Vinceral Forest, northern outer edge.
Leon and Rees pressed forward in the snow-laced gloom, their boots crunching over frozen underbrush. Despite their alerted senses, the forest lay still—too still.
No monsters were in sight. Only the occasional sigh of wind whispered through the trees.
*Swish-Swish*
“Where did all the monsters go? It’s dead here.” Leon muttered, his tone edged with confusion.
“The cold is forcing them into hiding, Mr. Leon.” Rees replied.
“What ?” Leon asked with a confused expression.
“Only a few monsters can deal with such a cold weather and even they only come out in the day.
We should return, Mr. Leon it’s worthless to waste anymore time in this place. It’s nearly midnight. I doubt we’ll find anything still roaming.” Rees explained as he halted and looked at Leon.
Leon nodded slightly, his gaze scanning the treeline. “Alright… but we’ll walk back to the dungeon.”
Rees tilted his skull slightly. “Why walk, when I can—”
“I feel like walking,” Leon cut in with a faint smile. “Maybe we’ll find some of those HobGoblins on the way back. I just want to kill one more and then we will return tomorrow morning.”
’If I killed one more HobGoblin… I will reach level thirteen and that would be really good.’ Leon thought with a neutral expression.
“As you wish,” Rees said, and together they turned back, retracing their path through the frozen woods.
After a moment of silence, Rees spoke again. “Umm… Mr. Leon, may I ask you a question ?”
Leon glanced over with a confused expression, “What kind of question ?”
“Well… when I get bored, I tend to tell riddles. Would you mind if I gave you one? You don’t have to answer if—”
“Go on, ask it… I am also getting bored.” Leon said with an amused smirk, cutting him off mid-sentence.
“Ah, very well… I was expecting a negative response, since most of the humans don’t really like riddles-”
“Just ask, Rees.” Leon spoke cutting him off once again.
“Yes, The more you take, the more I grow. Invisible trails that always show. I mark your path, but never stay—What am I, that walks away?” Rees asked in a rhyming tone.
“Footsteps, the more I take the more they grow, invisible trails because they are my trails…. They mark my path but disappear after sometime.” Leon replied almost immediately as a smile appeared over his face.
“Y-You got that way too fast… Even I couldn’t crack it that fast or—” Rees started speaking but he was interrupted in the middle of his sentence.
“I’m good with riddles, Rees. You choose wrong opponent to pass time with. If you want amusement from me… You will have to take another topic and you were looking at my footsteps when you asked the question.” Leon said, smirking.
“I see, Then let’s see how you handle this Mr. Leon.
Born of silence, yet I break it. Seen by none, yet all have met it. I flee the light, embrace the deep, and cradle those who fall asleep. What am I ?”
Leon’s expression darkened. “Danger.”
“Incorrect,” Rees said. “The correct answer will be—”
But Leon held up a hand. “Something’s coming, Rees. And it’s not just any monster. Get ready.”
“Wha-!?”
Suddenly, the forest shook with a deafening roar.
“GRAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!”
Rees’s tone sharpened. “Mr. Leon—above you!”
Leon’s gaze snapped skyward immediately. A massive shadow hurtled toward them, descending down with terrifying speed.
Without wasting another second, Leon jumped back twice.
Jump-Jump!
THUD!
The impact was cataclysmic. Snow exploded outward as the creature landed, leaving a small crater beneath its bulk.
Leon’s eyes narrowed as he spoke in a low voice, “Holy fucking shit…”
Before them stood a hulking figure—nearly nine feet tall, its skin a dark green. Veins bulged beneath its thick, muscular frame. In both hands, it gripped twin axes, each glinting with dried blood.
There was a necklace of HobGoblin heads in it’s neck and golden bracelets in both hands.
Leon wasted no time and used his skill on him.
<Inspect>
[Name: Gruder]
[Class: Goblin Champion]
[Race: Named Monster]
[Level: 20]
[HP: 20,000/20,000]
[MP: 50/50]
[Description: Gruder was named by a mage—after he slaughtered him. Known for his intelligence, strategic brutality, and overwhelming bloodlust, he fights with relentless rage when challenged by a worthy foe or when he is extremely hungry.]
“M-Mr. Leon… that’s a Goblin Champion,” Rees warned. “He’s the one commanding the HobGoblins that we met earlier. And I think now he’s come to finish the job himself because I can see their heads hanging in his necklace.”
Leon’s expression turned even more serious as he activated another skill.
<Glitch Point>
But to his disappointment, there were no weak points over the Goblin Champion’s body.
’Dammit. How does he not have any weak points ? I should’ve brought Dusk or Fruela.’ Leon thought with a serious expression.
Then the monster spoke.
“Which… of you… stronger?”
Leon blinked with an utterly confused expression.
’It can talk ?’ Leon thought as he tightened his grip on the Nyxter’s blades.
“Mr. Leon! I’ve prepared the escape spell. Please—we can still run! Just run over to me.” Rees shouted from the other side, a glowing sigil forming under his bony feet.
’He is right… We should return back to the dungeon. Fighting this monster is going to be a very very risky thing.’ Leon thought in his mind.
“If it can speak our language, Rees… it can probably understand it too. Don’t you think, Rees ?” Leon asked with a neutral expression.
Gruder grinned, revealing sharp yellow teeth as he looked at Leon. “No waste time. I eat… you. Food.”
’His speech is broken… limited vocabulary, that means he has hunted less but more than enough humans to learn the language.’ Leon assessed for a moment but dismissed the thought immediately.
“Sorry, motherfucker. I’m not on the menu tonight.” Leon whispered in a low voice.
<Blind Spot>
Leon vanished from sight and bolted toward Rees—but he’d barely covered half the distance when something whistled through the air.
THUD!
An axe buried itself in the ground just inches away from Leon’s feet. He skidded to a stop, his eyes wide in shock. Across the clearing, Gruder’s gaze burned with crimson red.
’He can see through Blind Spot…!’ Leon thought with a serious expression as he looked at him.
“Mr. Leo—” Rees began but,
The second axe was already airborne.
“REEES! MOVE!” Leon shouted with all his might.
Rees tried to move but it was too late…
CRACKLE—CRACK!
The blade sheared through his lower torso, scattering the bones across the snow.
“Fucking hell.” Leon spoke as his expressions turned grim.
But Rees’s bones quivered, reassembling almost immediately. “I—I’m alright. I am alright Mr. Leon.”
“Motherfucker… I thought he died.” Leon spoke in a low voice as he turned to look at Gruder.
“DIE, FOOD! DIE!” Gruder roared in a very deep voice, as he charged towards him with terrifying speed, both of his fists raised in the air and over his head.
Leon immediately jumped back—
THUD-THUD!
—barely dodging the double slam.
Then again, Gruder thundered forward.
“GRRRRAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH…”
Same form. Same angle. Same wild fists.
Leon stepped back again, narrowly avoiding the next strike as well but this time… Leon gained some distance between them.
This time, Gruder grabbed an axe and re-aimed it towards Leon.
<Loose Grip>
[Opponent Level Too High. Skill will not function correctly.]
As soon as Leon readed the warning, it was already too late.
The axe spun like a comet toward him.
SWISH—
“Fuck…”
“Le Frozar Walor!”
*GRRRRR*
CRACK!
A shimmering wall of ice erupted in front of Leon in the blink of an eyes, absorbing the strike into itself completely.
“Mr. Leon, are you alright?!” Rees asked in a worried tone.
Leon exhaled. “Yeah. I’m good.”
“Phew…”
The wall melted instantly and turned into water.
Gruder charged towards Leon once again, his fists raised in the air just like before. “DIEEEEE!”
Another furious slam came down—
THUD!
Leon danced away, this time a smile appearing over his face.
“Wait…” He spoke.
Again, Gruder raised his fists and came towards Leon to deliver another slam.
THUD!
Leon stepped back, watching Gruder closely this time.
Rees called out, concerned. “Mr. Leon, what are you doing?! We need to escape! Please come to me”
Leon didn’t respond. His eyes were locked on Gruder. Focused. But there was also a smile on his face.
It was as if he had found out something about Gruder.
“GRAAAAAHHHHHHH…”
*THUD*
He brought done another Slam, but this time… Instead of dodging close, Leon jumped back twice… maintaining some distance between them.
*Jump-Jump*
Gruder snarled. “FOOD DON’T RUN!”
He grabbed the axe and curled it towards Leon with full force—
SWISH—THUD!
—Leon stepped aside with perfect timing.
A wide smile spread across his face.
“Now… the fists.” He spoke in a low voice.
Gruder bellowed and charged again, fists raised.
Leon’s boots shifted as he sidestepped.
THUD!
“Hahaha… This is fun.”
Rees watched from a distance, baffled. “W-What is he doing…?”
Leon’s smirk deepened. ’Motherfucker is repeating the same pattern to attack me again and again.
If I am in close range… he just slams me continously but when I gain some distance, he starts to throw the axe at me in order to close distance, following the same pattern again.’