"I've never met a janissary before," Seth said.
The young man looked enthusiastic when he met Alain, not because of the same activity, but because of the class the young man had. I'm also happy, although I can't deny I'm quite wary of the two of them.
They shook hands and talked to each other starting with their name and country of origin, until they arrived. Alain arrived later than me; he had been in this world since three days ago. I looked at his weapon, a wooden bow with thin threads that might break if used too much.
Characteristic of an archer, they put arrows on their backs by placing them in an oval-shaped basket made of wicker. At first glance, Alain's appearance is completely different from other Adamas I've met; very simple.
Suddenly an alert message popped in front of my face, saying 'Seth sent a friend invitation'. I think he has also sent the same to Alain without a doubt.
By becoming his friend, perhaps I can guide them from falling into the Three Knights Alliance. I did it for their safety.
Immediately I pressed the agreed menu and saw a notification appear automatically in response to the answer in the earlier alert message.
"Even though we are three novice adventurers, if we are together, then no matter how difficult the problem is, it can be solved." Seth was excited, clenching his fists, ignoring his sweaty body. I nod with a smile, and so does Alain.
"Do you guys plan to go to a big city?" Alain asked.
"I didn't plan to go there yet; how about you, Arthur?" Seth asked, turning his face to look at me with seriousness.
"I'm the same as you. The most important thing for me right now is to train and be strong," I replied firmly.
"Everyone should be too. They want to be strong in order to get the prestigious position they want," said Seth.
While we were talking about the future, a loud voice interrupted our conversation. The sound came from the bushes as high as 1.5 meters. The sound appeared accompanied by a dynamic bush movement as if someone was trapped inside.
"What's that? Could it be a hedgehog?" Alain asked, taking his arrow and starting to aim at the bushes.
"Let me check it out first." Seth bravely walked up to the bushes, Alain and I guarded the back cautiously.
SLASH!
Seth screams! I couldn't see clearly because I was behind the young man's back. As Seth walked backwards groaning in pain, I saw his right eye was injured so deep that I couldn't see his eyeball clearly because it was covered in red blood.
"Hold on for a while!"
Eve told me about first aid for the wounded. If there is no clean running water nearby, I need to wipe the blood around the wound with a clean dry cloth. Don't forget to cover the wound with a bandage or a piece of cloth to stop the bleeding.
Just as I was about to practice what Eve taught me. Alain screamed at me and asked me to run away. I quickly looked away and saw many forest monsters the size of half my body lined up neatly in front of the bushes.
They were ten in number and carried various strange-looking weapons, such as spiked maces, blunt axes, small swords, and so on. It's dangerous! I must do something to protect my two friends.
"No! You take Seth away from here. I'll hold them back to the best of my ability!" I said firmly, taking out Allegiance and pressing the circle button to turn it into a perfect spear.
"S-Spear?"
"Get the hell out of here!" I groaned, aiming the spear I had just wielded at all of them.
I noticed that he still hadn't left. Damn! Did he want to sacrifice his life just because he saw my spear?
"What the hell are you doing? GET AWAY FROM HERE!"
"O-Okay."
Alain did exactly what I was told. I was happy and scared too when I had to fight them. Now, the two goblins' eyes began to stare intently at me, their saliva dripping from their jagged mouths.
I pointed the spearhead at them. Prepare to defeat my world's first jungle monster.
"HYAAH!"
I did it!
I cut down one by one the goblins that came over. Thanks to the great spear length, I can control the distance between myself and them. Several times the iron spears clashed with the goblin swords, but I didn't see any scratches on Allegiance.
Out of ten goblins, I can kill three of them. I immediately took a step back to get a break-even if for a bit. Unexpectedly, fighting goblins would be more difficult than training with Eve. Could it be that Eve hasn't unleashed 50% of her strength while training?
I snapped my fingers and entered the character status in the class section. I looked at the name of the first skill I was about to try against them. The name of the skill was:
"Reinforce Elements!"
Instantly my spear started to glow a bright red colour. I felt comfortable when my hand held the spear; it was so light, and I didn't want to let go.
With the new power I got. I immediately attacked them again and swung the spear in all directions. I took Eve's advice to use a low stance. What Eve said was right.
Using a low stance, I can slash two goblin heads in one swing of the spear. That way, I can kill them all easily using my skills.
Just as they were about to attack, the five remaining goblins were suddenly killed by a yellow arrow shot from a tree. I turned my head, looking at the man who was none other than Nicholas perched on a fairly large tree branch.
The red light on my spear began to dim. I immediately changed Allegiance to a stick like before. Nicholas began to jump down and landed so hard that he could see the wind blowing around him.
"What are you doing here?" asked Nicholas, his expression so cold, looking at me.
"I was out hunting with the others. Is that not allowed?" I ask.
"You can go hunting, but this place is way beyond the hunting advice for beginners," Nicholas answered.
He started walking towards me; his eyes met mine. I don't know what he's really thinking at this point.
PLAK!
My eyes widened with my mouth opened; I couldn't close it. The heat on my left cheek was so painful when Nicholas slapped me hard. But, again, he didn't react to that expression at all.
"If you don't become strong, then the people closest to you will become victims," said Nicholas.
"What do you mean?"
The man immediately walked away, leaving me who was still standing along with the bodies of the goblins that were still scattered. I followed the man from behind to get to Eve's practice field.
When I saw it with my own eyes, a few people were holding a box and treating Seth's right eye. Standing between them were Ethan and Eve. The woman's face was red with puffy eyes; she must have felt high anxiety when she found me doing something dangerous.
"What happens?" I ask.
Ethan didn't say anything, unlike Eve who immediately ran over to me and hugged me tightly. She buried her crying face into my left shoulder, holding me tightly in her warm embrace.
"It was my fault for not taking good care of you."
"What are you saying? There's nothing wrong with this," I replied, trying to calm Eve's heart because I could feel her heart beating fast, either from fear or anxiety.
Seen Ethan walking over, a smile spread across his face, a small smile. Now, my eyes are starting to look closely at Ethan's eyes, trying to understand what exactly he is feeling.
"Seth is being treated intensively, but we can't get his right eye back," Ethan explained, standing with his hands behind his back.
"Use magic! It must be able to heal it."
"Sorcery?" asked Ethan.
"Yes. You have it, don't you?" I asked.
"There's no magic here. You should have known that very well," Ethan answered, sighing as he turned around.
"Here, if they are injured, then the scar will forever be there. That separated this virtual world from the ordinary game world," Ethan continued.
"Don't tell me he'll—"
"Right. Seth's right eye will go blind because of your inability to protect it." Ethan gave me a sharp glance. Now I understand why Eve insisted on saying that she was wrong.
"You are blaming me for my inability to protect them? The Goblins came alone without us being invited," I answered.
Ethan crouched down with his sharp eyes now met with me. The frown on his face indicated that he didn't seem happy with my answer.
"You don't seem worthy of the Paladin title in this world."