The End of Their Beginning (Part 1)
THUD!
The cave wall suddenly slid down and opened up the passageway as Alice came walking out of it.
She sat down and sighed a breath of relief, then proceeded to lie on their couch shaped from stone with animal pelts to act as cushions.
"Well? What did it look like down there?" Klein couldn't help but ask hastily. Alice was back from scouting the numbers of what remained of the goblin settlement.
[Name: Alice Cornflower][Race: Human]
[Job: Apprentice Miner][Age: 15]
[Class: Transmuter][Stage: Blue]
[Status: Normal]
[Physical]
Strength – 15
Agility – 24
Vitality – 35/35
Dexterity – 21
[Mental]
Intelligence – 19
Wisdom – 16
Charisma – 11
Sense – 18
[Skills]
[Absorption]
[Coating]
[Twin Daggers]
[Alter]
[Envelope]
"Judging by their numbers, it seems like we can finally end this fight today." She said as she smiled joyfully.
"That's rare to see. it seems like the idea of leaving this place puts you in a good mood." Elric commented about her smile.
He was standing in a corner, leaning on the wall while shaping a small wooden block into what looks to be a horse.
"This could be our last day here after all." She reasoned out.
"Who said we were going to leave this place?" Klein said and looked to Elric while they both nodded.
[Name: Klein Steele][Race: Human]
[Job: Apprentice Miner][Age: 15]
[Class: Transmuter][Stage: Blue]
[Status: Normal]
[Physical]
Strength – 21
Agility – 16
Vitality – 46/46
Dexterity – 17
[Mental]
Intelligence – 15
Wisdom – 13
Charisma – 12
Sense – 16
[Skills]
[Absorption]
[Coating]
[Twin Shields]
[Alter]
[Envelope]
"What!? Are you both telling me that we have to stay here longer?" Alice reacted.
"Did you think that after all that we've been through, trying to secure this whole cave, we were just going to leave?" Klein asked.
Alice was puzzled, but not because they were going to stay longer. It was the fact that what Klein said had logic to it.
Elric couldn't help but giggle at the sight of Alice's dumbfounded face.
He knew that Alice had longed to escape the suffocating dark caves since it was a different experience with her as a girl growing up into a teenager living with two boys.
Alice was allowed to create her own space, but they were always in close proximity with each other, to stay alert and have each other's backs.
Nothing seemed to have drastically changed, in the past few years. Although they had acquired a few scars from the constant battles with the monsters, they still had the same attitudes with each other.
Three years is a very long time, but it went by as quickly as turning a page on a book.
"I'm a bit worried about what's inside that room, Elric. Not once have we seen what's inside that area, and not once has it come out to attack us despite us defeating all those goblins." Klein voiced his concerns.
"I am too, but we can't wait for it to come out and come after us, so we make an attack before it ever gets the chance." Elric replied.
"We should get going then. Let's finish those pests off before they get the chance to escape." Alice said.
"What are their numbers?" Elric asked. He always made strategic plans to make up for any unforeseen events.
It had been the normal thing to do for Elric before any form of attack that they have made.
"There's more or less fifty of them remaining after we attacked them this morning." Alice described.
"Then that means we could really wipe them out on our next attack." Klein said with excitement that glimmered in his eyes.
Previously, that number of goblins could easily overwhelm them. But after years of endless fighting and training, they have improved their skills to take on that number without problems and finally overtake the speed of their breeding.
After years of rigorous training and countless battles, Alice and Klein had managed to break through to the next stage. Aside from the natural growth of their bodies, both of their eyes had changed to a darker hue of blue.
They now had the power to kill them as fast as they could produce more of those green monsters.
After preparing all that they could, they moved swiftly to the large cave to prevent those that remained from escaping.
They passed the mining cave, which was the only opening after reinforcing the sealed entrances to the other caves and collapsing their armory.
Goblins came into view once they've cleared the passageway. Their suspicions were correct. They were preparing to move out and escape through the other passage that led to the surface.
Elric had suspected that they had access to the surface from the start but could only confirm it months before this final attack.
They stopped dead on their tracks as the scene that they saw next was gut-wrenching for these innocent young children to handle.
'How are they multiplying so fast?' The question had already crossed their minds before but feared that the answer to their queries would be too much for them to stomach.
Their eyes widened open to see the chained human women dragged out of the secluded room.
Their blood boiled with anger at what they saw. Alice had tears flowing from her eyes and was breathing heavily. Klein was also panting from the adrenaline suddenly rushing through their heads.
"AAAAGGGHHH!!!" Klein screamed out of pure anger. He was ready to rush forward and attack but was contained by Elric.
By this time, they had already been discovered and were met with goblins that stood between them and the human women.
"No, don't. If you rush in now, our formation will be broken and we'll be overwhelmed. Keep your composure so we can kill them all. Every last one of them!" Elric said controlling his anger from seeping out.
His eyes glowed with pure hatred at the vile creatures as they dragged the women with blue and silver eyes from the room that they've feared would only bring nightmares.
*Thump* *Thump*
Heavy footsteps were heard as something huge was coming from behind these poor helpless women. A large creature came into view as it stepped outside the room. It towered at almost three meters tall and was covered in full leather armor.
It turned to the three and smirked, seemingly belittling and insulting them.
This giant goblin's eyes were glowing yellow and were completely different than the rest of it's kind.
'It looks like human eyes.' Elric thought as the towering goblin continued to walk towards the exit with the human women.
"Elric! They're escaping! Let's kill them now!" Klein screamed out once more. Unable to contain himself.
Alice who was silent but was also already raring to go as she glanced back at Elric for the signal.
"Let's finish this once and for all! Let's go!"
As Elric gave the signal, all of them moved forward to clash with the normal snarling goblins who were ready to come at them at any moment.
Alice, who was running beside Klein, jumped up as she reached back with both hands and inside her satchels to retrieve some stones as she [Altered] them into pointed blades.
She threw them like knives into the crowd of goblins, piercing them indiscriminately on their heads and various parts of their body.
Some died instantly, but others kept moving forwards to attack Klein as she landed behind him.
Klein kneeled to touch the ground with both of his hands. Spikes grew from the terrain to instantly penetrate and kill multiple goblins at the same time.
He also [Altered] the ground to make rectangular plates of stone rise from the ground and smash them together. After that, he coated his hand to make a shield and a blade on the other.
Slaughtering all the goblins that escaped his initial assaults and came closer in range.
Alice also came running to help him and sliced the heads of the goblins one after another. She faced of with multiple opponents who tried to surround her.
A goblin came and pounced to attack her from behind but she dodged to her left and parried the blade by retracting it from her right hand and manifesting the material again into her right elbow while she spun around clockwise to strike the goblins head with the blade on her left hand.
Another one came and jumped to attack her but something came flying and ripped through a small hole in the green goblins head.
[Caster Skill Activated]
[Energy Spear]
Elric had shot the goblin that planned to ambush Alice and instantly killed it.
After almost eliminating more than half of what was left of the goblins' forces, the giant was forced to react.
"OOWAAAAAHHHH!!!"
It roared out in anger as it ran towards them, rushing forward and started to glow yellow.
'It activated a skill!?' Elric thought as he witnessed the colossal goblin pick up speed as it plowed through its own kind.
"KLEIN! PUT UP MULTIPLE SHIELDS!! NOW!!" Elric barked out.
Klein quickly erected multiple walls in front of the goblin as it bulldozed the barriers one by one.
They had no choice but to dodge to the sides as it impacted the walls and shook the entire underground cave.
"I'll do what I can to stop it! You both finish off the rest and get the others to a safe spot!"
"But Elric!" Alice tried to intervene and reject his plan but thought otherwise.
"Just go! I'll hold this thing off!"
Alice knew that Elric was the only one who can stop that hideous brute, from how it broke through Klein's barriers so effortlessly, so she focused on what he said and helped Klein to finish off the remaining goblins and bring the human women to safety.
"Let's see how strong you really are, you big ugly piece of wasted space." Elric hissed through his teeth in anger as the giant goblin emerged from the smoke of dust made from the impact of its rampage, that made a crater on the wall
It pounded its chest as it readied itself to attack again but was caught off guard as it fell from the instant pit that Elric created.
Half of its body was still above the ground but had its lower parts underground, restricting its movements. And as it lifted its head to look for his enemy, Elric was already charging his skill.
He condensed as much Enliven as he could to make the attack stronger. Concentrated energy compressed at the front of his hand and formed a spear-like-shape unlike what he had used to attack the other goblins, to make sure that it would kill it.
[Caster Skill Activated]
[Energy Spear]
SWOOOOOSSHHH!!
The compressed Enliven wheezed through the air like lightning directly towards the struggling giant goblin.
BOOOOOM!!!