Chapter 3:
The Attack of the Goblins
I TURNED SEVEN SIX MONTHS LATER. I WAS growing up, but my magic research was flat on its face. I had squeezed dry everything I could learn from the trout.
My focus had also changed to fairies and monsters—two beings that had long factored in my ideas about fantastic creatures. In fantasy worlds, they were both deeply intertwined with magic itself. It was certainly worth looking into.
I, of course, never had the chance. I could only spend my days wondering what they were. It was during one such day that something interesting occurred.
I was practicing my mana in my bedroom, gazing at the concentrated particles in my right hand. I now regularly worked on my Magicoat, Magicluster, and Mana Eject—my term for when mana particles emit into the air. At first, I’d hit my limit in seconds. I gradually improved, and now I could hold Mana Eject for at least ten seconds.
Despite these advances, I wasn’t really attached to it. Moving around mana like this was pretty pointless. It was nothing more than channeling a powerful emotion to release mana. You couldn’t create it from false feelings altogether, but it didn’t have to be something entirely from the heart, either.
Emotions were at the root of both willpower and action. Even with vague feelings, I was still taking actions and desiring things. Desire often became the emotion I channeled, as it wasn’t the type of excess that clouded your judgment and made you impulsive. So long as my emotions and willpower were under control, I could produce mana.
Once I realized this, I achieved the feat of emitting mana with no problem at all. Eventually, it became second nature. I’d practiced Mana Eject so many times that I’d developed a grasp on what exactly it took to release it, and I could produce it as I pleased.
It’s still a bit fuzzy, but I think I’ve learned that three things can release mana: emotion, will, and desire. This took forever to realize, and I now I was stuck again. I had no other leads to explore.
I heard voices and loud footsteps stomping about beyond my bedroom door. I went downstairs to investigate. Rain poured outside, and its sound was overwhelming. At the living room, I saw Dad in a drenched overcoat. Behind him stood a few grim and waterlogged villagers. They were talking with Mom.
Something was off. I had never seen a scene like this before. Marie came running from upstairs and joined me. We went closer to Dad and the others until they finally noticed us.
“What’s going on?” Marie asked.
The adults all looked around at each other, as if wondering what to do. Dad eventually opened his mouth.
“It’s goblins,” he said.
“Goblins?” Marie gasped. “You mean—m-m-monsters?!”
“That’s right. We have a report sighting a number of them. It’s dangerous, but we need to take care of them. Kids, no matter what happens, don’t go outside.”
Goblins were one of the more typical monsters in fantasy settings. Most games and manga portrayed them as weak mobs that novice heroes and adventurers took on for easy experience. Was it the same here? Judging by everyone’s pale and serious faces, probably not. Even Mom, whose face always looked gentle, was tense.
My parents turned towards the villagers.
“Bring all of the women, children, and elderly here,” Dad said. “That should be about thirty people in total. The men will hunt down the goblins. Everyone else should stay inside no matter what.”
“Understood,” the villagers replied.
Everyone was panicking. Were goblins really this bad? My adult brain felt useless—I was a clueless kid in this scenario. Marie was freaking out too. She held my hand in a tight grip.
“D-don’t worry, Shion,” Marie said, grasping her sword with her other hand. “Dad and the men will handle them. Plus, I’ll protect you.”
She did have excellent skills, but no real battlefield experience because she was just a kid. I wasn’t sure if she was ready to stand up to a monster.
I felt ungrounded by the uncertainty and panic. The word “goblin” only conjured the fictional creatures I knew from video games. In those games, goblins were weak. The level of fear here implied otherwise. In fact, the general reaction made one point clear: goblins were dangerous creatures. I needed to quickly reset my expectations.
“We’ll go straight for their nest,” Dad said. “There are supposed to be only two goblins, so with all the men together, we should be fine. We’ll also need to do a hunt through the mountains for other specimens. That could take a while.”
It seemed like Dad was just trying to calm us down. He spoke to Mom, but loudly enough so that Marie and I could heard him.
His words made the reality of the situation very clear to me. Every man in the village was drafted into this fight. It would take these fifteen or so men to defeat two goblins. Would it really take those numbers to guarantee a win? No, apparently the battle would be risky even with that army. That’s just how dangerous goblins were here.
Sensing the gravity of the situation, I called out to Dad.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Shion, I’m sorry, but there’s no time to talk. Later.”
“Just one second, I promise,” I said. “Dad, do goblins have the intelligence to get to the second floor of this building from the outside?”
Dad looked skeptical but answered immediately. “No. They’re stupid creatures, and our walls do not have anything for them to grasp for climbing.”
“Then we should all shut ourselves in on the second floor,” I said. “We’ll block the front door with furniture so they can’t break it down. That way we’ll be safe even if the goblins come here.”
Dad thought this over. He raised his finger to his chin. Mom and the other villagers looked at me in surprise. Marie stood by my side, examining the room.
“That’s a good idea. Yes, please do that. We’ll signal you so that you can hear us from up there when we return.”
“Got it. We’ll stay upstairs until you get back.”
Dad gave a composed nod, and then reached over to pat my head. “You’ve got this, Shion.”
With that, he and the other villagers left the house.
Marie’s hand still held mine. Her grip grew slightly stronger than before.
“O-okay then,” Mom said. She sounded flustered. “Let’s board up the windows before the villagers get here. W-we have some nails from Graste, and some planks in case of emergencies like this. Wh-where are they?” It seemed Mom didn’t fare so well in tense situations.
“I think they’re in the shed in the garden,” I said. “Marie, let’s go get them. Mom, you can get the nails.”
My commands bewildered Mom and Marie. Since I was the only calm one here, I thought I’d better divide up the work. With that, I started bringing wooden planks inside from the shed.
Not long after, the elderly, women, and children from the village arrived, including Rose. Mom explained the situation to them, and the adults began boarding up the house.
Rose ran up to them. “Allow me to help, too,” she said.
“Thank you. Please do.”
Her face was stiff and determined. She was calm compared to everyone else. Everyone was on edge because this was quite the situation.
The grown-ups directed us on how to move the wood planks inside and board up the windows. We boarded up the front door, then blocked the doorway with heavy furniture. This created a substantial obstacle for the goblins.
The thirty villagers who were incapable of fighting were gathered on the first floor. After making some final reinforcements, we moved up to the second floor.
There were five rooms upstairs: my room, Marie’s, Mom and Dad’s, a study, and a guest room. Six of us went into Marie’s room: myself, Marie, Mom, Rose, and a mother with a young boy.
I still didn’t know the details, but Rose didn’t have a family. Her caregiver was the village head. That was who picked her up that day, then? He was off fighting with the other men, so that explained his absence.
Marie’s room was simply decorated in a girlish atmosphere. She only had a few dolls, and the curtains and sheets were pale and lacey. We brought in the remaining planks, boarded the door, and sat on Marie’s bed and chair. It still poured outside, so there was no way to know what was happening. This just worsened everyone’s anxiety more.
Monsters, I thought. I did want to investigate them for the sake of my magic research, but certainly not like this. It wasn’t worth dying for.
Mom put her arms around me, Marie, and Rose. The other mother hugged her son close. Time passed like this. I hadn’t experienced anything like this before. I couldn’t even have imagined this would happen. That was life for you—without warning, you’re thrown into danger. I died in that very way in my previous life, and I never wanted to experience that again. I especially didn’t want it to happen to anyone else here.