Facing the Unexpected

"Did any of them come out from those caves?"

"Yup. That's actually how we ended up getting separated." Alex pointed to one of the cave entrances near the right side. Its interior was glowing red, "After we killed the goblins that came out, we entered inside to check if there was anything special about the cave. However, there was a trap placed at the entrance. The moment we entered, we triggered some kind of teleportation array that sent me away to one of the other caves in the area.

"Afterwards, I was unlucky enough to stumble into more traps along the way," mentioning this, Alex shivered, "They were all actually pretty sinister; I nearly lost an arm thanks to one of them."

"You think your friends might have experienced the same thing?" Leo asked. He carefully looked around at each cave entrance. Some of them had markings beside them that looked like a cut from a blade.

"Probably, I'm not sure," Alex glanced at the markings which Leo noticed, "Those were made by me. And I believe some others were made by the previous adventurers. We should avoid those caves since they are mostly dead ends."

"Hmm... Why don't we check the cave you and your teammates previously went through. There might be some clues there."

"Sure. I was also thinking of the same thing." Alex immediately pulled down his visor and walked forward.

"By the way," he suddenly asked Leo who was moving beside him, "What's with that thing on your finger?" He pointed to the latter's left hand.

"Oh, this?" Leo raised the metal string from his forefinger, "I simply thought of using a string to help me navigate my way back in case I were to get lost."

"Wow. Not a bad idea!" Alex praised. His enthusiasm appeared to be genuine, which then got Leo to halt in his tracks.

Leo turned his head towards Alex, who had also stopped in confusion. "Did none of you guys thought of doing this before you came here?"

"Nope." Alex replied with a blank expression, "Why'd you ask?"

"Uhh..." Leo gave him a deep look, "The idea was quite simple. I just thought that other adventurers would have come up with the same thought as me. You know, since it would be pretty dangerous to get lost inside an unexplored area..."

He tried to see if Alex understood the implication behind his words.

But the other guy simply shrugged. "We've never actually explored many ruins in the past. So our experiences are pretty limited in this field of adventuring."

'But you should still have gone to at least one other ruin before.' Leo wanted to say, 'Meanwhile, this is my first time. And my first adventure at that...'

He held his tongue and didn't say anything more before continuing towards the cave entrance.

Alex followed and simply ignored the strange feeling that Leo gave him.

Just as they reached the edge of it, a sudden surge of mana leaked out from the cave. A magic spell appeared to be cast.

The two of them reacted immediately without hesitation. They both moved out of the way in good unison without needing to say a word to each other. Leo was only half a step slower than Alex, but that was understandable as the latter was a warrior.

They split apart from each other, Leo in the right direction and Alex to the left, before a blazing orange flame instantly erupted from where they previously stood.

"Magic caster?" Alex said instinctively, "Could there be a lich here?"

'A lich, huh?' Leo thought quietly. His mind quickly recalled all the information he knew about liches. They were a member of the undead species, and frequently inhabited cold, dark places. They were far more intelligent than goblins and were able to master their own brand of magic independently. However, this also limited their learning experiences, making them weaker than the average mage.

Of course, with enough time, a lich could potentially develop enough knowledge to rival most magic users throughout the world.

Just as he was thinking of their weaknesses, a screeching sound came out from deep within the cave.

Leo unconsciously frowned after hearing that.

'Why does that sound like a goblin? I heard that liches should be smart enough to be able to communicate in their own languages.'

As he was lost in thought, a single goblin dashed out from the entrance of the cave. But this one looked slightly different than the previous goblins Leo had met.

This creature was dressed in what appeared to be formal clothing. It wore a neatly cleaned shirt and pants that covered up most of its limbs. There was also a robe wrapped around its shoulders that appeared to have been cut and shortened to fit this little creature. In addition to its attire, the goblin waved a wooden staff with mystical engravings on its surface.

He (or was it a she?) had a composed expression on its face. There were less hints of a feral nature, and the goblin's eyes even exuded a certain amount of wisdom.

"What is this..." Leo asked in bewilderment before the strange goblin in front of him cast another spell.

[Fireball]!

An exploding ball of flames travelled in their direction. In an instant, both adventurers yelled "Dodge!" to each other before using their respective skills.

[Wind Boost]!

[Swift Slide]!

Leo cast a spell that summoned an invisible wave of air around him which instantly pushed him away in the right direction. The movement speed was quick, almost making him seemingly disappear in the blink of an eye.

As for Alex, before the fireball was sent, he released a special type of aura known to warriors from within his body. This aura was invisible but it still made the air around himself shake slightly as he immediately used a technique that shifted his whole weight in the left direction. This movement was also as fast as Leo's spell, and gave the appearance that Alex was sliding on a smooth, slippery surface.

Both adventurers successfully avoided the attack. Although separated, they were both quite prepared to fight alone. After all, it was still the first time they met each other. No doubt, separating would probably be a little better for them, as their fighting synergy has still yet to be established.

Once he dispersed his spell, Leo held his short sword in front of him.

[Immolation]!

A stream of fire came out and headed toward the mysterious goblin. However, it was unexpectedly blocked.

A blue, transparent shield made of mana was instantly raised around the goblin that withstood the flame attack. It fully covered the entire creature in a spherical shape, with a radius of two meters.

"What is going on?" Leo asked aloud. He had never seen anything quite like this before.

Given what was happening in front of him, it appeared that this strangely dressed goblin was capable of using magic.

'But that's simply ridiculous!' Leo thought. At this moment, his mind was churning very quickly, attempting to recall all the things he had learned back at the academy, 'Goblins can't cast spells! Even after hundreds of years, not a single one has ever showed up to be able to wield magic!'

There have been records of mages attempting to teach these creatures the ability to utilize mana. The goblins' bodies have been found to possess certain quantities of it, but they do not seem to have the capacity to nurture and master it. Over several years, many mages of high rankings have stopped trying and decided that these species were not yet developed enough.

But right now, Leo is currently witnessing a historical moment.

'If only it wasn't trying to kill me,' he thought in self-mockery, 'I might be able to put my name in the history books if I could bring this thing back alive.

'But even if I can't, I might be able to discover a lot of unexpected things on this trip.'

There was obviously some secret that this ruin was hiding. It may well be related to the painted stones he recently encountered.

Another [Fireball] was sent, temporarily dispersing Leo's thoughts and forcing him to dodge again. However, the goblin had to take down its shield in order to cast it, which exposed an opening to Alex who was standing nearby.

Alex was also quite stunned by what he had just witnessed and shared some of the same sentiments with Leo. But in the end, rather than developing curiosity, he was mostly afraid of the new revelations presented to him.

'Goblins can actually learn magic too? My god, just what is happening in this ruin?!' Alex started to panic. His instincts told him to kill this thing as quickly as possible before any new surprises start to show up.

But just as he used another [Swift Slide] to get closer, a blue shield was instantly erected in front of him. And just like before, it completely covered the entire goblin, blocking the sword strike that Alex prepared.

"He has completely mastered the [Mage Shield]!" Leo cried out in shock.

[Mage Shield] was an Advanced level spell that most mages are recommended to learn in their magic education. The spell requires an individual to use their mana to form a unique shield around themselves to block physical attacks.

Students who first study it are mostly able to summon a single wall in front of them. With more training, they can surround themselves entirely with the spell, leaving no openings and granting them full protection. However, if mastered to an even higher degree, a person can consciously shut it off with a single thought to cast other spells before instantly erecting back up when necessary. This allows mages to use spells without having to recast the shield all over again in an intense battle. It saved time and effort while also affording greater protection.

If there was one drawback to the spell, it would be that the caster has to continuously supply mana to keep it running. The amount of mana can also decide the overall durability of the shield.

Having studied magic extensively with a formal education, Leo was also able to cast a complete [Mage Shield] around him. However, despite going through some rigorous training, he still hasn't managed to master the spell to its fullest proficiency.

But now, there was literally a goblin standing before him, belonging to a commonly weak race, who was able to pull it off without any difficulty.

It felt slightly infuriating. Although it was said that only mages with talent could achieve this feat, the fact that a goblin could accomplish it made Leo question every bit of practice he had.

'But that doesn't necessarily mean that this goblin is more powerful than us,' Leo reasoned. Thinking back to the start of this battle, he realized that this creature only ever used two spells. While it may have a few more tricks up its sleeve, it doesn't seem like it has many abilities to be wary of.

'Perhaps it spent most of its time focusing on defensive spells. It doesn't seem to be really adept at offense.'