My eyes burned, leaking a harsh blue glow that refused to dim.
I drew my sword.
tal whispered free of the sheath as my gaze lifted to the remaining goblins. Floating strings and panels flickered into view above them.
I stepped forward.
"Nothing here leaves."
They ca at all at once.
No strategy. No formation. Just raw, animal aggression.
Perfect.
The first goblin swung a club at my head.
[String Edit: Air Resistance 40%]
The club moved through the air like it was underwater, sluggish and slow. I sidestepped easily, my sword cutting across its throat in a single clean motion.
Two more lunged from the sides.
[String Edit: Ground Friction → 0.15]
Their feet slipped out from under them mid-charge, and they crashed into each other. I drove my blade through the first one’s chest, kicked the second in the face, then finished it before it could recover.
A goblin threw a spear at .
[String Edit: Trajectory → 15° deviation]
The spear veered off course, clattering harmlessly against the wall.
I closed the distance and drove my blade through its chest.
My vision blurred slightly. The edges of my sight darkened.
Neural strain.
But I ignored it.
Another goblin ca at , swinging wildly. I parried, but my arms were getting tired. The sword felt heavier now.
[String Edit: Muscle Efficiency 10%]
The exhaustion faded slightly, my movents sharpening. I cut the goblin down.
Silence.
I stood there, breathing hard, surrounded by corpses.
Then the notification appeared.
[EXP: 420]
[Ding!]
[Level Up!]
[Level 8 → Level 9]
[ 5 Stat Points Available]
[Total Unallocated: 15 Points]
I opened the stat nu without thinking, my hands moving on autopilot.
[Allocate 15 Points → INT]
[INT: 47 → 62]
[Confirm? Y/N]
I confird.
The change was imdiate. My mana pool expanded, the numbers shifting in my vision.
[MP: 26/67 → 26/82]
But the strain was still there.
The headache pounded behind my eyes, worse now, sharper. My hands trembled slightly, and I felt sothing warm drip down my upper lip.
Blood.
I wiped it away with the back of my hand, staring at the red sar.
Push too hard. This is what happens.
I heard movent behind .
I spun, sword raised.
"Whoa! Jin! It’s us!"
Kyle.
He stood at the tunnel entrance, sword drawn, eyes wide. Behind him, Tobias, his fla spell flickering weakly in his palm.
"What the hell are you doing back here?" I rasped, my voice rough.
"Helping you, you idiot!" Kyle snapped, running forward. "You think we were just gonna leave you to die?!"
"I told you to get them out—"
"They’re out! Sira and Kai got them to safety!" Tobias shouted, moving to my side.
Then I heard it.
More shrieking.
From deeper in the nest.
Oh, you’ve got to be kidding .
Kyle’s face went pale. "Please tell that’s not."
The tunnel ahead erupted with movent.
More goblins.
At least a dozen.
And behind them, sothing bigger.
Taller. Broader. Wearing crude armor made from bones and scrap tal.
A hobgoblin.
Kyle’s grip tightened on his sword. "Oh, fuck."
Then four more stepped out from behind it.
Five hobgoblins total.
Each one stood at least seven feet tall, their muscles corded and grotesque beneath mottled green skin. They carried real weapons, steel blades, spiked clubs, a battleaxe that looked like it had been looted from a corpse.
And behind them, the smaller goblins chittered and shrieked, emboldened by their larger kin.
Tobias’s fla flickered out entirely. "We’re dead. We’re actually dead."
"Shut up," I said flatly.
Kyle stepped beside , his shield raised, his face pale but determined. "We can do this."
"No, we can’t," Tobias said, his voice shaking.
"Then we die trying," Kyle shot back.
The lead hobgoblin—the one with the bone armor—let out a low, rumbling growl. It raised its massive club and pointed at us.
The horde charged.
"Here they co!" Kyle shouted.
I moved first.
My sword t the first goblin, cutting it down before it could even swing. Another ca from the side, I ducked under its club, drove my blade through its ribs, kicked it off.
Kyle blocked a hobgoblin’s strike with his shield, the impact driving him back a step. "They’re strong!"
"No shit!" Tobias hurled a fire bolt at one of the smaller goblins, the flas catching it mid-charge and sending it shrieking to the ground.
I felt sothing press into my hand.
A mana potion.
Kyle had tossed it to without looking, his focus locked on the hobgoblin bearing down on him.
I caught it, uncorked it with my teeth, and drank.
The warmth spread through again, dulling the edges of exhaustion.
[MP: 26/82 → 71/82]
Better.
I pushed forward, editing as I moved.
[Muscle efficiency 25%]
My arms moved faster, the sword cutting through goblins like they were made of paper.
One of the hobgoblins slipped mid-swing, its club crashing into the wall instead of Kyle’s skull. Kyle took the opening, driving his sword into its exposed side.
It roared, more angry than hurt, and backhanded Kyle across the chamber.
Kyle slamd into the wall, gasping.
"Kyle!" Tobias scread.
I moved, cutting down two goblins blocking my path.
[Air resistance around enemy weapon 50%]
The hobgoblin’s axe ca down slow, sluggish. I sidestepped, drove my blade into its leg.
It howled, dropping to one knee.
I pulled the sword free and struck again, this ti at its throat.
But it caught the blade with its bare hand.
What?
And grinned, blood dripping between its fingers, and yanked the sword out of my grip.
Then it punched .
The impact lifted off my feet and sent crashing into the ground. Pain exploded across my chest, my vision whiting out for a second.
Fuck—!
I rolled, barely avoiding the axe that buried itself in the stone where my head had been.
Then scrambled to my feet, weaponless, my chest screaming.
A goblin lunged at with a dagger.
I grabbed its wrist, twisted, snapped the bone. It shrieked. I took the dagger and drove it into its eye.
Not ideal. But it worked.
I turned back to the hobgoblins.
Three were still standing. Kyle was back on his feet, barely, blood dripping from a cut above his eye. Tobias was hurling fire as fast as he could, but his hands were shaking, his aim getting worse.
We were losing.
I pushed harder.
[Neural processing speed 25%]
The world slowed.
Not much. Just enough.
I moved between them, the dagger flashing. Cutting tendons. Stabbing joints. Exploiting every opening.
But my head was splitting.
The pressure behind my eyes was unbearable now. Blood dripped from my nose, warm and thick.
I didn’t stop.
[Blade sharpness 30%]
A hobgoblin swung at . I ducked, drove the dagger into its knee, twisted.
It collapsed, screaming.
I pulled the dagger free.
And coughed.
Blood splattered onto the ground in front of .
Shit.
My vision blurred, doubling for a second. My legs wobbled.
But I couldn’t stop.
Not yet.
Another hobgoblin ca at , its club raised.
I tried to dodge.
But the club caught in the side, and I felt ribs crack.
Then hit the ground hard, gasping, blood filling my mouth.
Get up.
Get up.
I tried.
But my body didn’t respond.
The hobgoblin stood over , raising its club for the finishing blow.
Then Kyle was there, his shield slamming into the creature’s face. "Not today!"
The hobgoblin staggered back, and Kyle drove his sword into its chest with everything he had.
It collapsed.
While Kyle dropped to one knee beside , his face pale. "Jin... Jin, stay with —"
I coughed again, more blood. "Still... alive..."
"Barely!"
Tobias was screaming sothing, but I couldn’t hear it over the ringing in my ears.
Two hobgoblins left.
And we were all at our limit.
Kyle pulled up, half-dragging toward the wall. "We need to retreat—"
"No." I spat blood onto the ground. "They’ll... follow. Kill us all."
"Jin—"
"We end it. Here."
Kyle stared at , then nodded, his jaw tight. "Okay. Okay."
He turned back to the remaining hobgoblins, his sword raised, his hands shaking.
Tobias stood beside him, his fla spell barely holding together.
And I leaned against the wall, my dagger still in hand, blood dripping from my mouth.
This is it.
We win here.
Or we die.
Then the hobgoblins charged.
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