Chương 9

They are enjoying this. The goblins had feral grins on their faces as they slowly closed in on us. None of the hurry or desperation of the earlier battle was present, instead, they took their time. Their small bodies were low and tense, ready to jump in at any moment. Yet, they weren't really advancing. Instead, they kept snarling at us while content to keep us trapped here. Are they waiting for reinforcements? My mind raced as I took a glance around us. If more of them were coming, we had to get out of here, now.

There were six of us: me, Omar, Ben, 2 women and one more guy. The guy was holding a sword, while one woman had a bow in hand. I hadn't seen any arrows being fired from our side yet, and her hands were trembling non-stop. Can't count on her. The last woman though, was wearing robes of a dark green colour. I hadn't seen these robes yet.

"You, in the green robes, what Class are you?" I asked in a frantic whisper, while keeping my eye out on the ever-closing goblins.

"M... me?" She asked in a shaky voice. At my nod, she answered "Hexer." Hexer? Something to do with debuffs?

"Do you have a spell that you can use?"

"Ye… Yes. It's called a Hex Mark, but I don't know what it does" she answered. Hex Mark… maybe a curse. Could be useful. I had kept observing the goblins since they encircled us, and noticed one of them looked slightly different. It stayed in the back and looked more cunning somehow. Instead of snarling, it was staying behind the other goblins and just looking at us.

Its eyes kept drifting to Omar, and I noticed how it would grunt a bit now and then, which would cause a small but unmistakable reaction in the other goblins. It's directing them. A desperate plan formed in my mind, and I knew I had to act immediately.

"Ben, you and I are going to rush at those two goblins." I said, pointing at the ones right in front of the goblin 'leader'.

"As Ben and I break through the two goblins in front, you, the archer, fire at the left one. You—charge the right one. We only need one opening." I continued.

"Doesn't matter if you miss your arrow, just aim and shoot in its general direction." Next, the part that could go horribly wrong.

"What's your name?" I asked the Hexer.

"Madelline" she answered, her eyes still moving about in a panic.

"Right, now Madelline, listen to me carefully. I need you to focus all your attention into your spell and try to release it in the direction of that goblin at the back, do you understand?" I forced my voice to remain in a soothing tone as I saw her eyes shift toward the goblin leader, and nod slightly.

"Listen, don't worry about anything else, just focus on your spell and aiming, that's it." She nodded again. I hope she can hit it.

"Omar, as soon as Madelline finishes her spell, you need to hit that same goblin with a mana bolt" I glanced at Omar and noticed his focused eyes and sharp nod. I can rely on him.

"Everyone, as soon as Omar's spell is released, we will all make a run for it. Follow me and Ben. Everything clear?" I asked as I looked around. Murmurs of agreement sounded out, but no one apart from Omar had any confidence. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. I need to change morale.

"Listen, that way is towards the safe area. We just need to get out of this encirclement and we'll be able to regroup with the others. I'm sure they are waiting for us" I lied. I was positive that we had been left behind, but maybe a spark of hope would ensure everyone plays their part. My words worked, though only a bit. Everyone's nods felt a bit sharper. As good as it's going to get, I guess.

"Great, on my signal then. Ready?" I waited for a bit as everyone clutched their weapons tightly. I saw Ben as he tensed his legs, the woman raised her bow with an arrow held in still shaking arms. The guy next to me gulped and took a slight step forward. Madelline had her hand out, her trembling palm facing towards the goblin leader, while Omar looked focused.

"Go!" I screamed and rushed forwards. The goblins seemed surprised as everyone moved, and I saw the goblin leader step backwards, its eyes wide. Without giving it the opportunity to regroup its group of goblins, I swung my club with both arms at full length at my target. This goblin was unarmed, and it raised its tiny hands in a desperate attempt to shield itself. The impact rattled my arms, as the club smashed through the goblins raised guard with a loud crunch and continued on to hit it on its head.

The goblin fell to the side, rattled, but not dead. I heard the swish of an arrow cutting the air to my left and heard the slash of a sword to my right, followed by the sound of an impact. Ahead, the path to the goblin leader was clear. It was now or never.

"Madelline, now!" I screamed, as I hit the goblin I felled again. I heard her shout "Hex Mark", but couldn't see what happened next as a burning pain shot through my thigh. Another goblin had reached me and had slashed a dagger at my leg. I staggered, but swung my hand in desperation, hitting the goblin somehow. Though this impact felt lighter than the one I hit earlier. I felt something pass my head, as I saw a dark green mark appear on the chest of the goblin leader.

Immediately, it slowed down considerably, though that was all I could see as with a shriek, Omar's mana bolt hit it dead in its chest. It fell backward immediately, the sound of the spell bringing a brief lull in the frantic battle.

"Let's go, everyone!" I heard Omar's deep voice sound out, as his steps thundered toward me. I heard footsteps all around as I saw Ben and the guy next to me, sprint past, eyes full of panic. I took a step and immediately staggered again, pain flaring in my leg. I looked down to see my thigh bleeding profusely. This is bad… but I need to move! I pushed myself to take another step, when I felt someone support me. It was Omar.

"Let's go buddy. Push through it" he said, as he helped me while we tried to move as fast as possible. I saw Madelline rush past us too, the backs of the ranger and the warrior were up ahead as well, growing smaller by the second. Everyone made it. I stumbled again, Omar supporting me. But the goblins, shaken at the loss of their leader, had regrouped. Fresh snarls sounded out before rapid footsteps reached my ears.

Omar let go of me, as I shakily held out my club and turned around to see the ten or so remaining goblins rushing towards us, not waiting any longer. And this time, there were just the two of us. I felt something charge the air next to me, as I saw Omar with both hands held out. His eyes were completely in despair, as he shouted with full force.

"Leave us alone!" The charged air got heavier for a second, before rushing at Omar. His entire body glowed, as a bright blue orb gathered in front of his outstretched arms. My eyes widened as the orb reached the size of a basketball, before blasting its way towards the goblins. Whoomph! The world turned white for a second as a loud blast sounded out. I was thrown back, the impact rattling me and pain flaring on my leg again.

Ears ringing and nose stinging from a burning smell, I blinked rapidly to clear the flashes of light from my eyes, as my mouth dropped in awe. The destruction was immense! An entire tree had been uprooted at the point of impact, with goblin parts strewn everywhere. The few remaining goblins were rolling on the ground, eyes closed and holding their ears. Their hearing must be more sensitive than us. I looked sideways to see Omar on one knee, breathing heavily.

We locked eyes as he gave a small grin, which I returned. I got up and moved toward Omar as he stood up as well. Neither of us spoke. I wasn't sure either of us could process what had just happened. We started moving toward the safe area, supporting each other. As I limped, I could feel Omar's shaky breath next to me. I tried to focus my mind to keep track of my surroundings, mindful of the danger we were still in, but my mind kept replaying what happened earlier. Did he evolve his spell?

His desperation must have triggered something, which means that lines in the System aren't as rigid as I thought.

"Huh" I heard Omar say, I looked up and saw he was focusing on the air in front of him.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I just got offered a Class upgrade."