From his seat, the king leaned forward slightly, his interest piqued. "I wonder what you will do now, hero," he murmured under his breath.
"Wh-what should we do, G-george?" Shin asked, stuttering.
"Try to knock them out in an instant or steal their wooden clubs?" George suggested.
"What's with him? I can feel he's nervous," Bajar thought.
Shin nodded. A goblin jumped at both of them. As the goblin swung its wooden club, Shin blocked it with his right forearm, using a technique called Hardening, where a person tenses their muscles to make that part of their body as hard as steel. The club landed with a resounding thud on Shin's forearm. Quickly, Shin moved to counterattack, delivering a right hook that made the goblin vanish.
"W-what? It's vanished!" Shin yelled to George, grabbing the wooden club from where the goblin had been.
"It's pretty easy since it's magic, but you can still feel the real goblin's strength once you let your guard down," George gave a tip to Shin. Another goblin jumped at George, but George quickly pivoted his hips and kicked it. The goblin vanished just like the first one.
Afterward, a group of goblins appeared, hiding in the shadows.
"Grrrr... Atsrek!!" the goblin leader commanded, and the others started attacking Shin and George. They gripped their wooden clubs tightly, swinging at the two. But the battle felt endless, as if the goblins were infinite.
"Tsk! We should run!" George suggested.
Shin nodded. But before they could escape, a goblin formed a circle around them.
"They're circling us!" George shouted.
Three goblins jumped at the same time, attacking George and Shin. Suddenly, a student appeared, his left hand in his pants pocket, killing the three goblins with a single blow from his right hand. His mid-long hair was slicked back.
"Hey, come here!" he yelled.
Shin and George exchanged a glance and nodded, following him. They ran, dodging goblins along the way. After a while, George, breathing heavily, asked, "Where are we going?"
"Just wait! It's a safe place. The other students are already there!" the student answered.
After a few more moments of running, they arrived at a cave. They went inside, and the two students who were already there shut the cave entrance.
"It's pretty dark in here," George said, still panting.
"Frey, use your magic!" the student called.
Frey, a student with spiky red hair, agreed, and with a flick of his fingers, a fire ignited at the tip of his staff, lighting up the broken wooden club Shin had handed him.
"Thank you, guys!" Shin said brightly.
"You're welcome!" the fat student said, closing the cave entrance. "Name's Jason Foodo. You're the new student, right, Shin?"
Shin nodded. "Yes, I am!"
Frey used his fire magic to illuminate the cave further. "Nice to meet you, Shin. I'm Frey Firestone."
Shin's eyes widened in awe. "WOW!"
"And my name is Arze Thorau!" Arze said as he extended his hand. Shin shook it firmly.
"This guy's right hand is pretty heavy. That's why he was able to one-shot those three goblins all at once," Shin thought, amazed by the strength in his grip.
"The student we saved earlier left already. We were just waiting for you, Arze!" Jason said brightly.
"Thank you!" Arze replied, bowing slightly.
After a while of staying, Jason moved the stone covering the cave exit and peeked outside. He noticed the goblins retreating into the distance. "Hm, I think it's okay to go now they're leaving," Jason suggested.
"But what about the other students?" Arze asked, concern evident in his tone.
"If we rescue more, we're just wasting time! We don't know if they'll betray us!" Jason's voice rose in frustration.
Arze grinned and clenched his right fist. "Uh, George?" Shin said, sensing the tension.
"Don't," George warned, his voice firm.
The atmosphere grew tense as Jason and Arze looked ready to clash. Before it could escalate further, Frey stepped in, his magic amplifying his voice. "If you two fight, I'll extinguish the fire here and leave you both in the dark!"
Arze and Jason froze, their eyes widening. They immediately bowed their heads. "Sorry!" they said in unison.
After the awkward moment, they decided to leave the forest. Navigating through the dense trees, they eventually reached the base of a giant mountain. Ropes dangled down from the cliffs above, where some students were already climbing.
As they prepared to ascend, Shin activated one of his techniques, Shattering Booster, which allowed him to walk along the mountain's rocky surface while gripping the rope. Frey, Jason, Arze, and George noticed and quickly decided to copy his method. The other students, seeing this, followed suit.
When they finally reached the top, the group erupted in cheers. "Wow! Thanks to you, I didn't waste a lot of time climbing up!" one student exclaimed, shaking Shin's hand.
"Hehe, it's fine. We've all gotta help each other, y'know!" Shin said, scratching his head bashfully.
"Heh, I kinda enjoy this recognition," Shin thought, his face slightly red. "If I become the hero who saves this world, maybe I'll get even more of this!"
Arze raised a brow. "What's with him?"
Frey smirked, using his fire magic to amplify his voice again. "He's definitely enjoying it."
The group continued walking on a straight grassy path. "Hey, isn't this weird? We've been walking straight for a while no traps or anything," one student pointed out.
"Maybe they're just being nice," another joked.
After some time, they came across a wooden post with a warning carved into it: "Beware of fireballs~"
Before they could react, a massive magic circle appeared in the sky, glowing with strange symbols. In an instant, fireballs began raining down from above. The group scattered as a fireball burst between them, sending everyone to the ground.
"Aghhh!" Shin groaned, struggling to stand. As he pushed himself up, he noticed a fireball heading directly toward him. His legs began to tremble uncontrollably.
"W-what's happening? I-I can't move!" Shin stammered, frozen in fear.
"Shinnnnnn! Wake up!" George yelled, but Shin remained paralyzed. George glanced upward and saw another fireball barreling toward him. Gritting his teeth, he quickly calculated a plan.
"If I just destroy mine first and use the momentum, maybe I can save him!" George thought, determination blazing in his eyes. He knew it was a reckless idea but had no other choice.
George pivoted his hips and hardened his right hand, shouting, "Shattering Oblivion Fist!" as he punched the fireball. His fist connected with a deafening crack. The fiery orb splintered, the cracks spreading rapidly until the fireball shattered into countless fragments.
"Fuck! It shattered! What do I do now?!" George panicked, realizing he had no way to find a boost mid-air. His eyes darted to Shin, who stood frozen, his trembling legs refusing to move. It was as if Shin had accepted his fate.
"M-move, Shi-Shin! What are you doing?!" George thought desperately, his heart pounding in his chest. But Shin remained paralyzed, unable to act.
In that moment of despair, a figure suddenly leapt onto George's head, using it as a springboard to launch toward the fireball streaking toward Shin.
"SHATTERING PIERCING KICK!" the figure roared, spinning mid-air. Their foot struck the fireball, drilling into it with relentless force. The impact sent sparks flying as the figure didn't stop at just the fireball. Instead, they went straight for Shin.
"W-what?!" Shin exclaimed, his eyes widening as the figure collided with him, knocking him backward.
George, who had landed back on the ground, barely had time to react before the danger had passed. He quickly realized who had intervened and yelled, "Hey, you fucker! What are you doing?!"
The figure landed lightly on the ground, brushing himself off with an infuriatingly smug grin. "Hehe, it wasn't my fault. I'm just so strong I couldn't control myself~" the boy teased with a playful, mocking tone.
It was Eclid, standing there with an irritating expression that only fueled George's rage. George's veins bulged as he clenched his fist, his burned right hand already swinging toward Eclid's face.
Before the punch could connect, a much larger hand caught George's fist mid-air. A towering, muscular man stepped forward, his bald head gleaming in the sunlight.
"T-thank you, Puri," Eclid said with a sly chuckle, clearly unfazed. He glanced back at George and Shin, grinning mischievously. "Bye, see you two soon~" With that, Eclid left, his gang following close behind.
George fumed, his fists trembling with barely restrained anger. "That bastard!"
"It's o-okay, George," Shin interrupted, still shaken but managing a faint smile. "He saved me!"
George sighed deeply, rubbing the back of his neck. "Let's just go," he muttered, not wanting to linger.
Shin nodded, and the group continued dodging the relentless fireballs. After what felt like an eternity, they finally arrived at a clearing where a group of cabins stood. The area was filled with tables stacked with food, and other students were already gathered there, eating as though nothing had happened.
Without a second thought, Shin, George, Frey, Arze, and Jason hurried inside and began wolfing down the food, their earlier struggles momentarily forgotten.