Chapter 13 : Mina - The Resurrection of the Knight.

Maya approaches the group with a smile.

"Everyone, I have a little idea. Do you want to hear it?"

"Of course."

"In your plan to decide how to proceed, you've forgotten something. My pentain is keeping watch."

Maya looks at everyone to make sure they're all listening.

"I can inform you in real-time of our enemies' major movements. But we have another advantage."

Maya looks at the guild master, Aldric, with a smile. He himself seems to understand part of Maya's plan.

"Maya, you mean..."

"Yes. Our enemies aren't stupid. Knowing that there's an enormous number of goblins, the guild will act for sure."

"That's true, we've already put up several goblin extermination quests."

"It's a normal reaction from us. So, asking for help from other organizations wouldn't be suspicious at all."

"On top of that, if the requests remain close to our usual ones, it becomes even less suspicious. We can use this to surround them little by little, without them noticing."

"That's… a good idea. I'm in."

Surprisingly, it's Silas who answered. He looked at everyone, and after some debate, they all agreed.

The plan is simple on paper. The groups will continue doing what they usually do, but secretly, they will surround the goblin cave while protecting the villages and the city. The guild master even hired the services of the Bastion of Blades. Seraphine accepted right away, but outwardly, she'll pretend to think about it, while secretly sending her men around the villages and the city. She will officially accept later when it's "too late."

As for Maya and myself, we headed straight into the forest. But this time, Maya helps me gather monsters so I can kill them more easily. This method is fast, but the star points I earn are halved compared to killing them alone.

But that's absolutely fine, considering the number of goblins! I'm earning a ton!

After a week, the plan is well underway, but… it seems like people don't want to wait any longer. Earth warned everyone through temporary earth spirits that the number and evolution of goblins had grown too large for the cave and their usual behavior. In the coming days, the attack will begin, but precisely when? No one has said.

As for me, Jina, I was finally able to buy the skill I wanted from the start.

[You spend 50,000 star points to purchase the lower-tier skill: Two Thought.]

[Two Thought]: Allows you to more easily split your thoughts to perform multiple actions simultaneously.

As soon as I bought this skill, I now find it much easier to live as Jina without headaches or moving like a robot while controlling Mina normally with the same ease. Additionally, it seems like my mind has improved—not by increasing, but by becoming of better quality.

As for Mina, it's time to see if she has this skill as well. I looked at her character panel.

[Character: Mina,

Unique Talent: {I love masks},

Unique Skill: {Persona},

Skills: {Superior Non-Elemental Heart}, {Two Thought}.]

Oh? Oh! Amazing! Huh?

[Your character, Mina, seems to be starting to understand something. Continue, and you will receive a magnificent blessing.]

Huh? Is this thanks to the Two Thought skill? I don't really understand what Mina has realized, but it seems related to her unique talent.

Well, that's a good thing. Mina will keep searching to fully grasp this idea. As for me, I'll keep it in the back of my mind, but it's clearly not my priority.

The next day, the goblins started emerging in large numbers to attack the villages. Thanks to Maya's intel, some managed to resist, but unfortunately, the mysterious individuals also took action, using dark magic, including necromancy.

"Mina, we're heading straight for the cave to kill these people as quickly as possible!"

"Got it!"

We rushed toward the cave, cutting down goblins in our path.

***

"Start the attack on the city. We've played with the villages long enough. They should be confused by now."

"Yes."

The man smirks cruelly, and with a gesture, a black mist spreads from the forest toward the city. Very quickly, a dark night made of fog settles in. Footsteps echo.

Countless undead and goblins of all kinds march forward, attacking the walls and the gate. Seeing the defenses hold, the dark mage chants, and soon, a skeleton as tall as the defensive walls appears, formed from a fusion of the dead. But that's not all—the mist wraps around the skeleton, forming armor and a club.

Without waiting, the skeleton smashes the gate and the walls, shattering them.

"Go, my army! Kill and destroy everything! HAHAHAHA!"

The goblins and undead rush in, but as the mage enters the city, something feels off.

Something's wrong. There's no sign of life in the houses or streets… Wait! Could it be—

Then, a light from the sky disperses the mist and all dark power. At the same time, multiple spells and weapons of all kinds strike the army, imbued with divine power.

"Shit! We have a problem here! These people were waiting for us!"

"You think?! I'm getting destroyed here too!"

"WHO THE HELL BETRAYED US?!"

"They're surrounding us! Fall back to the cave all to—"

The communication was cut off as the cave began to collapse.

"Shit! Shit! Sorry, master, but I have no choice!"

"I summon you, Knight of Death and Life!"

A skeletal hand emerges from the center of the circle, then, as another hand appears to pull itself up, a black armor with violet markings takes shape. Once fully summoned, a sword made of bone and black steel, radiating death, rises from the ground. On the other side, a massive shield formed from life materializes, but it seems barely stable.

"Damn it! Only the shield, the arm, and part of the face turned to life! But it's too weak! Death and life couldn't find a proper balance!"

"Go and destroy ou—"

Before he could finish, the knight beheaded the sorcerer, absorbing his dark mana and life-filled body, growing slightly stronger.

The cave collapses onto him, but he doesn't care, instead watching the goblins die…

"H̶̙̘̮̗̩̲̔̿̈́͝R̷̢̯̳̈́̍͆̀̑͛̋͜A̵̗͂̄̑Ą̸̹̪̱̱͙̦̝̎H̵̛̠̝̲̳͊̅̑̍͊́͠H̴̨̬̺̳̺̻̀̀͂͆͋͂̈Ğ̷̡̥͇͍̜̗͊̄̓̀͘͝!"

Without hesitation, the knight charges toward the dying goblins!