The forest surrounded them as thick and endless as ever, the canopies casting shifting shadows over the group of heroes huddled together in a small clearing. There was no time to appreciate—or fear—the scale of the place, because monsters descended on them immediately. Goblins, snarling and filthy, surged out from between the trees. Prairie wolves sprinted alongside them, fangs bared.
A flood of notifications flashed across the interface only Han could see.
[Dolf (☆) is in a state of fear. Stats are decreased by 30%.]
[Decard (☆) is in a state of fear. Stats are decreased by 30%.]
[Chloe (☆) is in a state of fear. Stats are decreased by 30%.]
[Raphtalia (☆☆) is in a state of complete surrender. Stats are decreased by 90%.]
Han's sword was already in his hand, blade gleaming.
"Raphtalia is in a state of complete surrender?" Han's brow furrowed. He glanced down at the small girl beside him. "I saw her eyes before… she's empty. But to the point where she doesn't even want to live?"
A pang of guilt struck him. What kind of pain had she endured to fall into such a state?
"Hey," Han said, voice sharp and steady as he looked back at the others. "Do you guys wanna live?"
"Y-Yes… w-we want to l-live…" Chloe stammered. The others nodded, faces pale, eyes wide.
"Then swallow up that fear of yours and fight," Han said firmly. "I'm not gonna help any of you except for the little girl."
"W-What? W-Why only her?" Dolf, the very man that had lied about being a cook, blurted out, eyes wide with disbelief.
Han turned his head slowly and gave him a cold, unflinching stare. "Are you really asking something like that?"
Even in their frightened states, Chloe and Decard gave Dolf uncertain glances. He opened his mouth, then closed it, guilt and shame creeping into his features.
The monsters were nearly upon them.
Han raised his sword. "Guys, get ready. They're coming."
And they came.
A goblin leapt at him—and was cut down mid-air. Han held his sword in only his right hand, keeping Raphtalia's hand tightly in his left. He refused to let go.
Despite their trembling legs, the other three heroes moved. Chloe let out a terrified scream—"Kyaaaah!"—and slashed with her sword. She managed to cut a goblin's arm.
Decard shouted something incoherent and stabbed forward with his sword. Dolf followed with a wild swing of his own. They weren't graceful or trained, but desperation lent them strength. Their lives were on the line.
"Not bad..." Han thought as he weaved through enemies, his sword a blur. He wasn't used to fighting one-handed—Shay had drilled into him the importance of two-handed control and strength—but he was surprised by how well he was adapting to it. Maybe this style suited him more. His body moved with ease, his strikes precise.
"Hey, is your name Raphtalia?" Han asked gently, his voice calm even as he cut down another goblin.
"Yeah…" she said softly, her voice flat and emotionless. It wasn't the voice of a child. It was the voice of someone hollowed out.
"Such a cute name." Han thought as he bisected a prairie wolf with a clean upward slash.
Raphtalia didn't react. Not even a flinch.
"How old are you, Raphtalia?" Han asked again, his tone low and gentle as his sword flicked out to cut down another foe.
"…I'm 14…" she murmured.
Han blinked in surprise. "Fourteen?"
She looked far too small, far too fragile. Demi-humans matured quickly—by fourteen, they were usually fully grown.
And then it hit him.
"…Are you… an orphan?" he asked.
Raphtalia didn't answer. She just looked up at him with wide, unreadable eyes. There was something in that look—confusion, recognition, and maybe, just maybe, the smallest flicker of something that had long been buried.
How did he know?
"I was an orphan too," Han said quietly, his voice almost lost amidst the chaos of the battle. "I know what it feels like to be alone in the entire world."
He wasn't trying to console her. He wasn't pitying her. He was simply being honest.
For Raphtalia, time stopped.
He… was an orphan too?
Why did he look so strong now? Why did he seem so full of purpose—so alive?
"I don't know what you went through..." Han continued, cutting down another goblin with a fluid stroke, his movements never faltering. "But I can tell you something... don't give up on your life just because you don't have anything worth living for right now."
He parried a wolf's lunge, spun, and sliced it cleanly in two.
"Create that something. Fight to create that something. Giving up is never the only choice."
His words struck her harder than any monster's claws. They rang through her body like a shockwave, echoing in the corners of her heart that she thought were long dead. No one had ever said anything like that to her before. No one had ever spoken to her like she mattered.
And this was a human.
One of the very people who had ruined her life.
Her hand trembled.
And then—it slipped free from Han's grasp.
Swish!
Two goblins lunged at her from the side, but they didn't make it far.
With a sharp motion and a clean, practiced swing, Raphtalia's sword cut through both in a single stroke. Their heads hit the ground with dull thuds, blood spraying across the moss-covered earth.
[Skill Awakening!]
[The hero, Raphtalia (☆☆), has awakened the skill: Basic Swordsmanship!]
[Raphtalia (☆☆)'s Basic Swordsmanship has risen to level 3!]
Han's eyes widened slightly, his blade momentarily still.
'She awakened Basic Swordsmanship and it already reached level 3?' Han thought. 'She's got more talent than I do... in my first fight I hadn't even awakened the Basic Swordsmanship skill... I did level it to level 3 immediately after awakening it, but that was only thanks to Shay's guidance...'
To be continued...
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How was this chapter? Liked it?
I know it's a bit short, but I am a lot tired right now, and, honestly, I got a little bit blocked and just decided to end the chapter there.