Gray lunged forward, clashing blades with the ogre once again. Sparks erupted as steel struck steel. The sheer weight behind the monster's swing flung Gray backward. He rolled across the dirt, coughing blood. His HP bar blinked furiously.
"Enough," he muttered, using his blade to push himself upright.
Eliard stepped beside him, sword ready. "Master, stand behind me. I can still hold him."
Gray grabbed his shoulder. "No. You and Victoria, fall back. Now."
Victoria poked out from the inner coat pocket. "What are you planning?"
"Just trust me," Gray said, eyes fixed on the advancing ogre.
Eliard hesitated but obeyed. He and Victoria retreated toward the village. The ogre hesitated, confused by the shift, then raised his voice with a guttural roar. "Kill them all!" he commanded the horde.
Gray staggered back toward the village, shouting forward. "How long did we fight?"
Eliard, breathing hard, answered, "About four minutes."
Gray grinned through bloodied teeth. "One more minute then."
He reached the edge of the village. "FIRE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE! NOW!"
The villagers scrambled. Archers fired wildly. Crude bombs were lit and thrown. One village guard, already bleeding heavily, ran into the fray with a lit explosive in hand and threw himself into the wave of monsters.
The horde surged forward. Goblins vaulted over barricades, ogres smashed through walls, wolves tore through fencing. Gray could see the fear behind the villagers' eyes. Panic crept into the ranks. Smoke and screams rose in tandem.
Then, a thunderclap.
A blinding bolt arced across the sky. Then another. Thunder boomed like the heavens had opened.
Arrows rained from above, not from villagers but from beyond the clouds. A volley of hundreds, no, thousands, pierced the horde, each impact ripping holes through bodies. The monsters halted in panic, eyes wide with fear.
Gray's window flickered.
Tutorial Quest 5/5 Complete: Survive
Gray breathed in relief. "It worked."
In the game, the village was always meant to fall. Then, the army would arrive and clean the horde, even if late for saving anyone. But here, with his interference, most villagers were still alive. And now, they had backup.
The sky parted. A single figure stood atop the storm, armored in white, cloak billowing. Lightning surged around him. In his hand, a radiant spear crackled. His stance held an elegance forged through war, a stillness sharpened by experience.
With otherworldly precision, the knight launched the spear.
It tore through the air, landing squarely into the ogre chief's torso. The resulting explosion vaporized a third of the horde in a brilliant arc of electricity and flame.
The knight descended like a comet, landing beside the smoldering remains of the ogre's vanguard. Behind him, the great army of Calvari arrived.
Hundreds of soldiers poured in from the east. Armored riders trampled beasts. Archers unleashed volley after volley. Spellcasters rained fire and frost from behind their lines. The village transformed from battleground to warzone.
The monsters tried to rally, but they were outmatched. One by one, they fell. The ogre chief, wounded but not dead, vanished into the chaos, carried away by his remaining guards.
Gray dropped to a knee, exhausted. Eliard stumbled to his side, clutching his ribs. "Are you insane?" he rasped. "How did you know when they'd arrive?"
Gray hesitated. Could he really tell the truth?
"I'm all-knowing," he said with a smirk.
Victoria groaned. "Oh, shut up."
As the storm faded and the last of the horde was scattered or dead, the white knight moved silently through the wreckage. He passed broken monsters, ruined barricades, and stunned villagers. His gleaming boots struck the bloodied ground.
He reached the guildhall. Garfeld, still gripping a bloodied axe, stepped out to meet him. For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Garfeld gave a short, respectful bow. "We expected reinforcements, but not like this."
The knight surveyed the village, eyes hidden beneath his helmet. "The horde came earlier than predicted. Casualties?"
"Minimal," Garfeld answered, surprised at his own words. "Thanks to the general who warned us just in time."
The knight's head tilted. "General ?"
"He claimed to be from Calvari. Said his name was Gray Devolti, a royal strategist."
That name made the knight still. He turned toward the village square.
"I see."
Without another word, he left Garfeld behind and strode toward Gray.
The knight in white approached. His armor shimmered with faint gold edges. His helmet covered every inch of his face. A cape stitched with lightning motifs fluttered in the breeze.
He spoke, voice muffled and stern. "Who are you?"
Gray straightened. "Just someone passing through..."
The knight didn't budge. "You gave your name to the Guild Master. Gray Devolti, you claimed. But there is no such name in Calvari records. Why did you impersonate a high-ranking officer of the Great Army?"
He drew his sword, placing it gently at Gray's throat.
Eliard moved to intercept but faltered, legs giving out beneath him. He collapsed, unconscious.
A few villagers stepped forward. "He fought the big ogre!" one shouted. "He can't be arrested!"
Others nodded in agreement, murmuring protests.
The knight remained cold. "That doesn't change the charge. Impersonating a royal officer is a grave offense."
He lowered the blade. "Gray Devolti, you are under arrest."
Gray looked around at the village, burned, battered, but standing. The people he had fought to save. And the army now watching him.
He raised his hands.
"Fine," he said. "Take me in."
As the knight stepped forward, soldiers spread throughout the village, assisting wounded, healing those they could, and helping rebuild what had been lost. Children peered out from shelters, watching the army with awe. Blackened monster corpses smoldered outside the walls.
It was far better than how it looked in the original game. The question is: how will this progress now?