Ch40 - Horde Mode
James’s Fireball slammed into the face of the first goblin, killing it instantly. In fact, his aim was so good that the Fireball landed entirely on the goblin and did not light any of the surrounding grasses on fire.
The hero swore, but at least it was his turn. “Fireball!” This time, he aimed for the grass.
The trick worked. Grass ignited and the fire quickly spread in a ring. Now that he was watching carefully and had a little more distance from the inferno, James could see that the fire spread in a perfect ring around his party, and it only extended five feet out. At first glance the spread of fire looked natural, but once he noticed those details, he could see that it was artificially limited. By the dungeon itself? Was there something in the makeup of the grass that he wasn’t seeing? Or was it a limit by the System itself, to make sure that a few reckless mages didn’t destroy the world with a few errant Fireballs?
Either way, it served his purpose.
Defeated level 6 Goblin! +100 EXP
Defeated level 6 Goblin! +100 EXP
Defeated level 6 Goblin! +100 EXP
Defeated level 6 Goblin! +100 EXP
Defeated level 6 Goblin! +100 EXP
James held his breath waiting for combat to end, but the haze didn’t lift.
Desiree rushed into the tall grass, sweeping it aside with the sword she’d found in the Warden’s Secret Room. She’d seen a flash of red eyes, and she honed in on it.
Defeated level 6 Goblin! +100 EXP
Inara was next. She hadn’t seen any goblins, but she didn’t need to. Her scythe swept through the tall grass; she cut it down with practiced ease, catching two of the little monsters in the process and revealing a third.
Defeated level 6 Goblin! +100 EXP
Defeated level 6 Goblin! +100 EXP
Virgil pointed one trembling finger. “Hellflame.” Black, flickering flames shot from his hand with pinpoint accuracy. Where James’s fire was loud and flashy, eager to feed and grow, Virgil’s was insidious. Intentional. It seemed to crawl along the goblin’s skin, sinking into the monster’s flesh. The goblin’s mouth opened in a silent scream, until at last the flames devoured him.
Enemy turn!
James’s eyes widened. He was sure that Virgil had just killed the last one!
But sure enough, one more goblin emerged from the grass.
Just one. That was okay. They didn’t have to worry about another swarm, at least.
Instead of rushing at Inara, however, this goblin did something different. It lifted a hollowed-out ram’s horn to its lips and blew.
James went cold. Son of a bitch. These goblins were smart enough to know that there was more a person could do with their turn than swing a weapon; they could call for help, too.
The goblin heaved a deep breath and blew again, this time sounding the horn even louder than before.
James was going to kill that motherfucker.
He almost laughed. He kept thinking about this world like a video game that he’d stepped into. How could he not? That was basically what had happened, and he had the levels and stats to prove it. Not to mention the fact that he was the Hero, sucked into the world in the right place at the right time to save everyone. That was Video Game 101.
But it was also so much more. No game had ever made him feel this way. When he increased his STR, he felt stronger. When he cast a spell, he felt the mana running through his veins — or mana channels, or whatever. When he looked at Inara and Virgil and Desiree, he didn’t see NPCs, he saw his teammates. His friends.
This was personal. It was real. It was life.
And it was death.
Your turn!
James knew there were more goblins coming. They had to be, or the haze of combat would have lifted. But there was little he could do. The monsters were outside of his range or hidden by the grass.
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“Fireball.” He cast the spell. It didn’t hit any goblins, but he didn’t expect it to. Instead, there was a whoosh of heat as the grass went up in flames, expanding their clearing by another five feet all around. He would have cast another, but he’d learned by now to keep an eye on his mana. He only had enough for two more castings before he ran out, and though he was getting more comfortable with his axe, he felt more comfortable keeping a spell or two in reserve in case of emergency.
Unfortunately, even clearing that much space didn’t reveal any of their enemies. Desiree’s turn came and went, as did Inara’s, and then Virgil’s. All they could do was draw closer to each other and settle into defensive stances.
Enemy turn!
The enemy’s turn seemed to last an eternity. How many of them were there? All James could see was the occasional rustling in the grass. He wished he could swivel his head and see if the goblins were surrounding the party — they must be, right? That was the only reasonable strategy. He couldn’t deny the psychological effect of waiting, waiting, waiting for combat to resume. What kind of sick individual insisted on turn-based combat anyway? It had seemed like such a blessing when he fought the bear, so long ago, but now he knew better. It was a cruel form of torture, nothing more.
Your turn!
The hero hesitated. His axe called to him, thirsting for goblin blood. It wanted him to thrust into the grass with wild abandon, catching goblins with every swing.
The urge was strong, powerful, and primal, but James knew better. That was a quick death waiting to happen; on the next enemy turn, they would swarm him.
“Fireball!”
Defeated level 6 Goblin! +100 EXP
Defeated level 6 Goblin! +100 EXP
Defeated level 6 Goblin! +100 EXP
James winced. The attack had opened their clearing even further, but three enemies were hardly worth the mana expense. They must still be arriving. If they were all scattered in squads like the first couple groups they had found, perhaps the monsters would continue to arrive in waves.
He didn’t have enough mana to handle that. “Stay close,” he said. “You don’t want to get caught out there alone.”
The next few turns passed quickly. The party settled into a defensive posture while they waited for the horde to arrive.
Enemy turn!
The grass rustled. Green skin blended into the grass until red eyes blinked open. One by one, the goblins realized that they wouldn’t be able to keep the element of surprise.
Your turn!
The party didn’t move. Entering the grass meant certain death. Inara was the only one who had a chance of surviving, and even then it wasn’t worth the risk.
James Meditated. It was risky, but he thought he could wait them out for one more turn before the goblins rushed the group.
His MP rose.
Desiree shifted her weight from one foot to the other, then back again. She was following his lead, but she was impatient.
Inara remained perfectly still. If not for the System’s indication that it was her turn, James would have thought she was still frozen.
Virgil was the twitchiest of the lot. He’d never been surrounded by so many enemies, and he could feel their malevolent gazes. Whispers of the Malphas called to him, promised to speak their secrets if he would only utter the spell.
“Whispers of the Malphas.” The whisper escaped his lips before his thoughts could catch it. Instantly, the rustling of the grasses turned into words.
“…gonna kills you, skins you, rip out your throat—!”
“…waitwaitwait just a little while longer, then we pounce—!”
He clutched at his head and tried to cancel the spell, but the whispers did not stop.
“…pale one is the weakest, the chief will suck his bones—!”
Enemy turn!
The standoff continued. The goblins crowded against each other, shoving and jostling as they fought to approach— only to stop at the edge of the clearing and glare at the humans who dared to lay a foot on their land.
Your turn!
“Fireball!” James had to aim carefully. With so many goblins pressed against the edge of the clearing, he had to avoid hitting any of them and make sure he caught the grass instead.
It worked. Flames licked at the dry grasses and spread like— well, like wildfire. The goblins were caught in the crossfire, and one after another they screamed.
Defeated level 6 Goblin! +100 EXP
Defeated level 6 Goblin! +100 EXP
…
Defeated level 6 Goblin! +100 EXP
Level up!
Level up!
James’s turn ended before the fire burned out. Still, the notifications poured in.
Desiree clutched at her sword. She wanted to run in, but it would be foolish to rush into the fire. She growled. It wasn’t fair. Just because her turn was after James’s this time, and just because he decided to use a flashy spell, she wouldn’t get to kill any monsters! She ground her teeth. She would just have to kill twice as many next time and maybe upgrade her agility so she could go before him in the future.
When the circle of flames finally burned out, the party saw yet more eyes peering at them through the grass.
Inara charged, scythe first. Her powerful legs carried her to the edge of the clearing where she swept her blade a foot off the ground, cutting the goblins down at the knees.
Defeated level 6 Goblin! +100 EXP
Defeated level 6 Goblin! +100 EXP
Defeated level 6 Goblin! +100 EXP
Defeated level 6 Goblin! +100 EXP
She only risked one swipe, then darted back to the group.
Virgil covered his ears. He could hear the screams and the whimpers and the cries of every monster killed. He could hear them in his bones.
The whispers intensified. You know what to do. You know how to kill them all.
“I don’t,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t know, I don’t know anything!”
They’ll kill you if you don’t kill them first. You and your friends. They’ll kill you.
“Nonono. Hellflame! Hellflame!”
Defeated level 6 Goblin! +100 EXP
Defeated level 6 Goblin! +100 EXP
Do it! Do it before time runs out!
Virgil screamed. “Counter-theory!”
Enemy turn!
The goblins rushed in.
