Village Jille (5) (Part 1)

I'd like to say I stood there because I was confident, maybe showing off a bit, but that would be a lie.

I stayed put not because I wanted to, but because I had to, due to a variety of factors, with my limitation being the main one.

The inventory cost nothing, no mana, energy, vitality—nothing, but using it required concentration.

My evolution, so to speak, also involved my mind, my brain. My thoughts had quickened, remembering things was easier, thinking came more naturally.

Despite all that, controlling nearly a hundred weapons simultaneously was, at the very least, complicated. I didn't need to think about each weapon manually, but it was still complex.

I had to consider where they'd appear, in which direction, and when.

It got even more complicated. I had to think about the triggers that appeared to make them fire and, finally, get them back into the inventory and repeat the process.

Mentally exhausting, to say the least.

Even though I trained this "trick" in HOTD, it wasn't something that came easily; I needed to focus.

In my current state, using these nearly a hundred weapons was close to my limit. Anything beyond that, and things would go wrong.

Especially since I couldn't afford to lose concentration for two reasons. The first was the goblins' arrows.

While their frontline comrades approached, trying to reach me, the archer goblins in the back relentlessly shot arrows, dozens of them.

Despite trusting Markus's armor, I didn't want to risk it, especially as the arrows seemed to have Mystical Symbols engraved on them.

So, much of my attention was on the arrows, or rather, protecting myself from them.

The inventory had a range limit. Before the update, it was ten meters. Within that range, I could "grab" things, items, and put them in the inventory.

From there, I began testing the limits of the inventory: the weight limit of items, the size limit, how many items I could put in at once, and so on.

After roughly figuring out VoidBag's limits, I started thinking about how to use it in battle, for both offense and defense.

I could use it the simplest way, putting items between me and the target: about to take a punch? What if I put an iron plate in front of the fist? A kick? What if I put an iron bar in front? And so on.

It was the easiest and simplest form, but it had a weakness. I needed to see the attack to defend against it, and even though my reaction time had improved significantly, I still couldn't see bullets.

A precise shot to my head would be game over. I couldn't take a potion, recover. So, how could I defend against that? The conclusion I reached was: a defined area.

I wouldn't need to see the projectile if I put something to defend me, making it disappear after a certain limit.

The inventory range used me as the center, extending from me as the focal point, so it wasn't hard to imagine a kind of dome around me, a shield, so to speak.

Thus, when the goblins' arrows reached the old ten-meter limit of the inventory, they disappeared, or rather, entered the inventory the moment they "hit" this invisible barrier.

It was practically the perfect shield against projectiles, my version of a certain blue-haired dog's "Protection from Arrows" ability.

I tested it using a tennis machine, firing tennis balls rapidly towards me, first with one machine, then with two, three, and so on.

It worked, but not without cost.

I had to constantly think about this "barrier" for it to function; one slip, and this mental image would have a "hole," a place where goblin arrows could pass through and hit me.

It was tiring to stay focused for so long, both on the weapons and the barrier, especially with the second and primary reason, the one I feared most in this battle, to be honest.

The goblin, or to be more specific, Grongir.

So, my attention was divided into three: on the weapons, to attack the army and prevent them from getting close to me; on the mental image of the barrier, to prevent archers' arrows from reaching me; and finally, on the Minimap, for any anomalies in the movement of red dots, the enemies.

The moment the words "army" and "goblin" were shouted earlier, I connected the dots. The goblin I was talking to before, the one who called himself Grongir, was a goblin sorcerer, or at least the equivalent, now that Terraria was a real world.

And anyone who played Terraria knows these guys are known for one specific ability...

My attention quickly shifted to a specific red dot, one that had appeared behind me.

...Teleportation.

The first thing I noticed was the movement of the red dot on the Minimap, appearing about fifty meters behind me.

The second was the absurd amount of mana that dot contained. Even without turning, even at this distance, I could sense the abnormal amount of mana emanating from the goblin.

It was about a hundred, maybe two hundred times the extra mana I felt when Dylan used WaterBolt, and considering Dylan covered the entire village with just that amount of mana...

And finally, the last thing I noticed was the heat, intense heat.

It wasn't natural, like the heat from a flame or light. No, it was artificial. I couldn't explain it, but it was strange to me, almost alien.

Turning around, I discovered why. I didn't get a clear view of Grongir, as his attack was large enough to conceal him. I thought it might be some kind of fireball due to the heat, but it wasn't, well, it was a ball, but not of fire.

It was a massive purple ball of what I could only call pure energy—mana, obviously, but I was sure that, by the way that thing pulsated as if it were "alive," vitality as well.

I widened my eyes in alarm and quickly pulled my "shield" from the inventory.

Without hesitation, I made the bank door appear about twenty meters away, in the path of the energy ball coming toward me.

The collision didn't take a second, the goblin sorcerer's attack covering the distance between him and the door quickly, colliding forcefully with it.

It was instantaneous. At the moment of impact, a huge explosion occurred. I must have lost consciousness for moments, not even a second, since when I regained my senses, I was still in the air, flying backward...

...Towards the goblin army.

Ignoring the pain throughout my body and the coppery taste on my tongue from blood, most likely from some internal organ hurt by the shockwave, I tried to stabilize myself in the air.

I had a few moments to think as my body flew towards the army, and I used them the best way I could.

The first thing I did was pull back the weapons that were still within reach, back into the inventory. There were few; many had flown far away. If I was lucky, the ones flying off probably had no ammo or would break upon landing.

While commanding the VoidBag to retrieve the weapons, I twisted my body to see where I was going to land.

Right on top of the goblins.

Goblins who seemed very pleased to see me flying towards them, likely eager to get revenge for the few minutes I rained fire upon them, as they had their weapons ready for when I fell, maybe even before.

Not wanting to be impaled mid-air, I did the best I could think of.

Still in the air, I pulled a shipping container, one of the ones I found while wandering the port helping load survivors onto the island in HOTD.

I placed the large metallic object between me and the goblins, who widened their eyes at the sight of the massive metal box appearing out of nowhere.

Moments before impact, a small part of my brain realized that colliding with steel wasn't a good idea, and perhaps I should have put a mattress or cushions where I was going to land, but it was already too late.

At the moment of impact, I felt the air forcefully expelled from my lungs, my mouth opening against my will, and air being forced out of my body along with saliva and blood.

The impact was enough to make the container fall to the ground, crushing some smaller goblins in the process and leaving others injured.

Before flying again, I forcefully slapped my right hand on the container, making the slime hook appear, covering my arm and effectively anchoring me to the top of the box.

Ignoring the pain throughout my body and the urge to vomit, I stood up, turning my gaze to Grongir, fearing another attack of that magnitude. It wasn't necessary.

Looking to where the goblin was, I saw a green body, covered in a purple cloak, being hit by an arrow that flew from the village before disappearing, teleporting away.

Dylan had nailed the son of a bitch at least.

Before the goblins could start climbing the container, I pulled a potion from the inventory and brought it to my lips, quickly drinking the contents.

While drinking the potion, I wasn't distracted or idle. I resumed pulling the weapons, this time closer to my body, aiming at the goblins below me trying to climb the container to attack me.

My eyes briefly wandered to the bank door that flew a few dozen meters away from my landing spot, crushing part of the army in that area.

I was without my best shield, which was bad.

I tossed the now-empty potion into the inventory, feeling my pains rapidly easing, any internal injuries healing every second.

Looking at the Minimap, I realized that some goblins had managed to climb on the opposite side of the container, the left side. I didn't turn the weapons towards them, as they were focused on shooting at the larger group of goblins on the right.

Besides, the number of weapons I could use now had decreased, as I needed to concentrate on more things, like not being torn in half!

Turning quickly, I pulled my iron sword from the inventory and raised it, gripping the handle with both hands and clashing my iron sword with the goblin's sword.

He was one of the big ones, the ones wearing plate armor.

"Clang!"

I could feel the impact throughout my body, forcing my knee to bend slightly to withstand the force of the blow and the pressure the goblin exerted with his arms while pushing the sword.

I widened my eyes slightly, tensing my muscles and pushing the goblin backward as best as I could.

He was slightly stronger than me, no...

I could see the Mystical Symbols on his armor glowing faintly, when they weren't before. I was sure this had something to do with his strength.

Even the Mystical Symbols on the sword glowed faintly, its strike attempting and failing to cut through my own sword.

The goblin had realized he had won our little power struggle and opened his mouth to speak. He had strangely white teeth, not what I thought it would be. He was probably going to boast or mock me, something involving the word "Terrarian," most likely.

But he didn't even get to say the first word.

The moment the goblin opened his mouth, with a thought, I manifested the Ithaca M-37, my favorite weapon at this point, with the barrel inside his mouth and "pulled" the trigger, manifesting a elastic, as I had both hands occupied.

He didn't even realize he had died, his head exploding in blood, pieces of his brain, skull, and metal helmet imploding with the force of the impact.

I didn't waste any time. I put the goblin's body in the inventory, armor and all, freeing myself from the weight that was on top of me.

Then, I stood up, jumping backward, the metal of my armor clashing against the container. The sound of metal hitting metal was muffled by the gunfire around me and the goblins' screams.

I tilted my head to the side, dodging a dagger that one of the smaller goblins, who had jumped and climbed onto the container, was trying to stab me with.

The smaller goblin leaped from behind where, a few seconds ago, his ally's body had been. Probably propelled by one of the other goblins who tossed him from the ground to the top of the container.

I narrowly avoided the strike, tilting my head to the left, making the dagger hit the side of my helmet, sparks flying as the blade met metal.

As the strike continued, the goblin proceeded on its trajectory in the air, unable to dodge my next attack.

I changed my grip on my sword, took a step to the side, creating distance between me and the goblin. I twirled my hands on the sword's handle, quickly raising it vertically, blade pointing upward, towards the goblin.

He tried to defend himself, putting the dagger in front, but without success. Compared to the armored goblin, this one might as well have the strength of a child.

When my sword collided with the dagger, I felt his arm break, making the small goblin let out a scream of pain before being silenced when his ribcage was crushed with the impact of his chest against the sword.

Soon after, it was his armor that resisted briefly, the Mystical Symbols glowing faintly before failing. The chainmail was cut by the edge of my sword, enhanced by the rune, and finally, his flesh was easily sliced along with his bones and organs.

I placed the bisected body in the inventory, ignoring the blood that covered me and my armor. I took a few steps back, focusing on staying in the center of the container.

Quickly, more smaller goblins began to climb, their lighter armor and agility, along with their smaller size, making climbing easier.

I glanced quickly to the side, checking the durability of my iron sword.

[Durability: 233/242]

A good number, but if I kept blocking with it, it wouldn't last much longer. Its edge would wear out long before the sword broke.

I briefly considered using the goblins' weapons, but I didn't know if they had some kind of Mystical Symbol preventing Terrarians from using them. I wasn't a Terrarian, but it would be crazy to use a "magical" item without knowing what it did.

So, I set that idea aside. As bright as it might seem, it wouldn't be worth it if I lost a hand or something when trying to use the sword.

I didn't even think about the armor. Putting on magical armor without knowing what it did was asking to be crushed, melted, burned, or electrocuted, maybe all at the same time.

I turned my gaze back to the goblins running on the container, coming in my direction. There were five, with more climbing every moment, some from the front, others from behind and the sides.

The first goblin didn't hesitate to run toward me, its yellowed eyes exuding rage, focused on me. The other goblins near him wasted no time in following their fellow warrior.

I steadied my wrist and swung my sword, guiding the first strike to the shoulder of the first goblin running crouched. His quick steps were not slowed by the oddity of running on metal, not grass.

The goblin was fast, his steps light, and his leather armor gleamed faintly, the Mystical Symbols shining as if propelling his speed.

I could see that the goblin was preparing to jump and attack me from above, while his brothers, running closer to the ground, would attack me from below.

I didn't allow it. Taking a step forward, I lifted my right leg toward the goblin.

Just before jumping, I kicked his arm, making the limb twist unnaturally backward, and his dagger flew away, out of his fingers.

Before the goblin could even scream, I finished the strike, cutting him from the left shoulder to the lower chest in a diagonal slash.

I didn't discard the body, putting it in the inventory like the others, but I twisted my wrist, slashing with the sword, making the goblin's body fly toward the second goblin to my right, who was trying to strike me. Both flew with the impact, out of the container, back into the army being targeted by the weapons.

The third goblin took advantage of my apparent opening to jump, coming from behind the first goblin, and pointed his dagger towards my head.

For the first time, I noticed that, in addition to the Mystical Symbols on the weapon, it dripped with a thick purplish liquid. A liquid that I was sure I didn't want to touch.

The fourth and fifth goblins ran close to the ground, like animals, using three of their four limbs to run. The last one held a dagger with the same purple liquid that I saw on the dagger in front of me.

These last two seemed not to want to attack me at first but to flank me, aiming their strikes at the back of my two knees, wanting to impair my mobility.

If I stayed still here, it was death, that was for sure.

I released my left hand from the sword and raised my arm, my fist slightly open, as if holding the invisible handle of some weapon. What I was holding, in fact, was the handle of the Ithaca M-37.

The shotgun appeared in my hand. I didn't hesitate to pull the trigger, making the third goblin fly with the bullet, part of his body exploding with the impact.

I let the recoil of the weapon lift my arm into the air. Dropping the shotgun into the inventory, I swapped it for a large firefighter axe. I quickly lowered my left arm, now armed with an axe, toward one of the goblins trying to attack me from below.

I didn't try to finish him off; I aimed at his arm with the dagger, making the limb fly and land backward on the edge of the container. The small green being, now without an arm, screamed in pain, holding the stump that used to be his arm with the other hand.

Without the support of his two front limbs, coupled with the momentum of his accelerated run, the goblin lost balance and fell on the container's roof, rolling forward and falling back into the army.

At the same time, I lifted my right foot, making the goblin on my right side miss the strike aimed at my knee, hitting my armor, the greaves. The dagger briefly penetrated the metal but failed to cut me, its strength not being enough to pass through the thick protection of the armor.

I lowered my foot forcefully onto the exposed nape of the goblin, who tried to retreat but failed due to his hesitation to let go of the dagger that was stuck.

His refusal to abandon his weapon cost him dearly. As he tried to remove his weapon from my armor, my foot hit his nape with force, making a sickening crack echo through the air and his body convulse briefly before going limp.

Putting the body in the inventory, I was sure he was dead.

Before I could move, I grunted slightly, feeling a sharp pain in the back of my shoulder. I didn't even need to turn around to know it was an arrow that had passed through my "barrier" due to my distraction.

It was harder to stay focused now that I needed to move actively.

I sent the arrow in my shoulder to the inventory and took a deep breath, ignoring the pain. Just that wasn't enough for me to use a potion, especially since I didn't have a large quantity of them.

Before I could move, I felt my body slightly lock up, a sharp pain coursing through me before disappearing as if it had never existed.

"What the hell?" I muttered briefly as I raised the shotgun, shooting at one of the goblins trying to attack me from below.

I quickly moved my eyes when I noticed smoke coming out of the wound on my shoulder, black smoke that I recognized as the same that emanated from the bodies of the villagers whenever they were purified...

The arrow had poison too, didn't it? Damn!

I quickly turned my gaze to an icon representing my status:

[Purification Powder ingested! Status "Purified Mana (Temporary)" Received! - Time: 32 minutes]

"Tsk." I clicked my tongue and resumed moving, kicking the face of a goblin with a dagger, making him fall back away from the container.

It was luck, damn it! Pure luck that I still had the effect of the Purification Powder in my body!

I didn't even want to know what could have happened, what kind of poison existed in those daggers and arrows and what it would do to my body.

I need to start being more careful; getting hurt was one thing, being cut by a poisoned weapon? That was a whole different mess.

I really was a shitty fighter, wasn't I? I'm sure someone trained like Red or Yellow would have managed to dodge that, in fact, I'm sure they would have destroyed this army.

I didn't waste time reflecting, I kept moving, not staying in the same place for more than a second.

Now, a question I had was: why was this "guy" doing this? And by this "guy," I meant Grongir.

I could feel the goblin wizard teleporting across the battlefield, but he never stayed in one place for long.

I didn't know why, but that was being fucking helpful; if the guy attacked me with that giant purple ball while I was fighting, it would be a complete disaster...

My thoughts were interrupted when another goblin tried to attack me, but this time pushing me.

I attacked the goblin, thrusting the sword into his chest, but he seemed determined to complete his task, even with a sword through his heart, he continued, the remaining strength of his body enough to make me stumble...

... Out of the container, falling towards the army below.

[...]

POV: Dylan Oakwood.

I ignored my trembling hands and put another mana stone in my mouth, swallowing it quickly, restoring part of my depleted mana reserve.

I took a deep breath as I put another enchanted arrow on the bow, the bowstring glowing faintly, along with the arrow.

The Mystical Symbols glowed faintly as mana was drawn from my body, enhancing the bow's power and range, as well as the arrows' penetration and speed...

I pulled the string, waiting. When the goblin in purple mage robes appeared, I shot at him, the arrow flying quickly towards him, causing him to cancel his attack and teleport if he didn't want to die.

Because, after all, precision was something I already had, without relying on the Mystical Symbols.

I had been doing this for a while now, to be more precise, since the beginning of the battle.

Devas seemed to be doing well against the army; killing one or two goblins wouldn't be of great help, so I focused on preventing the goblin in mage robes from attacking him.

Grongir, if I'm not mistaken, that's how the goblin referred to himself while shouting.

I almost had a heart attack when the goblin launched his first attack towards Devas. That strange purple sphere had enough power to vaporize a person with a touch; I thought it was the end right there.

But Devas managed to defend himself, pulling out a huge shield made purely of metal.

"If we survive, I need to ask the guy how he does that," I muttered as I put another arrow on the string, waiting for the goblin to reappear.

He could use the Travel Space in an absurd way; I had never seen anyone make items appear so far from the body, especially such large items in such a fast manner.

My ears hurt for a moment when a loud explosion occurred in the distance.

I quickly looked at the explosion, my "long-distance enhanced vision goggles with Mystical Symbols" giving me a clear view of what was happening on the battlefield.

Or, as my sister insisted on calling them, "precision goggles."

I still thought my name was better; precision could mean many things, mine might be long, but it said what the goggles did.

Ignoring my scattered thoughts, I returned my gaze to the explosion. Devas had fallen from the huge metal box he had taken from his Travel Space.

I would have been more worried if, at that moment, he wasn't throwing some kind of orange square container at the goblins, containers that exploded when their strange weapons shot at them.

Not only did they explode, but they also burst into flames, turning part of the battlefield into a sea of flames.

Pouring more mana into the goggles, I could quickly read his lips before he turned, returning to defend himself against the attacking goblins.

"And there goes liters and liters of gasoline... damn goblins..."

I didn't know what gasoline was, but by the way Devas had a furrowed face and grumbled, I didn't think it was something he could waste.

Luckily, the rain that had started was containing the flames, not letting them spread across the entire plain.

Speaking of waste, what the hell were those weapons he was using!

I remember my sister saying that her teammate, (a teammate she liked but wouldn't admit for some reason), was trying to create a better long-range attack than the bow or crossbow.

She had said something like "firearm," something about exploding a metal ball with gunpowder, putting it in a barrel or something like that; she hadn't let me read the project, as always...

WHAT WAS THE POINT OF HAVING THIS ABILITY IF MY FAMILY DIDN'T LET ME USE IT TO HELP THEM?!.

I shook my head, dispersing my bitter feeling and anger. It wasn't the time for that.

As far as I remembered, Melissa said that this project was still in its early stages... I turned my gaze to the few weapons that seemed to float above Devas, firing continuously.

"This doesn't seem like something in the early stages..." I muttered as I shot another arrow, almost hitting the goblin with purple robes, preventing his attack once again.

I didn't know how Devas had obtained these weapons; they seemed much more advanced than the projects my sister said her teammate (boyfriend) was planning.

But I wasn't going to complain; I'm glad he has them.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps climbing the watchtower stairs. I didn't turn, not taking my focus off the battle; I knew it was just one of the village people, as the amount of mana I felt going up the stairs was tiny.

"Excuse me, can I ask you something, young man?" A tired, old voice came from behind me.

Without turning, I replied, "I'm busy, go down and stay silent like the other village people." I couldn't help the bitterness and anger leaking into my voice.

I understood why these people were like this; no Terrarian was unfamiliar with the effects of having their mana stolen, consequently, their mana core hurt.

If just using all the mana you had in your core by your own will was something painful that made you feel awful, having your mana forcibly ripped away, damaging your core, was much, much worse.

People who went through that said it was the worst feeling you could have; it was as if your good emotions disappeared, leaving only the bad ones, and an overwhelming urge to give up, do nothing.

The worst case I've ever seen was with my sister, who depleted her mana many times for over a week while healing her teammates and keeping them alive.

This had damaged part of her mana core, making her bedridden for almost three months. Her body had recovered almost a week after that, but her mind was another story.

She seemed depressed, sad, her eyes empty and containing only bad emotions...

... I've never been so worried in my life.

When she recovered, I had asked her how she felt, trying to understand more about it, what it was like to go through something like that.

What she had said was something that gave me chills to this day. Her exact words being:

"It's like you're alone on the calm sea, adrift, just you, the dark ocean, and the full moon shining above,... In complete silence."

This description seemed calm, peaceful, but for some reason just hearing those words gave me chills, even when I remembered the way she said it, a slight shiver ran down my spine.

So yes, I understood why they were like that, depressed, unwilling to fight, but it still didn't stop me from getting angry.

It was their village; they should have the decency to fight, not become depressed, not just stand by watching while Devas fought alone against an army.

I sighed, my anger emotions dispersing.

The anger was not only for them, I knew that, it was directed at me too.

I gripped the bow's wood tightly, my fingers turning white.

I should be there helping him, not here shooting scarce arrows that didn't even hit the damn goblin I was trying to kill!

"I'm afraid I won't be able to do that, young man," the man behind me spoke again. Before I could respond, he continued.

"I won't wallow in misery while two boys the age of my daughter fight to the death." His voice had gained a more serious tone, much of the sad feeling I felt in it disappearing.

"I'm not so weak as to stand by while you're in this state, kid." He pointed at me, or at least I imagine he did.

I admit I wasn't in my best shape; I needed to put a lot of mana, both in the bow and the arrow, to make it reach fast enough before the goblin could attack Devas.

My hands were trembling, I was sweating buckets at this point; I'm sure if I looked at myself in a mirror, I would be whiter than a ghost.

I had emptied my mana many times too, forcefully replenishing it with mana stones; I'm sure that when this is over, if I'm not dead, I'll be bedridden for days...

...I tossed another mana stone into my mouth, ignoring my body screaming in pain, and put another arrow on my bow.

The man then walked to my side; I could see his features from the corner of my vision.

He looked old, not elderly, but close to it.

He had a large white beard; it was unkempt, as if he hadn't cared for it in months. His eyes were dark brown, if I were to guess, he looked like he was between forty and fifty years old by his face.

Only by the face, since the light wrinkles on his face were the opposite of the body the man had.

Even through the rags he wore, I could see his muscles; the guy was malnourished, sure, a shell of what I imagine he was before, but still, I could see the slight contour of his muscles, his body still in shape, even in his malnourished state.

And most importantly, his bald head shone! How was that possible?

I must have let the astonishment show on my face, as the man chuckled lightly while explaining.

"I haven't been in the village for long, kid. I'm a trader; I arrived in the village a little over two months ago. Before I realized it, I was being controlled and having my mana and vitality stolen." He shook his head in disappointment.

"I'm not the same as my youth; I would never have fallen into this trap if I were still at my peak." He sighed, falling silent for a while before continuing.

I listened to the man's words without turning my face, my eyes focused on the battle. When I saw the goblin's purple robes appear, I didn't hesitate to shoot in his direction.

Again, I managed to prevent Grongir from attacking. I could see him need to cancel his magic, some kind of purple sphere he was trying to create in the palm of his hand; I had my suspicions about what that was, but without being able to get close to him, I couldn't confirm.

Unfortunately, again, I couldn't hurt him, let alone kill him; he managed to teleport when he noticed my arrow.

I gritted my teeth in frustration; this was absurd!

I couldn't teleport, but I knew that the amount of mana for that was ridiculously high. If this goblin could do it so many times, he must have an astronomical amount of mana.

And from what I could feel, even at this distance, that was true. The mana that this goblin exuded was enormous, probably as large as a real platinum-ranked mage, which in itself was ridiculous.

If he had that amount of mana, why didn't he destroy us? Why were his attacks so slow? Why did he only attack with one type of magic? Any self-respecting mage has at least a few tricks up their sleeve. Why did he seem like a complete novice?...

My thoughts were interrupted by the man next to me, who had resumed speaking.

"As I was saying before, may I ask you something?" He said calmly. I could see from the corner of my vision that he was standing, waiting patiently.

"What do you want?" I finally inquired of the man.

"Something I can help with. I don't want to stand idly by, but I know that if I were to go there, I would only get in the way." He turned, looking at the battlefield, or more specifically, at Devas.

"I'm not arrogant enough to think I could fight a battle in the same place as an army and a monster..." I could hear the merchant muttering beside me. I disagree with his words.

"Devas is not a monster..." I spoke calmly.

Devas... I hadn't known the guy for a long time, that was true, but I had a sketch of his personality.

The guy was serious, seemed focused on some goal that I didn't know, but I could also see that he was a friendly person, easy to talk to, a good listener, so to speak.

He was also a courageous person; the guy had gone to face an army to defend the village when I was sure that that machine, car, as he called it, could get us out of here.

He chose to fight instead of fleeing and asked me for help. It was the first time someone really asked me for help...

I turned my gaze to the battlefield, to the man who was fighting alone against an army, amid fire, explosions, and smoke.

As much as he looked like a demon while fighting, never standing still, never a second without attacking, always adapting to the battlefield, always evolving...

...A man who chose to fight when he could flee, chose to protect people when he could just protect himself, was not a monster.

"Devas is a hero, there is no better word for it." I finished my thoughts, saying out loud to the man.

"Can you shoot with a bow?" I asked the man after a few seconds of hesitation; if he wanted to help, I would give him the opportunity.

I touched the ring on my right hand, on my ring finger, twice in a row, making one of my reserve bows appear on the ground next to me.

He didn't hesitate to pick up the bow and string it, testing the weapon. He did this for a few seconds before smiling and nodding.

"Kid, even before you existed in your father's sack, I was already shooting with a bow." He chuckled lightly before picking up one of the arrows and aiming, pulling the bowstring quickly.

I could see that he started sweating, his arms tense as he pulled the string, his face furrowed in concentration, his little mana being poured into the bow and arrow, making the Mystic Symbols shine, then he released the string.

I could briefly follow the trajectory of the arrow; it flew with a curved arc until it hit the head of one of the goblin archers at the back of the army.

I whistled lightly in appreciation. The guy was good... but I was better.

"Great bow. By the way, I forgot to introduce myself." The man took one of the mana stones from my supply box without even asking and put it in his mouth.

"I'm Gilbert, just a trader trying to make a living before getting caught in this shitty trap." He smiled and started shooting again, one arrow at a time, with an interval between them, his body trembling with effort, but his eyes focused.

"Dylan, pleasure." I responded briefly, turning my gaze back to the battlefield. "Focus on shooting the normal goblins; leave the one with purple robes to me." Devas and Gringor seemed to have some kind of personal feud for some reason, I would be a lousy team player if I didn't help the team leader.

The man nodded in agreement before hesitating and asking.

"The goblin in purple robes, I saw that he can teleport, any specific reason why he hasn't come to you and killed you yet?" He pointed to the battlefield, realizing that I was the one preventing the goblin from moving freely.

I had thought about that too, even set up some protections in case he tried something, not that they would be of much use against his absurd magic, but still, it didn't hurt to try.

After a while, I realized why he hadn't come to me yet and attacked me; it was quite simple, to be honest, and one of the reasons that made me doubt if this power he used was really his.

I smiled and shot another arrow, missing Gringor when he teleported, but preventing him from attacking Devas from behind.

"He doesn't have the courage." I responded briefly before continuing.

"His teleportation has a cooldown; if he teleports to any location near me, he dies by my arrows before that cooldown even ends."

His teleportation was also short-range; he couldn't teleport more than fifty meters from what I could see.

I looked in the direction where the army had come from. There must be some kind of teleportation matrix there; I can only imagine the amount of mana it took to bring over a thousand goblins here...

The man waved, shooting again before asking again after a few seconds.

"What is this cooldown time? I'm not very versed in magic; I apologize if this is something simple." He said humbly. I'll admit, the guy was friendly; it wouldn't surprise me if he was a great merchant before getting caught in this trap.

"It's nothing, admitting that you don't know something is the first step to learning." I said, without realizing it, changing my tone to my lecture tone.

"As for the cooldown time, it is..."

[...]

POV: Devas Asura.

"...FIVE SECONDS, DAMN IT! LEAVE ME ALONE! JUST FIVE SECONDS!"

I shouted as I twisted my body to the side, avoiding another blow that came from below, while simultaneously firing with two pistols, one in each hand, at the goblins in front of me.

My sword had broken some time ago, its blade not withstanding the prolonged battle. I was forced to improvise, switching weapons to stay alive.

One-handed axes, daggers, knives, katanas... although the latter hadn't been very useful.

I was sure it was my fault; I was using the sword incorrectly, but it breaking or bending, the metal curving after just one strike, had been, at the very least, unsettling.

Not just melee weapons, firearms as well. After I fell from the container, it had been absolute chaos; I had no time to think, let alone concentrate on keeping the weapons functioning above me.

The number of weapons I could use had dwindled, leaving just over five. So, I started using them myself, firing the shots with my own hands.

I rolled forward, dispersing the two pistols, stashing them in the inventory. Before even getting up, I had Ithaca in hand, firing at the goblin that had attacked me from behind.

I breathed heavily as I drank another potion.

After consuming the contents of the vial, I threw the empty glass at the face of a small goblin, making him scream as glass shards entered his eyes.

He didn't scream for long since less than a second later, his head was rolling, courtesy of me and my unrelinquishing copper sword.

I had died at this point, I was sure of it.

Sure, my body was still alive, I was still alive, but only thanks to the potions I was taking to stay on my feet.

After falling from the container, the number of wounds on my body began to increase every minute, dagger cuts, arrows passing through my "barrier," sword slashes...

My armor, by this point, was in tatters. I didn't have time to stand still; I needed at least a second to change my armor, a second I didn't have.

I also found out what the goblin poison did; it was less bad than I thought, to be honest.

After a few more cuts and arrows, the rest of the Purification Powder in my system had run out, and the poison began to take effect.

It was a paralyzing poison. That made sense; after all, the goblins wanted to use the Terrarians as batteries, not kill them. Of course, those around me wanted to kill me, but the point still stood.

My muscles had started to lock slightly, my movements becoming slower, not by much, but still, I could feel the difference. It wasn't something really serious, but I had gained one or two more wounds because of it.

I didn't know if it was because my body had adapted to the poison, thanks to the Purification Powder and the potions, or the poison wasn't very effective on me since I was human, but I wouldn't complain.

I stashed my copper sword in the inventory and started moving again, ignoring my fatigue, both mental and physical. As much as the potions restored my energy, I was spending more than the potions could recover.

I could feel the burning throughout my body (maybe it was the poison, it could also be the heat from the flames after I set the battlefield on fire), my muscles screaming in pain and asking for rest, but I couldn't stand still.

I rolled on the ground, dodging a sword that almost decapitated me. I ignored the unpleasant feeling of rolling with blood-soaked armor and quickly got up. I was already soaked in red liquid anyway.

For those watching, I probably looked like a drunkard while fighting, maybe something worse, especially since I must look horrible.

I felt ashamed to think about what Red and her teammates were thinking of me right now. It must be quite embarrassing for students from a battle academy to see me fight so pathetically.

Jiraiya and Fukasaku too, since both of them were taijutsu masters. Watching me fight like this must give both of them the shivers. I probably looked like a genin fresh out of the academy or something worse.

I grabbed the neck of the smaller goblin that had climbed on my back and squeezed, feeling the bones break in my hand. I took advantage and threw it in the direction of another smaller goblin, making both of them collide in the air and fly away.

I took advantage of the space that gave me to pull out the only halberd I had stored in the inventory before resuming my run. The weapon helped me keep the goblins at a distance.

I had found this thing in what I like to call the "otaku den." Since it was in the basement of a house, hanging on the wall, and around it were many manga, books, and posters.

I didn't know who the guy or girl was, as the house was empty, but he or she was a damn maniac, a fan of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

How did I know that? He literally had dozens of Romance books on the shelf, manga, comics, action figures, everything!

There was even a damn real replica of Lu Bu's halberd. Or at least, I thought it was his; I had never read a word from that novel in my life. The little I knew came from games or anime that used that theme.

This halberd here could very well be a replica of anyone's weapon, for all I cared at the moment. The only thing that mattered was that it was real, not just decoration.

The handle and the "head" of the weapon were made of steel, adorned with red fabric near the tip and several engravings on the handle.

It was beautiful, I won't lie; the weapon looked like a work of art, but it was damn heavy.

I was sure that a normal human wouldn't be able to use this thing in a real battle.

Because it was made entirely of steel, it must have weighed about four hundred kilograms. Even for me, who was "cheating" to have the strength I had, it was still difficult to use.

And by "use," I mean using it like a common spear. I didn't know if there was another way to use a halberd; I was almost certain there was, but I wouldn't risk fooling around in the middle of a battlefield.

I spun the halberd with both hands, hitting the head of a smaller goblin; immediately after, I bent my body, dodging one of the few larger goblins left that tried to cut me from behind.

I released my right hand from the halberd and took Ithaca from the inventory, shooting the goblin in the chest, making it fly away.

I shook my head, trying to wipe off as much sweat and blood as I could that ran into my eye, limiting my vision. Before I could react, a small goblin grabbed, its dagger going towards my neck.

I blame mental and physical exhaustion, my lack of skill with the halberd, and, finally, my lack of vision due to the blood in my eyes. Because instead of blocking his dagger with the halberd, or blocking it using the VoidBag, putting something in front of the attack, I tried to put his dagger in the inventory.

Which, frankly, had worked before, but this time, something different happened. The moment I commanded the VoidBag to "pull" the dagger into the inventory, I felt something preventing me.

At the same time, I could see the goblin grimacing in pain. It lasted only a moment before the dagger ended up in my inventory, but that moment had almost cost too much.

"Squelch."

Before the dagger went into the inventory, the goblin had managed to finish his attack, cutting my neck.

He had missed; whatever had happened before made him lose focus, his pain causing his blow to be deflected to the side, not beheading me, but managing to cut about a third of my neck, making blood spray through the cut.

My head tilted to the side briefly before I forced the neck muscles, tensing them, keeping my head straight.

The adrenaline in my body, already high, almost to the point of exploding, seemed to triple. I "pulled" all the firearms to me, creating a circle around my body and firing continuously, preventing the goblins from getting close to me.

At the same time, I pulled a potion from the inventory and placed it on my lips, drinking it quickly. Right after, I didn't wait to see the results and poured the contents of another potion on the wound that was healing.

That had been close... Very, very close.

I took a deep breath when my neck returned to being whole; right after, I coughed blood, clearing my airways.

DAMN!

I could feel my heart beating in my chest, even with all the noise around me, I could hear it clearly.

I almost died! I almost died! I almost died!... I... ALMOST... DIED!.

Fighting knowing that you can die is one thing, being wounded, hurt, another, having your head almost cut off?...

My vision began to narrow, my heart racing even faster. And my breathing started to get difficult, the air seeming not to reach my lungs, the sounds of gunfire becoming distant.

I was in shock, on the verge of a panic attack.

Realizing that I was heading to an unpleasant place, I did the best thing I could think of. I bit my tongue hard.

It was instantaneous; the pain woke up my body, the smell of blood in the air coming back into my nostrils, the air becoming breathable again.

I took a deep breath, scared as I looked around, realizing that I was still on the battlefield, my weapons on the ground due to my lack of concentration.

FUCK! I ALMOST DIED!.

I snarled, discarding all the firearms back into the inventory, holding my halberd with both hands, and I ran, practically like an animal towards the remaining goblins in front of me.

I was prevented from decimating them halfway through, veering off when I felt a large amount of mana coming my way. And an absurd presence emerged meters to my right, in the air.

I didn't hesitate to jump backward, a purple energy ball briefly flying where I was before exploding on the ground a few meters away, the explosion not nearly as strong as the first one he had thrown at me.

Only now did I notice it was raining when I turned, looking at the goblin floating in the sky, as if sustained by invisible ropes, the rain wetting his purple cloak fluttering in the wind.

I turned, looking at Grongir floating in the air. The goblin seemed apoplectic, his face twisted in a grimace of anger, fury, disgust, and sadness.

For the first time, I managed to lay eyes on this goblin and see what he looked like.

He was one of the small goblins, his stature similar to those wielding daggers and bows.

He wore flowing purple robes, swaying with the wind as he floated in the air, as if suspended by invisible ropes. I quickly realized, even amid the fog of anger from my near-death experience, that his robe had many Mystical Symbols.

My attention was drawn to two things on the goblin, first, the orb he carried around his neck like a necklace, suspended by small golden chains.

The orb was a shade of purple, about the size of a plum. It looked like some kind of bead, not made of glass, but rather condensed energy...

Looking now, I was sure that the absurd presence he had came from that thing; it was as if that orb had a life of its own, pulsating, exuding mana and vitality.

...Now I knew where the stolen mana and vitality from the village people had gone.

And the second thing...

"You had to be bald, didn't you?" I let my thoughts out as I looked at the goblin's green bald head.

All the other goblins I had seen either wore helmets or had hair; Grongir was the only bald one.

Why were they always the bald ones?

This seemed to only make the goblin even more irritated.

"I will kill you, Terrarian, slowly," the goblin growled, his voice low but echoing across the battlefield. "Then I will take my time, slowly torturing that damn archer who prevented me from saving my comrades."

I blinked slowly. What was he talking about? What did Dylan have to do with this?

"Save your comrades?" I asked, more to myself than to the goblin, as I looked around, for the first time realizing the state of the battlefield.

I was surrounded, as always, ever since I was thrown into the damn army, I had always been surrounded.

But this time, the goblins kept their distance, encircling me from afar, not approaching.

It felt like I was an animal in a zoo; the goblins didn't come within fifty meters, forming a circle around me, with the army around me.

They hadn't attacked me yet, probably waiting for Gringor's orders?

I took a deep breath, calming myself momentarily, and swapped my armor, sending the one I was wearing along with the chainmail to the inventory.

If they weren't going to attack me, I'll take the opportunity to change my equipment, since this one is kind of in pieces.

When my armors went into the inventory, I felt unprotected, but at the same time lighter, less stifled.

The damn armor was hot, especially as I was constantly moving and covered in blood; I felt as bad as I probably looked. Shitty.

I briefly looked at my body and clothes.

I was sure my clothes this morning were a white t-shirt and gray sweatpants, but now they had changed color,

Both were black, or rather, a dark red that might as well be black.

I didn't need to be a genius to figure out why; after all, my skin and hair were just a little better. Blood covered my body completely; the rain couldn't wash away such a large amount of blood in such a short time.

I didn't change my clothes, even though they were also in a precarious state; being naked in front of the army I had just fought would be in bad taste at the very least.

I also had a bit of shame about it, I won't lie, but that was the least important reason here.

Less than a second later, I was wearing another armor, a clean and whole one this time, but I didn't think it would stay that way for long.

I briefly looked at the minimap.

Completely surrounded, but the number of goblins had considerably decreased; I would guess there were about five hundred left, maybe less or more, I wasn't sure, but it shouldn't be far from that number.

I sighed, letting the warm air out of my body briefly before turning my gaze to the goblin flying above the army.

"So... Dylan stopped you from attacking me earlier, why didn't you retaliate?" I said slowly, holding the halberd by the shaft, resting it on my shoulder.

I glanced at the minimap for a moment. Dylan was still alive, the green dot representing him still in the tower, next to a yellow dot.

Something must have happened for Dylan to stop covering me. If I were to guess, based on what he had told me before, he uses mana to enhance his bow and arrows, so he must have run out of mana.

Well... at least half of the army had already left, but now I was truly alone.

And tired too, despite the potions restoring energy, I was spending much more than they replenished. I could feel my body asking for a break, my muscles trembling slightly from their prolonged use...

...Or it could be the poison in my veins, you never know.

Back to Gringor. Why hadn't the goblin killed Dylan? He must have realized that the guide was exhausted, or at least, unable to shoot arrows as before. Why didn't he take the opportunity to finish him off?

Unless... He mentioned "comrades" before, didn't he?

"You care about the army..." I said aloud, my thoughts leaking. That's why he hadn't gone after Dylan at that moment; he didn't want to leave me alone with the army.

Even though he hadn't attacked me so far, just his presence teleporting across the battlefield had made me tense. The absurd amount of mana he—the orb—had left me on high alert.

He knew that, and he knew that the moment he left, I could kill even more of his "comrades" as he said.

"How cute, goblins really stick together..." I couldn't help but comment, sarcasm dripping from my voice.

Gringor didn't seem to like that, judging by how he barely restrained himself from attacking me. The only reason he hadn't done it yet was probably the goblins around me.

Having only destructive attacks limits you in a group fight, right? Friendly fire was a pain in real life...

"You speak eloquently for a genocidal, Terrarian. How does it feel to have killed so many of my kind? So many parents, brothers, and children?" The goblin sorcerer finally said, his angry voice echoing across the battlefield, even the rain unable to drown out the sound.

I blinked slowly, the meaning of the words sinking into my tired brain.

"You must be kidding me, right? Is this a joke?" I asked the goblin.

It couldn't be that he really said that; I must be more tired than I thought if I started hallucinating a hypocritical moralistic goblin.

"Do you think I'm joking, Terrarian?!" He shouted, seeming even more irritated with me. "You kill my men like a butcher and think you have the right to make jokes? How dare you—"

I cut him off, shooting him with the rifle I held in my right hand, forcing him to teleport away, dodging the shot.

I could see the goblins tense up with my attack, but none of them moved, just watching me, probably awaiting orders.

One... I mentally counted as the goblin appeared from his teleport.

"How dare you, you fucking hypocritical creature!" I shouted back at the goblin. "I'm not the damn bastard who enslaved a village to use them as a battery."

I growled, reloading the rifle, putting the cartridge directly into the gun, using the inventory.

"Haven't you said you killed children?! BABIES?!" I shot again, a good part of my anger being real but also feigned.

I needed to stay calm; I knew his teleportation had some kind of time restriction. I just needed to know how much time.

Unlike before, he didn't dodge the shot with a teleport, but flew upwards, making the bullet miss by inches.

Two...

Gringor chuckled, lightly, his sarcastic laughter as if I had told a really funny but inappropriate joke.

"There's a difference between those things, Terrarian." He floated slightly, pointing to the army. "You killed brothers, parents, children, good people who only want the best for their kind... As for me? I just put the cattle in their proper place."

He smiled slightly, his eyes staring at me as he floated.

"As for the little Terrarians." He hesitated briefly, his smile fading momentarily before growing even more significant, "What does it matter if I kill a rabbit or two? If, in the end, they're just rabbits?"

Three...

I looked in disbelief, even forgetting to shoot him at the three-second mark. This guy... did he really think that, right? Did he genuinely believe that I was the wrong one here?

"You damn fucking maniac..." I muttered to myself. It was like ants, wasn't it?

I didn't mind killing an ant; after all, they were ants. It was the same thing for him; he didn't mind killing Terrarians because, in the end, they were Terrarians, not goblins.

But he had lied about something; I could feel it, see it on his face. I just didn't know what he had hidden, but I knew he had concealed something.

Four... I shot him again, as before, he flew to the side without teleporting. At least five seconds then... I could work with that.

This time, unlike before, my shot grazed him, tearing off a good part of his right ear.

Contrary to what I expected, he only grunted slightly in pain but didn't react much more.

And something frankly scary happened. I say scary because my situation had just worsened.

The purple orb on his necklace glowed slightly, red smoke emanating from the orb and going to his ear... regenerating it in a matter of moments...

...Damn, of course, he could use the vitality he had stolen too, why not? After all, he could use mana...

This seemed to be enough for Gringor; without hesitation, he pointed at me with his right hand, making small purple orbs appear on his fingers.

They were tiny, the size of beans, but I felt that if this touched me, it would hurt.

"Attack."

He said in a calm voice, but the entire army seemed to hear.

The goblins hesitated for just a moment before starting to run in my direction again, restarting the battle.

At the same time, the small attacks Gringor had prepared were launched in my direction.

"Second round then..."

I murmured as I retreated, briefly dodging the attacks, jumping backward, making them hit the grass below me.