Virgil was already finishing off the remaining enemies of his 8th neutral camp, keeping the 'tax collection' going. Meanwhile, Dante was having another entertaining moment with Bobs. Curious about whether skeletons could feel tired, he ordered Bobs to, well, do consecutive squats without rest. After 1000 squats, accompanied by emotional music in the background and a cheerful Bobs, Dante was certain: skeletons do not get tired.
He then proceeded to explore the relationship between Might and the maximum weight one can bench press. For this purpose, he spent some time buying and setting up a bench press with several weights, and... "Huh?"
Suddenly, his connection with Virgil sent him an alarm: Virgil was missing his leg.
It happened so swiftly that Virgil had no time to react. He was finishing off the camp's chief when something incredibly fast passed by, severing his leg and causing him to lose balance. There was no time to react. If the previous White Goblin was considered fast, then this entity was on a completely different level.
The camp's boss, momentarily stunned by the events, tried to locate the new enemy when suddenly his view of the world upended. As he turned to dust, he didn't even notice his skull being swiftly severed.
Standing before Virgil was a small skeletal goblin, perhaps only slightly larger than Gobity Jr., the previous White Goblin he had defeated. Clad in leather, it wielded two daggers that shone with an eerie light, seemingly distorting the air and light around them. The goblin slowly advanced towards Virgil, who, despite swiftly raising his staff and body with only one leg, was powerless to stop it.
The enemy appeared beside him, relaxed as though unaffected by the encounter. Meanwhile, Virgil's arm, which had been holding the staff, had vanished.
Dante, witnessing this rapid turn of events, was left speechless. He even forgot about the skeleton bench-pressing tournament that had occupied his thoughts for hours. He considered returning Virgil to the castle, but questioned the wisdom of such a move. This enemy was far beyond their league, unlike the Forgotten Monarch they had faced before. Dante had no idea what level Virgil would need to reach to even stand a chance against this foe. He wouldn't be surprised if the enemy's Finesse was twice that of Virgil's. And those weapons — they weren't merely higher-level; they possessed a quality that set them apart.
Dante faced the difficult decision of possibly letting Virgil die here, as painful as it was, in the hope that the enemy would leave them alone. After all, if The Game had pitted them against such an opponent at this stage, there was nothing they could do but run and hide.
And then, when Dante thought that the enemy would just finish Virgil off:
"How did it feel?"
It actually spoke. It wasn't that weird, after all; both the Halberd Knight and the White Goblin had been able to speak. He guessed it was a trait of the stronger enemies in this part of... ‘I can't believe this is still the Tutorial!’
"I presume it was exhilarating, wasn't it? Toying with those of inferior might," the goblin continued its monologue, looking at Virgil like a bored psychopath eyeing its prey.
'What the fuck does this guy mean?' Dante was trying hard to understand the enemy's words. Toying against others of inferior might? Was he referring to the guys in the neutral camps? But he had just seen the goblin kill their leader without batting an eye... I mean, well... whatever the equivalent expression would be for a skeleton.
"Yet, you possess a certain... resilience," the goblin continued in its irritating voice. "To dare challenge a White Goblin, especially as a mere Tier 2. And to emerge victorious? Truly, it's a feat worthy of acclaim."
'Challenge a White Goblin...,' then it clicked for Dante. This guy had some sort of relationship with the White Goblin they had killed before, Gobity Jr. Maybe a family, friend (if skeletons can have that sort of relationship, although he somewhat remembered the words muttered by the Halberd Knight when he was about to fall, something about a dad and a House, it was kind of weird really). In any case, he was getting a clearer picture of the story. This guy came to avenge Gobity Jr.'s death.
"Should I offer my congratulations?"
'Yes, you should, that guy was stubbornly hard to kill,' Dante noticed how the enemy had a dagger at Virgil's neck (was a neck a weak point for a skeleton?) but well, it wouldn't be the first time Virgil was dying. He would take revenge in the future... he hoped so.
"Ha! I do hope that sensation thrilled you..." the goblin sneered, and after a lousy kick, continued, "Because that, my dear adversary, is a mere reflection of the ecstasy I bask in now."
'Yeah, yeah, whatever, just finish it off, and carry on to whatever place you came from,' Dante thought. 'We would take you down after the... 100th neutral camp? Nah, probably more than that.'
He could see Virgil was still stubborn, his pride not letting him die out quickly. But it was also a strategy to put up a last stand to fool the enemy. So, he summoned a skeleton warrior. "Oh, but of course," alas, it didn’t survive for too long. "You had your little tricks, didn't you?"
Dante reckoned that was the shortest-'lived' summon there had ever been.
"Alas, how I wish I could linger, to revel in this delightful game of ours," the goblin murmured. "But I shouldn’t be here in the first place."
'At last!' The self-conceited goblin finally finished his teaser trailer, ready to strike down Virgil. But then, well, things got complicated…
"Try to bask in that feeling of might and oppression, and use it to master your skill: Strength Boost."
Alice had considered directing Thaleia to master the Might attribute but ultimately decided against it. After all, she didn’t fully understand how it worked, and her theory was still speculative. Instead, she focused on guiding the Amazonian to master the skill most closely related to Might itself. Alice, on the other hand, decided to give mastering an attribute a try.
Of course, she would not focus on Might; that would be pointless.
Name: Alice Fontaine
Class: Seer
- Level: 8
- HP: 25
- MP: 300
- Might: 5
- Finesse: 5
- Mystique: 100
- Essence: 100
Thus, the choice lay between Mystique and Essence. She had personally enjoyed the benefits of Mystique thus far, granting her a faster thinking speed. It was an attribute that, in her opinion, allowed for a sort of altered time flow, enabling her to think more in less time—a remarkable trait. Then there was Essence, a slightly more elusive attribute. For now, all she could ascertain was that it increased MP and MP regeneration. But surely, there was more to it?
‘Let's start from the beginning. Why is the attribute called 'Might' and not, for example, 'Strength'? 'Might' refers to something more abstract, something related to strength itself but seeming to extend beyond that—to an imposing will based on physical prowess. The attribute grants more HP, HP regeneration, and physical power in the form of harder, denser bodies with stronger muscles.’
‘Then there's Finesse. The name is intriguing, as it appears to encompass more than agility alone—like expertise, or performing actions smoothly and swiftly. The attribute grants faster reflexes, dexterity, and control over the body. If Might is the pillar of physical power, then Finesse is how that power is employed.’
‘The magical attributes follow a similar structure. Essence is the pillar of magic, providing the MP necessary to cast spells, while Mystique enhances the thought process required to execute them correctly and timely. However, these attributes seem less substantial compared to the physical ones. The benefits they offer appear lesser. Why did Lumière say that Mystique improved casting ability? Was it mentioned indirectly or not? And when he mentioned that Essence protected the soul, what exactly was he referring to? The mind, or the religious concept of a soul as taught in her Christian upbringing?’
‘To sum up, Finesse is to Might as Mystique is to Essence. So, based on the aura of the minotaur, which she associated with mastering the Might attribute, she hypothesized that mastering Essence might confer a similar aura.’
‘So, Might imposes your physical prowess to deter others, causing them to weaken, not just physically but also in magical aspects, as all attributes are reduced. Then, Essence should do something similar. To master it, you might have to somehow project your magical prowess outward, influencing those under its effect and causing them to weaken too, I suppose?’
‘My Essence, projected outward—is it like using my mind to try to magically influence those around me, like applying an intangible pressure?’
Alice was in deep thought, trying different approaches to a problem she was unsure had a solution. For all she knew, she might be going down a pointless road. But something told her she wasn't. As a plain and blind human girl, she had easily influenced others with small and simple remarks here and there. What was stopping her current self, Alice the Seer, from mastering an attribute? If someone else could do it, so could she. But then her train of thoughts was interrupted.
"I did it, Seer. I did it!"
“What do you mean the mail got delayed?” The tension in the air was palpable as the words, spoken calmly and softly, held a certain iciness and authority.
“Sir… we… have not received the weekly report from Gobity…” A tense and afraid skeletal goblin was shaking behind a wooden counter, as if in the presence of death itself — and to some, perhaps he was.
The atmosphere grew tenser, the mere chilling aura emitted by the skeletal goblin in dark leather gear enough to silence the clerk. A heavy silence hung for several more seconds. “Where is the shaman in charge of my brother?” The skeletal goblin's voice was tranquil.
“He… he left a note and… he killed himself, sir,” the clerk managed to mutter with difficulty. If skeletons could sweat, this one would have likely perished from dehydration.
Suddenly, another skeletal goblin rushed into the small wooden room, housing only the skeletal goblin clad in leather and the trembling clerk. This newcomer, donning attire similar to that of the more authoritative goblin, had a skeletal figure suggesting a female identity.
“Gobi, what ha…” The room's aura halted her inquiry mid-sentence.
“The note,” commanded the goblin in dark leather armor, dismissing the newcomer's presence. The shaky clerk mustered all his strength, ducking below the counter to retrieve a small handwritten note. The calligraphy was poor, the shaky hand of the writer betraying their fear. The goblin snatched the note, scanning it briefly — there wasn’t much to it:
“I’M SORRY GOBBITTY JR ISS NO LONGER WITTH US”
Silence enveloped the room. Without warning, the note was torn into small pieces that fluttered to the floor.
“Gobya, wait for me for a bit,” the goblin in dark armor said slowly, leaving the room. “I need some time alone.” And with that, he vanished.
"So, the Halberd Knight was killed while fighting the White Goblin, and then he was avenged by the eccentric staff-wielder."
The room contained only three individuals: a skeleton warrior clad in formidable armor, standing straight with an imposing aura, seemingly functioning as a bodyguard to the female skeleton seated upon a simple, yet quite luxurious, wooden chair. The female skeleton exuded calmness and peace, yet there was a hidden layer of authority in her demeanor that was easy to overlook. The last character present in this spacious chamber, the current speaker, sat on the other side of the long wooden table. This skeleton, clad in robes and writing on a papyrus notebook with a feather pen and ink, also wore a hat—a black, round one that perfectly complemented his outfit, giving him the appearance of an accountant or a similar office worker from medieval Europe back on Earth.
The goblin paused, awaiting the female skeleton's approval before proceeding. After making visual contact and receiving a slight nod, it continued to take notes and read the neatly written letter before him.
"The course of action is to send the Rusty Knight and one of Spine’s acolytes, Cervix, as a gesture of goodwill to the sir who assisted us in defeating the White Goblin, Gobity Jr." The skeleton was slightly shocked by everything he read but quickly recovered, showing a certain degree of professionalism. "These forces should be prepared for a swift attack from Gobi and protect our benefactor if possible."
The goblin stopped writing for a moment, looked again at the female skeleton who slightly nodded once more, and then resumed its reading. "In the event that we cannot protect the target, we should send him a message and wait for his return."
Momentarily stunned again, the goblin shook off his astonishment and continued writing. After a prolonged silence, the sound of writing ceased, and it proceeded to read the instructions in the letter: "1000 skeleton warriors and 500 archers, half from the Rusty Knight’s own forces, and the rest supplied by The House of the Queen’s Knight. As for the hounds, the instructions are to take 300 from Spine, including the borrowing of two golems. Additionally, 1000 experienced workers will be taken to assist in the infrastructure development of our benefactor's fief."
This time, the writer was absolutely stunned; it took more than a couple of seconds for him to regain composure. He was about to speak his thoughts but decided against it just as quickly. And so, he continued writing. Meanwhile, the female skeleton looked at him with what could very well be interpreted as a smile, given the kind of glint in the fire that served as her eyes.
