Clash of Bald Men

I wake up to the sound of weapons clashing and crashing..

Wow that was a good sleep, I feel so much more refreshed. 

"NAMELESS!!!"

What's that noise?

I summon four Dawns to light up the area.

What is Tin doing holding his shield at the entrance? And why is everyone struggling while they push Tin's back? Even more surprising, why, even after the whole party is pushing at their full strength, are they not moving?

I move Dawn forward to the entrance of the room, where the rest of the party is.

Woah– so many goblins all I can see outside the entrance is green heads!

"Hhhhgnnn- What is that light shining above us?"

Han says before turning to me. 

"Finally, you're awake! We've been screaming at you for the last fifteen minutes! An entire horde of goblins attacked us while you were asleep. No time to speak, hurry up and get our weapons!"

I turn to the now burnt out campfire, where the blankets of the party lie in an unorganized mess and rapidly jump up and sprint towards it.

I see it, Han and Sara's weapons!

I quickly snatch the blades and run back to Han.

"I've got the weapons Han!"

He is completely concentrated on pushing and doesn't turn back to look at me.

"Good job, now wrap my sword and sheath on my waist and Sara's on hers!"

I hold Sara's daggers in my mouth while I hurriedly and anxiously attach the sword onto Han's waist.

I can do this, I've attached a blade onto my waist multiple times before. Just not on another person…I should be fine.

Tin shouts in pain.

"Are you almost done? I'm almost at my limit!!"

"NAMELESS!!!"

Han screams in impatience.

SHUT UP!!! I almost got it…

THERE! FINISHED!

I take Sara's daggers out of my mouth and charge at her. 

When I reach her, I throw the daggers into the sheaths already on her waist and scream.

"All weapons secured! What do we do now!?!?"

Han's arms begin to shake heavily as do Sara's and Rachel's.

All of them are nearing their limit! 

"DO YOU… KNOW ANY WIDE AREA MAGIC THAT CAN KNOCK THOSE BASTARDS BACK?"

I don't have enough time to create a new magic, and even if I do, the sun isn't shining in this dungeon so I am greatly weakened! Besides, a wide area spell would damage not just the goblins but my party as well, it's far too risky.

"No, I don't!!!"

Just as I say that, a heavy attack hits the tower shield and makes a booming noise.

"What did you say? I couldn't hear you!"

"I DON'T HAVE ANY MAGIC FOR THIS SITUATION!!!"

"ALRIGHT, GET OVER HERE! THERE'S ONLY ONE THING WE CAN DO THEN! SARA, TIN, ON MY MARK, USE THE REMAINDER OF YOUR MANA FOR ONE FINAL PUSH AND THEN WE MAKE A RUN FOR IT! UNDERSTAND!?!"

"UNDERSTOOD!!!"

We all scream,

"ALRIGHT, THREE, TWO… ONE! PUSH!!!"

I should use mana too!

"HNNNNNGGHHHH– AAAGGGGHHHH!!!"

The goblin horde is forced back, knocking them down for a second.

We did it!

Han screams. 

"RUN!!!"

We all run out of the room and I bring the orbs of Dawn out. Two lighting the way in front of us, and two lighting the trail behind us.

"Shit, they're still following us!"

Rachel screamed in fear.

Wow, I was not expecting a priest to say something like that…

"Oh Pyro, please save this pitiful follower of yours and light the path for us to victory!"

She says while tears drop from her face.

Ugh, now she's crying? 

"Spare us your tears. I may not be Pyro, but I can definitely light the path for us."

I summon four more orbs of Dawn and move two even further in front of us and two more even further behind us.

Damn it, there's way more than I expected. I didn't get a good look at them before when I ran out but, the entire corridor is completely filled with an endless amount of goblins.

Well, it's not all that bad. 

I slow down to the back of the party. Noticing me slow down, Rachel shouts.

"What are you doing? Hurry up! How can you call yourself a man like this? 

This stupid girl! Sigh, just ignore her.

Now that the party isn't in the way anymore, I can use a wide ranged spell. The fire wall that that bastard that poisoned me, Edward did. Let's see. Did he do it like this? 

Pillars of orange flame erupt from the ground, one after the other, until the entire corridor behind us is blocked off.

"Rachel no!!!"

Nice, it worked! Did Sara say something? Whatever, I can't believe my imitation of a 4th circle fire spell is better when I'm a second circle! Advanced elements really are superior to normal ones. This imitation is giving me some inspiration for a new spell– I should try it out later.

"Nameless!"

I turn around and see Rachel right in front of me, as the rest of the party turn around and stop running and come back after they see the flame pillars block the corridor off. 

Why was this girl so close to me? Did she run out of breath and slow down like me or maybe… she slowed down on purpose and ran after me because she worried about my safety? …

Nah, that can't be the case.

After the party got back together, we rested for a bit to catch our breath.

Aren't they putting too much trust into me, a 2nd circle mage? That I can keep such a massive mana consuming spell active for so long? I guess they must've been really tired. I don't hear the sounds of goblins screaming in the fire anymore. They must've learned from their mistakes and stopped. What high intelligence these monsters have.

"Haaaah"

I exhale deeply.

What Tin said to me two nights ago about monsters just being a label we slapped onto them. From their perspective, they're just trying to protect their home from invaders even so, the false truth that I believe in causes me to not empathize or even sympathize with them. This must mean I am still sticking to the ideals that have been taught to me since I was able to speak.

I don't have time to think about their perspectives, I need to focus on getting stronger to protect the world. Otherwise, everyone will die– humans and non-humans alike. To get stronger, I need a strong subordinate to protect me, which is Dustin. So I need to save him no matter what. 

Finally, after fully catching his breath Han speaks.

"Didn't you say you couldn't use any wide range magic?"

"I couldn't use it or the party would've been hit."

"So you lied to me."

What's with his tone now?

"You would've all been killed if I had used it!"

"Really now? Does that mean you don't trust our party? You? The torch without a name? The E rank 2nd circle mage?"

Tin tries to speak up.

"Han stop, that's enough–"

"Be quiet, bald old man!"

So this is what he really thinks about me.

"If you think I'm being too cautious, why don't you test out just how weak my spell that is completely repelling the goblin horde really is? You can use your sword and stick it in. Better yet– why don't you stick your finger into it? I'm sure the hand of a C rank adventurer couldn't be damaged by a mere E rank's spell right?"

"I'm not stupid torch."

I'm getting tired of him saying that.

"I see that necklace around your neck, it's an artifact that amplifies your magic."

Completely wrong.

He continues.

"You must be some spoiled son of a noble who stole that from your parents right? Just hand that over and we might let you live."

We? Does that mean that there are others in on this too? Hahaha, I knew it was right not to form my circle around them . If I had, they would've killed me while I was vulnerable and took my Storm Amulet.

I look at the other party members. Tin is looking at Han angrily. Rachel is looking at us in terror. And Sara, continues to stare at us with eyes void of emotion.

Sara is completely unfazed, she is definitely in on this. Tin is probably on my side and Rachel, since she's so clingy to Sara I can't rule her out.

"We? Does that mean there are others in on it?"

"Yes, all of us are in on it. Why did you think I would invite an E rank fire mage to our party? Unlike Rachel, who's a priest, fire mages like you are a dime a dozen."

He says with confidence and a despicable smile.

"You be quiet Han, I am no longer in on this with you! He just saved our lives and you want to kill him and take his necklace!?"

Tin screams toward Han.

"He was the one who got us into this mess in the first place. I was planning on doing it later but because he wanted to rest we had to stop."

Han says in a nonchalant manner with his sword still sheathed.

I am certain of the situation now. If all four members of the party were against me, it may have been hard but now that I know Rachel and Tin aren't on their side it will be an easy victory. Time– to act.

"You see Han? Now that Tin is on our side, do you really think that you can win? You know that I have an artifact too so there's no way you could win. Why don't you just surrender and we'll let you live."

Han laughs.

"I told you to not think I was stupid. Even if you have an artifact, you're still just a 2nd circle– I know that your mana is probably going to run out soon right?"

I will admit, you are incredibly observant, a truly villain-like trait. However, all that you have observed is what I wanted him to observe! Don't make me laugh, I haven't even used 5% of my mana yet. 

"I will admit, you are observant, but you missed one key detail. If I run out of mana, what do you think will happen to my flame wall? The goblin horde will come charging again and we will all die. If you don't want that to happen, throw me some mana potions, I know you have some."

"I don't care if I die! But I will definitely kill you!"

Why is he so mad now? I thought he wanted to take my Storm Amulet, but now it seems that he just wants to kill me?

"I thought you were after my necklace? Why do you want to kill me now, all of a sudden?"

He turns extremely red and I can see his blood vessels become larger.

"Do you really not know?"

I shake my head left to right.

"You completely humiliated me and laughed at my baldness!!!"

I suddenly begin bursting out in laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"

I fall to the floor in uncontrollable laughter.

Crap, I couldn't stop myself from laughing but, he really did all of this because I humiliated him? But I don't remember that happening, I did mention his bald head but that was when I was comforting him? I didn't do anything wrong!

"How dare you laugh at me!!!"

He draws his sword and charges at me, enhancing his body and sword with mana.

Tin runs in front of me and blocks it with his tower shield.

"Get up Nameless! I won't be able to hold him for long!"

No time to laugh, I need to get up and fight! Control yourself Arthur!

I get up and begin to summon orbs of Dawn for attacking but suddenly I hear a scream from behind.

"AAACKK!!! Sara, w- what are you doing?"

I turn around and see Sara holding Rachel's neck at knifepoint.

"Sorry, Rachel but I can't have you helping Tin and Nameless."

That's not good, if Rachel can't help us, then if Tin gets injured, she won't be able to heal him!

"Let her go, Sara. I know you don't harbor any will yourself to kill me or the others unlike Han. I promise if you let Rachel go, I will let you go without turning you in, to the Wardens."

Sara continues to constantly try to escape from her hold but fails every time as Sara imbues her arm with mana.

"Really? How nice of you. That sounds awfully tempting but you would only be able to do that for me if you won."

She says sarcastically.

"You think me and Tin won't be able to beat Han? Have you forgotten about my artifact? I could beat the two of you even with just the low amount of mana I have left.

That's a lie, My mana reserves are still above 95%

Her expression finally changes for the first time throughout the entire expedition and smiles sinisterly.

"You may be right, but the effects of the poison should be kicking in about now."

Poison? That could be really bad! Except… I feel just fine?

"AUUUUGHHH"

I scream in pain.

That should be believable enough right?

Her laugh is evil.

"Kekeke, I bought the poison I used from the black market. It was an extremely expensive, rare and highly dangerous poison made of an even rarer plant. The merchant who sold it to me said it was made out of Nighthorn Ivy. He said it would melt the bones and muscles of the ingestor with a zero percent survival rate. AND I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO APPLY IT ONTO YOU MYSELF!!! YOU INGESTED IT YOURSELF WHEN YOU CARRIED IT IN YOUR MOUTH BWAHAHAHA!"

… Nighthorn Ivy?

I begin to laugh uncontrollably with her.

"haha- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"

What an unbelievable coincidence. Out of all the poisons she could've used, she used Nighthorn Ivy? Edward Tane, thank you. If you had not poisoned me, I may have died here in this dungeon to this crazy woman. But I had wondered where that bastard Edward got that rare poison that even I had never heard of from. But thanks to this crazy woman monologuing, now I know it's from the black market.

"Hooooh– I should visit it soon."

"What are you trying to act tough for? I won't buy it."

She says, nervously.

She says that but it seems she's also uncertain. It makes sense not to trust those in the black market. She's smart as well, just like Han. Unfortunately, I'm smarter, and I'm not on their side.

"Why would I need to act idiot, and the poison I ingested was real Nighthorn Ivy so you don't need to worry about if the black market merchant scammed you or not. Unfortunately for you, I've already eaten Nighthorn Ivy before."

I begin to slowly walk toward her.

"Im- impossible! No one has ever survived Nighthorn ivy before!"

She nervously starts retreating backwards, matching each step I take. But eventually, she hits the back of a wall.

"Nowhere left to go now."

I say with a villain-like smile on my face.

God I love it when my enemies shriek at me in terror, it's just so… refreshing.

"St- stay back! Or I'll kill the girl! I'll really do it!"

Rachel whimpers.

"P-l-e-a-s-e l-e-t g-o S-a-r-a…"

Sara begins to have a mental breakdown and starts moving her dagger closer to Rachel's neck and blood starts to spill from the cut as I walk towards her.

Then, a noise comes from below my foot.

"Click"

… click?

Then, the entire floor below our feet disappears and we start falling into the darkness.

HUUUHHH!?!?!