The High Goblin now watched them, axe in hand, a murderous glint in its eyes. The group of heroes and the creature sized each other up, each analyzing the other before launching into hostilities.
"How are we supposed to beat something like that?" Maël murmured, her voice trembling.
"I have no idea," Emma replied, utterly distraught by the situation.
"And I'm already out of the fight, not that I was very strong to begin with," Méverick added, still suffering from the backlash of his skill.
The goblin let out a piercing cry and rushed the group, ending the brief moment of mutual observation. The goblin's axe came crashing down directly at Shawn, who barely managed to parry with his sword. The creature's colossal strength sent him flying against the arena wall, and he spat blood from the violent impact. This time his injuries were internal, and his regeneration skill would take longer to heal him—especially given his current level.
Despite her exhaustion, Emma wanted to cast a healing spell on him. But the goblin, noticing her intent, immediately targeted her. It turned toward her with terrifying speed, axe raised, ready to strike.
"Emma!" Maël cried, launching a powerful flame attack at the goblin.
Her attack used up all the mana she had left, instantly exhausting her. As the flames began to dissipate, the goblin emerged with only minor burns, barely affected. Its eyes glowed with fury, and a rage-filled roar erupted from its throat. Now all its wrath turned toward Maël, who was completely powerless before it.
The goblin's axe rose, ready to come down with devastating force. Maël, feeling the shadow of death looming over her, closed her eyes, resigned to her fate. She heard the whistling of the weapon cleaving the air, every fraction of a second stretching into a frozen eternity.
Clang!
A deafening sound rang out, echoing through the entire arena. The goblin's axe had been stopped by a sword. Maël opened her eyes in disbelief and saw Karine, arms trembling but resolute, holding firm against the colossal enemy, her hands still numb from the shock.
Name: Karine | Race: Human | Age: 19 | Profession: Magic Knight | Level: 2
Vitality: 93 | Magic Power: 37 | Attack: 27 | Defense: 27 | Speed: 28 | Endurance: 25 | Agility: 27 | Intelligence: 27 | Physical: 33 | Willpower: 45
Skills: (None)
Unique Skills: Fixed Blade
Legendary Skills: Heavy Blade, Knightly Grace
Elements: Lightning
Titles Acquired:
• (None)
Sparks began to crackle around Karine, quickly turning into arcs of electricity, until powerful discharges surged outward and spread across the goblin. Under the shock of the electric surge, the goblin instantly recoiled, growling in pain and surprise, arcs of lightning dancing across its skin.
Before it could recover, a sharp blade of wind shot toward it at blinding speed. Reacting on instinct, the goblin raised its axe and blocked the attack with sheer brute strength. Its furious gaze turned toward the origin of the strike, searching for the culprit.
"Not happy?" Maïli taunted, having joined the battle with her group.
The goblin roared in anger, seemingly understanding that she was provoking it.
"That was really impressive, Karine! Makes me wonder why you ran from the fight all this time if you can pull that off."
"I just didn't have the courage to fight," Karine admitted, her hands still trembling.
"Well, you found your courage at the perfect time," Maïli said, casting a glance at Maël, still on the ground, legs shaking.
Maïli nodded to Max and Dan, and they carried Maël and Emma to safety.
"Got any courage left to spare, Karine?" she asked, her piercing gaze searching for a spark of determination in her comrade.
"Not much."
"Well, you'd better find some. Maël, Méverick, Emma, and Shawn are out of the fight. The others apparently don't have either the courage or the strength to battle," Maïli said, her tone turning more urgent.
"Need a hand?" Jay called, suddenly appearing at her side, a confident smile on his face.
"In this situation, I can only accept," she replied, recognizing the need for all the help they could get.
As they spoke, the goblin let out a feral roar and raised its axe high above its head with one hand. Fire began to gather, rapidly coalescing around the weapon. The group could only watch the scene, powerless in the face of this display of power.
In a matter of seconds, a massive fireball had formed, illuminating the arena in an intense red glow. The heat radiating from it created a suffocating atmosphere, making the air almost unbreathable.
"Everyone behind me!" Maïli shouted immediately.
In a panic, everyone scrambled to get behind her, except Shawn, who was unable to move.
"Damn it!" Maïli cursed.
Seeing the critical situation, Jay rushed toward Shawn as fast as he could. In seconds, he reached him and hoisted him onto his back. But the goblin, without waiting for them to be safe, hurled the massive fireball that would incinerate the entire arena.
Jay, in the desperate urgency of the moment, ran as fast as he could toward Maïli while the fireball closed in dangerously, ready to roast them alive.
"I'm not gonna make it!" he cried, despair lacing his voice.
From atop the wall, Peney stepped forward to intervene, but Moses stopped him with a firm gesture.
"This attack will bring them to the brink of death, but I'll be able to save them. They need to learn what it means to face death," Moses said impassively.
"That's sadistic, but if that's what you want, fine."
The fireball was upon them now, impossible to avoid. Maïli raised her hands toward the attack, and a thin blue-colored barrier formed. The intense heat of the fireball slammed into the barrier.
She felt her mana being drained instantly as she never took her eyes off Jay and Shawn, who couldn't dodge the attack. The fireball finally collided with the barrier, causing cracks on impact. This was mainly because she was using this skill for the first time. Her mana dropped at an alarming rate, forcing her to kneel. Despite that, her gaze remained locked on the two others, the flames drawing ever closer, ready to consume them in seconds.
Not once did she lose her concentration, even as a brief and powerful memory flashed in her mind Logan's face appearing:
"It's when you're standing at the edge that you have to show who you truly are."
Drawing on her last reserves of strength, she spread her hands apart in a tremendous effort. Immediately, the barrier cracked further, sinister creaks echoing through the arena.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Méverick cried out in panic.
"Trying to save your buddies, so shut the hell up!" she retorted, her voice trembling with determination.
Her second hand moved toward Jay and Shawn, and a smaller barrier formed around them just as the flames reached them. This new barrier cracked instantly in multiple places, sinister sounds resonating through the arena. In some spots, flames seeped through, dangerously licking the two companions.
Even so, what she accomplished was already exceptional for her level. She was holding back a devastating attack, and if Jay and Shawn came out of it with minor burns, it would be nothing compared to the catastrophe that could have happened. Exhausted, Maïli continued channeling her mana, her face marked by concentration and pain, but she held firm, refusing to let them die.
"This girl…" Peney muttered, more than impressed.
After several long seconds, the massive blaze finally dissipated. The barrier, now in pieces, shattered completely, collapsing in a final burst. Maïli's face was covered in sweat, her hands trembling, nearly all her mana depleted. Breathless and drained, she almost collapsed but managed to stay on her feet, whispering a few words to some members of the group:
"I have a plan, but I'll need you. Emma, can you cast one last spell?"
"Yes, but it'll be my last."
"That'll be more than enough."
While Jay and Shawn had suffered burns, they weren't completely charred thanks to Maïli's intervention. The goblin, on the other hand, also seemed fatigued, likely having used its most powerful attack. Its breathing was heavy and its movements less steady, a testament to the effort it had expended.
In front of it, Maïli, utterly exhausted, stood alongside Karine and Éléonore. They were ready to face this final trial, determined not to let their enemy triumph.
"Emma, use your spell on us!"
She complied, gathering her last strength to cast a support spell.
"Let's go!"
The three fighters charged toward the goblin, who raised its axe in a threatening gesture. They all dodged the strike with agility, lightning crackling from Karine's body, dancing in the air around them.
"Give it everything you've got!" Maïli shouted to Karine, her voice full of determination.
Karine launched into a frontal assault on the goblin, each strike of her blade sending strong electric shocks through the enemy's body. The axe and sword clashed violently, producing sparks and deafening sounds with each impact. The goblin growled in pain and rage, its movements growing increasingly erratic under the effect of the electric shocks.
Weakened and disoriented, the goblin tried to retaliate, but its strikes were less and less precise. Each failed attack cost it dearly, and the electrical discharges continued to harass it, wearing down its resistance.
"Éléonore, are you ready?"
"Almost."
Wind was gathering around Éléonore in large amounts, swirling with growing intensity. Meanwhile, Karine exchanged her last blows with the goblin, whose body could no longer withstand the violent electric shocks, burns accumulating all over it. With fierce determination, Karine finally broke through the monster's defense, plunging her electricity-charged sword into its abdomen. The goblin let out a howl of pain as Karine quickly retreated to a safe distance.
"Éléonore!"
"Here we go!" Éléonore replied with unwavering resolve.
A gigantic gust of wind burst from Éléonore, lifting the goblin into the air, tossing it like a rag doll. Taking advantage of this moment of vulnerability, Maïli decided to use her second element for the first time. Flames flared around her in great quantity, dancing around her body with intense heat.
The flames, fueled by her remaining mana, transformed into a burning torrent.
"Wind and fire are both volatile elements. Controlling them must be slightly different, but based on the same principles," Maïli recalled Sarah's advice.
"You have to bend mana to your will," Sarah had told her.
All the flames converged into Maïli's two hands to form a fireball, similar to the one the goblin had previously created with its axe.
However, her hands began to burn due to her lack of mastery.
"Argh!" she screamed, the pain of the flames tearing a cry from her throat.
She forced herself to ignore the agony as her skin slowly burned, devoured by the fire. Every second of suffering felt like an eternity, but she held on.
"So this is the difference between fire and wind," she murmured through clenched teeth.
Reaching the maximum pain she could endure, she hurled the fireball toward the gust. The two elements merged, creating a fiery whirlwind. The swirling flames shot toward the goblin, completely engulfing it. The monster's screams of pain echoed throughout the arena as it burned alive under this combined attack.
"This young girl is impressive," Peney murmured, watching the scene with admiration.
After a good thirty seconds spent within the flames, the goblin's screams finally ceased. The fiery whirlwind dissipated, carrying away the last embers with it. A charred body fell heavily to the ground the goblin's body, completely blackened, still emitting smoke.
The heroes, exhausted but victorious, gathered around their fallen foe's corpse. The tension in the air began to ease, replaced by a sense of relief and accomplishment.
"Congratulations, you have passed the test," Moses announced, his voice resonating across the arena.
Name: Karine | Race: Human | Age: 19 | Profession: Magic Knight | Level: 5
Vitality: 100 | Magic Power: 40 | Attack: 31 | Defense: 29 | Speed: 30 | Endurance: 27 | Agility: 27 | Intelligence: 30 | Physical: 36 | Willpower: 50
Skills: Electric Shock
Unique Skills: Fixed Blade
Legendary Skills: Heavy Blade, Knightly Grace
Elements: Lightning
Titles Acquired:
• (None)
Name: Éléonore | Race: Human | Age: 19 | Profession: Gray Mage | Level: 7
Vitality: 103 | Magic Power: 42 | Attack: 34 | Defense: 35 | Speed: 29 | Endurance: 30 | Agility: 30 | Intelligence: 34 | Physical: 38 | Willpower: 55
Skills: (None)
Unique Skills: Gust
Legendary Skills: (None)
Elements: Wind
Titles Acquired:
• (None)
Where others hesitate, you advance. Where paths disappear, you carve a road. You are the one who walks first into the darkness, who takes the blows for others, who guides without ever waiting to be followed. Blood, pain, and fear do not stop you. You may not have chosen this role… but you are the one who fulfills it.
Name: Maïli | Race: Human | Age: 19 | Profession: Paladin | Level: 10
Vitality: 106 | Magic Power: 48 | Attack: 41 | Defense: 45 | Speed: 35 | Endurance: 33 | Agility: 34 | Intelligence: 34 | Physical: 42 | Willpower: 62
Skills: Fireball
Unique Skills: Beast Tamer
Legendary Skills: Twin Blade, Shield of Life
Elements: Wind, Fire
Titles Acquired:
The One Who Opens the Way
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Special thanks to Rebecca/Amari/Zezima/Crowny_66/Bored dragon/ Sky_Shay/A_F_D/Fidelissama/Morgan/Arjunn/TheGreatSucc/Jared/ Grimjaw/Damion/ for her power stones.