CHAPTER 68 - ACT 1 (5)

“「Shock!」Felix!”

Soren’s clear voice cut through the shrieks of the enemies as he leapt headfirst into a pack of goblin golems, his palm crackling with electricity.

“On it!” Felix shouted, a magic circle already forming in his palm.

[Keeurrrkk!!!]

The goblin golems screeched, their dirt-formed limbs jerking violently as the lightning tore across their bodies, causing their formation to waver ever so slightly.

That short opening was all Soren needed, though, as he slipped through the front lines, his eyes locking onto the hulking golem that resembled the demon he had met back in Rena Forest.

“Yuli, move up!”

Soren barked out commands as he fought off the attacks of the goblin golems all around him.

The cramped battlefield was chaotic, dust swirled, lightning sparked, and plants bloomed, but Soren’s mind remained sharp.

Distance, strength, stamina; all of it was calculated in an instant.

Even without seeing the world through a near-omniscient view, as he had when the world was still a game, he could still judge the flow of battle instinctively.

It was his first time doing such a thing, but strangely enough, it came to him naturally.

Yuli darted past Felix, filling the position that Soren had left empty, embedding his glowing sword into the ground.

「Fialova Swordsmanship - Iron Wall」

Screeeechh–!

The few goblin golems that had slipped past Soren slammed into the shimmering barrier created by Yuli, claws scraping uselessly against the light.

Behind the frontline, Lyra pressed herself into the wall, her raccoon ears flattening tightly against her hair.

Her breathing was unsteady, and her fingers twitched, divine power flickering faintly, almost enough for a divine incantation, but she clenched her hands to her chest instead, her tail curled tightly around her legs.

“Lyra, cover Yuli! Felix, ground!”

Tension filled Lyra’s body as she audibly gulped down her saliva, trying to muster the courage to act, but the fear lodged deep within her chest held her back.

She held her wooden staff tightly to her chest as she pressed herself against the wall, desperately hoping to go unnoticed.

Soren clicked his tongue as he saw Lyra’s actions, but turned his attention forward, knowing he didn’t have the time to focus on that right now.

“Already on it!” Felix growled, thrusting his palm forward. “「Gaia!」”

The earth churned beneath the goblin golems, the stone cracked and liquified into thick mud, trapping them in place.

Soren pushed forward, shrugging off the resistance of the softened earth below him.

Having fought in such situations many times already, he was accustomed to the feeling.

Slash!

Labrys cleaved through another goblin golem’s head in a brutal arc, shattering the dirt-like creature instantly.

Foooo…

Mana whirled beneath his heel, his entire body bracing.

“Felix, barrier, now!”

And then he moved.

Just as the circle completed, he kicked off the ground, the magic circle beneath his foot shining brightly.

“「Breeze」”

WHOOSH!

A gust of wind, strong enough to knock back nearby goblin golems, shot from Soren’s foot, flinging him through the air, right towards the leader of the group.

Wooonggg!

Labrys shone bright white as mana funnelled into its blade.

Soren steadied his shaking arms and rested his axe on his shoulder, the glow intensifying as the distance rapidly closed.

「Einhardt Axemanship - Crescent」

The swing carved cleanly through the hobgoblin golem’s neck, its head toppling to the ground with a heavy thud.

Soren braced for impact, watching the ground get closer and closer.

“「Shield!」”

A thin veil appeared around Soren’s body, cushioning the landing.

The barrier shattered on impact, but his body was spared.

The veil shattered like glass and dissolved into the air.

Soren rolled to his feet, brushing the dirt from his pants, his heart still beating wildly.

“Yuli! How’re you holding up?”

Soren’s eyes darted to his party; the hobgoblin golem was down, but five goblins still swarmed Yuli.

“I’m… hrrrngh! Fine!” Yuli snarled between sword swings, each strike heavy with fatigue.

Soren’s hand hovered at his belt indecisively for a moment before he attached Labrys to his waist.

Charging forward would end the fight faster, but it would humiliate Yuli, undermining the man's pride.

Soren remembered their first encounter, when Yuli had bristled at the very idea of Soren wielding a weapon; intervening now would do more harm than good.

These were the sorts of things that Soren now had to think about, given his role as party leader.

Leadership wasn’t just about power; it was about knowing when to take a step back, keeping an eye on your party, and staying aware of their condition.

Behind Yuli, Lyra’s gaze flickered towards his sword.

Her lips parted briefly, almost forming the words to cast a divine incantation, divine power shimmering faintly at her fingertips.

For a moment, she seemed ready to act, but fear rooted her to the wall.

Her shoulders hunched, tail coiling tighter around her body.

Only Soren caught these actions.

Soren sat down on the hobgoblin golem’s corpse, thoroughly checking his own body and clothing for any problems, waiting for the battle to be over.

「Fialova Swordsmanship - Downward Slash」

Swipe!

The head of the final goblin golem split open, its body collapsing onto the floor.

Yuli stumbled back onto his rear, his sword clattering on the ground beside him.

“Final! One…!” He gasped, chest heaving and sweat pouring down his face.

Soren exhaled, a bitter smile tugged at his lips.

They had won, but many minutes had been wasted; if he had assisted, the fight would have ended long ago.

Still, no one voiced it. Not Felix, not Lyra. Silence was safer than salt in open wounds.

“Should we take a short break then?” Soren offered.

Felix dropped beside him with a sigh.

“Sure, but Soren? We need to talk.”

“What’s up?”

Felix glanced at the others.

Yuli sat slumped, too exhausted to glare.

Lyra, meanwhile, was a shadow against the wall, silent and trembling, her ears drooped low.

“In all three battles so far… Lyra hasn’t moved. Not once. You give her orders, she freezes.”

Soren’s gaze swept the raccoon beastkin across the room.

Her tail, wrapped tightly around her body, ears flattened against her head, skin pale, the faint hesitation that only Soren had noticed.

“...I see.”

Soren’s expression showed conflict; he understood her fear, but he also knew that it wasn’t harmless.

If she hesitated in a critical moment, then everything could be over in seconds.

“I just thought I should tell you since it seemed dangerous. Better now than when it matters, right?”

Felix hopped up from his seat and stretched his body before drifting away, leaving Soren with his thoughts.

‘Lyra…’

He studied her from across the room.

A forgettable face, unremarkable power, but walls thicker than steel.

‘Felix is right, it’s dangerous.’

A supporter who doesn’t support isn’t neutral; it’s dangerous.

In an actual fight, hesitation could get someone killed, Soren knew that, and yet he couldn’t blame her.

Soren’s thumb brushed his teeth as he bit down in thought.

He couldn’t afford dead weight, not with Amelia and Alex deeper inside the labyrinth.

The two choices that played out in Soren’s mind were as follows:

– Rush to Amelia, pushing his team past exhaustion, and risk elimination.

– Or slow down, gamble on breaking Lyra’s shell, and risk missing his chance to forge the relationship between Amelia and Alex.

Neither was clean; both carried the scent of failure.

If he chose option one and they rushed to find Amelia, exhausting themselves in the process, they could easily be eliminated by a single misstep, making it impossible for him to push Amelia towards Alex.

Meanwhile, option two carried the risk of completely missing his set objective of creating a relationship between Amelia and Alex.

Still, his team would likely end up in a better situation.

He needed to not only find Amelia, but also to lead her to Alex before he killed the boss that would appear at the end of the labyrinth, and to get away with his team so that they wouldn’t be a target.

“...Tch.”

It was a lot for someone of Soren’s strength to manage, maybe even too much, but he didn’t have a choice.

Soren jumped down from the hobgoblin golem’s corpse, landing on the ground with a light thud as he clapped his hands together to get everyone's attention.

“Break’s over. We’re continuing onwards. And Yuli?”

Yuli’s head snapped up.

“What?”

“You’re on point. I’ll take rear support, Felix will be behind you. Lyra, you’re at the back with me.”

“Huh?! Why the hell am I in front?”

Soren ignored the complaints, letting them fall on deaf ears, as he took a long drink from his canteen.

His gaze slid to Felix, and he caught on instantly, giving a subtle nod.

‘Thank god he’s quick to catch on.’

Minutes later, Yuli’s grumbling still echoing throughout the open corridor, they formed up.

Upon confirming that there was enough distance between them, Soren glanced at Lyra.

Pale, tail wrapped tightly, ears flickering nervously.

She walked with small, hesitant steps.

Her small, almost-action that died out from her fear tugged at him.

Soren parted his lips slowly.

“Lyra, I know you haven’t been participating.”

————「❤︎」————