly ungraceful landing, he had only just gotten back up. The two goblins the Giant Goblin hadn't thrown aside charged at him. Unlike the other goblins, these two wore leather armor and carried weapons that were unmistakably made of iron. Judging from the armor's obvious poor fit and the style of their weapons, they must have been equipment dropped by the Adventurers—perhaps even by those players from earlier. Judging by how they had gotten hold of the gear, these two goblins were probably special among their kind.

Probably. In any case, the young Warrior had been focused on the Giant Goblin—and then on Lin Yun and the Female Fighter—so he hadn't noticed the two goblins charging up behind him.

One goblin wielded a longsword, the other a battleaxe, and they swung their weapons at the young Warrior. Perhaps all his luck had come here today; perhaps these weapons simply weren't suited to goblins. After all, smaller creatures took a penalty for wielding medium-sized weapons. Whatever the reason, one goblin seemed as drunk as a skunk, unable to hold its longsword steady. It nearly sent the weapon flying, or hit itself with it. The other goblin's battleaxe was blocked by the shield the young Warrior had instinctively raised. It was a stroke of luck, at least.

People were always saying that carrying a shield was for cowards, but the young Warrior had stuck with his shield and dagger to the very end, rather than simply showing off.

"Be more careful next time." Seeing the goblins surrounding the young Warrior, Lin Yun hurriedly let go of the Female Fighter and said it in a tone that suited Silent perfectly. Then he rushed at the goblin with the battleaxe. Well, maybe it was lucky he had his helmet on, so nobody could see the blush on his face?

This was a woman, after all—the first young woman he had ever gotten this close to in his life.

"D20+2+2=10, MISS."

Perhaps the delayed embarrassment had thrown Lin Yun off, leaving him a little dazed. His attack missed, and the goblin with the battleaxe dodged it with ease.

The young Warrior, now recovered, picked up his dagger and counterattacked. He slashed at the leather armor of the goblin with the battleaxe, but it seemed he had forgotten how he'd just failed to hit the Giant Goblin. The blade, slick with blood and fat, slid off the goblin's ill-fitting armor without injuring it.

Meanwhile, the Female Fighter was still stunned by how bizarrely things had just unfolded. She had gone completely dazed, almost forgetting who she was. She was, after all, a young woman with a crush, and she had often wondered what kind of person she would marry someday. Something like this happening out of the blue had left her at a loss.

Seeing the Female Fighter so bewildered, the Goddess Priestess, who had grown up in the Temple and knew little of the outside world, looked at her with concern. She gripped her tin staff nervously and asked, "Are you all right? Do you need healing?"

"Ah, no... I-I'm fine." The Goddess Priestess's question brought the Female Fighter back to her senses a little. She glanced at Lin Yun as he fought, then walked over.

"Are you really all right?" the Goddess Priestess asked with concern, seeing that the Female Fighter looked nothing like someone who was fine.

Meanwhile, seeing that neither Lin Yun's staff nor the young Warrior's sword had done them any harm, the goblins let out a series of piercing, mocking laughs and attacked the young Warrior.

The goblin with the longsword swung it at the young Warrior, but it still didn't seem used to the weapon's weight. The young Warrior blocked its strike with his shield.

But while the young Warrior's shield was occupied with the longsword-wielding goblin, the one with the battleaxe struck him in the right hand. The blow inflicted serious damage, and the young Warrior let out a scream.