The Infinite Bk. 01 Ch. 06

"Oath!" Mira cried out.

Trevor stabbed the bear in the thigh with his halberd, and while he drew a roar of pain from the beast, it hadn't forgotten the arrow in its neck and attacked Beth. It was faster than she expected, knocking her to the ground, with her bow wedged between its jaws, keeping it from biting her. She cried in anguish as it weighed down on her, saliva from its mouth splashing on her face with its massive fangs inching closer and closer.

"Guillotine Swing!"

Trevor swung his halberd like he was splitting wood, and the axe blade, glowing with magic power, dug deep into the bear's back, though it missed the spine.

"Earth Surge!"

Having gathered her mana, Mira struck the ground with her staff. The surrounding soil was gathered together and slammed into the bear like a mudslide, knocking it off Beth. The bear was slow to get back on its feet, as its strength was fading with each lost drop of blood, and the poison was taking its toll. Regardless, it could still crush the feeble humans' skulls with a single swing of its mighty paw.

Oath was back on his feet and charged with a shout of determination. Seeing him approach, the bear reared back on its hind legs, and despite his vigor just moments ago, the sight of the towering beast robbed Oath of his courage. He was paralyzed with fear, and the bear swung at him. Instinct saved his life, the instinct to raise his sword and block the attack, though the force still slammed him into the ground. An arrow was buried in the bear's chest before it could attack again, managing to pierce a lung, and Trevor stabbed it in the stomach.

The bear fell back and rolled onto all fours, roaring in fury but breaking into a fit of bloody coughing. Beth released a third arrow, striking the shoulder, which Trevor then cleaved with his halberd. As this happened, Mira rushed over to Oath's side and helped pull him out of harm's way. With Trevor and Beth hammering the beast, its life soon faded, and its massive body collapsed.

Oath and his friends released their held breath. Noah, who had been observing, got up from the tree stump that had been his seat and approached. While everyone patched themselves up, he severed the bear's spine with his sword to ensure it was dead.

"Congratulations on your kill. However, it was rather messy."

"Messy?!" Trevor exclaimed. "Look at how big that monster is! We took it on while you just sat back and watched! We've never faced anything that big before!"

"Its size wasn't the biggest challenge. Your disorganization was." Noah took out his knife and began carving into the bear to remove its hide. He looked only at his work, but he continued to lecture them. "You surrounded it on all sides, which, while good when facing something smaller and prone to running, left Beth and Mira defenseless. Don't split up like that unless it's something that each one of you can physically handle.

Beth, consider all the time that you spent pinned. That was all time you could have spent firing arrows had you and Mira kept your distance. Though speaking of arrows, your aim was superb, both those shots to the neck and chest. But from now on, the two of you should hang back while Oath and Trevor fend the enemy off.

Oath, when you first attacked, what were you aiming for?"

"I don't know, I just wanted to inflict some damage."

"You should have gone for the head. With a monster of that size, did you think a flesh wound or muscle damage would kill it? Unless they're well protected, you should always aim for the vital spots. Swing at the head, stab at the chest. Same with you, Trevor. When you attacked its back, were you aiming for its spine?" He didn't respond. "I'll take that as a no. Aim with your attacks, not just at openings in your opponent's guard. You should try studying anatomy and figure out where the most vital points are. You went at the belly; that was smart. It's soft and hard to protect, but you stabbed too low. You should have gone higher, towards the liver or the stomach.

Mira, you did well in getting Oath out of danger. However, you waited too long to cast your spells. I see that you developed a new spell, and while it did manage to get the bear off Beth, it was a large-scale spell not suited to the forest. You told me you could create a dust cloud and send rocks flying. You should have stuck with that. A bit of dust could have blinded the bear and maybe even hindered its sense of smell, and a rock or even hard-packed dirt can inflict plenty of pain when striking the head or the crotch.

And Oath, you know what I'm going to say, don't you? You choked, and your mistake put the lives of your friends in danger. It was instinct that saved your life. You need to make these kinds of decisions faster. Before we head to the dungeon crab, we'll have to remedy that. Now, all of you give me a hand. This bear is going to fund our preparations."

Everyone joined in, helping to remove the bear's hide as intact as possible. Once finished, Noah placed his hand on the fur and tried to seal it in his ring. The enhancement jewel had doubled the carrying capacity of the ring, but the hide was so heavy that the ring refused to accept it. He'd have to remove some things first.

Noah held out his hand and closed his fingers around an invisible handle. A sword appeared in his grip, once wielded by the hobgoblin. He had even found the sheath that went with it, something the regular goblins wouldn't have been smart enough to take.

It was much larger than his broadsword, and he had assumed its size might be effective against certain enemies. Oath, who knew Noah's ring's real identity and power and what it was known for, was exempt from the voices of amazement the others made. Even Trevor was shocked by the huge sword appearing out of thin air.

"Oath, where did you get your sword?"

"Uh... it was my grandfather's." Oath stuttered, feeling an intuitive sense of danger from being queried by someone who had just revealed a weapon.

"May I?"

Noah held out his hand, and Oath reluctantly handed it over. Noah looked it over. He was an experienced blacksmith once, a week-long learning course at a metalwork school that turned into a career, though while his memories were a bit fuzzy, he could still recognize the craftsmanship put in. However, his focus wasn't on the metal's actual quality, but on the handle's length. It was a short sword, like the Roman Gladius, and the handle didn't offer much room.

"It's good. And your father said you grew up working the fields, right? Lots of plowing and clearing trees?"

"Yes, that's right."

"I want you to try using this goblin sword for a while. Swinging a hoe or an axe require leverage, leverage that your grandfather's sword can't give you with the length of its handle. Your hands are too close together and it's throwing off your center of gravity when you hold it. This larger sword will allow you keep your hands farther apart and provide a more similar motion."

Oath was offered both swords, but took his grandfather's. "I can't accept that. That's your trophy for killing the monster."

"You're just renting it from me. Besides, if this venture works out, I'll be rich enough to buy an even better sword."

"As you wish, then." He wasn't entirely convinced, but he took the sword and hung it across his back.

"Ok, let's change our strategy a little. We'll take the formation of a W, with Trevor in the middle, me and Oath at the sides, and Beth and Mira in the back."

It would have been perfect if they could fight another sledgepaw bear and compare strategies, but considering its rarity, it would probably be a long time before it respawned. So they set off to find more monsters, not having to hike long before coming across a pack of wolves. They took formation and stared the beasts down, all armed and ready to fight.

"Beth and Mira, you two are our main form of attack. The three of us are just a shield. You'll have to focus on not getting us caught up in your attacks."

"Right!" they both replied.

Arrows began flying past Trevor's right side, and rocks and pieces of packed earth were flying past his left. They caught the wolves off guard and left several stunned and injured. A wolf dodged the onslaught and tried to get in close, but Trevor's wide things and piercing thrusts drove it back and sent it toward Oath. Oath swung his sword, and though the weight was much more significant than any hoe or axe, the swing was more familiar, and he could use muscle memory to call out greater strength and skill. T swing carved through the airborne wolf like a buzz saw, nearly slicing it in two.

Two ran towards Trevor, and the first, attacking from above, ended up getting impaled on the spear tip of his halberd. The second tried to close in, using the death of the first as a distraction, but Trevor swung his halberd down and buried the axe blade in the wolf's back. Nearby, three charged toward Noah. The first pounced, sending him dodging to the side and then beheading it with a downwards swing. Next, he spun around, thrusting into the second wolf's chest as it pounced from above. The third tried to attack from his blind spot, but he drew his short sword and cleaved its skull open.

All that was left were the wolves stunned by the opening attack, but Beth's arrows dispatched them. The fight had taken only a handful of seconds, causing Oath and his friends to all exchange shocked glances. They had never won that fast before, especially when outnumbered like that. The value of Noah's advice had been proven.

They stripped the wolves of their hides, collected all other valuable body parts, and then continued their journey. There was still plenty of time before they'd have to set up camp, so they wanted to get as much hunting done as possible. As they traveled through the forest, a spark of excitement filled them.

Now that the young adventurers had improved their strategy, they wanted to see how else they might grow more formidable and what this new boost would allow them to do. They were hiking on a floodplain, suddenly stopping when Noah raised his hand. His eyes glued onto the nearby hill and a large fallen tree.

"Look over there. See the ground where the dirt and leaves have been disturbed? Goblins probably laid a trap and are hiding behind that log. Mira, can you launch one of your spells to smoke them out?"

"It's a little far, but I'll try." She stabbed the ground with her staff. "Earth Bind!"

Like a crack splitting ice, a visible line ran through the ground's surface over the area behind the log. There was the sound of shrieks, and several goblins scurried out from their hideout, with one caught within the stone jaws of Mira's spell.

"Beth," Noah said.

Beth perked up and aimed with her bow to snipe one of the scattered goblins. Then, from behind the trees around the log, more goblins appeared, howling like monkeys. A dozen of them charged down the hill, with two hanging back with their own bows.

"Beth, take out the archers. Mira, try to funnel them so that they don't flank us. Oath, if more than one goblin attacks you at once, don't do another downward slash. It'll leave you open. Trevor, don't let the momentum of your swings take you out of position."

No one questioned him, and as Beth waged a long-distance exchange with the archers up the hill, Mira created pits and blades of earth that burst up along the flanks of the goblin horde. They swarmed for Noah, Oath, and Trevor. The fastest goblin reached Trevor and dropped a club toward his head. Trevor swung his halberd, and while the blade failed to strike the goblin, it did get caught on the handle, hurling it towards Oath, who dispatched it with a cleave. He then swung his sword from the side like Trevor had done, catching two goblins in the temples and slicing off the tops of their skulls.

At the end, Noah was stabbing and slashing any goblin that came near. He overpowered them whenever they tried to block, and every swing of his sword sent blood splattering across the nearby trees. A goblin arrow planted itself in his stomach, nearly sending him tumbling to the ground. His leather armor had slowed it down a bit, so it didn't reach his organs, but as someone who had been shot numerous times, getting hit with the splintery goblin arrow hurt a lot more than most bullets.

"Mira, I'm hit. I need a dust cloud!"

"R-right!"

She stuttered momentarily but regained her composure and sent all of the dry soil around the goblins airborne, blinding them and leaving them coughing. He only had a few moments, so Noah ripped out the arrow with a hiss of pain and spurt of blood and poured a healing potion on the wound. As his flesh stitched back together, the goblins managed to clear their eyes of the dust and resumed their charge, but just like before, Noah mowed them down. The battle was over in less than a minute. Once again, Oath and his friends exchanged glances of excitement.

A few battles later, the setting sun ended their hunting for the day, and they set up camp between a cluster of large trees for protection from monsters and wind. They built a fire in the center and cooked meat from a slain deer. Dinner was eaten mostly in silence. Noah was new to the group, and they hadn't gotten used to him yet, so the others couldn't immediately talk at their usual conversational depth.

Noah took out a canteen full of water between bites and added some pine needles from his pocket. Metal bottles were more expensive than glass bottles and water skins, so everyone noticed when he set it next to the fire.

"You're making tea with pine needles?" Mira asked.

"Pine needles help ward off scurvy even better than lemons."

"Really? Where'd you hear that?"

"Just something I picked up."

"Where can I pick up interesting stuff like that?" Beth complained. "Where did you learn to fight monsters and think up strategies?"

Noah thought back through all the fantasy novels and role-playing games he had enjoyed over the years. "That? That was just intuition." It would be best to shift the conversation away from himself.

"What are you going to do after the dungeon crab?" she asked.

"That question seems like bad luck, don't you think? They say that when men plan, God laughs. What about you? You get to become a noble if you capture a dungeon. You could be set for life. Oath is going to inherit his father's title. Are you also aiming for nobility?"

"I'm going to keep traveling and exploring," said Beth.

"I just want to make enough money to settle down and start a family," Mira added.

Next, it was supposed to be Trevor, but he didn't show any interest in the question.

"I guess my future is already laid out for me," said Oath. "And I'm not even sure that I want to be baron."

"Then why do it?" Noah asked.

"Because my father wants me to."

"Again, why do it?"

"I already told you. My—"

"And what does that have to do with anything? You're old enough now that you can set out on your own. You've found your talent with that blade. Keep being an adventurer. Do whatever you want to do."

"Isn't my father paying you to make sure I become a noble?"

"I fully expect you to become a noble, even if I have to tie the title around your wrists. But, I just want to make sure you have a strong reason so that you won't choke up. So, go on, tell us the real reason." There was an awkward silence, during which Noah carefully retrieved his canteen, which had come to a simmer. "Unless, of course, you already gave us the real reason. Your father wants this, and you want to make him happy."

"Is that really such a strange desire?"

"You want him to finally treat you like he did your brothers. You want reconciliation, to make everything right so that all the years of neglect can be made up for, that it was all worth it."

"For someone judging, you sound like you have experience."

"No, I was the opposite. My dad was like yours. He thought a parent's love had to be earned and wouldn't accept failure. If I wasn't the best, then I wasn't his son. Unfortunately, I didn't care, and I told him that. I told him that his approval meant nothing to me. I never had any intention of making him proud." In actuality, he had several fathers who followed that mindset. It was a personality type that appeared every now and then.

"What happened?" Beth asked.

"Oh, he hit me, several times. Yeah, he went nuts."

"So what did you do?"

'I waited until he turned around, and then I stabbed him in the spine. He spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair.' "I left home and became an adventurer." He took a slow sip of his tea. "You have to figure out your own reason for doing things, your own reason for living. Neither your parents nor God can give you meaning. It's something that you have to create for yourself, and if you don't do it carefully, if you pick an idea or a belief that is faint and fragile, it'll fall apart in your hands and you'll have nothing."

The camp went silent, everyone staring into the flames rather than taking the risk of making eye contact with someone else. Beth, no longer eating, hugged her knees to her chest. "My father was actually an adventurer. He taught me how to shoot a bow and always told me of his adventures. Sometimes he'd disappear for weeks at a time, but he would always come home late and night, when I was asleep. We had a game where he would hide under my bed, just before dawn, and when I'd step onto my floor, he'd grab my ankle and pretend to be whatever monster he had just fought. It made me a light sleeper, because I'd always try to hear him sneak in and catch him."

"I wish I knew my father," said Mira, trying to keep the conversation going.

Like before, it became Trevor's turn, but he still showed no interest in participating. They then realized that he had already fallen asleep.

----------

They set out at dawn the following day to continue hunting while making their way back to town. Like the day before, their new formation proved unstoppable against the forest monsters, and they found themselves carrying so much loot that it was draining their stamina faster than the battles. As a result, they had to make frequent stops, and as usual, Noah would use that time to gather valuable plants.

At last, they broke out of the forest cover, now trekking across farmland with the village not far off. Despite the fatigue, their spirits were high. The sun was setting, and their trip had been both productive and informative. "I think we should just go straight to the dungeon crab tomorrow," said Oath. "We're already strong enough."

"Not yet," said Noah. "We've built a formation, now I want to improve your abilities."

"So more hunting?" Beth asked.

"No, training and exercise to increase physical strength and mana reserves. All of our loot from this trip is going to fund it."

Upon arriving in town, they first stopped off at the local tannery to sell off the pelts. The owner of the shop, Luke, met them as they entered. He was a skinny man who struggled to grow a decent beard. As one might expect, tanneries weren't known for their pleasant aromas. It smelled like a wet dog that had just fed on roadkill. The air had moved beyond simple stench and now had its own taste, a very gamey flavor. It annoyed Noah every time he stopped by.

"Mr. Noah, I haven't seen you lately. And the young master, I'm glad to see you are doing well. What have you come with today?"

"We have pelts to sell, including a special piece."

Noah stacked the collected hides on the counter and laid the sledgepaw bear's pelt on the floor like a rug.

"A sledgepaw? Considering that these pelts are usually shredded and seared by magic bombardments, this is in surprisingly good condition."

"We fought it as soon as it finished spawning," said Oath. "That's as fresh as it gets."