NOVEL NEXT V1 Chapter 9: Field
- 1st Person POV (MC)
-Present Time-
Siegfried's posture changes from his relaxed stance to a more serious one with his muscles pulled taut & clenched fist.
“Ah... Sorry, it’s not dangerous. I just noticed a Wildberry bush! I have a request for that, let me gather some.”
Approaching the bushes, it looked like a strawberry with a red colour, but its shape & size were similar to blueberries including how many it had in one clump.
While picking them, I can see my inventory gets tons of loot in one go including some seeds. It’s incredibly easy to finish the gathering request for this.
“It looks delicious, I’ll try first.”
I put one in my mouth and chewed it. The berry juice burst into a myriad of flavours. In summary, though, it has... ‘Tropical’ taste.
I can taste a hint of sourness and citrus but mainly fruity sweetness.
“Here, it tastes good. Maybe I can make it into a juice.”
I hand over a clump of berries to Siegfried. He took it and tried a single berry. His expression grows from curiosity into pleasant satisfaction.
“Huh? It tastes really good!”-Siegfried-
Siegfried exclaimed while eating more berries. I nodded in agreement.
(“I don’t think eating in this game would mean I eat in real life. They wouldn’t be able to mimic that hahaha...”)
But at least, I can taste. Which means I can eat as much as I want without worrying about increasing my weight.
Since it is easy to get multiples of berries, I reached the maximum stack of that item and plenty of seeds.
“Okay, now that’s done...”
Before I can continue though, Siegfried noticed something. He tilted his head in a direction where I followed suit.
In a hurry, he gobbled the berries and then hid in the bushes where he made a gesture to follow.
I too ducked into the bushes as he slowly moved forward while keeping his attention in that direction.
*Rustle* *Rustle*
“KIE?! Kieee.” -Goblin-
“Kieee... Kieee... Kieee?” -Goblin-
A group of goblins talking to one another can be heard echoing in the forest. As Siegfried continued to watch, I stayed silent.
They begin retreating somewhere with Siegfried comes forward following them in a direction.
(“Wait! Don’t leave me behind!”)
In a hurry, I followed where Siegfried was going until we landed on some unique place. An open field where I can see makeshift tents being placed here & there.
Burning campfires with pieces of meat bring roasted over. And what’s worse, is the sheer amount of goblins with different weapons & armour colluding.
In addition, right in the middle of this encampment, there is a larger-sized goblin commanding all the other goblins. From this view, I think it’s far taller than a human maybe reaching 2 and a half metres?
It appeared to be wearing spiky-looking heavy armour & holding an equally large scimitar.
Once we were near the vicinity though, I got a notification from the system.
-System-
You have discovered Field ‘Goblin Encampment’.
-System-
(“I see...”)
In my field of view, several new goblins came out from the tents and began wandering into the Deep Woods.
I can deduce, that a field is where specific creatures constantly spawn and, in this case, we found one for goblins and ruled by a single boss in the middle.
Checking my request panel, I saw that the request to discover a field is fulfilled and now what’s left is to slay a goblin boss. Presumably that thing over there.
My eyes looked at the boss surrounded by many smaller goblins.
(“It would be quite difficult to fight all of them, especially with that many shamans. Hmm...”)
I turned to Siegfried who had a deep look on his face, it seemed he was thinking hard of something.
“Psst... Siegfried, do you have any ideas? I’m pretty sure that’s the boss for the request.”
“Yep, that would be the boss for sure. But... too many goblins, we need a distraction. This kind of battle is supposed to be handled in a large party.” -Siegfried-
“Like a raid?”
Siegfried nodded to my question as I heaved a sigh. If I knew it needed that many people I’d probably not get the request.
No wonder the reward was quite high, even giving out a free skill book.
While we’re stuck in thinking, a voice immediately breaks my way of thought.
“Attack!!!” -Random Knight-
A bulking figure wearing an overly large shield dashed forward as that thing contacted one of the goblins.
*BAAAAM*
One got catapulted to the sides as that figure took charge of the situation & became the main attention with many goblins screaming and shouting in his direction.
What’s that? I heard another kind of sound, I recognized it...
It is the sound of an arrow being shot from the bow. Then I see a rain of arrows descend upon the goblins in front of the shield-wearing player.
It dealt enough damage to halve some of their HP as they shouted, and attention was drawn to the figure behind the great shield wearer.
“I’m your target!!!” -Random Knight-
He shouted back as their head changed target to the knight in front. It must have been a taunt type of {Skill} being used to do that.
“Uhm... Siegfried, what should we do?”
I turned my head to the berserker, who seemed to be in deep thought.
“I think... we should join in.” -Siegfried-
Hmmmm... I think so too as this type of boss is probably meant to be dealt with by a large group of players rather than alone, with that I gave Siegfried a nod of agreement. As he immediately came out from the bushes we were hiding.
I follow suit as I can see multiple players now. It is a three-member group consisting of a male Knight, a male Archer, and a female Priest.
They seemed to notice us approaching and didn’t do anything drastic rather they gave a slight respectful nod.
With that in mind, I began to use some de-buffs spells on the boss.
“[Brittle]”
Most of the Tier 1 {Spell} have fast casting time as such, once I said the ‘Keyword’ it only needed a fraction of a second or half a second before activation.
A shroud of darkness engulfed the boss’ body and all players could hear sounds of glass cracking from it.
That spell reduces the defence of the affected since many of the damage dealers are leaning on the physical side. This de-buff certainly will help.
But!
“[Vulnerability]”
The boss is now covered by a sheen of multi-coloured aura as the de-buff has been applied.
This one reduces their magical defence so it’s perfect for me & the Priest If we ever go to the offensive.
“Thanks! It’s nice to have a hexer mage” -Random Knight-
He shouted while withstanding a heavy attack from the goblin army.
“I’ll take care of the smaller creatures.”
I exclaimed while beginning to cast long-range spells.
“[Fire Bolt]!!”
“[Lightning Bolt]!!”
“[Ice Bolt]!!”
“[Earth Bolt]!!”
It helps alleviate some pressure that the tank handles including the priest’s healing.
Meanwhile, the Archer is focusing on the boss shooting a barrage of arrows or a single-shot arrow with a big impact.
Siegfried too, was already near the boss’ vicinity & began giving it a slurry of quick jabs and axe kicks.
Again! Is it me or is his lanky body not ‘lanky’ anymore rather I see his muscles bulging. Did he change forms in battle? Maybe it’s a berserker special skill. How peculiar...
“KIEEEE!!!” -Goblin-
Ah! One gets too close. I better take care of it...
“[Force]”
“[Frost Diver]!!”
Good, that’s been taken care of, while waiting for my MP to regenerate. I eavesdrop on the Priest's spells.
Ranging from [Heal] [Regeneration] then to buffs such as [Fortify] [Resistance], she also cast some offensive spells to add small DPS to the boss in the form of [Holy Light] spell.
I made sure to remember all of those. Once I felt energized indicative of my MP being back to full, I began dealing some damage as well to the boss. After the shield bearer knight drew its attention.
Siegfried & The Archer player have significantly reduced the boss’ HP to a certain percentage.
“[Fire Bolt]!!”
“[Holy Light]” -Female Priest-
“GRAAAAAAAA!!!” -Goblin Chieftain-
It shouted echoing throughout the forest as the tents surrounding it shuddered. Before long the goblin chieftain stepped back and a sea of goblins paraded in front making Siegfried step back & the archer unable to target the boss.
Then... more & more goblins came out, These are... how should I say, they look far different than normal goblins we see. It kept popping out from the tents as I decided to do something.
Aiming my staff towards the tent, I shoot a [Fire Bolt] as the leather sets on fire & turns ablaze. The goblins ignore it and focus on the shield-bearer knight & Siegfried.
Yet, no more goblins came out from that burning tent so I guess my hunch worked. It appears the knight notices my effort to handle this mechanic. He approaches me and asks...
“Can you burn all the tents?” -Shield Bearer Knight-
It is possible... I feel like I have enough MP.
“I’ll try!”
Aiming my staff in the other direction, I begin chanting the spell.
*WHOOSH*
(“What is that?”)
In the corner of my eye, I see a glint of metal shooting straight in my direction. But I can’t exactly cancel my spell when it’s casting.
I held my breath, bracing for the impact yet it never came.
Rather once I open my eyes, I see Siegfried right near me tanking the arrow hit from the goblin.
“Thanks!”
I said gratefully as I began setting flames to the tents preventing more goblins from spawning.
“Don’t mention it.” -Siegfried-
He bolted to the goblin Archer & gave it a knee strike right on its face as the goblin crumpled and vanished.
Once I finished setting all of the tents on fire, no more goblins spawned, and the chieftain stepped forward swinging its menacing-looking scimitar right at the heavy shielder.
*BAAAAAAANGGGG*
“HURRRRKKKK!!!!” -Male Knight-
The sound echoes through the entire forest as the ground beneath the knight cracks. But his shield didn’t break, rather he went down a couple of inches.
“[Heal]!!” -Female Priest-
“[Heal]!!” -Female Priest-
“[Heal]!!” -Female Priest-
“[Heal]!!” -Female Priest-
In a hurry, she quickly spammed her heal spell to the knight bringing back his HP to full since I didn’t see any more ‘fake’ lacerations on the Knight’s body.
And most likely, she can see the Knight’s HP from the party list as I & Siegfried did. But the priest had gone pale and she appeared to be tired from using up a lot of MP.
“[Weaken]!!”
I aimed my staff towards the boss as it glowed in eerie purple light. The very same light engulfed its weapon. If I remember, this spell reduces the target attack power by how much I do not know.
*BAM*
The chieftain swung its scimitar right to the knight again, but it didn’t deal as much damage as he anticipated. I can see the female Priest's shoulder relax, glad that her burden lightened for a bit.
“[Fire Bolt]!!”
I began hurling more bolts of elements to the boss adding to the DPS paired with Siegfried & Archer.
After a couple of minutes that felt like an hour, the boss fell to the ground vanishing as I got a notification straight in my face.
-System-
Congratulations! Goblin Chieftain (LV 10) has been defeated.
The ‘Goblin Encampment’ Field will be disabled for 00:29:57.
Contributors:
Protecc
AK-47
FuwaFuwa
Magie Magia
Siegfried Calenus
Calculating Rewards...
Complete.
-System-
“Fiuf...”
I sat on the ground, recuperating myself. While Siegfried just sprawled like a starfish. Drenched in sweat he had a smile befitting those who are victorious.
Looking around, I see the priest and knight sitting side by side relaxing as they catch their breath including the archer who’s munching on grass.
(“Oh... that’s Stamina Herbs”)
“Thanks for the help, Hexer & Mauler.” -Shield Bearer Knight-
He faces me and then Siegfried with a firm nod.
“No worries...”
I replied as the trio stood up once they finished recuperating. Picking some glimmering spheres on the floor before waving their hands in farewells as their figure promptly vanished.
Presumably, they teleported back to Frontera.
(“I wonder... why I get called Hexer? And Siegfried’s Mauler. Is it a term regarding playstyle? I mean... make sense as I try to de-buff as many targets as I can.”)
Siegfried & I stand up and begin to copy what they’re doing. These glimmering spheres came from when the boss vanished.
So, we’re getting its loot!
Once we’re finished with this, I guess that’s the end of our temporary party. Since I need to log off soon.
“So, Siegfried. I better get back to Frontera. Need to log off soon, what are you going to do now?”
Siegfried crosses his arms. Ah! I see it now, his body structure changes. He’s back to his usual lanky self, is that a skill? How very peculiar...
“Probably, I need to do some learning then log off too. Anyway... what time do you online?” -Siegfried-
Hmmm... well I’ve grown a liking to this game so most likely I’ll spend my weekends & days off playing this.
“Probably on weekends but maybe every day I kind of enjoy this game. Ah! We should add each other as friends. It would be easier to see if we’re online or not right?”
Siegfried nods as he taps mid-air and I get a notification from the panel. It says ‘Would you like to add Siegfried Calenus in Friend List?’
Of course, I tap the ‘Yes’ button as his name pops in the friend list including a green dot beside his name indicating that Siegfried is online.
(“Neat! It didn’t tell me about player locations. So, it isn’t... ‘Stalkerish’ type of way.”)
With that in mind, the party disbanded as I waved to Siegfried & tapped to the safe point of Frontera.
The world instantly changed from the thick forest green into the hustle & bustle of the city streets.
“Ah... I miss this scene all of a sudden. Guess from spending too much time in the forest I suppose.”
Immediately I turned to the adventurer’s guild to submit all the requests. Stacking all the rewards in my inventory and seeing my Zeni increases tremendously.
“What are those?”
I turn to the icons in my inventory, I believe it came from the goblin ears & forest wolves fang requests.
Tapping on it, further details are displayed to me.
-System-
[Goblin’s Core (Rare)]
Description: A crystallized mana found within a goblinoid monster. Can be used for other purposes.
[Forest Wolves’ Core (Rare)]
Description: A crystallized mana found within a canine monster. Can be used for other purposes.
-System-
“Huh... with that rare of a reward, I think it can be used for making powerful stuff.”
There’s also a skill book in my inventory from the boss slaying request. Tapping on that.
-System-
[Skill Book (Rare)]
Description: Once used, an array of randomized pools of {Skill} will be displayed for players to choose from.
-System-
Before I do it though, my eyes glance at the time in the system that’s reflecting real life.
“OH! It’s already 1:00 AM?”
I didn’t even notice; it was this late. At this moment, I’m glad that it's Sunday so I can still wake up late.
In a hurry, I logged off.
-Exiting O.w.O-