A little closer... just a little bit more...

"What are you doing?" - Gust

"Trying to defeat the King Cobra." - Garami

"By entering your binoculars?" - Gust

I stopped observing the battlefield to give the raven a nasty glare.

"Look over there," I said, pointing towards where one could see the giant golem in the distance.

"Hmm? Guh, the snake's already over there!?" - Gust

While it looked like the King Cobra hadn't moved from its spot since the beginning, that had been a fake, some kinda illusion, as the real snake had been moving around ever since the introduction of the giant golem, slowly crossing the distance between the two. Tough luck for that guy that the golem-commander knows when someone tries to sneak up on one by slithering across the ground.

"Is this alright? The golem couldn't take the hydra, so having it face the snake that's a veteran in being a B-rank..." - Gust

"That's where secret plan B comes in." - Garami

We returned to watching the golem's fight with the snake. Anytime now... there!

The King Cobra decided to go for the kill and attacked the golem's head, its jaws wide open. That was a mistake on his part though.

The head of the golem opened up, almost like a door, and the King Cobra, who looked seriously astounded by this event, couldn't stop itself and went straight into the opening of the golem. Then, like a thread being sucked into a vacuum cleaner, did the rest of the King Cobra's body sucked in.

"Wait, the golem ate the snake!?" - Gust

"Not the golem. The doorway installed into the head of it." - Garami

"...And what's so special about that?" - Gust

"Nothing at all." - Garami

"It's nothing at all!?" shouted Gust while collapsing as if he was performing some sketch.

"The trick here is that we used a special item that could open portals through the use of doors. And we also borrowed an item they use to salvage broken ships. Kinda like a huge vacuum cleaner... do you get if I call it that?" - Garami

"Kind of. So, you sucked the snake to a different location?" - Gust

"To make it simple, yes." - Garami

Hats off to Carion who managed to integrate the large door to the shipyard and the suction device. And for being able to control the mini-golem inside the large one to make it turn the Silver Key at the right timing.

"Then, where did you send it off to?" - Gust

"Well, we needed another door, but luckily, the size doesn't matter if we're only interested in using it as a one-way passage. Therefore, we asked one of the Mobile Division's Officer's friends, a thief with a damn fast steed, to take a smaller door to the location we wanted to dump off the King Cobra." - Garami

"And that is?" - Gust

"The volcano on Iron Island." - Garami

Gust looked shocked for a moment, then started to pray. I didn't know he'd joined a religion.

"Hmm? Then you won't get the blueprints for the snake." - Gust

"Who wants them? If I did, I would probably stay up all night from the shivers just possessing that stuff would give me." - Garami

Gust's looking at me with weird eyes, but who cares! That guy's pure fear, at least for me. I'm not gonna rest before the thief-subordinate of the Mobile Officer comes back and report the death, or melting, of the King Cobra-

*CRASH!*

GYAAA!? No way, he survived?! And already arrived?!!

"Garami! That came from Isla de Mina's direction!" - Gust

I-Isla de Mina? Phew, not Iron Isle then...

"Wait, that thing hit the place where the Rear Support Division's working!" - Garami

---

"Commander to all Officers! The Rear Support Division is under attack. Mobile Division, get back here by yesterday or be prepared to become much less mobile before the day ends. The rest of you, mow down the enemy in front of you. It's your duty to make sure that no pests survive this war and can endanger our dear citizens." - Garami

["YES MA'AM!"]

After giving the orders, I rushed over to the Rear Division's working area while dragging Gust with me. The Mobile Division has lots of free time anyway, so having them return won't hurt the state of the battlefield.

"W-wait! Why do I have to come along!?" - Gust

"Shut up. What's the odds for the enemy having access to super-long-range catapults or similar weaponry?" - Garami

"T-this treatment... close to zero. If they did have them at the beginning, then why not use them from the start to crush, I don't know, the Artillery Division?" - Gust

True. They could have even aimed it at me... or maybe not? [Instinct] tells me whenever an attack is coming towards me, so I could probably have dodged the attack from before. But it doesn't tell me about incoming trouble aimed at others. A weakness I didn't predict at all...

We turned around the corner and were greeted by... Revi, being chased by two large, grey-skinned individuals. They have large physics, both in a bad way and a good way. They're like the ultimate fusion of a fatass and a musclebuilder. I didn't need Gust's commentary, nor using Identification, to figure out that these were Trolls.

"Garami! Save meeeeee!" - Revi

Fine~, fine~. 

"Move it, please~." - Garami

Revi gave a "Hiii!!" before rolling into a side-way.

*Bang, bang*

I shot the two Trolls right in their eyes and they collapsed on the spot.

"Wow. What bullets were those?" - Gust

"Dark Spear-types." - Garami

"Ah, piercing-type magic." - Gust

They're damn time-consuming, as they need a whole 10 hours for each one. It was worth it this time around, as Trolls have stupid-high recovery abilities, not to mention they're sturdy to the point that even their eyeballs are as hard as rocks. Getting them by blasting their small brains out of their heads is the best solution when you're in a hurry.

"G-Gwadabiiiii!!" cried Revi while glomping on me-, hey! Get the snot off my clothes!

"That was a close-, hey! Don't strangle, me..., urgh..." - Gust

No, I think that's a hug. One with the power of a descendant of a dragon behind it. 

"Were the Trolls that scary?" - Garami

Big and bad they may be, but they're only D-ranks. Weak ones as well, due to their low intellect despite being demi-monsters. 

"Of course they were! If Garami hadn't arrived right there, I would have become prey for those freaks!" - Revi

Yeah, being eaten by Trolls ain't a nice way to leave this realm... she's not thinking about something from an R18 work here, right?

"Anyway, what happened over there? And release Gust before he kicks the bucket." - Garami

"Hmm? Oh, sorry!" - Revi

"N-no prob......" - Gust

"Ehm, we were making stuff that the wind fairy from the store and her friends could bring back to the warriors, but then all of a sudden, a large goblin fell from the sky!" - Revi

"Goblin?" - Garami

"Yes... or, I think it was? It was much larger, but still half a head shorter than those two over there. And, he was well-built. And kinda handsome? For a goblin, at least." - Revi

"Then, where did those two come from?" - Garami

"You wouldn't believe it! They arrived from magic circles! It's as if they knew Teleport!" - Revi

...Not "as if", nor is it some "Teleport" either...

"Revi, take Gust back to the stage and hide there. If you meet the Mobile Division there, give them a quick briefing over the situation." - Garami

"R-Roger! Ah, but what if we meet more of... those things?" asked Revi while pointing at the corpses of the Trolls.

"Of course, I would feel sorry for yours precious, tragic, and unnecessary, sacrifice." - Garami

"I'm not sensing even an iota of worry from you!!" shouted Revi and Gust, the latter having just woken up again from his nap. Do they want to attract more demi-monsters?

I mentioned this to the two, which made them get up to speed. Quite the magic words. Ah, Revi tripped. Oh? [Rolling] activates even when you trip? Funny.

Then, to finish these...

Oh? Ooooh? Jackpot... but I can't evolve the class right away. No, instead, shouldn't I...

Now, it's time for a Goblin hunt~!

---

Hmm... that's one heck of a goblin alright.

While staying in the shadows of the building, I watched over the sorry state of the Rear Support area. Several strong-looking goblins (that sounded weird to say) and trolls were making a mess outta the place. And that big guy in the middle...

Hey, hey, there's something called "limits" out there, you know?

? Did he look over here? No way~, that's gotta be a coincidence... gyaaah!!

*Chock!*

D-don't throw axes at people like that! And what happened to stealth?

...No way. [Identification Detection], again? That's the second boss I've faced with that thing!

The trolls and goblins came at me like homing-seeking missiles, so I fled into the back-alleys. No way I'm facing that mob in an open area. 

After turning a corner, I quickly climbed up the wall of the back alley and waited for the goblin crew to enter the small alley... then drop as many sticky threads on them as the place could hold. The goblins and trolls turned into a barricade that prevented the other demi-monsters from entering, so I jumped past the sticky wall of uglies and ran deeper into the city.

Nevertheless, even with me having a home-field advantage here, there's just a question of time before they find me again. Just have to run until that damn Detection runs out of juice... goblins!

I drew Carnwennan and used the Accel Slash [Assassination Arts] at them, cutting the Evil Goblin's necks before they could make a sound. Let's run anyway. If they found a way around, then the barricade's doing a smaller job than what I had anticipated. Not that you can expect much from goblins anyway.

"STOOOOOP MEEEEEE!"

...I stopped myself from entering the next street and watched as a ball of green passed by. It splendidly crashed into the crates at the end.

"Didn't I tell you two to escape?" - Garami

"Ouchie... huh? Where is this?" - Revi

"The demi-monster's hunting ground." - Garami

"NOOOOO! I GOT LOOOOOST!" - Revi

You sure did. Don't tell me you've been rolling around ever since I left you like a runaway pinball, Gust... should have arrived safely to the stage. 

"Anyway, since you're already here, give me a hand." - Garami

"No way! Those guys are scary!" - Revi

"Then just fire magic at them from a distance!" - Garami

"Ghost Magic and Death Magic both take too long time chanting! And I can only use the basic spells!" - Revi

Tch, gotta have her learn some more spells after this with the Kigal-Note... hmm?

"Wait, how did you defeat undeads before then?" - Garami

"I fired from the Safe Areas-" - Revi

"Not then, but from before you had access to the magic skills." - Garami

"I don't remember~. Whenever I was chased by the undeads, my memory kind of left me, and before I knew it, I looked at their poor remains." - Revi

...Is that the split personality at work again? The one who tried to snuff out Gust before? How do you turn that thing on again? I want all the help I want-

*Clang!*

I turned around and witnessed a group of goblins being smashed by a large block of metal... and Armveil, the probable culprit for the smashing.

"Is this the time to molest your teammate?" - Armveil

I'm trying to find the On-switch on this girl! 

"And where did you come from?!" - Garami

"What 'and'? We've been hiding ever since that Vile Goblin King arrived. Have to thanks Alf and that Birdkin fellow later for bringing everyone to safety," - Armveil

"That explains the lack of dead allies back there. And you?" - Garami

"Looking for a lost child." - Armveil

Ah, I see...

"Hey, Revi? Mind if you turn into one of those guys from before?" - Garami

If we can assassinate that Commander with a trojan goblin tactic-

"Nowaynowaynowaynowaynowaynoway, NO WAY!!" - Revi

...Or not?

"Who could ever envy such an ugly creature!? And worst of all, [Envy] has the risk of losing one's identity and personality if you try to steal the identity of someone else, so no!" - Revi

"Eh? It's that dangerous?" - Garami

"It is! It's a miracle I even survived acting as the shadow of the princess so many years ago!" - Revi

Seriously? Must be due to the special circumstances, including that "forbidden" Dungeon Core going berserk.

Damn, and here I thought I could end this easily. It seems like the goblins have lost my trail. The boss-goblin's Detection skill must be low-leveled. Did he get it just for today? He's even got those power-ups from the gods... the gods... hmm...

"Oh? You thought up a nasty idea?" - Armveil

Yes, I did~.

---

"Chaotic Zahhak!!" - Garami

The several dragon-heads of darkness assaulted the goblins and trolls again for the nth time just this half-hour. And then... I fled the scene. Trolling trolls is damn fun~!

The goblins tried to chase me, but most of them fell for the birdlime-webs I'd plastered the ground with. A few of them escaped, but I sliced the windpipe of some, threw pieces of glass at the throats of the others, and the sole, lucky survivor got a knee strike with added Mana Burst as a bonus, even if I gotta save MP for the real deal~.

The boss-goblin tries to direct his men with growing impatient while summoning more of them with that [Summon Kin]-like skill. The demi-monster populace of this town's grown even more than what the boss even imagined. Most of them are glued to the ground though.

Trying to get them free without my help just results in more goblins getting stuck, or if they're using fire to burn the web away, well-done goblins. I never imagined that my webs would be this weak to fire. An unexpected weakness that turned into an even more unexpected strength, this time around.

The boss-goblin's stress-o-meter is charging up nicely. Soon-

"ROAAAAARRR!" - Boss-goblin

...It's way sooner than I expected. The boss-goblin flew into a rage when he got the latest report from one of his men. That the pursuing goblins had fallen for a trap yet again. 

The boss-goblin started to run crazy from the anger, leaving the plaza in a raging hurry. Why do I know all this? Because I snuck back after losing the last batch of pursuers. 

Seeing the opportunity, I threw the bombs that Armveil had given me at the demi-monsters and...

*BOOOOOMM!!*

Left the blast radius as fast as possible. The boss-goblin noticed the explosion... and I who was fleeing from the scene of the crime. He forgot everything about summoning more pawns to help him and attacked me with fiery fury. Quite literally, as his broadsword suddenly ignited.

I ran away from the goblin until we reached an intersection that hilled towards the ocean, thanks to the city's unique design of being built on the exterior of the tower. Running into an alley is an idea... if I want the city to burn-whoops! A spear made of dirt appeared from where I was standing just now. That's right, this guy's also a Mountain Shaman, or whatever. No wonders...

This guy's more dextrous than one could guess by looking at his body, so I'll be taking things up a notch. Activating [Dragon Power], [Energy Warfare], and the newly-bought [Mystic Warfare]! 

The holy trio of stat-enhancement skills drastically improved my movements so I could keep up with the boss-goblin's onslaught of dirt spears and swordsmanship. I'm also trying to keep my Evil Eye on him... oh? The stats are decreasing more than expected. Let's keep on using it.

I refrained from using magic myself and only had the Parallel Minds take a shot with Dark Spear when I had the leeway regarding the MP. The usage of [Dragon Power] and [Mystic Warfare]'s already draining so much that my auto-recovery can't keep up, and I'm using the Evil Eye, plus [Aura of Darkness] to weaken the boss-goblin when I parry his blows, or when I retaliate by slashing at his arms.

For once, after a long while, I'm actually in a pinch of losing all my MP in a blitz-fight... time to get some back.

I used [Create Trap] to make a patch of sticky-webbing at the boss-goblin's feet, then I constrained him with the bone-stakes that the Kigal-Note had copied from the Skeleton Dragon inside, plus the new [Dark Chain] skill. It's the same as Iron's [Iron Chain], except that these appear from magic circles and lower the victim's stats as they hold on to them.

When the boss-goblin struggled with the bones and chains, I stabbed him in the chest with an [Assassination Arts] to bypass the guy's damn-hard defense, used the four ailment-Attack skills on the blade through [Poison Coating] as a bonus (the Attack skills don't work with weapons, dammit), and also used [Dark Drain] to siphon some MP... but aren't I using even more for the chains? And SP for the ailment-Attacks...

Let's stop. I kicked the boss-goblin in the face and escaped to a safe distance while giving a slash with my threads-whoa!?

Another dirt spear? I'm glad that the other Parallel Mind's on [Misdirection]-duty. Most of the attacks from the boss-goblin are too much for the Self-Defense skill's passive evasion-enhancement, even if [Probability Correction] gives a hand.

Still... this is exhausting. Both MP and SP are... around 20% left? And that guy's... not halfway done yet even. Even worse, he's recovering with incredible speed...

I threw a Light Magic spell up into the air as a signal flare, and soon later, a reply in the form of the Ghost Magic, Grudge Shot, came from the town higher up. Then, loud noises were heard on the left- and right sides of the intersection, where big walls of metal and ice had blocked both sides. 

The boss-goblin looked confused to both sides, then he heard a loud sound behind him. A big-ass metal sphere came rolling down the slope. It's as if the city had turned into a big pinball game, and the boss-goblin is one of the obstacles. 

After seeing the stupid-large metal sphere, the boss-goblin tried to escape, but the escape paths have already been sealed! It then tried to run past me, but I kicked him to the face while the Parallel Minds made sure to control some sticky webs onto his back, which then made sure that the boss-goblin got properly plastered to the sphere. I escaped into the shadows, quite literally, to dodge the large sphere.

The sphere and the boss-goblin rolled down the slope until they reached the port, then...

*Splash!*

...Have a nice swim~. Damn that Armveil, he does one heck of a job when he needs to~. As one could expect from the General of Metal~. Revi also did a good job transporting that huge thing~. Not to mention she could use a Nature Magic to get that thing moving~. Never thought she could buy a Storage-type skill~...

Alright, the System Message still shows the last part. It's not the heat that's gotten to me. What the hell? No pun intended.

And now it's the Quest Window that's suddenly popping up... "Extra phase"?

I jumped outta the Shadow World and saw Armveil who had arrived at the intersection to observe his work.

"Hey, the corpses of the goblins around town, need them for some undead shenanigans?" - Armveil

"How rude. But yes, save them for me for later. On a different subject, what's this about an 'Extra phase' all about?" - Garami

"Huh? Oh, you got one? They sometimes give special roles for specific individuals in War Quests and the like. They need to do some special actions for the Quest to be cleared." - Armveil

"I see... and if it's placed after the battle?" - Garami

"If it is the Commander, then it's either to perform a speech, or it's to give them a special reward." - Armveil

......Please let it be the latter!!

---

Skill Lists:

Garami:

Revi: