Team 4 was now facing a deadly adversary in the dense forest, surrounded by the unsettling sound of goblins giggling and screeching in delight.
Thirteen of the deformed creatures had spotted Joo-Hee and her teammates, their grotesque faces twisted with glee as they prepared to charge.
Eun-Bi stood frozen, her wand trembling in her hand, fear rooting her to the spot.
Min-Soo, the porter, was backing away in desperation, his eyes wide with panic as he tried to distance himself from the danger.
Yoon-Ji swiftly nocked an arrow, aiming at the nearest goblin.
"We need a plan, NOW!" she shouted, her voice cutting through the chaos.
She released the two arrows, consecutively striking two goblins in the right and left leg, but the others were already charging forward, claws and blades raised.
"Jae-Sung, GET A GRIP!" Joo-Hee shouted, her voice sharp with urgency.
"Da-Sol! Both of you! Throw Min-Soo and Eun-Bi up into the trees—NOW!"
Her command was harsh, her eyes blazing with determination.
Her tone left no room for hesitation.
The goblins were nearly upon them, and if they didn't act fast, the whole team would be overwhelmed.
Given the goblins' small size and hunched bodies—standing only around 3 feet tall—she had calculated that climbing would be difficult for them.
Getting Min-Soo and Eun-Bi out of immediate danger would not only protect the porter but also give Eun-Bi a vantage point to cast her spells without interruption.
Jae-Sung, still bitter from being slapped and berated by everyone, clicked his tongue in frustration but obeyed.
He rushed to Min-Soo, grabbing him roughly by the arm.
"Hold still," Jae-Sung muttered, before carefully lifting the terrified porter and tossing him onto the branches of a nearby cedar-like tree
Min-Soo clung to the trunk, trembling, but at least he was safe from the goblins.
Da-Sol sprinted over to Eun-Bi, who was still frozen in fear.
Without hesitation, he grabbed her by the waist, hoisting her up onto another sturdy branch.
"Hold on tight, Eun-Bi!" he urged.
"You'll be safer up here!"
Her trembling hands gripped the bark, but being above ground gave her a moment to gather herself.
Eun-Bi barely managed a nod, her eyes wide with shock, but she continued to grip the tree for dear life.
Now, only four remained on the ground—Joo-Hee, Da-Sol, Jae-Sung, and Yoon-Ji.
They stood back-to-back, forming a loose circle as the goblins tried to encircle them.
The goblins were closing in fast, their screeches growing louder.
There was no room for error.
Da-Sol cursed under his breath, drawing his sword with a sharp, metallic ring.
"Eun-Bi!" he shouted, his voice cutting through the chaos.
"Get ready to cast! Use that spell you used earlier and cut them apart!"
"Don't you dare miss, or it will be the end of us!"
Despite the rising panic, his voice remained steady, a beacon of command in the storm of fear.
Eun-Bi nodded, though her hands still trembled as she raised her wand, "I-I'll try."
Joo-Hee clenched her fists.
Her mana reserves were still low, but she had no choice.
She couldn't use [Nature's Embrace] more than a few times, but they needed to survive this.
Joo-Hee couldn't let Jae-Sung's recklessness doom them all.
The goblins closed the gap quickly, their shrill cries ringing in the air as they pounced on the team.
Da-Sol and Jae-Sung gritted their teeth, parrying the relentless attacks that came from every direction.
Sweat dripped from their brows, and their breaths came in sharp gasps, but they held their ground.
"Joo-Hee! Cover our backs with your healing and barrier magic!"
Da-Sol shouted, his voice firm despite the pressure.
"Yoon-Ji, pick them off from a distance! Jae-Sung, you and I will hold the front!"
He swung his sword, knocking away a jagged club aimed at his head.
"Min-Soo, throw the potions when needed!"
Jae-Sung was visibly shaking under the assault, but Da-Sol's presence kept him grounded.
They blocked, dodged, and retaliated, but the goblins' numbers made it feel like an endless wave of claws and rusted weapons.
Da-Sol roared, channeling mana into his body, his muscles bulging with the power.
His sword flashed, decapitating one goblin with a swift slash, but another dodged, slicing into his shoulder.
Dark green goblin blood splattered everywhere as the wounded creature stumbled back.
Joo-Hee, who had been watching the chaos unfold as she grits her teeth in frustration, raised her hand and called on [Nature's Embrace].
Green energy surged from her body, forming small, shimmering hexagonal barriers that swiftly covered Da-Sol's exposed back just as a goblin wielding a rusty dagger tried to lunge and ambush him from behind.
"Da-Sol, behind you!" Joo-Hee cried, the strain in her voice evident as she poured more of her dwindling mana into the barrier.
An arrow whizzed past, striking the ambushing goblin right between the eyes.
Yoon-Ji's arrows flew with deadly accuracy, her focus unshaken.
The goblin collapsed, lifeless, adding to the growing pile of bodies.
"That's two down!" Da-Sol grunted, swinging his sword with brutal force and severing the head of the goblin with the injured shoulder.
"Three! Ten more to go!"
Joo-Hee's eyes darted to her status, seeing her mana drain slowly.
_______________________
MP: 303/575
...
...
MP: 291/575
_______________________
'Not good...' Joo-Hee bit her lip, realizing that each cast was pushing her closer to the brink of mana exhaustion.
Jae-Sung, still sweating profusely, struggled against the onslaught of five goblins, reflecting his mounting exhaustion.
Every time he swung his sword, a goblin would evade or counterattack, and now a rusted dagger had already found its way to his side, blood seeping from the wound.
"These things... they just keep coming!" he shouted in frustration, his grip on the sword shaking.
The fear of being overwhelmed was palpable in the air, but he forced himself to keep fighting.
Joo-Hee stood amidst the chaos of battle while doing her best to support.
Her heart pounding not just from the adrenaline but from a simmering frustration aimed squarely at Jae-Sung.
'Helping people, my ass!' she thought, her eyes narrowing as he assessed Jae-Sung's floundering form.
'I take it back. Joo-Hee might have been nice to you, but this musclehead doesn't deserve my help. Tch!'
Every fiber of her being screamed at her to heal Jae-Sung.
But anger held her back.
'He got himself into this mess. Why should I bail him out?'
The memories of Joo-Hee's kindness flashed in her mind, a stark contrast to the situation in front of him.
The real Joo-Hee would have jumped in without a second thought, but Jake felt that kind of benevolence slipping away.
She sighed and thought, 'I should do the right thing, right? I'll just heal him later, after the fight. Let him suffer for now.'
While Joo-Hee was lost in her thoughts, assessing the goblins' movements, a single goblin crept forward, unnoticed by everyone but Min-Soo.
"Ms. Lee! Ambush!" Min-Soo shouted, panic lacing his voice.
Joo-Hee's gaze snapped to the advancing threat just in time.
"What the—?!" she exclaimed, eyes widening as the goblin lunged at her.
[Nature's Embrace], she yelled instinctively, summoning a barrier just as the creature leaped.
The green energy encapsulated the goblin, trapping it in midair.
The goblin flailed and banged its club against the barrier, its screeches mixing with the chaos around them, but Joo-Hee's focus wavered as her mana drained with each second.
With gritted teeth, she clenched her fist, compressing the barrier tighter around the struggling goblin.
'Ha! Really?! Is this karma... for not healing that buffoon?!' she thought as her brows furrowed, feeling the drain on her resources.
A surge of exhaustion washed over her as the mana counter in her mind ticked down rapidly.
'87 mana used...'
The goblin let out a final shriek as the pressure intensified, and it succumbed to the force.
_______________________
[ You have killed E-rank Goblin, +30 EXP gained. ]
...
[You have leveled up to Level 3. Gained +2 Strength, +3 Vitality. ]
_______________________
When the notification of leveling up to Level 3 appeared before her eyes, anticipation built up, thinking that, just like in those games, her mana and health would magically recover.
However, as the seconds passed, the realization hit her hard.
Her mana pool remained as it was.
'Seriously?' Jake thought bitterly, 'No mana recovery?'
The system had granted him additional stat points, sure—her strength felt a bit more solid, and her vitality had increased.
But it wasn't the kind of immediate boost she needed as her system automatically distributed the stats.
Magic power was what she desperately needed right now, but the system had split the gains among vitality and strength, leaving her mana reserves low.
She swiped the notification away in frustration and glanced at her remaining mana:
_______________________
...
MP: 204/575
...
_______________________
'Barely enough for three rounds of barrier compression or healing,' Joo-Hee's mind raced.
She would need to conserve what little she had left, and that meant relying more on her teammates—whether she liked it or not.