I dash towards the armored goblin, instantly closing in. Despite my immediate burst in speed, the goblin still reacted in time to block my incoming fist. My knuckles hit the cold steel of the blade, sending a shock that ran up my fist, into my arm. My arm went numb.
Struggling, but not relenting, I continue to press my fist into the ice-cold blade. The goblin noticed this, prompting to land a kick on my stomach. I caught the blow with my free hand. The goblin, off balanced and confused, tried to yank his foot from my grasp. I tightened my grip until the goblin's sword-arm weakened, my fist coming down on my fist.
「Skill 'Instinct' is warning you」
My hair stood up, redirecting my attention to the female goblin. She was still tired from the spellcasting she performed earlier. But that didn't stop her. With a trembling leg, she planted her feet firmly on the ground, her center of gravity now within her control. Like her feet, she stabbed her staff on the ground, the tip sinking into the earth. The dozen-or-so soldiers moved out of the way, forming a straight line on either side of her.
「Skill 'Instinct' is warning you」
Suddenly the ground below me and my opponent felt soft, interrupting my balance. The mage shouted something, and the goblin knight quickly disengaged from me. With my lack of footing and disrupted balance, there was nothing I could do.
As the goblin knight continued to back away, the powdered earth beneath his feet turned into stone. This allowed him to get some distance from me, trapping me in the center of the growing quicksand.
「Skill 'Instinct' is warning you」
I chased after the knight, using the same platforms he used. However, this backfired. The previously hard stone once again turned into dust. My feet were now trapped in the shrinking quicksand.
Shrinking?, I thought quizzically. My attention was once again drawn to the mage, her hand-stitched dress now covered dust and gravel. She was struggling. Looking further, I noticed that blood was pouring out from her ears, mouth, and eyes. Despite her horrendous condition, her gaze was still alive. She glared at me with clear murderous intent, not letting me out of her sight. I tore my gaze from her, now focusing on the gathering soldiers, their weapons drawn and pointed at me.
What is this monster?, the thought assailed me as I make my way out of the quicksand spell. Despite how I act, I hated running away. People often say that it's 'easy' and a 'coward's way out', but I thought different. Running away was a choice, not a righteous or an easily justifiable one, sure, but one still worth considering.
Turning around, I spot the white-haired man. He was taller than me, to the point that standing before him was like talking to his chest. He had fair skin, pearly white except for the dark lines running from his fingertips to his shoulders. His eyes were of a different color, one a deep blue, the other a vibrant green. His presence had a certain weight to it that I couldn't quite describe.
I tightly grip my trusted sword, Lysta. Despite our overwhelming advantage– topographical, magical, and military–we still failed to kill one single intruder.
Why now?, I ask despite myself. With the current situation as it is, we couldn't afford a situation such as this.
Our enemies were basically breathing down our necks. Each morning getting harder and harder to wake up to.
Well, not like I know what a morning even is. From what I heard it was a beautiful, mesmerizing experience. The warm radiance of a distant star soaking your skin, filling you with warmth. Nobody here has ever experienced it, everybody too scared to leave the tribe.
It was a little pathetic to say, but we weren't powerful. If it wasn't for our high reproductive rate, we would have been long extinct.
Just like right now, I recall the sudden arrival of our new neighbors.
The orcs seemingly came out of nowhere, declaring this land to be their rightful property. We were powerless against the might of such creatures, especially their leader. I still remember the dread and powerlessness I felt that day.
Just like him
The man wasn't particularly strong or magically-gifted. Instead, it was his will that stood out the most. His multi-colored eyes carried a certain emptiness to it, below illuminated a flame. It was burning. Burning despite the crushing emptiness of the world it was born in, desperately moving forward.
The man stayed in place as the ground continued to swallow him. His gaze was directed to Kayla–our resident mage. No, not at her. Instead it was at her staff.
Her staff, carved up from a dire wolf's bone, was our one and only access to magic. It was an heirloom–passed down from one village head to another. Kayla had a great affinity to earth, giving us a massive advantage over the other dwellers of this labyrinth. Ever since she was just a baby, she had been working everyday to master her skills and magic.
That's why I knew she could do this, by this time, half of the man's body was already submerged into the earth.
Ever since Kayla shrank the spell's range to conserve mana, the man stayed still, doing nothing but stare at her staff. Suddenly a deep chill ran up my spine.
He couldn't be
Then the man changed, the black lines running up his arms started glowing, and I knew exactly why.
Magic