“Another bust?” Noah groaned in protest, from about 40 meters above ground level.

“Don’t be too cheeky lad, you got lucky on the first try and you know it,” Liam waved Noah’s protests off and delicately plucked the thin strip of meat from an ornately crafted plate with chopsticks.

“The fuck are you eating, anyway?” Noah asked with derision in his voice, tired of watching Liam polish one gourmet dish after the other while he fought to apparently… save the world.

“Pufferfish, my boy. The stuff is 95 percent poisonous, but that doesn’t stop the Japanese from showing off their culinary skills by carving it up and plating the other 5 percent,” Liam, as he ate the fish strip in a single bite.

“Why the… never mind. How does it taste, anyway?” Noah groaned in response, but his curiosity was slightly piqued.

“Like shite. Well, poisonous shite at that. But it’s not about the taste, lad, it’s about the thrill of conquest, the euphoria at tempting death, cheating it, and reclaiming the power it holds over you. Maybe you won’t understand, lad, and most people won’t- but those who get it, get it,” Liam explained rather passionately, his perspective surprising Noah even though he knew such kind of people existed.

“That’s… surprisingly deep,” Noah thought out loud.

“Oh, and I was immune to poison back when I actually tried the dish, if it matters,” Liam added on with a straight face, causing Noah to almost lose hold over the branch he was using for his descent.

“….” Noah stopped listening to Liam’s rambling after that and focused on getting back to the ground.

He reached the last branch and dropped to the ground, now almost becoming a matter of routine as this was the sixth tree he’d scaled. However, what was definitely not routine was the burly, hammer wielding red goblin that burst out from behind shrubbery when Noah just as Noah landed on the ground.

"Oh, bollocks! Do not let that hammer strike you, and don't try to parry," Liam called out loudly, causing a burst of panic to rise in Noah.

The goblin in front of him was abnormal, and its red skin was far from Noah's only problems- It was easily five feet tall, with rippling forearm muscles and an oversized hammer that looked like it weighed more than Noah, easily. It's icy cold light blue eyes and the vicious snarl on it's face didn't reassure him much either, and before Noah could further analyze it- The red goblin charged, hammer held overhead with both hands.

Noah did the first thing that came to his mind and took shelter behind the tree hoping that the goblin had invested too much strength to change directions now.

A loud crashing noise, followed by the sound of splintering wood confirmed his hypothesis, but from the grimace on Noah’s face this wasn’t quite what he had in mind.

“Woo! Talk about some fire power,” Liam exclaimed loudly.

“How the hell am I supposed to fight that?” Noah yelled, as he ran for cover, that being, the next tree in his field of vision with crazed fervor.

Noah could hear loud footsteps echoing out behind him, approaching him way faster than he’d estimated for a foe hefting such bulk.

“It’s like bullfighting, lad. You rethink all your life decisions when you see a thousand-kilogram hulking monster of an animal charging at you, but at the end of the day it’s just a dumb beast. Let it swing and miss, and once it’s out of firepower down it,” Liam called out in the midst of the chaos.

“Easy said than done,” Noah whispered under his breath and surprising even himself, turned around to face his foe.

Noah felt his confidence greatly diminish when he saw that the red goblin had hefted it’s hammer in the air, moments away from striking.

“FUCK YOU, LIAM!” Noah screamed, and dove to the right without the slightest bit of hesitation, stretching his dexterity to the limits and then some. Noah felt the wind whistle past him, showing the sheer momentum and weight of the blow, followed by another loud crashing noise that almost caused his heart to skip a beat. He rolled on the ground once, gladius in hand, and turned around to face his foe.

Noah firsthand witnessed the devastation the red goblin had laid upon the tree, a small crater carved into its trunk and small chips of wood laying scattered nearby, like the tree had somehow exploded from the inside. It stood at the front of the devastation, its chest heaving from the exertion. Noah realized that the next target of this titanic power would be him- unless he found a way to separate the goblin from the hammer- and his self-preservation instinct kicked in.

Noah was taller than the goblin, but it was quite evident who the goliath was. Sprinting with all he was worth; he covered the distance between them in a flash and swung his gladius- aimed towards the goblin’s arms. The first slash was far more uneventful than Noah hoped, only causing a spurt of blue blood to leak out, the goblin’s grip on its weapon still robust. It let out a sound that was humiliatingly similar to a chuckle, causing Noah to redirect the momentum of the weapon towards its face.

This time, it used its right hand to bat away Noah’s slash, leaving another small laceration on its hand. Before it could use its right for offence, Noah followed through with a stab towards the left side of its chest- where it’s heart should be, and it again intercepted with its right hand. The goblin was stubborn, still keeping one hand firmly gripping the hammer to make sure Noah couldn’t misappropriate the weapon. He wasn’t sure if he could lift it with one hand, but a single blow was all it would need to reduce Noah to mincemeat.

Noah followed with another two wild slashes that he used to close the distance, the red goblin still looking relaxed under his offences. It was right, at this rate it would take hours or perhaps even days before Noah would be able to slay the goblin.

Flash strike activated.

Noah felt the gladius glow lightly under his control, and taking a single step forward, his right hand exploded in a burst of speed and fluidity Noah had never felt before, directly headed towards the goblin’s eye. An ear-piercing scream echoed out, and before Noah could finish it he heard Liam’s voice screaming at him.

“DROP IT AND DODGE!” he called out, and Noah hurriedly dropped his gladius and created distance. The red goblin had his right hand swinging out in every direction, Liam’s call had saved him from taking an awfully strong punch to the face. Noah then circled around the goblin until he was facing its back.

Then, he started running towards it, a mad dash for glory. Using his height advantage, Noah hefted himself over the goblin’s shoulder with both his arms, and pulled out the assassin’s dagger from its sheath.

“Die,” Noah whispered, and repeatedly started stabbing the same area on it’s neck with both his hands, already being coated in blue blood. The red goblin wailed in agony, and hefted his hammer. In a bizarre move, it smashed the hammer towards itself, aimed at where Noah was currently perched.

Noah had prepared for such an eventuality, and threw himself backwards, still clinging onto the goblin’s neck with his feet crossed together.

The goblin let out a confused grunt- it's hammer only connecting with air, and Noah pulled himself up by his legs again. With a final roar, Noah smashed the dagger with both hands and all his strength, into the already deep wound. This time, the dagger penetrated hilt deep, and the goblin let out a final, defiant roar before collapsing to it’s knees, and then the ground.