The horn signaling the retreat still echoed across the mountainside, but the heavy footsteps of the main force were already rapidly fading down the mountain.
Facing up the mountain, Roger watched the grayish-green tide pour from the dense forest, surging over the scattered corpses as it continued to sweep downward.
The lead wild boars had already crossed the clearing where the battle had just taken place. Their tusks plowed through the soil blanketed with pine needles, and the dark purple patterns beneath their coarse bristles pulsed with a faint light.
Roger raised his right hand and activated Water Control. The cork of a glass bottle at his waist popped open on its own, and a thick, dark green liquid shot out, splashing onto the ground ten meters ahead of him.
A foul stench—like a mixture of rotten eggs and kitchen waste—instantly erupted, filling the air.
The leading goblins slammed face-first into the odor. They immediately doubled over, gagging violently and dropping their weapons to the ground.
Unable to stop in time, the goblins behind crashed into the front row one after another, throwing the entire charging column into a chaotic huddle before the barrier of stench.
Roger cast Windwalk, his body lifted by the gentle currents of wind.
He began running down the mountain, his right hand simultaneously drawing a poisoned arrow from his quiver. Nocking it, he spun around, drew his bowstring, and took aim.
Enwrapped in a faint green gale, the arrow flew true, nailing itself directly into the front knee joint of the leading wild boar.
The boar let out a shrill squeal. Its front leg buckled, sending it crashing to the dirt and tripping the other boar charging right behind it.
The two massive beasts rolled and collided on the mountain path, temporarily blocking the goblins directly in front of Roger.
Without stopping to watch the outcome, he continued sprinting down the mountain.
The goblin crossbowmen fired their weapons, their bolts grazing his shoulders and flanks before thudding into the tree trunks along the path.
Though their aim was poor, they made up for it with sheer volume, but Roger didn't slow down for a second.
The pursuing goblins had been significantly slowed by the stench barrier and the fallen boars, but a small vanguard of lightly armored, fast-moving goblins had managed to bypass the foul zone and close in.
Roger uncorked a bottle of accelerant and activated 【Water Control】 once more. The liquid transformed into a thin, dark red stream, spraying over the densest cluster of goblins.
Immediately after, mana coalesced in his palm, and a Fireball rapidly expanded to its limit. He threw the sphere of flame, and it slammed right into the middle of the goblins drenched in accelerant.
An explosion erupted. Flames swept outward from the point of impact, instantly turning the goblins coated in accelerant into screaming, running balls of fire.
The fire spread rapidly across the dry leaves on the ground, forming a temporary wall of flames that kept the remaining goblins at bay.
Roger didn't linger to fight. He turned and sprinted down the winding mountain path.
By the time the watchtowers of the camp at the foot of the mountain came into view, the screams had completely faded into the forest behind him.
Roger slowed his pace, catching his breath as he walked toward the camp.
As he approached the watchtower, he ran into Knight Waters and Irene standing at the camp entrance.
Seeing him return completely unscathed, Waters' tense expression visibly softened.
Irene said nothing. She simply stared at him for a few seconds before quietly looking away.
Roger brushed the dust off his shoulders, nodded to the two of them, and headed straight for his tent. Right now, he just wanted to sit down, recover his mana, and figure out how to spend his remaining points.
Sitting down inside his tent, he opened his system panel.
【Current Points: 3000】
He hadn't kept a precise count of how many goblins he had killed, but he knew this run had yielded a handsome harvest.
Three thousand points was enough to redeem one or two new skills.
He typed keywords like "AoE" and "area-of-effect spell" into the store's search bar, and the screen updated a second later:
【Name: Chain Lightning
Description: Fires a bolt of lightning. After striking the first target, it automatically jumps to the next nearby hostile target, with the damage decreasing with each jump. The number of jumps and individual damage depend on the magic and skill levels. The chain will break if the distance between targets is too great or if an insulated obstacle is in the way.
This spell has an extremely short casting time, making it ideal for rapid casting in chaotic skirmishes.
Max Level: Lv5
Requirement: Magic Lv2
Cost: 1500 Points】
This was likely the most powerful area-of-effect spell Roger could access at his current level.
Other spells had limited ranges, hitting three or four targets at most. Chain Lightning, on the other hand, could theoretically bounce across more than ten targets, provided they were packed closely enough and luck was on his side.
The goblins on the mountain loved to swarm their enemies, making it the perfect scenario to maximize the value of Chain Lightning.
“Points -1500. Balance: 1500.”
He then browsed through the shop again and found another skill that caught his interest.
【Name: Parry
Description: When blocking an opponent's attack with a weapon, deflect a portion of the impact back to the attacker. The success rate of parrying depends on the skill level and the difference in strength between both parties, while the reflected damage depends on the Life Energy level.
If the opponent's level or skill power is significantly higher than the parrier's, the parry may fail.
Max Level: Lv5
Requirement: Life Energy Lv2
Cost: 900 Points】
After purchasing this skill, he had 600 points left.
Roger was in no hurry to try out his new skills outside. He checked his remaining mana, then lay down on his bedding and drifted off to sleep.
There would be plenty of opportunities to head back up the mountain later; there was no rush.
However, over the next few days, Count Nigel did not issue any new combat orders.
Roger heard that a certain viscount had spoken out during a military council. He had bluntly stated in front of everyone that under this current piecemeal, meat-grinder offensive strategy, they would exhaust every single conscript in the county before they even reached the entrance of the goblin nest.
Joining forces with several other like-minded lords, he had formally petitioned Count Nigel to halt the offensive and devise a new battle plan.
Consequently, the nobles spent all their time in meetings.
With no battles to fight, Roger devoted his time to practicing his new skills, using Irene as a convenient training partner to farm experience.
“Just attack with everything you've got. I won't strike back.”
“Are you sure?”
That morning, the two stood in an open clearing holding practice swords.
Once Irene assumed her stance, Roger activated 【Iron Wall】.
Irene had no need for fancy tricks. She raised her wooden sword high above her head and brought a textbook diagonal slash down toward Roger's shoulder.
Roger executed 【Parry】, raising his sword horizontally to block.
The two wooden swords collided with a sharp crack. A powerful force traveled from the blade to his wrist and then up to his shoulder, forcing him back several steps as his sword arm went numb with a dull ache.
Across from him, Irene suddenly let out a muffled grunt, her left hand clutching her upper abdomen as if she had just taken a punch to the gut.
Roger looked down at his wooden sword, then at Irene's hand clutching her stomach.
The parry had succeeded, but not completely. He quickly analyzed the exchange in his head.
Irene was a Rank Four warrior, two ranks higher than him. Although the parry had triggered and successfully blocked the direct strike of the blade while reflecting a portion of the damage, the raw force of the blow had still transferred to his arm.
Seeing Roger pull out yet another technique she had never seen before, Irene was no longer surprised.
In her mind, the image of this mercenary had gradually shifted from "an archer who knows a healing spell" to "a freak who possesses an unfathomable number of skills."
She didn't even bother to ask anymore, simply raising her wooden sword again.
“Again?”
“Again.”
The two continued sparring until noon.
During this time, Roger rarely went on the offensive. He continuously alternated between 【Iron Wall】 and 【Parry】 to counterattack, allowing both skills to accumulate experience simultaneously through actual combat.
After a morning of intensive sparring, the experience bar for 【Parry】 had steadily climbed to Lv2, yielding slight improvements to its trigger rate and damage absorption ratio.
However, the experience bar for Iron Wall was still moving at a snail's pace, barely budging. Roger got the feeling that unless he took a massive, high-powered blow, the skill would probably never reach Lv4.
And so, Roger made a suggestion that, to Irene, sounded like a pure death wish.
“I was thinking, just trading basic attacks is getting a bit dull. Why don't we throw in some martial techniques?”
He had Heal and healing potions anyway; as long as he didn't get instantly killed, he would be fine.
“Are you sure?” Irene lowered her wooden sword, her brow furrowing. “This is the camp. It's not a suitable place to mess around like that.”
At this, she seemed to suddenly realize something and quickly pressed further:
“Wait, are you trying to show off some other new trick I've never seen before?”
Roger didn't deny it, simply shrugging. “Then let's go somewhere else, like the river where we first spotted the goblins. There aren't many people around, so no one will care if we make some noise.”
Irene stared at Roger's face for a long moment before finally nodding.
“Fine.”
After giving a brief report to Knight Stine that they were heading to the river to spar and practice, the two left the camp.
They found a relatively flat clearing on the riverbank, drew their practice swords once more, and assumed their stances.
Just as they were about to begin, a woman's scream suddenly echoed from not far away.
Rate on N.U.
