Day CCVIII

I barely slept thru the night. I had too much to think about. The whole situation with Blitzkrieg, Blue, and Aisha. Then there was also the discovery of classes. I kept wondering what will future bring, and what else is there to discover. I kept worrying about incoming war, and my part in it, but there was also a thin ray of everything becoming a bit better. A thin ray of hope.

When the sun started to peek inside thru cracks and holes, I got up. Gathered the equipment, changed to the new armor piece, and departed. I wondered if Hatta was able to convince them, to let me go. It was a bit late, so there was also the risk of them going without me, even if Hatta succeded, but after arriving I discovered that they were waiting for me. Hatta's superior, a guy named Stephen Williams, was pissed off. He was a young African American. Quite skilled and also smart. To me, he looked like a model. Tall, with nice facial features, and perfect hairline.

- We should depart a while ago! - He yelled at me, as soon as he saw me.

- Sorry. Just give me a moment, and...

- No! We have everything. It's time to go now.

- Fine... Fine...

They were really prepared. Two carts filled with equipment. Food, torches, weapons, and also some things for emergency first aid. It was completely different when a guy who knew what to do, was leading the party.

- You fucked up. - Whispered Hatta to me as we were walking.

- Sorry. I got lost in thoughts and lost track of time.

- We almost left you behind. You better show them it was worth waiting for you.

- I'm on it - and I started to walk a bit faster, to get next to Williams at the front.

- Hey. I'm Peter. Sorry for being late.

- You better be. Hatta said you already checked the whole cave. He said there is one strong enemy at the end.

- Yes. A goblin chieftain of some sort. Very fast and strong. I managed to kill him, but the fight was very hard, and long. He has some guards, but last time they didn't interfere with the duel. This time, it might not be the case.

- Then you should make the boss busy while we deal with the rest, and then gank on him.

- Yeah. Be careful though. He is very, very fast. He might just straight rip somebody apart if we fuck up.

- Then you better work hard so he doesn't. Anything else we should be careful about?

- Goblins there are smarter.

- I've been informed of this already.

- Then that's all I have.

He nodded. I didn't say anything more, and he also didn't ask, so the rest of the journey went relatively silent. Of course, others talked, a lot, but kinda hushed. We killed everything on our way, then slaughtered the horde, which charged out of the cave. It gave me an opportunity to check everybody's skills. Obviously, Williams was the strongest among Wuxia members, but the rest had also decent skills. Even though, from what I saw, they had no chance with the goblin boss.

We quickly picked all the crystals and went inside. They were good enough to clean up the way all to the metal door, but since Hatta was here, I didn't want anybody to get injured, and they would definitely get at least a few scratches, or worse. There was no place for 'or worse'.

We made it to the lower level, and then the true battle started. Even knowing what's down there, they were not prepared for the discipline goblins showed. I bought them time to get used to fighting with them by causing havoc deeper in the enemy lines. All I needed was to avoid giving them chances for a clean hit, and my dance was good enough for such a purpose.

We cut our way deeper and deeper, step by step. By the time we reached the metal door, everybody except me was tired, so we took a break. To eat, drink and catch breaths.

- You get stronger day by day - said Hatta sitting next to me, by the wall.

- I hunt every day... All I do is hunt actually.

- You should take a break sometime. It's good for your mental state. All this violence can change a person.

- I'll rest when people I care about are free. I'll rest when there are no assholes trying to hurt them.

- In this world such a time might never come. It's a wild world. That's why we should change it. Order is what we need. So one can go to sleep not worrying if somebody will come at night to kill.

- Zhang Yong's order?

- No. It's too late for that. Zhang Yong is dead. We need a new leader.

- Who?

He just shrugged.

- I'll tell you when I find such a person.

I chuckled. Maybe he was talking about himself or had somebody else in mind, or even was telling the truth. I had no idea. But I knew one thing. There will be no order unless somebody strong enough will force others to obey him or her. That was Blue's plan, and probably also Blitzkrieg's.

- Yeah. Tell me.

We stopped talking, and a few moments later Williams came to sit beside us.

- Good work both of you. You are really strong. Peter, was it? Well, now I see what Zhang Yong saw in you. Anyway... We should get moving. We will follow you, as planned. Make sure nobody dies.

- I'll try.

I allowed myself to sit for a few more minutes, then got up. Others very soon also gathered, and we together approached the door. Heads on spears looked terrifying in dim light.

- We should take them down, and burry when we are finished - said, Williams.

- Yeah - Hatta agreed.

- We should leave them as they are. As a warning to those who want to pass this damn door - was my answer. - I'm sure you will agree after you witness what's there.

- Let's go then - was Stephen answer.

I opened the door and went inside. Everything looked just like yesterday. Goblins were waiting, but nothing went the same as more of us got inside. They all jumped to attack the very moment more people appeared. I clashed with the boss. Sparkles went everywhere, but that was just the beginning because following strikes kept coming and coming. I couldn't focus on anything else but defense. It was a bit easier than yesterday, and I felt some confidence in keeping the boss occupied. I had no idea what was going with the rest of the going as my eyes were focused, locked on the blades of my opponent.

It probably went pretty well, as one of the Wuxia soldiers tried to attack the boss from behind, and almost slot his head in return. I managed to block that strike, by putting myself in a dangerous position. Goblin boss wasn't gonna just ignore such a chance and almost impaled me on his blade. I dodged, but not perfectly. There was no time to check the wound, as he rushed with a barrage of following attacks.

- Don't come any close to them! - yelled Hatta.

They listened because there was no more interference with the fight. Unfortunately for me, my job got a lot harder. He flooded me again with a wave of strikes. I parried them, all but it took a lot. I could feel the blood flowing out of my body thru the wound. I was on the clock.

I tried to move, and get an advantageous position, but he was just too smart to fell for any tricks. He was in the control and wasn't just gonna give it up. I had to think about a way, but no ideas were popping in my head. Frustration started to overtook me with each parried strike. There was no other choice, but to put it all on one card. I had to take the offense.

With a battle cry, I started swinging. Not to hit cause that was just impossible, but to stop his attacks. It worked, he turned to defense. Overall it didn't change much. The clock was still ticking in his favor. There was no way to push him into a corner because there were no corners in this room. I grew desperate. Every idea popping in my head was useless. I just couldn't see a way of defeating him. I just could push, and wish for the best.

That's exactly what I did. I put everything I had in those few desperate swings, trying to make an opening for a clean shot. I succeeded when he tried to parry upswing. I had to put all the strength in my legs to make him lose one of the swords. Blade of pudao broke in a shower of sparks, and his weapon flew thru the air. I dropped the weapon and just rammed him into the ground. He tried to use the other blade, but I managed to stop him and pin that arm to the ground. He punched me straight to the ribs with his free hand. I could hear bones cracking, and air escaped my lungs.

They rushed to help me finish him. I could hear their footsteps, and just couldn't allow it to happen. I grabbed him by the face and ripped his throat open with my teeth before the next punch came. The taste of blood was disgusting. He turned into smoke as I was rolling off him. Then I puked on the ground.

Hatta helped me to get up. The rest of the guys were just shocked.

- Get me out of here. I'm bleeding out - I mumbled to him.

- I'll get you out - he answered, and quickly yelled out - I'm getting him out, he is bleeding heavily!

- Get him on the cart, we need to patch him up, and get back to town as soon as possible! - yelled Williams in response.

Few things happened in a rush. I was put on the cart, and they did whatever they could to stop the bleeding, but the wound was deep. I needed the device. Hatta did everything he could to get me there as fast as possible, and then put my hand on the sphere himself. He was holding me, so I wouldn't fell, cause my legs had no strength.

I bought the heal for 8k points. And then noticed that second class point was there. In a rush, I selected hospitaler as my first class. This wound made me realize that as long as I'm alive, I can fight, get better, evolve. But once I'm dead, I'm dead forever.

The class cost was one point, and it didn't change anything about me. It just unlocked several different skills that I could put my points into now. I was too tired to figure the best way to do it, so I just bought some food and started heading home.

Hatta wanted to talk, but I just ignored him, telling him I need some sleep. It was a long and shitty day for me.

Day ended with 77 957 points on my account and still a single one class point, with the other spend on unlocking hospitaler class.