The Book Of Flowers

Training Against Monsters (2)

"Oberonian..."

"Yes, Remina?"

He looked like he wanted to ask something, and started to play his finger

"... Um... Aren't you afraid of monsters?"

"... I used to be afraid of monsters" I replied. "But I'll ask you back. Why do you want to learn to fight?" I added

...

"I... Wanted to protect my father... So that I wouldn't have to let her be tormented like she used to be" Remina answered the mangut-mangut

I stroked his head slowly while smiling

"You have a purpose in this, and that's what will drive you to be unafraid of any creature"

That's how it is for me too. That's the reason I can overcome my fear. I want to protect my friends as much as I can

"... Why would that be?"

"Because, if you're always afraid to stand up for yourself, how can you be sure that your goal can be realized?"

Remina was silent at my answer

"Given that you have a purpose is a boost to your courage, especially if that goal is very important to you" I added

"... I understand Oberon. Thank you" He said. A sweet smile was implied on her face for not how long

We continued walking down the cave accompanied only by a fire magic that Cyrus lit on his fingertips

As I thought before, this cave has a derived-shaped road. But, we were already on the flat track, so we could walk without any problems

This cave is very spacious inside, so the sound we make can echo here and there

Herbs...

The goblins were nowhere to be seen, although I could smell their stench all over the walls of this cave...

Signs of their lives are here, really. It could be seen from the bones of the beasts they had already caught and eaten, scattered all over the floor of this cave

But their existence is invisible

Or maybe it...

...

They're behind us, blocking the exit...

"Wheel!"

Hearing Luna's warning, we looked back. And my guess is once again right

Those goblins blocked our way out. What is holding us back is not one or two, but dozens, maybe tens

And they were accompanied by a Hob who was probably hiding outside just now, waiting for us all to come in

One of the deadliest Goblin tactics is this one. Make their troops lock the road, both to enter and exit

They will kill their unwary prey by encircling them within their territory. While waiting for the prey to enter the territory, they will hide in the dugout or something, then will come out, surprising their prey from behind

I should have realized that they were hiding when they saw the holes in the lower walls of the cave...

They're crafty creatures. And I know that going in without checking the whole cave first is stupid

But, these Goblins are also grossly underestimating our strength...

"Don't use long-range attacks. Remember, this is training for your melee combat" I warned

"Ready!" They both answered simultaneously

"Vescals. Help them both handle the Hob's existing army. The remaining of us will deal with the Goblins coming from within. Ah yeah. And don't kill those Goblins on purpose" I said again

Veskal nodded in understanding as he warmed up by jumping up and down on the spot to prepare his legs

"Shakhs! The ardhe!"

Hearing the orders of a Goblin, the other Goblins began to launch a targeted group attack on us

Veskal immediately moved nimbly, and stepped on the head of a Goblin, making it a stepping stone. Then, he jumped onto the back of the Hobgoblin that was accompanying them

"You take care of the others while I divert this great creature!" Veskal said, as the Hob turned around and around trying to reach Veskal who was on his back

While he was, some Goblins also approached him to help the Hob, but were kicked away because Hob was panicked by the presence of Veskal on his back

Verdea kicked a Goblin that approached her, but was unable to make her faint, until she could stand back up

Remina then opened her bottle of water, and manipulated it into a whip

"I didn't know you could do that" Verdea said

"I also didn't until Lady Lyralia taught me" Remina retorted, then whipped her whip at the approaching Goblin

But unfortunately, Remina's whip instantly disappeared with just one strike

They slowly walked back to make a proper distance, as the Goblins approached them like tigers ready to pounce

"Do I need to use magic?" Ask Verdea

"If your magic is useful"

"You need to make fun of me first hm?"

"Because you don't want to focus"

"... All right, I'll shut up"

A Goblin immediately jumped up trying to pounce on them, but her attack was successfully averted

Remina then attacked him with a kick to get the Goblin away, smashing the Goblin's body against the wall

But his attack only made a slight scratch on the Goblin's body. He panicked because of it, especially when those Goblins focused their attention on him

"Hand seems like the best weapon right now" Remina said

Verdea nodded in agreement, then hit the attacking Goblin earlier until she was thrown towards Remina

Realizing the pass, Remina then kicked the Goblin's head to the ground, until she was unconscious

"Good! 1 Goblin is down!" Remina said

"But, there's still a lot..."

"Don't ruin my first winning mood!"

"Huh!? Your victory!?"

I could hear them arguing with each other again from inside the cave...

We've managed to deal with all the Goblins that come attacking from the inside, but we haven't met the Shaman yet. That kind of goblin was the only one we had to kill, and it had to be as soon as possible

"Stop fighting and focus!" I said to both of them. But, it seems like they've been fighting again while I'm shouting that, so they don't listen

Ignore. I have to find that Shaman. The flow of Mana I could faintly feel, and the origin was quite deep in this cave

"Follow me. There's something we need to sort out. Luna, stay here and help them avoid anything happening"

"Understanding" Luna replied to me

I, Cyrus, and Cyth, who looked terrified, walked deeper into the cave. I just glanced at Cyth who started to cry while holding his gun with trembling hands using a strange look full of questions

Luna then took out her holy weapon and prepared to shoot the Goblins from a distance, while allowing the children to continue fighting first

"Take this!"

"Hi-Yes!"

*Shelf!*

The pounding of Verdea's hand managed to bring down another Goblin

"4 Goblins! There's still a lot!" Verdea said

"I know it!" Remina replied

"... I think I should use magic"

"WEAR IT! WHY ARE YOU HESITATING!?"

Remina's patience has run out, but...

"Uh... You won't want to know..." Verdea retaliated

Remina just silently harbored her regret, and returned to focus

"..... How about body-strengthening magic?"

"Just use it!!!"

"All right"

Verdea began to stick out her right hand, chanting the body-strengthening magic with the spell she learned from Cyth

"My heart, my body, my soul. Strengthen every inch of this body and also this friend of mine with the Blessed Man. Strengths!"

A light that is not too bright by briefly coating their bodies

"Huh!? That's basic magic!" Remina exclaims

"Don't fuss! Someone is approaching!"

"...!"

A Goblin moving forward was intent on stabbing Remina, but Remina spontaneously kicked her...

*Shelf!!*

...

And made it float up to hit some of the Goblins behind him, until they hit the Hob so hard that it fell...

Veskal dodged quickly before Hob could fall and hit him, while confused by what the two children were doing

Remina gaped at the force of her kick, while Verdea looked only with a nervous face

"That's why I don't want to use my magic..." Verdea said

"You crazy!? Your magic is so powerful! We could have defeated them so easily since then had you used them earlier!" Remina exclaimed with her spirit

He became very enthusiastic to beat the Goblins who began to look furious

"Then, eliminate the challenge of this exercise so?"

"I'm coming!"

Ignoring Verdea, Remina instead moved forward and defeated the few Goblins empty-handed, smiling happily full of adrenaline

Verdea took the impression it was as if Remina was a psychopath who was happy with the violence, then just watched her from behind

The movement displayed by Remina showed it as if she was a fish moving in water

Verdea who was behind him was also a little disturbed because Remina alone continued to defeat the Goblins

"Hmphs. Show off" Verdea muttered ketus

Not only did Remina want to have fun, she moved forward to help Remina defeat the Goblins. More precisely, competing with Remina defeated all of their opponents

Not to be outdone by each other, they also synchronize and use each other's moves to defeat the Goblins. Although they are competing with each other, they are able to synchronize movements so as not to be hampered with each other

And seeing that, Veskal fled in a short time from the presence of the Goblins who did not pay attention to him. He wanted to see the two of them fighting against those Goblins without him interfering, especially when he realized that he was not really needed

...

"Why are you moving backwards?" Luna asked towards the side

Veskal raised himself from behind the shadow while squatting beside Luna

"Let them have fun" Veskal replied

Luna smiled as she took a comfortable position watching the two

They were already convinced that Verdea and Remina were able to face the Goblin army without any problems

"Yes!"

"Hhhh!"

Lacing sounds continued to be heard throughout the cave as Verdea and Remina continued to defeat the Goblins one by one. With the technique that Veskal taught him, and Lyralia to Remina, Verdea continued to advance without hesitation to fight all the monsters that were before him

Until all that was left was Hob who had fallen and had not fainted earlier

With a roar that signaled her anger, the Hob moved forward swinging his drum, smashing into the ground

But Remina and Verdea quickly dodged to the side, and Remina immediately darted up the Hob. He then hit the Hob on the head so much that the creature felt a lot of pain and tried to take Remina down from his back

Seeing the opportunity given, Verdea directly hit the Hob's leg with all her might using her hand, making the bone in Hob's leg crack instantly

The hob thrashed in pain as he staggered, ready to fall, as Verdea avoided him from being hit

She fell to the ground, and to end that, Remina used it as a foothold, then jumped up

He then concentrated his strength on the sole of his right foot, and when the Hob had already completely fallen...

*BAM!!*

He landed perfectly and hit the Hob's head very hard using his feet

The sound of Hob's cracked skull could be heard clearly, making Verdea grill to hear it

"And... 15 Goblins! I won!" Remina said while acting proud

...

"HUH!? I've already finished 16! So I won!" Verdea said

"Well! Even if that's true, I've already defeated 1 Hobgoblin!" Remina retorted while sticking out her tongue

Veskal and Luna who approached them took a few steps back as they began to throw arguments at each other

"Yuhu~ Is everything still intact?" I asked as I approached Luna and Veskal

Then... I saw all those sprawled Goblins, with Remina on top of Hob earlier, stepping on her head

"... Don't tell me you let them fight this" I said to Luna

"They are indeed fighting all these Goblins with their bare hands" Luna replied

Veskal just agreed

Wah~ The result is beyond my expectations~.

"As info, Verdea used her magic to strengthen their bodies" Luna added

...

"Ah, so. You guys turned out to notice that I didn't forbid you from using magic"

"Yep. It's important not to be far away, right?" Verdea answered, as she and Remina approached me

"Smart. You guys passed this exercise" I said as I stroked the heads of the two of them

They smiled happily welcoming the head

"... By the way, I beat the Hob!" Remina said with a proud tone

"Huh!? That's my job too!" Verdea retaliated

"That beat him who has his score. Bloh!"

Then they came back to fighting

The others just smiled as they shook their heads watching the two of them, while I just stood limp near them

Well... At least we can come back with the body intact

But... I wish I could meet a king-level Goblin, but it seems like the huge creature escaped to the deepest side of the cave, where me and my friends did not go all the way to that part

They were also enough of a pest for Seren who guarded the Forest Gate, so I was also actually intending to wipe out this colony directly so as not to bother anymore

But it's a pity. I was worried about both of them, so we all had to go back. Apparently, my worries were not at all necessary. They can do this exercise without getting hurt

I asked for every detail of their fight from Luna, and she gave a very detailed detail about it, stating that she was very attentive and amused by the fight between the two of them

Verdea had also apparently harnessed the power of that Seal of her right hand, so the basic magic she used alone could be on par with expert-level magic

But, I'm quite glad he also cast that magic onto Remina and split it. Though, he could defeat those Goblins and win by himself, but he was able to decide that fighting alongside Remina was better

Or, rather, compete with Remina

Huh... They're both very noisy

Even to Miralius they remained noisy

Substantial...

Well, at least they learned enough today. I'm sure they'll be better off going forward