Back when Kali was attacked by Theo in the mansion she accidentally summoned the 'Inventory' without opening the system, Now she can freely use this command, whenever she wants.
"Inventory" she said in a low voice while walking towards the three chieftain guards.
As expected the guards are much scarier looking with ordinary ogres.
She pulled out her spear with her trembling arm and ran to the left side of one ogre and stabbed its ribs. It wasn't as powerful as her right but it's enough to make it groan in pain. Before the ogre swung its weapon she swift her weight backwards to slice up the ogre's side, making a long line of opened skin. The tall ogre's blood sprayed in her but she remained calm as she moved a few steps back. The ogre fell down.
"Stab wound is not enough." She mumbled. There was no notification she killed the ogre then it must be because of the paralyzing effect. She approaches the lying ogre and steps on the back of its head.
"Can I pierce its skull?" She nudges the head with her feet then stabs it. It wasn't deep enough to kill in one go.
"Tsk."Another ogre came at her and swung its axe on her before she struck the head again. She uses the body of the fallen ogre and makes a leap growling. Its axe is meeting her in the air but her spear landed first on its mouth and she used the tip as her stepping stone to push the ogre out of balance and avoid the axe as she jumped up. The remaining ogre guard swings its thick knife on her body as she lands on the ground.
"Inventory!"
She defended her body by equipping Ogre's Butcher Knife but she still flew a meter away from the force. She landed on her knees then in a split second she launched herself towards the ogre and cut its belly.
'That's an improvement. That's deeper than last time. Few seconds now. . . ' She thought
The ogre fell on its side bleeding, paralyzed. She splits its head and throws the ogre's butcher knife back at the inventory then pulls out her stuck spear.
[You killed an Ogre]
[You killed an Ogre]
[You killed an Ogre]
Her spectators were speechless on the displayed prowess of the veiled companion. Killing hoards of ogres was not amazing overall but her strength, agility and weapon handling were excellent like she is performing some kind of entertainment. The knights were curious of her identity from the start since the Head of the family and The Young Master were always around her. Their curiosity became more adamant.
'I can definitely feel the bloodlust of the chieftain but there is no quest popping out.' She thought as she dodge the attacks of the Ogre Chieftain.
'What is she doing?' Gio frowned as he watched.
'I guess there would be no quest' She nodded to herself as she ducked the attack. She let go of her spear and grabbed the chieftain's arm and its bone necklace as she turned her back and kicked its weight up. Her trained muscles start to scream at the weight. It's heavier than she anticipated, she clenched her molars and swallowed a scream as she threw the giant ogre on the ground. The ground around her shook slightly with its impact. She inhaled and exhaled then before the ogre got back up she focused her strength in her legs and kicked its head. She managed to crack its neck in exchange for an electrifying feeling of overuse of strength.
[You Killed the Ogre's Chieftain]
"No level up and No rewards?" she stared blankly at the pop out message.
Her right arm violently shook and her body stunned in place.
The knights are watching her attentively as she stands still in the middle of the ogre corpse.
One of the knights squinted his eyes.
'This scene, I've seen it before.' He thought to himself. He saw Konrad slowly ride his way to her.
'The first venture. The Ogre's lair. ' His eyes opened in realization and his face lines became visible.
He just briefly saw it but he definitely saw a long black hair person lying on the ground receiving medical attention.
The young master Gio returned to the estate first in a hurry. Few days later, There was commotion in the mansion and the sudden notice of 'No Entry' in the old mansion and now the appearance of an unfamiliar person joining the venture, and that person is totally covered from head to toe.
'Is she that person? for some reason they are hiding her. . . . . . . . That can't be.' He combined the events in his mind and couldn't believe what he was thinking. He then saw the Count pat that person's head gently.
"Young Lady Kaleena?" He subconsciously said it outloud. Some knights heard it and turned to look at him. Gio who also heard it turns to look and they all witness the frowning face of the young master.
"..!"
*Groooooooowl*
Several howling sounds echoed in the forest followed by rumbling sounds. All of them returned to reality and went on the defensive stance.
"GET READY, They are coming!" Gio dropped the command. He looked in the direction of his father. They are too far to withdraw and they cannot break the formation now.
Monsters are charging from all directions.
"This is just like last time." He bit his lips as the mana sparks danced all over his body. He put his fingers together and an invisible wall surrounded them. He extended his range a few meters more.
"First wave 3 from the EAST!" He shouted. All knights unmounted their horses and got ready. A wide circle formation completed with their equipment and horses in the middle of it. Not a hint of intimidation reflected on their face. Three of these knights charge and meet the three oversized rat looking monsters. Their eyes glow red and their mouths are salivating. Each of the rats is half the size of a regular man but these monsters were killed in seconds. The three knights who killed them return to formation.
"Incoming! 6 from the northwest and 4 from the Southeast!" Gio relay information continuously and the knights killed each monster without breaking the formation. Both his father and that child are still within his range but that's just it. He can't help them. Maintaining a wide range detection is draining a lot of mana.
"Dammit!" Gio cursed out loud he detected a large number of monsters coming in each direction.
"GET READY!! They are coming in every direction." Gio lessens his range detection as he pulls his sword out of thin air.
The wave of monsters was upon them. "GET READY ARCHERS"
The archers from back formation drew their arrows and the arrow tip began to glow. Sparks begin to dance around. Without the 'go' signal. Archers released their arrows and blew away some charging monsters. Unlike a regular arrow that pierces through the skin. Their arrows are different. They are more powerful. Some blew the entire head and some totally decapitated parts of the monsters.
Monsters that pass through the arrows were killed by swords.
"INCOMING! HOLD FORMATION!! " Gio tightens the grip on his silver sword as he remembers this same exact scenario after stepping deeper inside the Level 4. Out of three scouts only one returned, half dead. Seconds later hoards of monsters suddenly pop out surrounding them. It happened in a split second, like they were the monsters who had been lying in wait for them. These caused momentary panic and disorder. Not once, they encountered a band of monsters these large.
Theo and Gio try to save as many as they can but the hoard of monsters continues to pour in every direction. They can't shake the feeling that it was an ambush. A well organized ambush. The brothers bought time for their knights to retreat and regroup but it was too late for others. They lost 23 good soldiers that day.
The next wave of monsters were within their line of sight. Gio can't expand his Mana Detection. He had to save as much mana as he could. He doesn't know how many more monsters will pour in.
Right before the next wave reached the formation.His Konrad released a mana barrier that protected Gio and the knights from the incoming horde attack. The monsters can't pass through the Count's Mana Barrier. The monsters bang their body against the barrier but it's not moving an inch.
The Count is still on his horse and inside his arms is the veiled person. Aside from the ogres several dead monsters were lying around them.
*GROOOOOOWL*
She let out a loud vibrating growl and the monsters nearby turned to their direction.
*Ting*
[The Player Use Skill: 'Taunt' Lvl 1]
*Ting*
[The Player Successfully Taunted most of the surrounding monsters]
The monsters stopped banging the invisible mana barrier and charged towards her and Konrad.
"Hiyaaaaaaa" They began to sprint away and head towards the inner deeper part of the Level 4.
The barrier dropped seconds later, and the knights took care of the remaining monsters. There were several rank D monsters like The boulder monsters which hold them up for a while but most of the monsters run after the count. After they finish dealing with the remaining monsters, the count and the girl are out of Gio's eyesight and range.
Meanwhile, Konrad's horse is sprinting at full speed even in the dark place full of tall trees. She wanted to praise the horse but the most urgent thing was the incredibly large number of different monsters running rapidly behind them.
'I shouldn't have listened to him when he said to use my skill.' she held tightly on the saddle holder frowning. Unlike Ogres who seem to wait their turn, rabid monsters will ceaselessly attack. It wasn't much of a threat if there were only 2 or 3 but they came in numbers.
"Maybe 50s or is it mor--?" she whispered trying to estimate the number.
"I'll protect you."
This person said the same thing as Gio. She is frowning more at the Count's words
'Tsk. like Father, like Son.' She clicked her tongue
"Are you ready?" He suddenly said.
'For?'
He pulled the reins because of the sudden stop, the horse raised its upper body and she slumped her head in his solid chest . He unmounted the horse and gave his hand for assistance. She sighed and grabbed his helping hand.
Her right arm is trembling slightly from her previous fight so she offered her left hand causing her to slip. Konrad caught her by the waist and gently put her down and dust of her bloody cape.
It was too fast for her to process.
'Did just treat me like 10 years old? '
She was dumbfounded as they got surrounded.
"I thought we were going to outrun them" She sounded disappointed but deep inside she wanted this.
'A chance to level up.' She smiled.
The strong mana sparks begin to dance around as he pulls a beautiful silver sword with blue and green veins like design in its scabbard. The hilt is long and silver, also with a strong blue stone shining in the middle. He throws away its scabbard and it disappears in thin air.
She also pulled out her spear. Konrad looked at her and she stared back.
"Yes?"
"Your arm?"
"Fine more or less." It still trembles but the pain is tolerable.
"Protect the horse." He said coldly as he disappeared. Her eyes didn't follow his movement. The moment she turned her eyes to the slashing sounds, more than five monsters were already sliced in half. She looks for him but she can only see his afterimage.
'Aren't you a monster?'
In a matter of a few seconds half of the monsters are dead. She grit her teeth as she watches Konrad slay effortlessly the monsters.
'I am too arrogant to think I am strong.'
A large mutant squirrel attacks from above. She deflected its large nails but it tore a part of her hood. Her ponytailed hair rolled out in the air. She disappeared and killed it in a single stroke. Its skin was a lot easier to slice than ogres.
[You killed a Mutant Squirrel]
'This will be alot easier if only they are in smaller numbers.' More than 10 mutant squirrels start charging.
"Protect the horse"
The order was embedded in her head. She tightened her grip on her weapon and focused on the surroundings. She counters the long nails of the squirrel and kicks it away. It tried to attack the horse. She pushes away her spear to redirect the monster and circles it in shoulders to pierce the monster's back. While retracting the spear blood spurts in the air.
'No time to waste.' She charges towards the next batch of monsters. Their defense and agility were low but there were too many of them. Since it was like this she gave up on killing them in one stroke. She leaves it up to paralysis. But another problem arose: the bodies were piling up and it was harder to move around.
*Ting* Ting*Ting *Ting
The continuous notification of the system rang in her ears. She ignored all of it. Even if she doesn't read it she can feel the fatigue build up.
She lost her balance and missed one Mutant squirrel. It went straight to the horse. Those nails will definitely kill the horse. She went on all fours and dug the ground. She gives herself a momentum to push for a jump at the monster.
She hugged the monster midair and forced it to fall with her. It's back hit a tree, breaking its backbone instantly killing it.
She stopped it from killing the horse.
'I guess that's the last one'
She then saw the rope tying the horse was severed. She reflexively reached for it but the horse had already run leaving her dumbstruck.
'. . .'