Chapter 14 - Return (1)

The moment Erwin picked up an arrow, her face tense, I gave her a shove forward.

"Huh?"

With the sudden push against her back, Erwin stumbled a step forward, bringing her skin into contact with the Essence floating in midair.

WHOOOOSH!

The Essence radiated light, swirling into Erwin's body.

"You crazy son of a bitch!"

Just as I thought. Those bastards were after this too.

"I told you! Not to move!"

The party of four explorers soon arrived ten meters in front of us.

Well, what were they going to do now? She'd already absorbed the Essence.

I took an intimidating step forward, showing no sign of nerves.

"Why should I listen to you?"

"That Essence was ours!"

I could roughly picture what would have happened if I hadn't made Erwin absorb it. They probably would have demanded we hand it over, making some ridiculous claim. They could say they'd killed it with an arrow from far away, or come up with whatever excuse they liked.

"If you want a fight, come at me. I'll gladly take you on."

Four against two. We were outnumbered, but I responded all the more aggressively.

It was much the same principle as a small dog barking its head off. I wanted to avoid a fight at all costs. People were like beasts: show weakness, and they'd tear into you.

"..."

The redhead who seemed to speak for the group silently clenched his teeth.

Well, he had a brain too.

It would be one thing if the Essence were still floating in the air, but now that it had an owner, they had nothing to gain by fighting us. The smart thing to do was give up and leave—

"... I demand compensation."

So he'd decided to whine about it. Seeing the Essence appear and disappear right before his eyes must have left him sorely disappointed. Not that I had any reason to care.

"We claimed an Essence we earned. What exactly do you want compensation for?"

"Do you have proof? We were the ones who killed that goblin."

I didn't bother asking, "And do you have proof?" Obviously, there couldn't be any. It wasn't as if the Labyrinth had CCTV. In the end, the stronger side's version would become the truth.

"I'll say it again. If you want a fight, come at me. I won't back down."

I remained unyielding. Either attack, or stop spouting bullshit and fuck off.

I didn't even give them time to think calmly.

"You have until the count of three. If you haven't decided by then, I'll consider you enemies."

"M-Mister...?"

Why couldn't she read the room? Just stay quiet. Couldn't she see how scared they all were now that I was coming on strong?

"Three."

"Two."

"We'll leave."

He made his choice before I reached one. Fair enough. I'd probably react the same way if a hulking, tattooed barbarian this size were counting down at me.

If something truly theirs had been stolen, their outrage might have driven them to seek revenge with fire in their eyes... But they knew better than anyone that wasn't the case.

They soon disappeared from sight.

"Are they gone?"

"Yes. I think so."

"We'll pick up the pace until we reach the portal. Lead the way."

Without a word of protest, Erwin forged ahead at nearly a run. She sensed it too, to some extent. We'd avoided bloodshed, but this wasn't over yet.

"Any sign of them?"

"I can't sense them. Oh, there's a group of goblins at three o'clock. What should we do?"

"Ignore them."

"All right."

We'd originally planned to take our time hunting goblins on the way back, but plans had changed. We would leave the second floor as quickly as possible. Then, once on the first floor, we'd get as far from the portal as we could.

Erwin tilted her head when she heard my plan.

"Surely they wouldn't follow us all the way to the first floor?"

"They wouldn't be following us. We simply have the same destination."

"What do you mean?"

It was a simple deduction. They were a party of four, which was more than enough to operate near the entrance to the second floor. Yet they were heading toward the entrance rather than the outskirts?

Their intention was obvious.

"Chances are, they were also planning to go down to the first floor on day seven and return to the city. That's why we ran into them here at this time."

"Oh..."

In short, they were a bunch of nobodies just dipping their toes into the second floor, like us. That was why they'd gotten scared and run away despite having twice our numbers. They might not even be a proper party, just a makeshift group who happened to meet on the first floor.

"I see..."

Erwin nodded quietly at my explanation, though I wasn't sure she'd actually understood.

"You're amazing, Mister!"

... You didn't understand, did you?

"I'll just do whatever you tell me!"

Well, maybe that was better. People who tried to be clever without knowing what they were doing tended to cause more trouble.

"Mister, goblins!"

"We'll go around them."

"But I think they've already spotted us. They're running this way!"

"What?"

The moment I heard that, something felt wrong. From day four until now, not once had the goblins spotted us first. That was how exceptional Erwin's detection abilities were.

Even if we were running now, unlike before, this couldn't be a mere coincidence. Especially since she'd even absorbed an Essence.

"For now, we'll circle around the other way."

"Right!"

Erwin changed direction at my instruction. And at that moment...

WHISTLE!

An arrow shot toward us from the direction we'd turned. The instant I spotted it, I grabbed Erwin by the back of the neck and yanked her back.

"Ack!"

Erwin gasped from the sharp pressure on her windpipe... But being choked for a moment was better than having her throat pierced.

BANG!

The moment I pulled Erwin against me and covered our upper bodies with my shield, the arrow ricocheted off it. Even a glancing hit packed quite a punch.

Was that the bastard with the crossbow from earlier?

"I-I... could've d-dodged..."

Erwin was trying to say something between coughs. Sorry, but there was no time to listen.

"...it my..."

"Just run."

I put Erwin in front again and started running.

"Mister, if another arrow comes, you really don't need to yank me like that..."

"Be quiet. I'm thinking."

At my low tone, Erwin pressed her lips shut. I continued thinking as I ran, keeping watch on our surroundings.

I had no idea how they'd done it, but those bastards had lured the goblins over. Now they were lying in ambush on the opposite side, trying to sandwich us.

Could we make it safely to the portal if we just kept running?

'Not a chance.'

I weighed the possibility, but the odds seemed extremely low. They had a crossbowman, and the goblins would keep chasing us.

With luck, we might reach it alive despite all that... But, well, I certainly wouldn't be the lucky one.

"We'll have to fight."

In the time it took to steady my breathing a few times, I'd reached my conclusion.

"Erwin, use your Ability."

"My Ability?"

"Use the power of the Essence."

Essences dropped by monsters contained their individual special abilities. For example:

[Goblin Archer]

Agility +2 Flexibility +4 Sight +6 Smell +2 Perception +2 Recognition Interference +6 Precision +8 Poison Tolerance +4 Fixation +7

(P) Poison Arrow — Adds poison damage when using bow-type weapons.

(A) Thief Steps — Grants stealth.

That was how the information appeared in the game. Stat increases, one passive, and one active.

This information should apply in this world too. There had been a few unexpected factors so far, like evil spirits and starting points, but at least in these respects, things had always matched the game.

"B-but I don't know how to use it..."

Watching Erwin fluster at my unreasonable demand, I smiled.

"There it is."

"What is?"

"You're in stealth now."

Erwin's running figure had grown blurry. The effect was so slight she would still be visible from far away, but...

"Try stopping."

When she stopped, the stealth effect grew stronger.

So this was why the character moved so slowly in the game. As time passed with her standing still, she went beyond translucent to nearly transparent. There was a distinct oddness to her outline, but it wouldn't be visible unless you were close. Especially in a forest this dark.

"Wow..."

Erwin marveled as she looked at her body. I found it fascinating too, though probably for a slightly different reason.

So skills activated in response to intent, not activation words or anything like that. Anyway, I could investigate that more thoroughly later.

"Erwin. Take this."

"Huh?"

I handed her the backpack and rattled off my instructions.

"Stay hidden here, and when I give the signal, shoot the crossbowman dead first. Don't reveal yourself before then, no matter what. Understood?"

"What do you..."

"There's no time. I'll take that as a yes."

I hurriedly finished speaking and immediately started running.

"Wait, the signal! What will the signal—!"

I heard her calling softly behind me, but going back was too risky.

My foot came down heavily as I stopped, only about thirty meters from where I'd started. I'd never intended to go far. If I stepped in a trap hidden in the undergrowth while running like this, I'd be in serious trouble.

"Grrk, grrk!"

When I turned around, I could sense goblins swarming in from ahead and to the left.

As for those fuckers... I still didn't know where they were. They hadn't shown themselves since I'd blocked their first shot.

But I wasn't too worried. It was obvious what they were thinking.

"Grrk, grrk!"

They'd show up once I was fighting the goblins. That must have been why they'd lured them over in the first place.

Turning my attention back to the present, I surveyed the approaching goblins.

"Grrrk!!"

Among the fifteen or so goblins, two were swordsmen. Fortunately, there weren't any archers—

CLANG!

There were.

Batting aside the incoming arrow with my shield, I charged into the goblins. Of course, I couldn't rampage like before. Not only the goblin archer but also the human crossbowman would be aiming at me.

CLANG!

Another arrow came about ten seconds later. This one was from the goblin archer too.

CLANG!

After blocking the arrow with my shield, I smashed the skull of a goblin swordsman swinging its scimitar. In exchange, another goblin managed to give my leg a shallow stab with its carving knife...

SHUNK.

It couldn't be helped. I had to accept this much risk. Those bastards wouldn't get impatient and show themselves until I'd thinned the goblins' numbers.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

As I channeled my inner barbarian and beat the goblins to death, my injuries steadily multiplied. My forearms, thighs, sides, and more. None of the wounds was serious on its own, but with this many, I couldn't ignore them.

THUD!

A tingling sensation spread from my wounds. Had the poison started circulating too?

But after enduring all that and killing a total of seven goblins...

WHISTLE!

Arrows flew toward me. Two at once, no less.

WHISTLE!

They came from different directions too. One would be from the goblin archer and the other from the crossbowman. Blocking both would be difficult.

I chose to block the crossbowman's bolt coming from the side.

BANG!

The heavy impact sounded nothing like the goblin archer's shots. So this was the power of a crossbow?

As that thought crossed my mind, the goblin's arrow sank into my left elbow with a wet thunk.

"Fuuuck."

It hurt. Had it hit bone? The pain was bad enough, but a single arrow had left my arm completely immobile.

Fuck, I'd tried to deflect that one with my shoulder pad somehow, but it was harder than I'd expected.

THUMP.

Without hesitation, I dropped the hammer in my right hand and took the shield from my useless left. If I had to choose between a hammer and a shield, the shield was unquestionably better. Especially in a situation like this.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

With my shield in one hand, I battered the three remaining goblins, clearing the immediate area for now. The goblin archer must have fled too, because the arrows stopped.

A first-round victory that had left me covered in wounds, but I'd held out, at least, hadn't I?

I shouted.

"Come out, you motherfuckers!"

I'd never thought I'd say that to people rather than goblins. Then again, was there really any difference?

WHISTLE!

Instead of those bastards coming out, a bolt shot toward me from far away. It was the human crossbowman's. I'd expected it, so blocking wasn't a problem.

Except...

BANG!

What the fuck?

It must have hit squarely, because the bolt pierced the iron plate, exposing its tip. One wrong move and this hand could get fucked up too.

I covered my upper body with my shield and watched beyond the undergrowth. Before long, I heard someone approaching.

"Barbarian."

Three of them emerged. The redhead, who appeared to be their leader. A samurai holding a single-edged sword like a katana. A lanky guy with a one-handed sword and shield.

The crossbow was still nowhere in sight.

"So it was you after all."

"Yes, it was us."

I didn't ask anything like how they'd lured the goblins over. That would only make them look down on me more.

"Come at me."

"A barbarian through and through, eh? Still full of energy after taking on all those goblins alone. Where's that fairy bitch?"

I'd wondered why he was so talkative. So this was what he wanted.

"Looks like you gave her your backpack too. Tell us where she is if you don't want this to hurt."

A snort of laughter escaped me. Tell them and they'd just let me go? What kind of gullible fucking idiot did they take me for?

"Lunatic."

The leader frowned at my grin, looking almost disgusted. Apparently, to him, I looked like a textbook barbarian.

"We'll subdue you first, then take our time asking."

The leader exchanged glances with his companions, and all three slowly closed in.

Taking me alive... That was welcome news.

Of course, simply killing me wouldn't be worth it. They must have had several reasons for going to the trouble of ambushing us: the magic crystals we'd gathered over seven days, the equipment we wore, the beautiful Erwin, and even relief from the envy of having witnessed someone else's good fortune right before their eyes.

It struck me all over again.

"Nobody let your guard down. Treat this like hunting a large monster."

This world really had far too many efficiency-obsessed assholes. Well, I supposed that was why I'd turned out like this.

I slowly raised my hand. With an arrow lodged in my elbow and paralytic poison now spreading through me, my left hand barely moved, but I forced it above my head.

And then...

"What are you doing?"

I stuck my middle finger high into the air.

WHISTLE!

So that anyone who'd grown up in this world would recognize it as an unusual signal.

THUNK!

A chilling sound soon rang out through the edge of the forest.