s

“Bearl ahead,” the Rogue said, his face twisted.

“Let me see,” 663 said, and moved ahead. He stuck close to the tree as he searched for the Bearl. The rest of the party did likewise, albeit not as delicately.

It did not take long to find it. The Bearl was level 52, and similar to a typical bear: enormous, at least three meters, and with sharp claws. Bearls, however, had skinner limbs, longer bodies, and a smaller head. Their fur was was light and their weight much lower, but they were much quicker and agile, as well as reasonably intelligent, and thus were known to be more deadly than bears.

It was smacking and slicing gray kid-sized creatures with each claw and tooth. They were goblinoids named Ash Goblins, the tallest of them barely topping five feet, and were all hovering around level 20. Instead of shriveled skin, these variants were agile and full of muscle.

They danced around the Bearl, stabbing at its back with their spears and daggers. When they were struck by the back of the Bearl's paw, the Ash Goblins were smart enough to bounce back with the strike. When they were struck by its claws, they simply fell apart.

“Who’s winning?” 666 said, spitting to the side. “Can’t see from all the bloody chaos.”

“The Ash Goblins. They’re wearing it down,” 663 said.

The Ash Goblins were in a five-one formation. There was only a single Ash Goblin that struck in close proximity to the Bearl’s buttocks, and only his attacks seemed to dig deep enough. The five that circled the Bearl provided constant harassment to the Bearl from all sides, with spears and maces, distracting it and sometimes switching with the first Ash Goblin.

Curiously enough, the Ash Goblin that went in became much stronger, moving with greater speed and slashing with greater power. Life Force was visible in great concentrations on his body, so much that his skin nearly became yellow.

“We’ll clean up after,” 663 decided. “Easy points for the taking if we play it smart. Can kill them all.”

“No,” Nilbog said. He received a few glances for that. “There is no such thing as easy points.”

“Kid, just because you got a lil’ bit of talent doesn’t mean you know shi-”

“Ashe Goblins travel in large packs. This could be only one squad, with another on the way. If we go in we might get ambushed.”

“No,” 663 said. “Ash Goblins are ranked D+. Bearls are ranked C- mini-bosses. We won’t get another perfect opportunity like this. We need to get stronger now, or everyone will out level us.”

“But isn’t this strange, for us to just wander into this by chance? There are no perfect opportunities; only hardships and traps! We’re supposed to survive, not kill everything we see." Nilbog said, breathing heavily. How could he explain it?

663 twisted his head further, closely inspecting Nilbog. He was already suspicious. “How would you know that? Regardless, we have to take the risk. Let them tire themselves out more,” he said.

“You’re forgetting about the force field behind us. We daddle too much here and we’ll be caught in it.” 664 said.

“Good point. We’ll move now,” 663 said sharply.

The rest followed 663 as he moved away. 664 stood behind, looking towards the rest of the group and back. “Coming?” he said.

After a pause, Nilbog nodded his head. He was stuck with them. Going off on his on would be suicidal. He'd learned his lesson about going solo.

He glanced at his body with apprehension, realizing how he was already shaking. At first, he thought it was the cold, but the tight choke around his heart told him otherwise. It beat deep and with a tight burn, sending vomit up his throat. He placed his hand over the rough cotton of his shirt, attempting to calm himself.

He heard a humming.

His head snapped around, looking up and down, but finding nothing. A few birds chirped high above, the wind ruffled the branches, and a few small lizards scuttled from one bush to the other, but nothing else.

Paranoid. Paranoid about everything.

Hopefully, he was wrong--wrong about everything. Wouldn’t be the first time.

Nilbog moved with the rest of his group, getting close as 663 began to outlay the plan.

“Before we kill the Bearl, we need to kill the Ash Goblins. They’re the more intelligent creatures. From my Intel skill, it looks like Ash Goblin’s use a group skill--the one in the center of them becomes very powerful.”

“So how do we do it?” 664 asked.

“Simple. Because their skill requires one goblin to be in the middle, all we have to do is attack from one side. It will break their skill. We’ll keep the Bearl in the middle, it should be aggroed by the goblins more. 665, you stay watch--667 made a good point. Let us know if you see anyone coming. Rest normal formation.”

After checking with every party member, 663 began a countdown. Everyone used their skills then.

The two warriors used Life Force Empowerment. For capping a percentage of their Life Force, and depending on the variant of the skill, they gained roughly 20-50% bonuses towards all parameters. It was the basic and most powerful skill open to Life Force users, and Nilbog could not use it.

663 cast a different spell. Instead of into his body, Life Force began to ooze out of his body and into the spear until it shimmered a bright yellow. He was an External Life Force user. Instead of buffing his own body, he expelled Life Force into buffs, attacks, or enchanting of armor and weapons.

Everyone sprinted out of the bushes, warriors in front, Nilbog on the side.

As they ran towards the Ash Goblins, yellow rays burst up from 663 and honed in on everyone around him.

Quick Maneuvers

Movement towards enemies is increased by 20%.

Reduce the effects of slows by 50%, and other Crowd Control abilities by 20%.

After 30 seconds, Quick Maneuvers will be reduced by 50%.

Duration: The effects will decay over 1 minute.

Speed coursed through Nilbog’s legs as he ran.

The Quick Maneuver buff had a cooldown double its duration, and did not overlap with other Maneuver buffs.

But even with the Speed bonus, the Ash Goblins were too far away. The Ash Goblins closest to them noticed, and quickly began to move.

Once 663 got into range though, he used another one of his class skills: Debilitating Zone.

He threw the spear into the air, landing near the Ash Goblins.

A brown spherical field popped up from the point of impact. It was approximately 10 meters wide, and it slowed all creatures within. The slow would have been 30%, but 663 bought an add-on which increased it to 50%.

It would have been a horrible skill if it weren’t for Quick Maneuvers reduction of slows. Strictly speaking, while the net worth of the skill provided 25% increased Speed for the party members, the range allowed it to initiate fights.

Three Ash Goblins and the Bearl were caught in the radius, though because of its size and level, it seemed that the skill’s effects were dramatically reduced.

Nilbog had the lowest Brawn and Speed, both because of his low level and inability to use Life Force to boost his body. He was skillful, making the most out of his stats, but he still had the worst combat capacities. His low Brawn made fighting against armored foes difficult, as he couldn’t penetrate through armor.

Because of that, he was the one that usually ended up taking either the most risk or STM wasting jobs.

Putting the most effort into it, Nilbog reached them first. He entered the zone. It felt like running underwater, but with the enormous difference in speed, and with goblins backs turned, the kill was easy. He leaped forward stabbing with both daggers at each side of the neck. The goblin fell to the ground with him on top of it. Nilbog quickly sprung up, letting it bleed to death.

Another Ash Goblin was caught by 666’s Life Force Slash, but the third escaped the radius.

“Good work!” 663 yelled, lifting the spear off from the ground. The Zone was quickly sucked into the spear. “Their skill is down. Be steady!”

It was the right call. With their skill off, they no longer had a super buffed goblin to contest the Bearl’s strikes. It ignored everyone behind it and stepped forward, striking down the goblins.

“Now!” 666 yelled.

663 was supposed to make the call, but having no choice but to follow 666, everyone charged in, stabbing and using their skills on the back of the Bearl.

666 used Power Attack. After charging his sword up for a few seconds, the explosive power was multiplied. The blade pierced through the Bearl’s fur, bursting within.

663 used a class skill called Leader’s Target, boosting the buffs of his Maneuver skills against the Bearl, among a 10% debuff to Armor and Spirit. Because the spear penetrated, however, the debuff increased to 20%.

664, only having invested in his External Life Force branch, simply stabbed in with all his strength and the momentum he has built up, piercing through.

Nilbog did not strike--his weapon was too short and there was no space to strike at its back.

The Bearl howled, taking one step forward and swiping backward. 664 was unable to step back in time, but he was able to receive the strike on his shield. It blew him away a couple of feet back, denting the metal.

Behind the Bearl, the three surviving Ash Goblins did not stop running. Hoping that they would not return, Nilbog ran behind it, taking their spot.

It was a wreck. Its brown fur turned a wet red from the Ash Goblins strikes, and most notably 666’s Power Attack. Its movement slowed as it trundled forward, but its range was still long and it packed a strong punch.

Even with the range 663 was unable to strike with his spear without being vulnerable to an attack. The two warriors defended with their shields, stepping back each time the Bearl swung horizontally, and completely jumped out of the way for vertical attacks--there was too much weight behind them.

Meanwhile, Nilbog stayed at its back, harassing it with his daggers. Piercing through its fur would have been a tall order, but considering the many holes and slashes leftover from previous attacks, his dagger was able to make it bleed further than usual.

Minor Penetration!

You have dealt 10 damage!

You have extended the bleed status effect!

They made some good damage until the Bearl stepped sideways and turned, swiping at Nilbog with its claw. With his Dodge skill, including the 5% add-on he bought, he was able to duck below the strike, and then step sideways as its other claw struck vertically. Its paws smashed the ground and while its chest and neck were wide open, Nilbog was unable to take advantage of it.

His daggers had too little range, and its jaws could easily snap forward and take a chunk off his skull if he wasn’t careful.

Instead, he let his three-party mates wreak havoc on its back. Even with all its injuries, its strikes were still deadly.

It was twice his level. Unlike the others, he had no Empowerment to make his skin hard as iron. For them, being struck meant their buffs would be reduced. For Nilbog, it meant death.

Finding that Nilbog kept his distance, the Bearl dropped to all four limbs and attempted to breakthrough.

Everyone followed, but while they ran the Bearl stabbed and swung at them, aiming under and above their shields.

This was the main reason hunting intelligent monsters were commonly avoided, no matter their level; the moment their lives were in danger they ran like hell.

666’s early call had put them into a dire situation, and 663 had not regained enough Life Force for any other skill.

The Bearl would have escaped, but 664 stepped up. He dropped his shield and sprinted after the beast, yellow Life Force aura coursing through his body. It boosted his Speed and Brawn high enough for him to leap over the Bearl’s swipe, and land on top of its back with his sword going straight in.

He rode the beast as it roared. It attempted to shake him off but the sword was too far deep and did not budge. When that didn’t work, the Bearl jumped sideways, attempting to crush him under its back.

Only when its hind legs left the floor did 663 jump, leaving his sword behind. He fell and rolled across the dirt, dazed.

Another cry resounded as his sword plunged deeper into its body, bending as it trolled, but the pain only made it quicker. It lept from its back to its legs, and straight into 666’s second Power Attack. He had jumped, and with the momentum of his sprint his sword pierced the beast's neck and exploded within, discharging red fog from its eyes and ears.

“Fucking thing won’t go dow-” 666 said, falling to his tiptoes moments before it the Bearl’s paws smacked into his left side, sending him flying for a couple of good meters.

Its other paw lifted up into the air before 664’s bareback, but before it could bring it down a spear went through one of its eye sockets and came out at the other side, nearly cutting Nilbog as he stabbed his daggers into the back of its neck.

The beast stuttered a few steps forward before it fell backward, a low squeal escaping its broken throat.

Nilbog fell on his butt, panting as the dust cleared. He looked around but didn’t find any of the Ash Goblins. His vision wasn’t great, things were a blur at a distance, but the pale white trees and skimpy grass in this area did not provide much cover, either. If there was an ambush then it would have happened by now.

He heard the humming again. It was louder and resounded in his skull, but Nilbog couldn’t see anything. His head only hurt.

“Fucking hell. Imagine if it was full HP when got here,” 666 said, rubbing his left shoulder. The yellow aura that was covering his body was diminished now. Damage lowered Empowerment’s effects and duration. He kicked the Bearl’s head, spitting into one its burst eye sockets.

“Worth it though,” 664 said, getting up. “Got good levels for that. Level 39 now.”

“It would have been easier if we waited. I thought we were going to leave the calls for me, 666?” 663 said, folding his arms. A triangle with an open chest icon hovered over the Bearl’s corpse. He bent next to the Bearl’s body, channeling the loot skill.

“Saw a chance, and I took it. We get more experience for the damage we deal.”

“We lost a lot of Life Force for it! We also took injuries, and we’re barely a quarter way through the Mission.”

666 shrugged, picking up his sword.

“Whatever,” 663 said a blue orb floated from the Bearl’s body. “A rare Life Force orb. Says will regenerate 50% of our maximum Life Force if used out of combat, and 25% if in combat. Status report?”

“HP 83%, STM 56%, Life Force 45%,” 664 said.

“HP 74%, STM 42%, Life Force 34%,” 666 said.

“HP 92%, STM 64%, Life Force 52%,” Nilbog said. His Life Force report was, of course, a lie--it was 100%, but he couldn’t disclose his inability to use it. Since he had been striking from the back, everyone probably assumed he was an External user.

The question of why he wasn't using Empowerment was held back.

“We’ll leave in five minutes. This was a pretty big catch, so I think we can take a longer rest.”

“But oh man, gotta give it to them goblins,” 666 began speaking, poking the Bearl’s head with his sword. “They sure did a big one on this thing.”

“The theme were goblinoids Forty years ago. We have a lot of different variants since then,” 663 said, sharpening the tip of his spear with 664's whetstone. It got chipped when it penetrated the back of the Bearl’s skull. “That skill they used, where they concentrate their Life Force into one goblin, is only effective on idiots that let themselves be surrounded.”

“Easier than undead. We’ve been having a lot of these,” 666 said.

Nilbog then sprang up, his daggers at the ready. He didn’t see anyone. “Where is 665?” Nilbog barked. That man had such a small presence that he had completely forgotten about him.

663 looked around, and after a while, he stood up, scratching his back. “I thought he was the-” stopped speaking mid-sentence. He leaned in, staring at a tree. “Shit,” he said, and then dropped the whetstone.

Nilbog looked after him, but didn’t find anything suspicious.

“Goblins,” he said, quietly, and then yelled it. “Ash Goblins!”

Suddenly, the trunk of the tree that Nilbog was looking at suddenly came off and began sprinting towards them.

It was the Ash Goblins. They had a Comfloague skin, turning the color of their skin to match the trees.

And there were a lot of them. Nilbog spotted 3 before he began running. He didn’t know where the rest were, everything was a blur.

666 did not. “They’re just goblins! We’ve fought higher leveled Ghouls!”

“We’re surrounded and missing a man!” 663 said, pausing for a slight moment. “We need to breakthrough!”

663 was right. If Nilbog’s gut feelings were correct, then they were fighting a squad of Ash Goblins in addition to the ones that had escaped.

“There is probably six of them! We can fight!” 666 yelled, but everyone else, including Nilbog, began sprinting for their lives. Seeing that 666 caught on, but not after being separated from everyone else. He lagged behind, and while the Ash Goblins were slower, his STM and Life Force was too low.

“They’re going to catch us. Use the orb!” 664 yelled.

“They’re just goblins, we can outrun them!”

Quick Maneuvers

Movement towards enemies is increased by 20%.

Reduce the effects of slows by 50%, and other Crowd Control abilities by 20%.

After 30 seconds, Offensive Maneuvers will be reduced by 50%.

Duration: The effects will decay over 1 minute.

“You won’t!” Nilbog yelled. “The rest are--”

Before he could finish the trees ahead moved.

“Five goblins! Two more on left, three on right!” 663 said.

Intelligent creatures were always avoided, and for good reason.

They knew that his path was the only way out, and had adequately prepared. They weren’t surrounded then, but now they were. When he looked behind he saw two Ash Goblins hiding behind one of the trees they had sprinted by.

When he looked back, he saw one goblin sprinting towards them.

“Split up!” 663 yelled, but it was too late.

The formation was complete. Simultaneously, all the Ash Goblin’s began chanting. Yellow auras burst from the goblins around them, arched into the air and then struck the goblin in the center.

Suddenly, its sprinting speed was twice fold. It dashed quicker than any of them, sword in hand.

664 lead the charge. When the goblin raised its sword for a slash, 664 raised his shield.

Nilbog wanted to warn him, but it all went too fast for his mouth.

It was a feint. The goblin lowered its sword and stepped to the side.

It should have caught 664 unaware in his blindside, but the moment it stepped to the side, 664 acted instantaneously, lowering his shield and bashing the goblin in the side.

It rolled past Nilbog, dragging the dirt with it.

Either he had a skill or he was just that damn good.

“Breakthrough! We have a few seconds befo-”

With double the Ash Goblins, the transfer was quicker. The aura flew from the fallen goblin and into the next one. All the other goblins run along but did not enter the center, maintaining their skill.

“Split up!” 663 yelled, and went left. 664 followed him.

Nilbog went right with 666 following behind him.

The goblins canceled the skill. Now that everyone was split, the Ash Goblins separated into two groups and chased both parties down.

It was going to be a hard battle. The goblins neared from all sides, and while they were only around level 30, they practically had the same if not more parameters than Nilbog, and there were at least five of them. It should be doable with 666, however. He was much quicker and faster. If he protected his back somehow and--

Seventh Sense activated, making his body jump as something swiped under his feet. In a fit of panic, Nilbog turned around into the back of 666’s fist. It struck his chest, throwing him off balance. He fell on his shoulder and rolled with the momentum, but by the time he got up there were Ash Goblins on all sides.

“Thanks kid!” Nilbog heard 666 say as he escaped, unhindered now that all the Ash Goblins had easier prey.

A spear landed next to him. Nilbog could never tell a happy goblin from a miserable one.

This time, he could.

He stood up, glancing at his HP and STM bar. His HP was only down 20 HP, STM rested at 80, and overall STM at 487. Strangely, Nilbog wasn’t panicking. He was scared and livid, but he did not shake nor panic. It was his fault for his carelessness as much as it was 666’s cowardly nature.

It was obvious--why would someone with higher Speed and Endurance, a Warrior, be running in the back? The bastard planned it.

Still, the situation wasn’t entirely hopeless. Not every goblin race was vicious and entirely vapid. It depended on the tribe.

One of the Ash Goblins stepped forward. He was one of their senior members, Nilbog noticed, as he seemed slightly more fit than the rest of his kin. When he focused on him, a notification informing him he was level 39 popped up.

He spoke with stutters, spits, sniffs, and crudely made throat noses. Nilbog could not understand any of it, but he could roughly guess the situation.

Nobody liked a Kill Stealer.

Now, the Ash Goblin seemed intent on getting revenge. It played with the dagger in his hand as the rest of the Ash Goblins gave them a wide breadth. One of the other Ash Goblins tossed a dagger towards Nilbog. They wanted to kill him and use every part of his corpse, probably eat him too, but still. It was very nice of them to do that.

Monsters could sense levels, and even for them, ganging up on him seemed too much. Or maybe he was to be used as practice, Nilbog didn’t know.

He picked it still, dropping his two other daggers. It no better than his daggers in a matter of stats, but this one was made out of bone. He felt oddly calm, as he did so. There was no strangling fear that made each slight movement difficult. His body was not ridden with a cold sweat nor did he feel his veins tensing.

They circled each other. Nilbog ignored the snarls and the taunts. The Ash Goblin stepped in, dashing his dagger in and out, but not committing to any movement. Nilbog kept his guard up, watching for its movement.

The Ash Goblin went in, paused as if to step back again, and then lunged forward.

Nilbog cleanly stepped to the side. It was higher level but it was still a monster. As long as he doesn't underestimate it, its movements were simple and predictable. He attempted a counter strike but the Ash Goblin’s dagger struck his stab midair and nearly disarmed him.

Nilbog stepped back, taking a deep breath. It has higher Brawn and Speed. I have to move ahead of it.

Once again, the Ash Goblin turned and kept throwing slashes at Nilbog. He dodged a couple, received shallow cuts, but overall could not find a chance. There were many openings but the difference in Speed made up for the monster's mistakes.

Nilbog couldn’t trade damage, either. After this one, he would probably have to duel all the other goblins. He needed to maintain his HP.

The humming didn’t help, either. It was all around him, now. He could almost feel it in the air, buzzing in his head.

Meanwhile, the Ash Gobling, the hooting and jeering of the neighboring Ash Goblins continued and rose in intensity with each aggressive movement by the Ash Goblin, propelling him forward in aggressiveness.

Nilbog bent his back slightly, dodging the thrust, and then began to attack. He stepped in right after with a kick to the Ash Goblin’s chest, playing it safe instead of going in with the short dagger.

The Ash Goblin stuttered a few steps back. Nilbog went in, striking the Ash Goblin with a couple of shallow cuts. They were all minor penetrations, dealing 6 to 7 damage, and probably only bringing the Goblin down by 10% of his HP.

He kept harassing him, dodging poorly aimed strikes and returning with punishing counter-attacks, but never committing to anything dangerous. A few minutes after the Ash Goblin’s pale skin was tainted in red and dirt, his panting and wheezing a sight to see against Nilbogs mostly uninjured skin.

I have lived decades more years than they have, Nilbog began to slowly realize. He had fought and had lived through even more hostile condition, all while being weaker and slower.

Nilbog prepared himself to end the fight. He couldn't waste too much STM, either.

The noises of the Ash Goblins around him had ceased once they realized their champion was getting thrashed. It made fighting much easier.

Then, suddenly, they began cheering in their odd language again. They began hopping from one foot to the other in a circle around Nilbog and the Ash Goblin, chanting a song. The same song that they had sung against the Bearl.

These low-bastards...the skill!

Nilbog dashed in immediately. There was no time for feints. The Ash Goblin also dashed in, slashing in unison. They stepped past each other, both of their knives wet.

He glanced behind him as the Ash Goblin turned around, a long slash going up its forearm.

Nilbog raised his dagger, ready to push his advantage, except the only thing that was raised were two of his fingers. The other three laid on the ground, alongside his dagger.

It's okay. It’s okay. He only took ten damage and received a Permanent injury along sides Moderate bleed damage. It wasn’t over. The bleeding could be easily covered, and using his Shape-shifting skill he could replace his wrists and fingers. He just needed time. One minute or two.

He reached in with his other hand, keeping his eyes on the Ash Goblin. He was empowered, but still mortal--around level 50 to 60, but Nilbog had come out of worst odds. He should be at half HP and would go down with one or two hits to the eye or neck--Empowerment couldn’t protect those spots well, but only if he could find the damn dagger. He rummaged the floor but could not find it. He swallowed vomit and then spared a quick glance for the dagger.

A stump bumped against the dagger. His wrist was next to the dagger. The chanting of the Ash Goblins was mixed with laughter as Nilbog stared at the ground, uncomprehending.

Critical Damage Taken!

You have taken 21 damage!

Permanent injury: Lost Hand

Moderate Bleeding received. You will lose 2% of your max HP per second for the next ten seconds. After, you will begin to lose 1% of your max HP per second for five minutes.

I forgot about that. Injuries do not register until the person becomes aware of it.

The pain began to slowly register. The other Ash Goblin began to move forward, his dagger ready. By this point, he had learned his lesson and trod carefully, even though Nilbog was unarmed.

A chuckle escaped his lips. His body shook, the giggles taking him. It turned into wild laughter, with tears running down his cheeks. “I am unarmed! I am unarmed!” he yelled, waving his stump around, his blood spilling.

The Ash Goblin hesitated. Hurry up, he begged from the pauses in between his laughter. He could feel it coming, riding the winds and slithering through the floating leaves. He did not want to be here for when it came. The Ash Goblin, shaking off the oddness of Nilbog, sprang towards Nilbog, his dagger in both hands.

It wasn’t humming. This time, he heard the music, and with it, the same dreadful sensation.

This time, however, it was fathomless.

Player Killer Activated.

The Death Siren offers you great power, once again.

Do you accept?

Y/N