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***
- Wait, Aquina, what's the chant for then? - I caught up with her and equalled her in walking.
The girl patted herself on the head in embarrassment at my question, and then shyly gave out afterwards:
- Chanting works as a guide, not everyone can visualise the Runes in their head, that's why you need chanting and imagination! It makes spells work a bit more powerfully than without chanting, and it also makes the Runes sort of... well, absorbed into the words. In the future, a spell can have thirty or more Runes. To imagine them all, you have to try very hard! But this way, you can chant the chant, imagine the spell, and the Runes will do their own thing! - she said, giving me food for thought.
It's not magic, it's sorcery! It would have been easier if I'd just stretched out my arm, mumbled a spell under my breath, and launched a huge fireball at my enemies! No, you have to discover Runes.
- So the more Runes, the longer the chant?
- Yeah, I'm at 12 Runes, and that's my most powerful magic, which makes me faint. Now imagine if there were thirty or more Runes in a spell! If you don't have enough mana, you could die of exhaustion! - She looked at me with a saddened expression, as if to warn me.
Well, I'm not afraid of death. The ceiling, however, has upset me. My first Runes burns 20 mana, so how much mana does Aquina have? Apparently, she's already lived long enough to unlock the other Runes. The stronger the Runes, the more mana it will consume - if you look at it logically. My reserve will last for twenty uses, and after that I'll be exhausted, but I'll still be able to move! If I had a magic staff, I might be able to use magic more effectively, but where would I find this staff?
- What about magic guides? - I asked the next question.
- Hehehe, did you forget that I'm not a mage? So, I don't know much, but a magic guide can contain mana depending on the material, well... and thanks to it you can shorten the chanting or use a little more Runes! - She explained, and I felt a chill run down my spine and danger. Before I could do anything, a dozen goblins jumped out of the nearest bushes. Bare-footed, wearing only bandages to conceal their junk and clutching unarmed weapons, they came at us with fierce yells, quickly closing the distance between us.
'Holy shit!' - The first and fastest got an arrow in the eye and lay on the ground. Glancing at Aquina, I saw her take aim at another goblin and release a second arrow. But the distance was too short, and they were almost upon us. I reached for my sword and swung a chopping blow at the nearest goblin, halving it into two pieces.
- Kill the strong warrior! - shouted one of the goblins, and the whole crowd immediately aimed at me.
*The arrow fired pierced the chest of the screaming goblin, causing him to collapse into a dead carcass. But even the death of their 'possible' leader didn't scare the goblins, and they were already swinging their daggers and clubs at me.
The goblins tried to kill me with a furious fervour. They tried to kill me with daggers and clubs, but I had recently learned swordsmanship for a reason, and I was able to dodge their attacks while glancing at Aquinas as she moved a few metres away and fired her sixth arrow, all of them hitting the goblins' skulls or chests.
At this rate, she'll take all the experience for herself, leaving me with nothing! Dodging another goblin's blow, I kicked it in the stomach and sliced through the second goblin coming towards me. Having finished the lying one, I rushed to the next one and stabbed another goblin running out of the bush. And I had already marked the fourth enemy for myself, as he cried out, falling to the ground with a broken neck. He was still alive, so I ran up to him and finished him off, earning my cherished 50 experience points.
The fight was short-lived, the dozen goblins were over very quickly.
- That's it,' Aquinas came up to me, wrinkling her nose and looking around at the clearing littered with bodies. Some of the bodies were still showing signs of life, but Aquinas didn't even look at them. I went over to the bodies that were still fluttering in pools of their blood and finished them off with my own daggers.
- There's probably a nest nearby, shall we clean it up? - I said, finishing off the three survivors. Aquinas looked at the corpses thoughtfully, then looked at me.
- Good, but we'll be delayed again for one night.
- That's okay, we'll have to fight and have each other's backs in the future. Better to gain experience now than later, don't you think? And judging by their gaunt bodies, they were suicide bombers.
To which I received an affirmative nod. Then we moved into the forest, following the goblins' trail. As it turned out, I wasn't the only one who was a tracker. Aquinas was much better at it than I was, and after twenty minutes, we came across a cave and two goblin guards hiding behind some cobblestones.
There goes my first dungeon with experience! If you look at it that way, there may indeed be treasure in the cave, but the value and usefulness of what was found would probably be debatable. Not to mention the possible females in the cave, because there is a village nearby, so there will be a lot of experience in the cave. I don't want to end up dead from all that meat. Last fight went quite well - goblins couldn't hurt me, but if they come at me in a crowd, I'll die quickly.
And the cave... could be big, and if I can see in the dark, Aquina can't, and the single torch I've brought with me limits our time.
- Aquinas, do you happen to have a fire training spell?
- Do you want to smoke them out?
- No, but it's a good idea. But I don't know if I have the mana for that. Although, if we gather enough material, I think we can do it.
- All right, remember: fire candle light: fireball! - She cast a spell, and then a small fireball collided with the ground, leaving behind a dark stain....
Handy, I shouldn't have brought a flame thrower with me, but come on.
In the end I got a new Runes, which with its cast consumed 30 Runes, as well as an indignant and envious groan from the girl. Aquina was just amazed at how easy Runes were for me!
The spell, on the other hand, wasn't as impressive. The ball was the size of a child's fist, and it didn't do much damage, leaving a small black mark. It worked well as a lighter and torch though, which was my goal.
Then we thought about a plan to clean out the goblin cave.
- There's a village nearby, and we don't know how long they've been here. There could be more than four dozen of them in the cave, plus a possible shaman, or even a hobgoblin. If we enter the cave recklessly, there's a big risk. If there were more of us, it would be all right, but I don't want to go into the dragon's mouth,' Aquinas said, peering fearfully into the dark recess of the cave. I understand her. She's a mage archer, and not a warrior to go up against such a crowd alone.
I'm the one who's a little crazy, who can go out alone like a fool without fearing for my life, and I have enough reasons to do so as well.
- You're not going into the cave! - I said in a commanding tone after a short thought, noticing that the girl wanted to say everything she thought about my plan, I continued, - I have a plan, and you will be a link in it!
Except the girl didn't want to hear my words and tried to convince me of the insanity of my plan.
- You...you're a fool! Why... why... why do you want to go alone? It's suicide! Even you can't clear the cave alone! - Aquina hissed angrily with her eyes glistening with tears, clearly not going to back down from her words. In the end, I had to hold her against me and calm her down, gently stroking her head while telling her all sorts of silly things.
After a few minutes of cuddling, I continued, but I tried to make my words more confident.
- It's not the first time I've done this, I have a lot of experience, don't be afraid,' I lied without blinking an eye, patting her confidently on the shoulder, 'do you think I would have launched a suicidal attack?
Aquinas nodded in agreement, 'Suicidal idea. Though, in fact, yes, but she shouldn't know that. I'm basically immortal, so don't make those eyes!
- Aqui, look, I've done this many times before, and I know what I'm doing. I have a plan, so don't pout, okay? We're a future team and we have to trust each other for a common goal! So trust me, and I won't let you down! - I blurted out, putting my arm around her shoulders.
- O-promise? If... if you deceive me...' Aquinas asked timidly and frowning at the same time.
I nodded in agreement.
In the end, I managed to convince Aquina of my adequacy, only the girl did not stop worrying and threatened me with many punishments.
- Just try to die, and I will get you from the other side of the world! - Aquinas squinted at me, looking at me demandingly with pouty lips.
She looks really cute right now, and I'd like to lay her down right here and taste her tiny red lips. But no, I can't do that now, though I'm not forbidden to touch her, am I?
- All right, my sweet princess! - slowly, savouring the sensations, my hands accidentally stroked her firm ass.
- W-what! What did you call me? - She hesitantly uttered without breaking free or paying attention to my hands.
- Why, are you really a she? - I said slyly, looking at her face flaming with embarrassment. I squeezed her bottom, which made her squeak in embarrassment and didn't dare to look at me.
- Of course not! How could you think that? - Aquina finally overcame her embarrassment by pressing her hands on my breasts.
- I believe it, but to me you are exactly that, a princess! I've never seen such a skilled archer in my life!
- D-dumbass, what are you talking about? And stop groping me! - Aqui was fake outraged, not trying to get away.
- Got it, got it, got it, - I smiled, breaking the hug and watching the slightly sad expression on Aquina's face, - in general, the plan is as follows....
1. I gather dry branches, logs and anything else that might be useful for a big fire, meanwhile, when there's enough material, Aquina will take down the guards.
2. Then I stack the materials in the cave, and give Aquina a wave to be on the lookout. Then, after dampening a rag with water magic, I go scouting, essentially gaining experience on the goblins. I will have thirty minutes to scout, and then Aquina will use magic to create a fire and light the campfire.
3. Well, I, during these thirty minutes, should kill as many goblins as possible, and, if possible, find something useful. If I'm lucky, maybe I'll find the village female. Then I'll bring her back to the village and raise my reputation.
That's my plan, simple and effective, without too much fuss.