Chapter 12: Combat.

"Hold on." Alex said as everyone got into position. "Hey, kid. Think you can take him?"

"I'll need back up." Nash said calmly. Sure, he was confident in escaping, but he wasn't naïve enough to think that he could kill a Hobgoblin in a 1v1 as a Novice-rank Swordsman.

"Pick and choose." Alex said with a smirk as he pointed at the Dark World party.

"Naetir, Shinrith and Leon." Nash said without much thought. 'I guess training Naetir and making her grateful would help me in the long run. Same with Shinrith. We also need Leon to tank the damn thing. As much as I wish to believe myself to still be powerful, I simply can't beat a Tier-2 as I am. I have to go all out to beat two Tier-1 monsters, not to mention a Tier-2 monster.'

Leon looked a little nervous. Even he, as a Shieldmaster, wouldn't casually tank a Hobgoblin. He was a High-Tier Beginner-rank Shieldmaster. Tier-0 monsters were usually on the level of Novice-rank Classes with some exceptions. Tier-1 monsters were on Beginner-rank level and Tier-2 was for the Intermediate-ranks. Tier-3 monsters were on the level of someone like Alex, an Advanced-rank Class. Though their level of power was on the Advanced-rank, you would need a party of Advanced-rankers or a powerful damage-based Master-rank Class. The reason for this was that Tier-3 monsters always appeared in areas that were advantageous to them. For example, Shadow Walkers would avoid the light as much as possible and stay within darkness to use their innate ability of moving inside shadows.

"M-Master..." Leon looked at Alex awkwardly. Shinrith was very pleased, it looked like Nash had taken a liking to him. He wasn't scared since he wasn't the one tanking the Hobgoblin. In their normal lineup, Natalie and Rob would annoy the Hobgoblin while Leon protected them from direct hits.

"What's wrong? Are you scared?" Nash looked at Leon with genuine surprise.

"O-Of course! I'm fighting a Tier-2 strength-based monster without any reliable DPS!" Leon said with a hint of embarrassment in his voice. He also wished for Nash's confidence, but he had to be realistic.

"Huh?" Nash raised his eyebrow. "That's how it's supposed to be, you moron!"

"W-What?" Leon looked at Nash slightly offended.

"What's the point of a Tank?! Is it not to protect the party while they deal damage to a monster? And what's the point of a party if not to fight higher Tiered monsters?!" Nash sounded like he was scolding Leon in a hushed tone. Even if he was annoyed or angered, he would never make such a rookie mistake of shouting in a dungeon. "Your job is to literally tank a monster of a higher Tier! The least I expect is for you to be able to hold a Hobgoblin solo for at least 3 minutes."

"W-What?!" Leon said in shock.

The Hobgoblin's ear twitched as he turned towards the group.

"Tsk. Shit...Leon, front! Shinrith, Naetir, maintain a distance of 20 meters from the monster! Go to its sides!" Nash gave out orders with authority in his voice.

"G-Got it!" Naetir said. Although she was quite scared, the excitement of fighting with someone with Master-rank knowledge far surpassed her anxiety. Even though Nash was only a Novice-rank Swordsman, she had already accepted him as her superior.

"Roger!" Shinrith quickly dashed to the right of the Hobgoblin, maintaining his distance.

"Leon! MOVE!" Nash yelled causing the hesitating Leon to rush at the monster.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Nash's eyes were bloodshot as he saw Leon commit to a suicide charge. "RETREAT!!"

"Huh?" Leon glanced at Nash then back at the Hobgoblin just to see the shadow of its club over his head.

"DAMN IT!!" Nash yelled in frustration.

Teleport!

Nash suddenly appeared besides Leon and pushed him to the side! The club was now rushing at Nash.

'Shit!' Nash planned to use Teleport to save Leon then use it again to Teleport next to the Hobgoblin's neck and kill it in one go. 'This body isn't used to the motion sickness of Teleport!'

As Shinrith started Casting for Teleport to save Nash, a figure moved through the air as the sound of whistling wind appeared.

Running Gust!

Naetir got wounded as she moved Nash out of the club's path. Her shoulder was broken as she took the hit for him.

"AAAHHHHH!" Naetir yelled in pain. Ranged Classes weren't used to pain like Melees, it was her first broken bone.

"LEON! UP! NOW!" Nash yelled with fury. He quickly sent Mana from his ring into his entire body and threw Naetir to K. "HEAL HER!!"

Teleport!

Body Enhancement!

Nash appeared next to the Hobgoblin's right shoulder, slashing at it with his Mana filled body as well as Body Enhancement Cast at the Beginner-rank. His head was effectively pulsing. He could hear his heart beat as blood rushed throughout his body.

Splurt!

Thud!

The Hobgoblin roared in pain as its weapon-wielding arm dropped to the ground.

"SHINRITH! BLAST IT!" Nash roared as he quickly ran away from the Hobgoblin while clutching his head.

"Yes, sir!" Shinrith said as he took a solid 5 seconds to Cast the Intermediate-rank Spell, Dragon's Rage.

As the Hobgoblin tried to stop its bleeding by gripping its stump, a dragon's figure rushed at it with its mouth open. The fire engulfed the Hobgoblin as Shinrith smirked.

"DOUBLE TAP!!" Nash yelled as he felt his Mana ring's storage fall to 4%. His own body's Mana was at 0% right now. From the first Teleport, he had been operating on the Mana ring's Mana. After two Teleport usages and a Body Enhancement, Nash's vision was actually blurry as he barely stayed conscious. "NAETIR! BACK HIM UP! LEON! STOP IT IN ITS TRACK!!!"

Nash was trying to save this situation. Alex seemed heartless enough to actually let them die here, so it was a life or death situation right now. Nash looked around barely seeing anything. "NAETIR!! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"I-I'm here!" Naetir said as she lightly tapped his shoulder. He really was underestimating how hard it was to function on a battlefield with a splitting headache.

"FUUUUCK!!!" Nash yelled. "K! HEAL ME!"

"You didn't choose K. He's going to relax here." Alex smirked as he gripped K's arm. He was so shocked by Nash's leadership and tactics that he couldn't stop K. from healing Naetir in time.

Nash simply grit his teeth. He grunted as he got up. "Naetir, give me some of your Mana…"

Naetir quickly grabbed his hand and filled his ring with Mana.

'Damn it…I need to get this right.' Nash thought as he saw Shinrith unloading into the still alive Hobgoblin. Due to it losing its weapon and dominant arm, Leon was having an easier time tanking it. Nash then yelled as he grabbed his sword in a reverse grip. "Leon! Match my timing! Get me a free shot!"

Hearing that Leon replied, "You got it!"

Nash quickly drew a circle made of runes. His speed astonished Naetir who was next to him. Nash felt an unbelievable pain as he threw his longsword through the circle. "LEON! NOW!!"

Boost!

Nash used the Intermediate-rank Spell, Boost. His longsword accelerated as it zoomed towards the Hobgoblin.

'It's going to miss its vital areas.' Leon thought as he saw the longsword flying. He grit his teeth as he rushed the Hobgoblin and grabbed its leg.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" Leon roared as he pulled the leg back. All his Mana was pushed into his arms as he caused the Hobgoblin to slip and lower its head which was then obliterated by the longsword, causing a loud boom as blood splattered everywhere.

That loud boom was the last thing Nash heard before he lost consciousness.

Both the Hobgoblin and Nash hit the ground at the same time.

"..."

"..."

"..."

The entire Dark World party looked on with shock. Even Alex was shocked, "The brat actually did it..."

"..." Natalie looked on with shock. It was the first time she ever saw Leon have such a pivotal role in a battle. She usually just kept him around as an extra shield. That's the way Alex taught them. The DPS keep the monster's attention, when they mess up, the Tank covers for them. She had never seen a Tank do something like this.

Of course, this was not due to her faults. She had never seen an actual party functioning at such a high level. She had, at most, seen a Novice-rank party fight some slimes and chuckled at their weird tactics.

Naetir looked at Nash, who she had gotten to lay on her lap, with bewilderment. This young teenager, who's also a Novice-rank Swordsman, had taken control of this battle and had defeated a Hobgoblin with two Mages, a Shieldmaster and himself. She felt a huge amount of respect towards him, yet now that he was unconscious and without his usual stern expression, he looked like a small kitten. His peaceful face was relaxed. She slowly put his head down on her bag and got up to the corpse of the Hobgoblin.

She wrote a single rune with her finger consuming a miniscule amount of Mana.

Suddenly, the giant 2 meter corpse of the Hobgoblin turned into light and formed into a single scroll. Naetir took the scroll.

"W-What did we get?" Leon ran to her with excitement. The only ones who fought were Shinrith, Nash, Naetir and himself. This scroll wouldn't have to be split among seven people like usual.

"It's a Tier-2 Earth-type Scroll." Naetir said coldly as she glared at Leon.

"W-What?" Leon asked.

"You almost got Nash killed!" Naetir shouted.

"What do you mean?! He distracted me!" Leon defended himself.

As the two were bickering, K. silently walked to Nash and healed him until he was awake.

"W-What happened?" Nash said weakly.

"You're up!" Shinrith immediately walked up to Nash. "Do you have any pointers?"

"Y-Yeah...hold on. Gather everyone." Nash said as he looked to the corner. He saw the armless Goblin cowering in fear. "Kill it and give me the Mana core."

Shinrith did as he was told and gave Nash the Tier-1 Mana core that was extracted from the heart of the Goblin.

"K. Heal me up please." Nash said as he gave K. the Mana core. K. obliged. This Tier-1 Mana core was quite the catch. It would sustain him for a day or two. He could part with the amount of Mana needed to heal Nash back to peak physical health.

After using the Novice-rank Spell, Heal, Nash got up and looked at the Dark World party. He eyed every one of them. The two siblings, Robert and Rebecca, looked to the ground with uncomfortable expressions. Natalie looked at him with a cautious face. Alex had a smug look on his face. Shinrith and Naetir had looks of awe and respect. They, alone, truly understood the greatness of his knowledge. Leon glared slightly.

Nash looked Alex. "Would you care to evaluate us?"

"Of course, I'm the master!" Alex chuckled. "Leon, you did great. You kept the Hobgoblin at bay and managed to recover from your slipup at the beginning. Shinrith, you did an alright job, but you should focused on supporting Leon more. Naetir, excellent job with that save. Nash, you did pretty good for your first fight against a Tier-2 monster, though your movements were erratic and confusing to your teammates, focus more on communications."

The Dark World party memorized his words. He was their master and an Advanced-rank Swordsman, his words carried a heavy amount of knowledge.

"Now I know why they're so dysfunctional, their master's a dumbass." Nash said with a sigh. "I want all of you to forget whatever this idiot has taught you."

"What?" Alex said with a hint of rage in his voice.

"What do you think you're teaching them?! You want them to die while in a dungeon?!" Nash glared at the Dark Human.

"Oh? Please then, explain." Alex said coldly.

"First, Leon. Your job as a Tank is to keep the monster irritated by Aura or Mana manipulation. You shouldn't be blocking its attacks, you should be dodging them! Your armor and your shield are too heavy to move around in! Your job isn't to jump in front of the attack against DPS! Your job is to make sure they don't get attacked in the first place!!" Nash started his harsh scolding. "Next, Shinrith! Why the hell are you using Fire magic against a large enemy? Everyone knows that the larger an enemy is the slower they cook and the less effective Fire magic is against them! Against fleshy enemies that have no magic resistance, use constrictive Earth magic for support of DPS, or for our case where we didn't have enough DPS, use offensive Earth or Wind magic!"

"But my highest affinity is with Fire!" Shinrith protested.

"Mages are useful for their flexibility. A Mage that can only use one element effectively is as useless as a Healer in a fight." Nash said coldly. It was alright to hone a specific element to a certain degree, but jeopardizing the basics of other elements to be good at one was pure stupidity.

"I-I...I understand." Shinrith sighed as he looked down.

"Naetir." Nash called to her with calmer tone.

"Yes?" Naetir noticed his tone and smiled.

"I have somethings to point out, so listen carefully." Nash said calmly. "First, I need to praise your quick thinking and reaction speed. You saved my life. Thank you."

"N-No problem." Naetir blushed slightly as she scratched the back of her head and smiled like an idiot.

"But I must also point out your mistakes." Nash said with a slightly harsher tone, but not nearly as harsh as with the other two. "Your first mistake was your pathing. You rushed to me from the Hobgoblin's right side. You got yourself in the way of its attack. You could've chosen to attack the back of its knee to make it lose balance or miss, or you could've came from the left and pulled me out of the way with both of us being out of the club's way. Next was your pain tolerance, it's okay for you to be in pain in battle, but having no tolerance to the point where you are useless unless healed is unacceptable. Even though I could barely see, I tried to stay in the battle. This isn't a game where you go hunting and get fame and glory. It's a fight to the death. You mess up once, that's enough for you to die."

Nash then looked at everyone. "All of you, keep that in mind. Casual mistakes like not taking the most efficient path or attacking a little early can lead to your death. Huge mistakes like losing your footing or not noticing an attack can wipe your party trying to save you."

Leon bit his lip. Nash looked around once more. The entire party was shocked, even Alex. He had truly shown his spirit as the Anti-Dark Legion's commander. Nash then sighed, "Alright, what are my mistakes?"

Nobody said a thing. Nash was not only knowledgeable in the Mage Class, he was also insanely knowledgeable in combat.

Nash simply sighed. "Come on, anything. You guys really had nothing that angered you in the fight? Something I did that really had you thinking 'what is this guy doing'?"

"Y-You..." Leon simply said this word then closed his mouth.

"Come on! I'm not omniscient and I can't see from every angle. If you say something and it's not a mistake, I'll tell you so and explain why I do it. If it is a mistake, then I'll rectify it and it will hopefully never happen again." Nash said with frustration.

"W-Why did you slash at its shoulder and not its neck? You could've probably killed it." Leon asked.

"I wasn't confident in my strength to cut through its neck. If my sword got stuck, it would've been a true nightmare." Nash started his explanation. "Plus, all living beings take time to die. If I got halfway through, it would die but it would also go crazy with both me and you next to it."

"I see..." Leon said with a whisper.

"I disagree." everyone turned to Natalie. "Please, excuse me, but I have a comment."

"By all means." Nash said as he motioned for her to continue.

"You sliced through its arm like it was a slime. You could've cut through its neck no problem." Natalie said.

"As I said, I wasn't confident." Nash said lightly.

"That's the problem." Natalie sighed. "You're underestimating the Swordsman Class, or at least yourself. You need to familiarize yourself with your current strength and your maximum output."

"I see..." Nash muttered as he covered his mouth and started to think. He then looked at Natalie and nodded. "Thanks for the advice. I'll try to work on it."

"You're welcome." Natalie smiled as she looked at the rest of her party with a smirk.

"Why didn't you tell your team about the Teleport scrolls you had?" Alex asked.

Nash looked at Alex with judging eyes. This man was supposed to teach them. It would've been better if he had not taught them at all!

"It looks like I'll be fighting with you guys a lot from now on, so I might as well just tell you." Nash sighed. "I might be a Swordsman, but I can use Spells. It causes me unbelievable headaches, but I can use them. I kept practicing Teleport until I perfectly Cast it. Since I don't have nearly as much Mana as a Mage Class. I use a ring item. It's a Tier-2 Mana storage ring. I use my body's Mana for physical combat, and I use the ring for Casting Spells. Though as you saw, two Teleports, a Body Enhancement and a single Boost knocks me the hell out. That's also not taking Mana into consideration. As a rule, I won't use Spells unless absolutely necessary."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Everyone simply stared in shock. Naetir was the only one who knew. Afterall, she saw him Casting and Chanting the runes for Boost.

"Anyway, let's rest up for now. I have zero Mana right now and my entire body is functional, but sore." Nash said with a helpless smile.