87 This Hero and The Fight!

"Huh? What's your problem now? In case you haven't noticed, our quarrel is done. If you want to fight later you can do it after we get paid. Until then I don't want you messing with me." He tried to wrestle my arm away, but I stayed firm in my resolve and held tight to his clothing.

"Listen, we have no idea what's there and if you haven't noticed we're alone. There could be 100 who-knows-what out there and you're just gonna jump in? Are you insane?" I could barely contain my annoyance at this point. Surely this guy only became high level off of dumb luck.

"Well, if they prove to be a challenge then I'll just run! Always works out. I jog 20 kilometers every day for this express purpose!" He smiled as if he was showing off a fish he had just caught. His large toothy grin only exacerbated my anger towards him.

Suddenly, I felt a familiar sensation touch my mind as I heard the words of someone with brain cells begin to speak to me.

\u003cYo, Kenji, are you there? Have you stepped through the portal yet? Don't tell me you're getting beat up by that Rag guy. He's a dick so I don't want you to lose to him even if he is a slightly higher level than us.\u003e

\u003cTael, you will not believe what happened. We were teleported somewhere else. I think that we're around the camp area since I can hear monsters walking around. Jaq is here with me. Let's check where we are relative to each other. Are the others with you by the way?\u003e

I felt a slight tug in my mind that went towards my right. I could sense that Tael was well over 300 meters away from me. This is an absolutely non-ideal scenario in every stretch of the imagination.

\u003cEveryone is here with me. They're wondering if you guys have stepped through the portal yet. I'll tell them your situation. Uh… As for your current location… um…\u003e

\u003cWhat is it?\u003e

…

\u003cTael.\u003e

\u003cLook, you're kinda really really close to the enemy camp, so I recommend just not making any problems, okay? We'll head over to you. In the mean time, I recommend you try to find a way to get closer to us. Don't get hurt, okay? I don't want to have to save your life again. Ending the connection.\u003e

\u003cH-HEY WAIT! I-\u003e I began, but I felt our connection clip away, as if a string had just been cut which connected us.

"Uh… Can you let go of me now, or do I actually gotta hit you?" Jaq was looking at me as if I had gone crazy. It was only now that I remembered where we were and what I was doing.

"Oh, neat." He nodded his head quickly as he looked around.

"S-So basically, this means we need to sneak out a little distance towards our comrades. From there, we can assess our situation and work out a strategy. Okay?"

"Sure. Sounds good to me."

"Why are you so complacent?" I couldn't help it anymore. A sudden shift like this could be caused by shock or fear. I can't just let this cause me a detriment in the future.

"Oh, well it's because we have a plan. All we need to do is get as far from this area as possible and go towards our group. It's all gonna work out." He shrugged his shoulders as he said this.

"R-Right… I didn't expect you to work with me so easily."

"Well I'm hard on people in front of others, but I try to relax when it's just myself and one other person." He said as he stood up from his kneeling position.

Okay. Well at least I don't need to worry about Jaq anymore. As for where we can go, I need to learn where the enemy camp actually is. From there I can determine where to go.

Before I could poke my head out, Jaq jumped as high as he could. A clear 10 meter hop into the air as he looked around before he landed with the grace of a cat.

"W-What the hell was that? How was that stealthy at all?"

"Oh, well I just assumed it would be better to be fast is all. Anyways the camp is over there." He declared as he pointed north.

"Were you spotted?"

"I dunno. It's not like I got a super clear look. We should probably move for now." Jaq began as he started to walk south and climb a few rocks.

I began to follow Jaq before he stopped and held a hand out to me.

"Well, it seems I was spotted… Yep. They're heading this way. Huh." He had the most unimpressed look upon his face as he drew his sword. "Okay Kevin, I'll take the 3 hobgoblins on the left, you take the 3 on the right."

"W-WAIT, HOBGOBLINS?" I could feel myself begin to hyperventilate.

"Woah woah. It's okay, just relax. It's only 3 of them. If you use Style: Attacker then you should wipe them out in no time!" He nervously smiled as he assumed a battle stance.

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT A STYLE IS! HOW DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THIS?" I shouted out. I can't control myself anymore.

"...Oh. You weren't joking then… Strange. Everyone learns how to use them by level 10. Well… How do I describe it…" He began, but the hobgoblins stepped into our small enclosure. Only 2 had stepped through right now. "Well look, I'll explain it as we fight. Right now we gotta kill these two, so I need you to focus, okay bud?"

The first hobgoblin ran up towards Jaq and swung at him. I assume they targeted him because he's the only one with a weapon drawn right now. I need to get myself together. Come on!

"Fine!" I gathered myself. The hobgoblin that had singled me out began to walk towards me with its sword drawn. Unlike the one in the cave, this hobgoblin seems to be better equipped. Its body type is exactly the same, but now it has real armor and a weapon.

The foul beast lurched towards me, its blade pointed straight at me looking to skewer me. I instinctually hopped away to avoid the blow, but I was limited in my movement thanks to our small position. I had to jump off of a rock and hop over the monster. I landed close behind it, but I had enough time to draw my sword before it was able to turn around.

Now we're on even footing. Jaq seems to have already begun clashing swords with his own enemy, but I don't have time to worry about him. This one seems to be angry that it couldn't extinguish my life in a single stroke.

"Yeah… I know that face. I've seen it in my nightmares for a while now." I muttered. I could feel my sword hand trembling, but there's nothing I can do but fight now.

The beast let out a roar as it ran towards me, sword upwards. It definitely meant to strike down at me. Before I blocked the blow however I remembered the words of Bugder.

"Your sword will break under severe stress."

I can't block with this thing. It's already broken once under a similar situation. I can't gamble on it again.

I quickly lurched towards the hobgoblin, sword raised towards its head. This caused it to dodge out of my way. Is it just me or is this guy much slower than the previous one I faced?

We paced around one another for a moment. The hobgoblin twirled its blade in its hands, taunting me. What should I do?

I could try to out-speed it. Perhaps I could use a strike on it and possibly cut through it in one attack, though its armor and weapon could stop my attack and not make my blow lethal, leaving me open to an attack…

That settles it. I need to get its weapon out of its hands first.

I stepped forward. Taking this as a sign of aggression, the monster prepared itself and held its blade outwards, ready to swipe at me as soon as I came close.

I need to do this fast. Ability Boost: Speed! My body felt light. It was as if there was no resistance to any of my movements. I cut through the air and went towards its weapon. Before I was able to cut its hand off, it grabbed at my sword hand with its empty palm. In response, I quickly did the same thing and grabbed its arm. We held at each other for a moment before I began to feel it trying to crush my wrist. For some reason, it's not that powerful. Wait… Is it possible that I have grown far beyond hobgoblins?

I began to pull at its sword arm as hard as I could. It could not resist my strength entirely, but it still gave up a bit of resistance.

Okay, I'm not entirely overpowered to them, but they're not invincible anymore. Let's do this then.

I dropped my current ability boost and used a different one, strength.

The sickening crackle of bones crushing under my power began to come from the hobgoblins wrist. It began to whimper before quickly trying to wrestle itself away from me. I won't let it though. I'm gonna take out some PTSD on you, so I hope you're ready.

"Hyagh!" I swung my head at it, headbutting it to the ground as I released its hand and it released mine. Before it could get its bearings I stomped as hard as I could on its sword arm, crushing it with a sickening crack. I could hear it begin to shout, so in order to stop it from alerting its comrades, I gave it a finishing blow.