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I Will Save You – Part 08

Man, that was close, Hikaru thought. She was a rear guard by the looks of it. Her only weapon was a short sword, with a blade a little longer than his Dagger of Strength.

A few seconds later and the girl would’ve been hurt. A few minutes and she’d be either dead, or worse.

“…”

“Stay back.”

“…”

“Are you listening?”

“A pretty boy.”

“What?”

“I’ll have you no—ugh!”

She threw herself at him out of nowhere, so Hikaru delivered a punch right to her face.

“Wh-What is wrong with you?!”

“Haa… A treat from a pretty boy…”

Hikaru quickly realized that she was bad news. And he saved her. He felt danger that belied her immaculate appearance. She was staring at him with a grin on her face, trembling.

“Y-You fuckin’ idiot!” roared one adventurer. “Why would you do that?!”

“Why?”

“By sacrificing one girl, we could’ve all escaped! We’re up against Goblins!”

“Ah, I see what’s going on here.” Hikaru’s gaze turned icy cold. “I was wondering why you kicked her. You wanted to use her as bait so you could escape.”

The adventurer jumped. “Wh-What’s so wrong with that?” he answered back defiantly.

“Did I hear that right?! How dare you do that to Paula!”

“You’ll pay.”

“What?”

“What’s going on?”

The girls seemed to have grasped the situation, while the two boys were clueless. The other veterans seemed to be in with the plan as well.

It’s the young party I saw at the guild yesterday. I knew something like this was gonna happen.

Hikaru was astounded. Using them as bait was better than tricking them into being sold to kidnappers, but as far as sickening stunts go, it was a close second.

“What do you want us to do then, huh?! We’re up against hundreds of Goblins!”

“They’ll retreat soon,” Hikaru said with a sigh.

“What?”

“I said the Goblins will retreat soon.”

“What the hell are you—”

“See?”

Suddenly a peculiar-sounding flute came from nowhere. Hearing this, the Goblins exchanged looks and scattered in all directions. It was just as Hikaru said.

“Wh-Wh-Wh-What…?”

“Leave while you still can. It’s not safe here.”

“He’s right! Let’s go!”

The girl with the greatsword had barely said anything before the four older adventurers started making a run for it, with the two boys right on their heels.

The two girls, one with the greatsword, and the other with a bow, approached the nun, who was happily rubbing her cheek at Hikaru’s feet.

“Thanks for saving Paula.”

After checking that the Goblins had retreated, Hikaru took a small breath.

“Are you okay? Any injuries?”

“She’s fine. She’s a Healer, so she can heal herself. You’re not leaving?”

Hikaru gave a shrug.

“You must be strong,” the girl with the greatsword said bitterly.

“Be careful of those guys on your way back,” Hikaru warned. “They might harm you.”

“What?”

“They tried to use their fellow adventurers as bait. If people found out about it, no one would want to party-up with them anymore. But that’s only if you tell others about what happened.”

“What do you mean?”

“Silence us,” the girl with the bow said.

“Whaaat?!”

“Exactly. You never know what lowlifes like those will do when left with no options.”

“Our other two members ran off. They’re idiots, so they might get tricked.”

“Your friends?”

“Not really… Just young kids from the neighboring village, I guess.”

“You can go after them, or you can just let them be. Either way, it isn’t really my concern. So long.”

“E-Excuse me!” the crazy girl by his feet called. “M-My name is Paula! Paula Nora! Please tell me your name!”

Paula stood up. She seemed to have calmed down and was actually able to speak normally.

“It’s Hikaru.”

“Lord Hikaru, I have a request. Would you be so kind as to escort us to the lake?”

“R-Right. I know it’s too much to ask, but I’d like to ask you as well. Right, Priscilla?”

“Yeah.”

Hikaru had a hunch they were going to say that. He didn’t feel right just leaving them either. It would be awful if they died in some kind of an accident right after he saved them as well. But if he escorted them, he wouldn’t be able to use his Skills.

“All right,” he said. “I will keep an eye from a distance, so just proceed at your own pace.”

“You won’t be accompanying us?” Paula asked with teary eyes, her hands clasped together.

Her greenish hair partly hid her eyes. She seemed immaculate like this.

“I said I’ll be watching from a distance. Also… it’s a little too late for the angelic act.”

“Uh…”

“He’s right, Paula. We didn’t say anything before, but Priscilla and I both know you’re a bit weird.”

“What…?”

“For example, that novel you’re writing…”

Paula let out a shriek that sounded like a chicken being strangled to death, then fainted.

---

Hikaru let the girl with the greatsword—Pia—take care of Paula, and moved farther away. It was only about thirty meters. The girls wouldn’t see him once he activated his Stealth from that distance.

Unforeseen circumstances took a bit of my time. Then again, I was ranking up a lot faster than expected, so I guess it’s all right.

Hikaru’s rank was already at 12. There was a reason for this. He had risen to rank 9 after going around killing Green Wolves. That was when he heard the commotion.

At first, Hikaru thought about going straight to where Paula and the others were, but there were over a hundred Goblins in the way. It was the worst possible scenario for him. He could kill a single opponent one-on-one without them noticing at all, but Goblins operated in groups, rendering his Stealth useless. Assassinating a hundred Goblins without being seen even once would be difficult. Trying out something new without prior rehearsal wasn’t an option either.

Fortune seemed to be smiling on Hikaru, however. The Goblins’ leader showed up. Standing over two meters tall, it was more than twice the height of the other Goblins. Nearby was a Goblin with a horn who looked to be the leader’s messenger.

He read in the library that a Goblin Family always had a Boss, and killing it would send the rest into chaos.

Hikaru approached the Boss from behind. With the creature completely unaware of him, he thrust his Dagger of Strength into its back.

The Boss wore a chainmail of some sorts, which scared him for a bit, but perhaps because of the Assassination’s effect, or the fact that he put one point on Muscle Strength, he managed to kill the creature with the dagger.

What happened next was shocking.

Hikaru’s whole body was afflicted by an unbearable itch. He felt his core burn. Try as he might, he couldn’t stop himself from groaning. He knew that it was the effects of his rank going up, but the excruciating experience was a first for him.

One Boss Goblin made him go up three ranks. Because of the recoil, the other Goblins noticed him, but they seemed to be afraid of him after killing their leader.

As soon as the recoil from ranking up subsided, he quickly left the area.

From behind came the keening wail of a horn. It was sounded either to convey the Boss’s death, or to retreat. The group would collapse soon.

But if someone died before that happened, all his efforts would have been for naught. Reluctantly, Hikaru put one point into his Power Burst.

His sprinting speed increased tremendously. Hikaru had a classmate back in middle school who participated in a sprinting event for a national athletic meet. He thought he could overtake the guy now. It did, however, consume a great deal of stamina. And so, he managed to save Paula and the girls.

Now I have six points left. I need at least three points for the plan tomorrow.

He thought about it for a moment.

I’m gonna save my points, he decided.

---

After walking for about thirty minutes, Hikaru and the girls made it back to the lake. Trying his best to ignore Paula’s heated stares, he saw the girls off to the road. Lots of peddlers passed by the road, so there was only a remote chance of them being attacked.

“All right. Back to hunting monsters.”

That evening, Hikaru met the cool-looking guy who gave him a ride to the lake and got on his horse.

“What’s up? Did you get a good catch?” the man asked. “Or perhaps a good harvest?”

“I didn’t get anything,” Hikaru answered.

“Really? Well, you seem to be in a great mood.”

He was right on the money. Hikaru felt great. He killed over thirty monsters; half of them Green Wolves. Apart from the Boss Goblin and the ordinary one he killed when saving Paula, he went around killing the ones that dispersed as well.

As the sun was sinking and it was starting to get dark, he finally met a Guardian of the Woods—a Forest Barbarian.

“Something good happened, that’s all.”

One strike was all it took. Hikaru killed the Forest Barbarian in one shot with his Stealth and Assassination combo. He went up two ranks from one kill.

“Is that so? Okay, then. You best hold on tight, ‘cause we’re going fast.”

“All right.”

The horse galloped through the twilit meadows.

That day Hikaru’s Soul Rank increased all the way to sixteen.