Chapter 88 - Vol. 2 - 53

Kaori

Admittedly, Kaori had mixed feelings with regard to Ash's new abilities. 

Necromancers weren't something too often talked about back at Jade, but Kaori had heard enough about them. How they stole the souls of the dead, that they would lay with corpses in the night and drink the blood of innocent people. Even if half of what she'd heard was just rumors, Vermia's mere presence presented a risk. 

For now though, she had to focus, as she and Ash were in the middle of battle. 

"Let it make the first move, it'll leave itself exposed," Satsuhiro told the pair as they stared down another snow troll.

Kaori held her swordstaff at her side, but admittedly, her eyes were mostly on Ash. Moreso than looking to deal damage to the large monster ahead, she wanted to make sure she protected the half-demon. So, when the creature started running towards Ash, Kaori got ready to intercept it. 

Ash, however, dodged the incoming beast and planted her hand on its abdomen, using that strange new spell that Vermia had apparently gifted her. Something which rubbed Kaori the wrong way. 

The snow troll had its back fully turned to Kaori. It gave an almost pained roar as Ash's spell affected it, and then the troll kicked Ash back. 

"Kaori!" Satsuhiro yelled. "Go!" 

"R-Right!" 

The Savior ran forwards and gripped her swordstaff tightly, pulling it back and sticking it into the center of the snow troll's wide back. It arched, the injury earning a squeal before it tried to turn around and find whoever had done this. 

Kaori pulled her weapon off and the snow troll looked back at her, roaring. 

Then, an arrow landed right on the back of the snow troll's head, pushing its head forwards. 

"Aooogh..." A breath escaped its lips as the troll fell forwards, falling onto the snow in front of Kaori. 

EXP Gained: 250

EXP: 260/260

Level Up!

The blonde ignored the EXP message that appeared and quickly jogged up to Ash, dragging her feet. 

"You okay?" She asked. 

"Mhm. Fuck, that thing hits hard though," Ash said. "Well, everything does in this place, as far as I can see." 

Kaori transformed her swordstaff into a cube, put it back on her belt, and extended a hand. Ash took it and Kaori helped her up. 

Ash's eyes went down to her own hands, which Kaori noticed. 

"Uh," Kaori started, "remember not to overdo the whole Dark magic thing," she suggested. 

"Hm?"

"You know, since it can have bad effects on you and all." 

"Don't worry," Ash quickly replied. "I know what I'm doing." 

"Alright." 

Then, Ash turned her eyes up, presumably to check her status. Kaori did the same. 

They had been fighting for a while, and with those buffs they'd received, it meant that the two were leveling up at a rapid rate. 

Especially since now that they were deeper into the area, the level of the creatures went up. Now they were encountering enemies who were level 20 to 25. 

Kaori had gone up several levels already but still felt like she didn't really know what to do with herself. 

Not to mention she still had some of the attribute points from when she and the other Saviors had gone out to farm EXP. So, she'd decided to save up on new attribute points and left her status like this. 

Level 25

MP: 60/60

Attribute Points: 16

STR: 18

DEX: 18

CON: 11

INT: 6

WIS: 6

L: 100

EXP: 20/270

"So, ready for the next one?" Ash asked, seeming surprisingly eager to continue. 

"Sure." 

"One more," Satsuhiro stepped in. "Just one more and we go home." 

"Why?" Ash asked. 

"Sun's going down," Satsuhiro noted. "The enemies in this area get stronger at night. Some monsters, way more dangerous than what you've encountered so far, only come out at night too." 

"Can't be that hard," Ash said. "So far, the only thing that's really been an issue has been those reavers." 

"And they aren't the strongest thing out here, so yeah," Satsuhiro responded. "One more, and we go back to the city." 

"Fine, fine." Ash shrugged. 

Kaori walked by her side as they looked for their next target. 

"That was a really good shot, by the way," Kaori complimented her. 

"You think so?" 

"Mhm. Clean headshot. Honestly, super cool." 

"Meh, it's easy when the target's not moving." 

"I've seen you hit a few shots like that today when they were moving, come on, give yourself some credit." Kaori smiled. 

"Heh, fine. If you want to boost my ego that badly, I'll let you."

The group continued until eventually, they came across an encampment of sorts. Satsuhiro held a hand up and they all stopped. There were thin, sickly-looking trees up ahead and Kaori could hear some animalistic snarling. 

Hm? They hid behind a partially snow-covered boulder and looked ahead. Kaori saw four grey-skinned, short creatures, huddled around a small fire. One was holding a bow on its back, another a sword, one had a club, and one was empty-handed. 

Level 21

MP: 10/10

Level 23

MP: 10/10

Level 24

MP: 40/40

Level 20

MP: 10/10

"Snow goblins," Satsuhiro pointed out. "Relentless little assholes, but roughly the same as regular goblins. Just stronger. Plan something out and move in, then, once you're done, we'll head back home." 

Kaori nodded. 

"I can try to take one out from here," Ash said. "Then, we go in." 

"The one without any weapons is probably a mage, right?" Kaori looked at Satsuhiro for confirmation. He nodded. "We should probably take it out first." 

"Yeah," Ash agreed. "I'll shoot it too." 

"So... You stay here, and, uh, I go in?" Kaori asked. 

"I don't play on staying here the entire time, but, at the start, yeah. Seems like a good plan. What do you think?" 

'Uhm..." Kaori hesitantly nodded. 

Kind of scary but... sure. 

"Okay then," Ash replied. "Let's do this." 

The two transformed their cubes and Kaori stepped out from the boulder. Ash had her bow and arrow ready. Kaori nodded at her and started walking up towards the camp while Ash prepared to fire. 

As she approached, she saw an arrow fly through the air and strike a goblin's neck. Blood spurted out and it fell forwards, dead. Kaori gripped her swordstaff tighter. 

The goblins screeched as they saw their comrade fall. Then, their eyes fell on Kaori and they started to run towards her. One, however, remained back, starting to mutter something. Kaori waited. 

One of the two goblins running up to her raised a club and Kaori tried to block the attack with her swordstaff, but found that she had barely enough strength to keep the blow from crushing her regardless. Then, the other goblin ran up to her side and tried to plant its sword into her torso. 

The blade only slightly pierced through her Savior's Armor, enough to create a shallow stab wound. 

"Agh!"

Kaori pushed the club away with her blade and wildly tried to slash both of them. However, the snow made it difficult to maintain her balance. She nearly lost her footing as the sword-wielding goblin pulled its blade out and tried to stab her again. 

However, instead of shooting an arrow at the mage goblin, Ash's next arrow went to the one trying to stab Kaori. 

The arrow went through one ear and out the other. The goblin fell back. 

The club-wielding goblin went for another swing, but Kaori stabbed it before it could finish. 

EXP Gained: 250

EXP: 270/270

Level Up!

In that moment, a bolt of lightning surged through the air, striking Kaori's torso. 

"AGH!" She cried out, holding her chest where the spell hit her. 

"Shit," she heard Ash say. 

Then, two more arrows. One found the mage goblin's shoulder, another found its chest. One last arrow struck its chest a second time, and the mage went down. 

Ash was by her side almost before the goblin even hit the snow. 

Her hands glowed white and she pressed them against Kaori's armor. 

"You okay?" Ash asked. 

"Y-Yeah, it just hurt... a lot," Kaori said. 

"Hm..." Satsuhiro walked towards them. "It was a decent enough plan, but, Kaori, what were you going to do once the fight started?" 

"I... Hit them?" 

He shook his head. 

"You lack the speed to kill both before they kill you, and you lack the strength to stand your ground. This is why I'm saying you both need to find something to specialize in. Think about it." 

As Ash continued to heal her, Kaori kept his words in her mind. 

But... What can I even do though? 

---

Later, the group was walking along the white bridge once again. More of the preparations had been placed already, and they saw a line of spikes, wooden barricades, and weapons stretching all the way to the gate. They're really moving fast. Good on them.  Kaori noted. 

As they entered the city though, they noticed there was a crowd up ahead. People, dressed in furry coats, were gathered around something. 

As they drew closer, they realized it wasn't something, but someone. 

A man was laughing boisterously, so loudly they could all hear him from here. 

Then, as they drew closer, they saw the source of the commotion. 

He had to have been the single largest man Kaori had ever seen. A man dressed in golden shining armor, with short red hair slicked back and a wide grin on his face. On his back was a shield, almost as big as he was, and on his waist was a mace. 

He turned, looked at them, and raised a fist. 

"Ah! Satsuhiro! How are you, my friend?"