Chapter 43 Merged Skill
-Gerald-
He had no idea where the Lord was.
He and Lord Ivor had decided to split up hours ago. Gerald had expected to meet the young man back at position zero, where he was right now, but that was not the case at all. Unfortunately, he could not go out and search for him.
The Lord's orders are absolute. He commanded me to guard our people, so I will guard our people.
Gerald tore his gaze away from the west back towards the battlefield in front of him. Corpses of animals and soldiers littered the ground. Blood and limbs covered each and every inch of the area, but that was not what sent chills down Gerald's spine.
It was the group of Goblins and Orcs, charging towards them. If it were just the Wood Rank Goblins, Gerald wouldn't feel any fear. But it was the 10-foot-tall Orcs that troubled his mind. If there were a couple, the old veteran would feel comfortable taking them all on.
But there were more than a dozen.
Not only that, multiple dozens, if not hundreds, of Goblins surrounded them and ran towards his men and women. Gerald shook his head and pushed these thoughts away. Fear was a luxury that somebody in his position did not deserve.
He had promised himself he would protect this town. He had promised his lord that he would protect their people. Most importantly, Gerald had vowed to keep these promises.
And he would be damned if he broke any of them.
"We have come so far!" Gerald screamed with all his might.
Unlike his Lord, he couldn't use Mana to strengthen his voice.
"We cannot falter now! We cannot die now!
We are the last line of defense. Behind us are our loved ones.
Our treasured ones! Those whom we vowed to protect and serve!
Look at the ground. Look at the corpses of your brothers and sisters.
Burn their faces into your memories, for today was the last day they lived.
But their deaths served a purpose. The same purpose our fight will serve. "
Gerald looked at the men and women behind him. Their eyes were tired. Their faces grim and covered in dried blood and dirt. The group had shrunk so much. His heart ached. Yet, their fighting spirit didn't diminish. After today, these people would be considered veterans—forged by blood and death.
Gerald raised his sword and yelled, "The purpose to protect this damned town!"
The rest of the soldiers followed his motion. They raised their weapons—swords, spears, and axes—and cheered. There was not enough energy for words. But they didn't have to say anything. Gerald knew. They all knew.
They would die for this town.
The next few minutes felt like an eternity. Gerald watched as the Goblins ran towards them. He desperately hoped for some of them to fall into the traps. But the Goblins were not mindless. They might not be as smart as a human adult. But even a child would know not to jump into a hole.
The full brunt of Goblins reached them. Gerald looked to his left and nodded. Then to his right and repeated the same motion. The people on each of his sides nodded back. These were the only few Stone Ranks who remained. They started with around a dozen.
Now half were left.
"Charge!" Gerald yelled, and he set into motion. He did not want his army to be overrun. The walls were practically useless by now, and so their only option was to meet their opponents head-on.
Gerald activated all the possible Skills he had. The other Stone Ranks did the same. This was not going to be a drawn-out battle. It would end in minutes, with either them dead or the Goblins slaughtered.
Fireballs and Ice Bolts smashed into the first couple of Orcs, but they didn't do much damage. Flesh wounds were the result.
Gerald and his comrades smashed into the leading Goblins like a whirlwind.
They slaughtered the Peak Wood Ranks like it was nothing.
His sword glowed with a golden light, and so did his body as he paved a path forward, towards the first Orcs.
They didn't have time nor the energy to take care of these pesky beings.
Gerald heard the painful cries of his comrades but ignored them as much as he could. His heart ached. But he knew. He knew that if he paid attention to them, he would make a mistake. And a mistake would not just cost his life, but also the lives of his soldiers and in turn those inside the town.
Even if all of us die here, Gerald thought, We cannot let them reach the town.
Then, like sent by the gods, the sky illuminated for a brief moment.
It lit up in a bright orange light that made Gerald think that morning had come.
But the next second the light disappeared, and he heard a loud explosion.
The force wave of the explosion threw him and the other Stone Ranks through the air and away from the battlefield.
In the air, Gerald saw him. The middle-aged man with carefully slicked-back hair and a suit without one wrinkle on it. He stood inside a big charred crater; blown-apart limbs of orcs and Goblins lay all around him as he calmly took in the scene.
Sebastian, Gerald realized with delight. He is back.
Then he landed on the ground like a wet sack of potatoes, forcing the air out of his lungs.
The next few moments could only be described as the personification of hell descending.
Fire flared up every second only to leave ashes behind.
Despite being so far away, Gerald could still feel the heat wrap around his body.
Sweat trickled down his brow. He didn't want to know how hot it was for the Goblins.
This was what true power looked like, Gerald thought, with a twinkle in his eye. He knew that for each Rank Up the power difference would grow more and more. So despite Sebastian 'only' being one Rank higher, the man could probably kill ten, if not hundreds, of Geralds with ease.
I have been stuck at Stone Rank for too long, Gerald gritted his teeth and slammed his sword into the ground. With his exhausted body begging him to stay down, the man stood up again. His legs trembled. His muscles burned. But he did it anyway.
Soon he was back on his feet, able to witness a scene of true horror in front of him.
There were barely any Goblins and Orcs left.
It took Sebastian minutes to take care of something they were prepared to give their lives for.
The butler once again lifted his hands; like a conductor, his fingers moved through the air, each movement accompanied by the swirling flames wrapping around his hands.
The next second a wall of fire shot out of the ground, enveloping a group of fleeing Goblins.
Not even ashes remained as the wall fell.
Then it was the Orcs' turn. The last remaining two had realized they couldn't win.
So they ran.
Their wails of pain didn't last long.
Sebastian took care of the last few remaining stragglers with ease. They didn't stand a chance. Once he was done, the butler gave the battlefield a second look and walked over to Gerald.
"You will have your chance to Rank up later," Sebastian said, his eyes scanning the people behind Gerald. "Where is Lord Ivor?"
Gerald went slightly pale. He didn't know where Ivor was, and when war was going on, he didn't have the luxury to worry about him. But now the threat was gone. He was about to answer when a shrill scream interrupted him.
"The Lord is injured! Get a doctor for fuck's sake! Quick, the Lord is not responding. He is unconscious!"
Gerald was not sure who yelled, but Sebastian disappeared from his spot in an instant. He looked around to try and find the man, but he was nowhere to be seen. However, the longer Gerald looked, the more relief washed over him.
There were no Goblins in sight. No orcs and no beasts alive. No ongoing fighting was happening. The sound of metal clashing or the tearing of flesh was nowhere to be heard. The cries of anguish and pain—all of it was gone.
Instead, it was silent. Quiet and almost peaceful.
Gerald took a deep sigh of relief.
The war was finally over.
And they had won.
***
-Ivor-
I woke up to a splitting headache.
A careless child. Me playing hero. Boom. And a truck—wait, no. That was the concussion talking. It was a group of Goblin Shamans that put me through a meat grinder of some sort instead. Each bone inside my body hurt. Each movement shot a jolt of pain through my body.
But this time, my carelessness didn't kill me.
I almost felt like it was a shame, considering the pain I was going through. But oh well, I guess I would have to live with that. What a bummer...right?
Anyway, I awoke inside my room in the mansion. From that, I could draw the conclusion that the fight was either over, or at least no Goblin went inside the town. I couldn't help but sigh in relief at that realization.
I had already tried to stand up and go check whether or not my help was needed, but the pain coursing through my body put me back into bed. I would be far too much of a burden out there, so as much as it sucked, I simply stayed put.
Since I couldn't really concentrate, I didn't check upon my notifications. Instead, I focused on my breath and entered Meditation. It was far easier and more efficient than usual. I had no idea how much time passed, but eventually, I opened my eyes again.
The headache was gone now.
I didn't linger and pulled my notifications back up. There were a lot.
First, there were multiple level-ups for different kinds of skills. I skipped most of them, knowing they would be useless, but there was one that stood out to me in particular.
Meditation [Common] has evolved into Meditation [Uncommon]. Level reset.
So this was why it was so easy.
The skill's effect didn't change very much. The information entered my mind and mostly just explained that Meditation would now be much more efficient at what it was already doing. There was not any extra effect.
Besides this, a few more skills leveled up, but that information was practically useless because of the next notification.
Congratulations! You have Merged multiple Skills into the Skill [Mana Body Arts - Epic] (Incomplete)
The Skill [Unarmed Combat - Uncommon] was merged into [Mana Body Arts - Epic] (Incomplete) and therefore lost.
The Skill [Martial Forms - Uncommon] was merged into [Mana Body Arts - Epic] (Incomplete) and therefore lost.
The Skill [Commanding Presence - Common] was merged into [Mana Body Arts - Epic] (Incomplete) and therefore lost.
The Skill [Mana Manipulation - Rare] was merged into [Mana Body Arts - Epic] (Incomplete) but will be kept.
I couldn't even rejoice at the blessing of Merging a Skill of Epic Rarity, before a flood of information entered my mind. First, it was why I lost the skills I lost. It was fairly obvious; their core function was merged into my new skill, Mana Body Arts, making them obsolete.
What wasn't so obvious, but thankfully was explained to me, was why I kept Mana Manipulation. Despite the skill being a big part of my new skill, Mana Manipulation was far too versatile for the skill to merge into Mana Body Arts.
This reminded me once again of my idiotic use of Mana Manipulation.
Welp, at least now I've learned from the Goblin Shamans.
Either way, my new skill was awesome.
Unfortunately, before I could truly go through the information inside my mind, the door to my room creaked open. Inside the doorway stood a middle-aged man in a sleek suit—Sebastian. Like always, his face was impassive and hard to read.
Sebastian looked around the room for a few seconds, as if trying to see if there was somebody else besides me. Then his eyes landed back on me. Before I could say anything, he spoke first.
"You are finally awake?" he said. "Then let's finally talk about how fucked we are."