"Goblins," Leif mumbled under his breath. His right hand reaches out to his front. Another word escaped his mouth.
"Physis."
*** The Monster Within ***
Upon saying the word, a floating panel in the hue of dark green suddenly appeared in front of him. Characters and words of some sort were inexplicably written on it as the panel stayed suspended in the air.
[
Name: Leif Twilight
Host Title: Nature Whisperer
Health: 30 / 30
Mana: 4 / 8
Strength: 7
Defense: 3
Dexterity: 5
Insight: 6
Agility: 10
Ability Arts: 1
Skill Styles: 2
]
It was a tabulated form of something, like a bestiary, showing data about Leif and his whole persona. His eyes scanned the screen, his attention fixed on the amount of remaining mana he still had.
"Four..."
Suddenly, the old man lightly banged his hands on the bars of his cell. "Physis?! I was right! That was the ancient word to access an irregular's system!" Petro exclaimed as he confirmed his prior claim to be correct. Leif gave a glance at the old man, squinted his eyes, and turned his attention back at the goblins far from the front.
The ramblings of the other prisoners suddenly changed as they heard what the old man had said.
"Irregular? Did Petro just say that young man was an irregular?" Now their focus shifted to Leif and his identity of being an irregular.
"What are you talking about, old man Petro? Get away from the bars! The goblins are almost here!" Shiva shouted back at the old man who was still gripping the steel bars of his cell. Upon hearing what Shiva had said, the prisoners changed their focus again - now both fear and disbelief loomed in their minds of the approaching goblins Shiva had mentioned.
Shiva's worrying for Petro was interrupted by another question coming from Leif.
"Have you found the chains earlier that went this way?"
"No, I still haven't." denied Shiva.
"Ask the prisoners if they have it. I'll buy us some time," ordered Leif, and then rushed forward to meet the goblins.
"Leaf Art: Milena"
The broad leaf again manifested at Leif's hand as he ran swiftly across the passage.
Past the six chambers of cells in that passage, Leif stopped at the furthest end. Now, he faced the group of goblins that came in all by himself. Their standoff was littered with noises from both the unholy sounds of the goblins jeering at him and of the prisoners at his back who were frantically yelling to get out.
Formed into two lines, each compromised with three goblins, the enemies have successfully blocked off the path toward the exit. All of them held in their hand different tools bathed in blood - they had rusted pickaxes, and cracked batons, while one even had a short dagger. Tiny as they may be, one cannot deny the danger these creatures pose once armed to kill. Leif broke into a cold sweat at the sight of them. The air was thick with tension between the two parties, when suddenly...
"GRAAAH!!"
Like a battle horn, the deafening chorus of goblins as they let out a hoarse cry marked the beginning of the battle. Their feet sprang forward, and a gooey mixture of blood and saliva escaped from battle-crazed mouths as they ran.
Leif, in response, quickly grabbed the torch stick hung near his left side. With a wide and strong swing, he threw it in the direction of the goblins charging at him. The front wave managed to evade the torch, but a goblin in the back row was hit successfully at its forehead. The contact made a loud thwack followed by a crispy, sizzling sound to which the goblin shrieked in pain before fainting on the ground.
A good opening result for Leif, but the goblins were not planning to let him have it easy. As the torch he threw died slowly on the ground, the area around him went a little dim. But this darkness bore almost no reaction from the goblins nor Leif.
The front wave was upon him - one particularly jumped high in the air and had its baton hoisted up with its arms. Furthermore, his peripheral vision caught green figures closing in fast at both sides behind the goblin that jumped. Not good...
With snappy thinking, Leif moved forward - his hand swiftly grabbed the goblin in the air by its neck. Upon the sudden choking, the goblin lost its grip on its baton and was disarmed. With all of his might, Leif stopped the goblin's momentum and slammed it down towards his left. His effort even managed to get a goblin charging behind, baffling both monsters on the ground.
SCHUCKK!
"Argh!" Leif shouted in pain as a cold piercing metal punctured his right shoulder. It was the other goblin behind the one that jumped earlier - its pickaxe landed and injured Leif at his flank.
With a quick movement, he turned to his right and blindly slapped back the leaf at his hand. The sensation of the metal planted at his shoulder was lifted and the next thing he saw was the goblin jumping back. It wore an annoying smile on its ugly face.
Three goblins down but the other three surrounded Leif. His back was against the wall, his right shoulder throbbing in pain. Despite all of these odds, Leif couldn't help... but smile.
"Leif!"
A familiar voice came from the direction of the cells that called out for Leif. Out of nowhere, a stick of torch came flying through the battle. It didn't hit anyone, but it did get everyone's attention.
It was Shiva, running towards them equipped with the chain he used before. His left hand held one end of the chain while his right rotated around the other half which end still has a piece of broken board attached to it.
The goblin with the pickaxe first reacted to his presence for it was the closest to him. The sharp whistling sound of the chains as they circled very fast at Shiva's hands made the goblin take a defensive stance.
Shiva, in response, let go of the chain on his hands. The chain traveled forward and struck the opposing goblin at its hands which made it disarmed of its pickaxe.
"Hit!" he exclaimed. With that opportunity, Shiva approached the goblin and kicked it forward. Blocked by its forearms, the goblin managed to cushion the hit and leaped back. But because the goblin backed away, the chains and its pickaxe lying on the ground were free for Shiva to take.
"Finally, something familiar." Dangling chains on his left while a pickaxe on his right, Shiva's firepower doubled. His silhouette as he stood there with his deep red, eyes was menacing, enough to unnerve the goblin he fought with. Little did the two of them know...
THUMP!
Leif banged another goblin's head on the wall as he held it by its neck. With a bloodied short dagger in its right hand, he stabbed the goblin in its forehead. The goblin jerked like crazy for a moment before all of its limbs fell silent. A short squelching sound went off as Leif took out the dagger planted at the goblin's head. As he let go of the bloody blade in his hand, the goblin's body slumped lifelessly on the ground. Its head bowed down - a stream of sticky fluid gushed down at its chin.
Leif stood there silently for a moment. At his foot were two stacked bodies of goblins impaled by a broken baton at their stomach. Another one was lying prone on the floor with a pool of blood around its neck.
Shiva and the other goblin watched him in shock and horror. Their faces froze in disgust as they witnessed all of the bloodshed around Leif.
Leif slowly turned towards them. His eyes shined brighter than before as the contrast of the blood spurted all over his face made it more vivid.
Now, only one goblin stands unarmed from their group of six earlier. Rivered down its lower body was its piss from the absolute fear it felt at that moment. Its instincts urged itself to run, but its legs betrayed its will to escape. On its knees, the goblin slumped to the ground.
Leif stared eye to eye with the goblin. The calmness in his eyes gave off an intimidating feeling that slowly killed the goblin inside.
SCHULK!
With a swift, downward stroke, Shiva delivered the pickaxe on his hand at the top of the goblin's head. As he let go of the pickaxe, the goblin slowly fell to the floor.
The victorious duo found themselves standing among the cold bodies of the monsters they'd slain. Their eyes came into contact with each other. Shiva gave Leif a subtle nod to which Leif responded with a sigh of relief.
Leif then caught the sound of a group of footsteps marching behind them. There in the middle was the group of prisoners that were once jailed inside the cells. The steel doors of the cells behind them were all wide open.
The majority of them were men, some held torches in their hands. There were some old people too, like Petro, who had a lady standing beside him. A hushed murmur can be heard at them as they look at the cold bodies of goblins on the ground. Petro walks forward, being supported by the lady by his side.
"This is troubling. No goblins are being kept here, as far as I know." Petro said. The other men behind nodded their heads in agreement.
"I believe something is amiss." Petro further commented.
The clanking sound of iron from Shiva's chains resounded as he pulled them up. "We wouldn't know what's happening if we stayed here," he said to Leif.
"You're right," Leif answered back as he wiped off the blood stains on his face. He turned towards the exit, lifted his foot, and stomped it forward.
.
.
.
"Let's go."