The Blacksmith and the Warrior

Hunting with Philia

"Ha!" Strea dodges the mace and slides between the giant goblin's legs, delivering a painful backslash upon it. "Jaymes, switch!" I leap forward, bursting with energy as I tear through the goblin's exploding body. As the battle ends, I take a deep breath and look to the equally as winded Strea, giving her a high-five. I didn't doubt our ability, but the fight was tough nonetheless.

"If they're this tough, imagine the bosses."

"I rather not do so."

"If you two are done ogling each other like rats, I would like to be let out!' We turn towards the large cell, seeing Philia has regained consciousness. Strea finds the lever that controls the mechanism opening and closing the bars, releasing Philia from her prison. "Finally. I thought you two would never make it."

I walk towards Rain, the girl still unconscious. "How did you get captured? You, of all people?"

"I allowed it. We could have fought them off, but to test whether we had to fight them, we surrendered. As you see, it worked. After all, this is an in-game quest, that can't possibly kill us, right?"

She has a point, the quest itself must be beatable, even for this death game. Standing up, I turn to Strea. "Stay with Rain until she wakes. Once she does, let us know and catch up. In the meantime, Philia, we'll clear a path to the bosses' room. If this is a castle, there must be a throne room. If we get there first, we'll let you know. We'll fight them as a party." The girls nod as we switch partners, and I lead Philia towards the nearby entrance of the dungeon, where the giant came from.

If Strea's skills are great to get inside places, Philia's is exceptional once you're inside. She somehow has her senses of exploration attuned to a degree that would make her a great thief or bounty hunter if she chose to forgo the treasure hunting life. As we come to the dungeon's door, she places an ear to the thick metal door, listening for any presences outside that I can't see outside the small opening. Nodding everything is clear, we push the door open and walk along the staircase to the upper levels. As we come up top, separated by another door, I turn to Philia as I grab my sword and shield. "Ready to storm a castle?"

Philia smirks as she twirls her dagger in her hand. "Count our kills for a slightly larger cut of the treasure?"

"Oh, you already know it."

..........

"Ha!" I stab the last of the mob in its dumb, green head, watching the mid-size monster vanish before my eyes. Smirking, I retract my blade from my thirty-third kill before I hear a screech from my left. One still remains? Caught off guard, I raise my shield to parry just as a knife implants itself in the goblin's head. It lands just to the right of me, groaning as it dies and dissipates into blue light. Sighing, I look away as my blonde partner walks to pick her blade up with swagger. "Don't brag."

"Why not?" she says as she twirls the dagger. "You lowered your guard prematurely, which is unbecoming of you. Is this competition getting to your head? Oh, and that makes thirty-five to your thirty-three."

"Whatever." Looking around, I determine we must be close to our destination. The wave we just fought was the strongest yet, and they were armored enemies. None compared to the jailer Strea and I fought, but the difficulty is rising. Philia is right, I was reckless to let my guard down, not that I couldn't take the hit, but it is better not to. It's only the two of us for now, so we got to be careful. Philia has great skills, but she isn't a fighter like Asuna, Strea, or Rain. so I have to watch her more carefully than I would usually have to with a girl partner.