(Tutorial Day: 9)
Morgan didn’t know what to think. It had been a whiplash of emotions and events for him in the last two weeks, and even more so, the past twenty-four hours. Before all of this, he had just been a twenty-five year old sales associate at a shitty clothing store, with a shitty ex-girlfriend, and an even shittier family.
He lived on the streets or couch-surfed between friends' houses, week to week. When the integration came… and he felt happy. He had nothing, and now everyone else had nothing, too. But then he saw the reality of it… Many people were dying. So, like a moron, he tried to help by playing hero.
He fought wild monsters, killed goblins, did his best to level up and kill stuff, before they killed other people. But then he got arrogant. He thought he could find this last general and kill it, alone, after helping to kill a previous one. Since he became a bronze rank, everything else had been so easy.
I should have found people to join. Fought in a group and stayed alive. But instead I'm in a fucking cage, waiting to be eaten for dinner, or worse.
He flinched when he heard a whisper of his name, “Morgan Alvarez”.
***
The party, plus Durgan, had left just a moment ago. They were running through the forest towards the goblin camp. The trip would take a lot longer than it did for Alex to go alone.
He was using the wind enhancement on all of them, but couldn’t crank it any higher. Durgan was also much slower than the rest, being only level 8. Still unranked, he was much slower overall.
How does that work? Alex thought as they were running.
Technically, we’re only three levels higher than Durgan, so our stats aren’t drastically different. But we’re clearly much faster and stronger than he is. Even the casters like Sam are as fast as Durgan, who’s a warrior. When you advance a Grade, does it improve the quality of your stats? Or maybe our bodies are much more efficient? I guess that makes sense why most people can’t fight up higher Grades.
Alex wasn’t sure. But he was definitely curious how it worked.
After running for a while, taking several breaks, and telling Durgan they were almost there fifty-six times like a child in the back seat of a car, they were finally almost there.
It was late in the evening when they arrived near the camp; the sun was setting, and the forest was slowly growing darker. They slowed down and hid somewhere nearby. Alex went to scout the area, making sure no patrols would find them, while searching for the best route to the prisoners' cages.
During the trip, Derek had filled him in on the rest of their plan. Alex would be using a lot of earth and water magic today. [Earth Magic] would be used to change the terrain, giving his allies better ground to walk and fight on, while the [Water Magic] would be used for the opposite effect. The camp’s ground was already quite muddy, so throwing more water into it should slow them down.
It was a good plan. Being able to control and choose the terrain to engage an enemy was military tactics 101 in Derek’s book.
Alex crept around the edges of the camp, slowly making his way towards the cages. He needed to find the highest-level prisoners he could. They were the ones who would need to be freed first, to help hold off the goblins.
While he made his way around the outskirts toward the cages, he kept an eye on the goblins. He wanted to know where the threats were, and the general specifically.
So far, he hadn’t seen the general.
Is it inside the building again? It’s too far for me to see. He thought as he moved forward. It was slow going; he tried to avoid the pits of mud and water. The last thing he needed was to trip and fall, revealing himself to the entire camp of goblins.
Near the cages, he examined as many people as he could, searching for the strongest.
Melissa Caroe - Level 2
Morhij Forestleaf - Level 4
Pedro Moras - Level 4
Min-ji Kim - Level 3
Maria Lopez - Level 5
Skrin Softfeather - Level 4
James Pohter - Level 5
Crag Stonefist - Level 3
…
…
It went on, and on like that; there were so many people to check. Most of the people here were all under level 6 and wouldn’t stand a chance against the goblins.
About to give up and find a different plan, Alex saw what he was looking for.
Morgan Alvarez- Level 10
FINALLY, a bronze! Now I just need to talk to him somehow and hope he’s willing to help.
Morgan looked about 24 years old, with a short, thin beard that wouldn’t grow, long black hair, tan skin, and a skinny, wiry build. Eyes sullen and weak, he looked like he hadn’t eaten in a few days.
Alex inched his way forward, getting as close to the cage as he could, and situated himself behind it, hiding himself from the goblin's sight. He might need to drop stealth to talk to him.
In position, he whispered, “Morgan Alvarez”.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Morgan flinched at the sound of his name and looked around, trying to find the source.
“Quit acting suspicious. I’m in stealth, outside the cage. Don’t draw attention to us.” Alex said to him. Other people in the cage and nearby ones heard the talking too. They were rustling about, trying to find where the voice came from.
“Bull. How do I know you're real and not some trick?” Morgan asked suspiciously. “I might even be hallucinating all this loco ass shit.”
“Just hear me out for a minute. I can’t risk dropping stealth. The other prisoners might freak out and cause a scene.” He said before continuing.
“My team and I are here to free you all and take out the goblins. But there are too many, and we need help, hence why I am here. If we free you, can you help?”
“Just give me a fucking weapon and point me in the direction, I’ll kill any of these putas.” He spat on the ground.
“What class are you, and what kind of weapon do you need? We have some spares from goblins.”
Morgan looked suspicious, not wanting to say much about his class. But he at least told Alex a little.
“All I'll say about it is I was a scout base, but evolved into an archery-focused bronze rank. I need a bow with all the arrows you got.”
“Done. Give us a few minutes to get our guy over here to break this cage open. When we do, the goblins will come after us. Help hold them back while we free more prisoners. We’re ending this event today.”
“Wait! You are coming back, right…? Don’t leave us here… please..” He said, whispering the last word.
“I promise. Just give us a few minutes.”
He made his way back to where his team was hidden. He told them about the camp, his observations, and, of course, the prisoners and Morgan.
“Another bronze? Good, that’ll help. Did you see any others?” Derek asked.
“No, but it's possible there is another mixed in. There are so many prisoners crammed into tight spaces that it is impossible to see each one clearly. I’m lucky even to have found Morgan.”
“Will he be enough?” Sarah asked.
“He doesn’t need to be. After we free more prisoners, they’ll help. Especially ranged ones, like the mages.” Derek said.
“Let’s get going, we’ll have to circle all the way around. The longer we can go without being seen, the better.”
They moved slowly through the forest, staying out of sight of the goblins. Alex planned to remain in the forest until they reached the side with the cages, then they would go inward toward them.
It had gone as planned, for the most part. Alex had to sneak into the forest and silently kill a small patrol group, but luckily, it worked out, and no one else was alerted.
Once they reached the cages, Alex scouted it out, making sure no goblins were near them.
“Morgan, it's time. Get ready. As soon as you're free, I’ll drop a large amount of weapons on the ground for everyone to use. Grab a bow.”
Morgan flinched at the words, but didn’t say anything. He just nodded and balled his fingers into a fist, looking nervous.
The cage area was clear. Alex found a good path to walk his team in, which should keep them blocked from most of the goblins’ line of sight.
The team inched forward, slowly towards Morgan’s cage. Durgan was in front, right beside Alex. Stopping everyone for a moment, he channeled his Earth Magic into the ground between them and the cage. He hardened it, making the ground easier to walk on and their footsteps quieter.
After they left the forest and headed toward the cages, the prisoners saw them coming.
Shit, they're being too loud.
Alex put his fingers to his lips, trying motion for them all to be quiet, but it wasn’t working as well as he needed. They were whispering, shifting, and becoming much more active. It was only a matter of time before the goblins noticed the commotion.
Within a few feet of the cages, he began shushing them. And telling them to be quiet.
“Shhhh,” Alex said. “We need to stay quiet!”
“Don’t let the goblins know we’re here.”
“Relax!
“Act normal!
“We will free everyone.”
He kept repeating himself to everyone he passed. Some quieted down but remained nervous and anxious. He finally stood in front of Morgan’s cage.
“So I wasn’t dreaming. I wasn’t sure there for a while.” Morgan said when he finally saw them approach.
“I told you I would come back. Now let's hurry and get you out. Any second now, those goblins are going to know we’re here. Durgan, do your magic.”
Durgan chuckled, “It ain’t no magic, laddie. This here be good ol’ craftin’ knowledge and wit.” He said, tapping his head, as if pointing to his brain.
Durgan drew some tools from his belt. They resembled lockpicks but were crudely made. “I be no thief, but as a smith, I knowin’ locks. And this here lock be cheap and easy ta open, like me second ex-wife!”
It took Durgan only half a minute to open the lock. Then he moved on to another cage nearby.
Cage unlocked, Alex pulled the gate open slowly and let the prisoners out. He quickly unloaded a bunch of weapons he had been carrying around, including several skirmisher bows and loads of arrows.
Morgan clicked his tongue in disgust when he picked up one of the bows. “These are god damn trash. Don’t have anything better?”
“No, none of my team are archers. These were all scraps from goblins.”
At the mention of his team, Morgan had looked around at the other people standing behind Alex. His eyes lingered a bit longer on Sarah.
Good thing I’m not interested in Sarah like that. I might have gone all Progenitor and been like “SHE’S MINE!”, and killed him for looking. Alex chuckled. Problems for future Alex.
Several of the cages had been opened at this point, and people were quietly taking weapons from the pile on the ground. And then, of course, someone had to be stupid enough to ruin a good thing.
A moron tried to run away. And not even in the direction Alex had come from. They ran in a different direction, toward another part of the forest. And the path he took... clearly in the open. So, of course, the goblins saw him.
“Fucking idiot,” Alex mumbled.
Goblins started shouting and screaming, now noticing that other prisoners were out of their cages and had weapons.
The shouting goblins quickly regretted it, though, as an arrow pierced right into their throats, silencing them. Looking for the source of the arrows, Alex saw Morgan standing there, firing more in rapid succession.
Oh? He’s pretty good. Might be helpful to us afterall.
It was too late now for silence, though. The camp had been alerted, and now it was time to fight. Alex channeled his water magic and shot gallons of water out into the camp. He stood there for several seconds like a firetruck hose. The mana to use this much water wasn't cheap.
But it had the desired effect. The muddy camp grew even muddier, hindering the goblins. Their short legs could not wade through the deep mud. But it didn’t stop the arrows and magic spells that were coming at them.
Several more of the prisoners had run when the goblins noticed them. But luckily, most stayed and prepared to fight. Though Alex knew they couldn’t do much. This would come down to a fight between higher tiers soon.
Speaking of bronze ranks, the first ones were coming through the mud now. Two Commanders were almost upon them, leading a group of weaker goblins behind them. As they moved through the mud, a Shaman was attacking the group from range.
“Sam, Morgan, focus on that shaman!” Alex called out to them.
Alex didn’t hear a reply, but he did see some arrows and fireballs raining down on the shaman a moment later.
“If any of you former prisoners are ranged, attack any of the ranged goblins you see. Derek, Korgrith, Rykos, prepare for those incoming commanders.
Sarah, keep healing any of the prisoners who can’t walk or fight. We need to make sure they can move.
Durgan, get all the cages open.”
They all snapped to their task, like trained soldiers. No one questioned what he said, not now, not when their lives were on the line.
While they did their jobs, Alex would do his. Kill goblins. That was the task he was about to begin. He would massacre all he could until the General showed up, and then, he would focus on them. He started with the goblins attacking the prisoners.
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