I grinned. This meant I could use the spell more than a few times before entering the danger zone with my health bar.

It was time to fry some goblins with my S tier intelligence scaling on a thief class.

“Thunderbolt!”

BOOM.

[-21 health]

You have slain a goblin.

You have gained experience.

You have earned 7 silver.

“Thunderbolt.”

CRACK.

[-28 health]

You have slain a goblin.

You have gained experience.

You have earned 6 silver.

In a display of fireworks, I took down all three goblins in one shot. My health was sitting at a precarious 50%.

Dimension Thief would’ve made an insanely OP mage class. It’s a pity that the class didn't seem to come with any mage spells, so I needed to rely on borrowing skills from mage classes, which sucked because borrowed skills came with near lethal penalty effects.

“Nice work, Spoon.”

“Thanks.”

“How did you manage to use Thunderbolt?”

“Read this.”

I sent a screenshot of the tooltip I uncovered to Books. System information had to be unlocked, and could be sold for real world money on dedicated Eclipse forums. I gave him this information as a favor because Books nearly died tanking for me during the last fight.

Another squad of goblins appeared, and we jumped back into the fight.

“Thunderbolt.”

[-25 health]

“Thunderbolt.”

[-26 health]

You have leveled up.

I reached level 8 now. I drank a health potion, which began to restore my health.

“Thunderbolt.”

A string of explosions followed my casting, and my right hand was getting numb. We were the last people still standing in town, and all the goblins were converging upon us.

For every goblin I killed, two more took its place.

“I don’t think we can get out of this one, Spoon.”

I laughed bitterly.

“Let’s go out fighting.”

“You got that right.”

Books charged forward with his sword in hand and a viking war helmet on his head.

“Thunderbolt.”

“Thunderbolt.”

Two goblins were fried on the spot, but there were too many still remaining.

Several goblins jumped onto Books, who tried to shake them off. Another goblin was running towards Books at full speed, with a spear in hand. I watched as my buddy was impaled in the heart with a spear.

As Books fell, the attention of the goblins turned to me. Even though they were weak individually, the sheer number of goblins was just too much to handle.

“It’s time for me to go~ Good luck master~”

That selfish cat! Leaving her master to die again.

That cat needed a spanking, but this wasn't the time or place to get distracted. The goblins were getting too close for comfort. It was time to switch gears.

“Dimension ripper!”

Dimension ripper was not very effective at dealing damage at my current level, but my health was in the deep red, and a few more thunderbolts would kill me.

My left hand glowed black.

“Fuck it.”

I changed my mind. Dimension ripper just wasn't fit for this kind of melee. If I’m going to die, I’ll take as many goblins with me as possible. I'll farm gold and experience even with one foot in the grave.

“Thunderbolt!”

HP: 29/152

The recoil was about to kill me, but at this point it didn't matter anymore.

“Thunderbolt!”

HP: 3/152

I didn't get to cast another spell, as a spear sank into my chest.

Goblin bodies were strewn in front of me, but there were just too many reinforcements. In the back, I saw a large hobgoblin. That must be their captain.

No wonder this was a disaster level event. There was no chance of winning from the very beginning. Just the regular goblin army was overwhelming, and they still hadn't even shown their captain.

My vision was blurring, before fading to black.

You have died.

Because of your PK status, you are at risk of dropping items.

Because of your shopkeeper killer status, you are at risk of dropping additional gold.

You have lost a level.

You have lost a level.

You dropped [Basic Amulet of Magic]

You dropped [Rusty Sword]

You dropped 1 gold 20 silver.

You will respawn in 24 hours.

Quest [Goblin Invasion of small town] failed. All citizens of the town have been captured, killed, or have fled. The once bustling town is now reduced to rubble and corpses. The goblin king's invasion continues.

Failure penalty: None

You will now log out.

My hands were still shaky from adrenaline as I took off my headset. I received significant death penalties due to my PK status and shopkeeper status. Hard earned levels, gold, and even items. This was a hard hitting loss. A bitter taste filled my mouth, as I thought all the work and sacrifices I put in for those benefits.

This was just too unfair. What kind of game unleashed a disaster level event on a beginner town? I hopped onto my computer to check the forums and see if anyone else had a similar experience.

The Eclipse forums were buzzing with news, and a live news feed from KB broadcasting was covering the invasion as well.

[It seems like a couple beginner towns got hit by the goblin event.]

[Serves those noobs right. They should’ve moved on by now.]

[What unlucky idiots.]

I grit my teeth and scowled. The goblin invasion originated from the north east, which was right where my starting town was located. How bad could my luck be? I had to sit here and wait out my penalty, as these lucky players could level up and monopolize titles, resources, and monster farming.

=========

I angrily logged in the next day and found myself respawned at the city of Talos.

“I want 100 logs on the east gate by sundown!”

“The duke of Talos is returning today. We need to send an escort.”

“Yes, sir!”

Talos was a city mobilizing itself for war. Talos soldiers were marching down the street in formation. Each soldier was at least level 80.

A lot of players were also freshly respawned near the town center. The players who were in the city to begin with didn’t laugh at them. They knew that the goblin king’s armies from the northeast were heading towards them.

Books sent me a private message. I opened it up immediately.

Books: Where are you?

Spoon: I’m in Talos.

Books: Wow… I spawned in the capital. That’s really far from Talos.

Spoon: There’s no way to travel between cities right now with the active goblin world event. Let’s level up solo for now and meet up later, Books.

Books: You got it boss.

Books was a smart guy. I had confidence that he would be able to take care of himself.

Anyway, I still had a ton of gold and items waiting to be sold. It was time to gear up.

I wandered around the city for a bit to get my bearings. There were a lot more shops and inns than the beginner town I came from. A small mage shop caught my eye.

The mage shop had a smokey atmosphere. I fanned away the smoke as I walked into the small shop.

“Welcome, welcome!”

A busty shopkeeper clung onto me as I walked into the shop. With silky black hair and glowing white skin, she was an ethereal beauty. I couldn't figure out why, but her appearance felt almost uncanny.

“I haven’t had a visitor in a long time~ Buy lots of stuff and make me happy please~”

She pushed her large chest into my arm. This NPC was trying to seduce me into buying more items!

She did mention that the shop wasn’t getting enough customers.

“How come your shop doesn’t get many customers?”

The shopkeeper made a cute, puffy face.

“Everyone wants to swing a sword or shoot arrows, so mage classes aren’t so popular… Also Helga’s store has a bigger selection, and it’s hard for me to compete~”

“Do you have any skillbooks?”

“Yes~”

Since skills could be easily unlearned, there was no penalty for trying out different skills. The game strongly encouraged experimenting and creative freedom for the players to create their own style.

[Fireball skillbook]

Skillbook containing Fireball. A popular spell among beginner mages.

Skillbook

Common

Rank: E

Restriction: Mage only

Restriction: 30 intelligence

[Earth lance skillbook]

Skillbook containing Earth Lance. A popular spell among intermediate mages.

Skillbook

Common

Rank: D

Restriction: Mage only

Restriction: 45 intelligence

………

Most of the skillbooks didn’t interest me.

Meat Shield popped out of the dimension room and landed on a shelf.

“This seems like an interesting place, nya~”

The cat was about to knock over some expensive looking potions and scrolls.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going, you stupid cat!”

I tried to catch Meat Shield, but she was took quick for me.

“Save me big sister~”

The cat jumped onto the busty shopkeeper’s breasts. Her small white mittens sank into the shopkeeper’s breasts like they were a pillow.

The doe eyed shopkeeper hugged Meat Shield and was overwhelmed by the cat’s cuteness.

“So cute~”

“Nyang~”

My cat was making herself cozy in the shopkeeper’s embrace. Meat Shield sniffed at the shopkeeper’s neck curiously.

*Sniff sniff*

“Hmm?”

*Sniff sniff*

“What’s wrong, cat-chan?” The busty shopkeeper asked.

*Sniff sniff*

“Sister, you smell like a demon~”

“That’s a secret, you can’t tell anyone kitty-chan~”

“Really?”

“Yes, big sister is a succubus~”

Poof.

Even denser smoke filled the room, as the name [Evelyn] name appeared above the busty shop keeper’s head. Her body glimmered as she dispelled her illusion magic, revealing a small set of wings, a tail, and two cute horns.

Her skin gained a slightly tan tint, and her already voluptuous body was bursting from the seams of her revealing succubus outfit, which looked like a skimpy cross between a bikini and lingerie.

As a healthy male in my mid twenties, it was hard for me look away.

[You have been affected by a Succubus’ aura]

[Your common sense has decreased]

Evelyn approached me seductively.

“Make sure you don’t tell anyone, okay. Or else the soldiers will arrest me~”

Her smell was intoxicating as she pulled very close.

“It’s our little secret~”

It took all my strength to nod slightly.

“Kitty-chan, how did you know I was a demon?”

The black cat straightened up and cleared her throat.

“Because I am also a demon. They call me Cerebi, gatekeeper of hell, nyang~”

I lightly karate chopped the cat on her head.

“Stop making things up.”

“It’s real, check my status nyang~”

….

What the fuck was this kind of plot twist?

I picked the cat up suspiciously.

[Meat Shield]

Also known as Cerebi, the gatekeeper of hell. A sassy black cat with a narcissistic personality. Hates her owner for giving her a stupid name.

Level 5

Pet

Summonable

“…”

“You’ve got to be kidding me… The gatekeeper of hell is a small cat?”

“I’m more like a customs officer, hehe~”