‘I shouldn’t be surprised about this,’ Rohan thought. The new message informed him of another aspect of having a slave. And it was one of those features that he considered as tedious. Usually, he wouldn’t bother rising his likability to an NPC unless those pro gamers guide told him so.

‘I wonder what would happen if it reaches a hundred?’ Rohan thought. He had an idea that reaching a hundred might give him something, considering he was a Slavemancer. But right now it was pointless to think so as he had no clue on how to increase the likability between them. Calling Giotto as a family was probably the trigger that caused the increase but after that, he doubted it could be used in repeat.

Their journey continued. Two men fought their way through the pine forest, killing any goblins they met. Their average numbers were increasing from one to two. And the pattern was obvious for Rohan who fear what might entail shortly. Giotto helping out proved a lot to lessen the burden when he fought, but more than three at the same time might be pushing it for Rohan.

After a while, Giotto reached level three. The battle he fought and the injuries he healed made his progress faster compared to the Boss of the two. Rohan knew the logic behind it, but he was still frustrated over it. He killed tens of goblins and bled over it, yet level three seemed like a far cry. Deep down, he complained about why the leveling was so slow. In his term, he thought he deserved a few more levels after those he kill he made. It was to the point the edge of Simon’s sword was getting duller by the constant blood that kept washing its metal surface.

Yet the goblins were not his biggest enemy at the moment as the sky above his head was getting darker by the second. “We’re losing daylight,” Rohan said, stretching his neck upwards seeing the sky dyed in a purple hue. Where ever this dungeon was, it was safe to say it followed the law of the real world.

“Should I start a fire, Boss?” Giotto asked, his eyes were already wandering for firewoods.

Rohan nodded and the two went on securing a place for the night. He struck the fire steel with his sword and a fire was lit. A reddish-orange flame burned brighter as Giotto fueled the hungry flame with the dry branches and twigs he gathered. They huddled around the fire as the forest air got colder with the gradual loss of light in the sky. By the time night took hold, Rohan munched down the strip meat jerky he packed before entering the dungeon. He stared at the blazing flame in a daze while his jaw kept chewing. The young man was living his dream with the RPG element, but this dream was much closer to reality than he thought it would.

There was no record-breaking speed run of clearing a dungeon like he read in those mangas as reality was much more difficult. To be fair, the problem right now was whether the direction they were heading to was either right or not. They had been bulldozing their way in a straight path, assuming it was straight. The increasing number of goblins they fought was a good sign, but it was not enough for Rohan. Now was the time he wished he had an ability where there was an arrow pointing the direction to where he should go.

‘I’m not going to die in here am I?’ he wondered. The young man had enough staring at the crackling flame as he pulled out Giotto’s stat window.

[Giotto][Lv.3]

[Race: Human]

[Class: Cleric]

[HP: 55/58]

[EP: 18/18]

[MP: 14/16]

[Strength: 6]

[Endurance: 9]

[Defense: 4]

[Dexterity: 5]

[Arcane: 8]

[Willpower: 10]

[Perception: 6]

[Charisma: 2]

[Points available: 0]

It was hardly remarkable as the cleric distributed his points rather evenly between strength, endurance, defense, and arcane. Giotto put some in strength which was quite helpful in battling against the goblin, and he did take heed of Rohan’s words of not putting any in willpower.

The young noble came to realize that unlike his slavemancer class which obtained two class points upon leveling up, the cleric only received one which was distributed to willpower. He had an assumption that his class was a higher rank compared to the cleric, but without more evidence, he couldn’t back up his claims. Well even if his class was higher in ranking, it could hardly be of use if he was alone.

A twig snapped. Both Rohan and Giotto turned their heads at the sound with blades unsheathing from their scabbards. Their eyes lingered at the darkness where no light had touched.

“Boss,” Giotto whispered.

Rohan replied with a shush. He focused on the darkness as the outline of a silhouette became clearer with each passing second. Whatever it was, it was tall and big, and Rohan feared what it might be. The grip on his sword tightened as he readied his heart.

‘Wait, isn’t that?’ Rohan thought differently as he saw who it was. The strong flame from the campfire barely reached the approaching figure and revealed who it was.

“Herakles,” Rohan uttered. The man hailing from Greco Island was dragging his feet through the forest floor with his back hunched. From the look of it, he appeared as if he went through hell. Dried blood smothered against one side of his face as his hair was more disheveled than before. But at least the brutish man realized what was at stake here. He was adorned in the plate armor of the late Sir Simon, and judging by the hand that was covering his flank he was hurt.

“Help,” Herakles said feebly. Immediately he fell to his knees as his face went crashing to the ground. Rohan rushed with Giotto trailing from behind. The young lord turned Herakles over as he saw Herakles didn’t have the energy to even open his eyes. Rohan frowned as he dragged Herakles closer to the campfire.

“Oi, wake up,” Rohan said, slapping the unconscious man at the cheek. It was a strong slap as he could even feel his own palm stinging a bit. “What happened, damn it?”

“It’s . . . The . . .” Herakles couldn’t finish his word as he fell into an unconscious state.

“Heal him!” Rohan roared. Giotto abided and he worked his magic. The cleric found the open wound on the flank with blood seeping out. It was far from being a claw mark nor a bite mark. Giotto plugged the open wound with his palm and Small Heal erupted in a row.

‘Amplify,’ Rohan willed his thought as his sole skill enhanced Giotto’s ability. The skill went up twice before the stack limit message emerged.

“Keep healing him,” Rohan said. Giotto nodded and concentrated back to Herakles.

In the meantime, Rohan rose up to his feet and brandished the sword in his hand up high. He reckoned whatever that attacked Herakles would surely chase him down. His steps were slow as he moved forward towards the darkness. Then he stopped.

His eyes looked left and right as his ears focused on the sounds of the night forest. It was awfully silent. No insects were buzzing nor were any animals making their nightly routine calls. It was a bit late for him to realize, but he wondered whether there was nothing else besides goblins in this forest. And looking back, their daylight travel was nothing but goblins and more goblins.

Yet something snapped. Rohan turned and stared at where the sound might come from. It didn’t sound like any normal tree branch being snapped as it sounded denser.

‘Hmm?’ his mind went nuts, trying to convey what he was seeing in this darkness. It was a few meters away from where he was, coming from behind a pine tree. The silhouette was massive, and he reckoned it was even taller than Herakles over there. It stood more or less taller than two meters and judging by those broad shoulders, it wasn't a good sign for Rohan.

Unknowingly, Rohan’s feet shuffled back. He didn’t know what he was feeling, but deep down he felt intimidated by this newcomer. By chance, he found the yellow eyes of this huge creature. The only thing he knew about yellow eyes were goblins, and a goblin could not be this tall not after his experience of dealing with them throughout the whole day.

“Stand back!” Rohan shouted. Readying himself in a stance with the point-end of the sword aiming down right at the silhouette.

Yet the figure in the dark didn’t answer. It walked towards Rohan, taking its time as if it was a leisure stroll in the park. At times, he heard something being snapped which was followed by a continuous crunching noise.

Sweats rained down his forehead as this creature defied whatever hypothesis he made over the goblins he observed. Unlike goblin who rushed immediately after seeing a human, this massive creature didn’t display the same behavior.

Rohan retreated to the campfire while keeping his eye on the silhouette. He grabbed one of the burning woods and threw it in the direction of the figure. Then he saw it. The fire gave a brief vision of what this figure was as his eyes went wide.

“Get him up!” Rohan hollered.

“Boss, he’s still unconscious,” Giotto replied as he grew nervous over the actions of Rohan.

“Just drag him to tree over there, and continue healing him,” Rohan said.

“But how Boss? He’s a big guy and I’m—”

“Quit complaining!” Rohan cut Giotto off. “Your strength stat is enough to drag a man of that size, so get on with it”

The cleric knew not to question Rohan any longer. As he dragged Herakles with all his might, he came to realize that it was pretty easy for him to drag a man of this size. He lightly smile over the realization while not knowing the danger that lurked close to the edge.

Rohan backed away and placed himself behind the campfire and with the incoming figure coming from the front. Then it emerged. It bathed into the light of the bright orange flames, revealing what it truly was.

Big and muscular upper body like a strongman contender, yet the protruding potbelly made it appear lacking in discipline. The ragged loincloth around its waist was the only thing that could barely be called clothing. While its chicken legs betrayed the hypertrophies on the upper side. From looks alone, it was definitely a goblin, or probably an evolved version of one. But the most chilling about this creature was the thing that it kept munching with the crunching noises that never stop.

“Is that…” Rohan couldn’t complete his words as his eyes stared at the severed upper limb of a man being eaten by the evolved goblin like it was a chicken drumstick. Seeing it made him remember Simon who he left unburied. “It couldn’t be,” Rohan hoped it wasn’t Simon. But logically speaking there was no one else except for Simon unless they were other humans inside this dungeon.

The giant goblin let out a cackling laugh, spitting the meat and bones that it chewed. It drew closer to Rohan as the hideous grin never left that ugly face. Then it stopped laughing.

“Raise your guard!” Herakles shouted a warning from behind as he finally regained consciousness. Yet it was too late.

The giant goblin moved like the wind, leaping over the campfire. Surprising Rohan, who couldn’t believe something that big could move that fast, and before he knew it, the arm the giant goblin was eating whipped through the air and slammed against him by the side. He was swept off his feet, and the young noble went flying in the air. A painful yelp escaped from his lips as his body slammed against the trunk of a pine tree.

He dropped to the ground and as he rushed to get back up again, a huge shadow loomed over him. Rohan immediately knew he was fucked up and as he craned his head up, he saw that goblin bastard smirking at him. He gripped his sword tight and the giant goblin swung the human arm at him.

Right at that moment, a shadow leaped from the side, tackling the giant goblin. It was Herakles. But his attempt in grounding the giant goblin was a failure. His weight and speed behind his tackle were not enough to put the giant goblin to the ground. Herakles pushed, hanging by the giant goblin’s waist like a kid playing wrestling with his father. And like a father the giant goblin barely moved from its spot with an amused face, scoffing at Herakles. It clenched its fist and hammered it down right on Herakles’ back. The pain rattled his body, but Herakles gritted through his teeth, enduring it. The giant goblin raised its fist again, preparing to send another blow, but the glimmer of a blade kissed its greyish-green skin.

A scream of pain erupted through the forest. The giant goblin glanced at the massive cut on its wrist with blood gushing out like an open tap. It turned its glance to Rohan and saw the sword that almost cut off its whole hand. Rage filled its yellow eyes and it barked an angry roar.

Rohan grinned. “Like what I did there? Cause there’s a lot more coming,” he said. He went in for the assault, brandishing his sword like a knight in its prime. His technique lacked finesse but he made it up by putting every ounce of his energy and courage into every swing that he could muster. The blade danced and the giant goblin retreated in a rush.

It grabbed Herakles by the back of its plate armor and threw him off like a ragdoll. Herakles came crashing into the ground as he grunted in pain. Out from behind the tree, Giotto emerged placing his hand over Herakles’ cheek. Small Heal went to work as he recovered the big man back to health. The pain slowly alleviated as Herakles watched Rohan battle against the giant goblin. The shorter man was pushing the giant goblin back, sending shallow cuts and stinging pain. His eyes were fierce with a trace of fear hidden beneath. And it was well within reason. Throughout the onslaught of his attacks, the giant goblin never stopped smirking at him as if amused by a tantrum of a child.

Then it had enough. The giant goblin threw the arm at Rohan and the young lord raised his guard. It smacked against him and he stumbled on his steps, falling on his ass. Yet the moment he looked up, a huge clenched fist went hurling at him.

The thought of death came flashing before Rohan’s eyes. But it stopped. His and the giant goblin’s eyes saw the glimmer of a sword piercing through its abdomen from the back. The silence of dumbfounded lingered for a few seconds before the giant goblin went into a rage. It turned and slammed its fist at the sly bastard that ambushed it. A loud metal thud echoed as Rohan saw Herakles soared into the air for the second time.

Yet he got his chance. The giant goblin’s back was wide open for him and he took it. He leaped with all the strength in his legs and he aimed the edge of his sword right at the nape of the giant goblin’s neck.

But he missed. The giant goblin turned and the sword jammed right through the space between the collarbone and the trapezius. Its piercing cry shattered the silent night of the forest. The giant goblin’s elongated fingers reached out to grab Rohan by the chain mail with its yellow eyes filled with intense hate. But Rohan jumped, letting go of the sword as he used the giant goblin’s back as a platform. He spun in the air once and landed perfectly with his two feet on the ground, and much of it was a surprise for him. It never crossed his mind that he could pull such a stunt. But now wasn’t the time to be amazed as he snapped back to what was in front of him.

Two swords pierced through the body of the giant goblin and yet it still stood tall, unfazed. Its feral eyes glared at Rohan as the young lord definitely knew what those eyes meant. The giant goblin grabbed the sword that was stuck in between its collarbone and trapezius with its bare hand and winced as it removed it slowly. Blood spurted like a fountain over that wound as Rohan definitely cut over a major artery. It shouldn’t have done that, but it was clueless regarding the body’s anatomy. Right now, what was important to it was to enact the same thing that Rohan did to it. The giant goblin held the sword by the hilt, ignoring the continuous blood that kept spurting every now and then. Then it rushed at Rohan.

The young lord turned and fled. He knew better to flee rather than fight against a beast like that unarmed. And the dagger on the side was definitely not a suitable weapon at the moment. He hid behind a tree and by the nick of time, a sword went crashing against the tree trunk. It went in half and stuck. But that wasn’t enough of a reason for the giant goblin to stop its assault. It left the sword and moved behind the tree, it snarled at Rohan and threw his fist at the young man sitting on the ground. Rohan rolled to the side, dodging the fist by a hairbreadth. He got up a second later and sprinted away back to the campfire. The angry cackle of the giant goblin erupted behind him as he heard its footsteps rushing from the back.

Rohan slid on the ground near the campfire as his hand quickly grabbed the unburnt end of a piece of firewood. He raised it and swung it like a baseball bat. By chance, he felt it in his hands. He definitely hit something. The bright flaming end of the firewood he held smacked right across the jaw of the giant goblin. The heat and pain stunned the creature and what came next made it howl. He pressed the burnt end over the skinny thigh of the giant goblin and the nauseating smell of burnt skin and flesh wafted in the air. Rohan didn’t stop and forced the firewood more into the creature. “Die!” he shouted.

Yet the triumph he felt lasted barely for a second. A blur of a speeding arm came smacking him from the side, sending him hurling in the air before crashing into a nearby shrub. His hand still held tight over the firewood as the ember at the burning end started to fall. Heat met leaves and the shrub started to alight. Rohan got up as he felt the burn of the leaves as well as the aches on his body. Glancing at his health points, he still had over half of it and it was much of a surprise after all those beatings he took.

He groaned as he stood up as the shrub behind him burned even brighter. The temperature was rising and the flames brightened the dark forest. Yet his eyes were dead focused on the humanoid creature that was ambling towards him. At first glance alone, the giant goblin had much worse than him. Blood trickled down from the cut on its wrist to the bloody puncture hole behind its collarbone. And unlike usual, it was heaving for its breath with the recession in between its ribs growing deeper with each inhalation.

“Can’t you die already?” Rohan shouted. The giant goblin looked like it was hanging for its dear life, and yet the fire of its feral eyes burned even brighter. Despite the lesser nature of its berserking, it still felt the urge of decimating humans.

It dragged its feet and snarled at Rohan. As if it was replying back the same thing to him in a different language.

Rohan unsheathed the dagger to his side and stood in a stance. He wasn’t going to fight as he pretended to be. Looking at the state of the giant goblin what he needed right now was only time. Sooner or later it would fall, and he would not risk himself to close-quarter combat with a freaking monster like this. And like they always said, a beast in its dying moment would always be the most dangerous.

So his plan right now was just to stall.

“Die!” But Rohan heard the battle cry of a man. Herakles swung the sword he got from the tree with not an ounce of hiding his intention from the enemy.

“You idiot,” Rohan grumbled under his breath. Then he witnessed it.

Herakles missed the wide swing, then danger came.