BtzBtzBtz
A new message appeared in front of me, a sign that another one of these unwanted, terrible events was about to begin.
And even though I didn't like it, I couldn't help but do what was required of all of us.
[Challenge: Surviving Monsters
There are goblins wandering around, looking for human flesh to make a tasty meal. Survive the goblin attacks and kill some of them to reduce the risk.
Clearance condition: goblin killed (0/5)
Failure: death
Reward: Strength level up]
As usual, it was an impossible challenge that would result in death if you failed.
This damn game was insane.
KrKrKrKr
The sound of leaves and sticks cracking around us was a clear sign that those monsters had arrived. It was somewhat alarming, as their numbers seemed to be greater than anyone expected.
I was a bit shocked and stared into the air when I heard a deep male voice:
"Akari, we have to hurry or those things will catch us. Don't make me lose more time than I already have, and let's activate the skill so that we can easily pass this challenge!"
Tch
I visibly clicked my tongue, an annoyed reaction that I would never have done under normal circumstances. However, this was a complete burden to me, but to ease my pain, I decided that getting this over with as quickly as possible was the only best choice.
I quickly approached the lonely man, he could feel my breath on his cheek coming from my nose.
I unconsciously slowed down as I got closer.
"Are we going to spend all our time here? Do you want us to die?"
"Aaah, fine. I'll get this over with quickly."
My face turned bright red, I wasn't used to it yet.
Smooch
Yes, I finally kissed him. No sooner had my lips left his cheek than I saw him running at incredible speed towards the goblins.
He was going to kill enough for both of us. I knew that this fight would be tough, the goblins weren't such strong monsters, but Junichi, my aloof colleague, was just bad at fighting.
Even with the boost I gave him, he wasn't doing too well.
Apart from running, he wasn't really able to fight and stand his ground against monsters that might have killed him.
I was still completely red, but I wanted to complete this challenge as quickly as possible, so I decided to use another of my skills.
Lover's Cheer Lv. 1
Yes, it is exactly as it seems. I quickly started cheering for him.
"Fight-Oh! Fight-Oh! Let's go, Jun-I-Chi! Gooo!"
I shouted with all the voice I had in my body, from one word to the next I could still feel my vocal chords trembling.
But that wasn't all, in the meantime I was doing something else. Or rather, my body was forced to do something else.
I was also dancing.
Now, I had done my best to give Junichi the best buffs and boosts I could. Everything depended on him.
Three goblins approached him as I cheered him on. He was distracted and looked in my direction, probably not expecting this either.
It was a new skill I had recently acquired.
He understood that he wouldn't stand a chance without a weapon, so he drew the dagger that was on his left thigh and started slashing at the goblins.
KuaKuaKua
The goblins' throats were slashed, blood gushing from the wound he had inflicted. It wasn't a pretty sight, but I had to put up with it.
After a while I got used to seeing such things, but I was glad that it wasn't my job to take the lives of living creatures.
I didn't think I was a god or a supreme being, so it wasn't my choice to take those lives, but the game wanted us to.
We were but pawns, moving on the chessboard of greater beings. While I was thinking this, the guy was getting drenched in blood after having killed nine goblins.
He didn't seem to be very strong, but since his skills now far exceeded those of the goblins, it was a piece of cake for him to kill them.
Now it was the last one's turn, and my challenge would be complete. There were no goblins in sight.
KraakKraakKraak
Something bigger was approaching, we could feel its overwhelming presence. It was on a completely different level to the goblins we had fought before.
[Special Challenge: Hobgoblin Hunger
A hobgoblin has gone mad, and after wandering around for a while, it has encountered you.
Clearance condition: hobgoblin kill (0/1)
Failure: death
Special reward: +1 level in each stat]
We were stunned, this was something we had not expected. I could see the dead look in that man's eyes, all hope had left him.
We couldn't afford to lose here, after all, I needed him, my class would be useless without him. I jumped up and got closer to him, then I slapped him on the back with all my strength, so strong that it brought him back to his senses.
He looked at me with confused eyes.
"I'll do it again, so you better fight this monster with everything you have."
In the blink of an eye, I gave him another kiss on the cheek, having leveled up the Lover Kiss skill to double my boost.
I could see a sparkle in his eyes now, he was getting the courage he needed to face this monster. He gave me a slight nod, a sign for me to move away.
I also had a new skill, so after I had moved away from him, I activated it.
Lover Sing Lv.1
It was a useful skill, until now I hadn't been able to help in any way in a fight: with my stats being too low and without a good combat skill, all I could do was support.
But it was different now, I had this skill, at least I could boost Junichi's stats further, and I could also get the full attention of the monsters. It was a dangerous skill, but if this guy did his job properly, I wouldn't suffer any damage.
The hobgoblin finally came into view, and it was an ominous presence. Its large body, covered in hard skin, reeked of blood, and its teeth still showed traces of red, perhaps from the blood of its other prey.
This was our current opponent.
Junichi quickly understood how my new skill worked and started to get behind the monster. If we were in a game, my taunt skill would draw all the aggro from the monsters in a certain area to me. That's exactly what happened, the hobgoblin approached me as if enchanted by my voice.
Meanwhile, my trusty partner, or at least I hoped it was, had gotten fully behind it and was about to attack. The best way to deal with this monster was to pierce its heart, but since it was twice the size of a human being, destroying its heart would cause it to die instantly.
In spite of that, Junichi tried to jump on it, and just as he was about to cut through its flesh-
Kraaash
He was shocked. The dagger couldn't penetrate the hard skin. The monster was getting closer, I had no real fighting skills, and all of its attention was focused on me. I was in an extremely dangerous situation.
Junichi only had one role to play, but he obviously couldn't do it properly.
"Do you intend to kill him or do you want me to die?"
I shouted at the man above the monster's neck. He didn't answer, I could only see his expression, along with the hobgoblin's. The man was angry, he had been hitting the neck for a while.
I was getting scared, the monster was really close to me. It reached out for me with its hand, wanting to catch me and eat me. His hand was close to me, it was so big that he could squeeze it and kill me, I could feel the heat coming from the hand that was squeezing me, when-
Splurtt
Bright red blood spurted from its back, like a fountain, but red. The body of the monster fell lifeless to the ground. It was near me and as it fell, a man stood in a victorious position, I could feel all the pride coming from him.
We received the rewards from the two challenges and then fell to the ground to rest a little. This was the world we lived in now...