The vitrified bank of the Argent River was no place to rest. The residual mana in the air crackled, raising the hairs on Shine's arms and making the stag snort nervously. Kaelen, though visibly drained, was already back on his feet, his systems slowly replenishing his critically low MP.
"We need to put distance between us and the river," Shine said, her voice still carrying a tremor of adrenaline. "The energy here is… agitated."
Kaelen nodded, his analytical gaze sweeping the Sun-Scarred Plains ahead. "Affirmative. The mana discharge acts as a beacon. The probability of attracting unwanted attention increases by 34% if we remain stationary."
They moved out, the roar of the river fading behind them to be replaced by the whispering of the tall, golden grass. The plains were eerily beautiful, vast and open under the magenta sky, but Shine felt exposed. The forest, for all its dangers, had been cover. Here, they could be seen for miles.
Kaelen's prediction proved correct. They had traveled for less than an hour when a new alert flashed in his vision.
[Motion Detection: Multiple small, bipedal lifeforms. Converging from the north and south. Speed: Rapid. Formation: Pincer maneuver.]
[Audio Analysis: Guttural chanting, crude metal clanging.]
[Identification: Goblin Warband. Estimated numbers: 20-25. Threat Level: Low to Moderate. Tactical Assessment: Ambush predators. Likely attracted by residual mana signature.]
"Contact," Kaelen said, his voice low. "Goblins. Twenty-plus. They are attempting to flank us."
Shine immediately drew her sword, her eyes scanning the seemingly empty grassland. "Where?"
"North flank, sixty yards. South flank, seventy yards. They are using the grass for cover." He paused, processing. "Their strategy is rudimentary but effective against unprepared travelers."
Before Shine could respond, the attack began. With a series of high-pitched shrieks, the goblins erupted from the grass. They were small, ugly creatures with mottled green skin, wearing mismatched scraps of leather and rusted metal. They wielded crude clubs, rusty swords, and slingshots.
But what they lacked in quality, they made up for in numbers and ferocity. They came swarming from both sides, a chaotic tide of green flesh and sharp metal.
Shine fell into her elven stance, a soft silver light enveloping her blade—a basic combat enchantment. "Stay behind me!" she yelled, ready to meet the charge.
Kaelen did not stay behind her.
He assessed the battlefield in a microsecond. Engaging them all in melee combat was the expected response. It was also inefficient. It would take time, expend energy, and leave openings. The optimal solution was area denial and shock tactics.
The first wave of goblins from the north, a pack of ten, was almost upon them, their slingshots whirring, ready to launch a volley of stones.
Kaelen didn't move to meet them. He simply raised his right hand, palm outward.
The memory surfaced instantly: Joker's manic laughter in a pocket dimension inferno. "Forget patience! Fire is hunger! Joy! Rage! It doesn't want to be stable; it wants to consume and transform! Don't ask it, dare it!"
He didn't summon a massive fireball. That would be an inefficient use of mana. Instead, he focused his will, channeling a precise stream of mana through the Limiter's narrow aperture.
A sheet of roaring, white-hot flame, ten feet wide and five feet high, erupted from his palm and raced across the grass directly into the path of the northern charge. It wasn't a projectile; it was a instantaneous, controlled conflagration.
The effect was instantaneous and devastating. The front line of goblins didn't even have time to scream. They were incinerated, their forms turning to ash in the heart of the blaze. The ones behind shrieked in terror, scrambling back from the wall of heat, their advance completely broken. The grass fire began to spread, creating a burning barrier.
[Skill Utilized: Ignition (Novice)]
[MP: -20]
[Northern Threat: Neutralized.]
Shine stared, her mouth agape, the fight momentarily forgotten. She had seen magic. She was magic. But this was something else. This was not a gentle coaxing of natural forces. This was raw, violent, absolute creation of elemental fury.
The southern group, momentarily stunned by the fate of their northern kin, hesitated. That hesitation was their doom.
Kaelen was already moving. He didn't use another spell. His MP was still too low. Instead, he became a whirlwind of physical force. He flowed through the remaining goblins like a ghost. A precise chop to a neck here. A kick that shattered a knee there. He snatched a rusty short sword from a goblin's hand, and with it, he demonstrated the brutal efficiency of Molten Dwarf berserker techniques he'd learned from Motion—short, powerful chops that cleaved through leather and bone.
Shine, shaking off her shock, joined the fray. Her style was a beautiful contrast to his—a dance of elegant, flowing elven forms, her silver blade weaving through the goblins, parrying and thrusting with lethal grace.
They fought back-to-back, a perfect, synergistic pair. The scalpel and the dueling foil. Chaos and order.
Within two minutes, it was over. The surviving goblins broke and fled, scrambling back into the tall grass, their shrieks fading into the distance. Twenty-five goblins had become five fleeing survivors.
Panting, Shine leaned on her sword, looking at the carnage. The burning wall to the north, the scattered, broken bodies to the south. She looked at Kaelen, who stood amidst it all, calm and unruffled, the stolen goblin sword held loosely in his hand.
"You… you used fire," she stated, the obviousness of the statement not dulling her awe.
"Fire was the optimal tool for area denial against a numerically superior force," he explained, dropping the crude sword. "It is an efficient element."
"Efficient," she repeated, the word tasting strange. She looked at the charred remains. "It's terrifying."
"Terror is a potent psychological weapon. Its inclusion in the tactical calculation was intentional."
As he spoke, the notifications flashed for both of them.
[Combat Concluded. Experience awarded.]
[+500 XP]
[Congratulations! You have reached Level 4!]
[+5 Stat Points Available to Allocate.]
[New Skill Learned: Ignition (Novice)]
[Skill Progression: Swordsmanship (Adept) -> (Expert)]
They were growing stronger. Fast. The high-level threats they were facing were fueling a rapid progression that would be unbelievable to any normal adventurer.
As the adrenaline faded, the exhaustion of the river crossing and the fight set in. The sun was beginning to set, painting the plains in deep oranges and purples.
"We should make camp," Shine said, sheathing her sword. "Somewhere defensible. And we need to put out that fire before it sets the whole plain ablaze."
Kaelen looked at the spreading grass fire. "Acknowledged."
He walked to the edge of the flames. He didn't try to smother it with earth or summon water. He remembered his lesson with Void in the shadow zone. "Do not manipulate the darkness. Become the absence that welcomes it."
He didn't fight the fire. He imposed stillness upon it.
He raised his hand again, not with the aggressive intent of creation, but with the calm authority of negation. A wave of absolute cold, a sliver of Void's power, flowed from him. It didn't extinguish the flames by drowning them; it simply unmade the heat. The roaring fire didn't sputter or smoke. It just… vanished, leaving behind a wide swath of blackened, frost-tinged grass.
[Skill Utilized: Absolute Stillness (Novice - Applied to Thermal Energy)]
[MP: -15]
Shine could only watch, her mind reeling. Fire and ice. Creation and negation. He was a walking paradox, a living contradiction of elemental forces. Who, or what, had trained him?
They found a small, rocky outcrop that offered some shelter from the wind and prying eyes. As Shine gathered dry dung for a small, controlled fire and laid out their bedrolls, Kaelen stood watch, his senses extended. The encounter with the goblins, while easily handled, was a data point. This world was actively hostile. Constant vigilance was required.
That night, under a blanket of unfamiliar stars, the silence between them was different. It was no longer just the silence of two travelers. It was the silence that follows the witnessing of something incredible and terrifying.
Shine finally broke it, her voice soft. "You never just do one thing, do you? It's never just a sword. It's a perfectly placed strike. It's never just fire. It's a calculated wall of it. Who taught you to think like that?"
Kaelen looked from the stars to her, the faint light of their small fire dancing in his heterochromatic eyes. "I had many instructors. They believed in… comprehensive solutions."
"I'll say," Shine murmured, pulling her knees to her chest. "Thank you. Again. For the fire. For the fight."
"You fought with efficiency and grace," Kaelen replied. It was the closest thing to a compliment he had ever given. "Your form is aesthetically pleasing."
Shine burst out laughing, the tension of the day finally breaking. "Aesthetically pleasing? Is that your way of saying I'm a good fighter?"
"It is a statement of observable fact. Your movements have a high degree of functional beauty."
Shine just shook her head, smiling into the night. He was impossible. And she was, against all logic and expectation, incredibly glad he was on her side. The journey to Aethelgard was proving to be anything but boring.