This Is a Metaphysical World

Fortunately, at least that air vent had been blocked. Though it was only temporary, it would only take a few minutes to dig it open again. The rest depended on whether the air inside the mine was sufficient.

If only I knew wind magic, I could directly control the wind and bring the air out of the mine. That would be fun. Ah, no, according to the principles of air pressure circulation, bringing the air out would cause the outside air to rush in more violently due to the pressure difference... Hmm, that doesn't sound bad either, since mine explosions work like that.

What a shame.

The Magician and Goddess Priestess standing beside Lin Yun, ready to fight at any moment, were unaware of the terrifying operations currently erupting in the mind of Lin Yun, who stood beside them like a silent tin can.

This was the largest air vent, which was why it was Lin Yun's first target. With it blocked, even if there were other air vents, they wouldn't be effective, hence the choice of this location.

Then, due to the impending battle, Lin Yun had sent the villagers back. He also instructed them to prepare in case the Goblins attacked the village from another direction.

These villagers were not like those in some dark novels who would say to their helpers, "If it weren't for you, our village wouldn't be in this situation." Only those more foolish than fools would say such things. Having lived in hardship for years, they knew that Goblins were not like human gangsters. Even gangsters had rules, and sometimes even played a mediating role, protecting these villagers, unless they were scum.

But Goblins were not human, and were destined to be enemies.

After about a few minutes, the young warrior and the Female Fighter arrived.

Lin Yun briefly asked about the situation, "How are things on your end?"

"Everything's fine. Most of the Goblins didn't come out. It was too boring. Mr. Silent, are we going to attack the main camp now?" the young warrior asked.

"Almost, but it's a bit different. For now, we'll go into this crevice first," Lin Yun said, pointing to the narrow opening.

"Huh? Okay." The young warrior nodded and moved with Lin Yun. Naturally, the Female Fighter, the Magician, and the Goddess Priestess also followed Lin Yun.

However, inside the crevice, the relatively petite and agile Female Fighter, who also had some self-defense capabilities, took the lead. Lin Yun and the young warrior followed, then the Goddess Priestess, and finally the Magician. The Magician still had a chance to use Burning Hands to protect herself if enemies appeared from behind.

They had to guard not only against Goblins emerging from the mine, but also against the possibility of Goblins mounted on Wolves launching a surprise attack from the cave the young warrior had been guarding, flanking Lin Yun and the others. That would truly be a pain. If only they had more people, they could have counter-enveloped the enemy.

By entering the crevice, while they could still be flanked, the number of things they had to face simultaneously was greatly reduced.

Well, at least for now, there weren't any major problems.

The biggest issue was that Lin Yun's Scale Armor was too large and not very flexible, so Lin Yun had to crawl through the crevice. After they passed through, Lin Yun and the others could already hear a cacophony of noise from the other side. The Goblins were coming.

This back-door passage wasn't very large; it was an emergency route that didn't require minecarts. Therefore, this passage was even slightly narrower than the one in the Goblin cave they had visited the first time.

It was more than enough for one human, but a bit crowded for two. At the same time, it could fit at least three or even four Goblins. In terms of terrain advantage, it was much better than before.

As they were about to enter the cave again, Lin Yun picked up his Lantern Staff, lit the lamp on it, and waited at the cave entrance for the Goblins to rush out.

The light from the Lantern Staff illuminated the surroundings, extending about 3.3 meters ahead. Then, two Goblins riding Wolves charged forward, almost side-by-side. In the distance behind them, more Goblins could be faintly seen rushing towards Lin Yun.

Naturally, upon hearing the Goblins, Lin Yun began to prepare, casting Shield. Since Lin Yun was now level 2, his Shield spell could last for 2 minutes, which was more than enough for a battle.

So this time, Lin Yun temporarily put down his shield. There were three reasons why he had held his shield while using Shield before: the duration of Shield was only 1 minute, and Lin Yun wasn't sure how quickly the battle would end; the shield allowed Lin Yun to cast divine spells and Channel Divinity, which required holding it in his hand; and finally... Lin Yun was, after all, just an ordinary person, so the shield also served to boost his morale and provide a sense of security...

This time, however, it was different. Lin Yun not only cast Shield but also added another protective spell.

Protection from Alignment. This was a 1st-level spell, quite a magical one. In the Dungeons & Dragons world, there were nine alignments: Lawful Good, Lawful Neutral, Lawful Evil, Neutral Good, True Neutral, Neutral Evil, Chaotic Good, Chaotic Neutral, and Chaotic Evil.

According to Lin Yun's interpretation:

Lawful Good: Believes in strong rules and does good based on them (Confucianism/Kantianism).

Neutral Good: Does good within their principles but also respects rules (Mohism/Egalitarianism).

Chaotic Good: Does good according to their own standards, disregarding rules/doing good with bad intentions (Human Rights/Utilitarianism).

Lawful Neutral: Rules are paramount, not valuing good or evil (Legalism/Contractualism).

True Neutral: Goes with the flow/doesn't take sides, maintaining moderation (Taoism/Pragmatism).

Chaotic Neutral: Freedom is paramount, doing whatever one pleases (Anarchism).

Lawful Evil: Commits evil in an organized and disciplined manner (Totalitarianism).

Neutral Evil: Commits evil for their own reasons, not following rules but not necessarily breaking them either (Outlaws).

Chaotic Evil: Views all beauty and order as nothing, acting out of destructive instinct and taking pleasure in it (Anti-social/Anti-human).

This spell, Protection from Alignment, was a mind-affecting spell that could resist this thing, which should be called a personality.

Because Lin Yun didn't know what kind of world he would be in next, he had chosen the more useful Command, and with Shield, he felt it was okay.

Now, he realized... Damn it, it turned out to be a world where he had to fight Goblins. Well, survival was the most important thing.

Like Shield, Protection from Alignment had a duration of 1 minute per level, so it also lasted for 2 minutes. Now, Lin Yun's AC had truly reached 20. Unfortunately, the Black Iron Breastplate wasn't ready yet, otherwise it would have been even more terrifying. Most ordinary Goblins would probably need a 16 or higher to hit him.

With these two layers of defense, Lin Yun had no more 1st-level spell slots. So, Lin Yun simply held his Lantern Staff with both hands, ready to swing it.

Facing the two Goblins charging on Wolves, he put a little force into his feet, not retreating. It wasn't that Lin Yun didn't want to dodge, but if he dodged, the Female Fighter and Goddess Priestess behind him would be harmed.

And by the way, the young warrior was, as always... guarding at the rear.

He swung the Lantern Staff in his hand.

Yes, he swung it. Just like the divine power of the Protection domain, the Magic domain also had divine power. The divine power of the Magic domain was a bit like a boomerang. In short, he threw the melee weapon in his hand, and whether it hit the target or not, it returned to Lin Yun's hand. Strangely, Lin Yun could use his Wisdom modifier instead of his Strength modifier to enhance his hit.

So Lin Yun's move was, "D20+3+2=15, Hit."

The Lantern Staff flew out and was directly swung at one of the Wolves. As the saying goes, shoot the horse before shooting the man; this principle is truly eternal.

This attack still utilized Lin Yun's strength bonus for damage, and since it was with two hands, it was:

"D6+3+1=8"

The fierce strike made the charging Wolf falter. Lin Yun directly interrupted its charge. At this moment, another Goblin riding a Wolf charged towards Lin Yun, raising its spear to stab at him. If it was charging, holding a spear, and mounted, Lin Yun would receive double damage.

But unfortunately, just as Lin Yun braced himself, the Goblin in front of him thrust its spear into a semi-transparent barrier in front of Lin Yun. It was the Protection from Evil shield. Perhaps the Goblin hadn't expected Lin Yun to have a layer of something in front of him, and in its surprise, it lost its grip, causing the spear to be flung away... and fall into some unknown pit.

Is this really so mystical?