A weird silence filled the air. Just like in the game, this guy was socially awkward. I spoke up. "What are you doing deep in a forest like this? Especially with that massive horse". And, of course, I knew the answer to that question.
"I was traveling to the King's castle, but I heard a shout and decided to check it out. While going where the sound came from a goblin saw me, and I think you know the rest.".
"Then would you mind...". I stopped mid sentence. My veteran instincts kicked in, and moments later a scream pierced the silence. It resembled a female voice. I performed a head nod to Tim and we started running towards the sound.
Another shout came, but it seemed to move. She's running. Anyhow, we continued to run, just slightly adjusting our direction. She probably fell running, as we heard a big thud resonating throughout the woods.
We continued to rush and discovered a goblin marching to a girl, with a nasty grin on its face. The girl, on the ground and panting, seemed like an assassin. She had slots for daggers on her waist, but none were attached. She must've been followed by multiple goblins, and took out the others.
I waltzed to the goblin, attempting a kick I thought knew perfectly.
[ Attempting to use skill 'Martial Art of Heaven and Earth' ]
[ Action is impossible ]
[ Due to user's probability, the action will be rendered feasible ]
[ Due to the level difference between the user and the skill requirements, 'Martial Art of Heaven and Earth' has been downgraded to 'Martial Form of Sky and Stone' ]
Small sparks of probability flew at the tip of my fingers.
Damn, not even a clear Martial Art? And what is that, off-brand kung fu?
« I got this! » I said, more to myself than to her. I launched into a kick, which connected with the goblins body. Sort of. The goblin barely staggered. Not good.
First thing after this: raising my strength stat.
It attempted to attack me again, but I dodged. At least I have some dexterity. Again, the goblin threw his sword at me, but this time I countered with a punch. Like you'd expect, I miserably failed to deal any damage whatsoever.
I turned to Tim while dodging another punch. "Are you going to admire my incredible performance forever or are you actually going to help?".
Tim snapped out of his hesitation, and swiftly went to my side. He slashed the goblin, while it was still focused on me, and this was rewarded with a lot more success than my pitiful attempt, seeing how the goblin's arm fell off. It staggered, which allowed Tim to end it with his sword.
So much effort for a goblin, how weak are we? Well, that's the fault of this trash game for not even giving me a proper martial art. Thanks a lot, freedom.
We simultaneously turned toward the girl on the ground. She looked like she was at the end of her teenage years, probably 17, 18 or so.
I helped her to stand up, and the contact of her hand told me she was a somewhat experienced fighter. Not that I enjoyed it.
"Sorry to have bothered you." She said. "I was chased by 5 of them but run out of daggers, and had no other choice than to run.". I can see that pretty well.
"It's okay, we were nearby anyways." replied curtly Tim.
Just like with Tim, I asked "What were you doing this deep in the forest?".
Embarrassed, she replied "I'm sorry, but I can't say…". It's okay. I know what you're looking for anyways.
A small moment of silence occupied the place. It was weird how nobody moved. I broke it though by turning to Tim. "So, you said you were on your way to the castle ?"
"Yes, I have business there."
"Would you mind me accompanying you then? My horse died a while back and I've been on foot since. Trust me, it hurts.". Seeing how I ran, it was hard to believe, but I knew Tim wasn't a guy to question that.
"Sure. My horse is big enough anyways.".
As we were talking, the girl on the ground raised her hand to interrupt, looking like she was about to cry. "If it's possible, hum, would you mind if I, uh, accompanied you two ?"
"It shouldn't be a problem. I reckon my horse is massive.".
She seemed overjoyed.
"By the way, what's your name?" Tim asked.
"Hum, it's Aya.". I chuckled.
"Okay, then let me call my horse.". He whistled, and surely enough, his massive horse arrived. It was weird how it managed to move inside the deep forest though. Not that I actually cared about it.
We three jumped on the horse, and naviguated carefully through the woods. After a while, the forest became less dense, and we were able to fasten our pace.
We saw a camp of goblin at one point, and just decided to avoid it. I can't fight, Tim can't fight and Aya can't fight, so there was no point.
And just a little after, we were out of these damn woods. Tim jumped off the horse and stretched. "It's good to finally feel the sun again.". I nodded, agreeing with him.
Aya, on the other hand, was too busy puking on the side. How can you be an assassin and not handle horse rides?
A few minutes later, we were back on the road. Our next destination was not the castle, as it was way too far away, but instead a small village on the road. It was only an hour or two away, which left me with enough time to think about my current predicament.
So, I've been really transported into this game, huh? At least, I have this amazing title with me. The only thing I'm worried about is that here there are no retries or redo. If I die, I'll really die. If so, I must be very careful.
While I thought of a plan for the trial, time flew and, by the time we arrived, it was already sunset.
This was actually quite annoying, as it meant that I had to find a place to stay for the night.
Or so normal people would have thought.
A side effect of the Mental stat is the reduction of sleepiness. While my body will still need sleep of course, I won't feel nearly as much. Which means I could just do whatever I wanted tonight.
We were now in front of the inn Tim and Aya selected. "Two rooms of three?" asked the reception lady. However, I said that I won't be staying there. "Are you sure?" Tim said. "Don't worry. I have plans for the night.". Before he could reply anything, I was already turning my back at him and walking out of the inn.
Well it's true; have plans. Just not what I make it seem like I have.
I headed out of the village, opposite side of where we entered.
The village was actually quite cozy, and despite it being past sunset there were lots of lights still, and some people still roamed the streets.
This place was the typical RPG fantasy village, with everything you'd expect. A small adventurer's guild, shops, inns and more. And obviously, no plot or anything special whatsoever.
I didn't really take time to appreciate it though, because I already did in the past. Well, it was nice to have a safe place I remembered.
Once I was out of the city, I went into the forest. Everything was dark, so it was hard to understand what I was looking at, but the feelings were the same as always.
While I continuously died in the higher trials, I ventured the lower floors in the search of the most optimized route - to gain precious time.
And part of my discoveries were Tim, Aya, and now what I was searching for.
In the forest was located a goblin camp. Not just a pack, but a real camp. What's different between a local pack and a camp are their armory and number. Camps were equipped with weapons, and had probably twice or thrice the number of goblin a standard pack had.
And just like in a camp, some slept. My goal was to steal a sword, before fighting off the camp.
Moments later I began to see the light of the camp. I make a quick detour around it as I was on the wrong side, and surely I began to notice the armory.
Sneaking up was actually quite easy, as goblin were heavy sleepers. My high base dexterity stat made things a bit smoother.
Swiftly, I opened the cloth door, and entered the small tent.
On the tip of my toes, I reached a sword that was on the ground. I firmly grabbed it, and started going in the opposite direction.
As I pushed the cloth aside a big, metallic, sound echoed through the camp. I looked at my feet. It seemed like I walked on a tangling sword accidentally.
So much for being stealthy. Fuck off, man !