ITWOK Chapter 12: Ineffectual Hero

The morning light filtered through the canopy, casting a pale glow over the carnage below. The forest floor was littered with the torn bodies of goblins and dire wolves, their blood soaking the earth. At the heart of the battlefield, the Greater Goblin and the Greater Ravager stood locked in a silent, exhausted standoff. Both creatures were on the verge of collapse, their breaths shallow, their movements sluggish.

The Greater Ravager had only one ally left, a lone dire wolf, its fur matted with blood. With a guttural snarl, the wolf lunged at the Greater Goblin. But the goblin was ready. In a brutal, fluid motion, it caught the wolf by the neck and twisted until the sickening crack echoing out.

The moment’s distraction was all the Ravager needed. It surged forward, its massive jaws snapping shut on the goblin’s forearm. Teeth pierced flesh, grinding down to bone, but the Greater Goblin didn’t flinch. Its fiery gaze never wavered. Gritting its teeth, it forced its free hand between the Ravager’s maw, fingers digging deep into the beast’s gums. With a roar that shook the trees, the goblin summoned the last reserves of its strength. Muscles strained, bones creaked—and then, with a deafening crunch, the Ravager’s skull split in two.

The Greater Goblin staggered back, gasping for air as it dropped to its knees. Blood dripped from its mangled arm. Looking at the Greater Goblin now, it was like witnessing a scene of terror. Parts of its flesh were missing, mangled, and deep gashes that exposed organs could be seen. The amount of blood alone made it a wonder how it had managed to stand until now.

Before the goblin could savor its victory, a blade drove deep into its neck. The goblin’s eyes widened in shock as it turned to face the attacker, the same goblin-mask-wearing individual who held a mana stone glowing in his grip.

“Thanks for the assist,” Haru said calmly. “You fought well. You can rest now.”

The Greater Goblin gurgled, its consciousness fading as it collapsed to the ground. Its body twitched once, then stiffened.

Haru sank to his knees, the weight of the night catching up to him. He let out a strained laugh, the sound breaking the silence of the forest. He leaned back, removed the mask, and relived the chaos in his mind. Exhaustion hit him all at once, but there was no time to waste. The smell of blood would draw scavengers and worse, predators eager to claim the newly vacant territory.

“Time to get to work,” Haru muttered to himself. With a weary sigh, he unsheathed a butchering knife and began processing the corpses.

***

Back at the palace, the Summoned, some still groggy from the previous night, were escorted to the dining hall for a quick breakfast. Once finished, they were ushered into a spacious chamber.

Chancellor Nuel stood at the front of the room as the Summoned took their seats. "Good morning to you all," he said as paced gently, his hands clasped behind his back. "I trust everyone had a restful night. Today, we have much to accomplish. Specifically, we will be assessing each of your skills."

A noticeable wave of excitement swept through the group.

“We will be doing your skill assessments individually. Please be patient as we call your names. You will be instructed to go through either the left door or the right door. From there, based on your skill and subsequent testing score, we will place you into your designated groups. ”

“What designated groups? Are you separating us?” One of the Summoned asked.

“We will simply be assigning you to an area where your skills will be most suited. For example, for some of you, your skills may not necessarily be suited for the battlefield. In such a case, we would designate you in some other role which puts your skills to assist us in fighting the demons but where you won’t have to put your lives in danger.”

Hearing his words, a few of the people there breathed a sigh of relief. There were, after all, some who were ill-suited for any kind of strenuous activity, let alone to actually fight the demons.

After answering a few more questions, Nuel left and their names began to be called.

"Lance Falknir, please enter the door on the right. Serena Kate, please enter the door on your left."

By now, everyone had made at least some acquaintance with each other. However, one night was not enough to make everyone truly familiar. As such, Lance stood tall and proud, his chest puffed out as he proclaimed, "I didn't come here to follow. I came to lead. I will be the hero this world needs, and anyone who wishes to join me, I promise to lead us to glory. Mark my words!

Lance was truly a character to remember. His words echoed throughout the enclosed space, and the other Summoned couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for Lance's confidence. He proceeded to enter the right door.

Serena Kate, dressed in a warm sundress, with her long black hair in two braids, gave a shy smile. "Whichever group we end up in, I hope you all make it to the one you wish," she murmured, ducking her head. "I hope we can get to know each other better.

Both Lance and Serena’s words brought comfort to the Summoned. They followed suit, providing a general reintroduction of themselves, which eased the tensions as the names were called one by one

Slowly, the room grew empty until only one person remained.

"Emily Brine, right door, please."

Emily stepped forward, her heart pounding. She entered the room and found only one other occupant, a man in a cloak

"Um, hello, I'm Emily Br—" she began, but the figure raised a hand, silencing her.

"Forward."

Emily obeyed, stepping closer. The figure unfurled a scroll, ancient symbols glowing with an inner light. The light surged, engulfing her. As it faded, a single phrase shimmered above her head, [Weapons Forging].

"Weapon Forging?" she muttered. "What does it—"

"It's up to you to discover its purpose, miss summoned," the figure interrupted with a dry rasp.

Before Emily could respond, a rune-etched circle flared beneath her, enveloping her in light. Then, she was gone.

Emily blinked as she found herself in a new location. She was surrounded by rocky walls, with no exit in sight. Jagged stones bit into her palms. Around her lay a graveyard of broken, twisted, and shattered weapons.

She called out, but no response came. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm her racing heart and think about her next move.

Suddenly, a loud rumbling echoed behind her. She turned to see rocks moving, stacking on top of each other to form a giant humanoid golem that reached almost to the ceiling. Without warning, the golem raised its arm and swung down toward her.

"Aaaah!" Emily shrieked, terror gripping her as she frantically dodged the massive fist. Clumps of dirt and rock flew up around her from the powerful swing, but she was too paralyzed with fear to react.

"W-w-wait, I can't handle this!" she pleaded, but the golem remained unresponsive. It slammed its other hand down, and Emily barely evaded the blow once more, the impact sending her flying into a wall. She heard a crack and felt her left arm break.

Her face contorted with pain as she tried to move away in desperate fear. "No, no, no, this can't be real…" she muttered, trying to rationalize the situation. Perhaps it was just a terrible nightmare, but the agonizing pain from her broken arm forced her to confront the grim reality.

"Help! Help me! It's going to kill me!" she cried out, clawing frantically at the walls. But no one came to her rescue.

She scrambled to escape, her heart pounding in her chest as she searched for an exit, a way out. But there was none. The golem towered above her, its massive form casting a terrifying shadow. In that moment, Emily's mind raced, searching for a way to fight back. Then it hit her: her skill, [Weapon Forging]. Maybe she could use it to defeat the golem.

With a surge of hope, she turned to face the golem and raised her right arm, pointing it at the monster. She called out her skill.

Nothing happened.

"No way…" she muttered, her heart sinking as the golem raised its hands to deliver the final blow.

The golem smashed down.

Miraculously, Emily tucked herself into a ball at the right moment and rolled out of the way, narrowly avoiding the golem's crushing blow. The will to live had sprung her into motion.

She hit the ground hard, her body aching from the impact, but she was alive. Exhaustion weighed on her, having used every ounce of strength to avoid the golem's attacks. She lay on the ground, unable to move. It was unlikely she had it in her to avoid death again.

"Am I... Am I going to die here?" she muttered. Her life flashed before her eyes: an ordinary existence with no great accomplishments, no boyfriend, no close friends, and parents always too busy with their own lives to pay her much attention.

Emily had dreamed of saving enough money to travel the world, to see all the places she had only read about in books. But that day had never come, and now it never would.

Tears streamed down Emily's face as she stared up at the golem looming above her. Her sight blurred as she looked down at the shattered remnants of weapons scattered across the floor. Desperately, she tried to grasp for something, anything. As her consciousness began to fade, she thought she caught a glimpse of a particular weapon. With a weak voice, she murmured, "A... crossbow?"

Suddenly, a radiant light appeared before her, and she felt an object materialize in her hand. Unaware of what force guided her actions, she weakly aimed the weapon at the golem and pulled the trigger.

The arrow was propelled from the crossbow, colliding with the golem. The projectile ricocheted off the golem's surface. The golem threw a final blow towards her, only to halt mere inches from her. A brilliant light then emanated from beneath her, causing her to plummet downwards.

In a barely conscious state, Emily could faintly discern voices surrounding her.

"What is her result?" Nuel inquired.

Another responded, "Not promising. She managed to inflict around three points of damage on the golem. Furthermore, the weapon she manifested through her ability is of inferior quality."

"Can her skill be used to mass produce the weapons?" he asked.

"We could not get an accurate assessment on that, but based on what we've learned from the other Summoned, it seems their skills are capable of improving. However, we can't be sure if it would be worth the effort to train her up to reach that point."

"Yet another ineffectual hero," Nuel sighed. "Very well, assign her to the back group and take her to the rooms after she's healed."

Her consciousness finally left her, and she fell into a deep sleep.