"(Human!)" Ooruk roared at Zero. "(Stop running and fight me like a warrior!)"

Zero didn't respond for two reasons; he didn't know what the hell Ooruk was shouting, and because Ooruk was rapidly closing the distance between them. He then spun around and threw the shortsword in Ooruk's direction before he unslung his bow and fired an arrow at Ooruk.

"(HUMAN!)" Ooruk roared again as he swatted the sword and arrow flying at him away.

I can't keep running like this, it's going to catch up with me eventually. I have to surprise it with an attack. Zero thought as he ducked behind a tree out of Ooruk's vision.

As Ooruk reached the tree Zero was hiding behind, an arrow shimmering with a light green flew towards its face. Ooruk quickly raised its hand to block the arrow, causing the arrow to penetrate into its hand instead of its head. It grunted in pain and ripped the arrow out of its palm and noticed Zero dashing out from behind the tree with an arrow clutched in his hand.

"(Puny bastard!)" Ooruk roared before throwing a fist at Zero.

"{Ice Aegis}!" Zero shouted, causing Ooruk's punch to bounce off of a shimmering blue barrier.

Zero then threw a handful of dirt that he had prepared at Ooruk's face, causing it to be blinded temporarily.

"(Stop with these cowardly tri- ARGH!)" Ooruk yelled in pain as Zero shoved the arrow he had cast {Enhance Sharpness} on beforehand into the goblin's side.

Zero quickly tried to retreat away, but Ooruk suddenly kicked out, hitting Zero in the stomach and causing him to fly backwards before rolling to a stop. As Zero groaned and tried to get up, he felt someone lift him up by the head up into the air.

"(You fight with no honor.)" Ooruk growled. "(You do not deserve to be killed by my weapon. Now, die.)"

But before Ooruk could crush Zero's head, Zero opened his mouth and said, "{Crushing Bite}."

Zero's teeth snapped shut into Ooruk's palm ferociously before he yanked it back out, along with a chunk of Ooruk's flesh. The goblin gave a pained shout before inadvertently releasing Zero from his grasp.

Zero landed on the ground, quickly took out one of the few remaining arrows in his quiver that didn't fall out from the scuffle earlier, spat out the flesh and blood in his mouth, and chanted, "{Enhance Sharpness}, {Piercing Thrust}," before reaching behind Ooruk's left leg and severing his Achilles tendon.

Ooruk knelt down almost immediately, and Zero rolled out of the way without forgetting to plunge the arrow into the goblin's calf. Zero then jumped up, unslung his bow, and took out an arrow from his quiver, casting {Enhance Sharpness} before notching it on his bow. Ooruk stared at him with bloodshot eyes before opening its mouth and letting out a loud roar. The noise reverberated within Zero's skull and he quickly covered his ears as blood began to drip from them.

[Skill Acquired: Deafening Roar]

Zero opened his mouth and let out an equally loud roar, although it didn't cause as much damage to Ooruk as its roar did to him. However, it stunned Ooruk for enough time that Zero could pull back the bowstring and send an arrow flying right through its eye and into its brain. Ooruk collapsed to the ground, motionless, as a system message appeared in front of Zero.

[You have slain a Hobgoblin. +100 Experience Points.]

[You have leveled up, host. Please check your status window.]

"Status," Zero weakly called out as he collapsed to the ground.

80/500 EXP

Name: Zero

Title:

Race: Human

Class:

Level: 5

HP: 35/250

MP: 8/31

STR: 4+

END: 5+

INT: 7+

AGI: 5+

Zero smiled at his new stats before fainting from the extreme hunger, exhaustion, and injuries from the battle.

As Kai, Anun, and Harry walked through the jungle, Anun suddenly called out, "Hey, isn't that the guy from earlier?"

Kai and Harry glanced over and saw a blood-covered figure lying on the ground a few meters away from the massive corpse of a goblin.

"Harry, you're a healer, right?" Kai shouted as he ran toward the figure. "Heal him, he's severely injured."

Harry also ran over to the person lying on the ground and chanted, "{Major Heal}."

Harry then looked at Kai and said, "This'll take a while, so please guard me in the meantime," before closing his eyes.

Kai walked over to where Anun was standing; next to the goblin's corpse.

"He killed a Hobgoblin alone?" Anun whistled. "He's pretty good."

Kai nodded and said, "This should be the Mini-Boss, so we'll be able to clear this room after cleaning up the stragglers."

"Alright. Let's get to it after Harry finishes healing that guy. I'll check the perimeter in the meantime," Anun replied as walked off.

"A Hobgoblin, huh?" Kai muttered as he kicked the corpse. "And with only a bow and arrows from the looks of it. Who the hell is this guy?"

"Kaarvishki Oochaoi Skuurizcharu," Its majestic queen sitting from her throne told him. "You have failed. You let those filthy humans escape."

"M-my queen, I-" The Goblin General began tremblingly.

"No. No more excuses." Its queen said sharply. "Borgk, take him to the feeding den."

"N-no! Anything but that!" The Goblin General wailed as a Hobgoblin resembling Ooruk picked it up by the scruff of its neck.

Suddenly, an old goblin wearing robes and wielding a staff walked into the hut rasping, "My queen, I have urgent news."

"Speak." The queen closed her eyes and commanded.

"Ooruk is dead."

"What?" The queen's eyes shot open as she exclaimed.

"Yes, I can no longer detect the {Life Seal} placed on him," The goblin continued.

"Those humans. It must be those humans again," The queen replied as she gnashed her teeth.

The queen then took another look at the Goblin General and said, "Kaarvishki Oochaoi Skuurizcharu, one last chance. Capture those humans, alive or dead. And this time, Borgk will accompany you."

The goblin named Borgk tossed the Goblin General to the ground and it quickly climbed up to its feet before saying, "Yes, I understand, my queen. Thank you for sparing this one's life."

"Borgk, make sure you do not fail me," The queen said as she looked at the Hobgoblin.

"Yes, my queen," Borgk replied. "I will slaughter all of those humans under your glorious name."

Then, it followed after the Goblin General as they both walked out of the hut.

The queen then looked back at the old goblin before saying, "Toruk, can you locate Ooruk's body? He was a loyal one who has served me for many years and deserves a warrior's burial."

"I will try, my queen," Toruk rasped as he bowed and walked out of the hut.