.
▶ Survive ◀
[Details: Survive for 13 minutes.]
[Difficulty: B+]
[Reward: Shop Ticket, 50 Points.]
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As much as Soren wanted to revel in the happiness he felt seeing a quest screen appear, his current situation wouldn't allow that.
'A survival quest…'
In TKS, survival quests weren't at all common, but whenever they appeared, they had an extremely high difficulty due to the fact that the objective wasn't to win, but simply to hold out.
"...B+."
He felt like crying at the difficulty rating.
'It's so unfair.'
His first quest was not only a survival quest but also rated B+.
But he didn't even have the time to whine about it at the moment.
During the time Soren was distracted by the quest window, his surroundings had already been filled with enemies.
'There's at least 15 of them… but something is off.'
He was well aware that 15 goblins were a lot, especially after the fight he had earlier, but for a difficulty rating of B+, it seemed almost laughable.
'That can't be right.'
Right on cue, as if proving Soren's thoughts correct, slow yet heavy footsteps were heard nearby.
STOMP.. STOMP.. STOMP
Then it appeared.
Gulp
Soren swallowed at the sight before his eyes.
A giant green humanoid creature, at least five times the size of the other goblins, its body covered by torn rags and gripped in its hand was a large, rusted greatsword.
Shudder
The moment Soren made eye contact with the demon, he felt an instinctive warning sound off in his brain, as if telling him he would die if he made a single mistake.
It was so bad that he could feel his legs threatening to give out from under him.
'A hobgoblin.'
It was now clear to him why this quest was B+ difficulty.
To most people, a hobgoblin doesn't sound like a big deal, just a slightly stronger goblin, but right now, to Soren, it may as well have been the Demon Lord.
Hobgoblins, whilst still only considered low-ranking demons, were still dangerous for beginners.
And for someone like Soren, who still has to struggle to kill a goblin, it was a death sentence.
He didn't know what to do.
He could try running, but his stamina had already reached its limits long ago.
In a desperate attempt to think of something, anything, he pulled up the quest window again.
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▶ Survive ◀
[0:19/13:00]
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'13 minutes.'
An agonisingly long time for someone as weak as Soren, but he had to make it work.
It was then that the hobgoblin suddenly stopped.
'It stopped?'
'But why?'
Then the hobgoblins' expression became visible.
A mocking grin was plastered on its face.
As if that wasn't enough, it even started laughing.
[Kekeke.]
It was looking at Soren as if it had just found a new toy to play with.
He knew he should be thankful that it wasn't attacking, but…
'...I'm pissed.'
His blood boiled at the thought of being looked down on by a single demon, a hobgoblin no less, but he also knew there was nothing he could do about it.
'I want to kill it… But that's impossible.'
It wasn't a matter of effort; it was just a fact.
Soren, in his current state, would struggle to land a blow on the creature in front of him, never mind kill the thing.
He bit his lip until it burst, leaving blood to trickle down his chin.
'But I can at least injure it, can't I?'
It was a pathetic thought, petty even, but Soren couldn't help himself.
He had always been an emotional person; it didn't suit him to be so meticulous.
The bitter metallic taste in his mouth helped him regain his composure, and he started forming a magic circle.
Wooooonngggg—!
For some inexplicable reason, though, not a single one of the goblins had moved since appearing, as if they were afraid of something.
Even as the magic circle was completed, not a single movement was made.
Until.
[Kekeke. Keraak!]
The hobgoblin spoke.
Soren couldn't understand what it was saying.
Then a goblin walked forward.
A single goblin.
Seeing that it became clear what the hobgoblin was doing.
'It's playing with me.'
Soren took a deep breath to calm himself down.
He then glanced at the window in the corner of his eye.
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[0:56/13:00]
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'I just need to stall.'
"「Gaia!」"
He cast [Gaia] onto the ground under his feet and trapped the goblins' legs within the thick mud that was created.
The moment it was restrained, Soren charged at the goblin.
The magic circle was shattered, but that didn't mean the ground would return to normal.
THUD!
[KEURK?!]
The goblin fell to the ground when Soren collided with it.
Grab
Once on the floor, Soren grabbed the arm that was holding a weapon and put as much strength into his arm as possible.
[KERAAAK!!]
Because of the pain felt in its arm, the goblin let go of its dagger, giving Soren the opportunity he needed.
He drew the dagger from his waist and tried to stab the goblin's head.
Thud.
But the dagger was unable to break through.
[KEKEKE]
'It's too hard.'
He readjusted his grip on the dagger and raised it once more.
The goblin flailed underneath him, desperately trying to escape, scratching Soren's arms and chest, leaving his uniform in tatters.
Stab
The dagger pierced through the goblin's eye.
[KEEEEAAAAAAAAAK—!!!!!]
The goblin screamed out in pain.
Unfortunately, the goblin didn't die immediately, increasing its struggle, which in turn left more and more wounds on Soren's body.
Soren placed his other hand on the dagger handle and pushed down with as much strength as he could muster.
Splatter.
The dagger pierced through the eye socket, going all the way into the brain.
Thud
The goblin's body collapsed, dead.
[+1P]
"Hahh."
Soren let out a breath and looked down at the corpse.
It was only a single goblin, and Soren's entire body was screaming at him to stop.
He wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve and stood up, facing the hobgoblin once more.
Still, not a single goblin had moved.
"Haha.."
Soren let out a hollow laugh at the sight.
'Fuck. He's just looking at me as entertainment.'
As Soren finished that thought, he noticed something else.
The goblins were acting strangely.
One of their own had just died, and yet not a single one of them was making even so much as a sound.
'I knew hobgoblins were treated like kings amongst goblins, but isn't this too much?'
Then the hobgoblin stroked its chin, speaking once more.
[Keeuraak! Kekeke.]
And taking that as a signal, two goblins walked out towards me.
[Keraak!]
[Keuuuak—!!]
"Huh?"
Seeing that, though Soren couldn't help but be confused.
'Is this guy stupid?'
It was common for waves to be a system in-game, but in real life, Soren couldn't help but think it was stupid.
The hobgoblin was completely throwing away its numerical advantage and even helping Soren stall for longer.
'Well, what did I expect from demons, though?'
Wooong—
'If they're doing waves, I may as well take advantage of it.'
He tightened his grip on the dagger and cast the spell that had just finished forming.
"Huff… 「Gaia」"
Utilising the same strategy as before, Soren made the ground full of thick mud, severely limited the goblin's movement, then charged one to the ground.
If Soren had to fight a goblin in a proper fight, it was likely that he would lose almost immediately, not only because of his depleted stamina, but also because he had never fought using a dagger before; the body he was in was that of a mage after all.
[+1P]
The only advantage Soren had at the moment was his weight.
Goblins, being the size of children, were easily overpowered even by Soren's small and thin body.
Once on the floor, all Soren had to do was restrain the arm holding a weapon and then it was essentially over, a decent strike to a vital organ, and they were finished.
Of course, though it all sounded easy, to Soren, even something as simple as that was a challenge.
His strength stat was still F-rank at a grand total of 0.6, which was pathetically low even for someone of Soren's age.
[+1]
This meant even the task of stabbing through the neck or eye was tedious, thanks to how much effort it took to cut through the goblin's body.
Then, even after that was over, he would have to pull the dagger out of the goblin's neck, hoping it would come out easily.
Splatter
[+1]
[+1]
Stab
[+1]
But for the moment, this was all he could do.
[+1]
[+1]
[Keeeraaaaak!]
[+1]
Every time Soren would clear a wave, the hobgoblin would send out an increasing number of goblins.
[+1P]
[KEKEKEK!!!!!]
The demon was laughing, tears in his eyes at the sight of the human before him struggling so hard.
He spoke once again, for the final time, and the last five goblins walked towards the human who appeared to be on his last legs.
'It's the final wave.'
By this point, Soren was a complete mess.
"Huff…"
Small wounds covered his body from the struggling goblins.
"Huff…"
Drenched from head to toe in a mix of mud, blood and sweat, so much so that it was impossible to tell how much of it was Soren's blood and how much of it was from the goblins.
"Huff…"
His mana pool was almost entirely drained.
'If I had to guess, I can probably only cast another two or three times…'
Then there was his stamina.
Even before the fight began, his stamina had been almost completely depleted from the harsh walk through Rena Forest.
But Soren had endured.
He had forced himself to keep going.
And because of that, his current state is awful.
Every breath he takes burns his throat.
His legs are trembling, almost giving out under him.
The dizziness from exhaustion is messing with his actions.
His grip on the dagger has been unconsciously loosening.
'I can't give up, though.'
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[10:07/13:00]
.
There wasn't much time left.
'I can do this.'
Even though Soren had long since hit his limit, the thought of injuring the hobgoblin had still not left his brain.
He was aware that if he just stalled, it was likely he could easily complete this quest, but his pride wouldn't allow him to do that.
Throughout all the waves of goblins, Soren had been thinking.
Thinking of any possible way to injure the demon that was playing with him.
In the end, even though he had thought of a plan, even Soren was aware of how awful it was.
It was hardly even called a plan.
But it was all he could come up with.
Soren wasn't a schemer; while he wasn't stupid, he had hardly been in fights throughout his life, so it was hopeless to even think he could come up with anything better.
As the goblins closed in, Soren forced his grip on the dagger to tighten and began forming another magic circle in his other hand.
Wooooonggggg
"「Ear—!"
Shatter
"—Ugh!"
Wobble
A wave of dizziness fell over Soren, breaking his concentration and thus shattering his magic circle.
But because the goblins were still closing in, he didn't even have the opportunity to catch his breath, and so he began forming the magic circle once again.
'Please.. work..'
"「Gaia!」"
The spell was completed, and the ground once again changed beneath the goblins, trapping their movements, if even only for a few seconds.
Soren knew it wouldn't last long, so he made his move.
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[10:37/13:00]
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He ran as fast as he could, passing the goblins that were still struggling to escape the mud, running directly towards the hobgoblin.
For the first time since its appearance, the hobgoblin's expression shifted.
It seemed somewhat surprised by Soren's actions, but as if it were a lie, its expression quickly went back to the smug appearance he had up until now.
From the perspective of the hobgoblin, it must have looked like the human in front of it was making a last-ditch effort to survive.
'That couldn't be further from the truth, though.'
'I'm just petty.'
Soren knew he was more likely to survive if he didn't do this, but he didn't stop his charge.
He had no noble thoughts, such as 'I need to win' or anything like that.
No.
He just wanted to land a blow.
To crush the pride of the demon that had looked down and played with him.
The hobgoblin still didn't react, seemingly out of curiosity for what the human was going to do, which annoyed Soren even more.
'I wish I could kill it.'
When thinking of a plan, he desperately tried to find a way to kill it, but no matter how much time passed, his mind remained blank, leading to his hastily put-together plan to simply injure it instead.
Due to its size, it was impossible to use the method he had used against the goblins.
Its vital points were also completely out of reach for someone as short as Soren.
And even beyond that, Soren simply doesn't have the skill to kill it.
As Soren finally reached the hobgoblin, he didn't stop his charge and instead leapt towards it.
It felt like the last remains of his stamina were used for that leap, but Soren paid no thought to it and refocused his mind.
'I can do it.'
Stab!
His dagger pierced the hobgoblin's belly, and hanging on that dagger was Soren.
[KEAAAAAAKKK—!]
The wound was relatively shallow, but Soren ignored it and started forming a magic circle in his hand.
The demon had finally begun taking action after receiving a wound, but it was already too late.
The orange magic circle had been completed.
It was a colour that Soren had never used before, a spell he had only seen used a single time.
He hadn't used it until now because he lacked the confidence to put it into practice, but right now, it was the only spell he had to complete his plan.
The light in Soren's hand glowed radiantly.
Without hesitation, Soren chanted the words to the spell.
"「IGNITION—!!!」"
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[Congratulations, [Basic Magic: Ignition] has been acquired!]
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'I did it.'
Flames burst forth from Soren's palm, burning through the cloth around the hobgoblin's waist, even reaching his junk underneath.
[KEEEERRAAAUEEEK—!!!!!!!!]
"Heh…"
'It sounds pissed.'
"Hehehehe… How does it… feel…heh.."
The hobgoblin's face contorted in rage as if he understood Soren's words.
Its pride has been broken.
It had let the pathetic human he was playing with land a blow.
The flames had long since disappeared, but it was already too late.
The human had already managed to completely disfigure something precious to the hobgoblin.
"Hehe.."
Seeing the result of his work, Soren giggled.
The grip on the dagger stuck in the hobgoblin's stomach loosened, and Soren's eyes began closing.
'Ah, I hit my limit.'
He had been pushing himself since the quest had first appeared, but now that he had achieved his goal, it seemed like his body was unable to go any further.
But…
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[12:09/13:00]
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'I can't pass out now.'
He desperately tried to hold on to his waning consciousness to no avail.
His vision darkened, and his grip had completely slipped from the dagger, leaving him to fall to the ground.
Then…
THUD—!
Soren's body suddenly went flying.
There stood the hobgoblin with its leg raised.
"KEUK!"
Soren's body slammed into a tree.
Thanks to the kick, he had regained consciousness, but he was in an awful state.
Drip drip
Blood flowed down his face.
He attempted to raise his body but…
"ACK–!"
The pain was so intense that he wasn't even able to move.
"Cough! Cough!"
He kept coughing up blood, but he didn't even have the time to focus on that at the moment.
STOMP–! STOMP–! STOMP–!
The hobgoblin was closing the distance.
Its smug expression had long since vanished, leaving pure, unadulterated rage in its place.
It was exactly what Soren had been aiming for, but he couldn't even celebrate anymore with his life hanging so precariously.
He desperately tried to move his body, but every time he moved, even slightly, unbearable pain shot through his entire body.
'I'm going to die.'
The moment he realised how close death was, his head was flooded with fear.
Up until this point, he had known there was a chance of death, but now that it was so close, he was terrified.
Tears welled up in his eyes, and his body trembled with every step the demon took.
Then he remembered the quest.
He hurriedly looked to the side.
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[12:48/13:00]
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'12 more seconds…'
If he could just survive 12, no, 11 seconds, he would survive.
He gritted his teeth and began crawling.
"Ugh…"
Every movement made him want to cry out in agony, but he didn't stop.
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[12:52/13:00]
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Even if he was unable to move far, so long as he bought even a single second longer, his chance of survival skyrocketed.
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[12:55/13:00]
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The hobgoblin stood over the human who had trampled on its pride.
[KERUUK!]
It let out a roar filled with anger and raised its greatsword into the air.
It had decided to kill the pathetic human for what it had done.
Soren closed his eyes and prayed that he had bought enough time.
WHOOSH–
The greatsword cut through the air.
Then a familiar sound rang out.
Ting-♪
CLANG———!!
Soren cautiously opened his eyes, noticing that the weapon had never reached him.
His vision was blurry, making it impossible to make out who had arrived; the only thing Soren could see was the colour pink.
Realising that he was now safe, Soren's eyes closed once more and his consciousness faded.
————「❤︎」————