Chương 16: Chapter 15 – Farm Raid

Three Days Later ~ Active Quests: 1 ~~ Fend off the goblin raiders attacking the Pfenning Farm. Kai rolled his shoulders to get rid of the tension that had built over twenty minutes of lookout duty. Of his three companions, only Lena was actually focused on the task, while the two young men next to the siblings were shifting around nervously. ~ Archer, Level 7 Finn Hofstedt was a short dark-haired man, slightly younger than Kai.

He had donned the starter gear his class gave him, which the system identified as 'Padded Armor' with an AV of four. He held his bow in hand, scanning the treeline behind the meadow, but not lingering long enough to actually spot anything. Finn's childhood friend Tom Pfenning was even less productive, doing practice swings with a large battleaxe that accomplished nothing other than wearing himself out. Kai's proficiency whispered to him that he would be able to wield it too, to some degree.

Not that he had any intention of switching to such an… inelegant weapon. ~ Marauder, Level 7 The tall young man wore slightly more protective "Leather Armor", AV five. Almost as good as mine, despite a distinct lack of steel plates. Kai briefly considered making Tom stop, but ultimately decided against it.

His tentative leadership rested on nothing but his tacticool gear and the public demonstration of magic Daniel had given the day before, when it became clear that integration was now in full swing and people were getting classes before they got guidance. Frankly, neither of the two had been among Kai's favored picks from the limited pool. He would have preferred a Shaman or Druid for healing and support, and someone durable enough to protect the backline while Kai took point. Alas, village politics suck.

Kai dearly hoped that one trip to the quarry had been enough to prepare Finn and Tom for what was to come. He suspected it hadn't, but at least it had netted him some more EXP.

"Movement in the ditch to the right," Lena interrupted his musings. Finn yelped and immediately nocked an arrow. Kai held up his hand.

"Wait. We can't see them yet. Don't waste ammo." Indeed, the only indication of hostile presence was occasional rustling in the high grass, and what Kai thought was a spear tip briefly appearing between the stalks.

"Looks like three or four," he said, projecting as much calm and confidence as he could. Which probably wasn't much, given his rapidly increasing pulse.

"[Counter Shot]." Lena cast one of her new spells. Three small blue orbs of arcane mana started orbiting around her like fireflies. A projectile defense, though it had only been tested against thrown rocks and friendly spells so far.

"Fuuuck my life," Tom cursed quietly.

"Complain once you get stabbed," Kai hissed.

"Get into position." The Marauder put himself between Finn and the ditch.

"If you shoot me, I'm gonna kill you," he grumbled at his friend. Kai rolled his eyes, but did not comment further. Instead, he moved in front of Lena, who had taken position behind a tree that should offer at least some cover.

"They're getting closer. Check potions," he ordered, already counting his own. One, two, three, four jars. Four chances to do this without getting his father involved and losing experience and quest rewards.

"Ready," Lena confirmed. Tom and Finn were still fidgeting with their potion bandoliers when the first goblin arrow impacted Lena's tree. The second one struck Kai right in the chest, but the plate carrier easily stopped it. Quickly catching his breath from the impact, Kai shouted, "Two hunters! Suppress!"

"[Lightning Bolt]!" Under the cover of Lena's low-powered spells, Kai quickly moved towards the ditch, Tom close behind. They couldn't see the goblins yet, so they had to be careful – but they also couldn't be too careful, or they would end up as pin cushions. As they approached, they heard a small commotion among the goblins, and then two spear-wielding fighters reluctantly left their hiding spot to intercept them. ~ Goblin Fighter, Level 5 ~ Goblin Fighter, Level 4"Tom, take left!"

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The lack of a response forced Kai to look over, only to see Tom standing there, frozen. Fuck.

"Lena!"

"[Zap]!" Electricity arced out of her fingertip. It was a pale imitation of the power Kai had seen his father wield, but it proved powerful enough to stop the weaker fighter from skewering Tom. No visible injuries, unfortunately. Kai had just enough time to turn his head back before his own opponent arrived, accompanied by a bone-tipped arrow flying towards his face. He flinched to the side – too late, but a streak of blue hissed through the air, intercepting the projectile just before it could hit him.

"Two charges left!" Lena shouted. He had no time to feel relieved. The goblin fighter stabbed at him repeatedly, and he barely managed to defend himself. One attack got through, causing a small wound on his leg. Minor bleeding, he assessed. No potion yet. Instead, he went on the offensive himself. [Feint]. The goblin tried to parry a sword that wasn't there, and took a blade to the torso in return. It stumbled, looked back as if considering retreat, and then threw another vicious stab at Kai.

Kai blocked a moment too late, and the spear bit into his thigh. He swiped widely at the green bastard, forcing it to take a step back while he downed his first potion. He felt his skin and muscles mend, by now a familiar sensation.

"One charge left!" Lena spit out, annoyance bleeding into her voice. What? When did that happen? I didn't even see the arrow! Kai briefly disengaged from his foe to get a view of what was behind him, and was immediately greeted by the sight of a panicked Archer desperately trying to convey his apologies for almost hitting Tom. The broken arrow lay on the ground, still smoldering from the interception.

"FOCUS!" Kai roared. To his credit, Tom actually listened, found some courage, and moved to attack the goblin fighter that was still occupied with Lena's lightning. Finn tried to nock another arrow, fumbled, and almost dropped his bow. We're all going to die here. A few wild swings at the goblin in front of him cleared some maneuvering space. Kai used it to position himself a little off to the side so that he could not only see the goblins, but also his flailing allies.

Lena would be losing some cover, but she would be able to compensate. So, Kai got a clean view of Tom bisecting his opponent. The strike should have been amateurish, like everything the guy did. He moved like an idiot, he froze like an idiot, he even talked like an idiot. Instead, his clumsy footwork turned stable, he took a wide stance, and brought down the axe in a swing that looked like he had practiced it for years. That's just unfair, isn't it?

There was no chance Tom had ever touched an axe for anything other than splitting wood. And even for that, the Pfennings had some kind of machine. The only reason for his competency was the Proficiency with three points in 'Axe'. Tom was briefly stunned by his own display of violence, then straightened up, grinning widely.

"Heh." He threw Kai a smug glance and sprinted towards the ditch. Oh for fuck's sake. [Feint]. Kai's sword flicked towards the left, baiting his own opponent into– Shit! The goblin's piercing yellow eyes followed the blade attentively, but its body moved into a different direction. It parried Kai's followup attack, almost knocking the sword out of his hand. It pulled back its spear, lunged– An arrow burrowed deep into its head and it fell over, dead.

"Woohoo!"

"Shut the fuck up and keep shooting!" Kai screamed, frustration rising like the tide.

"Half mana, taking potion!" Lena announced between casts. Despite his reservations about stepping into Finn's line of fire, Kai ran towards the ditch to catch up with Tom. He was greeted by the sight of the Marauder sinking his axe deep into the earth next to a goblin hunter, having missed his overhead strike. Kai was still too far away to physically stop the goblin's retaliatory dagger strike, so he improvised.

"[Fire Bolt]!" The spell only grazed his target, but it was enough for the bone shiv to miss the gap in Tom's armor the goblin had been aiming for. Tom wheezed in pain and doubled over anyway. [Charge]. Kai closed the remaining distance, the Skill helping him keep balance while sprinting over the uneven terrain. He slashed at the hunter, carving a deep wound into its arm. It screeched in pain as green blood poured on the grass, took a look around the battlefield, and fled as quickly as its short legs carried it.

Alarmingly fast, actually. The last hunter hissed, but made no attempts to retreat. It dodged another lightning bolt – not a difficult feat given its cover in the ditch – then aimed straight at Finn. The arrow zipped through the air. Lena spent her last charge to intercept it, but the projectile was too fast. It pierced Finn's armor, sank into his shoulder, and left him screaming in pain. Then, Kai caught movement in the corner of his eye. Shit, there were more than four!

"LENA! Behind you!" She threw up a hasty barrier, but it wasn't enough. The first attack was deflected by her spell and the vest's steel plates, the second one ripped into her thigh. She tumbled to the ground, casting while falling.

"[Zap]!" Lightning struck the goblin's face, melting one eye. But without Battle Meditation, she could not keep this up forever. [Charge]. The Skill refused to activate. Too far away, damnit! Kai sprinted with all his might.

"Hey! Over HERE!" The goblins' spears flashed downwards.