Chapter 20. Underestimating I was strong. I realized this as I fought them, there were six of them and I was still holding my own fighting them as equals. The guardians tried to block and limit my movements, the warrior chiefs used those obstacles and tried to attack me. The archers tried to snipe but honestly, it was all useless. I knew how to counter everything they sent my way. How to parry, block, divert, and if I had to take an attack how do I do that. It was all drilled into me, my body remembered and was prepared for every situation. All credits to me and my masteries for those ghosts. I had been attacked by multiple enemies in so many patterns that being able to figure out how or think of a solution on how to counter the attacks and use it to my advantage. I was using the same tactics here. An arrow was shot at me, I could see it perfectly having figured out where the archers had positioned themselves. Instead of blocking it with my axe, I just moved a little to the right. If the attack was shot from one of my blind spots, it would have been now deadly, it still was but not for me. The arrow passed and- I heard a screech, not of anger but of a being who is about to die. I turned around to see the arrow that was aimed at me lodged right in the neck of a warrior goblin. I spun around and slashed its neck, ending its suffering. The rate of arrows coming my way was reduced by a lot which made my work a lot easier. The blood of the goblin that I had killed was slowly absorbed by Thirst making it sharper than ever before. I swung one of my axes at a shield and watched it cut right through the guardian and its defenses. The axe killed, drank blood, and got sharper. I did not know if kept getting sharper or stopped at one point, it probably did but I had no way of doing that for now. One minute later four goblins lay dead and two other goblins a few dozen meters away from them. [Killed a Warrior Goblin Chief. Experience gained] [Bonus experience for killing an entity one tier above you] [Bonus experience for being in a Trial Tower] [Killed a Guardian Goblin Chief. Experience gained] [Bonus experience for killing an entity one tier above you] [Bonus experience for being in a Trial Tower] [Killed a Scout Goblin Chief. Experience gained] [Bonus experience for killing an entity one tier above you] [Bonus experience for being in a Trial Tower] . . . [Level up] [Level up] The demon skills leveled up by one and the Flexibility by two bringing them up to twenty. The martial arts and masteries also rose to twenty while I got two levels. Five points were distributed according to the pattern, str agi end vit per all got one and the last five all went into perception bringing it up to fifty. They died too fast, it wasn't even a challenge. I was scared at first, the number that appeared before me and my previous experiences all pointed out that it should not have been this simple. My mind said that it was probably a scheme, one made to make my guard drop but the hidden attack never came. I once again roamed around and was surprised to see another squad waiting for me. Everything happened like it was on repeat for the next few hours. I killed one group and another appeared. I kept moving towards the center and the goblins kept coming. Having faced a total of eleven squads, I knew something was up. The goblins were actively trying to stop my advance to the center. They never stuck so close to each other and never worked in groups in six, ever. You could also tell that by their coordination. Both of the scouts chose the same spot when sniping, the one that I would have the most trouble dealing with, and the melee ranges never worked together in turn disturbing their pace and hindering each other. 'Something is definitely up, and this might be my chance. Possibly my only one left.' The slaughter that occurred earlier granted me benefits but leveling after forty became extremely hard. It took seven squads just to gain one level. The amount needed to go from thirty-nine to forty and from forty to forty-one was like heaven and earth. Too much more like a regular apartment to that of a skyscraper. My stats increased at a steady pace but it felt so slow compared to before. I had to kill so many goblins before classing up last time, even forced to kill something two tiers above me. My skills had to max out because I was too weak, but now I happened to be in the same situation but it was still many times harder to max out my abilities and level. I also had to kill a lot more monsters above my tier and fill my body with life energy, because from my own experience doing that would be beneficial while classing up and completing a hidden objective. Maxing out skill levels would also be a nice choice because the old man approved it while I was about to do so myself. He probably did that unknowingly but it was a piece of advice that would help me a lot, us humans who were stuck in this predicament together. I reached the village that was present in the center of this forest, which I assumed it was. The village looked more like a small town with large houses and a castle near the center. The houses were probably for the goblins and the castle for their leader. I walked into a deserted town, probably due to my actions earlier. I kept walking towards the castle when I felt a pulse run past me. It came again and again with an increasing pace, resembling a drumbeat that's about to reach its peak preparing for the drop that everyone has been waiting for. Every goblin except me. I reached the castle to see a large goblin, the origin of the pulse slowly standing up and the moment he stood tall came the awaited drop. Every pulse that was sent out was pulled back, pulling me little by little as they gathered at the goblin. I could not just let what was happening without trying to stop it, so I threw an axe that I picked up from one of the dead warriors. My mark was way off but the pulse gradually moved the axe towards the goblin, and it hit. The goblin screeched in a guttural voice enough to bleed my ears. As the last pulse reached the goblin a change took place in its body. Its height grew, so did the muscles and probably its strength. But one part did not grow or was facing some problem adapting to its new form. One of its legs did not undergo any changes remaining as it was before any transformation. The goblin tried to walk forward oblivious to this deformation in its rage but end up falling face-first instead. 'An opening!' I ran towards the goblin and brought out Thirst which was hung onto my back. I used Identify on getting close enough and was greeted with two prompts instead of one. [Unstable Hobgoblin] [A goblin evolved to a hobgoblin due to awakening its royal bloodline.] The other one made me curse out loud, "Fuck you Record, once again fuck you." [Sudden Quest] [The Final Challenge] [Defeat the hobgoblin in its current state or face with an opponent that even god might not be able to help you with.] [Objective: Kill the Hobgoblin] [Reward: An opportunity to form a perfect foundation] [Faliure: Failing to cross the last floor] [Time left until stabilizing: 9mins 58secs]