Chapter 13: Level Up (1/2)

Marni Wilf was regretting everything terribly.

As a traveling merchant affiliated to the Silver Chimes, he had chosen the more dangerous route by crossing the Dray Forest in order to shorten the period for moving his goods.

After all, there never had been dangerous magical beasts around these parts. And even if there were goblins sighted recently, they posed no threat, not to mention that the Dray Forests was quite vast. He did not believe that he would be so unlucky as to run into an entire tribe…

But he did. In fact, their convoy ran headlong into one that was migrating due to food running out.

In their hunger, they fought well above and beyond their usual ability. Aside from the dead humpbeasts, several elite mercenaries were wounded as well.

Thank the Goddess of Prosperity for taking pity on them right then: just as they were all about to die, five village kids popped out of nowhere, and with their mysterious abilities that could have been divine providence or magical power, they managed to slow the goblins’ attack.

Be that as it may, as the initial confusion that had been their advantage faded, they were now entire tightly within the quagmire of the goblin’s swarming tactics.

The warrior who Marni had thought to be an adult was now immobile, held beneath the weight of an entire pile of goblins.

The archer brat was forced to run as more goblins approached, occasionally turning for a sliding tackle to bring some of them to the ground before continuing running…

Meanwhile, the girl who looked older was no longer casting buffs for the others but was guarding a younger girl, knocking back any approaching goblin with her massive cross that was larger than herself.

The younger girl herself was casting sacred healing spells. Even if Marni could not tell whether her ability belonged to the God of Life’s Temple or the Brilliant White Church, her help was the reason those children could endure until now.

Their leader (Edward) was now no longer casting spells like before. Instead, he was scrambling away, only unleashing his magic between long periods while mumbling things like ‘my blue bar is empty’, ‘move it, Joe. Why aren’t you moving?’ or ‘milk Gou Dan, Eleena, he’s almost finished’.

In the end, he was cornered by four goblins, and stabbed in the stomach with a rusted sword. Even if the boy did beat the one in front of him to the ground, pulled the sword out and stabbed it to death in return, it did not look like he was going to make it.

Everything seemed finished right then.

Although he felt bad about it, it appears the children would be killed by the goblins as well.

Marni started to think about what he should do—encourage the mercenaries and have them fight to the death, or look for a chance to run?

Nonetheless, that was when he suddenly noticed that the mage brat was smiling unusually.

“Wow. Goblin XP is so high—I leveled up!”

With those words which made no sense at all, the boy who had been left ragged after being chased began to start unleashing a flurry of spells once more. The goblins, having secured the advantage and hence threw caution to the wind was blasted into the dirt.

He looked so lively and energetic, completely different from that disappointment when stabbed.

Soon, Marni also saw through the young mage’s torn clothes that there was no wound beneath!

That was not right. He had clearly seen the boy having a rusted sword of iron pushed into his stomach, along with the sight of skin splitting and blood gushing—in fact, the bloodstains were still there. So how did the wound disappear? Where had the gaping wound gone?