I took a slow breath in, then let a slow breath out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat. With each exhale, I stripped away emotions I didn’t need. With each inhale, I cleared my mind and corrected my focus.
Liluetta and Yune had left. They had disbanded the party and walked straight into what might be a pack of goblins lying in wait. They had left me behind, and their actions had told me not to follow. All I had done after that was stand here, frozen in place.
But I couldn’t go home alone, no matter what. My legs shook, but they would not retreat. My dry throat begged to let out an angry roar. My tense body stubbornly faced forward, refusing to turn from the path I needed to take.
“I wasn’t able to do what Old Badger did...”
I exhaled again, and the trembling in my legs faded. Old Badger had been a real leader. He had stopped those three adventurers back then. There had been five of us in that party, and we had all agreed to turn back because of him. But I hadn’t been able to convince Liluetta and Yune. I had let the two of them go alone.
With a deep breath in, I unstrapped my pack basket and tossed it off to the side. I wouldn’t need it today. If I made it back safely, I could pick it up then.
“It’s different this time,” I told myself. I gripped my spear so tightly it hurt and clenched my teeth so hard I could hear them grind. I recalled the memories of my anger—that unbearable, searing rage that burned away everything else. I was going to face death, and the only thing that could drive me forward now was this emotion.
With each exhale, I discarded every other feeling. With each inhale, I fed the flames of my fury.
“It’s different this time. It’s not like what happened with Old Badger, when I knew nothing and let it end!”
With my heart dyed in rage, I forced my foot forward. It took an eternity to move a single step. But once I did, the next came easily. After that, I fixed my eyes on my destination—on the ones who had left me behind. I had made a mistake and let them go, and I regretted it. But I was going to fix that now.
I was still far too naive to call myself an adventurer. I couldn’t be like Old Badger. What I should’ve done instead was act like those other no-good adventurers I knew—to do what Waine, Sheya, and Chikka would’ve done. I knew exactly how they would’ve handled things. The three of them would’ve grabbed those two reckless girls by the scruffs of their necks and dragged them down the mountain. Especially...
“That stubborn idiot!”
I threw more fuel into the fire. My legs surged forward, and I broke into a sprint.
✦ ✦ ✦
I ran. I ran. I ran.
I crouched low and tore through the undergrowth like a beast, ignoring the branches that lashed against my face. A cold, calculating part of me was assessing the situation. Even if the goblins were lying in wait, their focus would be on the two girls ahead. Even if I made some noise, they wouldn’t notice me. Plus, I had taken far too long to start moving and couldn’t afford to take my time.
My mind flashed again and again with the worst possible images, and I shoved every single one of them out of the way. I sprinted up a slope before hurling myself downhill, almost losing my footing and tumbling over, then wove through the thick vegetation choking the animal trail until I reached my destination.
The sight before me obliterated the last shred of restraint in my heart: a clearing, filled with blooming purple flowers, with Liluetta, Yune, and three goblins.
It was a one-sided battle. Yune was flailing her weapon around, but she was just desperately trying to keep two of the goblins from closing in. Liluetta... She had started to chant when a goblin’s club struck her wand and sent it flying.
I took it all in within seconds. And in that moment, I heard it—the sound of something snapping inside me.
“What the hell—”
I sped up like a beast and raised my spear up high, ignoring everything I’d been taught about proper form. My mind was blank, my vision tunneled, and time seemed to slow to a crawl.
The goblin raised its club, with Liluetta frozen in terror below.
I lunged, and my spear pierced the goblin’s neck from behind.
“—are you doing?!”
I twisted the spear still embedded in its throat. Something hard snapped with a sickening crack. I could feel it through the shaft of my weapon. I dug my heel into the dirt and wrenched the spear sideways. The goblin’s head twisted unnaturally like a broken toy, and blood gushed from its mouth, nose, ears, and eyes. A wet, ripping sound filled the air as I tore my spear free, shredding flesh and skin in the process. Dark goblin blood splattered across Liluetta’s pale face and clothes.
She was still alive. That was all that mattered.
But that wasn’t the end, and I didn’t stop moving. Yune’s goblins had turned toward me, while she was just staring at me. Maybe she was stunned by my arrival, but I felt a strong headache coming on.
This is your chance to strike! I wanted to scream. The enemy’s distracted! Why the hell aren’t you attacking?!
I adjusted my grip on my spear, sliding my hands back and holding it near the butt end. This would create the widest arc, the longest reach, the strongest horizontal swing, and—if I missed—the biggest, most defenseless opening that would probably get me killed.
Like I give a damn.
“RAHHHHH!” With a fierce battle cry, I swung my spear.
The nearest goblin raised its shortsword in a panic and blocked my attack just in time. The rusted blade dug into the wooden shaft of my spear, but that didn’t matter. I clenched my teeth so hard I thought they’d shatter. I planted my feet and felt my leg muscles straining. Then I let the fury raging inside me take over as I ripped my spear free from the embedded blade. The goblin couldn’t hold its ground—its own weapon struck its face and sent both sword and monster crashing to the ground right beside Liluetta, who was staring at me in stunned silence.
“GYAAAGH!” An ear-piercing screech, high-pitched, raspy, and ugly, sounded from somewhere behind me.
I whipped around. The third goblin was charging straight at me with its shortsword in a forward thrust. It wasn’t attacking to avenge its fallen comrades. The creature was driven by simple instinct and logic: I was its greatest threat.
Its twisted face contorted with aggression as it came in close and lunged. I jumped back, narrowly avoiding getting stabbed, then dodged a downward slash by stepping back at an angle. With my spear, I barely managed to block a third attack aimed at my stomach.
I gritted my teeth and braced myself. My training had paid off. I could hold my own on defense... But this was bad. The goblin had forced its way inside my range. At this distance, my spear was more of a hindrance than a weapon. I needed to create space, but the goblin was faster at closing the gap than I was at retreating.
The fourth attack came. I blocked it, but the impact was heavier than before. The shock rattled through my arms, numbing them all the way up to my biceps. A groan of pain escaped my lips.
I caught sight of the goblin’s wicked grin, and I wanted to spit out a curse. Just moments ago, its face had been twisted in fury, but now it was already beginning to relax. That alone filled me with frustration. I could tell just from that disgusting, twisted smile that it had realized its advantage and was relishing the sight of me struggling.
These things really don’t care about avenging their fallen. It’s already forgotten its comrades.
I had killed the first one with a surprise attack from behind. The second one had been off-balance when I struck and got knocked out easily. But this third goblin had forced me into an unfavorable range as soon as our fight had started.
Another strike—I blocked it with the shaft of my spear, but just barely. It was a heavy blow, fully backed by the weight of the goblin’s body and its confidence from having the upper hand.
“Ugh...!” I grunted. I couldn’t hold my stance. My body staggered, and another groan of pain slipped out.
And then, with a dry, cracking sound, my spear split in two right at the middle of the shaft where the goblin’s blade had cut into it earlier.
This time, the goblin laughed outright. It cackled, its voice full of ridicule, and bared its yellowed, jagged teeth gleaming with spit strung in between. With a victorious sneer, it raised its shortsword high.
I had lost my balance. There was no way I could dodge in time.
Even so, I didn’t close my eyes.