13 The weak should fear the strong

"Well, before anything else, I believe it's safe to assume that fighting against so many enemies won't be a regular occurrence," Bruce stated. "So, we can use our Fireballs as much as possible to decrease their numbers. By doing so, we'll deplete our MP and eventually learn how much time we need to wait for it to recover."

"Shouldn't we test the spells before using them in a real battle?" Chris questioned.

"That would typically be the case, but since we don't know the spell's power, we might lure the monsters to this place and lose the element of surprise," Bruce explained. "Besides, we don't know when we'll be able to use spells again, so we have to make every shot count. Do your best to hit the targets."

"Hmph!" Diane snorted. "That'll be easy."

Bruce had no idea why Diane was so confident, considering it was her first time using magic. Perhaps her experience as an athlete was giving her unwarranted confidence. Shooting a fireball is much different from hitting a volleyball or any other sport. Nevertheless, time was of the essence, so they headed towards the burning store and only stopped when they were fifty meters away.

When they received the skills, Bruce noticed that Fireball had an additional range in addition to his own. He hadn't realized this before, but it seemed that range referred to the distance he could hit a target with all projectiles. He disregarded the first missed shot with his crossbow since he was caught off guard.

"I don't think the range of Fireball is nine meters; the spell won't disappear after flying such a distance," Bruce mused to himself. "That being said, I need to confirm that from here."

Although they now had the ability to use Fireball, they were unfamiliar with its specifics. The system granted them the power, but not the knowledge of the attack. They would have to discover various aspects of the spell while using it.

"Aim for the closest ones," Bruce whispered. "On my signal... 3, 2, 1... now!"

Strangely enough, the moment they decided to use Fireball, something unexpected occurred. While using both hands to aim the spell at the enemy, they lost control over their bodies as a sphere of flames appeared before them. It was an odd sensation, but it lasted only a second before the Fireball was shot, expanding to the size of a basketball.

Bruce couldn't help but grin from ear to ear, feeling the heat of his spell and watching it fly towards the monsters. Perhaps it was another stroke of luck, but Bruce didn't care. His attack hit the back of a goblin's head, catching the creature completely off guard. The fireball exploded, destroying half of the monster's head.

You obtained 14 experience points.

You obtained 01 spiritual coin.

"HAHAHAHA!" Bruce laughed maniacally. "Take that, weakling! The weak should fear the strong!"

Chris and Diane frowned as they looked at Bruce, laughing suspiciously. They wondered why he appeared so excited after hitting a stationary target, while the siblings had killed two giant bats flying around the flames. Nevertheless, they didn't have time to complain. Their attacks revealed their position to the monsters, and the remaining creatures turned around, preparing to charge at them.

The three of them readied for another wave of attacks. Bruce aimed at another goblin, while the siblings focused on a group of flying enemies. Unexpectedly, Bruce's fireball passed by the goblin's side without causing any damage, while Diane and Chris successfully hit and killed their targets.

"Eh?" Bruce muttered in surprise.

"What are you doing?" Diane asked.

"Shut up... something fell into my eye," Bruce replied, pretending to scratch his eye to deceive himself and the others. "I guess it was some kind of ash."

The monsters were now twenty meters away, making it easier to hit them. Bruce took a deep breath to steady himself. However, at the last moment before deciding to use Fireball, his arms trembled slightly. His third and final fireball missed as well, while the siblings successfully killed their targets once again.

"Ah, who cares..." Bruce muttered while equipping his short sword. "Magic is for pussies anyway."

Despite his words, Bruce's face reddened from embarrassment. That was why he charged towards the monsters, determined to kill them and hide his embarrassment. Acting superior comes with a price... if you mess up after boasting, the shame can be overwhelming.

The nearest monster was a rat. When it noticed Bruce's charge, while the other monsters were still preparing themselves, it decided to attack him. However, the creature made the mistake of going all out, just like Bruce. Before its claws could scratch him, Bruce swung his sword downward, splitting the monster's head in two and stopping when it hit the torso.

"Shit..." Bruce muttered, wiping the blood from his face. "These grand movements look cool, but they get me dirty."

Bruce barely had time to clean the blood from his eyes when a goblin leaped at him in the same manner as the rat. He managed to raise his buckler fast enough to block the attack, though the impact made him stagger.

"Don't just charge so suddenly like that!" Diane scolded, stabbing the goblin's side with her sword.

You obtained 05 experience points.

You obtained 00 spiritual coins.

Bruce sighed upon seeing the notification. As in games, the person who delivers the final blow receives most of the reward and experience. Bruce searched for the last enemy, only to find Chris smashing the rat's head with his shield. During the other fights, Bruce had survived and felt quite excited, but now he only felt depressed due to his previous mistakes. However, he didn't let those feelings show on his face and immediately began to search for loot.

"Nothing this time either, huh," Bruce sighed.

"Hey..." Diane said, annoyed at being ignored.

"Calm down," Chris intervened. "We survived the fight, and that's what matters. We're also about to level up, so there's no reason to get angry."