After Riding for three hours straight, we finally make a stop at one of the designated Campsites. It only has simple facilities like the Firepit, Sheds, and Bathrooms but it's better to camp here compared to other places that don't have any facilities at all.
After we dismount our carriages, we all gather in one of the sheds to listen to Fred-san's instructions.
"We're only resting on this Campsite for an hour. We don't have to scout the area for monsters or bandits, just be alert if anyone senses anything approaching the Campsite. We're already halfway to Neem village, so this will be our first and last stop until we reach the village."
While Fred-san is speaking, Zen-san is having a conversation with our two employers.
"Thanks for driving the carriage Mr. Gregg, Mr. Borris."
"You can leave the driving to us, just focus on using your detection-skill so we won't be surprised by any monsters."
"We just need to let the horses rest for an hour then we're moving again. Everyone can take their breaks or have their meals."
Suspicious... These two employers are suspicious.
Why are they driving the carriages themselves? At normal escort quests, there were usually the employers and a different driver for the carriage. Don't they have enough budget because of hiring three Adventurers-Party? And why are they using two carriages? If they used a much bigger single carriage, it could probably fit two Adventurers-Party. That should be enough for an escort quest like this...
"The two of them are suspicious, right Vier-chan?"
"Huh?..."
There is it again. Why is Mifumi-sama always saying things like she knows what I'm thinking?
"Well, there are a lot of unusual things so they're really suspicious, Mifumi-sama."
"But the Guild staff recommend this escort quest so we can probably trust our employers."
"Was it Heleen-san who recommended this escort quest, Mifumi-sama?"
"Mhm. She's the Guild receptionist assigned to our group after all."
"Then I guess it's fine. But if anything bad happens, I'm filing a complaint against her."
After listening to Fred-san's instructions, we take our breaks and have a simple light meal. And as we finish our meal, Felin notices something approaching the Campsite.
"Mifumi-sama, Vier. Goblins are coming from the north."
"Good job Felin-chan, you notice those Goblins only a few minutes after I feel their presence."
"Ehh?... If you already noticed them, why didn't you tell everyone, Nymh-san?"
Same as Mifumi-sama, I'm also confused as to why Nymh-san didn't alert everyone if she noticed that monsters were approaching.
"We want to see your group's detection abilities, Mifumi-chan. Besides, they're still quite far away from us."
"Well, I noticed them only a few seconds after Nymh... Ouch!"
Nymh-san landed another smack to Mr. Nach's head. I already lost count of how many times Mr. Nach got beaten today.
"Why are you comparing yourself to them Nach? Afraid that Poru-III will take your rank?"
"Of course not!"
Fufufu... You should be more afraid of Poru-lll, Mr. Nach.
After a minute, the NeoHeroes also noticed those incoming monsters.
"Tsk!... I can't believe that a child noticed those monsters before we did. What happened to your detection-skill Karna?"
"Beastkin has a natural detection ability, so it's not surprising that Ms. Felin will notice them first."
Sigh!... Why is this Renxa guy blaming Ms. Karna? It's not your friend's fault if Felin beats you in detecting those monsters.
"Hmph!... Either way, I'm more than enough to deal with those small fries, everyone can just watch me defeat those Goblins."
"No, Renxa. At least the three of us will handle them."
"Slain is right. Even if Goblins are only Rank-1 monsters, you will have trouble handling that number all by yourself, Renxa."
"Do what you want then, just don't get in my way. I'm gonna show everyone what an upcoming hero is capable of."
Sigh!... Are they always like this? I'm getting tired just by listening to your antics, Mr. Renxa.
After everyone gathered near our carriages, Fred-san confirmed if the NeoHeroes really wanted to handle those Goblins all by themselves.
"Are you sure your group wants to handle this alone?"
"Yes Mr. Fred, as long as the three of us work together we can handle those number of monsters."
"It will also be a good experience for us before the Adventurers Admission Exam."
Mr. Slain declared their intention to fight those Goblins with their group alone and Ms. Karna supported that decision as well.
"You old timers don't need to help me. Just watch and see what I'm capable of."
Sheesh... This guy, why do you keep calling them old people?
For your information, Zen-san is the only old man in this group. Fred-san is probably around 50 years old and Mr. Nach is probably around 40 years old. For Humans that have an average lifespan of 250 years the two of them were barely an adult.
For Nymh-san, I don't know how old she is but I'm sure she's still young from the Demi-Humans perspective. Demi-Humans can live for an average of 1000 years so I'm sure that Nymh-san is still a youth from their standard.
"Just make sure your group won't be injured and that you won't be able to continue this quest."
"Hmph!... Who would be injured in fighting a mere dozen Goblins."
There is it again. Why is this Renxa guy always retorting to whatever Fred-san is saying?
"Everyone should be prepared in case new monsters appear because of their battle."
"""Yes, Fred-san!"""
We didn't need to wait any longer after that discussion. In just a few seconds, a dozen Rank-1 Goblin monsters start appearing from behind the trees surrounding the Campsite.
Those Rank-1 Goblins monsters have small figures compared to an adult. Maybe they're around the same height as teens like the NeoHeroes.
The Gears those monsters are wearing are made from Rank-1 Monsters-Materials and the swords they're all using are all rusted which were probably stolen from their victims.
As soon as those Goblins start appearing, the Adventurers-Party NeoHeroes prepare for their battle.
"...Wind-Magic... Wind-Boost...
....Ground-Magic... Ground-Barrier...
....Water-Magic... Water-Barrier..."
Ms. Karna, cast a support-skill to strengthen her teammates. Mr. Slain and Mr. Renxa's were then covered with a veil made out of Wind-Element Mana which will increase their speed.
Then Ms. Karan cast two layers of barrier-skill to protect herself. That Magic-Barrier looks like a dome of thin transparent glass but it has enough strength to withstand the attacks of Rank-1 Goblins or probably even Rank-2 Hobgoblin monsters
The two-layer Barrier Skill includes both Ground-Element and Water-Element so she probably has at least two Attributes in Magic. Plus the support-skill has a Wind-Element so that makes it three Attributes.
Well, I can see three marbles-like gems Monster-Cores decorating her Sorceress-Staff so that's probably right.
"...Wind-Magic... Wind..."
"...Flame-Magic... Flame-Boost..."
Really?... That guy Renxa ignores Ms. Karna's intentions to start with an initial strike using her offensive-skill. As soon as he received the support-skill, he charged straight to those Goblins.
"...Sword-Art... Flame-Form... Scorching-Slash"
His Magic-Sword starts to turn bright red as he integrates the Monster-Core's skill from his Magic-Sword into his sword technique. Every cut made from the slash of his Magic-Sword is followed by the burning of the wounds, giving additional damage in a single attack and hindering any regeneration-skill of the Goblins.
I think his Magic-Sword is made using Monster-Materials with the Monster-Core of the monster called Flame-Hound which is supposed to be a Rank-4 monster. That's quite a High-Level weapon for a Copper-Rank adventurer.
Also, he's receiving additional strength and speed by enhancing his body using Mana-Flow.
Mana-Flow is not a Magic-skill from the Monster-Core or Sub-Spirit. It is simply controlling one's own Mana to enhance the body.
".... Mana-Flow... Body-Enhance..."
Mhm! Just like that!
Their leader, Mr. Slain, used Mana-Flow to enhance his body to gain more speed, strength, and defense then followed up with Mr. Renxa.
"... Sword-Art... Double-Slash..."
However his not using any Magic-skill just pure sword technique... Wait, I don't think his sword is a Magic-Sword like the one Mr. Renxa is using. It looks to be more like a Mana-Steel-Sword.
Unlike Magic-Sword, Mana-Steel-Sword is made using metal ore from Monster-Materials or Mine-type Dungeons. It is mostly used by Demi-Humans like Felin.
But somehow, I think Mr. Slain Mana-Steel-Sword is better than Mr. Renxa Magic-Sword. Is it the quality of their swords or their skill in Sword-Art? Still...
"Why is he using a Mana-Steel-Sword? I'm quite sure he's not a Demi-Human so why not use a High-Level Magic-Sword like his teammates?"
"That's a good observation for someone as small as you, kid."
Huh?... I'm not talking to you, Mr. Nach. I just said out loud what I was thinking. Besides...
"Being a good observer has nothing to do with me being small!"
I got annoyed and shouted at Mr. Nach.
Really?... This annoying guy, as soon as he finds an opportunity to make fun of me, he will really go for it. If you want another fight then let's do it.
"Hmph!... Anyway, I can only think of two reasons for him to use a Mana-Steel-Sword."
"Woah!... Two? Mind telling me what are those reasons, kid?"
"Considering the performance of the Mana-Steel-Sword which is even better than the other Magic-Sword, how good is the flow of his Mana to his weapon, the unusual strength of his Body-Enhance, I think his Attributes in Magic is Light-Element."
Being a rare Light-Element user both have advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages is that your output in using Magic will be much higher compared to other Attributes.
The biggest disadvantage is that you won't find Low-Rank monsters that have Light-Element since it mostly appears in Rank-5 or higher monsters. It would be rare to find a Magic-Sword made from a Rank-4 or below Monster-Materials with a Monster-Core that has a Light-Element.
"That's one accurate analysis. I'm impressed, kid."
"Hehehe, Now you know what I'm capable of Mr. Nach."
"And the second reason?"
"Well... That will cost you money, Mr. Nach. 1S Gold coin to be exact!"
"""Pfft...Hahaha...!!!"""
"Hey! Stop laughing, everyone."
Fufufu... It's your loss again, Mr. Nach.
The battle between the NeoHeroes and the dozen Goblins monsters just started a minute ago but something unusual is already happening.
"Mifumi-sama, Vier. I think something is wrong."
"What's wrong Felin-chan?"
"Poru-III is not reacting to anything and I also don't feel anything."
"Good job Felin-chan, I'm impressed you noticed their presence."
Nymh-san gave another praise to Felin while patting Felin's head.
"What did you notice, Felin-chan?"
"I think other monsters are hiding, Mifumi-sama."
"Then we need to tell them..."
"Please stop Ms. Mifumi. The NeoHeroes said that they would handle this group of monsters by themselves, and those monsters didn't arrive later because of the sound of battle. They have been there from the start, hiding behind the group and waiting for the opportunity to attack."
Right after Fred-san said that, someone multi-cast three Flame-Magic creating three Flame-Arrows and shooting those from behind the trees. Those Flame-Arrows are only aimed at Ms. Karna.
"...Water-Magic... Water-Sphere..."
...BOOM!...
Thankfully, Ms. Karna managed to come out safely from that attack. As soon as she noticed the incoming attack, she cast a Water-Magic called Water-Sphere to create a ball of water and shoot it to intercept one of the Flame-Arrows. Then each of her two layers of Magic-Barrier protected her from the remaining Flame-Arrows.
She's really amazing to be able to make a calm and quick response considering that it was a surprise attack.
"""""...Gargghhh!!!!!...""""
""...Gargghhh!!!...""
But the moment her Magic-Barriers break, the remaining Goblins attack both of the Vanguards to hold them down then a new pair of Goblins appear from behind the trees and run swiftly to launch an attack from both of Ms. Karna's sides while the hiding monster launches another Flame-Arrow aim directly at her.
That's quite a strategy for a mere group of Goblins. They launch a large group attack while hiding the most powerful member to prepare for a powerful attack. Sacrificing half of the group to weaken the Vanguards then launch a surprise attack aimed at the Rearguard.
If that's not enough to take down the Rearguard, they will hold down the Vanguards and send a melee attack from both sides and another magic attack from the front completing a three-way maneuver attack.
Considering how the goblin coordinates their attacks, the hiding monster is probably a Rank-3 Hobgoblin-Mage.
Unable to react to the unexpected maneuver of the Goblins, her teammates weren't able to help her.
It's not like Ms. Karna can't handle this surprise attack all by herself but it's better to help her now than to watch those Goblins injuring her.
"Mifumi-sama, Felin."
"We're on it. Felin-chan."
"I'm moving after you, Mifumi-sama!"
__________________________
***PoruShark Writer's Note***
Here are the characters' concept designs for the Adventurers-Party NeoHeroes.
Look at the comments.
•Karna
•Slain
•Renxa