11. Failed

The monster surprised all three of them.

They had never seen anything like it.

Most importantly, they never imagined someone could stand up to those stone giants.

They only sighed in relief when the Lunar devil stopped moving.

"We should assist him, Brother." The girl was the first to regain awareness.

The other two quickly realised that the dead monster's body had buried Sleagh beneath it. The girl struggled to remove the dead beast using the guardian while Biggie ran down the stairs. The boy followed him.

Every defender had to accept the quest in order to open the door for the first time. Later, the door would open if most of the defenders touched the stele.

So the twin sister stood on the roof, assisting Sleagh in removing the monster's body. After a long struggle, she finally succeeded.

She was still struggling to come to terms with this new reality. If the status, skill, undead, and kobold weren't enough, there was now a raven-headed monster with blue blood.

They were born into a wealthy family. Their parents had decided to home-school them after an incident. Playing games was their favourite pass time.

The concept of transmigration and an apocalyptic world intrigued her. However, she was confident it couldn't happen in real life. Yet…

[Title: N/A

Temporary title: #00020359/*****

Level: 0 (0/10)

Traits: Shyster.

Alignment: Kynigos Mercenary (Neutral)

Strength: 13

Constitution: 10

Dexterity: 23

Intelligence: 37

Wisdom: 17

Willpower: 22

Knowledge: N/A

Skill: <Mana weaver> <Eye of Deception>

Quest: 1. Defender.]

[Author: If you're wondering why it wasn't the number shown before, the answer is her trait.]

She knew from prior experience that this status was better suited to being a mage than a tank, as she had previously played.

However, it was her reality. She didn't know if her game-like concept would apply to this world.

Inherently cautious, she had no intention of becoming a mercenary, let alone believing someone she had only met for the first time.

Naturally, she had accepted the free random skills. She was rewarded with a 'C+' skill <Mana Weaver> and a trait called <Shyster>.

The weapon seed imprinted a tattoo along her spine, but she had no idea what it was.

<Mana Weaver> {Active Skill} (C+)

Type: Control skill.

Area: 30 meters.

Detail: The host can control anyone weaker than the host.

It sounded fascinating.

However, she quickly realized there were two issues. There was almost no one weaker than her. More importantly, she had no idea how to use mana.

The good thing was that while using the energy stone to control the sword guardian, she was starting to realize how to wield mana.

[<Shyster> {Trait} (B)

Type: Probability.

Effect: (+) Deception.

(+) Trickery.

Reward:(+) Skill <Eye of Dception>

(+) 25% chance of winning an indirect confrontation.

(+) Intelligence +10

(-) Willpower -5]

She felt her character did not match the trait. Alas! She couldn't do anything about it. But she was gradually enhancing it.

She wasn't sure if it was because of this trait. But she felt they could easily persuade Biggie to accept their decision if they used it.

She had felt no ill intention towards the only remaining striker of their tower. So, she felt her trait influenced her decision. That was also why she prioritised her safety above anything else.

Yet, she didn't realise this conflicting feeling was also influenced by <Willpower -5>.

However, as soon as she noticed the presence of the new adversaries, she ordered her brother to close the door.

At least this time, her plan coincided with their striker. The striker with the spear, dubbed 'Sleagh,' also yelled at them to shut the door.

The enemies soon appeared in her vision. It was goblins. Like the previous two waves, there were ten of them.

'That means those crow-headed monsters weren't part of the tutorial Draconian was referring to.' As she sorted her thoughts, she mumbled.

After all, crow-headed monsters weren't common in popular culture.

"Yes. The bird monster had blue blood, while the kobolds were born with red." She nodded, adding, "So that means these waves are the tutorial the Draconian was talking about."

'Those monsters must be something those mercenaries couldn't control,' she thought, looking at the body of the crow-headed monster. "They are the real danger."

Sleagh collapsed to his knees as she assessed the danger levels of the monsters. It wasn't until then that she noticed some of the green goblins had blowpipes.

The sword guardian moved between the goblins and Sleagh, cutting off the chance of attack. However, it is too late. Sleagh was clutching his chest, trying to catch a breath.

Looking at the club guardian, she yelled at the top of her lungs, "Biggie, please close the door and come here. We have to save him."

Soon she could hear the door closing, but it was already too late. Sleagh kneeled there, holding the blue crystal spear with his bloody palm.

However, with a deep beak wound and poison blow dart on his shoulder, the dagger-holding hand was hanging almost lifelessly beside him.

*Creeeee*

In contrast, the goblins were far more active.

Raising their rusted weapons, they charged at Sleagh.

"Wake up, Sleagh," Biggie yelled from the tower's top. They weren't sure if the cry had any effect, but it did awaken Sleagh.

He was having difficulty breathing, and his vision was blurry. He tried shaking his head to clear things up, but it didn't work. Nonetheless, he uses the spear to propel himself upward.

He could see the goblins charging at him despite his blurry vision. He knew he didn't have enough strength to use the spear, so he threw it at the goblin.

The spear pierced one of the goblins while impaling another into the tree.

The outcome surprised him. The first goblin exploded, scattering blood, flesh, and shit everywhere.

He wasn't sure if it was due to the Azure swirling stream surrounding the blue crystal spearhead or because he had used all his strength.

A couple of notifications confirmed that both the goblins were no longer alive. However, Sleagh soon realised that a couple of blowpipes were aimed at him.

He was aware that his left hand and shoulder were nearly useless. The beak wound was deep, and the poisonous sensation was spreading across his left shoulder.

*Flup* Flup*

The sound of the blowpipe and the <Resonance> helped him predict its trajectory. He leapt to avoid them.

Or, at the very least, he tried. His body was becoming heavier as the poison spread throughout it. The lack of oxygen didn't help either. His body was no longer responding to him.

He was aware that three darts were aimed at him. But all he could do was wait for them to hit him.

*Tang*

But it didn't happen. The darts struck the stone sword and landed on the ground. Sleagh returned his gaze to the tower's roof. However, he could no longer see clearly.

This time, he failed to detect darts aimed at him. However, a pair of guardians shielded him from all attacks.

Sleagh just stood there. His only good hand was tightly clutching the bone dagger. He planned to fight. Yet, he stood there watching as the guardian looked after the goblins.

A goblin broke through the barricade and attacked Sleagh. Sleagh shifted his weight and stabbed its skull with his 'stone' grade dagger.

He was rejoicing when he realised something was wrong with his body. Looking down, he discovered that the goblin's rusty blade had left a gashing wound on his stomach.

In less than two minutes, the guardians had slaughtered the goblins. Sleagh heard the tower door open again and...

The sky and the ground swapped places, and his head collided with something hard.

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