The machete clattered to the ground as Roy dropped it to catch himself, letting out a groan of pain through clenched teeth. His eyes began tearing up, but he knew he could not allow the pain to deter him, or else he was dead. He could see and hear the feet of the goblin ahead of him already running up, but the source of the fiery blast was a much larger concern.

The goblin ahead of him made the mistake of lunging down for the machete rather than going straight for him, and Roy pushed himself up and forward to strike the goblin straight in the cheek with a right hook. His fist stung, but it was nothing compared to the new wave of pain that surged from the movement as his raw skin ached from the burns, blurring his vision with tears.

Roy did not waste time, however, and turned to find the source of his injury. What he saw was the tribal leader-looking one, with the spear still in its chest, lying on its side with a hand stretched out in his direction. It looked like it was barely staying conscious, gasping for air as blood trickled out of its wound and down the side of its mouth, not even having the strength to lift its arm anymore.

Cursing himself for not finishing it off, Roy took a moment to look over each of the individual goblins. The one he had smashed the staff onto and stabbed was lying unconscious. The one he had jumped onto appeared to be having trouble breathing or getting up, most likely from crushed ribs, and was slowly bleeding out. The treant had risen between them, simply watching the fight.

He seriously lacked the strength to kill them outright, and Roy knew that the longer they stayed alive in those states, the less experience he would get. Finishing them off safely, however, was a different matter.

Deciding to play it safe while the last standing goblin dives for the machete once more, Roy began retreating to where the magic-wielding goblin was collapsed and yanked the spear from its chest by propping its body under his foot. While still stepping on it, he kicked its head like a football with the other and snapped its neck, making it rest flat on its shoulder.

The final goblin issued a warcry as it charged in a last, suicidal attempt at bringing down its opponent, raising the machete high above its head. With such an obvious attack coming in and armed with a weapon, Roy easily parried the rusted blade with his brand new and bloodied buckler, snapping the blade in half and drove the tip of the spear straight through the goblin's neck, tearing it wide open. He gave it a second stab through the heart after it collapsed, twisting the shaft and yanking it out. He did this two more times on the two remaining goblins and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

You Gained 28 EXP

You Gained 18 EXP

You Gained 17 EXP

You Gained 15 EXP

Strength: +16 EXP (2/20 EXP) Level 3!

Speed: +10 EXP (8/15 EXP) Level 2!

Endurance: +17 EXP (10/15 EXP) Level 2!

Stamina: +17 EXP (8/20 EXP) Level 3!

Cognition: +12 EXP (9/15 EXP) Level 2!

Mana: +6 EXP (1/15 EXP) Level 2!

Whether the experience came only after combat was over or not was still not clear, but what was, was that one of the goblins, most definitely the magic-wielding one, was worth a lot more than the others. Right now, though, he did not care about it too much.

He trudged to the river and carefully lowered himself, wincing at the stinging of his skin on his back before a bit of relief washing over him at the cooling sensation.

One thing he did make sure to do at that moment, however, was to quickly inspect the goblin caster with his guide before the body disintegrated. Thankfully the ability worked even from a distance, and a window popped up.

Goblin Shaman

Tier: 1

Rating: C

Roy made a mental note to make sure and inspect anything that seemed odd or out of place as a precaution. Even apparel might indicate a difference in rating, it seemed. That had been his first-ever encounter with a goblin that could use magic, not that he faced them too often. There was usually rarely much to gain from killing then, save for preventing them from killing farmers and their livestock or travelers on the road.

Now, however, with the cores that they dropped, it might prove worthwhile as they were very useful and versatile. Right as Roy was thinking that, the goblin bodies began to disintegrate, once more leaving the shimmering crystals behind.

As he soaked himself to cool off his injury and rest his body, he knew he had to prepare for more to show up eventually, if there were any left, when their companions do not return. But what finally roused him from his brief moment of relaxation was seeing the treant begin to wander over to the nearest core.

"Oh, for fucks sake. Don't you dare waste them!" Roy exclaimed at the tree as he rose out of the water and hurriedly shuffled to stand in its path.

He was too slow to reach it in time before it scooped one up in its roots, but before it could do anything, Roy snatched it. He glared at the treant as it watched the core in his hand before going around to gather the remaining three.

One of them, the one dropped by the shaman, appeared slightly different from the rest as he examined them. The azure light within the crystal it was composed of was more solid and spherical rather than a swirling light but was dimmer. Same as the one the treant had grabbed. He used his guide to inspect them closer, the shaman one first and the dim one second.

Core Crystal

Tier: 1

Purity: Low-Medium

Charge: Low-Medium

Core Crystal

Tier: 1

Purity: Low

Charge: Low

Roy directed a slightly concerned glance at the treant before examining what exactly the purity and charge meant as a precaution, even if he already had a good guess what they represented from the original description.