Chương 10: 9. A Lucky Variant

Another goblin fell to the ground, its throat pierced by Marcus' attack. It was impossible to tell what skill he had used, but there was no doubt he no longer relied on standard strikes. I had never been one for ring cards. They definitely had their uses, but tended to inflate the ego of the people who had them. In the case of Marcus, he already had a pretty high opinion of himself to begin with. Thankfully, he also had the self-control to keep it in check.

In the previous timeline, he had shown a tendency to change cards frequently, seeking the best combination. There never was a doubt that he'd get an offer from a major deity.

"Don't get too close," I warned him. He looked at me as if I had left my fly unzipped. The constant rush of monsters didn't let either of us continue the conversation. Gritting my teeth, I took a step back, thrusting my weapon through an incoming goblin. The machete cut through the creature's chest as if it were jelly. One quick pull back and it was over. The whole thing seemed so easy as if I'd spent my entire life practicing. Of course, it was the cards that granted the ability—the dreaded Grand Arcana.

Moving forward, I struck another goblin's neck. The creature died on the spot, letting me see behind it. By my estimates, we had killed over a quarter, most at the hands of Marcus. The speed at which he had done so was outright impressive, even if they were the weakest of creatures. Just then, I saw the machete fly at my face. There was a time when I would have frozen out of fright. It was entirely thanks to Avon that I had survived several instances of the sort.

Being the person he was, he'd laugh and joke that a fight wouldn't just stop because I did. It had taken me years to take that remark to heart. Once I had, there was no forgetting it. My hand moved on its own, pulling the machete in front of my face. The force was enough to deflect the goblin's weapon, sending it flying to the side. A short distance away, the goblin leader snarled.

"You were hoping that would kill me?" I shouted, mocking him.

"Too bad." Taunting a goblin was a delicate balance. If I appeared too strong, it would run off, leaving me when the numbers were on its side. On the other hand, if I appeared too weak, every critter in the vicinity would stop what it was doing and charge at me, eager for a quick kill. Maybe the Bard card affected the outcome, for the goblin leader decapitated one of its own minions, then retrieved its dagger before dashing right at me. Here goes nothing. I rushed forward to meet him.

Both of us were relying on speed, both had superior weapons to everyone else. Since I was on the slightly slower side, I had to make up for it in tactics. The fact that the creature insisted on having two weapons meant that the skill his card provided was linked to combo attacks. If I had a bit more time to think, I could probably remember exactly what the Three of Swords granted. Lacking that luxury, I had to improvise. Double slash, I thought. It had to be that.

If I were right, the goblin would start with a false attack using the dagger, then slice me up with its hatchet. Just like in my previous leader fight, I leaped back moments before we got within range of one another. The goblin slashed the air, as I suspected it would, then proceeded onward. The second attack was immediate, accompanied by a second leap. Apparently, it wasn't as stupid as I hoped.

"Get it, Marcus!" I shouted, continuing to retreat. My bluff failed miserably. The goblin didn't even blink, slashing the air with its dagger as it came at me. Each leap was followed by a slash. Unlike me, however, it didn't have to worry about what stood behind. One trip was all it would take for me to lose my life. What was worse, since we were in a city, it was inevitable that sooner or later I was going to bump into something. I saw the goblin's face twist into a toothy grin.

In its mind, it had already won the fight. Nine times out of ten, I would have agreed. Yet, I wasn't just some newbie. By putting my back against the wall, it gave me every incentive to try something which I never would have otherwise. The hatchet's edge passed inches from my face. If I didn't make my move now, I wouldn't have another chance. And so, I did. Waiting just a second longer for the goblin's arm to start moving back, I performed my thrust attack.

The bloody machete split the air like an arrow, aiming straight for the center of the creature's chest. Holding my breath, I braced for its response. If the goblin continued with its attack, both of us would end up hurt, possibly dead. If it gave in to the cowardly streak of its species, it would try to evade or defend, ensuring my victory. My mind played tricks, showing me several of its actions all at once. Despite that, I didn't waver. The machete pushed back, meeting some resistance.

The bones of the goblin's ribcage made an attempt to stop the blade, failing miserably. I could feel them crack and crumble through the hilt of the weapon. The tip of the blade went on, piercing the monster's heart, then emerging from the other side. At that moment, I felt as if time had stopped. The surrounding goblins, the other leaders, the entire trial, even Harlequin himself no longer registered as a concern. All that mattered was that I had won.

"Come at me!" I shouted as I pulled down my machete, ripping through the goblin's torso. The creature shook in a post-death spasm before freezing completely still. Suddenly, everything changed. The fear that had kept the goblins fighting us suddenly loosened its hold. Even with all the adrenaline and sensation of euphoria, I could see close to twenty goblins in the streets. Most of them had done a good job surrounding Marcus, although I suspect that was what he was aiming for.

Several looked at the dead body of their leader, desperately trying to come up with the next course of action. An arrow buried itself in the torso of one, hastening the process. Now, only one option remained: escape and flee to someone stronger. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. In a matter of seconds, the savage attack was transformed into a hasty retreat.

Tossing their weapons, the creatures rushed away, some even less concerned with their own lives than before. That proved to be a field day for Marcus, who was quick to slaughter half a dozen more. Even Cathy joined in from her hidden spot, taking down another monster. Stay calm. I fought the urge to chase after the goblins. I had seen enough people die as a result of overconfidence. The creatures of this trial didn't seem smart or cunning enough to resort to traps, but one never knew.

Without warning, the body next to me combusted into a cloud of smoke. To my astonishment, a glistening card remained on the street. A second one? There was no way this could be luck. The odds against two drops taking place were astronomical. It had to be part of the trial. Likely, to compensate for the difficulty, Harlequin had made it so that all significant monsters left their cards behind. Hands still trembling, I reached down and picked up my prize.

THREE OF SWORDS (MINOR, SWORDS) (Rarity – Uncommon) SKILLS (2/2): 1 DUAL WIELD: (small or medium-sized weapons only) use two weapons simultaneously in battle 2 ARC COMBO ATTACK: (two edged weapons required) perform a series of consecutive slash attacks"Thank you," I whispered out of habit. A deity had to have pulled some strings to grant me a variant. In general, cards of the minor arcana were always common. That didn't prevent variants from appearing now and again.

Recognizable thanks to the bronze glint, such cards offered two skills instead of one. For the most part, veterans used them to trade for other goods. I myself had received my first variant in an exchange. It so happened that I was fortunate enough to stumble upon a hidden cache containing a weapon I had no skill to use. Between trials, I had immediately been approached by several veterans, all of them eager to obtain it. Five bronze and one silver variants—that had been the offer I'd chosen to accept.

On the surface, it was less than what I could have gotten, but the person who had given them had added some information about synergizing in the mix.

"Are they gone?" Cathy shouted from further down the street. I took a deep breath and counted to five.

"Yeah, they're all gone," I said and looked around. Marcus was no longer chasing goblins, but looking at his weapon instead. According to his status window, he had managed to boost it up to five, potentially earning it an ability.

"You can join us." My euphoria quickly leaked away, although this time I wasn't in the pitiful state as I was before. My present body was getting used to the shock I was subjecting it to. It also helped that I had amassed three cards already. As I stood, I glanced at Marcus. He didn't seem to have noticed the card. That meant I could keep the secret a little longer.

There weren't enough hours in the night for us to kill off all goblin leaders, but if I could claim a few more cards, including that of the boss, I was going to be one happy gamer. I brushed the sweat off my forehead, then took the cup out of my inventory. Nothing happened. Clearly, I had reached my limit for the day. There was no way around it. Early items, even those celebrated as special rewards, were pretty crap. Exceptions were few and far between, and Marcus had already gotten one.

Maintaining my composure, I returned the item, then took out a plastic bottle. It always paid to be prepared beforehand.

"Marcus," I shouted at him.

"Want some water?"

"No." He didn't even look in my direction, still admiring his dagger. Just to be sure, I waited for a few seconds more before I removed the cap and started drinking.

"I can use one." Cathy came up to me. I finished drinking, then tossed her one.

"Here," I said.

"And don't damage the bottle. I'll want it back."

"Got it." She removed the cap.

"And my weapons?" I looked down. The hatchet the goblin leader held was still there. As tempting as it was to claim it after getting the bronze card, that risked causing chaos in the group. There were other special goblins, which meant more suitable weapons.

"One's here." I pointed at it.

"The other must be about. He tried to hit me with it at the start of the fight." Cathy nodded and started drinking. While she did, I took out the map. The potential boss areas were relatively close to one another. That was both good and bad. The good thing was that we could get from one to the other relatively quickly; the bad—that there was a good chance that they could join forces.

"What's wrong?" Marcus asked. Somehow, his intuition had detected my internal hesitation.

"Calculating," I replied.

"If we take an hour to kill off each, we won't have enough time. Not if we want to be done by morning."

"Is there a benefit to that?" Cathy asked.

"Possibly." I was clueless on the matter. Harlequin hadn't mentioned anything, yet that was never a guarantee.

"We've already gotten noticed, so I'm not sure if there's anything more to gain. We might still get some reward trinkets. You never know."

"Same goes for killing all of them," Marcus added. The man probably just wanted to level up his dagger as much as possible.

"If I had to choose, I'd go with speed," I said.

"There's no telling if the rules won't change tomorrow. And there's no way we could do both at once. If the info is to be trusted, we'd stand the greatest chance to—""We can split up," Marcus interrupted. Internally, I froze. This was precisely the outcome I was hoping to avoid. If it came down to it, I was pretty much set for this trial. The cards and weapons alone were worth it, not to mention that I was virtually guaranteed to place in the top three.

The goth girl remained an unknown, but she didn't appear to show any enthusiasm. Losing Cathy and Marcus this early in the run was bound to cause problems later. For one thing, they had helped me survive one of the later trials. At present, the trials were easy. With a few good cards and a lot of effort, a person could solo them without issue. That was going to change after trial five. From then on, the strength of the monsters would greatly surpass every individual, requiring collaboration.

It would be far later that people could amass enough cards and blessings to go solo again.

"Three bosses, three of us," Marcus said.

"We all keep the spoils. If there's anything we don't want, we trade it afterwards."

"We won't survive if we split up." I looked him in the eye. It had taken a great deal of mental effort not to blabber out that I didn't think they would survive.

"If you're worried about me, I'll be fine," Cathy said.

"As long as I don't take the sewers."

"I'll take those," Marcus was quick to point out.

"And the goblin in the park." I focused on the map again. Arguing further was pointless. If we were actually doing this, I had two options left: the west side and the opera. Strictly speaking, the opera was only the latest sighting. The article had mentioned that the "bogeyman" was at large in the city.

"Which do you prefer?" I asked Cathy.

"West side," she replied without a moment's thought.

"And this one—" she tapped a marking on the map "—on the way." That left one boss and three goblin leaders.

"Fine," I said.

"We'll meet up at the tallest building once we're done. If there's trouble, run. We'll group up to kill what we can't on our own. And be on the lookout for food."

"We won't need it if we finish tonight," Marcus said.

"I know. But there's a good chance goblins might be hiding there."