Good Ol' Goblin Extermination!

After getting the quest approved for his undertaking, the Northborrow Cave where the troublesome goblins were said to be lurking wasn't too far outside of Merdlum; directions were given by a local for him to go west of Merdlum and pass through a dirt path up a hill.

It only took twenty minutes of hiking before he found the entrance to the cave, though shrouded in shadows.

"Creepy," he mumbled.

"Nervous? Ga-ha-ha! Don't worry, we've got your back!" Gunter slapped him on the back.

Lucas winced, "You're going to break my back one of these days…I'm not nervous, just excited."

Though he was excited, it would be a lie to say he wasn't at least somewhat nervous; the ferocity of goblins was imprinted on him from his very first encounter in the world of Fantasia. All that truly meant though was that he wasn't blindly overconfident.

'...Let's do this. This is where the name of 'Lucas Moreland' will begin its legend!' He decided.

As much as Edith was against it, he insisted on leading the way–even though the exchange made Gunter laugh, who kept going on about "let a man be a man", Lucas felt it was the only way he'd cement himself.

The very first step into the dark cave, allowing his sneakers to place onto the moist mix of dirt and gravel that made for an uneven foothold, he was hit by a deathly stench.

"Urgh…What is that?" He covered his nose.

Gunter wasn't laughing anymore, taking on a more serious demeanor the moment they entered the cave, keeping his axe and shield ready, "That, my friend, is undoubtedly the smell of death."

"You're not gagging…? How can you be unaffected by this?" He asked, looking at the other two.

"A most unpleasant smell, indeed. I doubt one ever gets used to it," Edith admitted, "You can only learn to handle it."

A gut-wrenching stench of reality; it was a putrid sweetness that almost coaxed the bile from his stomach, but he moved forward, keeping his [Rare] dagger drawn.

"It seems we were too late; this group of goblins must've already gotten their hands on people," Gunter remarked.

"We don't know that for sure," Edith responded.

"Yeah, well, be realistic," Gunter said.

The air was dark and musty; it felt thick and hair to breathe, especially knowing what sort of deathly occurrences lay in its depths. Lucas moved slowly and cautiously, constantly looking around, even reacting to the subtlest sounds such as water dripping from the ceiling or a pebble being kicked.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Master, ahead of you!" Edith urgently called out, raising her sword.

It happened quickly; he didn't register the presence rapidly racing towards him before his familiar had called it out to him.

In the darkness of the narrow cave, he heard footsteps tapping against the ground now, and ragged breaths of a fiendish creature.

'How can she tell in this darkness?!...I didn't even hear it until it got close!' He thought.

With hardly any gap to react, he raised his ice-forged dagger up just as something caught his eye, moving out of reflex–

CLANG

He surprisingly managed to intercept the swing of a rusty axe, belonging to a green-skinned creature now standing before him. The goblin was drooling, almost foaming at the mouth, standing half his height yet possessing a surprising amount of strength behind its swing as it caused him to stumble back.

'I stopped it…?' He realized.

Another surprise came to both him and the goblin: the axe it wielded began to ice over, becoming encased in ice quickly.

"Gra–?!" The goblin let out.

"The dagger…" He mumbled, "--It works!"

Before he could even attempt to re-engage with his foe, its head was suddenly lobbed from its shoulders before he could raise his dagger again.

Standing there with a triumphant smile across his lips, the booze-loving warrior held his blood-slick axe.

"That's one for me!" Gunter claimed.

[EXP: +5 | 5/10]

A short-lived fanfare was played in his ears with the meager, but meaningful gain of experience, though it hardly felt satisfying.

Edith huffed, "I hesitated. Apologies, Master. I assumed you wanted to handle it yourself."

The youthful man responded finally, "I did! I had that handled, Gunter."

"You snooze, you lose!" Gunter laughed.

It was annoying, but fair; if he wanted to establish himself, it wouldn't mean anything if he was letting his familiars hand it to him on a silver platter.

"Alright then, I'll just kill more than you, how about that?!" Lucas challenged with a smile, pointing at Gunter.

The shaggy-haired, burly man looked pleasantly surprised by the offer, extending his hand to Lucas, "You're on! If I win, we're heading to the tavern tonight–all three of us!"

"Then if I win, we're going to a normal restaurant! I want something quality–no, gourmet!" Lucas yearned for.

Stepping in quietly, Edith added her hand to the mix, asserting herself shyly, "...I'd like in on this as well."

Both of the men looked frightened at the idea, knowing the efficiency at which the holy spellblade was able to dispatch her enemies.

"Err, alright…Yeah, that's not a problem, is it, Gunter?" Lucas nervously glanced over.

Gunter shook his head, sweating, "No, err, of course not!"

"Then if I win, we'll get dinner tonight…at a bakery!" Edith's cheeks flushed when announcing her condition for victory.

A request certainly unfitting for a knightly warrior, though not surprising coming from the girl whose dream was to eat baked goods. Such a condition eased the tension Lucas had been feeling, smiling as the terms were set.

The odds were certainly against him, but he led the way with vigor, unafraid of the shadow-filled cave as now he wished to find those green-skinned fiends with haste.

'I'll get the most kills and eat a fine feast when I get back to town!...It's been so long since I had a good, home-cooked meal!' He thought, almost salivating as the mere concept of it.

A wider chamber was discovered, and with it, he instantly registered the presence of multiple goblins.

"Up ahead," Edith quietly called out.

"Yeah, time to cement my victory–" Gunter began to say with a smile, wielding his axe.

–However, both of the superhuman familiars were taken by complete surprise of their summoner's next action.

Perhaps it wasn't the most rational approach, but if he wanted to win the friendly competition, he needed to take risks–

'Alright! Let's not die doing this–!' He thought.

"Wind Burst!"

In an instant, he propelled forward, unleashing a shock wave from his position, sending himself across the raggedy section of the cave, aiming himself towards one of the pointy-eared goblins.

He already had his sights set, focusing himself and utilizing his uncontrollable velocity, readying his dagger and swinging its frosty edge before the goblin could even properly react:

"Kra–?!"

Just as it twisted its fingers, Lucas soared by, causing the air to whistle from his speed before he dragged the edge of Frostfang across its neck. It was less of an accurate swing and more of positioning his weapon at the right place to hit his target as he swept by.

'Flip!' He thought.

It was a gamble, taken in the last moment before he would've slammed into the rock-solid war at breakneck speeds, but he managed to reset his momentum with a backwards flip.

Roughly eight-percent luck, fifteen-percent planning, and five-percent skill, he pulled it off.

'Fast!' Gunter thought.

'It's the spell he summoned last night–he thought to use it like this? Maybe I misjudged him…Master is a force to be reckoned with,' Edith gladly thought.

In the span of a second, he traversed over twenty meters, landing on his feet and looking back as the goblin had targeted spewed blood from its cut throat, falling over before frost solidified its body in death.

'...I knew these abilities would work the moment I summoned them! It worked–I doubt it'd work that smoothly if I tried it again, but a win is a win!' He thought.

"--That's one!" He called out with a beaming smile.

[EXP: +5 | 10/10]

[Level Up!]

[Level 2]

With a new level achieved, he could feel his own stats amplifying; not only did his magical abilities improve, but his physical prowess did as well.

[ATK: 3 | DEF: 3 | MAG: 7]

Both Gunter and Edith looked completely shocked by the unorthodox method of attack, but soon looked more fired up than ever, rushing into the cave of goblins to get their own numbers added up.

"You're on–!" Gunter charged in.

From multiple tunnels, goblins began funneling in as all three were now present; Gunter immediately rushed in by cleaving through one of the goblins, which were barely knee high to the towering man.

The silver-haired spellblade had no trouble slashing through one with her flame-enchanted sword, moving with elegance as she did.

It was difficult to tell just how many there were, but Lucas only focused on taking out any that happened to come into his path.

'With a proper weapon and decent stats now…Goblins aren't so bad, huh?!' He thought.

Though he wasn't exactly built like an olympic athlete, he wasn't an unhealthy adult male, just average; however, his level two stats made him feel like an olympian as he cut through goblins with his frost-exuding dagger.

It was certainly deserving of its ranking as a [Rare] class weapon; he was able to easily overcome his enemies, slowing them down with quick cuts that froze parts of their bodies. A single point of contact led to a goblin's entire leg becoming frozen solid before shattering upon a fall.

Still, the numbers became overwhelming; he didn't want to rely on his familiars to help him at every moment, especially not amidst their competition.

'Alright…It's time for a tactical summon!' He decided.

He swiftly drew six copper from his pocket, not wasting any time to activate his unique system, "Give me two summons on the Rookie Magic Banner, pronto!"

[Summon x2 Initiated!]