Chương 14: 13. An Aelf Among goblins

Five goblins stood in the small hallway. Judging by the splash of blood on the marble floor, at least one more had been struck by the door. Like most monsters so far, these were meant to be cannon fodder, placed there to announce our arrival. I leaped forward, performing a double slash, before the creatures had a chance to react. Three heads flew off their respective bodies. Fighting with two medium-length weapons made all the difference.

The goblin-killer was especially lethal, passing through the flesh with so little resistance I might as well have been cutting water. One of the remaining minions let out a scream, though just that. I buried both blades in the sides of its neck. That left one. The lone warrior was under the impression that I had left myself open, so it raised its knife in a sloppy attack. Before it could even charge, an arrow sent it flying across the hall, pinning the creature to the opposing wall.

"Don't stop!" I yelled as I kept running. It was safe to assume that we had lost the element of surprise, but the faster we got to the boss, the better. There was a slight chance that the remaining goblins were scattered throughout the rest of the floor, giving me a chance to engage the final enemy before they could gather. There was a single double door in view, and that's where I was heading. More snarly screams came from the sides of the hallway. We had caught the attention of another pack of goblins.

I left them for Cathy to deal with, kicking the door with all my strength. Both sides swung open, barely remaining on their hinges. An impressive room extended in front of me. All the chairs had been removed, making the space feel even larger than it was. The only piece of furniture was a massive, rectangular table of solid wood, located at the far end, right in front of the row of windows. Oh shit! Leaning against the table was the trial's boss.

Aelf Leader (Trial Boss) Level: 5 Cards: Five of Rings, Three of Swords, Ten of Swords, Two of Chalice Special: [REMOVED] Weapon: Aelf Blades (x2) He changed the rules? The trial leader wasn't remotely goblin. Harlequin had put in a damned elf in the role, and the deities had let him. Sure, he was a "mere" level five with his specials removed, but that didn't take away from the fact that he was given four cards. Some might argue that was better for me, since I'd get them as loot upon his death.

Personally, I would have preferred if he had a single card. The creature gave me a bored look. His demeanor suggested that he didn't consider me an adequate opponent, let alone a challenge. Everything from his finely crafted weapons to the delicate and intricate clothes screamed nobility; every aelf was. Many participants made the mistake of thinking of them as elves.

Comparing the two was like claiming that there was no difference between a street cat and a white tiger to the point that some people I travelled with weren't even convinced that elves and aelves were the same species. With chalk-white skin and hair and emerald eyes, aelves were fast, graceful, and bloodthirsty to the point that made goblins look tame. They weren't in the least bit concerned with appearing intimidating; pain was their thing.

They enjoyed inflicting it, prolonging it, watching others drown in it before they died.

"Forget the goblins!" I shouted.

"Shoot at the boss!" The chalice card suggested that the elf had some healing abilities; the ring card—that he had a bit of magic as well. Poison or paralysis would be my guess—anything that would render an opponent helpless without killing them. The card that worried me the most, though, was the Ten of Swords. It definitely was an attack, no doubt a powerful one. All double-digit cards of the minor arcana were powerful.

Yet, since ten was the least significant, I hadn't bothered remembering the skills it contained. Damn you, Harlequin! I tightened my grip on my weapons. If I had known I'd be facing this, I would gladly have waited for Marcus, even if it meant wasting another day stuck in the trial. Suddenly, a large mass emerged from the side of the room, charging right at me. Immediately, I stopped. The boots of swiftness killed off my inertia, preventing the threat from crashing into me. Another goblin buster?

That meant that two goblin leaders were in the building besides the boss. The mass of muscles in front of me was slightly different from the one I'd faced before. Equipped with a large club and the Five of Swords card, he had a far greater reach. Quickly I leaped back, glancing at the aelf. The albino snob hadn't moved, unwilling to waste time and effort on me. Of course, I knew that he wouldn't let the goblin kill me.

When it came to that, he'd rather eliminate a subordinate than deprive himself the pleasure from torturing the only victims that had gone to him on their own accord. The large goblin swung its club in a vertical strike. I leaped back again, avoiding the impact by fractions of a second. A loud bang filled the air as petrified wood struck industrial concrete covered by a thin layer of wooden panels. Knowing I couldn't afford fear or retreat, I slashed the goblin's forearm. A thin red line formed, then abruptly grew.

My new weapon was doing its thing. I followed up with the attack, trying to drive my machete into the goblin's eye, but missed. The blade bounced off the thick forehead, barely leaving a mark. Behind me, I could still hear the noise of snarling goblins in the corridor. Cathy had ignored my advice, cleaning the floor of lesser monsters. From her perspective, maybe it seemed a good idea, but she was dead wrong.

There was only one entity we had to focus on and right now that entity was being protected by a wall of muscles. The club struck the floor again, forcing me to retreat further still. Escaping into the corridor was an option. Doing so would limit the monster's movements and effectively put Cathy in play. Taking a defensive stance, I glanced at the exit. No sooner had I done so than the sound of shattering glass filled the air.

All the windows behind the aelf burst to pieces as a torrent of arrows flew in, creating a path from the middle of the room all the way to the outside corridor. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Goblin Archer Level: 2 Cards: none Specials: Spread Fear, Precise Aim Weapon: Short Bow A small group of goblins swooped in, bows at the ready, two full quivers of arrows on each of their backs. And that was not all. They were led by a goblin leader.

"Cathy!" I shouted. I could almost hear the deities placing bets on the various outcomes of this encounter. Somewhere beyond reality fortunes would be made and lost, though in the end it wouldn't even matter. A goddess I knew had shared that the betting was mostly for fun. Nothing of major importance was lost or gained. It was all for the thrill, watching which mortal entity would survive and how. At the table, the aelf yawned. By all reasonable estimates, the battle had practically ended.

There was no chance of me bettering a goblin buster backed by a sharpshooter and four archers. Any normal person would start thinking of ways to escape. As long as I made it out of the building alive, the boss and his subordinates wouldn't follow. Less than an hour from now the sun would rise, bringing the boss fight to an end. However, spending close to a decade of my life competing in the Grand Arcana had made me anything but reasonable.

If I wanted to see this run through and find the people who betrayed me, my only choice was to continue forward. Gritting my teeth, I leaped straight at the large goblin. Overconfident in its superior defense, the monster raised its club, leaving itself completely open to attack. That's when I made my first massive gamble of the run, thrusting my goblin-killer into the base of its throat. Any common weapon would have shattered on the spot.

Even exceptional ones would have refused to move beyond the thick goblin skin. The weapon I had been granted by my potential sponsor was rare, though. I felt the resistance increase, as if I were cutting through cork. And still, the blade kept on going, sinking into the bulky neck muscles. The goblin froze, letting out a gurgle. Its mouth opened, spilling blood all over me. Maintaining my initiative, I thrust the machete into its open mouth. Had I succeeded? Was this enough to kill it?

The large club slipped out of the monster's hands, slamming into the floor behind its back. A second later, the entire body of the creature vanished out of existence. In its place, a single red sphere fell to the floor, followed by the floating descent of a card. I felt Harlequin mocking me. Viewed on its own, the loot drop was more than generous. In other circumstances, a monster such as this would have gotten me nothing.

And still, it took a special kind of sadism to pull away my only shield and toss a few reward tokens in my face. Across the room, the sharpshooter grinned. I was an open target now, which meant that he had no reason to miss. A single thought passed through my mind—the sponsorship offer. Accepting it was probably a bad idea, but not as bad as getting killed. My lips moved. Just as I was about to speak the words, an arrow struck one of the goblin archers.

Being the weak creature that it was, a single hit proved more than enough. Instantly, all remaining survivors changed targets. A flurry of arrows flew at the entrance. The cowardly nature of the goblins had reared its ugly head, forcing them to lose interest in me. After all, the greatest threat to an archer was another archer, at least until magic was involved. The confusion was only going to last a few seconds, but it gave me the opportunity I needed.

Still holding my weapons, I reached out and grabbed the monster sphere with my left thumb and index finger, then shoved it into my mouth. The slimy sensation of goblin blood that covered it made me want to puke, but I persisted, swallowing the booster. A new wave of pain swept over me, but just as before, it came with the sensation of power. You're mine! I leaped at the aelf. My right blade split the air, following an arc attack, while I held the machete close to my chest, ready for any counterattack.

If this were a goblin, or even a common elf, I stood a high chance of ending the fight here and now. Unfortunately, aelves had good reason to be arrogant. With a single fluid action, the trial boss drew both his weapons, then parried my attack with his left hand while striking at my chest with his right. There were several dozen cards that would have been useful right about now, yet lacking them I had to rely on the combat memories of my past run. My hands moved on their own, blocking the blade with my machete.

Despite the frail appearance of the monster, the strength of his attack was enough to slice through stone. It was a small wonder that my weapon didn't shatter on the spot. Maybe that was another benefit given to me by Harlequin. A rapid exchange of strikes ensued, each as lethal as the last. All the time I took special care not to let myself get injured. With the cards the aelf had, even a slight cut could end the fight for me. Arrows kept flying around us.

Cathy and the archers had entered their own personal confrontation. I had glimpsed from the corner of my eye another goblin fall. The sharpshooter, remained the greatest challenge. As long as he was focused on her and not me, I could say that things were good. The fight went on. Leaping onto the wooden table, I performed a thrust attack aimed at the aelf's chest. The moss elegantly twisted to the side, evading my strike by a hair. No!

I spun around counterclockwise, proceeding with a back attack from my other weapon. Every experienced fighter knew that back attacks were the worst possible option a person had. They were neither flashy, nor effective, putting the attacker in a far worse position than he would have been if remaining still. Ironically, that was the reason every now and again they produced results. Finally acknowledging my health, the aelf hadn't expected I'd resort to such a stupid move.

In all honesty, the only reason I did was out of fear that he'd cut my hand, affecting me with whatever ailment his card contained. Instead, the tip of my machete sliced through the delicate cloth composing his sleeve, then cut into his flesh. I felt the blade strike bone and then abruptly stop. An attack of such strength should have easily snapped it, continuing on. A sharp kick sent me flying backwards. Thanks to my boots, I managed to remain on the edge.

"Stone bones," I said.

"You've got stone bones!" That's what the ring card was, not any sort of poison attack. The green glow from the aelf's open wound told me that I had at least been right about the healing skill. Seconds remained until the initial boost of the monster sphere faded away. Until it did, I had to defeat an opponent with an indestructible skeleton and the power to regenerate any wounds. This was worse than the massive goblin. There was no way I'd be able to pierce his skull.

The only alternative would be to go for his heart, but as the aelf had shown, he was flexible enough to avoid any attack.

"Cathy!" I leaped off the edge of the table.

"Switch targets with me!" Making use of the last few seconds of strength, I let go of my weapons and grabbed the side of the table. Lifting it proved slightly more difficult than I had thought. Whatever model Harlequin had copied it from must have been a fan of solid oak constructions. Holding my breath, I spun the piece of furniture as if it were a weapon. The boss crouched down safely out of danger. Two goblin archers weren't so lucky, getting thrown out of the room to their deaths.

The sharpshooter proved faster, avoiding the strike only to be pierced by an arrow. You never listen, do you? I let go of the table and retrieved my weapons. I charged at my opponent, thrusting my goblin-killer through the air. If any weapon had a chance to pierce his skill, that was it. The aelf must have thought the same, for he used both his blades to parry the attack. My strike was deflected upwards, missing his head by inches. Unfortunately for him, I still had one more weapon and the ability to dual-wield.

The machete struck the creature's chest just slightly left of center. While I was a novice when it came to goblin anatomy, the same definitely couldn't be said about aelves. I had won the knowledge while gambling. At the time it hadn't seemed as much; there were far more dangerous and abundant creatures out there. Even so now, I remember the exact location of each and every major organ, including their caged ribs.

"Attention, everyone!" Harlequin's voice boomed from the heavens even before the aelf had taken his final breath.

"A participant has fulfilled the hidden requirement, bringing the challenge to an end. Please proceed through the portal at the starting point. Prizes will be awarded once all survivors have returned."