*
*Pinpon*
User:???
Level: 14
Class: hero
Hp: 1400/1400
Mp 1400/1400
Attack: 140
Defence: 140
Magic strength: 140
Magic defence: 140
Mana: 140
Constitution: 140
Agility: 140
Standing from a distance, the army converges towards her like a tidal wave. She holds out her right hand, gripping an imaginary handle.
"" (Lastia)
Her words chimed with an incongruous tune, not even she knew what she just said. It was the name of the skill, but the sound that came out didn't sound human in the slightest. She now wielded significantly more magic than before, black light crackled like lightning around her gauntlets before coiling into her desired shape. First then handle, then the massive blade. A certain familiar great sword laid resting inside her grip, it was pitch black and there was no metallic sheen to it, as if it absorbed light. With one leap into the crowd and a massive swing, she splits numerous bodies in half.
*pinpon!*
With a larger reach and surface area, mowing them down becomes a lot easier. No longer hesitating, she steps into the crowd and starts a carnage. Her stats vastly outweigh whatever pitiful distribution they had. Sheer force pushes into her blade, carving through flesh, organs and bones like butter. With a jump, she lands into a dense are with an over head swing, then transitions to another sweep. Smashing the goblins underneath her, she twirls and mows down a full round of goblins.
*pinpon*
She hadn't noticed but the ones she killed were in their level 20s, sending her own level shooting. She doesn't stop there, she was far from the goblin king and his elite guard, so she took this chance to use the fodder as free exp. With a single step, her body blurs into a flash and they couldn't see where she went. Before anymore goblins could cry out, numerous severed limbs and heads fly into the air a short distance away.
She carved a large trail of blood as she advanced through the crowd, leaving mangled bodies in her wake. She reaches the end of the river, rather she had killed so many of them that she tore a massive gap in their encirclement, leaving a decent distance between her and the goblin army. Level 27. Almost double before she went on a rampage. She reckoned that even the elites could be dealt with now, but still it was better to be careful. The goblins have started to retreat away from her, their king's reading of the situation is more advanced than she thought.
The image of a goblin king has been used over and over, but it's even more abstract than a normal goblin. Their ability mostly relies on what series they're in, this world might follow game mechanics, but it has mixed in some ecology interactions. The monsters here are meant to be agents in a food web, only select individuals survive and grow beyond their species usual limit. Goblins are weak creatures, they mostly die before they reach level 30.
Then a king must be a specimen that has gone beyond level 30, the threshold doesn't really matter. Maybe when they evolve their level resets. It's hard to tell, the best she could do is slowly whittle down their forces, so her battle with the elites won't be interfered with by the low level mobs. She determined that she could destroy the entire army before she entered the village, it's too late to feel any regret now.
Her muscles ached, and despite the level ups clearing up her fatigue, her mind felt drained from it all. Her body will hurt, her body will move, there's no worry about exhaustion there. Her thoughts wander to that dead villager in this brief moment of tranquility, Arin's image transposed with the girl's. The throne that had repeatedly sank her dreams, it formed the core of her previous life, it was the most impactful and painful memory.
Here, she dawns upon one small truth. The previous her was plagued by the memories of that throne, down to the very soul she was afflicted with that sanity tearing madness. Of course, there was no other explanation about it, suffering from that curse that took her memories was first and foremost her own decision. There was always a vague ambiguity around the curse's motive, 'it was done for me', 'It was necessary for me', and 'she did it for me' is completely different from 'I needed it done to me'.
It was a natural conclusion, being constantly hammered with imagery of Arin dying on that throne... That was where everything began, no doubt. However, the Arin of the present is alive and well. In their past lives, she couldn't save Arin and lived to have it haunt her forever. What was the point for the current her to see it?
"Haa~ I really miss Arin. Is this actually another world? It feels too real." (Lastia)
She presumed that coming to this world from Arin's throne, she was still inside her own memories. But maybe this place was something else entirely, something unrelated to her past. In that case, the other 2 were probably worried sick.
'You called?' (?)
She hears a voice in her mind, the sense of distance was neither far nor near, it felt too strange. Like a sweet bell's chime, it rang with melodious clarity, fully conveying any intent.
'... I'm sorry for leaving abruptly.' (Lastia)
'Don't worry. I believe I had some hand in this too, after all this was 'our' arrangement. ' (Arin)
' So you're not entirely sure either... ' (Lastia)
They can communicate in real time. The passage of time has synced up, she was no longer dwelling in the world of her own memories.
'... No, this was precisely what I wanted to avoid. Why you had that curse placed upon you.
Because then you'd have to face your past.' (Arin)
'I figured as much. I suppose the old me felt the pain was too unbearable. To prevent her from ending her own life, you placed the curse so we could start anew?' (Lastia)
'... Something like that. Let's make this clear, I refuse to tell you nor help you. I just wanted to clarify, you can die in that world. So be careful. ' (Arin)
' Alright. I promise, I'll come back alive.' (Lastia)
Searching her past for strength to defeat The Primordial One... Perhaps that was always a mere pretext to her insatiable curiosity. She'd risk her life to learn about her past after all.