Lv. 9 - Balle Village

» Balle Village «

Located quite far to the south of Ashround Town, Balle Village is a not-so-large settlement and is only inhabited by approximately 800 residents.

With the majority of the population as farmers and craftsmen, this village is a place of peace. Until one time...

The news of the appearance of the goblin's nest was initially known by the residents of this village. And that's why they reported it to the center of Ashround Town, for the sake of reinforcements.

Luckily this village had a wall that was supposed to be enough to hold off the goblins. So for some time, they can still survive.

The lack of skilled warriors in this village is a drawback because once the goblin army manages to break through, it can be considered the end for this village.

SMASH!

"Everyone-- save yourselves!"

Cries from the village wall's watchtower called out in all directions. An unexpected event in the form of the appearance of a burly goblin figure, two meters tall and armed with a two-handed ax, managed to destroy the village gate.

Screams of pain and cries of despair are the two main things currently filling the village situation. The goblins did not hesitate to torture the men, as well as toy with the women.

Hiding was the only thing the remaining residents could do at the moment, some did decide to flee the village, but the goblin archer's poisoned arrows would always welcome them.

Using the only underground room there was, about fifty people were holding out, and most of them were children. Even if there isn't much food in the room, at least they'll be able to last for a few days.

"I'm going out," said one of the young men who got up.

But he was stopped by an old man. "And gettng killed by them?"

The young man gritted his teeth and replied, "Then what? We're just going to sit around until we die from running out of supplies? You know, it's been about five days now, and the other little ones have already reached their limit. Our food is almost gone too. Do you still hope for help from the town soldiers?"

Hearing all the truth being spoken, the old man could not retaliate. He could only give a nod, and try to stop the young man once more. He also occasionally looked around the room and lamented the other residents who were at their worst.

"Believe me, help will come, be patient," he said with a pitiful face.

"How long should we be patient–"

BOOM!!

"Huh?!"

….

» Ashround Town, Clover Kingdom «

Finally, the day for the extermination of the goblin nest had arrived. Zen of course has had a full preparation, in terms of levels and also supplies for several other items.

Accompanied by the atmosphere of the game that was approaching night, Zen saw that the players had started to gather at the town hall, and so had he.

He could see Gord Ramyes, the captain of the Ashround Town army, standing right at the center of the crowd. He started to explain the situation so far.

"Everyone pay attention! Over the years, goblins have been an unstoppable threat to us, they are cruel, they are vile, they are truly the embodiment of destruction. That's why we must eliminate them! You are all a strong and formidable army, so show pride in your strength, by destroying them!"

"Ooohh!!" And screams in unison began to fill the area.

Captain Gord, went on to share all the information he had, as well as trying to raise the morale of the soldiers. As for the players, they seemed quite enjoying the plot and also seemed excited.

When Captain Gordon's speech finished, a quest notification window appeared in front of each player.

» Event Quest: Goblin Extermination «

Destroy the goblin nest south of Ashround Town.

» Goblins Killed: 000/??? 

- Difficulty: D+

- Deadline: ~

- Requirements: Level 5++

- Rewards: Zist, Exp, and Reputation.

- Fail Result: Rep -50, Exp -5%, High chance of Ashround Town being invaded by goblins.

…..

The entire army was on its way to the south of Ashround Town. And with the current movement speed they had, it was estimated that in five to six hours, they could reach the goblin's lair much faster. However, it would be a different story if there was a monster that suddenly appeared in the way.

"Are you Zen? My name is Chiba, and thank you for joining our team. Not many Rogue players are participating in this event, so forming a scout team is a bit difficult," said a man who suddenly appeared next to Zen.

"It doesn't matter, after all, I'm already aiming for this team."

"Is that so... that's good."

Zen was quite surprised by this player named Chiba. At first, he thought that this Rogue player who looked all black and armed with a sword would have a cold nature. But in fact, he was a gentle person and sounded very calm and mature when he spoke.

"Hey hey, what's this? Don't leave me alone. Introducing myself too, I'm Gill. The greatest Ranger player and one you'll admire later."

Gill, the player who appeared suddenly and embraced Zen and Chiba from behind, was also a member of the reconnaissance squad.

"Gill, watch your attitude," Chiba said with a firm tone.

"Haha~ fine~ nice to meet you Zen." Of course, Gill would only think of Chiba's words as passing wind and left the two of them alone.

"Huh, don't think too much about his words, he's the only Ranger in our squad. His attitude is a little cocky, but there's no doubting his abilities."

"It doesn't matter, as long as he's not a burden," Zen replied with an even expression, from the start he didn't think about it too much, because he was only focused on this event.

"Then Zen, don't forget to say hello to the rest of the squad."

Zen hesitated for a moment and wondered if that was necessary. But seeing Chiba's sincere expression, he couldn't resist and walked over to the rest of the squad.

"Huh, alright...."

In total, the number of players participating in this event was around 50 with an average of 5-9 levels. While the city's soldiers there are about 100 more who participated.

With that much, Captain Gord finally decided to break it up into several teams. As is well known, Zen was in the scout team, which consisted of five Rogue players, one Ranger player, and himself.

"Healer! Whoever it is, hurry to the front!"

A shout from the front row broke the silence. Regardless of what happened, players or soldiers who thought they had healing abilities immediately rushed to the source of the sound.

Zen of course was a little curious, he also came closer, but tried his best not to disturb the situation. From a distance, he could see that an unconscious man was found.

Strangely enough, indeed, his body was full of wounds and there were several arrows stuck in his back. The healers tried their best to treat it. 

But sadly, given the person's situation, even the chance to survive a few hours without treatment was out of the question. And from his condition, he had been seen in the forest for days. It made the healer who treated him suddenly say, "He can't be helped anymore."

Captain Gord, who witnessed this, was lost in thought for a moment and didn't say anything. And Zen, he remembered the words of Troy, the blacksmith from the city, that in the southern area there was a village.

[Ghost Step]

Zen instantly activated his skill, and the aura he gave off naturally attracted the attention of those around him. Chiba also looked surprised, he wanted to restrain Zen, but it was too late because Zen had shot off first.

"Zen, wait!"

Seeing this, Captain Gord had no doubts about what he was thinking. Instantly he looked at Chiba and shouted at him, "Scout team! Quickly follow him!"

Not long after, the entire scout team gathered behind Chiba. "Let's go!" And with one further instruction from Chiba, they all moved.

….

» Balle Village « 

"Zen!"

Chiba shouted as best he could to Zen to tell him to stop, but Zen kept on accelerating his pace. Even Chiba and the rest of the members were having a hard time keeping up with Zen even though they had also used speed-boosting skills. Not to mention their stamina is also running low.

"Zen! Wait for us-"

Seeing Zen who finally stopped, they stopped too. However, before they had a chance to speak to Zen, their attention was instantly fixed on the scene in front of them.

"This is messed up!" said Gill with an expression of disbelief.

"Chiba," Zen said quietly as he looked at Chiba. "We're late," he continued.

"I know. But Zen, just walking away without saying anything is not good."

"Sorry, I was wrong. I just couldn't calm down when I saw that NPC when it was lifeless, considering that someone once told me the whereabouts of this village."

"Sigh, alright. First of all, I'd like one of you to send information to the main force."

Hearing Chiba's explanation, one of the Rogues instantly opened the player-to-player communication feature.

"Tell the state of the village and ask them to speed up their movement. Then, ask Captain Gord's permission to check for any possible survivors."

"Finished."

"Good, we just have to wait."

Waiting for a reply from the main army, they didn't just sit back and wait. They had made several plans to infiltrate the village.

After a few minutes.

"Chiba, the answer from the main force has arrived. Captain Gord was permitted to check, and he also gave additional. Make a sabotage."

"Alright, everyone ready."

"Yes sir!" answer all at the same time.

Their infiltration plan began. It started with Gill shooting dead one of the watchdog goblins.

Then the player with the invisible skill arranged the corpse of the previously dead goblin in a standing position so that the other goblins thought it was still alive.

Then, one by one, they jumped over the wall according to the directions of the players who had been watching above.

So far their plan was going smoothly, in fact, they easily passed from one house to another without being caught by a single goblin.

"E-everyone, look over there!"

With a low voice that trembled slightly, one of the Rogue players called out to everyone with a finger pointing in a direction.

Right in the middle of the village, they could see a pile of dead people being devoured by fire. Of course, the corpses were villagers, but why only men? Where are the women?

Zen who saw the scene realized that this game also sometimes looks very unfriendly. Then without realizing it, suddenly his eyes turned to one of the large buildings like warehouses in the middle of the village.

Right at the door of the building, there were traces of bloodstains. Zen then quickly reported the matter.

"Chiba, there's something over there..."

Without doubting Zen's words, he immediately followed and saw what Zen found.

"Th-that's... Gill, distract them."

"Okey-dokey."

Gill picked up an arrow with an explosive at the end. Then he started aiming in a certain direction.

"And... shoot."

When his hand had released the arrow, everyone could see what he was aiming for. The southeast wall of the village, the reason is clear, arrows and dynamite, of course, the next thing to happen is....

BOOM!

The moment the explosion was created, the goblins who were there started screaming and gathered towards the direction of the explosion. Taking advantage of that, the troops Chiba led began to enter the building that Zen mentioned.

Everyone managed to enter the building, but they all stopped suddenly. Even with the dim lighting of the lanterns, they all could still see it. Something far beyond their expectations, for a game.

"Is this really just a game?"