Sid POV

  Sid paused as soon as the group reached their training spot at the edge of the camp. His teammates did not wait for him to turn around. They took a few steps forward and then spun to face him.

  His team was eager to get the details of the meeting, particularly Rohan. Sid had asked them to wait until they were in a more private location, but now it seemed their curiosity could not be contained.

  “What happened in that discussion? Do they know how we can get out of this place?” Rohan’s words came out faster than expected, and there was a hint of anticipation in his voice.

  Sid cleared his throat. “They are in the same boat as us, except they’re policemen. They don’t have any additional information.”

  “That’s it? Then what were you discussing for so long?” Rohan tilted his head, an unhappy look on his face.

  “Their leader, George, wanted to know everyone’s skills.” Sid met Rohan’s gaze. “You know, the one who was rude to you earlier. The way he was looking at Aditi was also weird.”

  Rohan nodded, but said nothing.

  Sid had been expecting more reaction from Varun, but he had been silent since his loss to Pallavi. He had said the line about Aditi as bait to get some response from Varun, but the loss to Pallavi had left more of a mark on Varun’s psyche than Sid had intended.

  “Anything we should know?” Pallavi raised her hands. Sid noticed she was more awkward when others were around and they were talking in English.

  “A power struggle was happening between Naga and the policeman, George.” Sid threw the line out and waited for a reaction from his team.

  Rohan and Pallavi leaned forward with interest. Varun remained his noncommittal self.

  “We should support Naga. That guy George seems like bad news,” Sid said.

  “I do not think we should get involved in such a business, Sid. What if George wins? Then we will be in hot water.” Rohan’s tone was even and clear, the one he often used in the office.

  But this was not the office. Mistakes here had fatal consequences.

  “No, we have to get involved. Otherwise, we will be sidelined.” Sid had to think of a plausible reason. He did not believe that just having a bad feeling would fly as a good enough reason with his teammates.

  “I have experience dealing with such situations at the office. Believe me, staying away is the best,” Rohan said, his posture straight and his chin raised. “Varun, Pallavi, what do you think?”

  “We should stay out of it,” Pallavi said, a reluctant flicker crossing her face.

  Varun’s shoulders were loose and his gaze unfocused. “I think we should focus on getting stronger, Sid, more skills and levels.”

  Sid had been waiting for somebody to say the getting stronger line, and Varun delivered. “George wants us to give him all the skill crystals, and he will assign them to whomever he thinks is apt. How can we give so much power to one person?” He looked at Pallavi toward the end, hoping she would draw a parallel with the situation she had faced before.

  Sid saw realization dawn on Pallavi and Varun, but the next words from Rohan cut short his small sense of victory.

  “Why do we need to tell them what we got?” Rohan turned to meet Varun and Pallavi’s gaze. “We can just lie about our status. They cannot check it and verify, right?”

  “What if we use that skill when we are fighting? How would you explain that?” Sid asked, with a twinge of irritation coloring his words. “What if there is some skill out there that can see other people’s statuses?” As far as he knew, there was no such skill, but the people before him had little experience with this new world to question him.

  “Who is keeping track of all this, Sid? Let us not get into unnecessary conflict.” Rohan glanced between Varun and Pallavi, a wordless plea for support.

  Sid had not expected so much pushback from Rohan. Either he was mad at being left out of the earlier conversation, or he did not like conflict with other people and tough conversations. It could be the reason for his delayed promotions.

  “Yeah, Sid. If they ask, we can just lie about getting any new skills,” Varun said, though his tone lacked conviction.

  Sid knew the fate of people who hid valuable skills from George. They ended up in an unmarked grave somewhere, living on only as part of his list of skills. He had miscalculated the amount of clout he had with his team. They might trust his decisions during a battle, but not when it could lead them into conflicts with other people.

  A scream interrupted his line of thought. Even with his enhanced eyesight, he could not make out its source.

  Varun raised his spear, crouching down to strike at a moment’s notice. Pallavi had her fists raised, eyes scanning the trees. Rohan took a moment to catch his breath, then followed Sid’s gaze into the distance.

  Sid could catch a faint silhouette that was growing clearer by the second. They were running toward the camp entrance.

  “We are under attack.” Sid passed his spare knife to Pallavi. His magic staff to Rohan. The staff worked like a ranged focus, increasing the range of your skills. It allowed Sid to see farther with his Keen Eyes skill, but for Rohan’s skill-set, accuracy was more important than range. The magic staff was nothing more than a sturdy stick to Rohan, but it was better than starting a fight barehanded.

  “Follow me,” Sid called out as he ran toward the camp entrance. They ran outside the wooden fence being built around the camp. The other end of the fence was being built today, so this side was devoid of workers.

  The man being chased by goblins was using Dash to keep himself just out of reach of his pursuers. It looked like he would make it back to camp when he slowed down suddenly.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  By now, Sid and his team were close enough to the entrance that Sid could see the man’s face. His expression showed he was straining with great effort but had only moved a few steps. It seemed as if he was waddling through sludge.

  The pair of goblins caught up to him, with one climbing its way up to his shoulder, then digging its fingers into his neck and tearing it apart. He collapsed to his knees and then fell to the ground, dead.

  “Keep moving,” Sid said when he saw his team slowing down after witnessing the gruesome death.

  The goblin landed gracefully on the scout’s back and looked up, licking its fingers. It saw Sid’s team join the guards at the gate and let out a long whistle. The goblin moved a couple of steps back and stopped where its companion stood, as if they were waiting for something.

  Sid turned to one of the guards, who was shaking at the knees. “Go bring everyone here. There’s an attack.”

  “Go now!” he shouted when he saw that the man stood rooted in place instead of running back into the camp.

  “Pallavi, Varun, fight together and ensure you cover each other’s backs. Rohan, stay near the gate and shoot Mana Webs when you can. Questions?” Sid fired away instructions while keeping a close watch on the two goblins. His tone was even and calm, with the familiar ease of somebody who had done this a hundred times.

  There was no response from his team, apart from silent nods, which he did not turn to see.

  Eight goblins came into his view. Four of them were wearing leather armour. Sid looked back at the goblin who had killed the man—it was also wearing armour, with a dagger strapped to its waist.

  That was not a goblin scout; that was an assassin. A smile crept onto his face at the thought of all the uncommon skills his team would get from the five Tier 1 monsters.

  “Pallavi, Varun, do not absorb any Tier 1 skills during the fight. You will die because of the backlash.”

  He looked to the remaining guards. “The same applies to you if you do not already have an uncommon skill. Protect Rohan and do not let any of them get past the gate.” The guard swallowed and then nodded.

  This was the first battle his team was going to face. He knew they did not have any experience with group battles, but it would be weird if he started drilling them on formations. Questions would be asked about his source of knowledge.

  The best thing he could do now was to watch and cover their mistakes to ensure they survived this battle.

  “Rohan, shoot your web at the easiest target. Neutralizing at least one at the start will help with the flow.” Sid got into a crouch, holding his dagger in a forward grip in his right hand. He walked a few steps forward, gesturing to Varun and Pallavi to do the same. The team moved into a V-shaped formation, with Sid on the left and Varun and Pallavi on the right, with Rohan and the guard in the centre and further back.

  “They do not have range support. Let them come to us. Do not go near the trees; they will act as blind spots. Do not lose vision and fall to a sneak attack. Rohan, target the ones wearing armour; they look more dangerous.”

  The goblin assassin moved to the back of their formation once the other goblins reached it. Assassins were stealth fighters. They would not involve themselves in the frontal assault.

  Three of the armour-wearing goblins charged forward. Rohan shot his web at the one in the middle. It tried to dodge at the last minute but failed. One of the armoured goblins paused its charge to help its comrade.

  The other one charged forward, leading the Tier 0 goblins toward Varun and Pallavi.

  Sid saw the four goblins, including the Tier 1 warrior, encircle Pallavi and Varun, who had their backs to each other. They did not look to be in immediate danger. One scout was heading toward him when he applied the veil over its mind, making it bypass him and go after Rohan.

  Sid’s target was always the Tier 1 hitters from the goblins. If his team could not handle a group of Tier 0 goblins, they would not survive what they would face in the future.

  He moved toward the goblin stuck in Mana Web, planning to get its skill crystal first. The other Tier 1 goblin, which had been helping its buddy, turned toward Sid, short sword raised.

  Sid ran at a steady pace toward his target and used the Veil of the Mind’s Eye on the short sword–wielding goblin when he was a few feet away from it. The goblin blinked in surprise as Sid disappeared from its vision. It turned its head from side to side, trying to see where he went.

  The goblin turned back to its friends standing further back, as if responding to their shrieks and shouts. Sid guessed it was trying to say he was right in front of it, but before it could process the information, Sid shut down its brain with a dagger thrust into its ear.

  Sid had to focus his sight on his target to apply the veil over its mind, and so he could not focus on the two Tier 1 goblins standing further back. He could see that the assassin had vanished from his field of vision, his heart speeding up.

  Sid looked around but could not find the goblin assassin anywhere. He got a gut feeling that an attack was incoming and jumped back two steps, taking a few quick breaths to assess the situation.

  Goblins were more nimble compared to humans, and the way they fought reflected that. Varun was struggling with the fast-paced combat, and there were many nicks and cuts on his pants, some still bleeding. Pallavi was faring better but had not recorded a kill yet.

  Rohan and the guard were fighting two goblins, with Rohan using the magic staff like a club.

  Sid ran forward to finish the goblin stuck in the web before it got loose. The goblin, being a warrior, likely had a strength-boosting skill like Enhanced Strength. The duration of Mana Web was based on the strength of the target and the intelligence of the user. If the strength crossed a particular threshold, then the duration decreased.

  No sooner had Sid put his second step down than he was hit by a wave of weakness. His limbs felt as if he were running on sand. He was now sure that the last goblin was a shaman, even though it was carrying a dagger. It had used the skill Curse: Weakness on him.

  This could be why the scout from earlier slowed near the gate. Curse: Weakness at Tier 1 had multiple flaws, one of which was that the target needed to be within the user’s field of vision, similar to his own Veil.

  Sid targeted the shaman with the Veil of the Mind’s Eye, to see if he could get out of its binding using his skill. He felt his limbs loosen and his speed increase before he dropped the skill in an instant. The sluggishness took over again, and the shaman scratched its head, likely wondering about the reason for its momentary lapse in concentration.

  The assassin had been lying in wait to strike when he was weakened by the shaman’s skill. He put himself out as bait to lure the hidden assassin to strike.

  Just as he had thought, the goblin assassin showed up on his left and grabbed Sid’s thigh, digging its nails in to climb up to his shoulders. Sid targeted the shaman with the veil again and felt his slowness disappear.

  He stabbed at the assassin’s throat as fast as he could, without turning his eyes away from the shaman. He hoped to substitute accuracy for force and speed.

  However, something hit Sid’s legs from the side, ruining his plans. He had no choice but to look down and see what had happened.

  The assassin had a dagger embedded at the base of its neck, behind the clavicle. It had gone limp, but was held in place by webbing. The same webbing extended to his legs, trapping him in place.

  Rohan had shot a Mana Web at the goblin when he noticed Sid was in trouble, but it now trapped Sid as well. The first goblin Rohan had shot would get free any second now, and Sid would have to face two Tier 1 goblins at the same time while stuck in place.

  There won't be a chapter tomorrow (11/25) and Thursday (11/27) - Apologies for the delay. I'm at a wedding this week and couldn't complete the chapters to my satisfaction.

  There will be two additional chapters next week to make up for the delay, and to win Writathon.

  Any and all feedback welcome - please leave comments or reviews if you can.

  It would really help me write better.