"Kenji...!" My ankles were seized. "Thank you for coming to save me! You're my hero!"
"A-Ah… It's alright." I slowly pat him on the shoulder as I tried to squirm away. "I'm sure you would have done the same for me…"
Tael sat on his knees as he cried on me. Ever since we got him down from the cooking stick he has clutched to me like a child to their mother. I really don't want to get my clothes covered in snot, so I'm trying to stay as far away from him as possible, but he's pretty persistent.
"H-Hey, stand still!" Erana grumbled. "It's hard to heal someone that keeps moving!"
While Tael is alright, his skin is lightly burned from being slowly cooked over a fire. He needs healing. If we had gotten to him an hour later, then this would be far worse. Despite our situation, I need something answered.
I leaned down to the crying mess that was clutching to my feet. "How did you get captured in the first place, Tael? I didn't even hear you struggle."
"Oh." He immediately released me and stopped crying. "I fell asleep. They must have dragged me off while I was asleep."
"HUH?"
Tael began to shudder as he backed away from me. I began to walk towards this half-elf while rounding my shoulder. I went through all of this because this bastard fell asleep? I ought to pummel him.
"You did what now?" I said in as intimidating of a voice as I could muster. I feel like I'm about to burst in frustration.
"I-I-I'm sorry, Kenji-sama!" Tael got onto his hands and knees as he crouched down into a dogeza. "I was just so tired!"
As much as I want to hit him, it's hard to stay angry when he's like this.
I sighed and turned away. "This is why I told you to conserve your energy, you idiot."
"Yeah well, I couldn't help it!" He shuffled to his feet. "I was just so tired! You have that 'Hikikomori' class anyway! You should have taken the first watch! Also the food you cooked made me sleepy! This is your fault that it happened!"
"D-Don't bring up that class!" I turned around and darted my eyes between the girls. They seemed confused.
"Um… Are we interrupting something, Kenji-san?" Erana tilted her head as she continued to heal Tael.
Kany stepped up to Erana and poked her in the side. "Leave them to it, Erana. This is their problem."
Erana shrugged. "I see…"
Tael's skin slowly returned to its normal color. The fire in the room began to wane as time passed.
"Hey Kenji, who are these people anyway?" Tael looked at the girls.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Tael-san." Erana smiled and bowed a little. "My name is Erana. I am a druid. I was captured by goblins much like you were when Kenji-san came to my rescue. Him and I worked together to come save you."
Kany shrugged and leaned against a stalagmite. "I'm Kany. I'm a rogue. Same story as Erana."
"Woah..." Tael's mouth was agape. "Kenji, you went all heroic! That's super cool! It's like a story from one of my books!"
I can't help but blush at the sincere praise I am receiving. Honestly, this entire endeavor has been a series of lucky… and unlucky moments. The only reason I was even able to get this far is because of the help from Erana and Kany, not to mention the torch technique.
Erana's magic circle dissipated as she wiped her brow. "Phew... That's all I can do for now, Tael-san. I am out of mana, so I can't do more. I'm sorry."
"Nah it's fine!" He hopped up and down. "I'm pretty much back to one hundred percent, so I won't complain."
As a response, Erana gave a light smile and stood up proudly.
"Alright. I've had enough of this place. Let's get out of here." I turned towards the way we came.
"You said it, Onii-san." Kany got up from the rock.
THUMP.
The cave lightly shook. Dust fell from the ceiling to the floor. Whatever just made that noise is definitely bigger than a goblin.
THUMP… THUMP… THUMP…
The rhythmic noise continued.
"Are those… footsteps?" Tael looked around as he asked.
"I'm not sure what they are, but I doubt they're anything good." I muttered while drawing my sword once more.
As a response to my preparation, everyone else assumed their combat stances as well. The noise is coming from a single pathway and is getting louder by the second.
"Gruuuu…" A deep, monstrous noise came from the pathway the sounds were coming from.
From the darkness, a tall, muscular creature emerged.
"Oh… no…" Erana muttered.
"W-What is that?" I quickly darted my eyes from person to person.
This creature is wearing leather armor like I am. From the looks of it, they're probably around two meters tall, if not a bit bigger. Though this creature doesn't have weapons in its hands, that only makes me more nervous. The creature looks similar to the goblins I have faced, but it is taller and generally more developed than any of the goblins I have previously seen. Its skin is not green, but brown and it has fur on its arms and legs, similar to a monkey. Its mouth has visible tusks that protrude from the bottom jaw. Behind it, the goblin that escaped was standing with what appeared to be a smile on its face.
"That's a… Hobgoblin..." Tael answered.
"What's a 'hobgoblin?' If it's just a goblin then we should be able to take it out!" I slowly shifted downwards in preparation to strike.
"No… Hobgoblins spawn only when goblins have found a permanent home." Tael began shuffling backwards. "Unlike regular goblins, Hobgoblins are strong and smart. Hobgoblins are known to lead tribes of goblins in battles over territory. This is… This is really bad, Kenji."
At those words, I could feel a cold sweat begin to come out of my body. If this thing is truly as strong as Tael is saying it is, then we have no chance against it.
As if in response to my worries, Erana tapped my shoulder. "Kenji-san, don't worry. Kany used her hide skill before the hobgoblin emerged. She'll get him!"
"Hm?" The hobgoblin turned its head to its right. I felt a chill down my spine as I watched its next action.
"Grah!" The hobgoblin shouted as it kicked.
"Bweh!" Kany yelped. Her body reappeared as the foot of the monster made contact with her. It doesn't look like Kany had planned to be attacked as she rolled and tumbled on the ground from the blow. Kany finally stopped when she collided with the wall, laying down limply.
"K-KANY!" Erana yelled. She tried to run towards her friend, but Tael and I stopped her.
"Eheheh…" The hobgoblin chortled.
The beast began to walk over to the now unconscious Kany. It seems as if the hobgoblin plans to finish her off.
Without thinking, I began to run towards the enemy.
Why did I begin to run? Is it some kindness that I have? A selfless nature to save others that need help? Perhaps it was because I couldn't stand to watch what would happen next. It's probably the same part of me that pushed me into this cave in the first place. Maybe it's because I had instinctually judged this as my only option.
"Raaah!" I shouted as I swung my sword down at the hobgoblin.
I received a taste of my own medicine as the hobgoblin deftly sidestepped my swing. I could feel reality moving in slow motion as I descended towards my failed attack.
Without saying a word, the hobgoblin raised its knee upwards to my chest quickly. I could feel the inversion of G-forces apply to my body as I raised off of the ground. The air in my lungs was forcibly pushed out from this attack. I didn't have any time to sputter out in pain, however, as the hobgoblin dropped its knee as quickly as it had raised it and brought down its arms as I was slammed into the ground.
Pain. Everything in my body hurts. The only reason I am not dead yet is probably thanks to the shock absorption of the leather cuirass. Despite this, breathing is still hard to do. I can barely feel my arms or legs. I think I've started to cough up blood. Does that mean I have internal organ damage? That's not good…
"KENJI!" Tael screamed.
"KENJI-SAN!" Erana joined him. It's good to know that I can still hear things.
The hobgoblin paid neither Tael nor Erana any mind. Instead, it elected to crouch down and pick up my sword.
"Ehehehe!" The hobgoblin laughed as it nimbly swung my weapon around a few times. It's obvious that this creature is far more skilled than I am.
The hobgoblin raised my sword and prepared to bring it down into my back. I am about to die.
"FIREBOLT!" Tael yelled out.
From his hands, a magic circle appeared and a streak of flame spewed out towards the hobgoblin. The streak of flame was too fast for the hobgoblin to dodge, so it made contact.
"Grah!" The hobgoblin shouted out in pain. A small scorch mark appeared where it had been hit. Though the bolt didn't manage to penetrate the hobgoblin, the attack still definitely caused it pain.
"I won't let you hurt my first friend!" Tael shouted. Leave him alone!"
Enraged, the hobgoblin began to walk towards Tael instead.
I need to move. Tael can't fight something like this, Kany's down, Erana is useless in a fight. I'm the only one that can save them. I can't let this monster hurt them!
Slowly, driven by only my adrenaline and willpower, I began to stand up. It hurts so much that I'm crying, but I can't worry about that right now. I need to stop the hobgoblin.
Once I had gotten to my feet, I drew my dagger and began stumbling forwards. My feet are sloppy as I can hear the noise of my footsteps scuffing against the ground with each movement.
I raised my dagger to attack the hobgoblin while its back was turned, but fell to my knee in weakness instead.
"Ahh!" I shouted out in pain.
The hobgoblin seemed to notice that I was about to attack it as it quickly turned and brought the broadsword down at me.
Time stopped. I think I've heard of this before, when your life flashes before your eyes. The movement of the hobgoblin seemed like it was a mere suggestion.
This sucks. I just made friends in this world and began to adventure. I spent seven months preparing for this only to have it end now. Not only that, but I only just turned eighteen! I don't want to die just yet, I still have so much left to experience...
I don't want to die…
I don't want to die.
I don't want to die!
I could feel both my hands grab the hilt of my dagger as I prepared to block the incoming attack. I can't dodge and I can't counter. This is all I can do. I braced myself for impact.
"RAAAA!" The hobgoblin shouted as it swung down at me.
The swing completed. I could see its arms go all the way towards the ground. I must have just died.
The sound of metal colliding with the ground brought me back to my senses. I could not believe my eyes.
The broadsword had broken when it collided with my dagger. The words of a certain old woman fluttered through my mind.
"Like you, it does not appear as anything special just yet, but it has the potential to cut through even steel!"
Instinct. That was what drove me to do what I did next. I didn't suddenly get a powerup, or awaken my true potential, or do something a fantasy character would do. I simply responded instinctually to the opportunity I was given.
I lurched my body up and drove the adamantite dagger as deeply into the hobgoblins skull as hard as I could, directly through its right eye.
"RAAAAAH!" I shouted. I twisted and spun the dagger around inside of the hobgoblin's skull as much as possible.
I could feel the hobgoblin spasming from the damage I just dealt it. This was lethal.
The dead body of the hobgoblin fell to the floor as I stood above it. A moment of absolute silence followed as everyone was dumbfounded by what they just witnessed.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" I screamed to the sky. I don't know why I did it. Maybe it was to release my anxiety, or as a declaration of victory.
The goblin that had been watching from the way the hobgoblin came ran away in fear.