Rupegia Ch. 05: A Companion's Promise

"Standard formation. For your first arrow, aim for the eye," I order, and she nods in acknowledgment.

Our "standard formation" is her being the damage dealer while I'm the bait and controller. She'll fire the first arrow, then I'll cast [Lightning Bolt] repeatedly and keep it busy while she aims for the vitals.

She sneaks towards it again without making a single sound, then she draws her bow and releases.

"UGOOOOH!" The ogre's scream makes the trees tremble. If this is a young one, then the adult will cause an earthquake.

It rushes from behind the root with an arrow sticking out of its right eye. I observe it and wait until it gets into range.

The ogre is a two meters tall red-brown skinned humanoid with ridiculously thick arms, legs, and a six-pack that makes bodybuilders jealous. He's bald and his face is round, flat, and deformed, making him look like a cartoon character that hit a wall.

He's especially resistant against blunt force attacks, but his vulnerability is slashing and bleeding to death. His body is very thick, so he's not fast or dexterous. For me, the best strategy is to just avoid him and counterattack by slashing whenever an opening appears.

Alissa runs past me and stops a few dozen meters away, then carefully aims her arrows. Even for proto-Legolas, she can't hit the eyes of a moving target, so she's aiming for the neck. The other vulnerable spot would be the groin, but I'm in the way, so the neck it is.

I try to ignore it, but it's impossible, he's way too tall. The worst thing about this monster is that it's naked. A long, dangling, disgusting thing sways threateningly almost at eye-level as it comes towards me. Fuck this world.

With [Mana Control], I can put a little more or less mana into the spell and control the discharge for a second or two, so I charge up the stronger version of [Lightning Bolt] while wrinkling my nose in disgust.

I release it, and the Ogre grunts, then decrease his speed a little. It's subtle, but I noticed that the bolt is stronger.

I cast it again, and his speed reduces even more, falling to more manageable levels.

Because of my spells, he ignores Alissa, and focuses solely on me. He gets into melee range and tries to kick, but I jump sideways and slash his leg, drawing blood.

He growls, then tries to do a sweep with his arm. I duck, and an arrow appears on his neck.

Another kick with the other leg, another dodge and a slash.

He tries to smash downwards with both hands held together, and this time, I dodge further away to get out of counterattack range.

Once his hands hit the ground, a second arrow appears next to the first.

I dash towards his blind eye, and he loses sight of me for a second. That's enough of an opening, so I charge forward and slash his flank.

I immediately run away, and he sluggishly turns towards me.

I realize this is not a good position for Alissa since the back of his neck and head are more protected than the front due to his spinal bones and thick skull. Ogres are built like tanks, it seems.

I stop and let him approach, then he tries to do an arm sweep again. Since I'm further away this time, I easily dodge and counter with a horizontal sweeping slash.

My sword sinks into his left forearm, opening a huge wound, but it's almost ripped from my hand as he yanks his arm away. I'm not sure I should do this again.

He growls even harder, and now things might amp up in difficulty. Like the Grey Berserker, he becomes faster the angrier he gets.

I circle him to give Alissa a good angle again. He remains in place while sluggishly turning, then a third arrow appears on his neck, and a considerable trickle of blood starts to seep from his wounds.

I cast Bolt again, and he twitches in pain. It's enough of an opening for a fourth arrow.

"UGOO-BLEH!" He tries to shout while punching but coughs.

His punch comes too slow and sloppy, so he gets another deep cut on his other arm. The blood starts pouring faster than the other wounds, so perhaps I cut a large vein or something?

I need lessons in anatomy.

He protects his neck with his right arm and glares at me hatefully.

It's kind of late now, you dumbass.

Alissa can't act, but now his actions are more limited.

He sweeps with his arm, using the back of his hand, and it creates a huge opening. I jump forward and cut near his armpit, drawing a spurt of blood.

He kicks me in response, but the angle is awkward for him. I twist my body and block with my sword. The force of his kick nearly makes me trip, but I jump backward and recover.

He becomes cautious and stops attacking.

I cut his leg once and start to circle him.

After a few laps, he sways slightly, seemingly becoming dizzy. I must've cut something important, so I'll just wait for now.

After a minute or so, his skin gets covered with vibrant blood. His punching arm slows down to a laughable speed, and his kicks completely lose accuracy. His body starts to sway heavily, and he becomes out of breath.

Then he finally falls on his ass. He's near death, but his eyes still spell anger instead of fear.

An arrow pokes his last eye.

"Ugooo…!" He lets out a weak scream.

I jump forward and slash his neck where his thick fingers aren't covering. A large amount of blood pours, and then he falls on his back.

We wait another minute in silence.

"He's dead," Alissa finally announces.

That was fucking brutal.

As the adrenaline runs out, I start to get very anguished at the sight in front of my eyes. I clean my blade and quickly put his body on my "Items," Then I look away from the large pool of blood.

"Let's move, quickly," I order, and we jog away from here.

-

"Master, we shouldn't encounter anything this far…" Alissa points out, and I stop. She walks closer to me and lands a hand on my shoulder. "May I ask you a question?" She requests soberly.

I turn around to face her and reply hesitantly, "Y-yes, what is it?"

Her serious gaze turns to concern and worry. "Are you okay? Your expression changed, and your face is much darker now."

I look away from her and stay silent.

"Are you tired? Let's rest," she tries to comfort me.

"No, it's… not that…" I mumble tiredly.

"Then what is it?"

"I just..." I sigh and frown. I just don't want to admit this, but I also don't feel like forcing her to stop probing my feelings. "I feel bad about the ogre we killed."

"What?" She asks with a deliberate gentle tone to not hurt my feelings.

"He looked too human, and I didn't want to make him suffer."

"But he was a monster."

"Still…" Another sigh escapes me. I didn't want to say it like this, but I have to now. I face her and confess, "My homeland was too peaceful, so I didn't have to fight there. I'm not used to seeing so much blood, to hear the death cries of things, of… living beings that look sohuman. It makes me feel sick and guilty."

She stays silent as she reflects deeply on my words, but her gaze is still gentle and reassuring.

After a few moments, she suddenly pulls me into a hug and whispers into my ear, "That's okay, Master. Forgive me for saying this, but I'll selfishly ask for you to continue being the way you are even if it makes you suffer. I think that the realm needs people like you, someone with a truly kind and merciful heart. I'll support you, I'll help you, I'll heal you, and I'll give you my all just so you can continue being like this."

That was completely unexpected, and I don't know how to answer, so I just remain still.

Aren't you naive? How long have you known me? It's been just a few days. No matter how close we are, or if we had sex or not, it's just not enough time for you to say things like that.

But still… I want to believe this. I tried to throw away what held me back, but some things are harder than others. I needed someone to support and love me, so I changed, but now I want to keep this part of my humanity.

I want to believe that she's right… No, Iwillbelieve in her.

I hug her back and rest my head against her shoulder. I must not cry.

-

After a few minutes, I start to feel better and awkwardly break the hug. She lets me go with a slightly smug but still adorable smile.

I clear my throat and propose, "Let's go back. It's still early, but we should take another less direct route, so it'll take more time."

"Understood. Please rely on me more, Master," she obediently responds, then clenches her fist over her chest.

I nod and smile.

-

We move southeast with a gentle jog.

[Swift Foot] is a really nice spell. It lets us walk almost effortlessly, so we can maintain this pace for a long time. Even in this forest full of roots and bushes, we quickly cross the obstacles without any problem.

Then Alissa gets another hit.

"Four goblins," she reports.

I knit my eyebrows in worry. "Hmm… they're increasing in number."

"Perhaps there's a nest nearby?" She supposes again.

"Let's observe them."

We get closer so we reach visual range, and we see four fully armored goblins. Two use spears, and two use swords, but all have shields.

I don't feel comfortable using a spear against shields while outnumbered…

They seem very aware of their surroundings, but since we're hidden in the bushes, they can't detect us. They cautiously explore forward at a very slow pace.

"They look awfully intelligent," I comment.

Are they searching for something?

"You think you can kill two if we ambush?" I whisper.

She matches my volume, "Unlikely; they're alert for something. One is guaranteed, the other I'm not so sure."

"We'll sync our attacks. You kill the one on the right, and I use a Bolt on the one on the left. It might stun it long enough for you to fire another arrow."

"I'll use [Muscle Explosion], but I can't use it repeatedly."

"It's alright. I'll be bait, and once the first strike is launched, you sneak around them until you have a shot. When I remove my hand from your shoulder, we attack."

She responds with a steady and unwavering voice, "Understood."

I charge the spell, then I get up and let it loose as I take my hand off her shoulder, and the forest resounds with the roar of the thunder.

The first goblin doesn't even react, it gets hit by lightning and its body locks in place for a moment, then the other goblin falls with an arrow through its temple.

The stunned goblin raises its shield to defend itself, then the brim touches the shaft of the arrow stuck through its face. It's already dead.

The two sword goblins hide behind their shields. They're teardrop-shaped and taller than mine, and with a goblin's small stature, they can easily cover their entire bodies with it.

I get in the open and wait for the goblins to come, then Alissa starts sneaking around them.

Since they're not charging forward, I have time to cast [Lightning Bolt] again. The left goblin twitches and groans, but it doesn't fall. It's likely that the shield reduced the damage to its body.

Suddenly, the right goblin falls with an arrow poking out of its forehead. The last goblin notices it, then turns towards where the arrow came from. That's enough of a distraction; I charge forward.

I thrust towards the goblin, but it suddenly reacts and blocks, then counters. Our shields and swords get tangled in a messy battle, but we're both too cautious to score a hit on the other.

It growls and gets into a rage, then wildly tries to stab me.

Its ferocity gives me pause, and I fight defensively, but I keep it occupied so it doesn't notice Alissa.

The goblin is smaller than me, so when it foolishly decides to hide its eyes behind the shield to dodge my attack, I follow with a kick, and it staggers backward.

Its eyes lock with mine, then an arrow sinks into its temple. It winces for a second, then it goes limp and falls down.

Alissa comes back, and we inspect the bodies.

They may be armored, but it's all shitty, old, and tattered. The weapons must've been pillaged from some adventurers because they look relatively new, so they might be worth something. I grab the weapons and shields, then I cut the ears from the goblins and move towards Alissa.

"Honestly, we make a pretty good team," I happily comment.

She smiles faintly, but she sends me a worried look. "I'd prefer it if you weren't used as bait. We need another companion to act as the front line, Master. Preferably a spearman."

"Yeah, well…" I shrug.

She's not wrong. I don't really have the stats to be front line, it's just that I don't have the money. I used it all on her and her equipment, but I don't regret it, though.

-

We keep moving forward and meet two other duos of goblins. The first duo one isn't alert, so Alissa kills them both with ease, but the second one is, and it takes a bit more effort. By that I mean I shoot lightning twice, stunning them long enough for Alissa to finish the job.

If you don't have a shield, you're fucked against Alissa.

Then we meet a group of four Mossy Fangpines. They aren't coming directly towards us, so this means that the anti-odor powder is working. But perhaps they're searching for the trail of blood we're leaving behind us?

Killing monsters attracts more monsters, so being a good hunter takes a lot more than just winning the battle. You also have to survive the following encounters.

I start debating whether or not to fight them when Alissa gets another hit: another two-meters tall Young Ogre.

"Now, we wait. They aren't going to get too close to us, right?" I question.

She nods and agrees, "Yes, we'll be safe if we wait here. No need to endanger ourselves unnecessarily."

The two monsters end up meeting, and something interesting happens: the Fangpines attack the Ogre. We decide to move a bit closer so we can see.

With his back against a huge tree, a red-brown ogre swings his arm around while fast and small monsters dash all around him.

"Wow, can they really kill him?" I wonder.

Alissa whispers in a teaching tone, "If they can avoid getting crushed, they can certainly poison him slowly until he dies."

"Hm…" I rub my chin in thought as a dirty idea enters my mind. "Let's third-party this fight."

"'Third-party'?"

I scratch my head awkwardly. "Erm… Let's wait until the ogre is almost dead, then we jump in and kill the Fangpines."

Alissa nods, content. "Oh, I see. Yes, that sounds like a good idea."

"I want the Experience more than anything, so we need to be near the Ogre when it dies by the Fangpines."

Her expression instantly turns serious. "I see. Once he starts to move slower, we should get closer and prepare for the ambush. I'll warn you once his movement pattern changes."

"Alright," I agree and nod. Alissa has better eyesight, so she'll be able to notice this detail easily.

The fight takes a while. The Ogre gets bitten multiple times, but he just can't catch the Fangpines as they're smart enough to let go before they're crushed. I see the ogre growing hair all over its body. It's stiff, slightly green hair, the spikes from the Fangpines.

The fight could be said to be entertaining if I was into blood sports. The orc is surrounded, and the Fangpines maintain a continuous attack towards his blind spots. The small monsters get plenty of close calls, but none of them get hit even once, a testament to their nimbleness.

The ogre stops trying to punch and kick them, then he tries to grab their heads when they come for a bite.

"The Fangpines are salivating, I think they're starving," Alissa comments.

Makes sense. The culling removed food sources, and the ogres are the ones who are moving in, so they became the new targets of the predators here. Though a huge monster like an ogre becoming "prey" seems "wrong," somehow.

Suddenly, the Ogre stomps behind him, and the head of a Fangpine becomes mush.

"Oh!" Alissa whispers in surprise.

The Ogre managed to predict the attack, but I think it was pure luck.

"The rest of the body is still valuable, so it's a good thing that it was only the head," I remark.

It takes around ten minutes, but the Ogre's movements finally start to slow down.

"It's time," Alissa reports.

We sneak forward, and I manage to catch a better view of the battle. I can finally see the Fangpines, and they're all out of breath and salivating.

Just how much saliva can they produce?

"You take the one on the right, and I'll stun the one on the left. Same thing, hand on shoulder," I order, and she nods obediently.

The ogre falls to his knees, then I charge my spell, get up, and take my hand off her shoulder.

Thunder roars through the forest again, then a Fangpine rolls on the ground as smoke comes out of his body, and another dies with an arrow through its eye. The last one turns around and charges towards me without hesitation.

Really vicious, these pieces of shit.

The monster jumps towards me, and I skewer it with my crude goblin spear. The body falls heavily on me, but I can deal with it, just barely.

With a grunt of effort, I throw the spear, and it falls a few meters away. While it writhes in agony, an arrow sinks into its throat.

It screams like a wounded dog and writhes, then I draw my sword and dash forward.

The zapped Fangpine weakly gets up, then an arrow ends its life.

I kneel and stab down, and my sword sinks into the Fangpine's head, ending its life.

I immediately get up and dislodge my sword, then I turn around and see that the ogre is still on his knees, but his eyes can barely maintain focus.

"Ugoo~..." He lets out a faint moan.

I dash and slash his neck. He doesn't even resist, and I open a deep wound that lets a stream of blood pour out.

He falls on his back, then he dies after a minute.

"You're now level 11."

I collect the ogre and Fangpines.

"I leveled up," I dryly say.

Alissa grabs my hand and reassures me, "That's good. Our plan was perfect."

"Indeed," I whisper and smile, trying to remove the image of the dying ogre from my mind. "Let's move. I have something to think about, so I'll just follow you."

"Understood, Master," she obediently responds and takes the lead.

-

My skills are like this now:

-

['Wolf Ryder Skill Report']

['Physical']

[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]

[Sword Use: 6+2 | Dodge: 2+4 | Parry: 1+4]

[Block: 2+4 | Shield Bash 0+1]

['Magical']

[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]

[Mana Efficiency: 4+0 | Mana Recovery: 3+0 | Reduced Mana Cost 3+0]

[Mana Control: 4+0 | Electric Magic: 5+0 | Nature Magic: 5+0]

[Blessing Magic: 10+0]

['Miscellaneous']

[Skill Name: Level | Skill Name: Level]

[Andraste Language 10+0 | Dismantling: 0+1]

[OBS: Level means (free point)+(trained point)]

-

The next level, I'm increasing my melee skills. Possibly [Block] and [Sword Use].

We're past half the way back, so we turn towards the north-east. We're likely to exit the forest near our point of entry this way.

The trees slowly thin out, and no more encounters are found, then we exit the forest.

"I think we're a few minutes south of the farm," Alissa estimates.

"Yeah, let's just go north along the road."

"Want to ride me again?" Alissa suggests with an innocent smile.

"No man will ever say no to that," I reply and smirk mischievously.

She takes a moment to understand, then she starts blushing. "What…? Ah, M-Master!"

I shrug. "You set yourself up, don't blame me for easy pickings."

She whimpers softly and pouts.

"Let's go," she mumbles embarrassedly and transforms into a fox.