While Darui was cutting through the goblins with ease, someone was watching him — his father, Tarkus.
Tarkus thought, This evolution… just from an war trauma? Or was he secretly training all along? Sure, goblins aren't that tough, but they do have some agility and combat experience.
Tarkus slashed the neck of a goblin charging at him without breaking stride, then continued moving through the horde.
Now his thoughts shifted to the strange number of enemies. Why are there so many of these damned goblins? And why aren't there any evolved ones among them? Could the island have triggered this? Or was there already a large settlement here? But how did the villagers get through here so quickly... Something's missing.
While Tarkus was killing goblins and thinking all that, Darui was starting to slow down, exhaustion kicking in.
He could no longer imbue Qi into his sword, yet he kept fighting, now needing more strength to pierce or tear through the goblins.
Lacking experience, his strikes were clumsy and inefficient.
His sword got stuck in one goblin's body, and another came from the side, smashing a club into his arm. He lost his grip and staggered back. The goblin laughed at the scene—only to catch an arrow to the forehead.
An archer approached Darui and spoke.
"Please rest, young master."
I was panting, clearly tired, grabbed the sword lodged in the goblin's body, and fell back into the formation where people were recovering.
Sitting in the grass, I took a vial from my pouch and drank the blue liquid, soothing the pain in my arm.
I thought this world would be easier… but even goblins are a problem. Maybe it's just the numbers. I wonder… would that warrior still be alive if she hadn't helped me? But then I'd be dead…
Shaking off those guilty thoughts, I opened the system.
"Status"
Name: Darui Lantches
Race: Human?
Level: 3
Strength: 15[+]
Agility: 15[+]
Dexterity: 15[+]
Intelligence: 10[+]
Points: 6
Hm? I have levels now?
[Level: obtained by killing entities classified as "monsters" and completing system missions.]
So basically, I'm a slave to the system.
[That's one way to put it.]
That doesn't help at all, you know? Whatever. What's the harem system?
[It's a subsystem that allows the host to share strength with partners, and vice versa. Every time a harem member levels up, you gain a small portion of their experience.]
Huh… interesting. And what do you gain from it?
The system vanished for a moment before returning.
[…That's not relevant right now.]
Seeing the suspicious answer, I let it go for now.
Back on the status screen, I placed my points.
Name: Darui Lantches
Race: Human?
Level: 3
Strength: 17
Agility: 17
Dexterity: 15
Intelligence: 12
Points: 0
After increasing Intelligence, my head tingled for a few moments.
Then, I heard someone shout, "A DRAGON IS COMING!" and stood up, startled.
In the chaos, Tarkus shouted from the rear, "EVERYONE, FORMATION! DO NOT PANIC!"
Some soldiers panicked anyway, leaving the formation sloppy.
Now visible, a dragon was descending at full speed. The goblins began to scatter in terror.
Crashing through trees and slamming into a dense cluster of goblins, the dragon wiped everything in its path. On top of it stood a white-haired elf, holding a chain binding the beast.
Darui ran to Tarkus and heard him mutter.
"You've got to be kidding me… Not just a goblin trap, but now a damn dragon controlled by a Great Elf."
Tarkus dashed toward the dragon's impact zone. Darui followed close behind.
Getting closer, they heard the elf laughing.
"HAHAHA! BURN! SCREAM! MAKE ME HAPPY! HAHAHA!"
Darui stared at the scene, thinking,
Psycho from hell... is she here to help or kill us?
The few goblins that survived started running while the fire spread through the forest.
Iris just kept attacking.
"HAHAha," her laughter faded until she stopped completely.
Now with a cold expression, "This is boring now. I'm not the chasing type."
She turned to Darui and Tarkus and said with a smile and a wave, "Good morning! Or is it afternoon? ...Anyway, you're welcome, hehe~"
She jumped off the dragon, landing without a sound.
Everyone stayed on guard. Tarkus stepped forward while Darui stood behind a shield wall.
"What do you want, Great Elf?" Tarkus asked, hand resting on the sword at his waist.
"Hm? I just came to save potential survivors?~" Iris answered, looking unsure.
"Who are you, and what do you mean by 'potential survivors'?"
"I figured you were headed to the island, right? Oh, and my name's just Iris. Nice to meet you~"
"My name is Tarkus, Tarkus Lantches. If you're referring to the island like that, you must be… a resident?"
"Oh~, clever one. Nailed it. I was sent to make contact with you~."
"And what do your people want with these lands?"
"Honestly, I don't know… for now, nothing~, maybe~." Iris said in a playful tone.
Before another question could be asked, Iris continued, "Oh~, right. Almost forgot — you've been invited to the island. Actually, you and twenty others."
In the back, Darui watched everything, feeling uneasy.
This wasn't in the novel… I must've screwed everything up. I wanted to reach the island, but not like this…
While Darui wrestled with that, Tarkus asked another question.
"And why should we trust you?"
"Hmm~, good question. And honestly…" she paused and shrugged, "I've got no idea~."
"You mocking me?!" Tarkus snapped.
He drew his sword, and all the knights behind him got ready.
"Eh—" Iris said casually, then continued, "I don't want to fight. Seriously."
"Yeah right. I know your kind. No way you saved us out of pure goodwill."
Tarkus rushed forward, attacking Iris, but she dodged easily, stepping back.
"Ehh~ why though?" Iris still sounded playful.
"Shut up, demon," Tarkus growled with a serious expression.
He imbued Qi into his sword until it glowed blue and charged again.
"Oh~, so this is the topic now — Qi. Cool~" Iris said, clearly amused.
Tarkus slashed — Iris didn't move, just raised her hand in the sword's path.
Tch, good. She doubts the Qi aura.
But when the blade hit, it was like striking steel — not a scratch.
Iris's spiral eyes stopped spinning. Her joyful face turned into disdain.
"Weak."
Tarkus, his pride wounded, stepped back.
"Impossible… How…"
"What? That? Honestly, I expected more," Iris said, her tone now cold and dark.
From behind the shields, Darui could only watch, shocked.
Shit… Now she's taking things seriously. This is bad…
"I came with zero intentions… well, maybe a few. But none involved this. I'll give you another chance. Do you want to visit the island?"
Her presence turned terrifying — her tone flat, empty of warmth, only contempt.
Tarkus paused in thought and replied like he had no choice, "We will go."
Iris returned to her usual smile, and the spirals in her eyes spun joyfully.
"Great! I'll be in the skies. Choose your twenty companions~. When you're near the island, I'll descend with the dragons for pickup."
She leapt onto the dragon and soared into the sky.
Darui, in the back, thought,
What the hell was that? She just appears and vanishes like it's nothing… Are we inside a game?
Tarkus sheathed his sword.
"Attention everyone! I'll be selecting twenty of you. If you want to go, raise your hand."
A few raised their hands — more than the limit, but not by much.
Tarkus noticed his son raising his hand too. He turned to him.
"Darui, you're going back."
Darui answered without hesitation. "No, I want to go, father."
Tarkus stared seriously at him and replied sharply,
"Darui, it's not safe anymore. You saw that monster's power. Someone needs to report this to the king."
Thinking fast, Darui spoke, "Father, I don't want to feel the weight of guilt ever again. If I go back now, I'll regret it. Please let me go."
Tarkus sighed. "Haah… Fine. I just hope I won't regret this."
Darui nodded, quietly celebrating inside. Yes! Maybe I can still fix this madness somehow…
Tarkus continued, "Alright, I'll ask again. Raise your hand if you truly wish to go. I won't judge anyone who refuses."
This time fewer hands went up — only fifteen.
"Perfect. She didn't give an exact number, just a limit. We'll go with this. The rest of you, return and report. Tell Sofia to send a letter to the king with everything."
"YES!" all those departing shouted in unison.