Chapter 21. Anger Ten minutes, that's all I have to get a perfect rating and the best possible reward. I had to be fast and careful to fight this hobgoblin. He was basically crippled but still, the aura he gave was nothing that could be scoffed. One good hit was probably all it would take for me to go down, one good punch and I lose. I reached him to and brought down my axes, the only thing he did was to bring up his arms and my weapons were not even able to penetrate its skin. It pushed me back, my body flung by the strength he exerted. I landed a few meters away, releasing that my strength and the sharpness of my axe both were a bit lacking. A cut was made on my back as Thirster drank blood. It was painful but my vitality had increased a lot bringing the recovery time to minutes. I once again ran to confront my current nemesis. Thea axes fell once again but this time the Hobgoblin only brought one of his hands to defend. A mistake on its side but that was not going to make me overconfident in my ability. Once again Thirst drank blood, not mine but that of my enemies. It dug in but not enough to sever the arm completely. An object entered my one-meter sphere with blinding speed but it still scratched my chest leaving three claw marks. I was once again blown back only to land a few meters back with pain bad enough to blind my senses. I let the blood fall onto Thirst instead of letting it fall onto the ground. I looked up to see the hobgoblin standing, balancing its weight on one leg. His arm bleed but it was just a tiny scrape compared to the wound I held. 'I lost this trade but my axes are sharper, the next time I hit, I'll take your arm with me.' I looked at the timer and was glad to see I had seven minutes left. I once again ran to the goblin, his actions not leaving my sight. I followed every muscle, every fiber of his being was being observed. The concentration level that I had reached felt like entering a new realm. My abilities felt fused into being, martial arts providing me an almost instinctual knowledge of its weakness, while the masteries had already taught me how to approach them. I knew where I had to use my abilities and my current control over mana never felt as seamless as it was at this moment. I could see a pattern similar to how I moved while practicing the mantra and power was slowly was building up inside of me making me stronger. A lot of notifications popped up but not one of them was able to capture my attention. I started to run towards the hobgoblin but after reaching a couple of meters away from him, my speed exploded. The unexpected speed caught him off guard. A swipe was hastily sent to blow my head off but a simple duck was enough to dodge it. A spin and my Thirst slashed at its belly, cleanly cutting through it. I dashed back and once again ran in following my instincts to their limit. Duck. Cut. Jump. Dodge. Slash. The exchange kept on going as its bodies kept accumulating damage, but so was mine. Not every attack could be dodged, I was still getting hit but the damage was reduced to its utmost minimum. The hobgoblin once again sliced in my direction but it slipped, the slip that cost its life. I raised my axe and used cleave. The axe and the hobgoblin hit the ground at almost the same time. Only there were three thuds. My weapon, the hobgoblin, and finally it's head. I exhaled and fell to my knees. The fight was tough, hard, and exhausting. Every single unit of my energy had been drained. I brought out the timer to see two minutes and was relieved that know I had completed my task but something was amiss. The timer was still counting down. [Time left until stabalising: 2mins 01secs] [Time left until stabalising: 2mins 00secs] [Time left until stabilizing: 1mins 59secs] I looked over to the 'dead body,' the one that was now twitching a little. I hurriedly brought down Thirst at its heart but was blown away by a strong gust of wind before it was able to connect. The body slowly stood up, the limb that was previously deformed, not being able to completely transform was now perfectly fine. A writhing movement occurred at its neck as I, to my horror watched its head grow. The severed one was still there on the ground, meaning a completely new one was growing out of its body. It made me worried, scared but angry at the same time. I fought the goblin to such lengths, destroying it completely even though I was two tiers below it and it still had the nerve to stand before me. But the next event made my anger turn into pure unbridled rage, not towards the hobgoblin but towards a completely different entity. [Time left until stabilizing: 0mins 00secs] The Records. It never gave accurate information, my bloodline, species, now this hobgoblin it never knew anything. I heard a screech and turning towards the sound made my anger skyrocket, because now I had an outlet. Our eyes met and the hobgoblin froze. Scared. I slowly walked in his direction but not a single sound left his mouth nor an inch of his being moved. I slowly raised my axe only to use cleave and cut straight through him, dividing the royal goblin in two, from top to bottom all without a single ounce of resistance. Even as it fell, there was one emotion present in its eyes. Fear. [Killed a Hobgoblin. Experience gained] [Bonus experience for killing an entity two tiers above you] [Bonus experience for being in a Trial Tower] [Level up] x4 [Demon's Perception gained a level] [Carnage gained a level] x8 [Bloodlust gained a level] x7 [Mantra of ??? gained a level] x2 [Learned 'Focus'] [Focus gained a level] x6 . . . [Hidden Quest Completed] [The reward will be given at the appropriate time] [Moving to the rest area: 15mins 00secs] ----------- [Status] Name: Ray Species: ??? Bloodline: Demon of ??? General Skills: Identify lvl 19, Mantra of ??? lvl 25, Demon's martial arts lvl 23, Axe Mastery lvl 22, Dual wielding lvl 22, Mana Control lvl 19, Focus lvl 7 Strength: 42 Agility: 42 Endurance: 42 Vitality: 42 Dexterity: 40 Intelligence: 15 Wisdom: 15 Perception: 52 Bonus point remaining: 20 ----------- [Primary Class: Demon Fighter] Level: 45 Skills : Active - Bloodlust lvl 8, Sprint lvl 23, Cleave lvl 21, Carnage lvl 9 Passive - Demon's Perception lvl 25, Demon's Control lvl 24, Demon's Sense lvl 23, Demon's Flexibility lvl 23 ----------- [Second class available]