BOOM! BOOM!
The sound shook the entire clearing, hard enough that snow shook loose from the pine branches overhead and came sifting down in sheets.
Goboby scraped her claw against the ground, tilted her face up at the towering figure above her, and called back to Hasib. "That giant’s name is Goolom. He’s mine." She was already leaping again before she finished saying it.
Hasib poured Zhoa energy into his blade. A Green Goblin wearing a white mask came at him with a spear, several more falling in behind him. He let out a slow breath and turned his attention to the spear-wielders first.
Two spears came flying at once. He leaned right, then left, and kept moving forward through the gap. The masked goblin flung a pale, snake-like whip from his palm.
"W-What..."
Hasib pushed more Zhoa into his flow, and the snake couldn’t get anywhere near him. He caught it with the flat of his blade and knocked it aside, then closed the distance and shattered the mask with a single strike, following it with a punch that put the goblin flat on his back.
The goblin spat blood and grinned up at him anyway. "That’s how it goes with me. Go on ahead."
Four more goblins stood between him and the front line. "You take down one useless grunt and suddenly you think you can just walk through," one of them sneered.
Hasib went after them. But the moment he committed, one used a chain to yank another goblin directly into his path, and he ended up boxed in the middle of all four. One of them got in close fast and landed two solid punches before he could react.
"Still have time to run," another told him. "A Warrior like you won’t manage anything here."
Hasib smiled at that. "Come on, then."
The fastest of them lunged in again, throwing another punch, and Hasib caught his throat mid-swing, almost on instinct, the same way he’d seen the yellow training dummy move back at the academy. Everyone froze at the sight of it.
Then, in one motion: Slash!
Without their fastest member to lean on, the rest went down easily.
Meanwhile, Goboby drove her claw into Goolom’s leg mid-leap, and the giant answered by backhanding her clean across the field. She hit the ground hard, breath coming in ragged bursts, her claw skidding to a stop against the frost.
"You fool," Goolom rumbled. "Did you really think that would be enough to beat me?"
"Huh. Let’s find out." She launched herself at him again, and this time a length of white ribbon shot out from a device on her wrist, winding itself around his massive frame.
"W-What the fuck? What kind of ribbon is this?" Goolom demanded, momentarily caught.
With him tangled just long enough, Goboby chained three rapid jumps around him, striking from every angle she could reach.
Behind them, more Gray Goblins were pouring in to deal with the scattered thugs, and even a handful of Green Goblins had switched sides, joining the fight.
Goban stood near Java, weapon raised, grinning. "I’ve been waiting for a day like this."
"I actually believed you," Java muttered, watching him.
Hasib and Goboby fell in near each other, cutting down the smaller goblins that kept trying to close in around them.
"Karon, I’m not leaving you to do this alone." Goboby fired off another strike as she said it.
Nearby, Goban studied Hasib’s fighting for a moment, a faint smile crossing his face. "Different. But... almost the same."
Elsewhere, Gobalata was being carried through on a raised seat, several goblins bearing his weight. He surveyed the battlefield and pressed a hand to his cheek. "Gobok. What do you think we should do here?"
"Just give the order," Gobok answered. "I’ll cut through every last one of them right now."
"Go. We cannot afford to fall back. That colony is ours, no matter what it takes."
DARK SLASH
He straightened up, breathing hard.
Hasib had just finished off a pair of twin goblins.
We’ve taken down a lot of them by now.
"Interesting. Outsiders, fighting for the Gray Goblins’ side." Gobok’s voice cut through the noise as he stepped forward. "No time for introductions. Let’s get straight to it." Two sharpened metal blades slid out from housings along his forearms.
[SYSTEM NOTICE: TITAN METAL DETECTED. DO NOT ATTACK WITH BARE STEEL.]
*This isn’t going to be easy. I’ll need to keep Zhoa running through the whole fight.*
Gobok attacked before Hasib had fully processed the warning, closing the distance too fast to track. Hasib barely managed to flood his sword with Zhoa energy in time to block.
"Ooh. A Zhoa user." Gobok tilted his head. "So, can you actually see Zhoa?"
"...What?"
"Never mind. You clearly don’t. Try this instead." He crossed both blades. "Double Blade Cross."
The strike split apart mid-swing, curved in from two directions, then came together again in a single combined blow. Hasib took both slashes at once and dropped to one knee, blood running freely down his side.
"Hah. Think you’re getting back up?" Gobok flicked the blood from his blade. "One look at you says it all. Plenty of effort. Not much to show for it."
I’m behind everyone. I’m a failure,Hasib thought. So what. Do I stop here?
"Ask yourself something," Gobok said. "Have you ever actually gotten ahead in your life? At anything?"
Java’s voice cut through, panicked. "Karon, hurry, get up. Karon, you’re bleeding..."
Something settled in Hasib’s chest. Karon managed it once. And right now, I’m Karon.
He forced himself up through the pain.
Gobok’s boot caught him before he’d fully risen, and his sword flew out of his hand. He hit the ground hard. Gobok raised his foot to strike again.
Java threw himself in the way and wrapped both arms around Hasib.
"Ohh? Willing to die for him, are you?" Gobok kept kicking anyway.
"Move, Java," Hasib said quietly. Java didn’t move.
Goboby came crashing down near them a moment later, thrown clear from somewhere across the field, taking a few Gray Goblins down with the impact.
"Goboby!"
"I-I’m fine," she managed. "Ugh."
Gobok pinned both her and Java under his boot, then raised one bladed arm toward Java, ready to finish it. Java shut his eyes.
That was when Hasib’s Zhoa surged.
A symbol flared behind his eyes, the same mark he’d seen before. His gaze sharpened, and he raised his hand.
YUZOKO
THE BLADE OF BLACK DRAGON
A small, violent vortex tore down out of the air above him, black smoke pouring off the blade in his hand.
[CONGRATULATIONS. YOU HAVE CALLED YOUR SWORD.]
Java’s eyes went completely still.
Goban’s reflection flickered across his own gaze. Should I still call it the same? Or not?
Goboby’s mouth curled into a slow smile.
"What... What kind of sword is that?!" Gobok stumbled back a step.
Before the second was even out, Hasib was already behind him.
"Is that speed, or something else entirely?"
Goboby pushed herself upright. "Incredible, my boy."
Even the Elders let out a breath of relief at the sight.
Hasib advanced, straight toward Gobalata now, his eyes burning with something close to fury. Gobalata shrieked. "Gobok! Save me!"
Slash!
A moment later—
[YOU KILLED A MASTERMIND.]
Hasib looked around at everyone once, and then the world tilted, and he went down.
Java caught him before he hit the ground.
All around them, weapons dropped to the snow. Both sides, human and goblin alike, cheered, firing off whatever ammunition they had left straight into the air like fireworks. Goban walked over and snapped a pair of cuffs onto Gobok’s wrists, then turned to look toward where Gobalata’s body lay.
"Lord Gobalata..." His eyes went glassy, and tears welled up despite himself.
Hasib’s eyes fluttered open, and the first thing he registered was Goboby pulling him into a fierce, relieved hug.
"Hey— gukk!"
Java’s eyes went wide, brow furrowing instantly. "You Crude woman! Let him breathe!"
"Oops, sorry!" She let go at once.
Hasib’s face had gone red. "What happened to me? And what’s happening now?"
[OOPS! YOU’RE JUST A LITTLE SHORT OF LEVEL 3.]
Seriously? I need to get through ten of these, and fast.
A woman approached with a crowd of small children trailing behind her, all of them talking over each other. "Karon! You’re our idol! We all want to be like you!"
He glanced at Java. "Who’s this?"
"That’s Mogo. Basically what you’d call a mother. When any of us are born, we’re given to a Mogo to raise, so everyone grows up under the same kind of care."
"That’s great," Hasib said.
Before he could say anything else, the crowd swept him up and carried him off to celebrate.
"Karon! Karon!"
[THE MISSION: ENDING]
Hasib said his goodbyes to everyone gathered.
Goboby gave him a crooked smile. "Call for me if you ever need me."
Java just stared at him, unwilling to blink, and reached out for one last farewell.
Hasib smiled back. "Goodbye."