Origin ARS (Origin A.R.S. Book 2) (5 page)

The goblin was forced off balance and could not recover before its human opponent unleashed his freeze spell. A bright red number twelve rose up from its ice-rimmed body.

Rhea intercepted the third goblin before it could reach her comrade. She deflected a strike that it had attempted to land on the sorcerer’s exposed back then followed it up with a forward push that knocked it off balance and forced it to the ground. The goblin received very little damage from the strike, but it was at a terrible disadvantage.

The Arcane Blade and the Sorcerer fought back to back for a moment. Doing so allowed them to keep their opponents separated. Despite the fact that they were probably at a higher level than the goblins, the creatures were agile and had a lot of stamina. If they allowed the goblins to gang up on either of them, the party would be in serious trouble.

The main saving grace in the fight was that goblins were not especially resistant to magic. Their innate intellect was the only thing that allowed them to resist a spell or spell effect. Suffice it to say, they could lessen the damage, but they had little actual resistance to the effects of a given magical attack.

Scott batted away another hard strike from the frost covered goblin and stepped in to deliver a hard strike to its armpit. The attack met with less resistance as the creature only wore a leather vest as armor. The fangs of the rat tore into its exposed underarm region with great force and the creature cried out in agony.

At the same moment that Scott had chosen to overwhelm his opponent by striking the nerve cluster located in its armpit, Rhea raised her sword then slammed it down on top of the goblin that Scott had knocked to the ground earlier. It penetrated deeply into the stunned creature and caused considerable damage. However, she was not able to finish it off. The other goblin had regained its feet.

The elf met the goblin’s renewed attack by whipping her blade up while keeping it pointed toward the earth. She neatly deflected its crude assault, opening its stance up for a follow-up strike. She lashed her sword sideways with great force and took a step back in the process. The combination of simple attack and instinctive footwork allowed her to strike a third time. She stepped forward then delivered a brutal overhand strike that bit deeply into its shoulder and cleaved through its clavicle.

The goblin fell to its knees and screamed out in agony, but its cry was cut short when a leather clad elven foot slammed into its blood drenched chest. It fell back and began to flail its only working arm in a wild and spastic manner.

While Rhea performed her expertly honed sword skills, Scott slipped under another attack by the goblin that he was facing. He wrapped his arms neatly around the monster’s torso then leapt upward and hurled himself backward. The movement forced the goblin into powerful backward arc movement. The hapless creature slammed into the ground head first. A loud *crack!* radiated from the point of impact and the defeated monster immediately went limp. Though it had not yet died, its neck had been snapped by the brutal and efficient attack.

The sorcerer flipped over to complete the attack and then reversed direction before slamming his elbow down atop the paralyzed beast. A follow-up punch to the face ended its life. By the time Scott looked up Rhea had finished off the other two goblins with simple downward thrusts.

The elf girl panted softly then looked at him. Blood coated her face, her armor, her sword, and the ground around her. Scott could not help but stare at the sanguine vision of beauty and destruction.

Scott blinked. “I don’t know whether to feel emasculated or turned on right now.”

She snorted at him then shook her head. Her shimmering blue hair caught the light in the forest, and seemed to almost glow. “You should feel both.”

Rhea had taken down two goblins to his one, though he had provided major assistance in one of those kills. His first attack had heavily stunned the lead goblin, after all.

No more opponents appeared for a few seconds and the battle music changed back to a normal traveler’s tune. Scott read the screen that popped up, and grinned.

<<< * >>>

Victory!!

Your party has slain three goblins!

+ 45 EXP

+ 105 Fayth

+ 3 Ability Points

Item(s) acquired:

Ragged Leather Vest X 1

Rusty Machete X 1

Soiled Briefs X 1

<<< * >>>

Scott started to say something about how much of an improvement that was over hunting a grass rat, but he was distracted by a sudden and loud fanfare that radiated from his position.

<<< * >>>

You have worked long and hard on mastering your spells!

The
Freeze!
spell has reached level 1!

Force increases by 1.

Mana requirement is reduced by 1.

Range increases by 1.

<<< * >>>

“Oh neat, my spell just gained a level...” said Scott. It had finally happened. He could scarcely believe it, personally.

“That’s great news. Congratulations.” said Rhea. She was happy for him. Training new spells and abilities could take quite a bit of time.

Scott checked his spell then sighed. “Fifty more uses and it will level once more.”

“You should train it while we hunt. We have a tent so that would help a lot.”

“True, from what I hear it will act the same as sleeping at an inn?”

“Sort of, tents and other consumable items that are used for lodgings in the wilderness are enchanted to provide a lot of benefits. Resting for one hour inside the tent’s influence is equal to sleeping for an hour. Better tents and higher grade lodgings provide better effects.”

“Wait, so if I were to simply sit inside the tent I would get the same benefit as sleeping for an hour?”

“Sure. If you actually go to sleep, you’ll receive about twice the recovery that you would normally when sleeping. If we can save the money to buy an infinite use travel house, it would provide up to a ten-to-one recovery rate. You still have to get a real night’s sleep to recover actual stamina or to remove minor status afflictions, though. The enhancement recovery rate is just for health and mana.”

Scott immediately understood another important facet of the world. “That’s it, isn’t it? That’s how adventurers manage to stay in the field so long without spending a fortune on potions.”

“Yep, that’s one way. There are special areas in some zones that will rapidly restore your health and mana. Certain skills and other things can be used for that purpose as well.”

“A permanent travel house sounds expensive, but like it would be worth it.” said Scott.

“They are. They cost more than some permanent mansions in the larger towns.” said Rhea.

“That makes sense, I suppose. A house that you can pack up and take with you would be in high demand.”

They chatted freely for a few minutes then scouted the area in order to find the entrance to the mine. During their patrol of the area, they ran across a few random monsters and another trio of goblins.

Eventually, they found the mine entrance then pulled back to a relatively safe distance and set up their tent. Rhea showed Scott how to use it. He took the crystalline orb from his inventory and at her direction; he shook it like a snow globe then sat it down where they intended to place their camp.

They moved back about twenty paces and watched as the globe began to rock and shake. After a brief few seconds passed the crystalline structure cracked and a wave of energy spread outward from the destroyed device. The energy wave stretched out for about one hundred paces from where it had begun and a curtain of light appeared in a perfect circle around the new camp.

<<<
Sanctuary!
>>>

You have erected a sanctuary field! This location is now deemed safe from aggressive monster encounters. Monsters will not notice your presence or enter the field while you remain inside its influence. Health and mana restoration is increased.

As the Champion of Origin you can designate this location as your point of restoration if you are slain in battle. Do you wish to do so at this time?

[Yes | No]

<<< * >>>

Scott grinned then pressed the yes button. He did not want to respawn all the way back in town that was for certain. It was a lot like saving his game in an old RPG. When you used a tent or set up camp, you would get the option to save in many of those older games. He wondered for a moment if there would be save points and similar things that would occur in dungeons.

The tent that appeared at the center of the sanctuary area was a simple affair. There were no cots provided, but they had bedrolls so there would be no problem when it came to sleeping arrangements. Another thing that he found useful was the little fire pit that came with it. There was no need to start a fire, as it started on its own and burned merrily without giving off smoke.

“Now, that’s neat.” said Scott

“Yeah, it’s a magical flame. You can’t be burned by it or cause a wildfire to start, but you can still cook food and stay warm.” said Rhea

“Hmm, that’s weird and useful at the same time.” A fire hot enough to cook with yet be unable to burn you, was not something that he had expected to see.

Chapter 3: Just a Little More Time

The entrance to the mine was an image born directly from an old movie or game cliché. Three boards were haphazardly nailed across the front, and there were heaped piles of rotting meat and ancient bones scattered nearby. It was both an ominous and invigorating sight.

“You know, since I started adventuring I have become quite bloodthirsty.” said Scott. It was a thought that had surfaced within his mind on a semi-frequent basis. In recent days, he had hunted down and killed many random creatures that had done him no harm for the most part.

Rhea smirked at him then shook her head. “It’s the natural state isn’t it? Most of the time people do things because they think that they have to do them. If you strip away all of those things, in the end you just do what you want. Obviously, you want to dominate random forest creatures and take their stuff.”

He looked at her in a casual, almost lazy, manner then smirked. “Sounds about right.”

Scott pointed to the mine. “Hey, random creatures of the mine; die and become my life experience, OK?”

Rhea giggled at him then drew her sword. “Yeah, die for me too, OK!”

Scott patted her on top of the head in response. “Yes, yes. I’m sure they will.”

She puffed out her cheeks a little then poked him in the side. “Let’s go.”

Scott smirked and walked over to the entrance. He made no attempt at stealth and loudly pulled the boards away from the entrance. He did not want them to get in the way when they needed to get in and out. Honestly, he was surprised that the goblins or whatever had not done so.

They entered the mine and Scott received a system message, as he liked to call them.

<<< You have entered
Red Rock Mine
. >>>

This is the first time that you have entered this location. No qualified adventurer has entered the mine for over ten years.

The monster spawn rate is currently at maximum.

Monsters will be stronger than in the surrounding area due to the mine being a long inhabited monster lair.

All experience and treasure acquired will be doubled for ninety-six hours.

<<< * >>>

“Wow, great.” said Scott. They should definitely go dungeon diving more often. The bonus could potentially do wonders for their levels and provide a lot of interesting loot.

“Yes, absolutely. This will be fun.” said Rhea.

They walked further into the mine and the light-levels dropped considerably. Scott turned to Rhea and asked, “Hey, didn’t you say that you had a way to get around it being so dark in here?”

“Sure, hold on one moment.” said Rhea.

The elven girl opened up her inventory screen and searched through it for a brief moment. “Here we go.”

Rhea took out a marble-sized sphere then held it up for Scott to see. “This is a torch stone. They automatically follow you around after you activate them. They provide decent illumination at this size, bigger ones provide more.”

“Oh, that’s neat. Where do you get them?” said Scott. Instead of physical torches, people used floating stones that provided light.

She blinked. “Cave dwelling humanoid monsters often drop them, and you can buy them in most towns. Didn’t you get any of them when we defeated those goblins earlier?”

“Uh, no. I got mostly crappy armor and weapons.”