Chương 8

I excitedly watched as Omar held out his hand, paused, then dropped his hand back and looked back at me with a confused expression.

"Do I just say the name of the spell…?" he asked uncertainly.

"Why not? We have to start somewhere. You can aim at that tree there and try" I answered lightly. Saying the name might help trigger the spell, but I had a feeling intent mattered far more.

"…Okay, here I go" said Omar, still sounding uncertain. He held out his palm again towards the direction of the tree I pointed earlier, and said "Mana Bolt!" I waited. Omar stood with his hand outstretched, waiting. We both stood there for a few seconds, but nothing happened. Our eyes met and Omar dropped his hand immediately, a profoundly embarrassed expression on his face.

"Well, that didn't work…" he said sheepishly.

"I think you were too nervous. Try it again, but this time really think about wanting the spell to activate, I think that should help" I said. I believe intent is the key to this System. But if this doesn't work, we'll have to go back to the drawing board and try again. Omar took a deep breath, the tips of his ears still a bit red.

"Okay, focus on wanting the spell to activate. Got it" he took a few deep breaths to get himself in the mindset and stretched his hand out again.

"Mana Bolt!" he said again, firmer this time. I could instantly tell that this time was different. The pressure in the atmosphere slightly shifted. A sensation of something moving in the air and gathering in front of Omar's hand could be felt. Air distorted as a bright blue light came into being in the middle of his palm. With a shriek, the light stretched and launched at the tree, reaching it in a split second as the sound of a small explosion hit my ears.

Small chips of bark flew everywhere from the tree trunk as both Omar and I stood there, staring in awe.

"What was that?"

"An explosion!"

"Is it an attack?" Panicked voices reached us as we caught each other's eyes, simultaneously realizing that we should have probably warned the group about our little experiment.

Me and Omar walked side by side at the end of the group. After explaining what the explosion was and getting berated for it by what felt like everyone present, the group had finally started to move for its agenda: finding water, and exploration. My stomach rumbled with hunger, and my throat was parched with thirst. We needed to find water first and foremost, with food being a very close second. Still, that was awesome. I looked around at everyone in their new armour or robes, with their weapons in hand, and I felt…

unsure. Is delaying the Class selection actually the correct call? I looked over at Omar, who was staring at his palm, clearly still excited about what had transpired. Wish I had been the one to cast it. I shook my head to clear it, and started to focus on what was important.

"So, how did it feel?" I asked Omar, keeping a close eye on my surroundings as we all travelled in a loose line.

"Amazing! Extraordinary! I can't even explain it!" he immediately answered with a wide smile and eyes shining brightly. A guy ahead turned around and made a shushing sound, with Omar immediately getting red again. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"I think it's best if we whisper" I whispered to Omar with a small grin, trying to put him at ease. It worked as he visibly relaxed and whispered back "It was amazing!" I chuckled at his excitement, and said, "I heard you say that already. What did you feel? Why do you think it worked the second time?"

"I did as you suggested and put all my focus into wanting the spell to activate" he replied.

"It felt like something raw and untamed woke up inside my chest and rushed toward my hand. I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it again!" he whispered, though his whispered volume got progressively louder with each word. I was right, intent does matter. Chest? Like a 'mana core'?

"Do you feel any different after casting the spell? Can you sense the place you spoke about, in your chest?" I asked.

"Not really" Omar replied. He went silent for a couple seconds before whispering again, "No, I can't feel anything there now." Either his senses aren't strong enough right now, or that 'core' area only activates when a spell is cast… interesting. I kept walking, subconsciously looking at my surroundings while the group tried and failed to move silently across the forest. The trees had progressively been getting denser, and the undergrowth thicker, as we continued on. Wait! I stopped. Omar paused too, puzzled.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"Listen" I replied, listening intently. Omar glanced around while appearing like he was straining to hear something.

"I can't hear anything" he said after a few seconds.

"Exactly" I whispered. It was quiet. Too quiet.

"Everyone, stop!" I called out.

"Something is wrong." The group paused at my shout, turning to look at me. Most were dismissive, but Ben's eyes were focused on me.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I'm not sure, but it's too quiet" I replied. Ben stared at my eyes for a few seconds before turning towards the group.

"Get into defensive positions, right now!" he said, taking out his sword and shield from his inventory. A guardian. I idly noted, as I, too, got my club out. Ben's words triggered action in the group as everyone tensed up with weapons clutched tightly in their hands. But no one had any training here on how to handle themselves in such unknown situations, so they each just naturally gravitated towards the one closest to them.

I looked at Ben, but he was doing the same, clutching his sword and shield tightly while looking around. This won't do.

"Everyone, get into a circle, now!" I barked, as people jumped at my voice.

"Guardians and warriors on the outside, rogues and rangers in the second layer, and mages, warlocks, healers, and any support classes in the third layer. Move!" The group just looked at me, unsure, before Ben spoke up again, "Listen to what he says!" He then started organizing the group as I said, while Omar and I also helped. I wondered what made Ben so willing to listen to me, but put it to the side of my mind for now. We finally organized into a three-layered circle after what felt like ages.

Everyone was tense as we looked outward. I stood side by side to two warriors in the outmost layer, club in hand. My eyes and ears were strained as I tried to see what had caused the shift I picked up on, but I could see nothing, nor could anyone else. Was I wrong? I thought as the seconds ticked by but nothing happened. About a minute passed before the first shuffling of feet sounded out from behind me. A few whispers of 'why are we listening to him?'

and 'he doesn't even have a Class' reached me, and doubt started creeping up on me. As the tension faded away, the tight circle of bodies got looser. A guy stepped away and turned to look at us, a sneer on his face.

"What are we even doing? Why are we…" He never finished, as a small arrow shot through his neck! I saw his eyes widen and his hand go up to his neck as he fell back, before all hell broke loose. Numerous small figures jumped out from the surrounding brush from all directions, cackling excitedly. Goblins! Screams sounded out immediately as feral goblins attacked panicking humans. A goblin jumped straight at me, but an instinctive swing of my club caught it in its side.

A satisfying crack sounded out from the impact as the goblin flew sideways and luckily crashed into another goblin. I looked around as all semblance of order had vanished. Some people were running back in the direction of the longhouses, while some were desperately trying to hold off the goblins. There were bodies strewn about, some of goblins, most human. I saw another guy go down with an arrow to the neck. Tracing the path of the arrow, I could see a small shape huddled in a tree above.

"Omar!" I shouted, catching the big guy's attention as he looked at me.

"Take that archer down!" I said, pointing at the goblin I just saw. Without hesitation, Omar put his palm forward as I felt the same atmosphere shift as earlier. The goblins must have felt it too, as they all paused and looked at Omar. Oh no. I moved before Omar shot his mana bolt, crushing the head of the goblin closest to me. I saw Ben join me from the corner of my eye as I heard the bolt shriek its way towards the tree.

I was right next to Omar as I saw the archer tumble down from the tree, smoke coming out of its chest. All goblins turned to look at the archer falling, then looked back at us, their focus on Omar, as a lot more people took this opportunity to sprint away. There were maybe five or six of us left here now, as more than fifteen goblins surrounded us. We are trapped!