The Difference in Power

They say that fifty percent of F-rank adventurers die or retire by the time they would reach their D-rank promotion cycle. Will and his party were woefully close to figuring out why that statistic was accurate. It was a normal dungeon delve, typical of an F-rank party, scavenging for whatever scraps of treasure were left of the upper levels of the dungeon, only occasionally slaying the stray slime or imp. No one could have expected that such a large goblin raiding party would dare brave the upper levels here, and more so set up an ambush.

“There are too many!” Will, the party leader, gasped, readying his blade.

“We need to get out of here!” Alan, the rogue and tracker, grunted, kneeling down and notching his bow.

“This isn’t what I signed up for!” Mina, the healer and part-time priestess, added.

The first goblin lunged forward at Will, rusty dagger at the ready. Will swung, barely parrying the attack, before following up with a kick, knocking the monster back. Alan let loose an arrow, meeting its mark on the flank of another goblin in the backline. Will responded, charging the injured creature and severing its head with a well-timed slash. Two other goblins, armed with clubs, counterattacked, driving Will back towards his party.

“I count twelve. Actually, eleven now,” Will grunted.

“We need to hit em again, create an opening and get out of here. They’re cautious now because we got one of them,” Alan observed.

“I only have two heals. Be careful,” Mina said.

“See the two in the back there?” Will gestured. “If you hit one with an arrow, and I hit the other, I’ll hit the other, and we bolt.”

“If I hit the shot,” Alan sighed.

“Well, do that, or we die, so hit the shot,” Will shrugged. “On my mark.” Will counted to three with his fingers. “Now!”

Will charged, raising his blade over his head while letting out a primal screech. Alan shot his arrow past him. The shot grazed the side of the goblin, leaving a streak of crimson and an annoyed goblin. Will cursed, swinging his weapon into the other, killing it. He jerked, trying to force his blade to swing into another, only to realize the edge was stuck, caught in bone.

“Dammit!” Will cursed, kicking the other goblin.

The goblin howled, arching back and glaring at Will, who was still struggling to pull his blade from the body. An arrow buried itself in the goblin’s arm, causing it to scream before jerking it head towards Alan just as he notched another arrow.

“Always keep your eye on the enemy!” Will yelled, swinging his now free sword down on top of its skull, killing it. “Run!”

Alan and Mina took off, rushing past Will as he tried once again to dislodge his sword from the skull of the killed goblin. The other goblins went rabid, howling as they began to chase. Will cursed, leaving his very expensive (to him) sword behind.

“Dammit! That's the third sword this month!” Will cried, catching up with his fleeing party members.

“We’re going to be drinking salty water tonight for dinner at this rate!” Alan shot back.

“If we make it to dinner!” Mina cried, struggling to run in her long priestess robes.

Behind them, the guttural sounds of the chasing monsters echoed on the dungeon walls, distorting whether they were closing in or not.

“Left!” Will commanded.

The party following, banking behind a tight corner.

“Right!” he yelled again, the party following down a shrinking corridor.

“Are you sure?” Alan asked.

“Pretty sure! We passed through this way during the slime apocalypse, remember?” Will answered.

“It took me a week to get slime out of my clothes!” Mina gasped.

“One last right here, and we’re a straight shot out!” Will pointed down a dark hole in the wall. It was covered in webs.

They surged forward, Will taking the brunt of the spiderwebs as they rushed down the rocky path.

“Ah!” Mina cried.

Will turned, finding she had tripped over her robes and had fallen face flat into the mud.

“Mina!” He yelled, turning back for her.

The goblins surged forward. There were more of them than they were originally, perhaps attracted by the sound of their howling. They quickly scuttled around them, cutting Will off from Alan. Mina quivered, barely getting to her feet as she realized what happened.

“Im sorry,” She whimpered.

“Don’t be,” Will assured, drawing his spare knife.

“Guys!” Alan cried out, a short distance away from the goblin wall, readying a shaky arrow.

The goblins cackled, producing their crude weapons, all rusty knives and wooden sticks functioning as clubs. Will crouched over Mina, like a tiger, shaky hand barely able to grip his knife.

“Get out of here, Alan! Get help! I’ll protect Mina!” Will directed.

“I’m not leaving you guys! You won’t make it!” Alan yelled back.

“I’m not going down without a fight! Ricard wouldn’t go down without a fight!” Will roared.

Courage seemed to flow into him. Yes, it was the image he had in his head of a true hero. Though Will didn’t have a skill, he could be like the hero Ricard. It wasn’t over yet. Here and now, he’d fight to save those he cared about. Even if this was the end, he certainly wouldn’t let it come so easily.

“Come then! I’ll take you all on! You rat bastards!” He challenged, roaring, puffing his chest.

This was the battle to end all battles. Will against all the goblins in the world.

“That won’t be necessary,” another voice echoed, a woman’s.

It was a flash. All Will saw was the brief sparks of a blade, followed by an ocean of crimson blood and viscera. All the goblins, perhaps thirty of them in all, lay severed in various states of dismemberment. Will heard the sound of sheathing blade come from behind him. He turned and found himself starting at the back of the Blade Princess.

“You three need to be more careful,” she instructed in an almost motherly tone, turning, her crimson red hair swishing as she did so. “Although, it is strange to have this many goblins this high up.”

“Wa…” Will gasped, still trying to understand what just happened.

“Lady Crestfall,” Another woman emerged from behind Alan. She was dressed in a maid’s outfit, carrying a magical staff. “You must be more cautious. You almost stained your dress.”

“It’s a combat outfit, Shisa,” The Blade Princess puffed. “It’s meant to be stained.”

“Forgive me, my lady, but as your maid, I must insist.” She said, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping some blood away from the armor.

“So that’s the power of an S rank,” Alan noted, helping Mina to her feet. “She made it look way too easy. It’s a completely different world for them.”

“Goes to show the upper crust of the adventurer guild is only possible with people who have amazing skills,” Mina responded.

“Ricard didn’t have a skill,” Will grit his teeth. His eyes were still affixed to the back of the Blade Princess.

Other than chiding them, she didn’t even look at them. Not really. Like she was playing her role as the responsible S rank.

“You’re not Ricard, Will,” Alan told him. “None of us are. We can’t compare to that.”

Will watched as the Blade Princess disappeared into the bowels of the dungeon. It was a firm reminder of where he had to go. He will become an S rank one day, and he didn’t need a skill to achieve that. He only needed to get stronger. That was something he promised himself.