Noah's heart felt like it was going to burst from the insane amount of pressure he was under. Being expected to fight four opponents at once, while one of them was using underhanded tactics and waiting to ambush him, had he been teleported to the set of some B-grade martial arts movie?

The first goblin that came in his line of sight was holding a long, curved blade that was light enough to be wielded in one hand and a small square shield held tightly in his left hand. A few steps behind it was a goblin holding dual daggers, while from the footsteps Noah could hear one more but his field of vision was obscured by the other two.

"Remain patient. Catch the first goblin's blade with the edge of your sword, but don't parry it. Neither too much force, nor too less" Liam's calm voice echoed out, which slightly eased Noah's nerves.

The first goblin came within striking range, it's shield protecting its chest from any attacks. It swung its long blade, but due to the height differential, it only reached Noah's chest instead of his head.

Noah did the best he could, swinging his blade with a bit more force than he intended to out of anxiety. Their blades clashed, the piercing sound of metal grating against metal sounded out. Thankfully, the goblin exerted even more force when it realized it's sword's momentum had been halted instead of retreating, and a momentary stalemate was reached.

"Kick its legs as hard as you can, knock it off its feet," said Liam in a hasty tone.

As Noah heard Liam's words, he realized that he really did suffer from tunnel vision. Though he wielded the blade, in actual combat neither his opponent nor he was subject to any rules that prohibited him from using other parts of his body. So what if his opponent had a shield? He happened to be far stronger.

Noah channeled all his strength into his right foot and gave a sweeping kick aimed at the goblin's ankles. Due to its low height, he didn't even need to raise his feet very high. He felt his new boots connect with the goblin's ankles, and watched the expression of terror on its face as the world suddenly turned sideways.

"Plunge it," Liam said in an emotionless voice. And Noah needed no further instruction. Clenching his blade with both his hands, he drove it down into the goblin's chest as it lay facing upwards. He had aimed for the heart, hopefully having instantly ended its life without any pain. Though he wasn't sure if the creatures felt pain, to begin with.

"Retrieve it. Hurry!" Liam shouted, causing Noah to yank his blade out in a slight panic with his right.

"Swing wide, in front, low height" Liam followed through with instructions.

Noah had to slightly crouch as he had impaled the blade into the first goblin's chest, so he didn't even have time to refocus his vision before the next one was on him. Blindly putting his faith in Liam's instructions, he roared in anger at the insanity of it all and let his blade move outward in a wide arc as if he just wanted to push his opponents away from himself.

He felt his blade cut through flesh, and the two daggers he had visualized impaling himself ended up never making contact.

While Noah faced enemies from his North, Jake was located far away to his East. He only had a side view of his face, and couldn't quite make out all the details. But he could quite clearly make out the goblins and the weapons they wielded from his angle, allowing him to quickly devise a plan of action.

Jake was a thoroughly average man, both in abilities and in talent. Almost all the people that worked under him happened to be older than him, and they often asked him for the secret behind his meteoric rise. The first job he had taken after graduating was from a company with a notoriously high turnover rate, though that went hand in hand with equally high pay packages at the higher positions.

He had the one value that people in this day and age seldom found worth cultivating: Patience. Jake had worked sixteen-hour days when no one else was willing to, taken the tasks no one else wanted and tolerated it, no matter how far the management pushed him, or how far they exploited him, he never broke. The fact that he had taken the 'correct path in life' gave him the courage and the resilience to survive that toxic work environment..... because he knew that if he bided his time there would be a chance for him to capitalize on.

It took two years of suffering, with no end in sight, for the opportunity to finally land in his lap. From there on, it was only an upward climb to the point where he had shifted roles, from the exploited to the exploiter.

Jake patiently watched as the first goblin attacked while adjusting his stance to prepare for an ambush. He was surprised at the ruthlessness displayed by the young man as he dispatched the first goblin, only solidifying his belief that he wasn't as harmless as he looked. He could have attacked at this moment, but it wasn't time yet. Not yet.

The second goblin wielding dual knives was brutally sliced across the chest after it entered into striking range, having no real means to parry the strike aimed at it. It was impressive how fast he had transitioned from a slightly kneeling posture to a slice, but Jake assumed it had to do with the man's higher level and stats.

The third goblin's advance, however, was what Jake had been waiting for all this while. It was wielding a heavy bludgeon that had small spikes embedded on it, and due to the weight of the weapon it carried, it moved far slower and made far more noise in comparison to its companions while jogging towards the target and Jake hoped it would mask his approach. The mental exhaustion from dispatching two combatants in short order aside, even if his approach was detected, the man would be hard-pressed to dodge such a vicious pincer attack.

He burst out from his cover as the last goblin advanced within 5 meters of its target and rushed towards Noah's location with his short sword drawn. His sprinting would ensure he reached the target at about the same time as the goblin, while the man only had one sword available to parry an attack. This was another reason for delaying his attack, the other two goblins were far too fast to launch a synchronized attack with.

"Drop your weapon and jump hard to the left. NOW!" Liam yelled loudly, while Noah had been waiting for this moment all along.

Though the instructions were a bit odd, even a single moment of hesitation could cost him his life. He let go his sword as if he had dropped it, and pushed against the ground with all the strength he could muster in his legs, and diving to the left with his hands outstretched as if he was about to save a match-winning penalty. 5 dexterity allowed him to conduct the motion with far more grace than he previously would have, and he combat rolled twice before grinding to a halt.

The goblin smashed its bludgeon at the location where Noah was previously standing, but the familiar feeling of crushing bones and flesh after swinging its weapon was nowhere to be found. Unfortunately for the goblin, it could only speculate for a few seconds before Jake's blade rent it's skull in half.

Noah felt something wet and slimy splatter on his neck, and his hands trembled slightly as he willed his inventory to open. He withdrew his Assassin's Dagger (common) and his Goblin short sword (inferior), dual-wielding them because he hoped to parry any attack aimed at him by catching the blade in the middle. It wasn't ideal, but the blades were far too short for him to parry if he only used one.

He quickly turned around, only to see a very gory sight. His assassin had driven its blade into the goblin's skull, while Noah's anger had reached a point where any fear he had for the man was completely ignored.

"BASTARD!!!" Noah roared, in a voice that promised vengeance and prepared himself for combat. If the man was confident in facing him one on one, he wouldn't have had to resort to such disgusting tactics.

The man apathetically gazed at Noah and simply nodded, as if he were acknowledging him. "Interesting" he lightly muttered, before sheathing his blade and hastily retreating into the wilderness.

"COME BACK HERE, YOU DAMN COWARD!" Noah yelled and was about to chase after him.

"Sit down, kid" Liam chided Noah loudly while sipping on an ice-cold beer. "You chase that man, and even I can't save you." he slowly intoned, causing Noah to feel chills run down his back.