"Jack… Jack… KID!"
Rydel's calls eventually got Jack to look up, who was surprised by what he saw.
"Does this not hurt?" asked Maynard, who had been fiddling with the arrow in Jack's arm while Jack was in a daze.
"Ow!" yelled Jack, now aware of Maynard's antics.
"Good," said Rydel. The party captain retrieved some bandages and a bottle of what looked like medieval vodka. "Now that we know you're still with us, don't move."
Without waiting for Jack's reply, Maynard retrieved a small wakizashi and used it with scalpel-like precision to remove the arrow cleanly from Jack's bicep. Rydel then poured the alcohol over the wound, letting Jack grind his teeth in pain. After that Rydel bandaged it up nice and tight.
"You're welcome." Maynard smiled and gave Jack's bicep a friendly pat.
Wincing in pain Jack looked at the two makeshift medics and tried to remain calm. "What now captain? Are we going after Slivia?"
Rydel went silent again; indecision riddled his face.
"Let's hurry to that goblin city," interjected Maynard. "I'm sure that's the root of all this, and more than likely that's where we'll find that cleric girl."
Jack replied, "But if we don't hurry—"
"Do you know where they went kid?" Rydel subtly asked.
"Umm… no, I don't." The enthusiasm in Jack's voice lessened as he confessed.
"Me neither, so that's out of the question. I agree with Maynard, I think it's best to hurry to the goblin city. If there are any survivors, that's where we'll find them along with Slivia. Remember, there wasn't anywhere to keep prisoners in the outposts," stated Rydel, sounding more certain of his decision the longer he talked about it.
A hand reached out to help Jack up to his feet. Jack accepted Brunar's help. "Thanks."
"I'm sorry for my inability to help her. Don't worry too much, we'll get her back." Brunar's encouraging words were accompanied by a genuine sincerity in his eyes.
"Yeah, we will," said Jack. He had gone from having a near party death to a clean getaway and then lost the same party member in the end.
Jack always had a front up as an adventurer, as Jack_J the achievement junkie, the most accomplished ancient hero. But here among his party, he was the weakest member with the least amount of practical experience.
He was also the only one to never experience losing a party member or anyone close to him for that matter. Back when it was just a game, Jack had never lost any immediate family and never even attended a funeral. This was the first time anyone near him had faced a serious threat to their lives, let alone the girl that he was interested in and in such a cruel manner.
"Hey, cheer up. Ya know we'll get her back, so why hold yourself back with worry?" reminded Maynard as he wiped his katanas clean and prepared to set out.
Jack inhaled deeply and held it for a few seconds before releasing air along with some of his tension.
"Are we ready?" Rydel asked the party.
No one said anything as they stood up and nodded lightly. Trusting their captain's judgment and sense of direction better than their own, everyone tied themselves together and left silently.
Travelling in the quiet blackness the party encountered two more outposts and ambushed them both. Their actions showed a new level of ferocity, especially Jack's as he released his pent-up anger through his arrows and the occasional sword swing.
They found nothing new within the outposts, so the party moved on. Nothing would stop them from reaching the capital as quickly as possible.
Soon something started to move within Jack's cloak pocket. A tired fox pup poked its head out and patiently examined its surroundings. Aware that someone was missing, Bowser asked, 'Where Sliv?'
Hearing Bower's thoughts, Jack glanced down and was surprised he hadn't noticed the now awake fox. 'The goblins took her away.'
Sensing the depression in Jack's heart, Bowser climbed back up on to Jack's shoulder and licked Jack's cheek. 'Sliv gone or dead?'
'Gone, but we need to hurry. The sooner we get to the goblin city the better.'
Bowser sniffed the air around him and caught the scent of blood. Following the smell, Bower noticed the bandages on Jack's arm. 'Jack hurt?'
'I'll be fine, I've got health regeneration at lv. 2 now. Give it some time and it'll be as good as new.'
'Okay,' Bowser nodded reluctantly. 'Goblins do this? What happen while Bowser sleep?'
With nothing else to do, Jack relayed all the events thus far, from finding the hero tomb till escaping the Nightmare Lilies and Slivia being captured.
After hearing it all, Bowser wore a small frown on his small face. 'Dumb goblins. I kill them.'
Amused by Bowser's childish taunt, Jack chuckled to himself. Feeling a little more light-hearted and relaxed, Jack noticed something about Bowser. He wasn't completely sure, but he wondered if Bowser had grown because he felt heavier and larger than before while staying perched on Jack's shoulders.
'Did you grow in your sleep?'
'Hmm?' Bowser blinked and looked himself over. 'Not sleep, from E-X-P' The fox pup struggled to pronounce EXP.
'What?'
'Bowser grow with E-X-P. All foxes do,' explained Bowser.
Jack started to think back to the game. Most creatures that were able to be pets would only come at their set age and that would never change. He had never heard of a beast that would age with EXP in place of time.
Taking Bowser's word for it, Jack shelved that concept within his brain so he could revisit at a later time.
Out of nowhere, Bowser's ears pricked up and he started sniffing the air. 'Goblin.'
'What?'
'Goblin follows us.'
Dumbfounded by Bowser's announcement, Jack takes a moment to think it over. If there was a goblin following them that was untraceable, who knew how long they had been followed? That would also explain the sudden ambush the moment they left the dark pit filled with Nightmare Lilies.
'Are you sure?'
'Yup.'
'Where?'
Bowser turned to face the hidden threat. 'Behind on right.'
Thinking about how he should go about this, Jack called out to Rydel and Maynard, 'Hey, we've got a follower.'
'What? That's impossible, how do you know?' asked Rydel.
'Bowser just told me. It's behind us on the right side,' explained Jack.
Peeking back, Rydel focused in on that area but couldn't find anything. Wanting to have faith in Jack, he activated his "True aim" skill and went wide-eyed upon discovering something. It didn't appear to have a completely decipherable form, but there was something there.
Suddenly, Rydel stopped the party and remained completely still. The hunter took a quick breath as he immediately retrieved his bow with two arrows nocked and ready. Before anyone could do or say anything, both arrows were hurled through the air towards an invisible target.
Brunar and Troni thought Rydel had gone crazy, but they were proved wrong when they heard pained grows following the twang of Rydel's bowstring.
With the audible clues giving away the hidden enemy's location, Maynard acted next with his "Sudden death." He appeared beside the difficult to track enemy, but how could Maynard miss a screaming target that was too busy to dodge or counter his surprise attack?
The party heard a slashing sound in the air and the trickle of blood hit the floor. When Maynard activated his kari crystal, they got a good look at the now visible spy.
It was a cave goblin with black, ashy skin and beady red eyes. It was half the size of a human but was stout and musclebound with a dirty, leather loincloth around its waist. There didn't seem to be anything special about it other than a bracer on its forearm. It was lv. 25, but there was no way for it to survive the carefully aimed attacks of Rydel and Maynard.
Rydel's arrows pierced its heart and throat while Maynard severed its spinal cord from behind. The goblin was too lax after successfully following and ambushing the party, so it considered being discovered an impossibility.
"So this is a cave goblin? They look a lot stranger than forest goblins," said Brunar.
"That's one ugly pestro," said Troni.
Jack laughed as Troni cursed using the name of Pestro, a demon god known to win fights from his natural stench and looks alone. Wanting a closer look at the strange bracer, Jack removed it to inspect the bracer with the system and received two notifications. Opening the first one, Jack read:
[Resplendent bracer: lv. 10, rare, blessed]
[A bracer crafted from high-quality steel that has received Sterfen's blessing. Grants the user the ability to become invisible. It can only be seen through by certain skills and abilities that target the user specifically. Invisibility is rendered useless if the user is in combat or has a weapon equipped.]
Jack's eyes turned green with greed as he immediately equipped it in front of the entire party.
"Hey, what is that?" asked Brunar. He wanted to double-check if it was a good fit for his fighting style, though Brunar's tone wasn't too harsh like it was in the hidden tomb.
Saying nothing, Jack simply winked and vanished from everyone's sight to their surprise.