Hey there, everyone! Been a fair bit of time since the last update, so I hope you all have been doing well!
Been doing okay on my end – in fact, just recently, I finally managed to platinum Elden Ring! Took me 230+ all together, judging by the in-game timer though in my defense I did spend an inordinate amount of time just exploring and trying to level up as much as possible, ha ha. Anyways, now I'm on my 5th playthrough and holy hell, the enemies in the Haligtree area do stupid amounts of damage still despite my level (520). Just goes to show I need to get much better still at dodging and the like.
Other than that, not much else going on in my life though I will say this now – likely at some point either this year or next year, some things in my life may be changing and cause me to take even longer than usual to update. This warning may very well be far in advance of said events, but even so, better to just let you guys know now rather than just let it go unsaid. I know I'm not obligated to be doing any of this, but it's just how I am as a person to give a heads-up anyways.
Now then… damn, nothing else to say, really, heh!
So let's just get onto the chapter now then, eh? Enjoy!
P.S. As usual, please consider buying my books! Universal links available on profile page, just remove the spaces!
Chapter 4
The Tarnished grunted quietly as he drove the Star Fist covering his left hand directly into the back of an unsuspecting goblin whilst clamping his other hand over its mouth to suppress its cry as his attack utterly destroyed its spine. Then just to play it safe, he gave a good quick twist and snapped its neck to ensure its death.
As he lowered the body to the ground and nudged it to the side, the warrior looked further down the path that still awaited him.
It's been several minutes now since he'd chosen the left path to head down and to his complete lack of surprise, this entire cave system was proving to be much larger than one would initially expect from the outside. Thankfully, there'd been very few diverging paths and the ones that were there swiftly led to dead ends which allowed him to press on without losing much time. Alas, as he did move on, he kept coming across more and more goblins patrolling about.
…It was actually sort of off-putting.
He wasn't fully sure how the goblins of this world operated in full, but so far they were proving to be significantly more active than he'd expected. In his personal experience, goblins preferred to laze about when possible and only act up when necessary, be it when they sensed fresh prey nearby or if there was a genuine need to patrol the area they're in.
A cave such as this didn't strike him as the type of area that he'd imagine the goblins needing to patrol so heavily, yet here he was having just bodied at least the fifteenth goblin he's come across since taking this path. It was to his slight fortune that all encounters with the goblins had been spaced out, allowing him to take them down without drawing too big a crowd to him.
But now the cries and screams of both the elated goblins and terrified and ravaged hostages were louder than ever. He was close now, he could just tell.
Putting on a slight burst of speed, the Tarnished hustled down the windy path until it started to widen, seemingly leading to a much larger area.
Sure enough, as if to prove this point, an exceptionally large goblin, one nearly the same size as the bartender he'd spoken with, grumbled to itself as it rounded the very same corner that the Tarnished had been about to take.
The two of them nearly collided, the big goblin blinking numbly at first before finally regaining its wits. Self-righteous anger filled its ugly yellow eyes and it began to raise the makeshift axe in its right hand. A roar was on the verge of its throat just as it started to move towards the Tarnished in an obvious overswing attack.
But the Tarnished was naturally faster.
He closed the distance between them swiftly, negating the room the goblin needed to properly swing its axe and the Tarnished promptly kneed the creature directly in the crotch. The goblin's roar ceased before it could even fully begin, turning into a quiet yet shrill whine as there was a disgusting popping sound down there in its nether-regions from the sheer force of the hit.
While it was in utter pain, the Tarnished wrapped both arms around the big goblin and bent backwards, throwing the monster up the path he'd come down from. As the goblin slammed hard into the ground, the Tarnished then twisted about and lightly jumped, delivering a powerful elbow drop to its head that crushed it entirely.
Immediately thereafter, cries began to fill the air – the other goblins had finally noticed him.
The Tarnished didn't curse at this sudden change in the situation, however; he was used to things like this. Battle was, after all, an ever-changing state, the only thing constant in it being violence. It was but one of the many lessons he'd learned during his upbringing under lord Godfrey and his warriors.
Getting back up, the Tarnished properly rounded the corner and took in the new area.
As he'd suspected just barely a minute ago, it was indeed a very spacious area, almost perfectly spherical in some ways, as if to mirror that of a proper arena… or perhaps a very barren bedchamber in some respects.
And on that note…
There, off towards the other end of the room of which there didn't appear to be any other immediately noticeable pathways, had to be more than forty goblins and barely a quarter of that number when it came to the human women. The latter were there in the thick of the goblin batch, naked as the day they were born, beaten to the point of bleeding heavily all over while several goblins around them were thrusting…
…
…
…The Tarnished, for the first time in a long while, practically saw red.
He didn't consider himself much of a hero in the typical sense, but what he was seeing now, those horribly poor women being in 'mid-use' by some of those goblins filled him with a nearly uncontrollable level of rage. As monstrous as many of the beings had been back in the Lands Between, a vast majority of them had never stooped to such a horrific low, at least not before his very eyes.
…Well, there was what Mohg had been doing to Miquella within that cocoon, he supposed… but he was digressing.
It was time to truly get to work.
He boldly stepped deeper inside the area, an action that naturally put the growing goblin horde into action. The ones who'd been in mid 'coitus' with the women simply ceased in their activities and howled and shrieked at him, pointing fingers angrily at him. They were clearly ordering the other goblins to take him out, likely with the excuse for them being that they'd been busy.
The majority of the goblins grumbled and cackled manically but didn't seem to actually argue back. Whether that was because the ones barking orders also happened to be the biggest and likely strongest of the goblins or if it was due to something else was unknown.
In any case, they all let out shrill barks and howls as they practically all ran in unison towards him, some wielding weapons that had either been made by their own unpracticed hands or had stolen from elsewhere. Their beady yellow eyes nearly glowed with unrestrained malice and sadistic delight. They clearly expected to overwhelm him.
And if he were perhaps any run of the mill warrior, they'd be right.
Except this time they weren't.
The Tarnished let out a little 'hup!' as he raised his right leg a fair bit before stomping down, what magical power he had being channeled within in order to active the Ash of War he'd equipped the Star Fists with.
Slamming his foot down promptly activated said skill – the Hoarfrost Stomp.
Immediately, an unearthly chill was unleashed from his stomp and it travelled forward, freezing the ground with such an intensity that minor spikes of ice ended up jutting out as this happened. The goblins that had managed to close the distance between them the most ended up being the unlucky first victims of this action, letting out shocked cries as the intense cold nearly froze them solid. Looks like they had little to no resistance to the unnatural frostbite the Hoarfrost Stomp was capable of unleashing.
They nearly froze completely solid and fell down suddenly, serving as impromptu obstacles to the other goblins directly behind them, who went tumbling over the now dead frozen goblins. Alas, the range and duration of the Hoarfrost Stomp was very little and thus these goblins remained unaffected by the now dissipating cold. Additionally, the remainder of the goblin group managed to stop themselves from getting immediately closer, letting out odd sounds of confusion as they no doubt tried to figure out what just happened.
But the Tarnished wasn't about to let up.
Rage can be a great weakness indeed as these goblins had proven with their thoughtless charge, but in the hands of those who are able to let such intense emotions drive them without being controlled by them, rage was a great strength.
And this was a strength that the Tarnished now made known as he charge at them instead. With such a spacious room, he took full advantage of the extra room to judge much higher than usual, above and over a few rows of goblins until he was nearly in the center of the group by the time he was landing. And when he did land, it was just as he unleashed a thunderously powerful double hammer thrust, slamming his fists into the ground with such force that it caused the entire room to violently tremble.
The goblins closest to him got caught up in the initial attack, either directly or through the minor shockwave unleashed. These were killed almost instantly. The ones just a bit further away got blown back, harmed but not truly hurt while the ones furthest away merely stumbled.
The Tarnished now rose up to his full height and wasted not a second taking advantage of their now broken ranks. Dismissing the Star Fists, he instead drew out the Black Knife and immediately unleashed a wave of the power of Destined Death. The wave struck two goblins nearby that had practically stumbled into each other. They hardly got a chance to scream before the wicked yet holy power of Destined Death worked over them, eating away at their very vitality until it was depleted.
Before those two goblins, now aflame with black and red flames, could even start slumping to the ground, the Tarnished changed direction and charged at another goblin, stabbing it directly in its exposed stomach before violently twisting the Black Knife and cutting to the left. As innards started to spill out, he gave a fierce kick to the goblin and sent it flying into a few others that were several yards behind it.
He pivoted and unleashed another wave of Destined Death, catching a goblin that had started to rush him. It was hit and died from Destined Death's power in mid-rush, causing it to stumble several steps before fully keeling over, its flesh sizzling all the while.
But there were still plenty more goblins to go.
Several other goblins that had merely been stunned by the initial blow now were up and back at it, spreading out and clearly trying to flank him from other directions. By this point, two of them tried to close in on him from behind him and from his right at the same time. Meanwhile, another goblin actually jumped towards him from in front while he could hear three more readying their weapons somewhere behind him and to the left.
Considering the options, the Tarnished chose to move forward and actually catch the jumping goblin before it could bring down the small pickaxe it wielded. Then with a light battle cry, the Tarnished spun around and used the goblin as an impromptu club, slamming it against the one that had tried to attack him from the left. Their skulls collided and broke open on impact and the Tarnished instantly let go of the jumping goblin to let it fall before then using the Black Knife to parry the surprisingly sturdy wooden spear that the goblin that had charged at him from behind initially wielded.
Said goblin growled as its attack was thwarted and tried to pull back – only for the Tarnished to grab its spear and yank hard on it. The goblin, having not seen this coming, ended up being pulled in and subsequently received a fierce headbutt as a reward.
The Tarnished then punted the stunned goblin away and rolled to his right as the other goblins he'd heard getting ready let out battle cries and thrust their blades in his direction. Had he not dodged just then, he would've been struck and while he was fully confident in Malekith's armor and in his own resilience, he wasn't about to just let himself be hit needlessly.
The goblins that had hung back to stay with their female captives grunted in annoyance, clearly unamused by his resistance but so far they still have yet to make a move themselves. Seems they still believed themselves to have the advantage here.
Considering their captives were literally right beside or under them, those goblins weren't necessarily wrong to think such a thing… but the Tarnished knew it would be merely moments more before such a line of thinking could change. He'd much prefer it not coming to that – they'd doubtlessly use the women as hostages to force his hand. In which case, he must do something to eradicate this horde much more quickly, truly take those bigger goblins off guard before he can move in to slay them.
With that mind, the Star Fists and Black Knife sadly weren't going to cut it, especially not in a room this wide and flat.
But there was one weapon that would do nicely.
Though risky to go sifting through his inventory in the middle of battle like this, sometimes the risks were worth it. It was a very delicate balance like that.
The Tarnished glanced around, looking for the most optimal path out of the group of goblins who were still gathering their wits about them. One more tried to approach him via a surprisingly fast crouching rush, but the Tarnished saw it coming and stomped its face in just as it had been about to leap up and thrust its poison-coated knife into his torso. His stomp ended up literally breaking the little green bastard in half, spine snapping directly at the base just as the stomp also reduced its skull to mulch.
He then unleashed another wave of Destined Death, more to make the goblins that threatened to surround him back off rather than to really kill anymore of them. And simply seeing the sight of the ominous flames coating the blade had been enough to make the goblins hastily retreat a few steps.
With time now bought, he placed the Black Knife back in his inventory and proceeded to almost grope around within it among the blades he's collected. This took but a split second or two, but even then this drop in his offense was enough to let the goblins feel a bit more emboldened. Sure enough, they began to creep towards him with a gradual increase in speed, thinking him to have run out of tricks.
The Tarnished sure ended up cutting it close, with one goblin roaring as it threw itself at him, but a well-timed forward kick was enough to knock it back, allowing him the final millisecond of time needed to grab the weapon he'd wanted-.
-The Sacred Relic Sword.
Beneath the Raging Wolf Helm, the Tarnished allowed himself a smirk of pure satisfaction as the goblins barked and muttered in obvious bewilderment at seeing him pull a blade seemingly out of thin air. Their confusion gave him just the other second needed to begin charging up the blade with an immense deal of power.
And then, nearly an instant later, he unleashed his attack.
Priestess only felt herself growing more and more uneasy despite the growing number of goblin corpses she and her party came across. While she didn't share Goblin Slayer's feelings in full towards goblins, she knew that intellectually she should be most glad that the goblins have clearly been eliminated – just think of all the people that had likely been saved by killing these creatures here and now.
But despite such a boon, the sheer number of corpses plus the clearly violent ways they'd been dispatched in made her little heart tighten with worry.
Just who or what were they about to deal with?
As she trudged along with ever greater speed, she spared a glance towards the rest of her party… and found them sporting similar expressions, which in turn likely mirrored her own right now.
"Sure are a lot of these stupid things…" mumbled High Elf Archer as she all but flew across the ground, her light stature and general nature as a high elf allowing her to move with grace even in such circumstances.
"Mm. But at least it marks the path we must take," spoke Lizard Priest, weapon in hand as he remained in the vanguard position.
And that was most certainly the case; the path of bodies indeed made it easy for them to follow after whoever had entered the cave. That they've yet to come across a non-goblin corpse meant that this mysterious individual was very much alive, if nothing else.
"…!"
All of them made a little sound of surprise as they traveled deeper into the cave system, the sounds of battle now becoming evident to their ears. Howls and roars and cries that by now have become all too familiar to Priestess echoed throughout the path they were on, sounding very close now.
"…Looks like it's the nest up ahead," spoke Goblin Slayer, his tone as deathly serious as usual.
…No, perhaps even more so. It would seem that even he, normally so serious and literal-minded and seemingly unchangeable, was feeling perturbed by whatever was going on here.
And that very fact frightened Priestess far more than anything else.
She's known Goblin Slayer for several months, almost a whole year now. While she was still a long ways off from fully understanding him, the young adventurer liked to think she at least had a solid grasp of how he was like. And, much to her own shame, she's come to rely on him a great deal, like a crutch. This was something she knew deep down she'd have to resolve at some point. But until then, she could only rely on him and the others to help guide her path.
Thus, it was a point of serious concern whenever something happened that seemed to leave the odd adventurer so… so… stumped, for lack of a better word.
This mission had began normally enough, but the behavior of the goblins had changed in some ways which had necessitated them entering the cave earlier on than they normally would have. And if this had her reeling, then she could only imagine how her party leader must be feeling.
Change… it could be just as likely to be bad and scary as it was to be good and productive.
She could only pray to the Earth Mother that whatever change was going on now was of the latter category.
"Looks like we've missed the start of this party, eh, Beardcutter?" quipped Dwarf Shaman, though he didn't sound anywhere near as jovial as usual.
"Seems so," replied Goblin Slayer, who drew out his short sword. "Let's go. If nothing else, whoever or whatever is in there fighting the goblins will give us a good distraction to use." He then tilted his expressionless helmet in Lizard Priest's direction. "You're our vanguard, so you make the first move."
That certainly put a smile of sorts on the lizardman's scaly face. "By your will then, milord Goblin Slayer," he said as he draw out his blades before dashing forward. His large form moved with surprising speed towards the source of all the noise.
However, just as they neared where the battle seemed to be taking place-.
"…Stop!" Goblin Slayer commanded as a shrill, mystical sound filled the air.
Lizard Priest came to a literally grinding halt, having sensed whatever was amiss now as well. Dwarf Shaman nearly slammed into lizardman while High Elf Archer and Priestess weren't quite so lucky, prompting cute little yelps of surprise out of the two.
Even while mildly stunned by the sudden action, Priestess could tell High Elf Archer was on the verge of letting out an angry shout when it finally happened.
That shrill unknown sound had lasted but a marginal second before a new sound took its place, yet another one that the young girl couldn't even begin to place.
But she did become very well aware of the bright golden light that now emanated from the room that was all but literally straight ahead.
Though only barely, she could hear the goblins from earlier cry out in strangled surprise before abruptly going silent, although there were a few that she could still barely hear screaming in what sounded like fright.
The brilliant golden light, whatever exactly it truly was, appeared to be akin to a wave… and Priestess only knew this because at that very moment, a golden wave came through the opening into the other room. With a cry, she stumbled back to avoid being caught up in its path even though the wave didn't expand outwards in their direction, simply traveling straight towards the wall and dispersing. Even so, the rest of the party had swiftly backed up as well to avoid whatever it was.
"…Move in!" Goblin Slayer commanded once the wave had fully dissipated into nothingness.
Lizard Priest obliged and leapt down the remaining path before rounding the corner that the wave had come from, Goblin Slayer hot on his heels. As for the rest of them, they hung back for just a second, more so that they don't get in the way of their two frontline fighters. Even then, they still got as close to the corner as they could, at least until Goblin Slayer and Lizard Priest could ensure they all could enter the room without issue.
But even whilst hanging back, Priestess was still able to uncharacteristically risk leaning in, a morbid desire to see what was going on.
This was something she found herself partially regretting.
Off in one corner of the massive arena-like room were several goblins, not large enough to be Hobgoblins much less Goblin Champions but certainly larger than the average goblin, with just as many human women by their side… or under them. These goblins looked disturbed by whatever had just happened.
And on that note, the young girl only then took notice of all the other goblins sprawled throughout the room, very much dead. Though only able to get just a brief look at them past the still forms of Goblin Slayer and Lizard Priest, she could still make out the horrible injuries those goblins had suffered.
And there were a lot of dead goblins.
Then… there he was – the mysterious one. A man, presumably, judging by the general build the individual possessed. He wore a very ornate yet ominous black armor that looked incredibly tough in addition to a helmet that seemed almost completely fashioned out of chainmail, judging by what little she could glimpse from this distance.
He was quite tall, easily taller than Goblin Slayer though not as tall as Lizard Priest and clearly possessed a very strong build, assuming that armor he wore wasn't simply bulky looking. And in his left hand, he wielded a most unusual sword, looking almost as if… almost as if it was fashioned out of something akin to a part of a tree, not quite a branch but something close enough. Said unusual sword glowed a most amazing gold, like the embodiment of glory and faith themselves.
But more than that… the blade simply 'felt' grand in nature. All the time she's spent training to be a priestess has naturally left the girl feeling attuned to things of an almost godly nature, especially when people utilized prayers and incantations. But that sword… it was on a whole other level compared to anything else she's ever encountered.
It was enough to almost make her feel lightheaded and she was only vaguely aware of High Elf Archer looking similarly affected… only the much older girl looked almost repulsed by the sword more than anything else.
Then the mystery man put the sword away and whatever effect it was having on the two of them vanished half a second later. Feeling dazed, Priestess had to shake her head a few times to get a grip again. By then, Goblin Slayer and Lizard had spread out and moved deeper into the room, noticing that this was the best chance possible to take care of the remaining goblins, of which only remained those near the women.
Goblin Slayer sheathed his short sword and instead reached for one of the few throwing knives that he's taken to carrying around on his person.
Meanwhile, the remaining goblins were scrambling where they were at. Whatever had just happened had shaken them so badly that even Priestess couldn't help but feel a little bad for them. They were so rattled that they didn't even immediately resort to holding those poor women hostage like they would in any other situation.
Of course, this kind of situation was perhaps as ideal as it was ever going to get, Priestess realized.
As the party now fully entered the room, the young adventurer steeled herself for whatever was to come next.
But as it quickly turned out, she wasn't quite ready mentally for what the enigmatic man – fellow adventurer? – did next.
Placing the Sacred Relic Sword back in his inventory as quickly as possible with one hand, the Tarnished proceeded to use the other to reach for somewhere around his waist. Though not visible through Malekith's armor, he did carry on his person several items, meant to be used as needed. Now was one such time.
In less a split second, he pulled out several Kukri and threw them at the remaining goblins. Well, at least, he threw the Kukri at approximately half of the remaining goblins – the throwing weapons were large and thus he could only hold and throw so many of them at the same time without sacrificing accuracy. And so long as those women were right there by those creatures, accuracy was not something he could afford to sacrifice.
Fortunately, his aim was true and he watched as the thrown weapons buried themselves into the exposed faces and chests of the targeted goblins, who promptly went slumping back from the force of his throw, very much dead.
There were now but three goblins remaining.
Alas, that had been the last of the Kukri he'd had on him, in his haste having used up two of them for each of the goblins killed just now when he should've conserved them a bit. An obvious mistake on his part.
But he still had one thing in mind…
Reaching into his inventory again as he started dashing towards the remaining goblins, he proceeded to pull out the Godslayer Seal, one of the several Seals in his possession. Upon it being grasped, he could immediately feel its familiar sensation of power coursing through him, strengthening the various Blackflame incantations that he knew by heart.
He raised his left hand, conjuring up a Blackflame fireball before the very eyes of the remaining goblins, some of the barely coherent women who watched him with widened eyes, and the unknown individuals that he'd noticed arriving just as he'd taken out all those other goblins a moment ago.
With a grunt, he lobbed the deadly fireball directly into the face of the nearest goblin. The closing distance between them had been for the sake of ensuring that the fireball, which can grow somewhat in size over the course of its thrown arc, didn't get too large and put the woman directly by the goblin's side at risk.
The incantation struck true and the goblin scarcely got out a scream as the power of the fireball combined with its deadly effect incinerated its entire upper body. What was left of it tumbled over unceremoniously.
The Tarnished paid this no mind and now directed his attention to the final two goblins – who were already recovered from their long stupor. His eyes, hidden by his current helm, widened in alarm as they began to pull the women near them ever closer.
The veteran warrior tensed and prepared to put on a great burst of speed-.
-Only for two of the new arrivals to make their own move.
The goblin furthest away from the Tarnished let out a gurgled cry as a well-crafted throwing dagger could now be seen lodged in its throat, blood briefly shooting out of the neck on impact. Its tightening grip on the ragged woman near it immediately loosened, causing the poor woman to slump over from fright.
As for the final remaining goblin, it let out a shrill sound of shock and impotent rage as it ended up redirecting its attention to its fallen brethren – a horrible mistake on its part as what looked like a rather humanoid lizard – this world's equivalent of the man-serpents that served Rykard perhaps? – let out an impressive battle cry and threw himself with great speed upon the goblin.
The goblin tried to move away, but by now the Tarnished had also closed in and bashed the goblin's arm hard, causing it to instantly let go of the woman it had been holding. The man then took the woman into his arms and back away in time to see the lizardman swing down his weapons, cutting into the shoulders of the goblin. Said creature let out a bellow of pain before the newcomer then kicked it over and stomped down on its chest as hard as possible. The goblin's bellow was thusly silenced.
And just like that, the battle had come to an end… leaving in its immediate wake a very awkward silence, the Tarnished must admit.
Still holding the woman firmly but not in a way that would worry her, the Tarnished nodded his head towards the strange humanoid lizard. "…My thanks, friend. Admirable cutting technique." He spoke these words in truth. While he will always follow Ranni and her Age of the Stars teachings, he shall always hold dear to his heart the ideology of lord Godfrey. So long as one possessed strength of arms and the will to make use of such might as needed, then they were worthy of respect. It was due to this mentality that, despite the absolutely horrific actions many individuals had taken back home, he didn't really hold any sort of negative feelings towards any of them.
It was thanks to this same mentality along with his lifetime of training and experience that he was able to see just how much time and effort this lizardman had put into honing his own technique. A truly experienced warrior.
Said lizardman, understandably on guard still against him, nonetheless appeared to… smirk? It was hard to tell, really. But when he spoke, it was with a clearly well-educated tongue. "Your compliment is most appreciated, stranger," he replied, licking at his lips(?) afterwards. "And I must say of you – what little I've seen of you speaks of a true warrior."
The Tarnished smiled a bit under his helm but didn't dare to say anything back. Not necessarily because he was overcome with emotion or anything of the sort, no. Rather, he found himself focused on the remaining people by the entrance to this massive room.
He quirked an eyebrow, noting that they made for a rather odd bunch… and that was coming from him of all people.
There was what he sensed was a human dressed head to toe in very well-worn armor. Though many others would likely call said armor shabby, the Tarnished was able to immediately note that it's seen more than its fair share of use, small dings here and there that spoke of many close encounters. That the person wearing them, an expressionless individual, was still alive was a testament to how deceptively hardy the armor must be.
He also noted the various pouches and straps around the man's waist and legs, indicating he was someone who very much favored preparations and versatility, admirable traits to have. Clearly, he was the one who'd thrown that dagger and with such perfect form and aim too.
Then there was a short and rather stout older looking man close to the armored one, sporting almost shamanistic clothing that the Tarnished could recall seeing a few times during his travels long before his first death. Something about this one didn't feel human, but he couldn't be sure.
And then there were two women – no, girls, really – who hung back and eyed him most curiously.
Both were of very svelte builds, but the more athletic looking one of the two held a splendid bow in her hands and glared at him fiercely, her green hair which somehow reminded him of nature itself swaying as she tilted her head. Though beautiful, the grimace she now held somewhat ruined it. And her ears were rather long and pointed too. Odd.
As for the final member of this odd party, the Tarnished immediately pegged her for what she clearly is – a devout priestess, her mostly white robes as clear a sign as any that she followed whatever faith was prevalent in this world.
The girl, so innocent looking, so pure, stared at him in open wonder as she clutched her staff tightly… perhaps… perhaps they all had come in time to see him use the Sacred Relic Sword and she'd detected something about it.
…
…Well, whatever the case, he got the feeling that they meant no harm. Therefore whatever potential issues this group may have with him could wait for the time being.
"Let us get these women out of here, shall we?" the Tarnished then said as he loosened his hold on the woman a bit, though still keeping an arm on her to help her stand; the poor thing was practically shaking.
"O-Oh, yes! Of course!" spoke the blonde priestess. "Uhm, but please let's look over them first! I can cast Miracles as needed!" She paused just as she was about to rush forward. "U-Uhm, that is, if it's fine… right, Goblin Slayer sir?"
She looked to the armored man, whose form had remained impassive this whole time. In the brief time the Tarnished had been sizing them all up, he'd wandered on over to the goblin he'd killed to retrieve his weapon.
"…We still need to make sure the cave is fully secure," he began as he turned. "But it should be fine for now."
Taking that as an affirmative, the young priestess quickly ran on over to begin her work.
"Then let us round up the women – form a triage, yes? That would certainly aid our dear priestess," spoke the lizardman, who appeared to address not just him but the others as well.
The short man let out an affirmative grunt. "It certainly would, scaly. Come on, long-ears – no point just dawdling about all night!"
"Oh, you'd know all about dawdling, you stupid dwarf!" muttered the archer, who nonetheless complied.
As these two trotted forward to join the fray, the Tarnished helped the woman he held onto kneel down to rest and allow the priestess to have a proper look at her. Despite the circumstances, he had a very light smile on his face.
This group seemed like an interesting bunch, he thought. Maybe it would do him some good to speak with them once this was all sorted and done with. Who knows? They could help flesh out the map he'd obtained from the bartender.
But before that…
"I can help with healing as well, should it be needed," he said to the priestess as she got close. "Though I cannot guarantee it will be particularly quick, it should still help out."
He knew nothing about what these 'Miracles' the priestess had mentioned could accomplish, but surely using those in tandem with Lord's Heal should do the trick, though the sheer amount of power required to use it multiple times will quickly drain him for the rest of the day. It would ultimately depend on how close all the women here can be huddled together to ensure they receive the benefits of it, he supposed.
"Oh, yes please, that'd be most appreciated!" spoke the priestess.
…How gentle, he thought. She reminded him vaguely of days long, long ago, when the Lands Between hadn't been the brutal place it'd become following the Shattering.
And so, with the aftermath clean-up now underway, the Tarnished braced himself for a long and likely restless night ahead, brimming with wonder as to what will happen next.
For Ranni, the night came and went with startling slowness. Perhaps this was due to her still trying to acclimate to this world… or perhaps it was simply a horrid case of homesickness in some way. Either way, she felt quite relieved when morning finally came.
The young and ever lively Hero had awoken rather late, all things considered – in fact, Sword Saint had to be called in to forcefully rouse the girl from her slumber – but Ranni had accepted the relatively late start with grace.
Now they sat in the inn's fairly sized dining hall where they'd procured for themselves a light breakfast to munch on.
…Well, Ranni had taken a very light breakfast – though this doll form had now become one of flesh following her proper ascension as the Dark Moon's vassal, she still had little to no need for such earthly processes. That said, the toast, topped with jam, along with a variety of fruits on a plate next to it had seemed too scrumptious to pass up. However, her companions, likely due to how physically active they are in addition to still being in a growing phase, had gone all in on their breakfasts, with grilled steak, eggs and several slices of toast.
Even Sage, the least active of the trio, was eating just as much!
It almost boggled Ranni's mind, to be honest, but it was yet another thing she took in stride.
"So what is thy plan for the day ahead?" she spoke after finishing her toast. She completely ignored the stares and mutters she got from the morning crowd around them, who found her appearance quite unique. So had the trio but they'd shrugged off their surprise and wonder far more quickly than these people were when they'd first met her.
Hero spoke – or at least tried to with a huge piece of steak in her mouth. Instead, only incoherent mumbles came out.
"Chew properly," scolded Sword Saint. "Come on, you should be old enough to do that on your own."
Hero shot her a pouty look before taking a moment longer to chew and swallow. Only then was she finally able to properly talk. "Nothing much really. Other than stocking up on some more supplies, we just plan to browse around for a while until we gotta hit the road again. Oh, but if there's any place that grabs your interest, just let us know! We can stop there for a while!"
"Hmm, much appreciated." Ranni smiled in gratitude.
She'd expected as much given their brief conversation last night and her expectations weren't disappointed. Not that this was an issue – getting a chance to see up close how civilization in this world works will help further confirm how similar or different this world is from her own and adapt accordingly.
"In that case, I'd most like it if there's any places here that may deal in all things magical; the region I am from must surely differ from here, so seeing for myself how it differs would be most enlightening," Ranni continued.
At this point, Sage spoke. "Ah, then in that case, I could lead you for the day. Most towns out here follow a very similar layout and get adventurers on occasion so they've had to tailor some shops almost specifically for them. Of course, this includes spellcasters such as myself." She seemed most excited as she said all this.
Ranni nodded. "Then I shall look forward to your guidance."
Given her thoughts and decision last night, seeing how exactly the mechanics of magic in this world work could potentially help her in reestablishing her senses via the stars. It would depend immensely on whether or not the concepts and ideas here could be made compatible with her own magic, but there was only one way to find out.
"Mm, sounds like we got a plan then! The of us-," Hero spoke, motioning to herself and Sword Saint. "-will go get the supplies while you two head out and check the shops! Then afterwards we can grab a snack or something before leaving town later!"
Ranni chuckled. "Quite the appetite thou has."
Hero just chuckled. "Hey, I gotta stay upbeat somehow, especially with these two being so dour sometimes!"
That got looks of indignation and exasperation from the other two yet they said nothing other than grumbling under their breath.
Whatever they said sparked Hero to continue chattering and before the Lunar Princess knew it, what productive conversation they'd been having had devolved into near mindless, everyday chatter.
…As she listened, she found it wasn't a bad feeling – this almost lackadaisical pace.
…
…
…After roughly half an hour, they finally finished eating and took their leave after paying for their meal. Hero and Sword Saint had gone one way upon exiting the inn which then left Ranni with Sage heading in another direction.
"Do you have any particular topics in mind?" asked Sage as she swiftly took the lead. "Some of the shops I've mentioned may not carry tomes or catalysts depending on what it is you're looking for."
"Anything to do with the stars," Ranni replied as she kept pace with the younger woman. "My brand of magic relies significantly on astrology, so anything to do with such a field should be beneficial to me. Even if the texts are but mere history about the study of stars, that should suffice."
Sage's eyebrows quirked up in clear interest. "Astrology? Interesting! I can't promise too much on that front since the study of the stars is rather… well, not lacking, but it's not quite as advanced as most other fields of science and magic are. Though I suppose that must not be the case back home, is it?"
"Indeed. Where I'm from, the study of the stars is quite prevalent… though there are other fields that did take precedence depending on the region." Ranni tried to stay vague, thinking back on the fundamentalism that the Golden Order obsessed over, the most dominant 'study' in the Lands Between with only Raya Lucaria and all those affiliated with it in some way being those who focused on glintstone and by extension the stars.
"By chance, does astrology relate to what this special project of yours is?" Sage asked, trying not to sound too interested.
"To an extent, yes. But given what had resulted recently, it is now in hindsight that I may have reached a… dead end, I suppose it's called, a wall. With this in mind, researching what discoveries and advancements made here in thy land's field of astrology could potentially help me overcome this issue," Ranni elaborated.
Maintaining her cover story of having been blasted away from an accident during an experiment was a most easy one to maintain, especially since in some vague respects it could be said to be true. But her frustrations over this issue was very real indeed.
Said feeling must have been something that Sage sympathized with greatly given her own magical background, for the young woman nodded her head quite vigorously. "Understandable, absolutely so. Then let's not waste much time!"
The magic user picked up her pace by a significant margin, forcing Ranni to quicken as well, much to the latter's amusement.
Soon, she thought with a hint of hope.
If all went well with the research, she may very well be able to realize her recently new goal of establishing a connection with the stars above this world. And with enough time, effort, and even luck, perhaps she and her consort will be able to return home in a timely manner.
Above the Four Cornered World, Illusion continued to watch, utterly captivated.
Trying to maintain a watch over both of the unknown presences had been most difficult due to the distance between their locations, but the spunky girl was able to manage somehow. And during the warrior's impromptu campaign, she'd even attempted to try getting involved, wondering if perhaps a dice roll or two would help speed up his obvious efforts to rescue those poor women from those truly insidious goblins.
Alas, much to her surprise, the dice had had absolutely no effect over the unknown man. No matter how many times she'd tried to roll, it just didn't seem to take effect at all. In immediate hindsight, this shouldn't have been too unexpected given his anomalous nature, but witnessing this herself was something new, for unlike with the vexing existence known as Goblin Slayer, who was still affected by the dice though able to overturn the roll, the roll itself had no influence over this newcomer.
As for the other unknown anomaly and the bigger of the two in Illusion's opinion, she could begin to detect some increasingly odd fluctuations coming from the blue skinned woman. It was completely subconscious on her part from the looks of it, but the unknown woman's very presence was trying to expand outwards and rise above the world itself.
Such a thing ought to be a thing of concern, for it somehow reminded her of what had happened with that mischievous mage from some odd years back within the world, yet Illusion deemed the circumstances to be different enough to not feel that it was quite the same thing.
…
…!
Oh no, she thought in immediate annoyance.
Off in the distance, she could see Truth sauntering about like he owned the place, an attitude that always did rub her and the others the wrong way. And for him to do so whilst so close to her… she knew all too well that it would only be a matter of time until he finally took notice of her standing over here and strode on over to interfere.
The absolute last thing she needed was him discovering these two anomalies… but she also knew that this wasn't something she could keep hidden from the others forever, especially not if these two continue to impact the Four Cornered World as they have so far in such a short time.
Making a quiet whiny sound, Illusion considered her options. The bigger of the two anomalies was traveling with the party of the currently most successful Hero that's been made, which means that she'd likely be the first of the two to be discovered due to the gods' interest in the Hero's adventures and mishaps.
Maybe if she did something to stall them, make them take a path away from the next great campaign… if she did that, maybe it'd keep them hidden a little longer from the others…
…No, no she can't do that! If not for the Hero and a handful of others, a lot of innocent people would be slain for absolutely no good reason, the saddest ending of all and she refused to allow that, not while it was possible to do something about it.
She pouted to herself, only now realizing the futility of the pickle she was in here. No matter what she did, the others discovering these two were inevitable and she could also already foresee a massive argument coming over what was to be done about them. She didn't doubt that some of the others would take a backseat interest in them and their actions like her, but there'd be just as many who'd want them dealt with one way or another.
Wracking her mind and tussling her own hair in growing frustration, Illusion became completely oblivious to a breach finally being made in the realm…
…Along with several malignant influences now beginning to seep through in earnest, heading directly for the world below her.
And that's a wrap!
Yeah, as was probably expected, the Tarnished's first foray into the GS world went rather smoothly and quickly all things considered. This should make sense since, regardless of what level I could've put him at, he still would've had plenty of experience and equipment needed to make this brief journey without issue. Of course, with his level being as high as I've mentioned in the AN of the last chapter, well, is it any wonder he kicked all the ass? Ha ha.
Anyways, as I'm sure you guys have noticed, there's quite the difference between his and Ranni's section, with him more focused on the action while the latter is more focused on studying and scheming ways to reach him and get back to the Lands Between. It won't always be this way – Ranni will eventually have to throw down just like she'd done briefly in the first chapter, but for the most part, this will be the general setup of the story as far as their sections go.
As for the part with Priestess and High Elf Archer sensing the Sacred Relic Sword's power, well, I've got something planned there too. After all, Golden Order fundamentalism is probably most similar to certain faiths such as Priestess' which is why she seems to be so captivated by it… whereas in the latter's case, well, as a high elf who can commune with nature as easily as breathing, she's able to better sense the origin of the sword's power – that of the Elden Beast and by extension the Greater Will, which is definitely not a part of any natural order. As for how this particular fact will impact whatever relationship is struck between them and the Tarnished, well, I'll keep that to myself for the time being, heh.
Whelp, that's just about everything I think warrants some explanation for now. But of course, if any of you guys notice something off or just have questions in general, just say so in a review or PM and I'll do my best to address the issue either through the story itself or through a PM as well.
Until next time, everyone. Take care!
