28 Midnigh

"The goblins are right ahead. Stay silent and don't alarm them."

"Listen to Mask, he has a good point."

The group quietly made their way to an opening in the forest and saw green skinned ugly creatures.

They were buck naked and had poisonous green skin with red eyes. They were about the size of children and were just as weak. They only made up for it by their ferocious nature and devious tactics and numbers. They were still dumb though.

Twenty... that's going to be a bit hard.

Jack formulated a plan.

Ali or Ver could easily take care of these but Ali is limited in his abilities because of the trees and Ver can't use area of effect skills because it might attract other monsters or beasts. They would be limited by rank 1 spells.

However, using rank 1 spells repeatedly would be taxing. In case of an emergency, there fire power would be severely reduced and would cause the death of all of them.

"The best choice would be too send the assassin and archer to reduce the numbers and then lure the remaining goblins back to the main group."

"Yes exactly-"

Jack snapped out of his thinking state and faced Mask with admiration.

"It's like you read my mind."

"Nope, it's more like finding easy solutions and then process of elimination."

"Still amazing."

Jack turned towards Pale.

"You heard what he said, I want you to go with him and cut down the numbers."

"I don't want to though..."

Mask let out a smirk.

"It's ok, I don't bite. At least when I'm not angry."

"Are you angry?"

"Very."

"Thanks for the reassurance."

Jack sighed.

"Just protect Mask from any hidden danger."

"It's not like he needs it."

"Stop complaining and get to position."

Mask stood up silently.

"Don't attack until you see the signal."

"What signal?"

"You'll know when it happens."

"What's that supposed to mean-"

Mask casted his signature stealth and blended into the shadows.

"I swear, stealth has to be the most annoying magic I have ever seen."

Pale stomped the ground in a fit of anger, quietly.

Pale then climbed on top of a tree and waited staring at the goblin group with a focused gaze.

Five minutes past and Pale stood there watching intently.

Ali started to complain.

"When is he going to start-"

Five daggers silently struck five goblin heads accurately, killing them silently and effectively.

Ali immediately went silent.

The goblins didn't realize the death of their comrades until a black blur ascended from the shadows and sliced a head off.

Pale couldn't help but murmur.

"Fuck this blunt blade. How the hell can it still cut?"

Even while complaining, Pale drew his bow and fired continuously at the goblins.

However, due to their already alarmed state, the goblins were aware and dodged the arrows. Only one slower goblin was killed while the other arrows pierced the legs or arms or the ground.

"Damn."

Pale leaped down from the tree and notified the group.

"Be careful. The goblins may come at any moment."

"How many down?"

"Mask took down five with his daggers and beheaded one. I killed one and maimed another four."

"It's risky but we can do it."

Pale let out a smile.

"I swear, this is a good assassin-"

Eyes wide, Pale stopped and dropped his jaw in amazement.

"What is it?"

Jack followed Pale's gaze and dropped his jaw too.

The rest of the group followed.

In the center of the group was a black haired boy with a white mask wielding a black blade.

The boy was being attacked by all of the remaining goblins however he was somehow holding them off.

Mask gracefully weaved through the crude weapons the goblins waved around and slit a throat when he saw the chance. The four injured goblins were already dead at his feet.

A goblin leapt up to strike a blow at the head of Mask, causing Jack to let out an involuntary scream.

"Watch out!"

However, it was too late. Mask couldn't keep up and was occupied by the other goblins. The club descended closer and closer to Mask's head when all of a sudden, Mask released a red glow and erupted in flames.

Goblins started to scream out in pain as they tried to escape the fire.

Not letting the chance go, Jack and his group attacked the burned goblins one by one until all were dead.

After the last goblin let out a painful wail, they headed towards Mask.

"Are you alright Mask?"

Mask stumbled.

"Yeah, I'm alright. It seems as though taking on twenty at a time is a bit too much for me."

"You did great."

"I still need improvement."

Mask lost energy in his legs and fell, however, Jack caught him before he could hit the ground.

"Thanks."

"Are you sure you are ok?"

"Yeah, I just overused my ability back there so I'm running low on mana."

"So you are a fire ability user?"

"It's more like I am a versatile magic assassin."

"Hmm interesting."

"I think I'm done for today. I can't even walk correctly. You can take all the goblin cores."

"We can't, it's mostly your kills anyway."

Mask jingled his bag.

"I have enough already. I hope we do see each other again."

"Wait, we will take you out of the forest. It's the least we can do."

Mask shook his head.

"Nah, it's alright. I have just about enough mana to teleport me to my bed."

"What-"

Mask started to flicker in and out like a ghost.

"Bye, I hope we meet again."

"Bye?"

Right before Mask slipped away, Jack caught a sight of the boy's eyes for the first time.

They were both midnight black with a circular pattern that resembled a vortex.

Jack couldn't help engrave those eyes into his memory.

Ver let out a gasp.

"He is an amazing student isn't he."

She stared at herself as if comparing talent with the boy before facing back up with a determined gaze.

"It doesn't mean I will lose."

Jack let out a smile.

"Yep, we will meet eventually. I mean, we probably go to the same school."

Pale raised his eyebrows.

"How do you know that?"

"He had the standard uniform of Agna Empire Academy underneath his cloak."

"So he does go to our school..."

Ver tilted her head sideways.

"How will we find him?"

Jack smiled.

"Simple."

He faced the other four with a confidant expression.

"Ask around for a boy with eyes, hair, and a sword as black as midnight."