Chapter 6:
The Village and Me
I RAN, CONTROLLING the God of Fate statue with my phone as I went. I headed for the village gate, from where I could hear yells and the sounds of destruction. I kept track of the statue through my phone—it made it there before me.
The gate and log fence were broken. Gams was struggling to fight off the monsters swarming through. He stabbed the spear in his right hand into a black wolf while beheading an approaching green goblin with the sword in his left. His hands full, he kicked a second wolf that was leaping at his face, then finished it off when he pulled the spear from its companion. Kan, Lan, and the other villagers stood behind him in a line, keeping the monsters at bay as best they could.
They fought hard, but the stream of monsters was never ending. The arrows raining down from the watchtower prevented foes from getting into the village itself, but at this rate, it was only a matter of time. Chem was behind the fighters healing any who were injured, but they weren’t in any state to go back into battle.
I crouched beside a house with a view of the battlefield and focused on controlling the golem. The villagers didn’t need me cheering them on from the sidelines. They needed the power of a god!
“Leave it to me, guys!” I tapped the screen and sent the golem right into the swarm of enemies.
“Stand your ground! If we let them through, it’s over!” Gams, his body covered in injuries, stood firm, encouraging his allies as he continued to swing his sword. Then, the God of Fate statue jumped in front of him, a sword in each hand. It bisected a black wolf and green goblin on either side, from their heads down to their abdomens.
“It’s the God of Fate!” Gams called out with uncharacteristic delight. Color began to return to the faces of the other villagers, even beneath their bruises. None of the new arrivals had ever seen the statue move, but they must have heard about it. Everyone watched, their eyes sparkling with hope.
As their god, it was my job to answer that hope.
Thanks for holding them off so far, everyone.
The statue couldn’t speak, so I made it raise one of its swords high in a display of gratitude. Then I sent it through the hole in the fence. There were monsters out there as far as the eye could see. Black wolves, green goblins, boarnabies, yellow goblins, a one-eyed red goblin…so many monsters of all kinds. Even something that looked like a lion with wings and a humanoid golem made out of rock.
I left smaller monsters like the goblins and wolves to Gams and the others, focusing on the large and unfamiliar creatures. The first one I spotted was the one-eyed red goblin, and I sent the statue straight for it. I didn’t slow down even as green goblins crowded in—the statue cut right through the necks and midsections of any monster that came close.
The statue reached the one-eyed red goblin in an instant, leaving a trail of gore behind it. The goblin tried to ready its weapon, unprepared for the golem’s arrival, but it was too slow. The statue stuck its sword right into its large, grotesque eyeball, slashing upward and flinging its brains into the air. The statue stood proudly as the villagers cheered.
I remembered being surprised by the superhuman strength of a wooden statue last time I summoned it, but it was even stronger now. Was it because I was level 2 or because Destiny turned it to stone? It didn’t matter. Stronger was better.
With the one-eyed red goblin defeated, the other monsters froze in shock. I sent the statue at its next target, the lion-like monster, cutting down everything in its path on the way. The statue swung its sword, but the lion flew up at the last second, dodging. Its power of flight meant danger for the village. I made the statue grab a green goblin corpse at its feet and launch it into the air, hitting the lion before it could dodge again. Both monsters fell to the ground in a tangle. The statue cut off the creature’s head before it could get up. It flicked blood from its sword.
I’d dealt with the biggest monsters, but there were still so many left. Killing them all seemed impossible, but it was the only option.
The God of Fate statue slayed beast after beast. Its sword was long gone, so it made use of a discarded goblin club and its bare hands instead. Its stone punches were strong enough to pulverize an enemy’s head with a single strike.
The sky was clear when the fight started, but now rain was pouring down. The area outside the village’s fence was slightly lower, so puddles formed quickly and made footing treacherous. The statue was fine, though. With its superhuman strength and new body, the water rolled right off its stone skin. It was far tougher than the monsters. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before we claimed victory.
The only problem was that the monsters had begun to avoid engaging me directly, keeping their distance.
“They’ve started using their heads.” I couldn’t move the golem too far from the fence or I’d risk monsters slipping past into the village. This wasn’t good. “Are they waiting for my FP to run out?”
They were spread out, staying out of my reach. If I went after any one of them, the rest would be free to focus on the village.
“How many microtransactions did all these monsters cost?” I grumbled, anxiety and impatience fraying my temper.
Yamamoto-san had explained to me that summoning and raising monsters cost money. The bill for this many creatures must have been staggering, but I didn’t have time to worry about my opponents’ wallets. My FP would run out if this stalemate kept up. I had to do something.