Chapter 16: The Warrior
The burly man was the first to spot Arthur when he jumped out from behind the trees. His eyes widened in surprise, but he didn’t have time to say anything before he turned his attention back to the goblins and hurriedly parried another attack.
The imps, with their backs still turned, had yet to spot the newcomer charging at them from behind.
All except one.
The Spear-Guard goblin was the first to react. Arthur didn’t know if the hideous imp had heard his footsteps or if it had eyes in the back of its head or something, but when he was just a few meters away from it, with his Goblin’s Fang still raised and ready to strike, the Spear-Guard turned its head to the side and stared at him.
Then, with a guttural snarl, the guard tried to pivot, its focus shifting from the burly man to the new, fast-approaching threat.
But before it could fully turn its body, a sharp bark of laughter rang out.
The burly man’s eyes met Arthur’s, and Arthur thought he saw what looked like a glimmer of excitement as the man grinned and stepped forward, swinging the log horizontally with everything he had.
The massive piece of wood swept through the air in a wide arc, like a giant hammer poised to destroy everything in its path. It was a crude attack, but it did exactly what it needed to do. It forced every goblin to defend itself. Including the Spear-Guard.
The goblins flinched and scrambled backward to avoid being crushed. Even the Spear-Guard had no choice but to stop its pivot and raise its weapon hurriedly to defend.
...But that was all the opening Arthur needed.
The moment the Spear-Guard raised its spear to block the man’s swing, he sprinted forward, closing the final gap between them, before he sank the Goblin’s Fang deep into the base of the imp’s neck.
A shrill shriek tore through the clearing, panicked and short-lived, followed by a violent spasm. Then the Spear-Guard crumpled to the ground, twitching once before going still.
[Goblin Spear-Guard defeated. +24 EXP]
But Arthur didn’t stop.
Even before the system notification had fully faded from his vision, he was already moving toward the second level 4 goblin. The imp was still dazed from the earlier log strike it had been forced to endure.
It never stood a chance.
A second flash of white came, followed by another spray of blood. The jagged white tooth buried itself in the monster’s neck with a wet crunch, and the goblin crumpled on the ground shortly after.
[Goblin defeated. +12 EXP]
...
The remaining four goblins were basically child’s play.
Arthur barely had time to lunge for one of them, catching it with a clean strike through the chest, before the burly man roared and charged into the battle like a battering ram. Without the Spear-Guard restraining him, his massive log came down on the imps like divine judgment, splintering their bones and flesh alike, and reducing the last three goblins to twitching piles of meat.
And just like that, it was over.
The clearing went quiet again, save for the two men’s ragged breathing.
After a moment, the big man stepped forward and stretched out a thick, calloused hand, as he said,
"Hey, buddy. Uhm, thanks for the help back there! Those bastards really put me on the spot, you know..."
He clapped Arthur on the shoulder with his left hand as a hearty grin spread across his dirt-smeared face.
"My name’s John, by the way."
"Arthur," Arthur replied with a nod, shaking the man’s hand.
Surprisingly, the moment their hands met, a faint chime echoed in Arthur’s mind, followed by a translucent status window that appeared above John’s head.
[Name: John Voros]
[Age: 31]
[Species: Human]
[Class: Warrior]
[Title: Goblin Slayer]
[Level: 4]
Arthur blinked, momentarily taken aback. This guy was level 4? And a full-fledged Warrior, too? Not only that, but he had the Goblin Slayer title as well? Arthur had been certain that, at most, he would be level 3, just like him.
But before he could say anything, John beat him to the punch. The burly guy stared at him, eyes full of surprise as he said,
"Wait a second, you are a mage? Seriously?" It seemed the realization had just dawned on him, as the man let out a booming laugh and continued, "Hah! Judging by how you fought those bastards, I thought you’d be a warrior too, or at the very least an assassin."
Arthur gave the man a forced smile.
It’s not like he wanted to be a damn mage either. This damn game just didn’t give him much of a choice, so he had to improvise.
John turned his head to the side, glancing at the fading remnants of the goblin corpses and continued,
"Either way, I’m glad you showed up, little bro. Honestly, I have no idea what’s going on anymore. An hour ago, I couldn’t find a single goblin, no matter how hard I looked. I thought I’d cleared out the whole forest. And then, all of a sudden, a whole damn squad jumped me out of nowhere."
John scratched what little hair he had growing on his beard and scowled at the trees, as if the forest itself owed him an explanation. Then he rested the log-turned-club against his shoulder and turned to Arthur again before he continued,
"So, uhm... anyway. What do you say we party up? This last one was a bit too close for comfort!"
Arthur considered the man’s words.
John thought he’d cleared out the entire forest...? Just how many damn goblins had this guy killed to already hit level 4?
It took Arthur a full second to register the offer.
"You want to party up?" he asked, the surprise plain in his voice.
John nodded, this time more serious.
"Yeah. You are pretty good, so I don’t mind working together. It’s way better than playing with those losers who gather around the city plaza and beg for someone to carry them. I figured it’d be a win-win."
Arthur fell silent as he thought it over. Clearly, the benefits of partying up with a level 4 warrior didn’t even need to be mentioned. This guy, John, was more than capable of fighting a group of goblins by himself. That much was obvious.
Arthur didn’t know exactly what kind of stats the man had, but his strength alone had to be monstrous to swing that log around like a baseball bat.
As for the downsides... Arthur thought it over. Well, they would probably have to share the loot, if they found any, but even that wasn’t as bad as it sounded if it meant their hunting speed would skyrocket. If they could kill a group of six goblins in a matter of minutes, it was definitely worth it.
John probably figured the same, considering he was the one who made the suggestion.
In the end, Arthur gave the man a nod.
"Alright. Let’s do it."
"Haha! That’s the spirit!"
[Warrior John has sent you a Party Request.]
[Accept / Decline?]
Arthur glanced at the translucent prompt in front of him and tapped Accept.
Immediately, a thin health bar appeared above John’s head.
[HP: 180/180]
"Alright," John said, cracking his neck as he stepped back. "Just give me a moment to assign my stat points and I’m ready to go."
