Neither of us moved.
The goblins charged.
The first one reached me with a rusty dagger raised high. I sidestepped and drove my fist into its chest.
Concussive Strike.
CRACK.
The goblin flew backward, crashed into three others, and they all went down in a tangle of limbs.
[System: Concussive Strike activated! Yōki cost: 50]
[System: Current Yōki: 534/500]
"One down, twenty-nine to go!" Klaus said cheerfully. "This is fine. Everything is fine."
"Focus on the ones with bows!" Masayuki barked. "Ranged enemies first, always!"
Amelia's sword flashed. She cut down two goblins in quick succession, her movements precise and powerful. Way more powerful than a D-rank should be.
A goblin with a bow appeared on a rock outcropping, drawing an arrow.
"Amelia! Archer!"
She spun, pulled her own bow from her back, nocked an arrow in one fluid motion, and—
The arrow sailed ten feet over the goblin's head and disappeared into the trees.
"WHAT?!" I shouted.
"I MISSED!" she shouted back, equally surprised.
The goblin archer loosed its arrow. Amelia barely dodged.
"She has Storm Trooper aim!" Masayuki said. "How is she D-rank with aim like that?!"
"Maybe she's really good at close range?"
"That doesn't help us RIGHT NOW!"
I punched another goblin. Concussive Strike. It flew into a tree with bone-crushing force.
[System: Yōki: 484/500]
*Yoki is now linked with her stamina*
"Eight more uses before you're tired," Masayuki calculated. "Make them count. Go for groups, maximize impact."
"Meh," Boris added, which somehow meant "you're going to die."
Three goblins rushed me at once. I grabbed the closest one and threw it at the other two. All three went down. I stomped on one's head.
Concussive Strike.
The impact created a small crater. All three goblins stopped moving.
[System: Yōki: 434/500]
"Amelia! How many arrows do you have?!"
"Twelve!" She loosed another arrow at a goblin fifteen feet away.
This one hit.
And then the goblin exploded.
Not metaphorically. It literally detonated in a burst of flame and gore, taking two other goblins with it.
I stared. "WHAT WAS THAT?!"
"Blessing of Hachiman!" She nocked another arrow. "Once I mark a target, the arrow will hit! And each arrow has random effects!"
She shot again. This arrow hit a goblin and suddenly it was wreathed in lightning, electricity arcing to nearby enemies. Four goblins spasmed and collapsed.
"That's INSANE!" Vincent shouted. "That's an S-rank skill! How is she D-rank?!"
"Because she can't hit anything past fifteen feet," Klaus said. "It's hilarious and tragic."
"Mostly tragic right now!"
Another goblin rushed me. I kicked it in the chest. Concussive Strike. It flew backward through a tree trunk, snapping it in half.
[System: Yōki: 384/500]
Six uses left.
Amelia was cutting through goblins with her sword now, each strike precise and devastating. The Blessing clearly enhanced her close combat too. She was a whirlwind of steel, impossibly fast and strong.
But there were too many.
For every goblin we killed, two more appeared from the forest.
"This is more than thirty!" I shouted.
"I can COUNT!" Amelia yelled back, decapitating a goblin. "There's at least FIFTY!"
"The nest merged with multiple tribes," Masayuki said grimly. "This is a full colony. You need to retreat. NOW."
"We can't! We're surrounded!"
I punched another goblin. Concussive Strike. It cratered into the ground.
[System: Yōki: 334/500]
Five uses left.
Amelia loosed another arrow. This one multiplied mid-flight, becoming five arrows that each found a target. Five goblins fell, various wounds smoking or freezing or bursting into flames.
"That's amazing!" I said.
"I'm out of arrows!" she shouted back.
"WHAT?!"
"I only had twelve! They're gone!"
She drew her sword again and lunged at a goblin—
Her grip slipped.
The sword flew out of her hand, spinning through the air, and embedded itself in a tree twenty feet away.
"NO!" She stared at her empty hand. "Not now!"
"Of course now!" Klaus said. "Because the universe hates us!"
A massive goblin pushed through the horde.
Not just big. Massive. Easily six feet tall, covered in crude armor made from scavenged metal and bone. Its eyes glowed red, and it carried a club that looked like it had been ripped from a tree, nails hammered through it.
"Alpha," Masayuki said quietly. "That's the pack leader. Retreat. RIGHT NOW."
"We're trying!"
I punched a goblin that got too close. Concussive Strike. It flew sideways into the horde.
[System: Yōki: 284/500]
Four uses left.
The Alpha roared and charged.
It moved fast. Way faster than something that size should move.
Amelia tried to dodge, but without her sword, she was off-balance. The Alpha's club caught her in the ribs.
CRACK.
She flew backward, hit the ground hard, and didn't get up.
"AMELIA!"
I tried to reach her, but goblins blocked my path. I fought through them, using Concussive Strike three more times in rapid succession.
[System: Yōki: 134/500]
One use left.
I reached Amelia's side. She was conscious but barely, blood trickling from her mouth, her breathing shallow.
"Stay with me," I said.
The Alpha approached slowly, savoring its victory.
The smaller goblins backed away, forming a circle. This was their leader's kill.
"You need to run," Masayuki said urgently. "Leave her. Save yourself."
"I'm not leaving her."
"Then you'll both die!"
"He's right," Klaus said, for once not sarcastic. "You can't win this."
"Meh," Boris added, which meant "we're fucked."
"There has to be something—" Vincent's voice was desperate.
My eyes fell on Amelia's sword, still embedded in the tree.
I ran for it.
The Alpha roared and followed, club raised.
I grabbed the sword's hilt and pulled—
A golden aura exploded around me.
[System: SPECIAL CONDITION DETECTED!]
[System: Spirit Absorption: Complete]
[System: Spirit Integration: Masayuki - Legendary Hero]
[System: NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED - "Borrowed Power"]
[System: Effect: You may use ONE skill from any absorbed spirit once per day! Skill power scales with your current stats! No mana cost required (because you have no mana)!]
"Oh," Masayuki said. "Oh, that's interesting."
"What's your most powerful skill?!" I shouted.
The Alpha was ten feet away. Eight feet. Six feet.
"Takemikazuchi: Lightning's Edge!" Masayuki said immediately. "It's a divine sword technique! Channels lightning through your blade! At my full power, it could split mountains!"
"Good enough!"
I raised the sword. The golden aura intensified, swirling around the blade. Lightning began to crackle along its edge.
[System: Skill Activation in Progress...]
[System: "Takemikazuchi: Lightning's Edge" - Charging...]
The Alpha swung its club.
I brought the sword up to block—
[System: SKILL ACTIVATION BLOCKED]
[System: New Message from: Tsurugigami - God of Blades]
What.
The charging stopped. The lightning faded slightly.
I opened the message with a thought.
[Greetings, mortal. I am Tsurugigami, Divine Sovereign of All Blades, Master of Ten Thousand Cuts, He Who Shapes Steel and Determines Fate.]
[You are attempting to use a technique that falls under my divine jurisdiction. As per Universal Divine Commerce Law Section 47, Paragraph 12, all blade-based divine skills require appropriate tribute before activation.]
[Current fee: 10,000 Karma]
[Current balance: -9,999,999,999,999,999,947,778]
[Payment required before skill activation may proceed. Thank you for your understanding!]
I stared at the notification.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"
The Alpha's club hit me.
I flew backward, crashed into a tree, and felt ribs crack. The sword fell from my hands.
[System: HP: 23/100]
[System: Severe injuries detected!]
"She can't pay!" Vincent shouted. "She doesn't have karma!"
"The gods are literally charging her mid-combat?!" Klaus said, outraged. "That's the most divine bullshit I've ever heard!"
"Bureaucracy transcends mortality," Masayuki said grimly. "Even the gods have rules."
"Meh," Boris contributed, which meant "I told you this would happen."
I tried to stand. Failed. My legs weren't responding properly.
The Alpha approached again, slower this time. It knew I was finished.
Amelia was still on the ground, unconscious or dead, I couldn't tell.
The sword lay three feet away. Useless. I couldn't pay the fee.
This is it. This is how I die. Killed by goblins because a god wanted 10,000 karma for a skill use.
The Alpha raised its club for the finishing blow.
I closed my eyes.
At least I tried.
"SUPREME HEAVEN-SPLITTING DIVINE SEVERANCE!"
A voice rang out across the battlefield. Young, male, dripping with unearned confidence.
A beam of pure white light cut through the Alpha goblin.
The massive creature paused, club still raised.
Then its top half slid off its bottom half.
Both pieces hit the ground with wet thumps.
The remaining goblins screeched and scattered into the forest.
A figure landed between me and the now-bisected Alpha.
He was exactly what I expected: black spiky hair, dramatic black coat that billowed despite no wind, two swords crossed on his back, the kind of face that looked like it was assembled from a character creation screen set to "generic Japanese Highschooler."
He turned to look at me, striking a pose.
"Are you alright, fair maiden?" His voice was earnest. Genuinely, painfully earnest.
"Oh no," Klaus said. "It's one of THOSE."
"A Kiri** clone," Vincent groaned. "We're saved by a Kiri** clone."
"The universe has a terrible sense of humor," Masayuki said.
"Meh," Boris agreed.
The guy offered me his hand. "I am Kazuto Kirishima, S-rank adventurer and Hero of the Eternal Blade. I heard sounds of combat and came to assist. You fought bravely!"
I stared at his hand. Then at his face. Then at the bisected Alpha goblin.
"You just... used a skill called 'Supreme Heaven-Splitting Divine Severance.'"
"Yes! It's my ultimate technique! Granted to me by the Sword Saint himself!" He said this like it was impressive, not the most generic thing I'd ever heard.
"I want to die again," Klaus said. "Just kill me. This is worse than being a ghost."
"At least he saved us?" Vincent offered weakly.
"At what cost? My dignity?"
I took Kazuto's hand and let him pull me up. Everything hurt. My ribs were probably broken. But I was alive.
"Thank you," I managed.
"It was my honor! A true hero never abandons those in need!" He struck another pose. His coat billowed again. There was STILL no wind.
"How is his coat doing that?!" Klaus demanded.
"Protagonist powers," Masayuki said tiredly. "Reality bends for them. It's insufferable."
"Meh."
"Your companion!" Kazuto rushed over to Amelia. "She's badly injured! Here—"
He pulled out a glowing red potion and poured it over her wounds. They began to close immediately.
Amelia coughed and opened her eyes. "What... happened?"
"You were saved by the power of friendship and overpowered protagonist bullshit," I said.
"What?"
"Nothing. We're alive."
Kazuto stood and struck yet another pose. "I'm glad I could assist! But tell me—why were two young ladies fighting such a large goblin force alone? Don't you know how dangerous that is?"
"WE DIDN'T KNOW THERE WOULD BE FIFTY!" all five of us—me and the four spirits—shouted in unison.
Kazuto blinked, confused. "I only heard you shout that?"
"I'm... very emphatic."
[System: Quest Failed - Goblin Subjugation]
[System: You did not eliminate the nest. Again.]
[System: However! You survived! Progress! ♪]
[System: HP restored to 45/100 via natural regeneration and sheer spite!]
I sat down heavily on a rock.
Amelia joined me, looking dazed. "Did we... did we fail again?"
"Yep."
"That's twice now."
"Yep."
"I'm starting to see a pattern."
"Welcome to my life."
Kazuto stood before us, backlit by the setting sun, looking like he'd stepped out of a cheap light novel cover. "If you're attempting adventurer work, perhaps you should join my party! I have a healer, a mage, and a tank! We could use more support members!"
"Oh gods, he has a party," Klaus groaned. "Of course he has a party."
"Probably a harem too," Vincent added.
"Definitely a harem," Masayuki confirmed. "The coat, the pose, the dramatic skill name? Classic harem protagonist energy."
"Meh," Boris said, which roughly translates to "kill me now."
"Thank you for the offer," Amelia said politely, "but we work better as a duo. Logically speaking."
"Ah, I understand! The bonds of partnership!" He nodded sagely, like he'd said something profound. "Then at least allow me to escort you back to the city! These woods are dangerous!"
"You literally just saved us from fifty goblins and an Alpha," I pointed out. "I think we know they're dangerous."
"What?"
"I said that would be very kind."
We limped back toward the city, Kazuto walking ahead of us like a one-man parade, his coat still billowing impossibly.
"I hate everything," Klaus said.
"At least we're alive," Vincent offered.
"Are we though? Are we really?"
"Technically, no. You're dead."
"EXACTLY."
"Meh."
I checked my karma balance.
[System: Current Karma: -9,999,999,999,999,999,947,778]
[System: Divine debt to God Water: 1,000 Karma - Due in 29 days]
[System: You earned 0 karma today! Very efficient! ♪]
"I hate my life," I muttered.
"What?" Amelia asked.
"Nothing. Just thinking about career choices."
Ahead of us, Kazuto turned and flashed a brilliant smile. "The sunset is beautiful today, isn't it? It reminds me that even in darkness, light will always prevail!"
"Someone kill me," Klaus begged. "Please. Anyone."
"You're already dead."
"THEN KILL ME AGAIN."
I couldn't help but laugh. It hurt my ribs, but I laughed anyway.
Because what else was I supposed to do?
[System: Mental stability: Questionable but improving! ]
[System: Current status: Alive, broke, in debt, haunted by four dead men, saved by Generic Protagonist #47]
[System: Could be worse! ]
Could it though? I wondered. Could it really?
But I kept walking, because that's what you do.
You keep walking.
Even when the universe is actively trolling you.
Even when gods charge you karma mid-combat.
Even when you're escorted home by a walking anime cliché whose coat defies physics.
You keep walking.
Baby steps.
Though right now, they were more like "limping steps."
But steps nonetheless.