CHAPTER 23
"Time to get to work." He smiled.
Heading toward a jagged wall within the cavern, Grey stood firmly in front of it.
He positioned his hands outwardly, making sure not to touch the cold stone surface, and moved his palms in a slow, deliberate circle.
Suddenly, he pulled them back toward his chest and shouted.
"Earth shard!"
A small, wickedly sharp Earth spike erupted from the wall as if responding to his command.
Without hesitation, Grey threw his hands forward toward a separate section of the cave.
The projectile whistled through the air and struck the rock precisely, burying itself at least three inches deep into the solid stone.
"Haha! Perfect," Grey said, his grin widening.
He sat back down in a cross-legged position once more, focusing on recovering his spent mana as efficiently as possible.
"Now, without being limited solely to the Earth I hold in my hand, I can be significantly more versatile with the use of my power. As long as I'm surrounded by Earth, I can manipulate the environment to my advantage," he noted while continuing to meditate.
'I remember reading from that mage's book that if I want to increase my Earth affinity—aside from absorbing crystals—I could simply find a location dense with Earth and meditate there.
It sounds straightforward enough, especially after my experience with wind magic. When I eventually return home, I will definitely try that, since my hideout is completely surrounded by deep Earth,' he thought.
After several minutes of intense meditation and circulating his mana through his body, Grey's energy had finally recovered.
He stood up and exited the cave, looking out over the landscape.
"Now, where exactly did that dwarf head to?" Grey wondered aloud.
He scanned the horizon, trying to spot Randin among the dozens of caves and rocky outcrops scattered across the terrain, but the task proved impossible.
He decided to resort to a more direct method.
Cupping his hands around his mouth, Grey took a deep breath, filling his lungs with air, and then released it in a powerful shout.
"Randin! Where are you?"
His voice traveled an incredible distance thanks to a subtle infusion of wind magic.
Almost immediately, a response echoed back to him.
"Right here!"
Listening intently, Grey localized the voice coming from the south.
He quickly activated the simple flying spell he had mastered and drifted gently toward a massive mountain in the distance.
The peak where Randin stood was gargantuan, with a base wide enough to comfortably fit fifty regular humans within its shadow.
As Grey landed in front of it, he saw Randin staring at him with a look of pure irritation.
"Why the hell did you have to shout like that?" Randin asked, his long ears twitching.
"I was looking for you, and since I couldn't find you, I resorted to calling out. Is there a problem?" Grey asked, raising an inquisitive brow.
"You fool! You could have easily attracted unwanted attention to this area," Randin said, slapping his forehead with a loud, exasperated thud.
"Unwanted attention? What kind of trouble could I cause? From what I know, the beasts around here are located quite far away, so they won't reach us easily.
So what type of un…" Grey's voice trailed off as he noticed a sudden, deadly serious expression darken Randin's face.
The dwarf reached for his weapon and pulled out his sword, pointing it directly past Grey.
"You wanna fight me now?" Grey laughed, thinking it was a joke, until Randin shook his head and gestured with his chin toward the space behind him.
Raising an eyebrow, Grey turned around and his laughter died instantly.
Standing before him were a dozen short, green-skinned creatures.
Each one possessed long, pointy ears and small, sharp fangs protruding from their mouths.
They stood in a semi-circle, all pointing jagged spears menacingly toward Grey and Randin.
"What are they?" Grey asked, his body tensing for combat. "Because they don't look like typical beasts to me."
"They are called goblins. They had arrived on this planet along with those Otherworlders.
They hunt any dwarves that remain, and in this current situation, I'm the only one left in this region.
I have been smart enough to avoid them because I know I'm not strong enough to fight against a whole pack of them. But thanks to your shouting, I am caught," Randin said, his voice laced with annoyance.
"Do they possess any special powers?" Grey asked.
He was slowly twirling his fingers in a circular motion while the goblins' spears suddenly lit up with a brilliant, crackling blue light.
"Nope, but their spears do!" Randin shouted just as a jagged blue lightning bolt was discharged toward the pair.
Randin quickly rolled across the rocky ground to safety, while Grey was fast enough to use his wind magic to push himself away from the line of fire.
After regaining his footing, Grey looked at the goblins with a mix of shock and a confused expression.
"Their weapons possess the lightning attribute? But how is that possible?" Grey wondered aloud.
"I would have gladly given you a history lesson, but now is certainly not the time for stories," Randin said.
He tapped a small device on his wrist and, right in front of Grey's eyes, a suit of heavy armor began wrapping around Randin.
After the plates had locked into place, a sturdy helmet finally settled onto his head.
"One last question for now, though: are they actually intelligent beings? And do they have a leader?" Grey asked, narrowing his eyes at the encroaching green creatures.
"They are somewhat intelligent and can understand human language, but they can't speak it for some unknown reason. They only communicate in the goblin tongue. And yes, they definitely have a leader. They call him the Goblin Lord—and he is very intelligent," Randin replied.
"Good. Because after we finish here, I think I will pay a visit to the Goblin Lord next," Grey replied.
His right arm erupted in a pillar of flames, while his left was suddenly encased in jagged, protective rocks.
'When I first saw them, my instincts screamed at me to run away.
But if I did that, Randin would struggle against them alone. And besides, if I keep running away from danger, how would I ever become a proficient enough mage?
So, I have decided one thing: I will stay and fight. Maybe I could also take their spears for myself,' he thought, and a small smile played on his lips.
"Before you charge forward, remember not to destroy any of their weapons because I need to examine those artifacts later," Randin warned.
"Wasn't planning on doing that!" Grey said. He pushed himself forward using a concentrated burst of wind magic, launching himself into the fray.