High School Soldier
Goblin fog 1

Nio did not know whether Sakuya and the four Explorers girls were intentional or not, or perhaps had other intentions, as they said some information he thought to be confidential. The four Explorers girls were seen unable to properly smile after seeing the terrible death that befell their comrades. It was not the information Nio wanted, but he felt he had to show sympathy and condolences towards them.

“Thank you, already helped bury our friend,” said the Witch class explorer girl.

Now Nio felt bad about doing a not-so-worthy funeral, but he also did not know how this world's people buried the dead. He said he only needed to bury, then pray according to their respective religions, then pay his last respects before leaving the cemetery including paying his last respects properly.

“Ya. You are too calm when there is an enemy soldier walking behind you,” Nio answered him in a slightly serious tone.

Hearing an enemy soldier say a fact that was going on outside the Labyrinth, namely the conflict between the Alliance and the Guild, the four Traveling girls could only bow their heads and listen to Nio's words.

“However, you've helped us escape the siege of minotaur.”

Nio was the person with the tallest body out of the five girls in front of him, so he only needed to look down to see their expressions. He, Sakuya, and the four Explorers girls had walked for less than two hours, but the man felt that the journey had gone too far. Saying he trusted the five girls living in the Alliance member country, Nio himself also hesitated if they would really help him.

However, one of the Alliance's heroes, the Empathy Hero named Nanaharu Sakuya, said something like his fighting path. Nio had read the historical record of two great nations at war, and the king of each country had a very close relationship. When one of the kings fell ill, while the war between the two countries drew near, the other king sent the best healer in his country to treat the sick king. The king who sent a healer to the ailing king said he wanted a just war, because the army of the king who fell ill will certainly experience a decline in morale and fighting spirit because there is no king at their side. After the sick king was healed, then the two armies of each king fought each other, with a fair war because they faced each other in their best condition.

Although the king could have taken the opportunity when the king who became his enemy was in a weak condition, but the two kings both respect each other, he said, like two friends who are forced to serve their duties as kings in each country. However, Nio thought that the situation he was facing right now was much different from the two historical figures, because he and Sakuya had only met a few hours ago. And Nio did not know why the Japanese girl could refuse the fight just because she was far from her territory.

“Sakuya, are you inspired by someone and make you say you want a fair fight?”

“Of course, but I forgot his name. My memory says that the figure is the king of the Muslim country and the king of the Christian kingdom, and they are both like friends.”

“Salahuddin Al Ayyubi I thought I had done almost the same thing as you, when Richard the Lionheart was very sick, while their country was still ravaged by the Crusades.”

“It turns out you know a lot, huh? I think I should respect you.”

Nio could only put on a flat face when Sakuya said that, she felt that her knowledge of the origin world history of the two of them could be useful. He felt he had to question his own sanity as he accepted the enemy soldier's offer to help himself get out of this place.

Sakuya said everything about Rio who was seen suffering from severe mental attacks, until sometimes one of the Alliance's heroes smiled and was frightened for no apparent reason. Sakuya felt that the cause of the anger Hero's emotions changing quickly was post-fight with Nio. But, Nio felt that his fight against Rio was a natural thing, because the position of the two of them was hostile to each other.

Unfortunately, that was the thing that made Sakuya feel honored to be able to meet a person who was able to make a hero like a person affected by mental disorders. Nio thought if the girl's sanity also needed to be asked, “For what does she respect an enemy like me?”. The condition that caused it not to get help in the near future should be able to be utilized by Sakuya. After all, Nio felt that he was not an important soldier belonging to Indonesia, even there were many young officers like himself who owned by the TNI. So that they would be forced to sacrifice an officer fighting in enemy territory alone.

However, since it was not the help of Sakuya and the four Explorers girls, Nio would probably die. Just thinking about it can make Nio imagine if the funeral he will get is by the way his body is eaten by wild animals or monsters that inhabit this Labyrinth.

Nio has promised to help the five girls with his abilities, until a way out for him can be found.

The eyes are wider than those of Japanese people mostly with black and shiny pupils, skin that looks soft and very well groomed and clean, as well as the definition of the perfect beauty of other East Asian girls according to Nio is in Sakuya. Nio compares the beauty and physical beauty of Sakuya to Eimi Fukada, Mikami Yua, Tsubasa Amami, and as a result Sakuya may be prettier than the Japanese adult film star, according to Nio. Sakuya was a hero, and one of the strongest people the Alliance had, her enemy. Nio should not feel lucky because there are young and beautiful girls who are willing to help him even though they know he is from an enemy country of the Alliance.

The only option for Nio to be able to get out of this place was indeed to trust them, although the feeling of doubt was still in Nio's heart. This place was not clear day and night, so Nio only relied on watches to monitor the time. He had a stockpile of ten imukal foods in his backpack, and some TB-1 (additional ration cookies). However, he also had to worry about how the five girls in front of him were getting food.

“Oh, very good reflexes, what's your name?”

Before Nio praised one of the combat class Explorers girls, the girl suddenly pulled a sword from its sheath to slash the neck of a small goblin. The goblin had a size between fifty centimeters to two meters, and the one killed by the fighting girl had a size of about one meter. The blood of monsters was unlike the blood of humans or Demihumans, most of the blood colors of monsters were dark brown and purple and smelled foul. The purple blood flowing from the neck of the goblins spread a foul and fishy scent into the air, and made them have to continue exploring.

“Thanks for the compliment, my name is Sayf, and he's Kardas, a class fighter like me. While they are both a class of magicians, Sabole and Nefe.”

The three girls introduced by Sayf smiled awkwardly towards Nio, and in the end Sakuya found out the names of the four girls. They did not hesitate at all to tell Nio their name. Sayf and Kardas carry a long sword on their right hip, and both wear cheap, lightweight metal armor, like the typical fighter-class Explorers who recently signed up for the Explorers' Association. While Sabole was carrying an ordinary wooden stick and wearing a dark-colored mage-style robe, Nefe was only wearing ordinary clothes without the equipment of a mage like Sabole.

However, even though he finally found out their names, Nio still could not feel at ease after Sayf killed a goblin. Just when Sayf killed a goblin, they were among the large, broad-leaved trees. The wide leaves and large tree trunks made the light less and caused this place to darken a little. In the Japanese light novel that Nio had read, the habitat of goblins is a cave or dark forest, or as it was written by the author of the adventure genre light novel. Goblins were said to be the weakest monsters, yet they always attacked with large numbers.

The goblins were indeed weak, but Nio felt that he could not underestimate every creature in this world, no matter how weak it was.

“Hey, why are you guys exploring the tenth floor?” ask Sakuya in a serious tone.

“Because here it says there are very many valuable items. However, this place is no scary danger, as the other Explorers say,” Nefe replied while showing a large sling bag containing valuable minerals, monster body parts, and a large sling bag, or a rare plant.

“Floor ten? A rover? The danger? What exactly is this place hiding?” asked Nio with her innocent face.

The five girls felt that they had to put on a plain face of Nio, and tried to explain about the Labyrinth to the other ‘worldly warrior’. Nio was confused when the four Explorers girls told Nio the place was filled with monsters, aka the Labyrinth itself. However, when Sakuya said that the Labyrinth was the same place as the Dungeon that was often used on the background of Japanese novels and comics, Nio finally knew its current location.

That was the information he had to attach to his report, if he could return later. Although the chance to return was quite small, Nio recorded every word Sakuya and the four Explorers girls in detail but succinctly. Normally, elite troop warriors like Nio did not need a small notebook to record every information they obtained, as they had extremely high memory and reasoning abilities. Then looking at Nio who was still using the records in everything might look funny and different from the most elite soldiers.

Nio slid the SS20 G2 on his back, then pulled the sword from the scabbard on his vest's back. The overcoat that covered the entire body made the four Explorers girls curious about the luggage Nio had, as well as the strange staff that could kill minotaurs easily. It took them at least five minutes to defeat the bull-headed monster.

As the atmosphere grew darker, Nio's left hand held a small flashlight while his right hand held a sword. Alertly, Nio glanced around, and ignored the confused gazes of the four Explorers as if their gazes were saying, “Little thing that can light up, what is its name?”, or something like that.

“This is a flashlight,” said Nio like a kindergarten teacher introducing the names of objects to his students.

“Senter, what is that thing from heaven? Because the light produced is white, like the nature of the Gods,” said Kardas with a pretentious face.

“Anjir, yes Indonesia is called their same paradise?” nio said in his heart. Then he answered Kardas' statement, “Ya.. yes... arguably this technology from my origin.”.

The gazes of the four Explorers girls suddenly changed, and they felt that Nio was really from a country that was at war with the Alliance. However, they heard the news that the Alliance's enemies had long black steel sticks that could let out flames, and their steel weapons were extremely powerful. After realizing Nio has some traits that come close to otherworldly warriors, the four Explorers girls feel like they don't want to get involved and have problems with Nio.

“Sakuya, are all heroes named human feelings? I heard Rio is the Hero of Anger and you are the Hero of Empathy.”

“Ah... ummm.. that's... I also don't know the details.”.

Nio sighed after not getting any information directly from the person who became the hero. Then his gaze turned to Sabole and friends, as if his eyes could say, “I need help from you guys to answer my question earlier”.

“Sorry, we don't know either. But, we've heard that the heroes of the past have also been named after human feelings and emotions. The reason why they were named like that is never explained,” said Nefe who ultimately made Nio not get information about the hero.

Nio stuffed his notebook back into the pocket of his snow camouflage uniform while sighing. On the other hand, the four Explorers girls would not have expected that their tenth-floor Labyrinth exploration would be assisted by enemy warriors. Even so, they felt that help from Nio was still needed, and was very meaningful.

“Hey, isn't he pretty handsome?” sayf asked in such a soft tone, even Nio could not hear what he was saying.

Sabole, Nefe, and Kardas then glanced slightly toward Nio who was larger and taller than them, then gave an assessment of the man's physique. Such an unfamiliar face, a dark brown skin color with many scars on the face, a body that seemed to be muscular, hair that could not be tidied up, and a sharp gaze with black eye pupils, as well as the stern expression was their assessment of Nio.

“True too. In addition, he seems to be very strong with his odd stick that,” Nefe said in a voice that was smoother than Sayf before.

Then, they felt that it would be fine with the presence of the warrior ‘otherworld’ and the Hero of Empathy by their side, and were able to exit the tenth floor alive.

Not many people come out alive after exploring the tenth floor, if lucky after exploring this floor the Explorers only lose body parts and experience severe trauma to end up in madness. However, it is gripping that the four Traveling girls saw the death of one of their colleagues due to a fight against a herd of minotaurs. No one knows what will happen next.

Kardas, Sayf, Nefe, and Sabole never imagined being able to explore the tenth floor so far and managed to obtain many valuable items that would be very expensive if sold in the Explorer's Union. If they continued to explore the tenth floor without the help of Nio and Sakuya, they thought this exploration would be a suicide for them. Nio is a stranger they suddenly find and save, but Sakuya is the hero defending the Alliance, meaning that the girl is also defending the Duiwel Empire. No one invited Nio into this exploration group, but the help of the man was still needed by them.

“With the presence of Nio in this group, maybe we can defeat the dragons that live here.”

Sakuya's words sounded very convincing, but according to Nio it was just an exaggerated sentence to make her believe in the Japanese girl.

“I didn't say that I could defeat a dragon. I have even only ever seen a dragon from a distance of twenty meters.”

Their voice sounded quite loud among the giant trees here, and it made Nio suspicious of the increasingly calm situation. He increased his alertness to the surroundings, and installed his sharpest hearing. He did not have a night vision device, fortunately the atmosphere was not as dark as one thought though it was a little foggy.

Sayf and Kardas walked in front with their right hand grasping the handle of the sword that had still not been taken out, and their gazes were as wary as Nio's. In a messy formation, they walked slowly through the dark atmosphere almost nearing evening time. Nio walked in the back row while holding his flashlight. Sabole and Nefe walked in front of Nio, and Sakuya was in front of the witches. They all anxiously walked.

Nio walked as slowly as possible and tried to make his footsteps no sound. The girls in front of him also did the same thing, although the sound of friction of two objects still sounded quietly. However, Nio's hearing caught a voice that he thought was very suspicious.

“Should I hear something..” said Nio with a serious face.

“Where?” answer Sakuya.

“Anywhere, I'm serious. Looks like they number quite a lot.”

“Goblin...!!!”

Nefe's screams were shocking, along with that fantasy creatures called goblins ran in various directions to lock them up. Unfortunately, Nio was dozens of steps away from them, and dozens of goblins kept running around him.

He saw every goblin that surrounded him holding a weapon from stone – like a stone axe and a dagger, their faces looking very disgusting. The goblins that Nio encountered here were different from the ones the Alliance had.

Sakuya pulled her katana from her scabbard, then lifted her up and her mouth let out words of incantation. A moment later, after Sakuya finished chanting the spell, dozens of football-sized fireballs flew into the air and illuminated an area of fifty square meters.

Then, Sabole and Nefe also cast a spell while raising both hands and a staff. Dozens of thick needles made of fire floated in front of them, then flew them at high speed towards the dozens of goblins that were running towards them. Dozens of fire arrows smashed into the faces of dozens of goblins, making the monsters scream, then ending with the appearance of the smell of charred meat.

The killed goblins were small in size, and they were very easy to kill even by a ten-year-old. Dozens of goblins were successfully paralysed, and it was a great achievement for the four Explorers girls. It makes them feel confident that what ever works will work again. Sabole put on a grinning smile after successfully defeating dozens of goblins with Nefe.

But, there were dozens of goblins that the six of them had to deal with. Sabole raised her wand again while casting a spell. Unfortunately, before he finished his spell, one of the two-meter-sized goblins held his hand. He panicked and almost yelled, not even the goblin gave him a seatu to shout and slammed him into the rocky ground hard enough.

“Argh! Uh – !”

Sabole's wand was thrown and fell near the goblin's leg slamming him. The goblin immediately took his stick.

“H-hey! Restore my wand!”

Wands for witches serve as a medium for casting spells to release magic, although there are also witches who do not need a wand as a medium, such as Nefe.

As if ignoring Sabole's desperate cries, the huge goblin broke the girl's wand.

Sabole's face turned furious, and it seemed like the lust to kill had burned in her chest. His hands weakly supported his body trying to get up, with the aim of killing the goblin who had destroyed his staff.

Nio quickly slashed both hands of the goblins that attacked Sabole, until blood rushed out from the two big arms of the monster. Nio leaped back with agile movements to avoid the rebellious goblin and its foul splashes of blood. Then he turned his head towards Sabole who looked completely shocked after the goblin had broken its staff, the girl was seen standing around even though the goblin that attacked and damaged his staff had been killed by Nio.

“OY~! Don't daydream!.”

Sabole was surprised by Nio's yelling, but before she heard the man's continued warning, a small goblin plugged her dagger from the girl's back. A moment later, four daggers from the other goblins charged through to Sabole's stomach.