Reaching the dungeon, Yamamoto was quite surprised to see that it had no portal entry as of any sort. This time, though, he didn't stress about it, not like he could ask anyone about it.
Cole raised a hand, and the team stopped thirty feet from the entrance. They gathered in a loose circle as he gave instructions.
"Same plan as always. Silas, you scout the entrance. See how many sentries we're dealing with. Everyone else, prepare for combat but stay quiet."
Silas nodded and vanished into the bushes without so much as a disturbance.
Almost immediately also, Priest Donovan murmured a prayer, and Yamamoto felt a warm tingle wash over him as a system notification appeared before his eyes.
[Buff Applied: Blessing of Solara - +10% Defense, +5% HP Regeneration - Duration: 2 hours]
Ninia, noticing his reaction, smiled at him and moved even closer so that she could whisper to him. "First time receiving a priest's blessing?"
Without speaking, Yamamoto nodded, even though it wasn't exactly true all the way.
"It's wonderful, isn't it? Donovan's blessings are particularly strong. He's been with the guild for so many years too. You'll get used to it. They make such a great difference too."
Just then, Silas materialized from the bush, his expression grim.
"There are four sentries visible, possibly more in the side tunnels. We're not getting through without triggering an alarm."
On hearing this, Cole couldn't help but curse under his breath before turning to the rest. "Alright, plan B. We go in fast and loud. Ninia, start with a Flame Burst at the entrance to scatter them. Yamamoto and I push through immediately. Silas, find their alarm and cut it if you can. Priest Donovan, stay back and keep us healthy."
After listening, they all nodded in agreement and readied for the attack.
After giving the sign, Ninia stepped out and under two seconds, cast her magic upon the goblins, causing a bowl of fire to rush towards the entrance of the cave and engulf the goblins standing guard there.
Following behind her, Cole and Yamamoto went into action, rushing towards the cave entrance. The first goblin to emerge took Cole's shield bash to the face, crumpling instantly. The second lunged at Yamamoto, who sidestepped and brought his sword down in a brutal overhead strike that split the creature's skull, he swiftly moved towards another and took its head off.
Just then, another goblin attacked from his blind side. Cole, being too far to cover for him shouted, but before his words even landed, Yamamoto spun, barely blocking a spear thrust aimed at his ribs. With a strange twist, he swung at the goblin, taking off its hand holding the spear, then a second time to pierce its heart and killing it.
Watching him, Cole was more than surprised. He had taken down only one goblin, while Yamamoto took care of the rest.
'I guess Kenneth wasn't exaggerating this time.'
Yamamoto who was used to solo play, just applied it to the team play without trying too much to be so mindful.
"Entrance clear!" Silas called from somewhere in the shadows. "Alarm's cut. We've got maybe a minute before the main chamber hears the fighting."
"Push forward," Cole ordered. "Standard formation. Move!"
They advanced into the tunnel, stepping over goblin corpses after killing a few more.
The tunnel opened into a larger chamber, and Yamamoto's stomach sank.
At least fifteen goblins waited inside, arranged in a rough defensive formation. They'd had time to prepare, and standing at the back, a full head taller than the others and wielding a genuine iron shortsword, was the Goblin Chief.
Following Cole's command, they all went into action without wasting time.
Brandishing his sword and shield, Cole signaled to Ninia then to Donovan, "Ninia, take care of the small ones, Donovan, keep us up."
Immediately, they rushed into action and started the attack. Yamamoto and Cole went straight for the chief, who was already readying for an attack of his, charging Cole with surprising speed.
The chief's sword rang against Cole's shield as they clashed, knocking both back a step. Using that opening, Yamamoto charged with a pierce to the chief's side, but it managed to evade.
The chief's fighting style was crude but effective as they fought on, two on one, and quickly, Yamamoto found out that level alone was not the cause of the unexpected difficulty. As for his knowledge of attack patterns, it was useless, since Cole went in with strange attacks, forcing the chief to defend and counter in unconventional ways, making the whole fight unpredictable.
On the fourth sequence, Yamamoto timed his attack perfectly. As the chief committed to the diagonal slash against Cole, Yamamoto lunged in with Piercing Strike, aiming for the exposed ribs.
Surprisingly, the chief twisted mid-swing.
'Impossible'—he was already committed to the attack, his weight forward and sword extended, but he still managed to twist desperately, changing the slash into a horizontal sweep that caught Yamamoto across the chest.
Yamamoto who was on such fast forward motion, only had a split second to think, shifting his own body out of the way as much as possible, saving him from clean disembowelment. Even so, the blade carved a shallow cut across his ribs, and the impact sent him stumbling, meanwhile, Cole secured a hit on the chief.
"Yamamoto!" Ninia's voice, panicked.
The chief, completely ignoring Cole, pressed the advantage. He came at Yamamoto with a flurry of strikes, no pattern at all, just pure aggression.
Yamamoto barely parried the first few attacks, working his brain on overdrive to react to the attacks he couldn't predict. The next one slipped past his guard and would have punctured his lung, but luckily for him, Cole crashed into the chief from the side, shield checking him away.
Cole roared. "Ninia, fire bolt, now!"
A lance of flame struck the chief in the shoulder, burning flesh and leather. The creature howled, stumbling, and Cole capitalized immediately with a brutal combo, following a shield bash with a strike with his sword that tore the chief's face.
The chief fell, twitched once, and died.
Silence filled the chamber, broken only by heavy breathing.
Yamamoto stood there, hand pressed to his bleeding ribs, trying to process what had happened.
'Playing with a team is such a drag…' He thought to himself with a deep and painful sigh.
"You alright?" Cole asked, moving to his side.
"Fine," Yamamoto managed. "Just... caught off guard."
"You were sloppy," Silas said from across the chamber. He was cleaning his daggers, his tone caustic. "Rushing in like that without coordination. Could've gotten yourself killed."
"Silas," Cole said warningly.
"What? It's true. Pretty boy almost died because he thought he could solo the chief." Silas sheathed his daggers with deliberate movements. "Maybe next time he'll wait for the team instead of showing off."
Yamamoto opened his mouth to respond, but Priest Donovan was already there, golden light emanating from his hands.
"Hold still, young man," the priest said gently. The healing magic washed over Yamamoto's ribs, and he felt the wound close, the pain fading to a dull ache. "There. You'll want to rest that for a bit, but you'll be fine."
"Thank you," Yamamoto said, managing a smile.
"Don't let Silas get to you," Donovan murmured, just loud enough for Yamamoto to hear. "He means well… Usually."
"Haha, of course." He said, quietly.
Cole was already moving through the chamber, checking corpses and looting usable equipment. "Good work, everyone. Sloppy at times, but we got it done. Let's collect what we can and get out of here. This place reeks."